Alterations in the brain-gut system have been implicated in various disease states, but little is known about how early-life adversity (ELA) impacts development and adult health as mediated by brain-gut interactions. We hypothesize that ELA disrupts components of the brain-gut system, thereby increasing susceptibility to disordered mood. In a sample of 128 healthy adult participants, a history of ELA and current stress, depression, and anxiety were assessed using validated questionnaires. Fecal metabolites were measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomic profiling. Functional brain connectivity was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. Sparse partial least squares-discriminant analysis, controlling for sex, body mass index, age, and diet was used to predict brain-gut alterations as a function of ELA. ELA was correlated with four gut-regulated metabolites within the glutamate pathway (5-oxoproline, malate, urate, and glutamate gamma methyl ester) and alterations in functional brain connectivity within primarily sensorimotor, salience, and central executive networks. Integrated analyses revealed significant associations between these metabolites, functional brain connectivity, and scores for perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. This study reveals a novel association between a history of ELA, alterations in the brain-gut axis, and increased vulnerability to negative mood and stress. Results from the study raise the hypothesis that select gut-regulated metabolites may contribute to the adverse effects of critical period stress on neural development via pathways related to glutamatergic excitotoxicity and oxidative stress.

Aim: For 80 years, popular opinion has held that most of Madagascar's terrestrial vertebrates arrived from Africa by transoceanic dispersal (i.e. rafting or swimming). We reviewed this proposition, focussing on three ad hoc hypotheses proposed to render this unlikely scenario more feasible: (a) Could hibernation have helped mammals to reach Madagascar? (b) Could the aquatic abilities of hippopotamuses have enabled them to swim the Mozambique Channel? (c) How valid is the Ali-Huber model predicting that eastward Palaeogene surface currents allowed rafts to reach Madagascar in 3-4 weeks? Finally, we explored the alternative hypothesis of geodispersal via short-lived land bridges between Africa and Madagascar.

Abstract. The early Eocene (∼55 Ma) was the warmest period of the Cenozoic and was most likely characterized by extremely high atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Here, we analyze simulations of the early Eocene performed with the IPSL-CM5A2 Earth system model, set up with paleogeographic reconstructions of this period from the DeepMIP project and with different levels of atmospheric CO2. When compared with proxy-based reconstructions, the simulations reasonably capture both the reconstructed amplitude and pattern of early Eocene sea surface temperature. A comparison with simulations of modern conditions allows us to explore the changes in ocean circulation and the resulting ocean meridional heat transport. At a CO2 level of 840 ppm, the early Eocene simulation is characterized by a strong abyssal overturning circulation in the Southern Hemisphere (40 Sv at 60∘ S), fed by deepwater formation in the three sectors of the Southern Ocean. Deep convection in the Southern Ocean is favored by the closed Drake and Tasmanian passages, which provide western boundaries for the buildup of strong subpolar gyres in the Weddell and Ross seas, in the middle of which convection develops. The strong overturning circulation, associated with subpolar gyres, sustains the poleward advection of saline subtropical water to the convective regions in the Southern Ocean, thereby maintaining deepwater formation. This salt–advection feedback mechanism is akin to that responsible for the present-day North Atlantic overturning circulation. The strong abyssal overturning circulation in the 55 Ma simulations primarily results in an enhanced poleward ocean heat transport by 0.3–0.7 PW in the Southern Hemisphere compared to modern conditions, reaching 1.7 PW southward at 20∘ S, and contributes to keeping the Southern Ocean and Antarctica warm in the Eocene. Simulations with different atmospheric CO2 levels show that ocean circulation and heat transport are relatively insensitive to CO2 doubling.

A novel, simple, and general method for preparing a highly dispersed supported metal catalyst was developed by modification of a silica surface with ethylene glycol (EG) before the impregnation of cobalt precursors. The modified surface of the silica support significantly improved the dispersion of supported cobalt oxide and formed more Co 3þ species on the surface of Co 3 O 4 particles, resulting in very high catalytic activity in CO oxidation. The obtained catalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM, and XPS.

