211 research outputs found
Radioactive Iron Rain: Transporting Fe in Supernova Dust to the Ocean Floor
Several searches have found evidence of Fe deposition, presumably from
a near-Earth supernova (SN), with concentrations that vary in different
locations on Earth. This paper examines various influences on the path of
interstellar dust carrying Fe from a SN through the heliosphere, with
the aim of estimating the final global distribution on the ocean floor. We
study the influences of magnetic fields, angle of arrival, wind and ocean
cycling of SN material on the concentrations at different locations. We find
that the passage of SN material through the mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT)
is the greatest influence on the final global distribution, with ocean cycling
causing lesser alteration as the SN material sinks to the ocean floor. SN
distance estimates in previous works that assumed a uniform distribution are a
good approximation. Including the effects on surface distributions, we estimate
a distance of pc for a SN progenitor. This
is consistent with a SN occurring within the Tuc-Hor stellar group 2.8
Myr ago with SN material arriving on Earth 2.2 Myr ago. We note that the
SN dust retains directional information to within through its
arrival in the inner Solar System, so that SN debris deposition on inert bodies
such as the Moon will be anisotropic, and thus could in principle be used to
infer directional information. In particular, we predict that existing lunar
samples should show measurable Fe differences.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures. Comments welcom
Astrophysical Shrapnel: Discriminating Among Near-Earth Stellar Explosion Sources of Live Radioactive Isotopes
We consider the production and deposition on Earth of isotopes with
half-lives in the range 10 to 10 years that might provide
signatures of nearby stellar explosions, extending previous analyses of
Core-Collapse Supernovae (CCSNe) to include Electron-Capture Supernovae
(ECSNe), Super-Asymptotic Giant Branch (SAGBs) stars, Thermonuclear/Type Ia
Supernovae (TNSNe), and Kilonovae/Neutron Star Mergers (KNe). We revisit
previous estimates of the Fe and Al signatures, and extend these
estimates to include Pu and Mn. We discuss interpretations of
the Fe signals in terrestrial and lunar reservoirs in terms of a nearby
stellar ejection ~2.2 Myr ago, showing that (i) the Fe yield rules out
the TNSN and KN interpretations, (ii) the Fe signals highly constrain a
SAGB interpretation but do not completely them rule out, (iii) are consistent
with a CCSN origin, and (iv) are highly compatible with an ECSN interpretation.
Future measurements could resolve the radioisotope deposition over time, and we
use the Sedov blast wave solution to illustrate possible time-resolved
profiles. Measuring such profiles would independently probe the blast
properties including distance, and would provide additional constraints the
nature of the explosion.Comment: 38 pages, 6 figures. Comments welcom
Stable isotope monitoring of benthic–planktonic coupling using salt marsh fish
Author Posting. © Inter-Research, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of Inter-Research for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Ecology Progress Series 369 (2008): 193-204, doi:10.3354/meps07644.Salt marshes are important coastal ecosystems whose trophic function can be monitored with stable isotopes of abundant fish biosentinel species such as the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus and the Atlantic silverside Menidia menidia. We compared movement patterns and feeding biology of these species in the summers of 1999 and 2000 in the Rowley River salt marsh estuary north of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. A 15N tracer addition experiment showed that fish of both species were more resident than transient, with mummichogs resident at scales of 1 km or less. Natural abundance stable isotope C, N, and S distributions showed that mummichogs feed more strongly in the benthic food web while silversides feed more in the planktonic food web, with % benthic feeding respectively averaging 58 ± 5 and 32 ± 3% (mean ± 95% confidence limit, CL). For both species, isotope results indicated considerable individual specialization in foraging behavior, likely related to use of channel habitat versus use of the marsh. Power analysis showed that measuring 3 composite samples each comprising 10 to 15 individual fish should provide relatively low errors of 0.5‰ (95% CL) or less around stable isotope averages. Use of such composite samples in monitoring programs will allow detection of significant temporal and spatial changes in benthic-planktonic coupling for salt marsh ecosystems, as recorded in average fish diets. Analyzing some individual fish also is recommended to obtain more detailed information on fish food sources, feeding specializations, and end-member isotope values used in estimating importance of benthic and planktonic food sources.This work
was supported by Louisiana SeaGrant Projects R/CEH-13 and
R-EFH-07, NOAA MULTISTRESS award 16OP2670, and NSF
award DEB 9815598 and BES SGER award 0553138-001
Cycle Training Modulates Satellite Cell and Transcriptional Responses to a Bout of Resistance Exercise
