We present a high-resolution seawater radiocarbon (Δ14C) record from a Porites coral collected from Masthead Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) covering the years 1945–2017. The Δ14C values from 1945–1953 (pre-bomb era) averaged –49‰. As a result of bomb-produced 14C in the atmosphere, Δ14C values started to rise rapidly from 1959, levelled off at ∼131‰ in the late 1970s and gradually decreased to ∼40.3‰ by 2017 due to the decrease in the air-sea 14C gradient and the overturning of the 14C ocean reservoir (i.e., surface ocean to subsurface ocean; atmosphere to surface ocean). The Masthead Island record is in agreement with previous 14C coral records from the southern GBR. A comparison between surface ocean and atmospheric Δ14C suggests that, since 2010, the main reservoir of bomb-derived 14C has shifted from the atmosphere to the surface ocean, potentially resulting in reversed 14C flux in regions where the CO2 gradient is favorable. The high-resolution Masthead coral Δ14C sheds light on long-term variability in air-sea exchange and GBR regional ocean dynamics associated with climate change and in conjunction with the previous records provides a robust seawater 14C reference series to date other carbonate samples.

The c. 1.5–1.3 Ga Wilton package, the upper succession of the greater McArthur Basin, preserves detailed tectono-sedimentary evidence for the Mesoproterozoic evolution of the North Australian Craton (NAC). In addition, it is a valuable global sedimentary repository for the poorly explored Mesoproterozoic. New detrital zircon U–Pb age and Lu–Hf isotope data, collected from multiple, geographically separated, basins that make up the Wilton package, are compiled with previously published data to illuminate the basin evolution. The spatial and temporal variation in sedimentary provenance illustrates two major geographic changes that correspond to continent-scale tectonic convulsions of the NAC during the Mesoproterozoic. The first is shown by the influx of sediment sourced from east and southeast terranes. This is linked to rifting between Proterozoic Australia and Laurentia at c. 1.45 Ga, resulting in the uplift of the eastern margin of the NAC–SAC (South Australian Craton). The second basin geographic change is illustrated by a flux of southerly-sourced detritus that is interpreted to be tectonically driven by the uplift of the southern NAC, during the subduction/closure of the Mirning Ocean at c. 1.32 Ga. Spatially, sediment in the Wilton package is separated into two depositional systems: sedimentary rocks within the Birrindudu Basin, the western component of the Wilton package, have different detrital signatures relative to other Wilton package successions found east of the Daly Waters Fault Zone, in the Beetaloo Sub-basin, the McArthur Basin and the South Nicholson Basin. The Daly Waters Fault Zone is interpreted as an ancient bathymetric high, blocking sediment transport. Although they differ in sources, rocks in both the Birrindudu Basin and the eastern Wilton package record coeval shifts of basin provenance to southern sources. The coherent evolution of basin provenance indicates a consistent tectono-sedimentation history, and links the Birrindudu Basin and the other Wilton successions in a tectonic framework.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a common pathogen associated with nosocomial infections and is characterised serologically by capsular polysaccharide (K) and lipopolysaccharide O antigens. We surveyed a total of 348 non-duplicate K. pneumoniae clinical isolates collected over a 1-year period in a tertiary care hospital, and determined their O and K serotypes by sequencing of the wbb Y and wzi gene loci, respectively. Isolates were also screened for antimicrobial resistance and hypervirulent phenotypes; 94 (27.0%) were identified as carbapenem-resistant (CRKP) and 110 (31.6%) as hypervirulent (hvKP). isolates fell into 58 K, and six O types, with 92.0% and 94.2% typeability, respectively. The predominant K types were K14K64 (16.38%), K1 (14.66%), K2 (8.05%) and K57 (5.46%), while O1 (46%), O2a (27.9%) and O3 (11.8%) were the most common. CRKP and hvKP strains had different serotype distributions with O2a:K14K64 (41.0%) being the most frequent among CRKP, and O1:K1 (26.4%) and O1:K2 (17.3%) among hvKP strains. Serotyping by gene sequencing proved to be a useful tool to inform the clinical epidemiology of K. pneumoniae infections and provides valuable data relevant to vaccine design.

