We report a time-calibrated stratigraphic section in Colorado that contains unusually complete fossils of mammals, reptiles, and plants and elucidates the drivers and tempo of biotic recovery during ...the poorly known first million years after the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction (KPgE). Within ~100 thousand years (ka) post-KPgE, mammalian taxonomic richness doubled, and maximum mammalian body mass increased to near pre-KPgE levels. A threefold increase in maximum mammalian body mass and dietary niche specialization occurred at ~300 ka post-KPgE, concomitant with increased megafloral standing species richness. The appearance of additional large mammals occurred by ~700 ka post-KPgE, coincident with the first appearance of Leguminosae (the bean family). These concurrent plant and mammal originations and body-mass shifts coincide with warming intervals, suggesting that climate influenced post-KPgE biotic recovery.
Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) performed at high temperatures and pressures is one alternative for upgrading of pyrolysis oils from biomass. Studies on zirconia-supported mono- and bimetallic noble metal ...(Rh, Pd, Pt) catalysts showed these catalysts to be active and selective in the hydrogenation of guaiacol (GUA) at 100°C and in the HDO of GUA at 300°C. GUA was used as model compound for wood-based pyrolysis oil. At the temperatures tested, the performance of the noble metal catalysts, especially the Rh-containing catalysts was similar or better than that of the conventional sulfided CoMo/Al2O3 catalyst. The carbon deposition on the noble metal catalysts was lower than that on the sulfided CoMo/Al2O3 catalyst. The performance of the Rh-containing catalysts in the reactions of GUA at the tested conditions demonstrates their potential in the upgrading of wood-based pyrolysis oils.
The geographic and temporal origins of the domestic dog remain controversial, as genetic data suggest a domestication process in East Asia beginning 15,000 years ago, whereas the oldest doglike ...fossils are found in Europe and Siberia and date to >30,000 years ago. We analyzed the mitochondrial genomes of 18 prehistoric canids from Eurasia and the New World, along with a comprehensive panel of modern dogs and wolves. The mitochondrial genomes of all modern dogs are phylogenetically most closely related to either ancient or modern canids of Europe. Molecular dating suggests an onset of domestication there 18,800 to 32,100 years ago. These findings imply that domestic dogs are the culmination of a process that initiated with European hunter-gatherers and the canids with whom they interacted.
The isolation of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from the bloodstream can be used to detect and analyze somatic alterations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and multiple cfDNA-targeted sequencing panels are ...now commercially available for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved biomarker indications to guide treatment. More recently, cfDNA fragmentation patterns have emerged as a tool to infer epigenomic and transcriptomic information. However, most of these analyses used whole-genome sequencing, which is insufficient to identify FDA-approved biomarker indications in a cost-effective manner.
We used machine learning models of fragmentation patterns at the first coding exon in standard targeted cancer gene cfDNA sequencing panels to distinguish between cancer and non-cancer patients, as well as the specific tumor type and subtype. We assessed this approach in two independent cohorts: a published cohort from GRAIL (breast, lung, and prostate cancers, non-cancer, n = 198) and an institutional cohort from the University of Wisconsin (UW; breast, lung, prostate, bladder cancers, n = 320). Each cohort was split 70%/30% into training and validation sets.
In the UW cohort, training cross-validated accuracy was 82.1%, and accuracy in the independent validation cohort was 86.6% despite a median ctDNA fraction of only 0.06. In the GRAIL cohort, to assess how this approach performs in very low ctDNA fractions, training and independent validation were split based on ctDNA fraction. Training cross-validated accuracy was 80.6%, and accuracy in the independent validation cohort was 76.3%. In the validation cohort where the ctDNA fractions were all <0.05 and as low as 0.0003, the cancer versus non-cancer area under the curve was 0.99.
To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that sequencing from targeted cfDNA panels can be utilized to analyze fragmentation patterns to classify cancer types, dramatically expanding the potential capabilities of existing clinically used panels at minimal additional cost.
