Rates of Relative Sea Level Rise Along the United States East Coast

Recent studies have indicated that some coastal areas, including the East Coast of the United States, are experiencing higher rates of sea level rise than the global average. Rates of relative sea level rise are affected by changes in ocean dynamics, as well as by surface elevation fluctuations due to local land subsidence or uplift. In this study, we derived long-term trends in annual mean relative sea level using tide gauge data obtained from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level for stations along the United States East Coast. Stations were grouped by location into the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast regions of the United States East Coast, with the intent of investigating relative sea level rise variability between the three regions. Trends for each region were calculated using stations with a minimum record length of at least 30 years; the longest record began in 1856. Records that were less than 70 percent complete were rejected. For the three-year moving averages, Northeast trends were calculated to be 2.79 mm/yr, Mid-Atlantic trends were calculated to be 4.02 mm/yr, and Southeast trends were calculated to be 2.92 mm/yr. For the five-year moving averages, Northeast trends were calculated to be 2.81 mm/yr, Mid-Atlantic trends were calculated to be 4.04 mm/yr, and Southeast trends were calculated to be 2.91 mm/yr. The Mid-Atlantic region of the United States East Coast was determined to be experiencing significantly higher rates of relative sea level rise than the other regions

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Profound vision loss impairs psychological well-being in young and middle-aged individuals.

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of profound vision loss on psychological well-being in adolescents, young adults, and middle-aged adults with regard to mood, interpersonal interactions, and career-related goals. In addition, we assessed the significance of the resources that may be used to enhance psychological well-being in cases of profound vision loss, and in particular, examined the utility of low vision aids and the role of the ophthalmologist as a provider of emotional support.MethodsA questionnaire was issued to individuals aged 13-65 years with profound vision loss resulting from Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Depression prevalence was evaluated with questions regarding major depressive disorder symptomatology. Participants appraised the effects of vision loss on their interpersonal interactions and career goals by providing an impact rating (IR) on a 21-point psychometric scale from -10 to +10. Social well-being index was defined as the average of interpersonal IR and career IR. Subjects were additionally asked about the use of low vision aids and sources of emotional support.ResultsA total of 103 participants (mean age =26.4±11.2 years at LHON diagnosis; mean ± standard deviation) completed the questionnaire. Nearly half (49.5%) met the depression criteria after vision loss. Negative impacts on interpersonal interactions (median IR = -5) and career goals (median IR = -6) were observed; both ratings were worse (P<0.001) for depressed versus nondepressed subjects. Older age at diagnosis corresponded to higher depression prevalence and increased incidence of negative interpersonal IR and career IR. Sixty-eight percent of subjects used electronic vision aids; controlling for age, social well-being index was higher among these individuals than for those who did not use electronic aids (P=0.03). Over half of the participants (52.4%) asserted that they derived emotional support from their ophthalmologist.ConclusionProfound vision loss in adolescents, young adults, and middle-aged adults is associated with significant negative psychological and psychosocial effects, which are influenced by age and use of electronic vision aids. Ophthalmologists, in addition to managing vision loss, may serve an important role in the emotional adaptation of these patients

Viscosity measurements of glycerol in a parallel-plate rheometer exposed to atmosphere

Glycerol is a hygroscopic fluid that spontaneously absorbs water vapor from the atmosphere. For applications involving glycerol, care must be taken to avoid exposure to humidity, since its viscosity decreases quickly as water is absorbed. We report experimental measurements of the viscosity of glycerol in a parallel-plate rheometer where the outer interface is exposed to atmosphere. The measurements decrease with time as water is absorbed from the atmosphere and transported throughout the glycerol via diffusion and advection. Measured viscosities drop faster at higher relative humidities, confirming the role of hygroscopicity on the transient viscosities. The rate of viscosity decrease shows a non-monotonic relationship with the rheometer gap height. This behavior is explained by considering the transition from diffusion-dominated transport in the narrow gap regime to the large gap regime where transport is dominated by inertia-driven secondary flows. Numerical simulations of the water absorption and transport confirm this non-monotonic behavior. The experimental viscosity measurements show unexpectedly fast decreases at very small gap heights, violating the parallel-plate, axisymmetric model. We propose that this drop-off may be due to misalignment in the rheometer that becomes non-negligible for small gaps. Theoretical considerations show that secondary flows in a misaligned rheometer dominate the typical secondary inertial flows in parallel-plate rheometers at small gaps. Finally, simulations in a misaligned parallel-plate system demonstrate the same sharp drop-off in viscosity measurements at small gap heights. This modeling can be used to estimate the gap height where misalignment effects dominate the transient glycerol viscosity measurements.Comment: 26 pages, 17 figure