The classical taxonomy of fossil invertebrates is based on subjective judgments of morphology, which can cause confusion, because there are no codified standards for the classification of genera. Here, we explore the validity of the genus taxonomy of 75 species and morphospecies of the Follicucullidae, a late Paleozoic family of radiolarians, using a new method, Hayashi's quantification theory II (HQT-II), a general multivariate statistical method for categorical datasets relevant to discriminant analysis. We identify a scheme of 10 genera rather than the currently accepted 3 genera (Follicucullus, Ishigaconus, and Parafollicucullus). As HQT-II cannot incorporate stratigraphic data, a phylogenetic tree of Follicucullidae was reconstructed for 38 species using maximum parsimony. Six lineages emerged, roughly in concordance with the results of HQT-II. Combined with parsimony ancestral state reconstruction, the ancestral group of this family is Haplodiacanthus. Five other groups were discriminated, the Parafollicucullus, Curvalbaillella, Pseudoalbaillella, Longtanella, and Follicucullus–Cariver lineages. The morphological evolution of these lineages comprises a minimum essential list of eight states of four traits. HQT-II is a novel discriminant analytical multivariate method that may be of value in other taxonomic problems of paleobiology.

Toxoplasma gondii infections are common in humans and animals worldwide. Domestic free-range chickens (Gallus domesticus) are excellent sentinels of environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts because they feed on the ground. Chickens can be easily infected with T. gondii; however, clinical toxoplasmosis is rare in these hosts. Chickens are comparatively inexpensive and thus are good sentinel animals for T. gondii infections on the farms. Here, the authors reviewed prevalence, the persistence of infection, clinical disease, epidemiology and genetic diversity of T. gondii strains isolated from chickens worldwide for the past decade. Data on phenotypic and molecular characteristics of 794 viable T. gondii strains from chickens are discussed, including new data on T. gondii isolates from chickens in Brazil. This paper will be of interest to biologists, epidemiologists, veterinarians and parasitologists.

Development of high energy density solid-state batteries with Li metal anodes has been limited by uncontrollable growth of Li dendrites in liquid and solid electrolytes (SEs). This, in part, may be caused by a dearth of information about mechanical properties of Li, especially at the nano- and microlength scales and microstructures relevant to Li batteries. We investigate Li electrodeposited in a commercial LiCoO2/LiPON/Cu solid-state thin-film cell, grown in situ in a scanning electron microscope equipped with nanomechanical capabilities. Experiments demonstrate that Li was preferentially deposited at the LiPON/Cu interface along the valleys that mimic the domain boundaries of underlying LiCoO2 (cathode). Cryogenic electron microscopy analysis of electrodeposited Li revealed a single-crystalline microstructure, and in situ nanocompression experiments on nano-pillars with 360–759 nm diameters revealed their average Young's modulus to be 6.76 ± 2.88 GPa with an average yield stress of 16.0 ± 6.82 MPa, ~24x higher than what has been reported for bulk polycrystalline Li. We discuss mechanical deformation mechanisms, stiffness, and strength of nano-sized electrodeposited Li in the framework of its microstructure and dislocation-governed nanoscale plasticity of crystals, and place it in the parameter space of existing knowledge on small-scale Li mechanics. The enhanced strength of Li at small scales may explain why it can penetrate and fracture through much stiffer and harder SEs than theoretically predicted.

Previous work led to the proposal that the precision feeding of a high-concentrate diet may represent a potential method with which to enhance feed efficiency (FE) when rearing dairy heifers. However, the physiological and metabolic mechanisms underlying this approach remain unclear. This study used metabolomics analysis to investigate the changes in plasma metabolites of heifers precision-fed diets containing a wide range of forage to concentrate ratios. Twenty-four half-sib Holstein heifers, with a similar body condition, were randomly assigned into four groups and precision fed with diets containing different proportions of concentrate (20%, 40%, 60% and 80% based on DM). After 28 days of feeding, blood samples were collected 6 h after morning feeding and gas chromatography time-of-flight/MS was used to analyze the plasma samples. Parameters of oxidative status were also determined in the plasma. The FE (after being corrected for gut fill) increased linearly (P < 0.01) with increasing level of dietary concentrate. Significant changes were identified for 38 different metabolites in the plasma of heifers fed different dietary forage to concentrate ratios. The main pathways showing alterations were clustered into those relating to carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism; all of which have been previously associated with FE changes in ruminants. Heifers fed with a high-concentrate diet had higher (P < 0.01) plasma total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase but lower (P ≤ 0.02) hydroxyl radical and hydrogen peroxide than heifers fed with a low-concentrate diet, which might indicate a lower plasma oxidative status in the heifers fed a high-concentrate diet. Thus, heifers fed with a high-concentrate diet had higher FE and antioxidant capacity but a lower plasma oxidative status as well as changed carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. Our findings provide a better understanding of how forage to concentrate ratios affect FE and metabolism in the precision-fed growing heifers.

