We have demonstrated that the complementary combination of grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence (GIXF) with specular X-ray reflectivity (XRR) can be used to quantitatively determine the density ...profiles of Ni2 + ions complexed with chelator headgroups as well as S atoms in recombinant proteins anchored to lipid monolayers at the air/water interface. First, we prepared phospholipid monolayers incorporating chelator lipid anchors at different molar fractions at the air/water interface. The fine-structures perpendicular to the global plane of monolayers were characterized by XRR in the presence of Ni2 + ions, yielding the thickness, roughness, and electron density of the stratified lipid monolayers. X-ray fluorescence intensities from Ni Kα core levels recorded at the incidence angles below and above the critical angle of total reflection allow for the determination of the position and lateral density of Ni2 + ions associated with chelator headgroups with a high spatial accuracy (±5 Å). The coupling of histidine-tagged Xenopus cadherin 11 (Xcad-11) can also be identified by changes in the fines-structures using XRR. Although fluorescence intensities from S Kα level were much weaker than Ni Kα signals, we could detect the location of S atoms in recombinant Xcad-11 proteins.
By studying a quarried site exposed in the Ligurian Alps (northern Italy), this work aims to assess the impact of the tectonic structures on the exploitable rock volume characteristics/properties ...and, more in general, on the three-dimensional quarry architecture for its future exploitation. A field-based, multidisciplinary dataset has been integrated within a 3D geological model performed in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. The spatial distribution, geometry, and internal fabric of the main tectonic structures (mainly represented by faults and fracture networks) have been recognised as responsible for a structural compartmentalisation within the study area. In situ geomechanical measurements (uniaxial strength by using a Schmidt hammer) have been compared with distribution of the tectonic structures. A simulation of the influence of the tectonic structures on the rock mechanical behaviour has been performed in GIS. We conclude that occurrence of tectonic structures determines a first order degree in geodiversity at quarried sites, influencing both intrinsic (lithology and petrography) and secondary (mechanical) properties of the excavated rock volume. Consequently, understanding and reconstructing the deformation style and intensity of the tectonic setting constitute a further geological exploration criterion for assessing strategy of rock excavation and exploitation. The identification of tectonic structures is relevant to face frequently documented problems in active quarrying, such as mass movement and slope failure, reduced rock-mass quality, or non-exploitable quarry domains.
Combined structural and petrographical investigations, coupled with 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, were carried out in the Sila Piccola Massif of the Calabrian Arc in order to define the structural ...geometry and map out the major structural and metamorphic breaks within the exposed nappe sequence. On the basis of the contrasting Alpine pressure‐temperature (P‐T) and structural signatures the nappe stack can be divided in two major tectonic complexes, bounded by a flat‐lying ductile to brittle extensional shear zone. The upper complex consists of a nappe‐like structure, where a major top to the east compressional shear is recorded. The lower tectonic complex consists of an ophiolite‐bearing sequence showing typical high‐P/low‐T parageneses (Mg‐carpholite and Na‐amphibole). The 40Ar/39Ar geochronology on phengites in equilibrium with blueschist minerals provided a minimum age estimate for the blueschist event in the lower complex rocks at the Oligocene‐Eocene boundary (around 35 Ma). Ductile to brittle top to the west extensional shear accompanied the nearly isothermal retrogression and exhumation of the lower complex rocks, reworking the previous nappe contacts with shear localization along the upper/lower tectonic complex discontinuity. The 40Ar/39Ar dating indicates that this postnappe stacking tectonic evolution took place from 30 Ma onward. It is proposed that exhumation of the deep‐seated rocks occurred below a top to the west extensional detachment active during convergence and orogenic complex formation (synorogenic extension). The age of this detachment is bracketed between 30 Ma and the post‐orogenic Neogene basin sedimentation (middle‐upper Miocene). The revised structural and metamorphic scenario is here integrated into a new tectonic evolutionary reconstruction, which involves an early high‐P/low‐T top to the east crustal thickening episode during the construction of the Apennine orogenic wedge (Eocene‐Oligocene), followed and overprinted by a top to the west extensional shear, probably active from the late Oligocene.
The seaboard of Brazil is a highly favorable setting for studying episodes of worldwide sea-level rise because of its passive nature. Previous studies of the equatorial coast of Brazil have led to ...the recognition of extensive Oligo-Miocene and Miocene marine-influenced deposits, but these deposits have been overlooked in other coastal areas of Brazil. The aim of the present study is to show the origin and evolution of late Oligocene and Miocene marine-influenced strata exposed in more than 5000km of coastal areas along the WNW-trending equatorial and NNE-trending eastern Brazilian continental margins. We review the most relevant data concerning the strata of these ages exposed along the equatorial and eastern margins of Brazil, and combine them with new data. Based on these occurrences, we analyze the history of sea-level fluctuations and show that marine-influenced strata are more widespread in these margins than originally thought. Our main results indicate that a marine influence is not only imprinted in the deposits exposed along the equatorial margin, but it is also widespread in several areas of the eastern margin. For a long geological time interval ranging from the end of the Cretaceous or Paleogene up to the late Oligocene, most of the Brazilian coast remained a non-depositional site exposed to subaerial erosion and lateritic soil development. The combination of sea-level rise and tectonic subsidence promoted sediment accumulation in the onshore portion of several basins. Two transgressive episodes occurred: one in the Oligo-Miocene and another in the early/middle Miocene. The latter gave rise to deposition of the Barreiras Formation. However, during the supposedly middle Miocene eustatic sea-level highstand in coastal Brazil, there was a renewed and extensive phase of non-deposition and subaerial erosion with lateritic soil formation, a process that lasted up to the Late Quaternary. This mismatching of the sedimentary record with other South American and continental areas is discussed herein. As in many other areas of South America and of the world, the regressive–transgressive events recorded along the Brazilian coast most likely responded to a combination of eustatic sea-level fluctuations and local factors such as tectonic activity, intraplate stresses and changes in dynamic topography during the post-rift history of the eastern South American Plate.
