Reactive oxygen species may play an essential role in driving biological evolution: The Cambrian Explosion as an example

The Cambrian Explosion is one of the most significant events in the history of life; essentially all easily fossilizable animal body plans first evolved during this event. Although many theories have been proposed to explain this event, its cause remains unresolved. Here, we propose that the elevated level of oxygen, in combination with the increased mobility and food intake of metazoans, led to increased cellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which drove evolution by enhancing mutation rates and providing new regulatory mechanisms. Our hypothesis may provide a unified explanation for the Cambrian Explosion as it incorporates both environmental and developmental factors and is also consistent with ecological explanations for animal radiation. Future studies should focus on testing this hypothesis, and may lead to important insights into evolution.     

The Early Miocene Cape Melville Formation fossil assemblage and the evolution of modern Antarctic marine communities

The fossil community from the Early Miocene Cape Melville Formation (King George Island, Antarctica) does not show the archaic retrograde nature of modern Antarctic marine communities, despite evidence, such as the presence of dropstones, diamictites and striated rocks, that it was deposited in a glacial environment. Unlike modern Antarctic settings, and the upper units of the Eocene La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island, Antarctica, which are 10 million years older, the Cape Melville Formation community is not dominated by sessile suspension feeding ophiuroids, crinoids or brachiopods. Instead, it is dominated by infaunal bivalves, with a significant component of decapods, similar to present day South American settings. It is possible that the archaic retrograde structure of the modern community did not fully evolve until relatively recently, maybe due to factors such as further cooling and isolation of the continent leading to glaciations, which resulted in a loss of shallow shelf habitats.     

The integration of methanogenesis with denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation in an expanded granular sludge bed reactor

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Chemical evolution: The first stages

The available data on the syntheses of critically important precursor molecules for chemical evolution are reviewed and problems of rates of production versus rates of destruction in the primitive ocean are discussed. It is concluded that many global chemical syntheses would have been improbable in the Earth's oceans and that more attention should be paid to specific environments which would have favored such syntheses. The recent discovery of an accelerating effect of formaldehyde on the oligomerization of HCN as well as the eutectic-concentration mechanism are discussed in relation to a new scenario for chemical evolution on the primitive Earth.     

The roles of cleaner production in the sustainable development of modern societies: an introduction to this special issue

This issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production is based upon papers presented at the 1st International Workshop Advances in Cleaner Production (CP) held in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2007. The conference had the short-term purpose of deepening the Brazilian discussion on “The Roles of Cleaner Production in the Sustainable Development of Modern Societies”, and it had the long-term objective of providing an on-going interdisciplinary forum for knowledge development and exchange on Cleaner Production (CP) and Sustainable Development. This issue is devoted to papers covering a broad range of perspectives of CP practices and strategies. A special focus is placed upon methodological tools designed to support effective decision-making pertaining to quantitative benefits from CP.The ten papers provide insights from research designed to holistically integrate CP to help society make effective progress to sustainability. Papers cover the importance of informal knowledge, as complementary to formal knowledge, in performing effective ‘Environmental Impact Assessments.’ One paper explores the roles of radical and incremental innovation in the context of alternative automotive technologies. Benefits of Ecodesign are explored in two papers; one concerning its integration with remanufacturing to extend the life of used products and one focusing the adoption of ‘Emergy Environmental Accounting,’ as a complementary decision-making tool. The development of the Brazilian LCI database for ‘hydroelectric power generation’ and its contribution to support regionally relevant LCA studies is highlighted in one paper. The complete production chains of biodiesel and bioethanol are evaluated by using global methodologies, which help in the development of more objective and effective solutions. A “compensatory area”, calculated in terms of emergy, is proposed in order to work in a sustainable way for bamboo production. Finally, a paper about a novel approach for recycling used PET is also included.     

