Correlative geochemical imaging of Desmophyllum dianthus reveals biomineralisation strategy as a key coral vital effect.

The chemical and isotopic composition of stony coral skeletons form an important archive of past climate. However, these reconstructions are largely based on empirical relationships often complicated by "vital effects" arising from uncertain physiological processes of the coral holobiont. The skeletons of deep-sea corals, such as Desmophyllum dianthus, are characterised by micron-scale or larger geochemical heterogeneity associated with: (1) centres of calcification (COCs) where nucleation of new skeleton begins, and (2) fibres that thicken the skeleton.

UV damage induces production of mitochondrial DNA fragments with specific length profiles.

UV light is a potent mutagen that induces bulky DNA damage in the form of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). Photodamage and other bulky lesions occurring in nuclear genomes can be repaired through nucleotide excision repair (NER), where incisions on both sides of a damaged site precede the removal of a single-stranded oligonucleotide containing the damage. Mitochondrial genomes (mtDNAs) are also susceptible to damage from UV light, but current evidence suggests that the only way to eliminate bulky mtDNA damage is through mtDNA degradation.

Arctic and Antarctic forcing of ocean interior warming during the last deglaciation.

Subsurface water masses formed at high latitudes impact the latitudinal distribution of heat in the ocean. Yet uncertainty surrounding the timing of low-latitude warming during the last deglaciation (18-10 ka) means that controls on sub-surface temperature rise remain unclear. Here we present seawater temperature records on a precise common age-scale from East Equatorial Pacific (EEP), Equatorial Atlantic, and Southern Ocean intermediate waters using new Li/Mg records from cold water corals.

UV damage induces production of mitochondrial DNA fragments with specific length profiles.

UV light is a potent mutagen that induces bulky DNA damage in the form of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). In eukaryotic cells, photodamage and other bulky lesions occurring in nuclear genomes (nucDNAs) can be repaired through nucleotide excision repair (NER), where dual incisions on both sides of a damaged site precede the removal of a single-stranded oligonucleotide containing the damage. Mitochondrial genomes (mtDNAs) are also susceptible to damage from UV light, but current views hold that the only way to eliminate bulky DNA damage in mtDNAs is through mtDNA degradation.

Enhanced subglacial discharge from Antarctica during meltwater pulse 1A.

Subglacial discharge from the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) likely played a crucial role in the loss of the ice sheet and the subsequent rise in sea level during the last deglaciation. However, no direct proxy is currently available to document subglacial discharge from the AIS, which leaves significant gaps in our understanding of the complex interactions between subglacial discharge and ice-sheet stability. Here we present deep-sea coral U/U records from the Drake Passage in the Southern Ocean to track subglacial discharge from the AIS.

Life on the edge-a changing genetic landscape within an iconic American pika metapopulation over the last half century.

Declines and extirpations of American pika ( populations at historically occupied sites started being documented in the literature during the early 2000s. Commensurate with global climate change, many of these losses at peripheral and lower elevation sites have been associated with changes in ambient air temperature and precipitation regimes. Here, we report on a decline in available genetic resources for an iconic American pika metapopulation, located at the southwestern edge of the species distribution in the Bodie Hills of eastern California, USA.

Direct Observation of Ni Nanoparticle Growth in Carbon-Supported Nickel under Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation Atmosphere.

Understanding nanoparticle growth is crucial to increase the lifetime of supported metal catalysts. In this study, we employ gas-phase transmission electron microscopy to visualize the movement and growth of ensembles of tens of nickel nanoparticles supported on carbon for CO hydrogenation at atmospheric pressure (H:CO = 4:1) and relevant temperature (450 °C) in real time. We observe two modes of particle movement with an order of magnitude difference in velocity: fast, intermittent movement ( = 0.

Reaction-Induced Metal-Metal Oxide Interactions in Pd-In O /ZrO Catalysts Drive Selective and Stable CO Hydrogenation to Methanol.

