"It Was Meant to be:" Retrospective Meaning Construction through Mental Simulation

The goal of the current chapter is to discuss how counterfactual thinking serves a more general sense-making function and to delineate the mechanisms by which this may occur. To demonstrate the meaning as sense-making function of counterfactual thinking, we (Lindberg & Markman, 2012) selected a historical event that was likely to be compelling to most student participants, yet not one with which most students would be familiar. This allowed for the manipulation of event details for the purpose of examining underlying cognitive mechanisms believed to influence the sense-making process. Two sets of studies were conducted. The current work lends further support for the sense-making function of counterfactual thinking

Gaseous mercury flux from salt marshes is mediated by solar radiation and temperature

Salt marshes are ecologically sensitive ecosystems where mercury (Hg) methylation and biomagnification can occur. Understanding the mechanisms controlling gaseous Hg flux from salt marshes is important to predict the retention of Hg in coastal wetlands and project the impact of environmental change on the global Hg cycle. We monitored Hg flux from a remote salt marsh over 9 days which included three cloudless days and a 4 mm rainfall event. We observed a cyclical diel relationship between Hg flux and solar radiation. When measurements at the same irradiance intensity are considered, Hg flux was greater in the evening when the sediment was warm than in the morning when the sediment was cool. This is evidence to suggest that both solar radiation and sediment temperature directly influence the rate of Hg(II) photoreduction in salt marshes. Hg flux could be predicted from solar radiation and sediment temperature in sub-datasets collected during cloudless days (R2 = 0.99), and before (R2 = 0.97) and after (R2 = 0.95) the rainfall event, but the combined dataset could not account for the lower Hg flux observed after the rainfall event that is in contrast to greater Hg flux from soils after rainfall events

Urinary Arsenic Metabolites of Subjects Exposed to Elevated Arsenic Present in Coal in Shaanxi Province, China

In contrast to arsenic (As) poisoning caused by naturally occurring inorganic arsenic-contaminated water consumption, coal arsenic poisoning (CAP) induced by elevated arsenic exposure from coal combustion has rarely been reported. In this study, the concentrations and distributions of urinary arsenic metabolites in 57 volunteers (36 subjects with skin lesions and 21 subjects without skin lesions), who had been exposed to elevated levels of arsenic present in coal in Changshapu village in the south of Shaanxi Province (China), were reported. The urinary arsenic species, including inorganic arsenic (iAs) [arsenite (iAsIII) and arsenate (iAsV)], monomethylarsonic acid (MMAV) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAV), were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The relative distributions of arsenic species, the primary methylation index (PMI = MMAV/iAs) and the secondary methylation index (SMI = DMAV/MMAV) were calculated to assess the metabolism of arsenic. Subjects with skin lesions had a higher concentration of urinary arsenic and a lower arsenic methylation capability than subjects without skin lesions. Women had a significantly higher methylation capability of arsenic than men, as defined by a higher percent DMAV and SMI in urine among women, which was the one possible interpretation of women with a higher concentration of urinary arsenic but lower susceptibility to skin lesions. The findings suggested that not only the dose of arsenic exposure but also the arsenic methylation capability have an impact on the individual susceptibility to skin lesions induced by coal arsenic exposure

Genome sequences of two novel phages infecting marine roseobacters

Two bacteriophages, DSS3Φ2 and EE36Φ1, which infect marine roseobacters Silicibacter pomeroyi DSS-3 and Sulfitobacter sp. EE-36, respectively, were isolated from Baltimore Inner Harbor water. These two roseophages resemble bacteriophage N4, a large, short-tailed phage infecting Escherichia coli K12, in terms of their morphology and genomic structure. The full genome sequences of DSS3Φ2 and EE36Φ1 reveal that their genome sizes are 74.6 and 73.3 kb, respectively, and they both contain a highly conserved N4-like DNA replication and transcription system. Both roseophages contain a large virion-encapsidated RNA polymerase gene (> 10 kb), which was first discovered in N4. DSS3Φ2 and EE36Φ1 also possess several genes (i.e. ribonucleotide reductase and thioredoxin) that are most similar to the genes in roseobacters. Overall, the two roseophages are highly closely related, and share 80–94% nucleotide sequence identity over 85% of their ORFs. This is the first report of N4-like phages infecting marine bacteria and the second report of N4-like phage since the discovery of phage N4 40 years ago. The finding of these two N4-like roseophages will allow us to further explore the specific phage–host interaction and evolution for this unique group of bacteriophages

