Catchment-scale Phosphorus Export through Surface and Drainage Pathways

The site-specific nature of P fate and transport in drained areas exemplifies the need for additional data to guide implementation of conservation practices at the catchment scale. Total P (TP), dissolved reactive P (DRP), and total suspended solids (TSS) were monitored at five sites—two streams, two tile outlets, and a grassed waterway—in three agricultural subwatersheds (221.2–822.5 ha) draining to Black Hawk Lake in western Iowa. Median TP concentrations ranged from 0.034 to 1.490 and 0.008 to 0.055 mg P L−1 for event and baseflow samples, respectively. The majority of P and TSS export occurred during precipitation events and high-flow conditions with greater than 75% of DRP, 66% of TP, and 59% of TSS export occurring during the top 25% of flows from all sites. In one subwatershed, a single event (annual recurrence interval \u3c 1 yr) was responsible for 46.6, 84.0, and 81.0% of the annual export of TP, DRP, and TSS, respectively, indicating that frequent, small storms have the potential to result in extreme losses. Isolated monitoring of surface and drainage transport pathways indicated significant P and TSS losses occurring through drainage; over the 2-yr study period, the drainage pathway was responsible for 69.8, 59.2, and 82.6% of the cumulative TP, DRP, and TSS export, respectively. Finally, the results provided evidence that particulate P losses in drainage were greater than dissolved P losses. Understanding relationships between flow, precipitation, transport pathway, and P fraction at the catchment scale is needed for effective conservation practice implementation

Genetic deletion of skeletal muscle iPLA2γ results in mitochondrial dysfunction, muscle atrophy and alterations in whole-body energy metabolism

Skeletal muscle is the major site of glucose utilization in mammals integrating serum glucose clearance with mitochondrial respiration. To mechanistically elucidate the roles of iPL

Cognitive functioning in young children with type 1 diabetes

OBJECTIVE: To assess cognitive functioning in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and examine whether glycemic history influences cognitive function. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Neuropsychological evaluation of 216 children (healthy controls, n = 72; T1D, n = 144) ages 4-10yrs across five DirecNet sites. Cognitive domains included IQ, Executive Functions, Learning and Memory, and Processing Speed. Behavioral, mood, parental IQ data and T1D glycemic history since diagnosis were collected. RESULTS: The cohorts did not differ in age, gender or parent IQ. Median T1D duration was 2.5yrs and average onset age was 4yrs. After covarying age, gender, and parental IQ, the IQ and the Executive Functions domain scores trended lower (both p = .02, not statistically significant adjusting for multiple comparisons) with T1D relative to controls. Children with T1D were rated by parents as having more depressive and somatic symptoms (p < 0.001). Learning and memory (p = 0.46) and processing speed (p = 0.25) were similar. Trends in the data supported that the degree of hyperglycemia was associated with Executive Functions, and to a lesser extent, Child IQ and Learning and Memory. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in cognition are subtle in young children with T1D within 2 years of onset. Longitudinal evaluations will help determine whether these findings change or become more pronounced with time

Beyond carbon and nitrogen: how the microbial energy economy couples elemental cycles in diverse ecosystems

Microbial metabolism couples elemental reactions, driving biogeochemical cycles. Assimilatory coupling of elemental cycles, such as the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus cycles, occurs when these elements are incorporated into biomass or released through its decomposition. In addition, many microbes are capable of dissimilatory coupling, catalyzing energy-releasing reactions linked to transformations in the oxidation state of elements, and releasing the transformed elements to the environment. Different inorganic elements provide varying amounts of energy yield, and the interaction of these processes creates a microbial energy economy. Dissimilatory reactions involving C, N, iron, and sulfur provide particularly important examples where microbially mediated oxidation–reduction (redox) transformations affect nutrient availability for net primary production, greenhouse-gas emissions, levels of contaminants and natural toxic factors, and other ecosystem dynamics. Recent discoveries of previously unrecognized microbial dissimilatory processes are leading to reevaluation of traditional perceptions of biogeochemical cycles

The Second-Generation Guide Star Catalog: Description and Properties

The GSC-II is an all-sky database of objects derived from the uncompressed DSS that the STScI has created from the Palomar and UK Schmidt survey plates and made available to the community. Like its predecessor (GSC-I), the GSC-II was primarily created to provide guide star information and observation planning support for HST. This version, however, is already employed at some of the ground-based new-technology telescopes such as GEMINI, VLT, and TNG, and will also be used to provide support for the JWST and Gaia space missions as well as LAMOST, one of the major ongoing scientific projects in China. Two catalogs have already been extracted from the GSC-II database and released to the astronomical community. A magnitude-limited (R=18.0) version, GSC2.2, was distributed soon after its production in 2001, while the GSC2.3 release has been available for general access since 2007. The GSC2.3 catalog described in this paper contains astrometry, photometry, and classification for 945,592,683 objects down to the magnitude limit of the plates. Positions are tied to the ICRS; for stellar sources, the all-sky average absolute error per coordinate ranges from 0.2" to 0.28" depending on magnitude. When dealing with extended objects, astrometric errors are 20% worse in the case of galaxies and approximately a factor of 2 worse for blended images. Stellar photometry is determined to 0.13-0.22 mag as a function of magnitude and photographic passbands (B,R,I). Outside of the galactic plane, stellar classification is reliable to at least 90% confidence for magnitudes brighter than R=19.5, and the catalog is complete to R=20.Comment: 52 pages, 33 figures, to be published in AJ August 200

Hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention in boys with cleft lip and palate: relationship to ventromedial prefrontal cortex morphology

The purpose of this study is to evaluate quantitative structural measures of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in boys with isolated clefts of the lip and/or palate (ICLP) relative to a comparison group and to associate measures of brain structure with quantitative measures of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattentiveness. A total of 50 boys with ICLP were compared to 60 healthy boys without clefts. Magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were used to evaluate vmPFC structure. Parents and teachers provided quantitative measures of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattentiveness using the Pediatric Behavior Scale. Boys with ICLP had significantly higher ratings of hyperactivity/impulsivity/inattention (HII) and significantly increased volume of the right vmPFC relative to the comparison group. There was a direct relationship between HII score and vmPFC volume in both the ICLP group and control group, but the relationship was in the opposite direction: in ICLP, the higher the vmPFC volume, the higher the HII score; for the comparison group, the lower the vmPFC volume, the greater the HII score. The vmPFC is a region of the brain that governs behaviors of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention (HII). In boys with ICLP, there are higher levels of HII compared to the controls and this is directly related to a significantly enlarged volume of the right vmPFC. Enlargement of this region of the brain is therefore considered to be pathological in the ICLP group and supports the notion that abnormal brain structure (from abnormal brain development) is the underlying etiology for the abnormal behaviors seen in this population

The Team Keck Treasury Redshift Survey of the GOODS-North Field

We report the results of an extensive imaging and spectroscopic survey in the GOODS-North field completed using DEIMOS on the Keck II telescope. Observations of 2018 targets in a magnitude-limited sample of 2911 objects to R=24.4 yield secure redshifts for a sample of 1440 galaxies and AGN plus 96 stars. In addition to redshifts and associated quality assessments, our catalog also includes photometric and astrometric measurements for all targets detected in our R-band imaging survey of the GOODS-North region. We investigate various sources of incompleteness and find the redshift catalog to be 53% complete at its limiting magnitude. The median redshift of z=0.65 is lower than in similar deep surveys because we did not select against low-redshift targets. Comparison with other redshift surveys in the same field, including a complementary Hawaii-led DEIMOS survey, establishes that our velocity uncertainties are as low as 40 km/s for red galaxies and that our redshift confidence assessments are accurate. The distributions of rest-frame magnitudes and colors among the sample agree well with model predictions out to and beyond z=1. We will release all survey data, including extracted 1-D and sky-subtracted 2-D spectra, thus providing a sizable and homogeneous database for the GOODS-North field which will enable studies of large scale structure, spectral indices, internal galaxy kinematics, and the predictive capabilities of photometric redshifts.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures, submitted to AJ; v2 minor changes; see survey database at http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/realpublic/science/tksurvey

Genome-wide association study identifies a variant in HDAC9 associated with large vessel ischemic stroke

Genetic factors have been implicated in stroke risk but few replicated associations have been reported. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in ischemic stroke and its subtypes in 3,548 cases and 5,972 controls, all of European ancestry. Replication of potential signals was performed in 5,859 cases and 6,281 controls. We replicated reported associations between variants close to PITX2 and ZFHX3 with cardioembolic stroke, and a 9p21 locus with large vessel stroke. We identified a novel association for a SNP within the histone deacetylase 9(HDAC9) gene on chromosome 7p21.1 which was associated with large vessel stroke including additional replication in a further 735 cases and 28583 controls (rs11984041, combined P = 1.87×10−11, OR=1.42 (95% CI) 1.28-1.57). All four loci exhibit evidence for heterogeneity of effect across the stroke subtypes, with some, and possibly all, affecting risk for only one subtype. This suggests differing genetic architectures for different stroke subtypes

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

Abiotic Input of Fixed Nitrogen by Bolide Impacts to Gale Crater During the Hesperian : Insights From the Mars Science Laboratory

We acknowledge the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Program, Centre National d'Études Spatiales, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (PAPIIT IN109416, IN111619, and PAPIME PE103216), and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de México (CONACyT 220626) for their support. We thank Fred Calef for constructing Figure 4 and appreciate the interest and support received from John P. Grotzinger and Joy A. Crisp throughout the Curiosity mission. The authors are grateful to the SAM and MSL teams for successful operation of the SAM instrument and the Curiosity rover. The data used in this paper are listed in the supporting information, figures, and references. SAM Data contained in this paper are publicly available through the NASA Planetary Data System at http://pds‐geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/sam.htm. We would like to express gratitude to Pierre‐Yves Meslin from the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology at Toulouse, France, and five anonymous reviewers whose comments/suggestions on earlier drafts helped improve and clarify this manuscript. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.Peer reviewedPublisher PD