Ternary Pd-In O /ZrO catalysts exhibit technological potential for CO -based methanol synthesis, but developing scalable systems and comprehending complex dynamic behaviors of the active phase, promoter, and carrier are key for achieving high productivity. Here, we show that the structure of Pd-In O /ZrO systems prepared by wet impregnation evolves under CO hydrogenation conditions into a selective and stable architecture, independent of the order of addition of Pd and In phases on the zirconia carrier. Detailed operando characterization and simulations reveal a rapid restructuring driven by the metal-metal oxide interaction energetics.

Wildfire facilitates upslope advance in a shade-intolerant but not a shade-tolerant conifer.

Wildfires may facilitate climate tracking of forest species moving upslope or north in latitude. For subalpine tree species, for which higher elevation habitat is limited, accelerated replacement by lower elevation montane tree species following fire may hasten extinction risk. We used a dataset of postfire tree regeneration spanning a broad geographic range to ask whether the fire facilitated upslope movement of montane tree species at the montane-to-subalpine ecotone.

Manganese Oxide as a Promoter for Copper Catalysts in CO and CO Hydrogenation.

In this work, we discuss the role of manganese oxide as a promoter in Cu catalysts supported on graphitic carbon during hydrogenation of CO and CO. MnO is a selectivity modifier in an H/CO feed and is a highly effective activity promoter in an H/CO feed. Interestingly, the presence of MnO suppresses the methanol formation from CO (TOF of 0.

Competition between reverse water gas shift reaction and methanol synthesis from CO: influence of copper particle size.

Converting CO into value-added chemicals and fuels, such as methanol, is a promising approach to limit the environmental impact of human activities. Conventional methanol synthesis catalysts have shown limited efficiency and poor stability in a CO/H mixture. To design improved catalysts, crucial for the effective utilization of CO, an in-depth understanding of the active sites and reaction mechanism is desired.

Stylasterid corals build aragonite skeletons in undersaturated water despite low pH at the site of calcification.

Anthropogenic carbon emissions are causing seawater pH to decline, yet the impact on marine calcifiers is uncertain. Scleractinian corals and coralline algae strongly elevate the pH of their calcifying fluid (CF) to promote calcification. Other organisms adopt less energetically demanding calcification approaches but restrict their habitat.

Microfabrication Enables Quantification of Interfacial Activity in Thermal Catalysis.

A myriad of heterogeneous catalysts comprises multiple phases that need to be precisely structured to exert their maximal contribution to performance through electronic and structural interactions at their peripheries. In view of the nanometric, tridimensional, and anisotropic nature of these materials, a quantification of the interface and the impact of catalytic sites located there on the global performance is a highly challenging task. Consequently, the true origin of catalysis often remains subject of debate even for widely studied materials.

Noncanonical outcomes of break-induced replication produce complex, extremely long-tract gene conversion events in yeast.

Long-tract gene conversions (LTGC) can result from the repair of collapsed replication forks, and several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how the repair process produces this outcome. We studied LTGC events produced from repair collapsed forks at yeast fragile site FS2. Our analysis included chromosome sizing by contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis, next-generation whole-genome sequencing, and Sanger sequencing across repair event junctions.

Highly Potent SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization by Intravenous Immunoglobulins manufactured from Post-COVID-19 and COVID-19-Vaccinated Plasma Donations.

From September 2020, some immunoglobulin lots from US plasma contained neutralizing antibodies against the newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Paralleled by the increasing numbers of post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) donors, immunoglobulin lot antibody positivity increased to 93% by January 2021, at a mean titer of approximately 30 IU/mL. The correlation predicted that anti-SARS-CoV-2 potency would reach 345 IU/mL by July 2021.

Methanol Synthesis by Hydrogenation of Hybrid CO -CO Feeds.

The impact of carbon monoxide on CO -to-methanol catalysts has been scarcely investigated, although CO will comprise up to half of the carbon feedstock, depending on the origin of CO and process configuration. In this study, copper-based systems and ZnO-ZrO are assessed in cycling experiments with hybrid CO -CO feeds and their CO sensitivity is compared to In O -based materials. All catalysts are found to be promoted upon CO addition.

Nanostructure of nickel-promoted indium oxide catalysts drives selectivity in CO hydrogenation.

