Holocene palaeoenvironmental history and the impact of prehistoric salt production in the Seille Valley, Eastern France

The Seille Valley in eastern France was home to one of Europe’s largest Iron Age salt industries. Sedimentology, palynology and geochronology have been integrated within ongoing archaeological investigations to reconstruct the Holocene palaeoenvironmental history of the Seille Valley and to elucidate the human–environment relationship of salt production. A sedimentary model of the valley has been constructed from a borehole survey of the floodplain and pollen analyses have been undertaken to reconstruct the vegetation history. Alluvial records have been successfully dated using optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon techniques, thereby providing a robust chronological framework. The results have provided an insight into the development of favourable conditions for salt production and there is evidence in the sedimentary record to suggest that salt production may have taken place during the mid-to-late Bronze Age. The latter has yet to be identified in the archaeological record and targeted excavation is therefore underway to test this finding. The development of the Iron Age industry had a major impact on the hydrological regime of the valley and its sedimentological history, with evidence for accelerated alluviation arising from floodplain erosion at salt production sites and modification of the local fluvial regime due to briquetage accumulation on the floodplain. This research provides an important insight into the environmental implications of early industrial activities, in addition to advancing knowledge about the Holocene palaeoenvironmental and social history of this previously poorly studied region of France.

c-Cbl mediates ubiquitination, degradation, and down-regulation of human protease-activated receptor 2

Mechanisms that arrest G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling prevent uncontrolled stimulation that could cause disease. Although uncoupling from heterotrimeric G-proteins, which transiently arrests signaling, is well described, little is known about the mechanisms that permanently arrest signaling. Here we reported on the mechanisms that terminate signaling by protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR(2)), which mediated the proinflammatory and nociceptive actions of proteases. Given its irreversible mechanism of proteolytic activation, PAR(2) is a model to study the permanent arrest of GPCR signaling. By immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting, we observed that activated PAR(2) was mono-ubiquitinated. Immunofluorescence indicated that activated PAR(2) translocated from the plasma membrane to early endosomes and lysosomes where it was degraded, as determined by immunoblotting. Mutant PAR(2) lacking intracellular lysine residues (PAR(2)Delta14K/R) was expressed at the plasma membrane and signaled normally but was not ubiquitinated. Activated PAR(2) Delta14K/R internalized but was retained in early endosomes and avoided lysosomal degradation. Activation of wild type PAR(2) stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of the ubiquitin-protein isopeptide ligase c-Cbl and promoted its interaction with PAR(2) at the plasma membrane and in endosomes in an Src-dependent manner. Dominant negative c-Cbl lacking the ring finger domain inhibited PAR(2) ubiquitination and induced retention in early endosomes, thereby impeding lysosomal degradation. Although wild type PAR(2) was degraded, and recovery of agonist responses required synthesis of new receptors, lysine mutation and dominant negative c-Cbl impeded receptor ubiquitination and degradation and allowed PAR(2) to recycle and continue to signal. Thus, c-Cbl mediated ubiquitination and lysosomal degradation of PAR(2) to irrevocably terminate signaling by this and perhaps other GPCRs.

Risk assessment of UK skylark populations using life-history and individual-based landscape models

Abstract: Following a workshop exercise, two models, an individual-based landscape model (IBLM) and a non-spatial life-history model were used to assess the impact of a fictitious insecticide on populations of skylarks in the UK. The chosen population endpoints were abundance, population growth rate, and the chances of population persistence. Both models used the same life-history descriptors and toxicity profiles as the basis for their parameter inputs. The models differed in that exposure was a pre-determined parameter in the life-history model, but an emergent property of the IBLM, and the IBLM required a landscape structure as an input. The model outputs were qualitatively similar between the two models. Under conditions dominated by winter wheat, both models predicted a population decline that was worsened by the use of the insecticide. Under broader habitat conditions, population declines were only predicted for the scenarios where the insecticide was added. Inputs to the models are very different, with the IBLM requiring a large volume of data in order to achieve the flexibility of being able to integrate a range of environmental and behavioural factors. The life-history model has very few explicit data inputs, but some of these relied on extensive prior modelling needing additional data as described in Roelofs et al.(2005, this volume). Both models have strengths and weaknesses; hence the ideal approach is that of combining the use of both simple and comprehensive modeling tools.

