Climatic and Biotic Events of the Paleogene 2014, CBEP 2014

This special issue include the scientific contributes, short notes and abstracts, presented at the International Meeting: Climatic and Biotic Events of the Paleogene, CBEP 2014, held in Ferrara, Italy, July, 1-6, 2014, 10 thematic sessions. More than 140 participants from 20 countries attended the meeting, included the most famous experts. the http://web.fe.infn.it/cbep2014

Neutrons from 9Be/alpha,n/ reaction for E alpha between 6 and 10 MeV

Neutron energy spectra measured as function of neutron emission angle and ion bombardment energ

Fabrication of X-Graded H13 and Cu Powder Mix Using High Power Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser

The manufacturing of Functionally Graded Material (FGM) parts using Solid Free Form manufacturing technologies has been carried out since early 1980. At present, most of the powder manufacturing techniques are being focused on layering powder with different powder blend compositions with Z gradients (graded in direction of layer build). Although, there are a few researchers working on multi powder feeder and deposition system, the study of laser fusion of the deposited powder (by a powder deposition system) is minimum or not known to date. Consequently, the manufacturing of functionally graded structures is still geometry limited. This work was focused on the manufacturing of X-graded (graded along the powder bed plane) specimens with H13 tool steel and Cu mix. Five bimodal powder blends were used with a multi-container feed hopper to spread powder layers for the selective laser fusion of the powder. The powder was fused using a high power Nd:YAG pulsed laser using a specific scanning strategy to reduce porosity. Specimens were produced with graded Cu within the H13 matrix. The specimens were analysed for dimensional accuracy, microstructure, porosity, cracks and micro hardness of the FGM.Mechanical Engineerin

Genome-wide co-expression analysis in multiple tissues

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) represent genetic control points of gene expression, and can be categorized as cis- and trans-acting, reflecting local and distant regulation of gene expression respectively. Although there is evidence of co-regulation within clusters of trans-eQTLs, the extent of co-expression patterns and their relationship with the genotypes at eQTLs are not fully understood. We have mapped thousands of cis- and trans-eQTLs in four tissues (fat, kidney, adrenal and left ventricle) in a large panel of rat recombinant inbred (RI) strains. Here we investigate the genome-wide correlation structure in expression levels of eQTL transcripts and underlying genotypes to elucidate the nature of co-regulation within cis- and trans-eQTL datasets. Across the four tissues, we consistently found statistically significant correlations of cis-regulated gene expression to be rare (<0.9% of all pairs tested). Most (>80%) of the observed significant correlations of cis-regulated gene expression are explained by correlation of the underlying genotypes. In comparison, co-expression of trans-regulated gene expression is more common, with significant correlation ranging from 2.9%-14.9% of all pairs of trans-eQTL transcripts. We observed a total of 81 trans-eQTL clusters (hot-spots), defined as consisting of > or =10 eQTLs linked to a common region, with very high levels of correlation between trans-regulated transcripts (77.2-90.2%). Moreover, functional analysis of large trans-eQTL clusters (> or =30 eQTLs) revealed significant functional enrichment among genes comprising 80% of the large clusters. The results of this genome-wide co-expression study show the effects of the eQTL genotypes on the observed patterns of correlation, and suggest that functional relatedness between genes underlying trans-eQTLs is reflected in the degree of co-expression observed in trans-eQTL clusters. Our results demonstrate the power of an integrative, systematic approach to the analysis of a large gene expression dataset to uncover underlying structure, and inform future eQTL studies

Planktic foraminiferal response to early Eocene carbon cycle perturbations in the southeast Atlantic Ocean (ODP Site 1263)

At low latitude locations in the northern hemisphere, striking changes in the relative abundances and diversity of the two dominant planktic foraminifera genera, Morozovella and Acarinina, are known to have occurred close to the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO; ~ 49–53 Ma). Lower Eocene carbonate-rich sediments at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1263 were deposited on a bathymetric high (Walvis Ridge) at ~ 40° S, and afford an opportunity to examine such planktic foraminiferal assemblage changes in a temperate southern hemisphere setting. We present here quantified counts of early Eocene planktic foraminiferal assemblages from Hole 1263B, along with bulk sediment stable isotope analyses and proxy measurements for carbonate dissolution. The bulk sediment δ13C record at Site 1263 resembles similar records generated elsewhere, such that known and inferred hyperthermal events can be readily identified. Although some carbonate dissolution has occurred, the well-preserved planktic foraminiferal assemblages mostly represent primary changes in environmental conditions. Our results document the permanent decrease in Morozovella abundance and increase in Acarinina abundance at the beginning of the EECO, although this switch occurred ~ 165 kyr after that at low-latitude northern hemisphere locations. This suggests that unfavourable environmental conditions for morozovellids at the start of the EECO, such as sustained passage of a temperature threshold or other changes in surface waters, occurred at lower latitudes first. The remarkable turnover from Morozovella to Acarinina was widely geographically widespread, although the causal mechanism remains elusive. In addition, at Site 1263, we document the virtual disappearance within the EECO of the biserial chiloguembelinids, commonly considered as inhabiting intermediate water depths, and a reduction in abundance of the thermocline-dwelling subbotinids. We interpret these changes as signals of subsurface water properties, perhaps warming, and the associated contraction of ecological niches

Dextral to sinistral coiling switch in planktic foraminifer Morozovella during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum

Coiling direction is a basic characteristic of trochospiral planktic foraminifera. Modifications in the coiling direction within ancient planktic foraminiferal populations may reflect important changes in evolution or environment, yet they remain scarcely discussed. Here we investigate fluctuations in the coiling direction within Morozovella assemblages from sections that span the interval of peak Cenozoic warmth, the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO; ~53-49 million years ago, Ma), at Atlantic Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites 1051, 1258 and 1263. The surface-dwelling genus Morozovella is of particular interest because it dominated tropical-subtropical early Paleogene assemblages then suffered an abrupt and permanent decline in abundance and taxonomic diversity at the start of the EECO. At all ODP sites, morozovellids display a dominant dextral coiling preference during the interval preceding the EECO. However, all the Morozovella species at all sites modify their coiling from preferentially dextral to sinistral coiling within the EECO < 200 kyr after the K/X event (~52.8 Ma), providing a new biostratigraphic tool for correlation. We also document that before the major shift in morozovellid coiling, transient excursions to higher abundances of sinistral tests occurred in conjunction with negative carbon isotope excursions. Significantly, carbon isotope data reveal that sinistral morphotypes belonging to the same morphospecies typically have lower 13C values. The dominance of sinistral morphotypes, at the expense of dextral forms within the EECO, coupled with the lower 13C signatures of the former, suggests that the sinistral forms were less dependent on their photosymbiotic partnerships and thus able to adapt more readily to paleoceanographic change at the EECO. The observed sinistral and dextral coiling of morozovellids can be a genetically heritable characteristic that lies within cryptic speciation across multiple morphologically defined species. Alternatively the coiling changes were exclusively ecophenotypic responses whereby different species were able to preferentially adopt sinistral coiling in reaction to the changed conditions in the mixed-layer during the EECO. Previous interpretations of coiling flips in planktic foraminifera in the early Eocene, especially including morozovellids, have favoured a genetic explanation rather than an ecological response. Our present data cannot validate or disprove this idea, but should stimulate renewed thought on the matter

Rock magnetic properties across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in Marlborough, New Zealand

Rock magnetic properties have been investigated across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in three uplifted sections of Paleogene marine sedimentary rocks in Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand. The sections are exposed along Mead Stream, Dee Stream and Muzzle Stream and represent a depth transect up a continental margin from an upper slope to an outer shelf. Sampling was focused on rock beds previously examined for their biostratigraphy and stable carbon isotope (d13C) composition, and where a prominent clay-rich interval referred to as Dee Marl marks the initial 80-100 kyr of the PETM. Measured magnetic properties include bulk magnetic susceptibility, hysteresis cycles and isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition and back-demagnetization curves. A strong inverse correlation between magnetic susceptibility and bulk carbonate d13C is found across the PETM such that Dee Marl has low d13C and high magnetic susceptibility. At Mead Stream this interval also contains increased saturation-IRM, and thus ferromagnetic content. Rock magnetic behaviour across PETM is best explained by an increase in terrigenous discharge. This inference has been made previously for PETM intervals in New Zealand and elsewhere, although with different proxies. Increased terrigenous discharge probably signifies an acceleration of the hydrological and weathering cycles. Some changes in magnetic phases could also reflect a drop in redox conditions, which could represent higher sedimentation rates, greater input of organic carbon, dysoxic bottom waters, or a combination of all three. A drop in redox conditions has been inferred for other marine sections spanning the PETM

Demise of the Planktic Foraminifer genus Morozovella during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum: new records from ODP Site 1258 (Demerara Rise, western equatorial Atlantic) and Site 1263 (Walvis Ridge, South Atlantic)

Here we present relative abundances of planktic foraminifera that span the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1258 in the western equatorial Atlantic. The EECO (~53.3−49.1 Ma) represents peak Cenozoic warmth, probably related to high atmospheric CO2, and when planktic foraminifera, a dominant component of marine sediment, exhibit a major biotic response. Consistent with previous work, the relative abundance of the genus Morozovella, which dominated early Paleogene tropical-subtropical assemblages, markedly and permanently declined from a mean percentage of ~32% to less than ~7% at the beginning of the EECO. The distinct decrease in Morozovella abundance occurred at Site 1258 within ~20 kyr before a negative excursion in δ13C records known as the J event and which defines the beginning of EECO. Moreover, all morozovellid species except M. aragonensis dropped in abundance permanently at Site 1258, and this is related to a reduction in test-size. Comparing our data with that from other locations, the remarkable switch in planktonic foraminifera assemblages appears to have begun first with unfavourable environmental conditions near the Equator and then extended to higher latitudes. Several potential stressors may explain observations, including some combination of algal photosymbiont inhibition (bleaching), a sustained increase in temperature, or an extended decrease in pH

Finite temperature dynamics of the Anderson model

The recently introduced local moment approach (LMA) is extended to encompass single-particle dynamics and transport properties of the Anderson impurity model at finite-temperature, T. While applicable to arbitrary interaction strengths, primary emphasis is given to the strongly correlated Kondo regime (characterized by the T=0 Kondo scale $\omega_{\rm K}$). In particular the resultant universal scaling behaviour of the single-particle spectrum D(\omega; T) \equiv F(\frac{\w}{\omega_{\rm K}}; \frac{T}{\omega_{\rm K}}) within the LMA is obtained in closed form; leading to an analytical description of the thermal destruction of the Kondo resonance on all energy scales. Transport properties follow directly from a knowledge of $D(\omega; T)$. The $T / \omega_{\rm K}$-dependence of the resulting resistivity $\rho(T)$, which is found to agree rather well with numerical renormalization group calculations, is shown to be asymptotically exact at high temperatures; to concur well with the Hamann approximation for the s-d model down to $T/\omega_{\rm K} \sim 1$, and to cross over smoothly to the Fermi liquid form $\rho (T) - \rho (0) \propto -(T/\omega_{\rm K})^2$ in the low-temperature limit. The underlying approach, while naturally approximate, is moreover applicable to a broad range of quantum impurity and related models