Direct north-south synchroniszation of abrupt climate change record in ice cores using Beryllium 10

A new, decadally resolved record of the 10Be peak at 41 kyr from the EPICA Dome C ice core (Antarctica) is used to match it with the same peak in the GRIP ice core (Greenland). This permits a direct synchronisation of the climatic variations around this time period, independent of uncertainties related to the ice age-gas age difference in ice cores. Dansgaard-Oeschger event 10 is in the period of best synchronisation and is found to be coeval with an Antarctic temperature maximum. Simulations using a thermal bipolar seesaw model agree reasonably well with the observed relative climate chronology in these two cores. They also reproduce three Antarctic warming events observed between A1 and A2.

Percutaneous aortic valve replacement for severe aortic regurgitation in degenerated bioprosthesis: the first valve in valve procedure using the Corevalve Revalving system

Percutaneous valve replacement for severe aortic stenosis has shown to be an alternative treatment option for non-surgical candidates. We report on the first successful valve in valve procedure in an 80-year-old patient with a severe regurgitation of a degenerated aortic bioprosthesis using the Corevalve Revalving system.

First Record of Freshwater Fish on the Cape Verdean Archipelago

The Cape Verdean islands form a distinct aquatic freshwater ecoregion characterized mainly by temporal water bodies with an adapted invertebrate community. Freshwater fish were not previously recorded from the archipelago. During a non-exhaustive survey of freshwater bodies on five islands of the archipelago, the first presence of a freshwater fish was recorded. Using barcoding sequences, the species was identified as the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a highly invasive species alien to the Cape Verdean Islands.

Precambrian to Paleozoic zircon record in the Siviez-Mischabel basement (western Swiss Alps)

U–Pb zircon analyses from three meta-igneous and two metasedimentary rocks from the Siviez-Mischabel nappe in the western Swiss Alps are presented, and are used to derive an evolutionary history spanning from Paleoarchean crustal growth to Permian magmatism. The oldest components are preserved in zircons from metasedimentary albitic schists. The oldest zircon core in these schists is 3.4 Ga old. Detrital zircons reveal episodes of crustal growth in the Neoarchean (2.7–2.5 Ga), Paleoproterozoic (2.2–1.9 Ma) and Neoproterozoic (800–550 Ma, Pan-African event). The maximum age of deposition for the metasedimentary rocks is given by the youngest detrital zircons within both metasedimentary samples dated at ~490 Ma (Cambrian-Ordovician boundary). This is in the age range of two granitoid samples dated at 505 ± 4 and 482 ± 7 Ma, and indicates sedimentation and magmatism in an extensional setting preceding an Ordovician orogeny. The third felsic meta-igneous rock gives a Permian age of intrusion, and is part of a long-lasting Variscan to post-Variscan magmatic activity. The zircons record only minor disturbance of the U–Pb system during the Alpine orogeny.

Specificities of Caenorhabditis elegans and human hairpin binding proteins for the first nucleotide in the histone mRNA hairpin loop.

The 3' ends of animal replication-dependent histone mRNAs are formed by endonucleolytic cleavage of the primary transcripts downstream of a highly conserved RNA hairpin. The hairpin-binding protein (HBP) binds to this RNA element and is involved in histone RNA 3' processing. A minimal RNA-binding domain (RBD) of approximately 73 amino acids that has no similarity with other known RNA-binding motifs was identified in human HBP [Wang Z-F et al., Genes & Dev, 1996, 10:3028-3040]. The primary sequence identity between human and Caenorhabditis elegans RBDs is 55% compared to 38% for the full-length proteins. We analyzed whether differences between C. elegans and human HBP and hairpins are reflected in the specificity of RNA binding. The C. elegans HBP and its RBD recognize only their cognate RNA hairpins, whereas the human HBP or RBD can bind both the mammalian and the C. elegans hairpins. This selectivity of C. elegans HBP is mostly mediated by the first nucleotide in the loop, which is C in C. elegans and U in all other metazoans. By converting amino acids in the human RBD to the corresponding C. elegans residues at places where the latter deviates from the consensus, we could identify two amino acid segments that contribute to selectivity for the first nucleotide of the hairpin loop.

Training Module for ALS Moderators: Report on conceptual and methodological aspects of the first workshop in Pemba Metuge, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, April 2005

Report on conceptual and methodological aspects of the first workshop for training moderators and trainers in ALS and sustainable management of natural resources, in Pemba Metuge, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, April 2005.