South Asian monsoon induced weathering and erosion inputs into the Bay of Bengal during the Miocene: Evidence from clay radiogenic isotope compositions

The South Asian monsoon (SAM) is a major component of the global climate system and influences the lives of more than a billion people. Despite its importance, it remains difficult to predict. Thus, it is crucial to understand how the monsoon behaved in the past under different boundary conditions such as a warmer world with reduced continental ice cover as we may experience in the near future and to apply this knowledge for the improvement of future projections. Furthermore, feedbacks which operate between the various forcing mechanisms of the monsoon, such as tectonics and climate as well as the associated changes in weathering and erosion regimes in the catchment areas of the SAM, need to be better understood on tectonic to orbital timescales. To disentangle these different controls, geochemical records for International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1443 in the southern Bay of Bengal were produced that cover the middle to late Miocene (15.8-5 Ma). Radiogenic strontium, neodymium, hafnium and lead isotope compositions of detrital clays are used to infer changes in the provenance of the sediments supplied to the Ninetyeast Ridge and the prevailing weathering regime in the catchment of the Bay of Bengal. The study of orbital-resolution intervals of the middle Miocene (15.8-9.5 Ma) as well as of a 100 kyr resolution record of the late Miocene (9-5 Ma) allow tectonic and climatic forcing of changes recorded in the detrital clay radiogenic isotope record to be distinguished based on timing. The individual contributions from different erosional sources overall remained remarkably constant during the middle to late Miocene, despite major tectonic reorganizations in the Himalayas. The major contributing lithologies were the High Himalayan Crystalline, the Tethyan Sedimentary Series and the Indo-Burman Ranges. However, on orbital timescales, the high-resolution data from the five middle Miocene intervals show marked fluctuations of the radiogenic Sr, Nd and Pb isotope systems. Interestingly, their variability decreased markedly at 13.5 Ma after the middle Miocene global cooling step. This change is attributed to a major restriction on the supply of High Himalayan erosion products due to climatically-induced migration of the peak precipitation area towards the frontal domains of the Himalayas and the Indo-Burman Ranges. These transient orbital-scale fluctuations of the radiogenic isotope signals were mainly triggered by climatically-driven changes in the balance of source contributions. The presence of a significant 30 kyr periodicity in the Nd isotope record suggests that changes of the location of peak monsoon precipitation between higher and lower elevations influencing weathering regimes on land exerted a major control on those short-term fluctuations. At 7.3 Ma, Nd and Pb isotope compositions indicate a switch in provenance of the clays transported to the Ninetyeast Ridge and contributions from the Irrawaddy River became more dominant. This change happened at the same time as the decline in global benthic δ13C which was associated with the expansion of grasslands on land. Global cooling as well as increasing aridity likely resulted in a shift of the areas of highest precipitation to the Indo-Burman Ranges. An increase in Sr isotope compositions between 6 and 5 Ma was decoupled from Nd and Pb isotope signatures and likely indicates enhanced chemical weathering intensities in the catchments of the Ganges-Brahmaputra and Irrawaddy Rivers. A possible mechanism responsible for increased chemical weathering may have been the expansion of grassland which generated thick, easily weatherable soils as well as increased exposure of continental shelves. To better disentangle the silicate weathering intensity signal from changes in source provenance, coupled Nd and Hf isotope compositions were used to infer changes in silicate weathering intensities. Deviations of the Hf isotope compositions from the array defined by global clays (∆εHf clay) exhibited some of the highest values measured to date suggesting the prevalence of extreme chemical weathering intensity under tropical warm and wet climate conditions during the Miocene. Secondary clays incorporated highly radiogenic Hf from weathering solutions that obtained their signatures through the dissolution of labile mineral phases carrying those radiogenic Hf signatures. The extremely high ∆εHf clay values were likely generated by a combination of highly weathered sediments and substantial erosion in tropical environments with intense seasonal precipitation, as is the case for seasonal monsoon rains on the floodplains surrounding the Bay of Bengal

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Spiritual Care Simulation and Companion Performance Checklist for a Veteran Using a Standardized Patient

Background Spiritual care is a professional mandate in nursing. Patients want and benefit from spiritual care, but nurses report lack of education and uncertainty on how to integrate spiritual care into practice. Simulation can evaluate nurses’ ability to provide spiritual care but must be evidence-based and requires psychometric evaluation. Method A spiritual care simulation for a veteran and performance checklist were created based on literature review and were psychometrically evaluated. Forty RNs participated in the simulation and completed the Spiritual Care Inventory. The participants, the standardized patient and independent observer completed the performance checklist. Results Findings supported content, face, construct and predictive validity as well as interrater reliability. Conclusions Simulation can be used to teach spiritual care