•Late Oligocene and Miocene deposits occur along the Brazilian coast.•These deposits were mostly formed by tidal processes in a coastal setting.•They responded to two main marine transgressions.•The transgressive events are in offset with the Miocene highstand.•Syn-depositional tectonics might have caused this mismatching.
Previous documentation has proposed tectonic activity from the Neogene to Holocene as one important control on drainage development in the Amazonian lowland. However, recording tectonic structures in ...this region has been challenging due to environmental difficulties, including the low topography and dense vegetation cover that do not favor natural exposures. For this reason, the role of tectonics in determining river dynamics, morphology, and sediment deposition in Amazonia has been suggested with caution. Despite limitations, morphostructural lineaments have provided useful information to support fault reactivation in several areas of the Amazonian lowland. However, further documentation is required to map the faults and describe their geometry. This approach is essential to better understand the geotectonic model of this region. In this work, analyses of high-resolution optical imagery of three Amazonian shallow water lakes provided exceptional views of an abundance of linear features on the beds of these lakes. Although based on indirect evidence from remote sensing data, the quality of the images allowed the geometry of these underwater features to be characterized in detail. The most striking are sets of NE–SW lineaments that frequently intercept NW–SE trending lineaments with offsets of up to 500 m in the horizontal plane. These characteristics support dextral faults with strike–slip rates in the study areas. The faults display trends compatible with the geotectonic model proposed for the Brazilian Amazonia region. They also control the morphology of lakes and rivers, as indicated by the parallelism and/or continuity into straight lineaments that define lake margins and river courses, including the courses of large rivers, such as the Solimões and Amazonas Rivers. Available radiocarbon ages of deposits from the lake bed sediments and from related floodplain deposits are consistent with the proposal of faulting during the latest Holocene, even only a few hundred years ago.
A discussion of the potential integration of serious games into the conceptual framework of artificial transportation systems focuses on behavior elicitation through peer-designed agents to model and ...simulate artificial societies on a participative basis.
Selected mono- and bicationic quats were compounded with polyethylene. The physicochemical surface properties, leaching behavior, and antibacterial activity of such modified samples were ...investigated. Contact angle measurements and fluorescein binding assays showed the presence of quaternary ammonium groups at the surface. After storing the samples in 50°C warm water for 30 days, several were still antimicrobially active. No correlation between the number of exposed N+ head groups after leaching and the antibacterial activity was observed. There is however a qualitative correlation of the antibacterial activity with the contact angles and surface concentrations of N+ before leaching/storing in warm water.
•Maternal cafeteria diet decreased the transcription of TH, DRD2 and DAT in the ventral tegmental area of neonatal offspring.•In nucleus accumbens, maternal cafeteria diet reduced DRD1, DRD2 and DAT ...expression at postnatal day 10.•The methylation status of dopaminergic gene promoters was affected by maternal diet.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter crucial for motor, motivational, and reward-related functions. Our aim was to determine the effect of a palatable maternal diet on the transcriptional regulation of dopaminergic-related genes during perinatal development of rat offspring. For that, female offspring from dams fed with a control (CON) or a cafeteria (CAF) diet were sacrificed on embryonic day 21 (E21) and postnatal day 10 (PND10). Using micropunch techniques, ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) were isolated from brain’s offspring. Bioinformatic analysis of the promoter regions, mRNA quantification and methylation studies were done. The increase in tyroxine hidroxylase (TH), dopamine receptor (DRD) 1 and ghrelin receptor (GHSR) expression in VTA and NAc from E21 to PND10 was correlated with changes in DNA methylation of their promoter regions. Maternal diet did not affect the expressionpatternsin E21. At PND10, maternal CAF diet decreased the transcription of TH, GHSR, DRD2 and dopamine transporter (DAT) in VTA. Interestingly, the changes in TH, DRD2 and DAT expression were related to the methylation status of their promoters. In NAc, maternal CAF diet reduced DRD1, DRD2 and DAT expression in the offspring at PND10, although alternations in the methylation patterns were only detected in DAT promoter. These results show the importance of maternal nutrition and provide novel insights into the mechanisms through which maternal junk-food feeding can affect reward system during development and early postnatal life. Particularly important is the expression decline of DRD2 given its physiological implication in obesity and addiction.
This article describes the various steps to analyze and design a multiagent system for real-time traffic control at isolated intersections. The control strategies for traffic signals are important ...because they impact the economy, environment, and society and also affect freight transport, which many researchers have studied over the years. The research community has focused on the optimization of traffic signal plans. Although these efforts have been relatively successful, the strategies lack flexibility, which limits their effectiveness. In addition to defining the best traffic plan at the design phase, researchers must aim to maintain the system optimized during the operation phase. In this way, the research target is to develop an approach for controlling traffic signals that relies on flexibility and maximum freedom in control, in which the system is updated frequently to meet traffic demand, taking into account different traffic users. This study's main outcome is a conceptual model of a novel perspective of a multiagent system for real-time traffic control at isolated intersections. This model, which was based on the Gaia methodology, introduces a new perspective in which each isolated intersection is itself a multiagent system. The many agents designed for isolated intersections create, manage, and evolve their own traffic signal plans. Therefore, this proposed multiagent control brings the benefit of staged designs and sequences being formed as needed instead of being established a priori.
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