Unexplained hydrogen isotope offsets complicate the identification and quantification of tree water sources in a riparian forest

We investigated plant water sources of an emblematic refugial population of Fagus sylvatica (L.) in the Ciron river gorges in south-western France using stable water isotopes. It is generally assumed that no isotopic fractionation occurs during root water uptake, so that the isotopic composition of xylem water effectively reflects that of source water. However, this assumption has been called into question by recent studies that found that, at least at some dates during the growing season, plant water did not reflect any mixture of the potential water sources. In this context, highly resolved datasets covering a range of environmental conditions could shed light on possible plant–soil fractionation processes responsible for this phenomenon. In this study, the hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope compositions of all potential tree water sources and xylem water were measured fortnightly over an entire growing season. Using a Bayesian isotope mixing model (MixSIAR), we then quantified the relative contribution of water sources for F. sylvatica and Quercus robur (L.) trees. Based on δ18O data alone, both species used a mix of top and deep soil water over the season, with Q. robur using deeper soil water than F. sylvatica. The contribution of stream water appeared to be marginal despite the proximity of the trees to the stream, as already reported for other riparian forests. Xylem water δ18O could always be interpreted as a mixture of deep and shallow soil waters, but the δ2H of xylem water was often more depleted than the considered water sources. We argue that an isotopic fractionation in the unsaturated zone and/or within the plant tissues could underlie this unexpected relatively depleted δ2H of xylem water, as already observed in halophytic and xerophytic species. By means of a sensitivity analysis, we found that the estimation of plant water sources using mixing models was strongly affected by this δ2H depletion. A better understanding of what causes this isotopic separation between xylem and source water is urgently needed.</p

Effect of nucleon exchange on projectile multifragmentation in the reactions of 28Si + 112Sn and 124Sn at 30 and 50 MeV/nucleon

Multifragmentation of quasiprojectiles was studied in reactions of 28Si beam with 112Sn and 124Sn targets at projectile energies 30 and 50 MeV/nucleon. The quasiprojectile observables were reconstructed using isotopically identified charged particles with Z_f <= 5 detected at forward angles. The nucleon exchange between projectile and target was investigated using isospin and excitation energy of reconstructed quasiprojectile. For events with total reconstructed charge equal to the charge of the beam (Z_tot = 14) the influence of beam energy and target isospin on neutron transfer was studied in detail. Simulations employing subsequently model of deep inelastic transfer, statistical model of multifragmentation and software replica of FAUST detector array were carried out. A concept of deep inelastic transfer provides good description of production of highly excited quasiprojectiles. The isospin and excitation energy of quasiprojectile were described with good overall agreement. The fragment multiplicity, charge and isospin were reproduced satisfactorily. The range of contributing impact parameters was determined using backtracing procedure.Comment: 11 pages, 8 Postscript figures, LaTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev. C ( Dec 2000

Physical Activity Characteristics across GOLD Quadrants Depend on the Questionnaire Used

BACKGROUND:The GOLD multidimensional classification of COPD severity combines the exacerbation risk with the symptom experience, for which 3 different questionnaires are permitted. This study investigated differences in physical activity (PA) in the different GOLD quadrants and patient's distribution in relation to the questionnaire used. METHODS:136 COPD patients (58±21% FEV1 predicted, 34F/102M) completed COPD assessment test (CAT), clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) questionnaire. Exacerbation history, spirometry and 6MWD were collected. PA was objectively measured for 2 periods of 1 week, 6 months apart, in 5 European centres; to minimise seasonal and clinical variation the average of these two periods was used for analysis. RESULTS:GOLD quadrants C+D had reduced PA compared with A+B (3824 [2976] vs. 5508 [4671] steps.d-1, p<0.0001). The choice of questionnaire yielded different patient distributions (agreement mMRC-CAT κ = 0.57; CCQ-mMRC κ = 0.71; CCQ-CAT κ = 0.72) with different clinical characteristics. PA was notably lower in patients with an mMRC score ≥2 (3430 [2537] vs. 5443 [3776] steps.d-1, p <0.001) in both the low and high risk quadrants. CONCLUSIONS:Using different questionnaires changes the patient distribution and results in different clinical characteristics. Therefore, standardization of the questionnaire used for classification is critical to allow comparison of different studies using this as an entry criterion. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01388218

Thermal excitation of heavy nuclei with 5-15 GeV/c antiproton, proton and pion beams

