Olive phenology as a sensitive indicator of future climatic warming in the Mediterranean

Experimental and modelling work suggests a strong dependence of olive flowering date on spring temperatures. Since airborne pollen concentrations reflect the flowering phenology of olive populations within a radius of 50 km, they may be a sensitive regional indicator of climatic warming. We assessed this potential sensitivity with phenology models fitted to flowering dates inferred from maximum airborne pollen data. Of four models tested, a thermal time model gave the best fit for Montpellier, France, and was the most effective at the regional scale, providing reasonable predictions for 10 sites in the western Mediterranean. This model was forced with replicated future temperature simulations for the western Mediterranean from a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (GCM). The GCM temperatures rose by 4·5 °C between 1990 and 2099 with a 1% per year increase in greenhouse gases, and modelled flowering date advanced at a rate of 6·2 d per °C. The results indicated that this long-term regional trend in phenology might be statistically significant as early as 2030, but with marked spatial variation in magnitude, with the calculated flowering date between the 1990s and 2030s advancing by 3–23 d. Future monitoring of airborne olive pollen may therefore provide an early biological indicator of climatic warming in the Mediterranean

Do photon-number-resolving detectors provide valid evidence for the discrete nature of light?

We consider the question of whether photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors provide compelling evidence for the discrete nature of light; i.e., whether they indicate the prior presence of a certain number of discrete photons. To answer this question, we reveal the insufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of existing PNR detectors, and propose an alternative interpretation for the analysis of PNR detector output that is consistent with a wave picture of light and does not rely on the presumption of light particles. This interpretation is based on the aggregation of correlated or accidentally coincident detections within a given detector coincidence window. Our interpretation accounts for the arbitrary character of detector coincidence windows and includes connections to established treatments of intensity interferometers. To validate our interpretation, we performed an experiment on a multiplexed PNR detector and examined the dependence of photon number on the coincidence window via post-processing. These observations were then compared to a fully classical wave model based on amplitude threshold detection, and the results were found to be in excellent agreement. We find that results from low SNR PNR detectors, such as those existing in the literature, are able to be described by classical descriptions, and therefore do not demonstrate evidence for the discrete nature of light.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Many-body effects in the stimulated Raman response of binary mixtures:A comparison between theory and experiment

The subpicosecond dynamics of binary mixtures of carbon disulfide and alkane have been studied using third-order time-resolved Raman techniques. Both the anisotropic and the isotropic responses were investigated. These depend differently on many-body contributions to the first-order susceptibility and probe different modes in the liquid. The anisotropic response is dominated by single molecule effects, whereas the isotropic response is completely determined by many-body contributions since the single molecule response vanishes. To interpret the experimental results, molecular dynamics simulations were performed on model mixtures. The effect of dilution on the subpicosecond response cannot be explained by many-body effects in the first-order susceptibility alone. Aggregation due to permanent quadrupole moments on the carbon disulfide molecules and density changes upon dilution are also inadequate explanations for the observed effect. Apparently the character of the many-body dynamics itself is modified by the change of the molecular force fields, when carbon disulfide molecules are replaced by alkanes.<br/

Attenuation of Skeletal Muscle and Renal Injury to the Lower Limb following Ischemia-Reperfusion Using mPTP Inhibitor NIM-811.

INTRODUCTION: Operation on the infrarenal aorta and large arteries of the lower extremities may cause rhabdomyolysis of the skeletal muscle, which in turn may induce remote kidney injury. NIM-811 (N-metyl-4-isoleucine-cyclosporine) is a mitochondria specific drug, which can prevent ischemic-reperfusion (IR) injury, by inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition pores (mPTP). OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to reduce damages in the skeletal muscle and the kidney after IR of the lower limb with NIM-811. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats underwent 180 minutes of bilateral lower limb ischemia and 240 minutes of reperfusion. Four animal groups were formed called Sham (receiving vehicle and sham surgery), NIM-Sham (receiving NIM-811 and sham surgery), IR (receiving vehicle and surgery), and NIM-IR (receiving NIM-811 and surgery). Serum, urine and histological samples were taken at the end of reperfusion. NADH-tetrazolium staining, muscle Wet/Dry (W/D) ratio calculations, laser Doppler-flowmetry (LDF) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) monitoring were performed. Renal peroxynitrite concentration, serum TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels were measured. RESULTS: Less significant histopathological changes were observable in the NIM-IR group as compared with the IR group. Serum K+ and necroenzyme levels were significantly lower in the NIM-IR group than in the IR group (LDH: p<0.001; CK: p<0.001; K+: p = 0.017). Muscle mitochondrial viability proved to be significantly higher (p = 0.001) and renal function parameters were significantly better (creatinine: p = 0.016; FENa: p<0.001) in the NIM-IR group in comparison to the IR group. Serum TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels were significantly lower (TNF-alpha: p = 0.003, IL-6: p = 0.040) as well as W/D ratio and peroxynitrite concentration were significantly lower (p = 0.014; p<0.001) in the NIM-IR group than in the IR group. CONCLUSION: NIM-811 could have the potential of reducing rhabdomyolysis and impairment of the kidney after lower limb IR injury