Hippurate: the natural history of a mammalian-microbial co-metabolite

Hippurate, the glycine conjugate of benzoic acid, is a normal constituent of the endogenous urinary metabolite profile and has long been associated with the microbial degradation of certain dietary components, hepatic function and toluene exposure, and is also commonly used as a measure of renal clearance. Here we discuss the potential relevance of hippurate excretion with regards to normal endogenous metabolism and trends in excretion relating to gender, age, and the intestinal microbiota. Additionally, the significance of hippurate excretion with regards to disease states including obesity, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, impaired renal function, psychological disorders and autism, as well as toxicity and parasitic infection, are considered.

Fire history and the Global Charcoal Database: a new tool for hypothesis testing and data exploration

Version 1 of the Global Charcoal Database is now available for regional fire history reconstructions, data exploration, hypothesis testing, and evaluation of coupled climate–vegetation–fire model simulations. The charcoal database contains over 400 radiocarbon-dated records that document changes in charcoal abundance during the Late Quaternary. The aim of this public database is to stimulate cross-disciplinary research in fire sciences targeted at an increased understanding of the controls and impacts of natural and anthropogenic fire regimes on centennial-to-orbital timescales. We describe here the data standardization techniques for comparing multiple types of sedimentary charcoal records. Version 1 of the Global Charcoal Database has been used to characterize global and regional patterns in fire activity since the last glacial maximum. Recent studies using the charcoal database have explored the relation between climate and fire during periods of rapid climate change, including evidence of fire activity during the Younger Dryas Chronozone, and during the past two millennia.

The climate and environment of Byzantine Anatolia: integrating science, history, and archaeology

The integration of high-resolution archaeological, textual, and environmental data with longer-term, low-resolution data affords greater precision in identifying some of the causal relationships underlying societal change. Regional and microregional case studies about the Byzantine world—in particular, Anatolia, which for several centuries was the heart of that world—reveal many of the difficulties that researchers face when attempting to assess the influence of environmental factors on human society. The Anatolian case challenges a number of assumptions about the impact of climatic factors on socio-political organization and medium-term historical evolution, highlighting the importance of further collaboration between historians, archaeologists, and climate scientists.

Activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinases and p38-mitogen-activated protein kinases in human heart failure secondary to ischaemic heart disease.

Three well-characterized mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) subfamilies are expressed in rodent and rabbit hearts, and are activated by pathophysiological stimuli. We have determined and compared the expression and activation of these MAPKs in donor and failing human hearts. The amount and activation of MAPKs was assessed in samples from the left ventricles of 4 unused donor hearts and 12 explanted hearts from patients with heart failure secondary to ischaemic heart disease. Total MAPKs or dually phosphorylated (activated) MAPKs were detected by Western blotting and MAPK activities were measured by in gel kinase assays. As in rat heart, c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) were detected in human hearts as bands corresponding to 46 and 54 kDa; p38-MAPK(s) was detected as a band corresponding to approximately 40 kDa, and extracellularly regulated kinases, ERK1 and ERK2, were detected as 44- and 42-kDa bands respectively. The total amounts of 54 kDa JNK, p38-MAPK and ERK2 were similar in all samples, although 46-kDa JNK was reduced in the failing hearts. However, the mean activities of JNKs and p38-MAPK(s) were significantly higher in failing heart samples than in those from donor hearts (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in phosphorylated (activated) ERKs between the two groups. In conclusion, JNKs, p38-MAPK(s) and ERKs are expressed in the human heart and the activities of JNKs and p38-MAPK(s) were increased in heart failure secondary to ischaemic heart disease. These data indicate that JNKs and p38-MAPKs may be important in human cardiac pathology.