Metal promotion in heterogeneous catalysis requires nanoscale-precision architectures to attain maximized and durable benefits. Herein, we unravel the complex interplay between nanostructure and product selectivity of nickel-promoted InO in CO hydrogenation to methanol through in-depth characterization, theoretical simulations, and kinetic analyses. Up to 10 wt.

Longitudinal analysis of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 8000 U.S. first-time convalescent plasma donations.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent individuals carry antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that, through a plasma donation, can be used as a potential therapeutic either in direct transfusion or for the manufacture of hyperimmune globulin (HIG). The success of such interventions depends on the antibody potency in such plasma donations, but little information on the collection of potent units is currently available.

Study Design And Methods: A total of 8749 plasma units, collected from April until September 2020 from first-time U.

Effects of postfire climate and seed availability on postfire conifer regeneration.

Large, severe fires are becoming more frequent in many forest types across the western United States and have resulted in tree mortality across tens of thousands of hectares. Conifer regeneration in these areas is limited because seeds must travel long distances to reach the interior of large burned patches and establishment is jeopardized by increasingly hot and dry conditions. To better inform postfire management in low elevation forests of California, USA, we collected 5-yr postfire recovery data from 1,234 study plots in 19 wildfires that burned from 2004-2012 and 18 yrs of seed production data from 216 seed fall traps (1999-2017).

Rapid shifts in circulation and biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean during deglacial carbon cycle events.

The Southern Ocean plays a crucial role in regulating atmospheric CO on centennial to millennial time scales. However, observations of sufficient resolution to explore this have been lacking. Here, we report high-resolution, multiproxy records based on precisely dated deep-sea corals from the Southern Ocean.

Morphological, elemental, and boron isotopic insights into pathophysiology of diseased coral growth anomalies.

Coral growth anomalies (GAs) are tumor-like lesions that are detrimental to colony fitness and are commonly associated with high human population density, yet little is known about the disease pathology or calcification behavior. SEM imagery, skeletal trace elements and boron isotopes (δB) have been combined as a novel approach to study coral disease. Low Mg/Ca, and high U/Ca, Mo/Ca, and V/Ca potentially suggest a decreased abundance of "centers of calcification" and nitrogen-fixation in GAs.

Atomic-scale engineering of indium oxide promotion by palladium for methanol production via CO hydrogenation.

Metal promotion is broadly applied to enhance the performance of heterogeneous catalysts to fulfill industrial requirements. Still, generating and quantifying the effect of the promoter speciation that exclusively introduces desired properties and ensures proximity to or accommodation within the active site and durability upon reaction is very challenging. Recently, InO was discovered as a highly selective and stable catalyst for green methanol production from CO.

Habitat restoration opportunities, climatic niche contraction, and conservation biogeography in California's San Joaquin Desert.

A recent global trend toward retirement of farmland presents opportunities to reclaim habitat for threatened and endangered species. We examine habitat restoration opportunities in one of the world's most converted landscapes, California's San Joaquin Desert (SJD). Despite the presence of 35 threatened and endangered species, agricultural expansion continues to drive habitat loss in the SJD, even as marginal farmland is retired.

Rhizosphere interactions between copper oxide nanoparticles and wheat root exudates in a sand matrix: Influences on copper bioavailability and uptake.

The impact of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) on crop production is dependent on the biogeochemistry of Cu in the rooting zone of the plant. The present study addressed the metabolites in wheat root exudates that increased dissolution of CuONPs and whether solubility correlated with Cu uptake into the plant. Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum cv.

Apparent climate-mediated loss and fragmentation of core habitat of the American pika in the Northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA.

Contemporary climate change has been widely documented as the apparent cause of range contraction at the edge of many species distributions but documentation of climate change as a cause of extirpation and fragmentation of the interior of a species' core habitat has been lacking. Here, we report the extirpation of the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a temperature-sensitive small mammal, from a 165-km2 area located within its core habitat in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. While sites surrounding the area still maintain pikas, radiocarbon analyses of pika fecal pellets recovered within this area indicate that former patch occupancy ranges from before 1955, the beginning of the atmospheric spike in radiocarbon associated with above ground atomic bomb testing, to c.