The Mg/Ca–temperature relationship in brachiopod shells: calibrating a potential palaeoseasonality proxy

Brachiopods are long-lived, long-ranging, extant organisms, of which some groups precipitate a relatively diagenetically stable low magnesium calcite shell. Previous work has suggested that the incorporation of Mg into brachiopod calcite may be controlled by temperature (Brand et al., 2013). Here we build upon this work by using laser ablation sampling to define the intra-shell variations in two modern brachiopod species,Terebratulina retusa (Linnaeus, 1758) and Liothyrella neozelanica (Thomson, 1918). We studied three T. retusa shells collected live from the Firth of Lorne, Scotland, which witnessed annual temperature variations on the order of 7 °C, in addition to four L. neozelanica shells, which were dredged from a water depth transect (168–1488 m) off the north coast of New Zealand. The comparison of intra-shell Mg/Ca profiles with shell δ<sup>18</sup>O confirms a temperature control on brachiopod Mg/Ca and supports the use of brachiopod Mg/Ca as a palaeoseasonality indicator. Our preliminary temperature calibrations are Mg/Ca = 1.76 ± 0.27 e<sup>(0.16 ± 0.03)T</sup>, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.75, for T. retusa and Mg/Ca = 0.49 ± 1.27 e<sup>(0.2 ± 0.11)T</sup>, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.32, for L. neozelanica (errors are 95% confidence intervals)

Is the PAMELA Positron Excess Winos?

Recently the PAMELA satellite-based experiment reported an excess of galactic positrons that could be a signal of annihilating dark matter. The PAMELA data may admit an interpretation as a signal from a wino-like LSP of mass about 200 GeV, normalized to the local relic density, and annihilating mainly into W-bosons. This possibility requires the current conventional estimate for the energy loss rate of positrons be too large by roughly a factor of five. Data from anti-protons and gamma rays also provide tension with this interpretation, but there are significant astrophysical uncertainties associated with their propagation. It is not unreasonable to take this well-motivated candidate seriously, at present, in part because it can be tested in several ways soon. The forthcoming PAMELA data on higher energy positrons and the FGST (formerly GLAST) data, should provide important clues as to whether this scenario is correct. If correct, the wino interpretation implies a cosmological history in which the dark matter does not originate in thermal equilibrium.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figue

THE FUTURE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS AS AN ACADEMIC FIELD: YOUR FATE IN 1998

The academic study of information systems is dynamic and exciting. It tends to have very fluid boundaries. Researchers in information systems venture into problem areas associated with such diverse fields as computer science, communications, cognitive psychology, and sociology. Information systems are studied in the context of innovation, organizational change, and competitive advantage. The changing technology provides new and revisited opportunities for investigation and problem solving. Until quite recently, the information systems faculty were the custodians in schools of management of most of the technical knowledge of organizational computing. That technical knowledge is being rapidly diffused to the entire faculty. Faculty in accounting at one time fled from computers; they now embrace them. The same is true of other functional areas in schools of management. What will happen to the academic field of information systems when the computer expertise is shared by most faculty members

On the kinks and dynamical phase transitions of alpha-helix protein chains

Heuristic insights into a physical picture of Davydov's solitonic model of the one-dimensional protein chain are presented supporting the idea of a non-equilibrium competition between the Davydov phase and a complementary, dynamical- `ferroelectric' phase along the chainComment: small latex file with possible glue problems, just go on !, no figures, small corrections with respect to the published text, follow-up work to cond-mat/9304034 [PRE 47 (June 1993) R3818

The experimental gas-phase structures of 1,3,5-trisilylbenzene and hexasilylbenzene and the theoretical structures of all benzenes with three or more silyl substituents

The structures of 1,3,5-trisilylbenzene and hexasilylbenzene in the gas phase have been determined by electron diffraction, and that of 1,3,5-trisilylbenzene by X-ray crystallography. The structures of three trisilylbenzene isomers, three tetrasilylbenzenes, pentasilylbenzene and hexasilylbenzene have been computed, ab initio and using Density Functional Theory, at levels up to MP2/6-31G*. The primary effect of silyl substituents is to narrow the ring angle at the substituted carbon atoms. Steric interactions between silyl groups on neighbouring carbon atoms lead first to displacement of these groups away from one another, and then to displacement out of the ring plane, with alternate groups moving to opposite sides of the ring. In the extreme example, hexasilylbenzene, the SiCCSi dihedral angle is 17.8(8)°

Geographic Disparity of Female Athlete Triad Awareness and Access to Resources in the NCAA

The Female Athlete Triad is a pervasive, multifactorial morbidity among college athletes. The geographic disparity of female athlete triad awareness and access to resources in NCAA is unknown. PURPOSE: To determine geographic disparities in awareness of Triad components and resource access in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). METHOD: Division I-III NCAA compliance officers were sent an email containing a request to disseminate a web-based survey to cross country coaches in their respective conferences. The web-linked instrument included: a study synopsis; an informed consent statement, and; the IRB-approved survey tool. Respondents were grouped geographically based upon conference headquarters location, regions included; Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. Statistical analysis, using JMP software, included frequency distributions and chi-square tests for categorical association. RESULTS: Coaches (n = 143; age = 40.7 ± 11.9 years; coaching experience = 14.1 ± 10.3 years) from 45 conferences participated. Location impacted coaches’ awareness of the term “female athlete triad” (p = 0.0183), which was highest in the West (90%), and; lowest in the South (74%). Geography did not influence Triad component recognition (p = 0.3907) (i.e. low energy availability, amenorrhea, low bone mineral density), however; only 54% of coaches correctly identified all Triad components. Coaches who had Triad awareness were more likely to possess understanding that menstrual irregularities are not a normal result of exercise (p = \u3c0.001). No relationship was identified between location and access to body composition technology (p = 0.2031), or; a registered dietician (p = 0.4869). However, only 30% and 53% of coaches had access to these biometric and dietetic resources, respectively. Western cross-country athletes (p = 0.0276) had the highest access to sport psychologists (50%); lowest access was in the Midwest (20%). CONCLUSION: Triad awareness and geographic resource disparities exist: Western coaches have a higher level of Triad awareness and superior access to psychological counseling, whereas; the South and Midwest had the lowest, respectively. Greater uniform access to resources amongst NCAA schools, regardless of geographic region, may positively impact Triad prevalence and outcomes

Rights or containment? The politics of Aboriginal cultural heritage in Victoria

Aboriginal cultural heritage protection, and the legislative regimes that underpin it, constitute important mechanisms for Aboriginal people to assert their rights and responsibilities. This is especially so in Victoria, where legislation vests wide-ranging powers and control of cultural heritage with Aboriginal communities. However, the politics of cultural heritage, including its institutionalisation as a scientific body of knowledge within the state, can also result in a powerful limiting of Aboriginal rights and responsibilities. This paper examines the politics of cultural heritage through a case study of a small forest in north-west Victoria. Here, a dispute about logging has pivoted around differing conceptualisations of Aboriginal cultural heritage values and their management. Cultural heritage, in this case, is both a powerful tool for the assertion of Aboriginal rights and interests, but simultaneously a set of boundaries within which the state operates to limit and manage the challenge those assertions pose. The paper will argue that Aboriginal cultural heritage is a politically contested and shifting domain structured around Aboriginal law and politics, Australian statute and the legacy of colonial history