Self-assembled clusters of mutually repelling particles in confinement

Mutually repelling particles spontaneously form ordered clusters when forced into confinement. The clusters may adopt similar spatial arrangements even if the underlying particle interactions are contrastingly different. Here, we demonstrate with both simulations and experiments that it is possible to induce particles of very different types to self-assemble into the same ordered geometric structure by simply regulating the ratio between the repulsive and confining forces. This is the case for both long- and short-ranged potentials. This property is initially explored in systems with two-dimensional circular symmetry and subsequently demonstrated to be valid throughout the transition to one-dimensional structures through continuous elliptical deformations of the confining field. We argue that this feature can be utilized to manipulate the spatial structure of confined particles, thereby paving the way for the design of clusters with specific functionalities.</p

Jet-induced cratering of a granular surface with application to lunar spaceports

The erosion of lunar soil by rocket exhaust plumes is investigated experimentally. This has identified the diffusion-driven flow in the bulk of the sand as an important but previously unrecognized mechanism for erosion dynamics. It has also shown that slow regime cratering is governed by the recirculation of sand in the widening geometry of the crater. Scaling relationships and erosion mechanisms have been characterized in detail for the slow regime. The diffusion-driven flow occurs in both slow and fast regime cratering. Because diffusion-driven flow had been omitted from the lunar erosion theory and from the pressure cratering theory of the Apollo and Viking era, those theories cannot be entirely correct.Comment: 13 pages, link to published version: http://cedb.asce.org/cgi/WWWdisplay.cgi?090000

Finding Ophthalmic Risk and Evaluating the Value of Eye exams and their predictive Reliability (FOREVER)—A cohort study in a Danish high street optician setting: Design and methodology

Purpose The purpose of the study was to describe the rationale and design of Project FOREVER (Finding Ophthalmic Risk and Evaluating the Value of Eye exams and their predictive Reliability). Design Project FOREVER will build a comprehensive database of clinical eye and vision data collected from ~280 000 adults at 100 optician stores across Denmark. The FOREVER database (FOREVERdb) includes detailed data from refraction, visual acuity, intraocular pressure, corneal thickness, visual field assessments and retinal fundus images. Linkage to the comprehensive Danish national registries with, that is diagnostic and prescribing data permits investigation of rare associations and risk factors. 30 000 individuals over 50 also provide a saliva sample for later genetic studies and blood pressure measurements. Of these 30 000, 10 000 will also get optical coherence tomography (OCT) nerve and retinal scans. This subpopulation data is reviewed by ophthalmologists for disease detection. All participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire assessing lifestyle, self‐perceived eye health and general health. Enrolment of participants began in April 2022. Perspective The FOREVERdb is a powerful tool to answer a wide range of research questions that can pave the way for better eye health. This database will provide valuable insights for future studies investigating the correlations between eye and general health in a Danish population cohort, enabling research to identify potential risk factors for a range of diseases

Gpr88 Deletion Impacts Motivational Control Without Overt Disruptions to Striatal Dopamine

BackgroundDisrupted motivational control is a common-but poorly treated-feature of psychiatric disorders, arising via aberrant mesolimbic dopaminergic signaling. GPR88 is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor that is highly expressed in the striatum and therefore well placed to modulate disrupted signaling. While the phenotype of Gpr88 knockout mice suggests a role in motivational pathways, it is unclear whether GPR88 is involved in reward valuation and/or effort-based decision making in a sex-dependent manner and whether this involves altered dopamine function.MethodsIn male and female Gpr88 knockout mice, we used touchscreen-based progressive ratio, with and without reward devaluation, and effort-related choice tasks to assess motivation and cost/benefit decision making, respectively. To explore whether these motivational behaviors were related to alterations in the striatal dopamine system, we quantified expression of dopamine-related genes and/or proteins and used [18F]DOPA positron emission tomography and GTPγ[35S] binding to assess presynaptic and postsynaptic dopamine function, respectively.ResultsWe showed that male and female Gpr88 knockout mice displayed greater motivational drive than wild-type mice, which was maintained following reward devaluation. Furthermore, we showed that cost/benefit decision making was impaired in male, but not female, Gpr88 knockout mice. Surprisingly, we found that Gpr88 deletion had no effect on striatal dopamine by any of the measures assessed.ConclusionsOur results highlight that GPR88 regulates motivational control but that disruption of such behaviors following Gpr88 deletion occurs independently of gross perturbations to striatal dopamine at a gene, protein, or functional level. This work provides further insights into GPR88 as a drug target for motivational disorders