Childhood environmental harshness predicts coordinated health and reproductive strategies: A cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample from France

There is considerable variation in health and reproductive behaviours within and across human populations. Drawing on principles from Life History Theory, psychosocial acceleration theory predicts that individuals developing in harsh environments decrease their level of somatic investment and accelerate their reproductive schedule. Although there is consistent empirical support for this general prediction, most studies have focused on a few isolated life history traits and few have investigated the way in which individuals apply life strategies across reproductive and somatic domains to produce coordinated behavioural responses to their environment. In our study, we thus investigate the impact of childhood environmental harshness on both reproductive strategies and somatic investment by applying structural equation modeling (SEM) to cross-sectional survey data obtained in a representative sample of the French population (n = 1015, age: 19–87 years old, both genders). This data allowed us to demonstrate that (i) inter-individual variation in somatic investment (e.g. effort in looking after health) and reproductive timing (e.g. age at first birth) can be captured by a latent fast-slow continuum, and (ii) faster strategies along this continuum are predicted by higher childhood harshness. Overall, our results support the existence of a fast-slow continuum and highlight the relevance of the life history approach for understanding variations in reproductive and health related behaviours.     

Soil properties and sediment accretion modulate methane fluxes from restored wetlands

Wetlands are the largest source of methane (CH₄) globally, yet our understanding of how process‐level controls scale to ecosystem fluxes remains limited. It is particularly uncertain how variable soil properties influence ecosystem CH₄ emissions on annual time scales. We measured ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO₂) and CH₄ fluxes by eddy covariance from two wetlands recently restored on peat and alluvium soils within the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta of California. Annual CH₄ fluxes from the alluvium wetland were significantly lower than the peat site for multiple years following restoration, but these differences were not explained by variation in dominant climate drivers or productivity across wetlands. Soil iron (Fe) concentrations were significantly higher in alluvium soils, and alluvium CH₄ fluxes were decoupled from plant processes compared with the peat site, as expected when Fe reduction inhibits CH₄ production in the rhizosphere. Soil carbon content and CO₂ uptake rates did not vary across wetlands and, thus, could also be ruled out as drivers of initial CH₄ flux differences. Differences in wetland CH₄ fluxes across soil types were transient; alluvium wetland fluxes were similar to peat wetland fluxes 3 years after restoration. Changing alluvium CH₄ emissions with time could not be explained by an empirical model based on dominant CH₄ flux biophysical drivers, suggesting that other factors, not measured by our eddy covariance towers, were responsible for these changes. Recently accreted alluvium soils were less acidic and contained more reduced Fe compared with the pre‐restoration parent soils, suggesting that CH₄ emissions increased as conditions became more favorable to methanogenesis within wetland sediments. This study suggests that alluvium soil properties, likely Fe content, are capable of inhibiting ecosystem‐scale wetland CH₄ flux, but these effects appear to be transient without continued input of alluvium to wetland sediments.     

Dragging into the open: the polythetic nature of areas of endemism

Areas of endemism represent territories (no matter the size) of non-random overlap in the geographic distribution of two or more taxa, reflecting a common spatial history of these taxa. The common spatial history is a result of different processes that connect areas of endemism to evolutionary theory. Numerous and diverse definitions of areas of endemism have been proposed. All of them have used as the conceptual foundation of the definition a certain degree of non-random congruence of geographic distribution amongst at least two taxa. ‘Certain degree’ means that geographic congruence does not demand complete agreement on the boundaries of those taxa's distributions at all possible scales of mapping. The words ‘certain degree’ mask the polythetic nature of areas of endemism. The polythetic characterization of areas of endemism implies that each locality of the study area has a large number of a set of species. Each species of this set is present in many of those localities and, generally, none of those species is present in every locality of the area. The converse will be a monothetic nature of areas of endemism where a taxon or group of taxa is present in all the localities of the study area. We propose here that the expansion of the definition of areas of endemism, including their polythetic characterization, will improve understanding of large biogeographic areas such as realms, regions, provinces, and districts, and will increase the scientific content (e.g., predictive capability and explanatory power) of areas of endemism.     

Macromolecular rate theory (MMRT) provides a thermodynamics rationale to underpin the convergent temperature response in plant leaf respiration

Temperature is a crucial factor in determining the rates of ecosystem processes, for example, leaf respiration (R) – the flux of plant respired CO₂ from leaves to the atmosphere. Generally, R increases exponentially with temperature and formulations such as the Arrhenius equation are widely used in earth system models. However, experimental observations have shown a consequential and consistent departure from an exponential increase in R. What are the principles that underlie these observed patterns? Here, we demonstrate that macromolecular rate theory (MMRT), based on transition state theory (TST) for enzyme‐catalyzed kinetics, provides a thermodynamic explanation for the observed departure and the convergent temperature response of R using a global database. Three meaningful parameters emerge from MMRT analysis: the temperature at which the rate of respiration would theoretically reach a maximum (the optimum temperature, T_opt), the temperature at which the respiration rate is most sensitive to changes in temperature (the inflection temperature, T_inf) and the overall curvature of the log(rate) versus temperature plot (the change in heat capacity for the system, ). On average, the highest potential enzyme‐catalyzed rates of respiratory enzymes for R are predicted to occur at 67.0 ± 1.2°C and the maximum temperature sensitivity at 41.4 ± 0.7°C from MMRT. The average curvature (average negative ) was ?1.2 ± 0.1 kJ mol^?1 K^?1. Interestingly, T_opt, T_inf and appear insignificantly different across biomes and plant functional types, suggesting that thermal response of respiratory enzymes in leaves could be conserved. The derived parameters from MMRT can serve as thermal traits for plant leaves that represent the collective temperature response of metabolic respiratory enzymes and could be useful to understand regulations of R under a warmer climate. MMRT extends the classic TST to enzyme‐catalyzed reactions and provides an accurate and mechanistic model for the short‐term temperature response of R around the globe.     

