Search results for "GC"
showing 10 items of 606 documents
Gene expression levels influence amino acid usage and evolutionary rates in endosymbiotic bacteria
2005
International audience; Most endosymbiotic bacteria have extremely reduced genomes, accelerated evolutionary rates, and strong AT base compositional bias thought to reflect reduced efficacy of selection and increased mutational pressure. Here, we present a comparative study of evolutionary forces shaping five fully sequenced bacterial endosymbionts of insects. The results of this study were three-fold: (i) Stronger conservation of high expression genes at not just nonsynonymous, but also synonymous, sites. (ii) Variation in amino acid usage strongly correlates with GC content and expression level of genes. This pattern is largely explained by greater conservation of high expression genes, l…
Interspecific variation of inflorescence scents and insect visitors in Allium (Amaryllidaceae: Allioideae)
2019
Allium is a large monocotyledonous genus, with many species of high economic importance. Knowledge of the pollination biology and the chemical ecology of pollination in this genus is far from being complete. We studied flower visitors of some Allium species in their native habitat and how these interaction partners communicate by olfactory cues. Floral volatiles of five Mediterranean species were investigated by dynamic headspace and thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS). Floral visitors were observed and captured. The physiological activity of scent components in antennae of flower visitors and congeneric species was tested by gas chromatographic/electroantenno…
Spatial variability of macrozoobenthic community and trophic structure of a subtropical lagoon on southeastern Brazil's Atlantic coast
2013
The objective of this study was to investigate the macrobenthic community of two compartments of the Maricá-Guarapina lagoon system, along the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in relation to its abiotic sediment factors. An additional discrimination between sites was made, wherever the macrophyte Typha domingensis was found. This vegetation supposedly represents a potentially important food source for consumers. Furthermore, the trophic pathways were analyzed functionally by means of stable isotope analysis to assess the role of organic matter sources for consumers in the study area. In conclusion, the results showed differences between abiotic features in the compartments of the lagoon sys…
Contributions of terrestrial organic carbon to northern lake sediments
2017
Abstract Sediments of northern lakes sequester large amounts of organic carbon (OC), but direct evidence of the relative importance of their sources is lacking. We used stable isotope ratios of nonexchangeable hydrogen (δ2Hn) in topsoil, algae, and surface sediments in order to measure the relative contribution of terrestrial OC in surface sediments of 14 mountainous arctic and lowland boreal lakes in Sweden. The terrestrial contribution to the sediment OC pool was on average 66% (range 46–80) and similar between arctic and boreal lakes. Proxies for the supply of terrestrial and algal OC explained trends in the relative contribution of terrestrial OC across lakes. However, the data suggest …
Effect of Seasonal Storage on Single-Stem Bark Extractives of Norway Spruce (Picea abies)
2021
Increasing the net value of forestry side-streams has both ecological as well as economic benefits for emerging biorefining industries. Spruce bark represents one of the nature’s abundant sources of valuable extractives. In this study, the impact of storage on the quality and quantity of Norway spruce (Picea abies) extractives was examined as a function of storage time, environmental conditions and season (i.e., winter or summer). The bark from stored spruce saw logs was extracted with an accelerated solvent extractor (ASE) at 120 °C with hexane and water. The produced extracts were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively by gas chromatography with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) and…
Two-Dimensional Numerical Modelling of a Moored Floating Body under Sloping Seabed Conditions
2020
A coupled floating body-mooring line model is developed by combining a boundary element model for a two-dimensional floating body and a catenary mooring line model. The boundary element model is formulated in the time domain by a continuous Rankine source, and a reflection potential is introduced to account for the wave reflection due to sloping seabed. This newly developed model is validated by comparisons against available data. Then, dynamic response analyses are performed for the moored body in various seabed conditions. Compared with a flat seabed, a sloping seabed causes unsymmetrical mooring line configuration and generates noticeable effects in the motion responses of the floating b…
Applying Biomimicry to Cities: The Forest as Model for Urban Planning and Design
2021
International audience; The idea of applying biomimicry to cities is attracting increasing attention as a way of achieving sustainability. Undoubtedly the most frequently evoked natural model in this context is the forest, though it has not yet been investigated with any great scientific rigour. To overcome this lacuna, we provide: first, a justification of the model of the forest via what we call the arguments from “fittingness”, “scale”, and “complexity”; second, an exploration of various key innovations made possible by this model in the fields of urban planning, urban water systems, urban energy and transport systems, and urban food and nutrient systems.
Specifications for carbonate content quantification in recent marine sediments using Rock-Eval pyrolysis
2019
11 pages; International audience; The amount of CaCO3 in sediments and/or sedimentary rocks is usually measured by calcimetry while the nature of the carbonates is determined by X-ray diffraction. Recently, a carbonate recognition method based on the results of Rock-Eval pyrolysis was proposed in 2014 by Pillot et al. [1]. Rock-Eval pyrolysis is also widely used for the characterization of recent sediments. However, later in 2015 Baudin et al. [2] noticed that some of the characteristics of recent sediments tended to produce different results from those of more classical Rock-Eval analyses, causing bias in interpretations.In this study, the thermal stability of fossil and recent marine carb…
Traffic data acquirement by unmanned aerial vehicle
2017
This paper presents a methodology aimed to acquire traffic flow data through the employment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The study is focused on the determination of driving behavior parameters of road users and on the reconstruction of traffic flow Origin/Destination matrix. The methodology integrates UAV flights with video image processing technique, and the capability of geographic information systems, to represent spatiotemporal phenomena. In particular, analyzing different intersections, the attention of the authors is focused on users’ gap acceptance in a naturalistic drivers’ behavior condition (drivers are not influenced by the presence of instruments and operators on the roa…
Mechanisms of action of metformin in type 2 diabetes: Effects on mitochondria and leukocyte-endothelium interactions.
2020
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a very prevalent, multisystemic, chronic metabolic disorder closely related to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. It is characterised by mitochondrial dysfunction and the presence of oxidative stress. Metformin is one of the safest and most effective anti-hyperglycaemic agents currently employed as first-line oral therapy for T2D. It has demonstrated additional beneficial effects, unrelated to its hypoglycaemic action, on weight loss and several diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders and metabolic diseases, including thyroid diseases. Despite the vast clinical experience gained over several decades of use, the mechanism of action of metformin i…