Excitation-energy distributions have been derived from measurements of 5.0-14.6 GeV/c antiproton, proton and pion reactions with $^{197}$Au target nuclei, using the ISiS 4$\pi$ detector array. The maximum probability for producing high excitation-energy events is found for the antiproton beam relative to other hadrons, $^3$He and $\bar{p}$ beams from LEAR. For protons and pions, the excitation-energy distributions are nearly independent of hadron type and beam momentum above about 8 GeV/c. The excitation energy enhancement for $\bar{p}$ beams and the saturation effect are qualitatively consistent with intranuclear cascade code predictions. For all systems studied, maximum cluster sizes are observed for residues with E*/A $\sim$ 6 MeV.Comment: 14 pages including 5 figures and 1 table. Accepted in Physics Letter B. also available at http://nuchem.iucf.indiana.edu

Differences in temperature sensitivity and drought recovery between natural stands and plantations of conifers are species-specific

Forests are being impacted by climate and land-use changes which have altered their productivity and growth. Understanding how tree growth responds to climate in natural and planted stands may provide valuable information to prepare management in sight of climate change. Plantations are expected to show higher sensitivity to climate and lower post-drought resilience than natural stands, due to their lower compositional and structural diversity. We reconstructed and compared the radial growth of six conifers with contrasting ecological and climatic niches (Abies pinsapo, Cedrus atlantica, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus nigra, Pinus pinea, Pinus pinaster) in natural and planted stands subjected to seasonal drought in 40 sites. We quantified the relationships between individual growth variability and climate variables (temperature, precipitation and the SPEI drought index), as well as post-drought resilience. Elevated precipitation during the previous autumn-winter and current spring to early summer enhanced growth in both natural and planted stands of all species. Temperature effects on growth were less consistent: only plantations of A. pinsapo, C. atlantica, P. nigra, P. pinea, P. sylvetris and a natural stand of P. nigra showed negative impacts of summer temperature on growth. Drought reduced growth of all species in both plantations and natural stands, with variations in the temporal scale of the response. Drought constrained growth more severely in natural stands than in plantations of C. atlantica, P. pinaster and P. nigra, whereas the inverse pattern was found for A. pinsapo. Resilience to drought varied between species: natural stands of A. pinsapo, C. atlantica and P. pinaster recovered faster than plantations, while P. pinea plantations recovered faster than natural stands. Overall, plantations did not consistently show a higher sensitivity to climate and a lower capacity to recover after drought. Therefore, plantations are potential tools for mitigating climate warming. © 2021 The AuthorsThis study was supported by project FORMAL ( RTI2018-096884-B-C31 ) from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities . GS-B was supported by a Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness Postdoctoral grant ( IJC2019-040571-I ; FEDER funds)

Signals for a Transition from Surface to Bulk Emission in Thermal Multifragmentation

Excitation-energy-gated two-fragment correlation functions have been studied between 2 to 9A MeV of excitation energy for equilibrium-like sources formed in $\pi^-$ and p + $^{197}$Au reactions at beam momenta of 8,9.2 and 10.2 GeV/c. Comparison of the data to an N-body Coulomb-trajectory code shows a decrease of one order of magnitude in the fragment emission time in the excitation energy interval 2-5A MeV, followed by a nearly constant breakup time at higher excitation energy. The observed decrease in emission time is shown to be strongly correlated with the increase of the fragment emission probability, and the onset of thermally-induced radial expansion. This result is interpreted as evidence consistent with a transition from surface-dominated to bulk emission expected for spinodal decomposition.Comment: 11 pages including 3 postscript figures (1 color

Net Efficacy Adjusted for Risk (NEAR): A Simple Procedure for Measuring Risk:Benefit Balance

BACKGROUND: Although several mathematical models have been proposed to assess the risk:benefit of drugs in one measure, their use in practice has been rather limited. Our objective was to design a simple, easily applicable model. In this respect, measuring the proportion of patients who respond favorably to treatment without being affected by adverse drug reactions (ADR) could be a suitable endpoint. However, remarkably few published clinical trials report the data required to calculate this proportion. As an approach to the problem, we calculated the expected proportion of this type of patients. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Theoretically, responders without ADR may be obtained by multiplying the total number of responders by the total number of subjects that did not suffer ADR, and dividing the product by the total number of subjects studied. When two drugs are studied, the same calculation may be repeated for the second drug. Then, by constructing a 2 x 2 table with the expected frequencies of responders with and without ADR, and non-responders with and without ADR, the odds ratio and relative risk with their confidence intervals may be easily calculated and graphically represented on a logarithmic scale. Such measures represent "net efficacy adjusted for risk" (NEAR). We assayed the model with results extracted from several published clinical trials or meta-analyses. On comparing our results with those originally reported by the authors, marked differences were found in some cases, with ADR arising as a relevant factor to balance the clinical benefit obtained. The particular features of the adverse reaction that must be weighed against benefit is discussed in the paper. CONCLUSION: NEAR representing overall risk-benefit may contribute to improving knowledge of drug clinical usefulness. As most published clinical trials tend to overestimate benefits and underestimate toxicity, our measure represents an effort to change this trend