An assessment methodology for human holistic risk in whole cycle of shale gas fracturing

In the process of shale gas fracturing, long time, high strength, and boring task could trigger psychological or physical operation fatigues, and then lead to downtime, sand blocking, or other accidents, which are the main problems in safety management. However, conventional studies either separately analyze risks without considering the interaction and relationship between humans or teams, or only form a qualitative framework for team analysis. These methods cannot be directly applied for the fracturing operators due to complex operation procedures and diversified human errors. An improved methodology, therefore, is proposed to assess human holistic risk during the whole cycle of fracturing operation. First, D-S evidence theory is introduced to obtain the individual risk, and team performance shaping factor is also presented to establish risk assessment model for fracturing teams. Second, individual and team risks are integrated to calculate the quantitative value of human holistic risk. A scatter diagram of human risk is finally designed, where the high-risk fracturing stages and human types can be clearly revealed. Results from a study of one shale gas well indicate that human holistic risk is more objective and practical, and improves accuracy of human reliability analysis.     

Impact of Hydroxylation and Hydration on the Reactivity of α‐Fe2O3 (0001) and (102) Surfaces under Environmental and Electrochemical Conditions

Hematite (α‐Fe₂O₃) is widely used as a catalytic electrode material in photo‐electrochemical water oxidation, where its surface compositions and stabilities can strongly impact the redox reaction process. Here, its surface configurations in environmental or electrochemical conditions are assessed via density functional theory (DFT) calculations conducted at the Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof (PBE)+U level. The most energetically favorable surface domains of α‐Fe₂O₃ (0001) and (102) are predicted by constructing the surface phase diagrams in the framework of first‐principle thermodynamics. The relative surface stabilities are investigated as a function of partial pressures of oxygen and water, temperature, solution pH, and electrode potential not only for perfect bulk terminations but also for defect‐containing surfaces having various degrees of hydroxylation and hydration. In order to assess the impact on the redox reactions of the surface planes as well as of the extent of surface hydration/hydroxylation, the thermodynamics of the four‐step oxygen evolution reaction (OER) mechanism are examined in detail for different models of the α‐Fe₂O₃ (0001) and (102) surfaces. Importantly, the results underline that the nature of the surface termination and the degree of near‐surface hydroxylation give rise to significant variations in the OER overpotentials.     

3D Ferroconcrete‐Like Aminated Carbon Nanotubes Network Anchoring Sulfur for Advanced Lithium–Sulfur Battery

To address the serious capacity fading in lithium–sulfur batteries, a 3D ferroconcrete‐like aminated carbon nanotubes network with polyaniline coating as an effective sulfur host to contain polysulfide dissolution is presented here. In this composite, the cross‐linked aminated carbon nanotubes framework provides a fast charge transport pathway and enhancement in the reaction kinetics of the active material to greatly improve the rate capability and sulfur utilization. The ethylenediamine moieties provide strong adhesion of polar discharge products to nonpolar carbon surfaces and thus efficiently prevent polysulfide dissolution to improve the cycle stability, confirmed by density functional theory calculations. The outside polyaniline layers structurally restrain polysulfides to prevent the shuttle effect and active material loss. Benefiting from these advantages, the synthesized composite exhibits a high initial capacity of 1215 mAh g^?1 and a capacity of 975 mAh g^?1 after 200 cycles at 0.2 C. Even after 200 cycles at 0.5 C, a capacity of 735 mAh g^?1 can be maintained, among the best performance reported. The strategy in this work can shed some light on modifying nonpolar carbon surfaces via the amination process to chemically attach sulfur species for high‐performance lithium–sulfur batteries.     

寄畅园的始建年代、沿革分期与重要议题

从寄畅园的始建年代、历史沿革和重要议题3个方面,论述寄畅园作为个案研究的价值与意义。1）采用史源学、年代学和微观史学等方法,考证寄畅园始建于1527年。2）将寄畅园490年的历史分为9个时期,论述各时期的关键史实和风格特征。3）从家史与国史、造园与改园、南巡与写仿、茶曲与书画、保护与利用5个方面,分析寄畅园的重要议题。最后探讨了“寄畅园学”的开展方式。     

A theoretical approach to the size‐complexity rule

The so‐called size‐complexity rule claims the existence of a positive correlation between organism size and number of cell types. In this spirit, here we address the relationship between organism size and number of potential tasks that can be performed. The modeling relies on the assumption that the states of the cells within the aggregates are such that the maximum fitness is realized, but also relies on the existence of tradeoffs among the distinct functions. For group sizes larger than the number of potential tasks, fitness maximization is attained when all cells in group specialize in a given task. Under this scenario, the number of potential tasks equals the number of cell types. We have found that the morphology and the topology of aggregates, as well as the developmental mode, strongly influence the dynamics of body formation. Particularly, it has been observed that more compact structures, such as sphere‐like structures, are more likely to follow the claim of the size‐complexity rule, whereas more fragile structures such as linear chains, which are more vulnerable to drastic changes due to division mechanisms, can, in a broad scenario, violate the size‐complexity rule.     

Deciphering the role of dimer interface in intrinsic dynamics and allosteric pathways underlying the functional transformation of DNMT3A

Background

DNMT3A, as de novo DNA methyltransferase, is essential for regulating gene expression through cellular development and differentiation. The functions of DNMT3A rely on its oligomeric states and allosteric regulations between its catalytic domain and binding partners. Despite recent resolution of autoinhibitory and active DNMT3A/3L crystal structures, the mechanism of their functional motions and interdomain allostery in regulating the activity remains to be established.