Cloud enabled data analytics and visualization framework for health-shocks prediction

In this paper, we present a data analytics and visualization framework for health-shocks prediction based on large-scale health informatics dataset. The framework is developed using cloud computing services based on Amazon web services (AWS) integrated with geographical information systems (GIS) to facilitate big data capture, storage, index and visualization of data through smart devices for different stakeholders. In order to develop a predictive model for health-shocks, we have collected a unique data from 1000 households, in rural and remotely accessible regions of Pakistan, focusing on factors like health, social, economic, environment and accessibility to healthcare facilities. We have used the collected data to generate a predictive model of health-shock using a fuzzy rule summarization technique, which can provide stakeholders with interpretable linguistic rules to explain the causal factors affecting health-shocks. The evaluation of the proposed system in terms of the interpret-ability and accuracy of the generated data models for classifying health-shock shows promising results. The prediction accuracy of the fuzzy model based on a k-fold cross-validation of the data samples shows above 89% performance in predicting health-shocks based on the given factors

Mercury isotopes in a forested ecosystem: Implications for air‐surface exchange dynamics and the global mercury cycle

Forests mediate the biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg) between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems; however, there remain many gaps in our understanding of these processes. Our objectives in this study were to characterize Hg isotopic composition within forests, and use natural abundance stable Hg isotopes to track sources and reveal mechanisms underlying the cycling of Hg. We quantified the stable Hg isotopic composition of foliage, forest floor, mineral soil, precipitation, and total gaseous mercury (THg (g) ) in the atmosphere and in evasion from soil, in 10‐year‐old aspen forests at the Rhinelander FACE experiment in northeastern Wisconsin, USA. The effect of increased atmospheric CO 2 and O 3 concentrations on Hg isotopic composition was small relative to differences among forest ecosystem components. Precipitation samples had δ 202 Hg values of −0.74 to 0.06‰ and ∆ 199 Hg values of 0.16 to 0.82‰. Atmospheric THg (g) had δ 202 Hg values of 0.48 to 0.93‰ and ∆ 199 Hg values of −0.21 to −0.15‰. Uptake of THg (g) by foliage resulted in a large (−2.89‰) shift in δ 202 Hg values; foliage displayed δ 202 Hg values of −2.53 to −1.89‰ and ∆ 199 Hg values of −0.37 to −0.23‰. Forest floor samples had δ 202 Hg values of −1.88 to −1.22‰ and ∆ 199 Hg values of −0.22 to −0.14‰. Mercury isotopes distinguished geogenic sources of Hg and atmospheric derived sources of Hg in soil, and showed that precipitation Hg only accounted for ~16% of atmospheric Hg inputs. The isotopic composition of Hg evasion from the forest floor was similar to atmospheric THg (g) ; however, there were systematic differences in δ 202 Hg values and MIF of even isotopes (∆ 200 Hg and ∆ 204 Hg). Mercury evasion from the forest floor may have arisen from air‐surface exchange of atmospheric THg (g) , but was not the emission of legacy Hg from soils, nor re‐emission of wet‐deposition. This implies that there was net atmospheric THg (g) deposition to the forest soils. Furthermore, MDF of Hg isotopes during foliar uptake and air‐surface exchange of atmospheric THg (g) resulted in the release of Hg with very positive δ 202 Hg values to the atmosphere, which is key information for modeling the isotopic balance of the global mercury cycle, and may indicate a shorter residence time than previously recognized for the atmospheric mercury pool. Key points Atmospheric Hg was fractionated during uptake by foliage (‐2.89 permil δ202Hg) Hg evading from soil was from atmospheric Hg interaction with soil environment Air‐surface exchange of Hg releases Hg with positive δ202Hg to global reservoirPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97463/1/2011GB004202RRts04.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97463/2/2011GB004202RRts05.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97463/3/2011GB004202RRts01.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97463/4/gbc20021.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97463/5/2011GB004202RRts06.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97463/6/2011GB004202RRts02.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97463/7/2011GB004202RRts07.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97463/8/2011GB004202RRts03.pd