Enhanced Late Miocene Chemical Weathering and Altered Precipitation Patterns in the Watersheds of the Bay of Bengal Recorded by Detrital Clay Radiogenic Isotopes

The late Miocene was a period of declining CO2 levels and extensive environmental changes, which likely had a large impact on monsoon strength as well as on the weathering and erosion intensity in the South Asian Monsoon domain. To improve our understanding of these feedback systems, detrital clays from the southern Bay of Bengal (International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1443) were analyzed for the radiogenic isotope compositions of Sr, Nd, and Pb to reconstruct changes in sediment provenance and weathering regime related to South Asian Monsoon rainfall from 9 to 5 Ma. The 100 kyr resolution late Miocene to earliest Pliocene record suggests overall low variability in the provenance of clays deposited on the Ninetyeast Ridge. However, at 7.3 Ma, Nd and Pb isotope compositions indicate a switch to an increased relative contribution from the Irrawaddy River (by ∼10%). This shift occurred during the global benthic δ13C decline, and we suggest that global cooling and increasing aridity resulted in an eastward shift of precipitation patterns leading to a more focused erosion of the Indo‐Burman Ranges. Sr isotope compositions were decoupled from Nd and Pb isotope signatures and became more radiogenic between 6 and 5 Ma. Grassland expansion generating thick, easily weatherable soils may have led to an environment supporting intense chemical weathering, which is likely responsible for the elevated detrital clay 87Sr/86Sr ratios during this time. This change in Sr isotope signatures may also have contributed to the late Miocene increase of the global seawater Sr isotope composition

TV of the future-hybrid and interactively : Analysis of the user’s acceptance of interactive television services at the example of Smart-TV & HbbTV

Der Konsum von TV- und Onlineinhalten gehört in Deutschland seit Jahren zu den beliebtesten Freizeitbeschäftigungen. Das Internet ist daher mittlerweile nicht mehr nur über die traditionellen Medien, wie den PC oder Laptop verfügbar, sondern auch über viele weitere elektronische Geräte, wie das Smartphone oder Tablet. Komplett ortsunabhängig und zu jeder Tages- und Nachtzeit kann das Internet über WLAN-Verbindungen genutzt werden und befähigt den Nutzer ständig auf Internetanwendungen sowie interaktive Dienste zuzugreifen. Eine Option, die die Deutschen im Alltag gern in Anspruch nehmen. ..

Spiritual Care in Nursing Practice in Veteran Health Care

Spiritual care is important in nursing practice, and spiritual well-being and spiritual care are associated with better health. Military veterans, a unique patient population, want spiritual care to cope with chronic conditions. It is unclear whether spiritual care is provided in veteran health care in the United States. This study used a qualitative descriptive method, guided by the Spiritual Care in Nursing Practice (SCNiP) theory, to describe spiritual care in nursing practice and facilitators/barriers in veteran health care. Individual interviews were conducted with 39 registered nurses (RNs) at a U.S. veteran health system. Findings were consistent with the SCNiP theory but revealed additional categorical attributes and processes as it applied to veteran health care. Facilitators that promoted spiritual care include nurse professionalism, collegial support, and available spiritual resources. Barriers included lack of time, task-oriented culture, unclear knowledge of accessing resources, and unclear organization policy in providing spiritual care. Findings further refined the theory

Early Cretaceous total organic carbon contents and stable carbon isotope ratios at DSDP Sites 25-249, 36-327, 40-361, 71-511 and ODP Site 113-693

This data set contains total organic carbon (TOC) contents and stable carbon isotope ratios of bulk carbonate and organic carbon in Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Albian) sediments at Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) sites 249, 327, 361, and 511 and Ocean Drilling Project (ODP) Site 693. TOC was measured using a DIMATOC 100 carbon analyzer (Dimatec Corp., Germany). Carbon isotope analyses were performed using a Flash Elemental Analyzer 1112 (Thermoquest) coupled to an MAT 253 gas source mass spectrometer via a continuous flow inlet. Age estimates for individual samples are based on biostratigraphy and carbon isotope stratigraphy and are calibrated to the GTS2012 time scale of Gradstein et al. (2012)