Large uncertainties exist in Holocene climate estimates, especially for the early Holocene when large‐scale reorganization occurred in the climate system. To improve our understanding of these uncertainties, we compare four Holocene simulations performed with the LOVECLIM, CCSM3, HadCM3 and FAMOUS climate models. The simulations are generally consistent for the large‐scale Northern Hemisphere extratropics, while the multi‐simulation consistencies are heterogeneous on the sub‐continental scale. Consistently simulated temperature trends are found in Greenland, northern Canada, north‐eastern and north‐western Europe, and central‐west Siberia. These Holocene temperatures show a pattern of an early Holocene warming, mid‐Holocene warmth and gradual decrease towards the pre‐industrial in winter, and the extent of early Holocene warming varies spatially, with 9 °C warming in northern Canada compared with 3 °C warming in central‐west Siberia. In contrast, mismatched temperatures are detected: in Alaska, the warm early Holocene winter in LOVECLIM primarily results from strongly enhanced southerly winds induced by the ice sheets; in eastern Siberia, the intense early‐Holocene summer warmth anomaly in CCSM3 is caused by large negative albedo anomalies due to overestimated snow cover at 0 ka; in the Arctic, cool winter conditons in FAMOUS can be attributed to extensive sea ice coverage probably due to simplified sea ice representations. Thus, the Holocene temperature trends in these regions remain inconclusive.

Abstract. The early Holocene is marked by the final transition from the last deglaciation to the relatively warm Holocene. Proxy-based temperature reconstructions suggest a Northern Hemisphere warming, but also indicate important regional differences. Model studies have analyzed the influence of diminishing ice sheets and other forcings on the climate system during the Holocene. The climate response to forcings before 9 kyr BP (referred to hereafter as kyr), however, remains not fully comprehended. We therefore studied, by employing the LOVECLIM climate model, how orbital and ice-sheet forcings contributed to climate change and to these regional differences during the earliest part of the Holocene (11.5–7 kyr). Our equilibrium experiment for 11.5 kyr suggests lower annual mean temperatures at the onset of the Holocene than in the preindustrial era with the exception of Alaska. The magnitude of this cool anomaly varied regionally, and these spatial patterns are broadly consistent with proxy-based reconstructions. Temperatures throughout the whole year in northern Canada and northwestern Europe for 11.5 kyr were 2–5 °C lower than those of the preindustrial era as the climate was strongly influenced by the cooling effect of the ice sheets, which was caused by enhanced surface albedo and ice-sheet orography. In contrast, temperatures in Alaska for all seasons for the same period were 0.5–3 °C higher than the control run, which were caused by a combination of orbital forcing and stronger southerly winds that advected warm air from the south in response to prevailing high air pressure over the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). The transient experiments indicate a highly inhomogeneous early Holocene temperature warming over different regions. The climate in Alaska was constantly cooling over the whole Holocene, whereas there was an overall fast early Holocene warming in northern Canada by more than 1 °C kyr−1 as a consequence of progressive LIS decay. Comparisons of simulated temperatures with proxy records illustrate uncertainties related to the reconstruction of ice-sheet melting, and such a kind of comparison has the potential to constrain the uncertainties in ice-sheet reconstruction. Overall, our results demonstrate the variability of the climate during the early Holocene, both in terms of spatial patterns and temporal evolution.

Questions We investigated the changing role of climate, forest fires and human population size in the broad‐scale compositional changes in Holocene vegetation dynamics before and after the onset of farming in Sweden (at 6,000 cal yr BP) and in Finland (at 4,000 cal yr BP). Location Southern and central Sweden, SW and SE Finland. Methods Holocene regional plant abundances were reconstructed using the REVEALS model on selected fossil pollen records from lakes. The relative importance of climate, fires and human population size on changes in vegetation composition was assessed using variation partitioning. Past climate variable was derived from the LOVECLIM climate model. Fire variable was reconstructed from sedimentary charcoal records. Estimated trend in human population size was based on the temporal distribution of archaeological radiocarbon dates. Results Climate explains the highest proportion of variation in vegetation composition during the whole study period in Sweden (10,000–4,000 cal yr BP) and in Finland (10,000–1,000 cal yr BP), and during the pre‐agricultural period. In general, fires explain a relatively low proportion of variation. Human population size has significant effect on vegetation dynamics after the onset of farming and explains the highest variation in vegetation in S Sweden and SW Finland. Conclusions Mesolithic hunter‐gatherer populations did not significantly affect vegetation composition in Fennoscandia, and climate was the main driver of changes at that time. Agricultural communities, however, had greater effect on vegetation dynamics, and the role of human population size became a more important factor during the late Holocene. Our results demonstrate that climate can be considered the main driver of long‐term vegetation dynamics in Fennoscandia. However, in some regions the influence of human population size on Holocene vegetation changes exceeded that of climate and has a longevity dating to the early Neolithic.

No abstract