Molecular characterization and antiviral activity test of common drugs against echovirus 18 isolated in Korea

Genetic diversity and antiviral activity for five common antiviral drugs of echovirus (ECV) 5 isolated in Korea have been described. The present study extended these tests to a Korean ECV 18 isolate. An outbreak of aseptic meningitis caused by the ECV 18 isolate was reported in Korea in 2005, marking the first time this virus had been identified in the country since enterovirus surveillance began in 1993. Using a sample isolated from stool specimen of a 5-year-old male patient with aseptic meningitis, the complete genome sequence was obtained and was compared it with the Metcalf prototype strain. Unlike the ECV5 isolate, the 3' untranslated region had the highest identity value (94.2%) at the nucleotide level, while, at the amino acid level, the P2 region displayed the highest identity value (96.9%). These two strains shared all cleavage sites, with the exception of the 2B/2C site, which was RQ/NN in the Metcalf strain but RQ/NS in the Korean ECV 18 isolate. In Vero cells infected with the Korean ECV 18 isolate, no cytotoxicity was observed in the presence of azidothymidine, acyclovir, amantadine, lamivudine, or ribavirin, when the drugs were administered at a CC50 value >100 μg/mL. Of the five drugs, only amantadine (IC50: 4.97 ± 0.77 μg/mL, TI: 20.12) and ribavirin (IC50: 7.63 ± 0.87 μg/mL, TI: 13.11) had any antiviral activity against the Korean ECV 18 isolate in the five antiviral drugs. These antiviral activity effects were similar with results of the Korean ECV5 isolate

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury: Triangulum Extended Region (PHATTER) I. Ultraviolet to Infrared Photometry of 22 Million Stars in M33

We present panchromatic resolved stellar photometry for 22 million stars in the Local Group dwarf spiral Triangulum (M33), derived from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the optical (F475W, F814W), and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in the near ultraviolet (F275W, F336W) and near-infrared (F110W, F160W) bands. The large, contiguous survey area covers $\sim$14 square kpc and extends to 3.5 kpc (14 arcmin, or 1.5-2 scale lengths) from the center of M33. The PHATTER observing strategy and photometry technique closely mimic those of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT), but with updated photometry techniques that take full advantage of all overlapping pointings (aligned to within $<$5-10 milliarcseconds) and improved treatment of spatially-varying point spread functions. The photometry reaches a completeness-limited depth of F475W$\sim$28.5 in the lowest surface density regions observed in M33 and F475W$\sim$26.5 in the most crowded regions found near the center of M33. We find the young populations trace several relatively tight arms, while the old populations show a clear, looser two-armed structure. We present extensive analysis of the data quality including artificial star tests to quantify completeness, photometric uncertainties, and flux biases. This stellar catalog is the largest ever produced for M33, and is publicly available for download by the community.Comment: 38 pages, 6 tables, 25 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Constraints on photoevaporation models from (lack of) radio emission in the Corona Australis protoplanetary disks

R. Galván-Madrid, et al., “Constraints on photoevaporation models from (lack of) radio emission in the Corona Australis protoplanetary disks”, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 570, October 2014. This version of record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201424630 Reproduced with Permission from Astronomy and Astrophysics, © ESO 2014.Photoevaporation due to high-energy stellar photons is thought to be one of the main drivers of protoplanetary disk dispersal. The fully or partially ionized disk surface is expected to produce free-free continuum emission at centimeter (cm) wavelengths that can be routinely detected with interferometers such as the upgraded Very Large Array (VLA). We use deep (rms noise down to 8 $\mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$ in the field of view center) 3.5 cm maps of the nearby (130 pc) Corona Australis (CrA) star formation (SF) region to constrain disk photoevaporation models. We find that the radio emission from disk sources in CrA is surprisingly faint. Only 3 out of 10 sources within the field of view are detected, with flux densities of order $10^2$ $\mu$Jy. However, a significant fraction of their emission is non-thermal. Typical upper limits for non-detections are $3\sigma\sim 60~\mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$. Assuming analytic expressions for the free-free emission from extreme-UV (EUV) irradiation, we derive stringent upper limits to the ionizing photon luminosity impinging on the disk surface $\Phi_\mathrm{EUV}Peer reviewe