Best practices for selecting barriers within European catchments

With over 1.2 million dams and other instream barriers, Europe has possibly the most fragmented rivers in the world, but also the opportunity to benefit enormously from barrier removal. Resources available for barrier removal, however, are limited and some form of prioritization strategy is thus required to select barriers for removal that will provide the greatest gains from restoring river connectivity in the most efficient possible way. To properly restore river function, barrier removal programs need to consider all types of artificial instream barriers that cause river fragmentation, not just those that impede fish movements. Opportunities for barrier removal depend to a large extent on barrier typology, as this dictates not only where barriers are typically located, but also their size, age, condition, and impacts. Crucially, the extent of river fragmentation depends chiefly on the number and location of barriers, not on barrier size. However, because barrier removal costs typically increase with barrier height, acting on many small barriers may be more cost-efficient than acting on fewer larger structures. Here we review the main strategies available to prioritize barriers for removal and mitigation, with special emphasis on removing non-ponding, low-head (<3 m) barriers, as these are the most abundant across Europe and other regions. To increase the success of barrier removal programs, we recommend that barriers considered for removal fulfill four essential conditions: (1) they would bring about a meaningful gain in connectivity; (2) are cost-effective to remove; (3) will not cause significant or lasting environmental damage, and (4) are obsolete structures. There are dozens of prioritization methods in use. These can be broadly grouped into six main types depending on whether they are reactive or proactive, whether they are typically applied at local or larger spatial scales, and whether they employ an informal or a formal approach. These include, in increasing order of complexity: (1) opportunistic response; (2) use of local knowledge and expert opinion; (3) scoring and ranking; (4) geographic information system (GIS) scenario analysis; (5) graph theory; and (6) mathematical optimization. We review their strengths and weaknesses and provide examples of their use. Overall, mathematical optimization sets the gold standard for effective and robust barrier mitigation planning, but to be practical, it needs to factor in the constraints imposed by uncertainties and opportunities. Accordingly, a hybrid approach that considers uncertainty, the presence of natural barriers, the importance of future-proofing, and opportunities provided by local knowledge is likely to be the best overall approach to adopt. Various studies have shown that a small proportion of barriers is typically responsible for the majority of river fragmentation. These ‘fragmentizers’ can be identified and located using the prioritization methods discussed herein and a targeted approach can produce substantial gains in connectivity by acting on a relatively small number of structures. Unfortunately, many of these ‘fragmentizers’ cannot be easily removed. Removal, therefore, is constrained by opportunities and what is practically feasible. Mapping of barrier removal projects according to the three axes of opportunities, costs, and gains can help locate the ‘low hanging fruits.’ Opportunities normally develop over time as infrastructure ages, so acting on some barriers now will likely open opportunities for acting on others later on to create a snowballing effect. The ability to simulate benefits and costs of barrier removal and select barriers for removal is critically dependent the quality of the data at hand, particularly with respect to the number of barriers, which can be grossly underrepresented. Uncertainty caused by incomplete barrier records diminishes the effectiveness of barrier mitigation actions but these can be overcome to some extent by (1) ground truthing via river walkovers or (2) predictive modelling. Other critical sources of uncertainly include those caused by inaccurate stream networks and spatial errors regarding the exact locations of barriers. Although uncertainties can be reduced by collecting more information, it needs to be weighed against the cost of waiting. Waiting to collect more data to reduce uncertainties tied to barrier removal may lead to ‘paralysis by analysis,’ while species and ecosystems continue to decline due to stream fragmentation. To better understand how barrier prioritization is implemented in the real world, we sent out an online questionnaire to river restoration practitioners located in Europe and North America. Results show that most organizations (~60%) have a plan to achieve free-flowing rivers. Most respondents (34%) use expert judgment, followed by consultation with stakeholders (17%) and a combination of methods (28%) to prioritize barriers for mitigation. Only 12% used specialized software or algorithms. Attributes most frequently considered by practitioners in barrier prioritization were barrier ownership and rights, results of field surveys, and the obsolescence and conservation status of barriers. The most important rational flagged by practitioners to prioritize barriers for removal was to improve fish passage. Our study suggests that no matter what prioritization approach is ultimately adopted, decision makers need to be mindful that no priorities should be set in stone. Planning needs to be agile and flexible enough to adapt to changes and react to opportunities