Lentiviral Vector Delivery of Human Interleukin-7 (hIL-7) to Human Immune System (HIS) Mice Expands T Lymphocyte Populations

Genetically modified mice carrying engrafted human tissues provide useful models to study human cell biology in physiologically relevant contexts. However, there remain several obstacles limiting the compatibility of human cells within their mouse hosts. Among these is inadequate cross-reactvitiy between certain mouse cytokines and human cellular receptors, depriving the graft of important survival and growth signals. To circumvent this problem, we utilized a lentivirus-based delivery system to express physiologically relevant levels of human interleukin-7 (hIL-7) in Rag2-/-γc-/- mice following a single intravenous injection. hIL-7 promoted homeostatic proliferation of both adoptively transferred and endogenously generated T-cells in Rag2-/-γc-/- Human Immune System (HIS) mice. Interestingly, we found that hIL-7 increased T lymphocyte numbers in the spleens of HIV infected HIS mice without affecting viral load. Taken together, our study unveils a versatile approach to deliver human cytokines to HIS mice, to both improve engraftment and determine the impact of cytokines on human diseases

Assessing the life cycle environmental impacts of titania nanoparticle production by continuous flow solvo/hydrothermal synthesis

Continuous-flow hydrothermal and solvothermal syntheses offer substantial advantages over conventional processes, producing high quality materials from a wide range of precursors. In this study, we evaluate the “cradle-to-gate” life cycle environmental impacts of alternative titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticle production parameters, considering a range of operational conditions, precursors, material properties and production capacities. A detailed characterisation of the nano-TiO₂ products allows us, for the first time, to link key nanoparticle characteristics to production parameters and environmental impacts, providing a useful foundation for future studies evaluating nano-TiO₂ applications. Five different titanium precursors are considered, ranging from simple inorganic precursors, like titanium oxysulphate (TiOS), to complex organic precursors such as titanium bis(ammonium-lactato)dihydroxide (TiBALD). Synthesis at the laboratory scale is used to determine the yield, size distribution, crystallinity and phase of the nanoparticles. The specifications and operating experience of a full scale plant (>1000 t per year) are used to estimate the mass and energy inputs of industrial scale production for the life cycle assessment. Overall, higher process temperatures are linked to larger, more crystalline nanoparticles and higher conversion rates. Precursor selection also influences nano-TiO₂ properties: production from TiOS results in the largest particle sizes, while TiBALD achieves the smallest particles and narrowest size distribution. Precursor selection is the main factor in determining cradle-to-gate environmental impacts (>80% in some cases), due to the production impact of complex organic precursors. Nano-TiO2 production from TiOS shows the lowest global warming potential (GWP) (<12 kg CO₂-eq. per kg TiO₂) and cumulative energy demand (CED) (<149 MJ kg¯¹ TiO₂) due to the low environmental impact of the precursor, the use of water as a solvent and its high yield even at lower temperatures. Conversely, the TiBALD precursor shows the highest impact (86 kg CO₂-eq. per kg TiO₂ and 1952 MJ kg¯¹ TiO₂) due to the need for additional post-synthesis steps and complexity of precursor manufacturing. The main purpose of this study is not a direct comparison of the environmental impacts of TiO₂ nanoparticles manufactured utilizing various precursors under different conditions, but to provide an essential foundation for future work evaluating potential applications of nano-TiO₂ and their life cycle environmental impacts

Socio-economic inequalities in C-reactive protein and fibrinogen across the adult age span: Findings from Understanding Society

Systemic inflammation has been proposed as a physiological process linking socio-economic position (SEP) to health. We examined how SEP inequalities in inflammation -assessed using C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen- varied across the adult age span. Current (household income) and distal (education) markers of SEP were used. Data from 7,943 participants (aged 25+) of Understanding Society (wave 2, 1/2010-3/2012) were employed. We found that SEP inequalities in inflammation followed heterogeneous patterns by age, which differed by the inflammatory marker examined rather than by SEP measures. SEP inequalities in CRP emerged in 30s, increased up to mid-50s or early 60 s when they peaked and then decreased with age. SEP inequalities in fibrinogen decreased with age. Body mass index (BMI), smoking, physical activity and healthy diet explained part, but not all, of the SEP inequalities in inflammation; in general, BMI exerted the largest attenuation. Cumulative advantage theories and those considering age as a leveler for the accumulation of health and economic advantages across the life-span should be dynamically integrated to better understand the observed heterogeneity in SEP differences in health across the lifespan. The attenuating roles of health-related lifestyle indicators suggest that targeting health promotion policies may help reduce SEP inequalities in health