Phytase has long been used to decrease the inorganic phosphorus (Pi) input in poultry diet. The current study was conducted to investigate the effects of Pi supplementation on laying performance, egg quality and phosphate–calcium metabolism in Hy-Line Brown laying hens fed phytase. Layers (n = 504, 29 weeks old) were randomly assigned to seven treatments with six replicates of 12 birds. The corn–soybean meal-based diet contained 0.12% non-phytate phosphorus (nPP), 3.8% calcium, 2415 IU/kg vitamin D3 and 2000 FTU/kg phytase. Inorganic phosphorus (in the form of mono-dicalcium phosphate) was added into the basal diet to construct seven experimental diets; the final dietary nPP levels were 0.12%, 0.17%, 0.22%, 0.27%, 0.32%, 0.37% and 0.42%. The feeding trial lasted 12 weeks (hens from 29 to 40 weeks of age). Laying performance (housed laying rate, egg weight, egg mass, daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio) was weekly calculated. Egg quality (egg shape index, shell strength, shell thickness, albumen height, yolk colour and Haugh units), serum parameters (calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D), tibia quality (breaking strength, and calcium, phosphorus and ash contents), intestinal gene expression (type IIb sodium-dependent phosphate cotransporter, NaPi-IIb) and phosphorus excretion were determined at the end of the trial. No differences were observed on laying performance, egg quality, serum parameters and tibia quality. Hens fed 0.17% nPP had increased (P < 0.01) duodenum NaPi-IIb expression compared to all other treatments. Phosphorus excretion linearly increased with an increase in dietary nPP (phosphorus excretion = 1.7916 × nPP + 0.2157; R2 = 0.9609, P = 0.001). In conclusion, corn–soybean meal-based diets containing 0.12% nPP, 3.8% calcium, 2415 IU/kg vitamin D3 and 2000 FTU/kg phytase would meet the requirements for egg production in Hy-Line Brown laying hens (29 to 40 weeks of age).

X-ray reference powder patterns and structures have been determined for a series of cobalt- and tungsten-containing cubic alkaline-earth perovskites, (BaxSr1–x)2CoWO6 (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9). The structure of the end members of the series, Sr2CoWO6 and Ba2CoWO6, were tetragonal and cubic, respectively, agreeing with the literature data. From Rietveld refinements, it was found that when x = 0.1 and 0.2, the structure was tetragonal I4/m (a = 5.60481(6) and 5.62305(11) Å and c = 7.97989(12) and 7.9847(2) Å, respectively; Z = 2). When x > 0.2, the structure was cubic (Fm$\bar{3}$m, No. 225; Z = 4) (from x = 0.3 to 0.9, a increases from 7.98399(13) to 8.08871(10) Å). This tetragonal series of compounds exhibit the characteristics of a distorted double-perovskite structure. The bond valence sum values for the alkaline-earth (Ba, Sr) sites in all (BaxSr1−x)2CoWO6 members are greater than the ideal value of 2.0, indicating over-bonding situation, whereas for the W sites, as x increases, a change from under-bonding to slightly over-bonding situation was observed. Density functional theory calculations revealed that while Sr2CoWO6 is a semiconductor, Ba2CoWO6 and SrBaCoWO6 are half-metals. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns of this series of compounds (BaxSr1−x)2CoWO6, with x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9, have been submitted to be included in the Powder Diffraction File.