Patterns of oocyte development in natural habitat and captive Salminus hilarii Valenciennes, 1850 (Teleostei: Characidae)

Fecundity and oocyte development in Salminus hilarii female brood stock were analyzed with the aim of investigating the impact of migration impediment on oogenesis. Histological analyses of the ovaries were performed in adult females caught in two different environments-the TietA(a) River (natural) and captivity-and the gonadossomatic index, oocyte diameter and fecundity determined. Five germ cell development stages (oogonium, perinucleolar, cortical alveoli, vitellogenic, ripe) and two other structures (postovulatory follicles and atretic oocytes) were observed in females caught in the river. Captive animals lacked the ripe oocytes and postovulatory follicles and had a relatively higher number of atretic oocytes. Females in captivity are known to produce larger oocytes, and they release fewer eggs in each spawn (absolute fecundity) when compared with animals that are able to migrate. Our results suggest that the TietA(a) River is undergoing alterations which are being reflected in the reproductive performance of S. hilarii, mainly due to the presence of atretic oocytes in females caught in the river. The lack of postovulatory follicles and ripe oocytes in captive animals reveals that migratory impediment negatively impacts final oocyte maturation. However, the stage of maturation reached is adequate for ovulation induction with hormone manipulation.

Mechanisms of TL for production of the 230 degrees C peak in natural sodalite

The thermoluminescence (TL) peak in natural sodalite near 230 degrees C which appears only after submitted to thermal treatments and to gamma irradiation has been studied in parallel with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum appearing under the same procedure This study revealed a full correlation between the 230 degrees C TL peak and the eleven hyperfine lines from EPR spectrum In both case the centers disappear at the same temperature and are restored after gamma irradiation A complete model for the 230 C TL peak is presented and discussed In addition to the correlation and TL model specific characteristics of the TL peaks are described (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved

Covalent attachment of 3,4,9,10-perylenediimides onto the walls of mesoporous molecular sieves MCM-41 and SBA-15

This work describes the covalent grafting of 3,4,9,10-perylenediimides (PDI), which are fluorescent dyes with very interesting optical properties, onto the walls of mesoporous molecular sieves MCM-41 and SBA-15. The mesoporous materials were first treated with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) in anhydrous toluene, generating amine-containing surfaces. The amine-containing materials were then reacted with 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCA), generating surface-grafted PDI. Infrared spectra of the materials showed that the reaction with amino groups took place at both anhydride ends of the PTCA molecule, resulting in surface attached diimides. No sign of unreacted anhydride groups were found. The new materials, designated as MCMN2PDI and SBAN(2)PDI, presented absorption and emission spectra corresponding to weakly coupled PDI chromophores, in contrast to the strongly coupled rings usually found in solid PDI samples. The materials showed a red fluorescence, which could be observed by the naked eye under UV irradiation or with a fluorescence microscope. The PDI-modified mesoporous materials showed electrical conductivity when pressed into a pellet. The results presented here show that the new materials are potentially useful in the design of nanowires. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structure-antimicrobial activity of some natural isocoumarins and their analogues

Three naturally occurring isocoumarins (paepalantine, paepalantine 9-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside and paepalantine 90-beta-D-allopyranosyl(1 -> 6) glucopyranoside) and two semi-synthetic analogues, 9,10-acylated compound and 9-OH-10-methylated compound,. structurally similar to paepalantine, were evaluated for antimicrobial activity using a spectrophotometric microdilution technique. The paepalantine was active against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and E faecalis. while the other four compounds proved ineffective against all microorganisms tested at concentrations of 500 mu g/ml. Variations in phenolic substitution at OH-9 and/or OH-10 in the paepalantine molecule resulted in compounds without antimicrobial activity. A combination of structural features, two phenolic groups as cathecolic system, forms an oxygenated system arrangement that may reflect the potentially antimicrobial properties of paepalantine. (c) 2004 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.