The integration of methanogenesis with denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation in an expaned granular sludge bed reactor

The integration of methanogenesis with denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) was studied in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor in this work. Experimental results from the continuous treatment of wastewater with nitrite and ammonium, which lasted for 107 days, demonstrated that wastewater with high nitrite and ammonium could be anaerobically treated in an expanded granular sludge bed reactor. More than 91% to 97% of COD were removed at up to about 3.9 g COD/(L x d) of COD volumetric loading rate. More than 97% to 100% of nitrite was denitrified at up to about 0.8 g NO2(-) -N/(L x d), which is 16 times higher than that in a conventional activated sludge system with nitrification/denitrification (0.05 gN/(L x d)). No dissimilatory reduction of nitrite to ammonium occurred in the process. However, maximum of about 40% ammonium was found to be lost. Batch tests of 15 days with sludge from the reactor showed that 100% of nitrite was denitrified completely, and about 3% of ammonium was removed when only ammonium (34.3 mg/L) and nitrite (34.3 mg/ L) were added into the sludge suspension medium. Furthermore, about 15% of ammonium amounts were lost with organic COD addition. It suggested that the methanogenesis in the system could enhance ANAMMOX because of intermediate hydrogen produced during methanogenesis.     

Deoxyribonucleotide synthesis and the emergence of DNA in molecular evolution

DNA replication requires monomeric deoxyribonucleotides, which cannot be regarded as primary products of organic syntheses on a primitive earth. However, the present biosynthetic pathway — reductive elimination of the 2′-OH group from ribonucleotides, catalyzed by ribonucleotide reductases and thioredoxins — suggests an early, polyphyletic combination of protein-nucleotide interactions and metal catalysis. That key process had to precede the upcome of RNA-DNA dualism on the way from RNA-protein protocells to true organisms.     

Hummingbird with modern feathering: an exceptionally well-preserved Oligocene fossil from southern France

Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) today have an exclusively New World distribution, but their pre-Pleistocene fossil record comes from Europe only. In this study, we describe an exceptionally preserved fossil hummingbird from the early Oligocene of southeastern France. The specimen is articulated, with a completely preserved beak and feathering. Osteological characters allow to identify it as Eurotrochilus sp. This genus is a stem group representative of Trochilidae and was recently described from the early Oligocene of southern Germany. The new fossil reveals that these European Trochilidae were remarkably modern in size, skeletal proportions and the shape of the wing, tail and beak and hyoid bones. These features confirm the early acquisition of the abilities of hovering and nectarivory in hummingbirds, probably before the Oligocene. In several morphological characteristics, they resemble members of the 'true hummingbirds' (subfamily Trochilinae) and differ from hermits (Phaethornithinae). These features, which include a short and square tail and a moderately long, almost straight beak, appear to be primitive within the family Trochilidae.     

Evaluation and classification of severity for 176 genes on an expanded carrier screening panel

Background

Disease severity is important when considering genes for inclusion on reproductive expanded carrier screening (ECS) panels. We applied a validated and previously published algorithm that classifies diseases into four severity categories (mild, moderate, severe, and profound) to 176 genes screened by ECS. Disease traits defining severity categories in the algorithm were then mapped to four severity-related ECS panel design criteria cited by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

Methods

Eight genetic counselors (GCs) and four medical geneticists (MDs) applied the severity algorithm to subsets of 176 genes. MDs and GCs then determined by group consensus how each of these disease traits mapped to ACOG severity criteria, enabling determination of the number of ACOG severity criteria met by each gene.

Results

Upon consensus GC and MD application of the severity algorithm, 68 (39%) genes were classified as profound, 71 (40%) as severe, 36 (20%) as moderate, and one (1%) as mild. After mapping of disease traits to ACOG severity criteria, 170 out of 176 genes (96.6%) were found to meet at least one of the four criteria, 129 genes (73.3%) met at least two, 73 genes (41.5%) met at least three, and 17 genes (9.7%) met all four.

Conclusion

This study classified the severity of a large set of Mendelian genes by collaborative clinical expert application of a trait-based algorithm. Further, it operationalized difficult to interpret ACOG severity criteria via mapping of disease traits, thereby promoting consistency of ACOG criteria interpretation.