Air Pollution and Lymphocyte Phenotype Proportions in Cord Blood

Effects of air pollution on morbidity and mortality may be mediated by alterations in immune competence. In this study we examined short-term associations of air pollution exposures with lymphocyte immunophenotypes in cord blood among 1,397 deliveries in two districts of the Czech Republic. We measured fine particulate matter < 2.5 μm in diameter (PM(2.5)) and 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 24-hr samples collected by versatile air pollution samplers. Cord blood samples were analyzed using a FACSort flow cytometer to determine phenotypes of CD3(+) T-lymphocytes and their subsets CD4(+) and CD8(+), CD19(+) B-lymphocytes, and natural killer cells. The mothers were interviewed regarding sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, and medical records were abstracted for obstetric, labor and delivery characteristics. During the period 1994 to 1998, the mean daily ambient concentration of PM(2.5) was 24.8 μg/m(3) and that of PAHs was 63.5 ng/m(3). In multiple linear regression models adjusted for temperature, season, and other covariates, average PAH or PM(2.5) levels during the 14 days before birth were associated with decreases in T-lymphocyte phenotype fractions (i.e., CD3(+) CD4(+), and CD8(+)), and a clear increase in the B-lymphocyte (CD19(+)) fraction. For a 100-ng/m(3) increase in PAHs, which represented approximately two standard deviations, the percentage decrease was −3.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), −5.6 to −1.0%] for CD3(+), −3.1% (95% CI, −4.9 to −1.3%) for CD4(+), and −1.0% (95% CI, −1.8 to −0.2%) for CD8(+) cells. The corresponding increase in the CD19(+) cell proportion was 1.7% (95% CI, 0.4 to 3.0%). Associations were similar but slightly weaker for PM(2.5). Ambient air pollution may influence the relative distribution of lymphocyte immunophenotypes of the fetus

Influence of fruit turgidity and firmness on apple bruise susceptibility.

Bruise damage is a major cause of quality loss for apples. It would be very useful to establish a method of characterizing bruise susceptibility in order to improve fruit handling, sometimes Magness-Taylor firmness is used as an indirect guide to handling requirements. The objective of the present work was to achieve a better bruise susceptibility prediction

Juvenile neurogenesis makes essential contributions to adult brain structure and plays a sex-dependent role in fear memories

Postnatal neurogenesis (PNN) contributes neurons to olfactory bulb (OB) and dentate gyrus (DG) throughout juvenile development, but the quantitative amount, temporal dynamics and functional roles of this contribution have not been defined. By using transgenic mouse models for cell lineage tracing and conditional cell ablation, we found that juvenile neurogenesis gradually increased the total number of granule neurons by approximately 40% in OB, and by 25% in DG, between 2 weeks and 2 months of age, and that total numbers remained stable thereafter. These findings indicate that the overwhelming majority of net postnatal neuronal addition in these regions occurs during the juvenile period and that adult neurogenesis contributes primarily to replacement of granule cells in both regions. Behavioral analysis in our conditional cell ablation mouse model showed that complete loss of PNN throughout both the juvenile and young adult period produced a specific set of sex-dependent cognitive changes. We observed normal hippocampus-independent delay fear conditioning, but excessive generalization of fear to a novel auditory stimulus, which is consistent with a role for PNN in psychopathology. Standard contextual fear conditioning was intact, however, pre-exposure dependent contextual fear was impaired suggesting a specific role for PNN in incidental contextual learning. Contextual discrimination between two highly similar contexts was enhanced; suggesting either enhanced contextual pattern separation or impaired temporal integration. We also observed a reduced reliance on olfactory cues, consistent with a role for OB PNN in the efficient processing of olfactory information. Thus, juvenile neurogenesis adds substantively to the total numbers of granule neurons in OB and DG during periods of critical juvenile behavioral development, including weaning, early social interactions and sexual maturation, and plays a sex-dependent role in fear memories