The first examples of gold-catalyzed cyclizations of diols and triols to the corresponding hetero- or spirocycles in an aqueous medium are presented. These reactions take place within nanomicelles, ...where the hydrophobic effect is operating, thereby driving the dehydrations, notwithstanding the surrounding water. By the addition of simple salts such as sodium chloride, reaction times and catalyst loadings can be significantly decreased.
A new type of computer-enhanced telemanipulator device for "robotic" laparoscopic surgery was recently approved. We prospectively evaluated the initial patients undergoing procedures with this new ...device at our institution.
Patient demographics, operative indications, port placement, operative time, robot time, complications, and hospital stay were recorded. Follow-up evaluation was appropriate for the individual procedure.
Initially, 35 cases were managed. There were 22 anti-reflux procedures, 9 Heller myotomies, 1 pyloroplasty, 1 distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy, 1 esophagectomy with intrathoracic anastomosis, and 1 diagnostic laparoscopy. The operative times ranged from 88 to 458 min. The robot use times were between 16 and 185 min. There were no device-related complications.
Computer-enhanced robotic telesurgery is a safe and effective treatment method for a variety of diseases of the proximal gastrointestinal tract. Further study is needed to determine the benefits of this approach as compared with current technology.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health threat, infecting one-third of the world's population. Despite this prominence, the age, origin and spread of the disease have been topics of contentious ...debate. Molecular studies suggest that
Mycobacterium tuberculosis ‘sensu stricto’
, the most common strain of TB infecting humans today, originated in Africa and from there spread into Europe and Asia. The
M. tuberculosis
strains most commonly found across the Pacific and the Americas today are most closely related to European strains, supporting a hypothesis that the disease only reached these regions relatively recently via European sailors or settlers. However, this hypothesis is inconsistent with palaeopathological evidence of TB-like lesions in human remains from across the Pacific that predate European contact. Similarly, genetic evidence from pre-European South American mummies challenges the notion of a European introduction of the disease into the Pacific. Here, we review the complex evidence for the age and origin of TB in the Pacific, and discuss key gaps in our knowledge and how these may be addressed.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Insights into health and disease from ancient biomolecules’.
A screening of more than 1,500 drug-resistant strains of
revealed evolutionary patterns characteristic of positive selection for three alanine racemase (Alr) mutations. We investigated these ...mutations using molecular modeling,
MIC testing, as well as direct measurements of enzymatic activity, which demonstrated that these mutations likely confer resistance to d-cycloserine.
We have obtained Spitzer Space Telescope MIPS (Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer) observations of 39 A- through M-type dwarfs, with estimated ages between 12 and 600 Myr; IRAC observations for ...a subset of 11 stars; and follow-up CSO SHARCII 350 km observations for a subset of two stars. None of the objects observed with IRAC possess infrared excesses at 3.6-8.0 km; however, seven objects observed with MIPS possess 24 and/or 70 km excesses. Four objects ( Phe, HD 92945, HD 119124, and AU Mic), with estimated ages 12-200 Myr, possess strong 70 km excesses, .100% larger than their predicted photospheres, and no 24 km excesses, suggesting that the dust grains in these systems are cold. One object (HD 112429) possesses moderate 24 and 70 km excesses with a color temperature, T sub(gr) = 100 K. Two objects (a super(1) Lib and HD 177724) possess such strong 24 km excesses that their 12,24, and 70 km fluxes cannot be self-consistently modeled using a modified blackbody despite a 70 km excess >2 times greater than the photosphere around a super(1) Lib. The strong 24 km excesses may be the result of emission in spectral features, as observed toward the Hale-Bopp star HD 69830.
Highlights • Many species are expanding or contracting their geographic distribution. • Range changes are caused by climate change, human disturbance and invasive species. • What are the ...characteristics of pioneers in new habitat? • Individuals at the leading edge appear to be highly variable. • In range expanding songbirds responses to stress are extremely variable.
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