     

碳酸盐岩对Fe2+生物氧化及铁矿物合成的影响

利用从高硫煤矸石堆场浸出液中培养驯化获得的氧化亚铁硫杆菌（Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans,A.f）,通过静态实验,探讨添加不同量的碳酸盐岩对酸性硫酸盐体系中Fe²⁺生物氧化速率及次生铁矿物合成的影响.结果表明：添加10 g和30 g碳酸盐岩不会对体系中pH、氧化还原电位（ORP）和Fe²⁺生物氧化速率产生明显影响,但总铁（TFe）的去除率可从37%分别提高到55%和62%,矿物生成量也从8.17 g·L^-1分别增加到12.03 g·L^-1和13.69 g·L^-1;同时,体系中合成的次生铁矿物相与不加碳酸盐岩时无明显变化,主要为黄铁矾和施氏矿物的混合物.随着碳酸盐岩添加量增至50、70和90 g时,体系pH快速上升,Fe²⁺生物氧化速率受到抑制,并产生大量结晶程度较好的硫酸钙,形成的铁矿物主要为纤铁矿或针铁矿.而适量的碳酸盐岩添加可使体系中产生Ca²⁺和Mg²⁺,从而影响次生铁矿物的合成.因此,在以碳酸盐岩为反应介质的酸性矿山废水处理工艺设计中,可通过添加A.f菌并控制碳酸盐岩投加量,强化系统中Fe²⁺生物氧化及次生矿物的合成,从而进一步提高反应系统对TFe的去除效果.     

The predictability of evolution: glimpses into a post-Darwinian world

The very success of the Darwinian explanation, in not only demonstrating evolution from multiple lines of evidence but also in providing some plausible explanations, paradoxically seems to have served to have stifled explorations into other areas of investigation. The fact of evolution is now almost universally yoked to the assumption that its outcomes are random, trends are little more than drunkard’s walks, and most evolutionary products are masterpieces of improvisation and far from perfect. But is this correct? Let us consider some alternatives. Is there evidence that evolution could in anyway be predictable? Can we identify alternative forms of biological organizations and if so how viable are they? Why are some molecules so extraordinarily versatile, while others can be spoken of as “molecules of choice”? How fortuitous are the major transitions in the history of life? What implications might this have for the Tree of Life? To what extent is evolutionary diversification constrained or facilitated by prior states? Are evolutionary outcomes merely sufficient or alternatively are they highly efficient, even superb? Here I argue that in sharp contradistinction to an orthodox Darwinian view, not only is evolution much more predictable than generally assumed but also investigation of its organizational substrates, including those of sensory systems, which indicates that it is possible to identify a predictability to the process and outcomes of evolution. If correct, the implications may be of some significance, not least in separating the unexceptional Darwinian mechanisms from underlying organizational principles, which may indicate evolutionary inevitabilities.     

庆阳市环境-经济耦合系统动态演变趋势分析:基于能值理论与计量经济分析模型

分析了1978～2007年庆阳市环境-经济系统的能值流量与能值效率的演变轨迹.并以环境负荷率(ELR)、能值废弃率(EWR)作为环境压力指标,运用协整检验、Granger因果检验和向量误差修正模型(VECM),通过分析人均GDP与环境压力指标变量之间在时序维度上的因果关系和相互影响程度,进一步阐述经济与环境系统的耦合关系及其动态特征.结果表明,庆阳市经济发展对不可更新资源的依赖度大,环境-经济系统的产出效率总体下降,但环境负荷不断上升.计量分析表明,经济增长与环境压力之间存在单向因果关系,且已形成"恶性循环圈",环境-经济耦合系统表现出不可持续的发展态势.     

The number of queens: An important trait in ant evolution

The pervasive social and ecological differences between ant colonies that have a single queen and those that have multiple queens are defined. The evolutionary tendencies which lead to polygyny and the adaptive significance of multiple queens are examined. The discussion of the ecological consequences of polygyny and monogyny leads to a deeper understanding of territoriality, spacing and species packing in ants.