Changes in arsenic mobility and speciation across a 2000-year-old paddy soil chronosequence.

Rice accumulates arsenic (As) when cultivated under flooded conditions in paddy soils threatening rice yield or its safety for human consumption, depending on As speciation. During long-term paddy use, repeated redox cycles systematically alter soil biogeochemistry and microbiology. In the present study, incubation experiments from a 2000-year-old paddy soil chronosequence revealed that As mobilization and speciation also change with paddy soil age.

Novel findings from 2,838 Adult Brains on Sex Differences in Gray Matter Brain Volume.

There is still disagreement among studies with respect to the magnitude, location, and direction of sex differences of local gray matter volume (GMV) in the human brain. Here, we applied a state-of-the-art technique examining GMV in a well-powered sample (n = 2,838) validating effects in two independent general-population cohorts, age range 21-90 years, measured using the same MRI scanner. More GMV in women than in men was prominent in medial and lateral prefrontal areas, the superior temporal sulcus, the posterior insula, and orbitofrontal cortex.

Anaerobic Microbial Degradation of Hydrocarbons: From Enzymatic Reactions to the Environment.

Hydrocarbons are abundant in anoxic environments and pose biochemical challenges to their anaerobic degradation by microorganisms. Within the framework of the Priority Program 1319, investigations funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft on the anaerobic microbial degradation of hydrocarbons ranged from isolation and enrichment of hitherto unknown hydrocarbon-degrading anaerobic microorganisms, discovery of novel reactions, detailed studies of enzyme mechanisms and structures to process-oriented in situ studies. Selected highlights from this program are collected in this synopsis, with more detailed information provided by theme-focused reviews of the special topic issue on 'Anaerobic biodegradation of hydrocarbons' [this issue, pp.

Preferential localization of human origins of DNA replication at the 5'-ends of expressed genes and at evolutionarily conserved DNA sequences.

Background: Replication of mammalian genomes requires the activation of thousands of origins which are both spatially and temporally regulated by as yet unknown mechanisms. At the most fundamental level, our knowledge about the distribution pattern of origins in each of the chromosomes, among different cell types, and whether the physiological state of the cells alters this distribution is at present very limited.

Methodology/principal Findings: We have used standard λ-exonuclease resistant nascent DNA preparations in the size range of 0.

Development of an optimized multimarker strategy for early risk assessment of patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Background: A multitude of biomarkers have been suggested for early risk-assessment in patients admitted to the emergency department with suspected acute coronary syndromes. We used logistic regression synergistically with classification and regression tree (CART) analysis to define a multimarker strategy and the cut-off values and sequencing needed to optimize risk stratification in a low to moderate risk population of the emergency department.

Methods: 432 unselected patients (59.