This investigation evaluated whether moderate‐intensity cycle ergometer training affects satellite cell and molecular responses to acute maximal concentric/eccentric resistance exercise in middle‐aged women. Baseline and 72 h postresistance exercise vastus lateralis biopsies were obtained from seven healthy middle‐aged women (56 ± 5 years, BMI 26 ± 1, VO2max 27 ± 4) before and after 12 weeks of cycle training. Myosin heavy chain (MyHC) I‐ and II‐associated satellite cell density and cross‐sectional area was determined via immunohistochemistry. Expression of 93 genes representative of the muscle‐remodeling environment was also measured via NanoString. Overall fiber size increased ~20% with cycle training (P = 0.052). MyHC I satellite cell density increased 29% in response to acute resistance exercise before endurance training and 50% with endurance training (P \u3c 0.05). Following endurance training, MyHC I satellite cell density decreased by 13% in response to acute resistance exercise (acute resistance × training interaction, P \u3c 0.05). Genes with an interaction effect tracked with satellite cell behavior, increasing in the untrained state and decreasing in the endurance trained state in response to resistance exercise. Similar satellite cell and gene expression response patterns indicate coordinated regulation of the muscle environment to promote adaptation. Moderate‐intensity endurance cycle training modulates the response to acute resistance exercise, potentially conditioning the muscle for more intense concentric/eccentric activity. These results suggest that cycle training is an effective endurance exercise modality for promoting growth in middle‐aged women, who are susceptible to muscle mass loss with progressing age
Insulin-Resistant Subjects Have Normal Angiogenic Response to Aerobic Exercise Training in Skeletal Muscle, but Not in Adipose Tissue
Reduced vessel density in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle is associated with obesity and may result in decreased perfusion, decreased oxygen consumption, and insulin resistance. In the presence of VEGFA, Angiopoietin-2 (Angpt2) and Angiopoietin-1 (Angpt1) are central determinants of angiogenesis, with greater Angpt2:Angpt1 ratios promoting angiogenesis. In skeletal muscle, exercise training stimulates angiogenesis and modulates transcription of VEGFA, Angpt1, and Angpt 2. However, it remains unknown whether exercise training stimulates vessel growth in human adipose tissue, and it remains unknown whether adipose angiogenesis is mediated by angiopoietin signaling. We sought to determine whether insulin-resistant subjects would display an impaired angiogenic response to aerobic exercise training. Insulin-sensitive (IS, N = 12) and insulin-resistant (IR, N = 14) subjects had subcutaneous adipose and muscle (vastus lateralis) biopsies before and after 12 weeks of cycle ergometer training. In both tissues, we measured vessels and expression of pro-angiogenic genes. Exercise training did not increase insulin sensitivity in IR Subjects. In skeletal muscle, training resulted in increased vessels/muscle fiber and increased Angpt2:Angpt1 ratio in both IR and IS subjects. However, in adipose, exercise training only induced angiogenesis in IS subjects, likely due to chronic suppression of VEGFA expression in IR subjects. These results indicate that skeletal muscle of IR subjects exhibits a normal angiogenic response to exercise training. However, the same training regimen is insufficient to induce angiogenesis in adipose tissue of IR subjects, which may help to explain why we did not observe improved insulin sensitivity following aerobic training
Electro-elastic tuning of single particles in individual self-assembled quantum dots
We investigate the effect of uniaxial stress on InGaAs quantum dots in a
charge tunable device. Using Coulomb blockade and photoluminescence, we observe
that significant tuning of single particle energies (~ -0.5 meV/MPa) leads to
variable tuning of exciton energies (+18 to -0.9 micro-eV/MPa) under tensile
stress. Modest tuning of the permanent dipole, Coulomb interaction and
fine-structure splitting energies is also measured. We exploit the variable
exciton response to tune multiple quantum dots on the same chip into resonance.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Final versio
Carbon Dynamics On The Louisiana Continental Shelf And Cross-Shelf Feeding Of Hypoxia
Large-scale hypoxia regularly develops during the summer on the Louisiana continental shelf. Traditionally, hypoxia has been linked to the vast winter and spring nutrient inputs from the Mississippi River and its distributary, the Atchafalaya River. However, recent studies indicate that much of the shelf ecosystem is heterotrophic. We used data from five late July shelfwide cruises from 2006 to 2010 to examine carbon and oxygen production and identify net autotrophic areas of phytoplankton growth on the Louisiana shelf. During these summer times of moderate river flows, shelfwide pH and particulate organic carbon (POC) consistently showed strong signals for net autotrophy in low salinity (\u3c25) waters near the river mouths. There was substantial POC removal via grazing and sedimentation in near-river regions, with 66–85 % of POC lost from surface waters in the low and mid-salinity ranges without producing strong respiration signals in surface waters. This POC removal in nearshore environments indicates highly efficient algal retention by the shelf ecosystem. Updated carbon export calculations for local estuaries and a preliminary shelfwide carbon budget agree with older concepts that offshore hypoxia is linked strongly to nutrient loading from the Mississippi River, but a new emphasis on cross-shelf dynamics emerged in this research. Cross-shelf transects indicated that river-influenced nearshore waters \u3c15 m deep are strong sources of net carbon production, with currents and wave-induced resuspension likely transporting this POC offshore to fuel hypoxia in adjacent mid-shelf bottom waters
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