Quantification of Reef Fish Assemblages: A Comparison of Several In Situ Methods

On two coral reef biotopes off St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands a total of 41 in situ visual assessments of reef fish assemblages were conducted using six different methods. These methods included: transect, quadrat, random count, clnetransect, cineturret, and still photography. The dependent variables (numbers of species and species diversity) were examined for possible influence by the independent sample variables (time of day, amount of observation, time, reef site, and census method). Cluster analyses indicated that all methods gather data which allow community separation based on the sample variables. However, methods which tend to produce more information in terms of more species and numbers of individuals tend to recognize these sample variables more distinctly. Census assessment methods strongly Influenced the dependent variables. It is suspected that the amount of time employed for each method may be the most Important feature influencing in situ reef fish assemblage assessments

Scientific Needs for Future X-ray Sources in the U.S. -- A White Paper

Many of the important challenges facing humanity, including developing alternative sources of energy and improving heath, are being addressed by advances that demand the improved understanding and control of matter. While the visualization, exploration, and manipulation of macroscopic matter have long been technological goals, scientific developments in the twentieth century have focused attention on understanding matter on the atomic scale through the underlying framework of quantum mechanics. Of special interest is matter that consists of natural or artificial nanoscale building blocks defined either by atomic structural arrangements or by electron or spin formations created by collective correlation effects. The essence of the challenge to the scientific community has been expressed in five grand challenges for directing matter and energy recently formulated by the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee. These challenges focus on increasing our understanding of, and ultimately control of, matter at the level of atoms, electrons. and spins, as illustrated in Figure 1.1. Meeting these challenges will require new tools that extend our reach into regions of higher spatial, temporal, and energy resolution. Since the fundamental interaction that holds matter together is of electromagnetic origin, it is intuitively clear that electromagnetic radiation is the critical tool in the study of material properties. On the level of atoms, electrons and spins, x rays have proved especially valuable

Global and local sea level during the Last Interglacial: A probabilistic assessment

The Last Interglacial (LIG) stage, with polar temperatures likely 3-5 C warmer than today, serves as a partial analogue for low-end future warming scenarios. Based upon a small set of local sea level indicators, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) inferred that LIG global sea level (GSL) was about 4-6 m higher than today. However, because local sea levels differ from GSL, accurately reconstructing past GSL requires an integrated analysis of globally distributed data sets. Here we compile an extensive database of sea level indicators and apply a novel statistical approach that couples Gaussian process regression of sea level to Markov Chain Monte Carlo modeling of geochronological errors. Our analysis strongly supports the hypothesis that LIG GSL was higher than today, probably peaking at 6-9 m. Our results highlight the sea level hazard associated with even relatively low levels of sustained global warming.Comment: Preprint version of what has since been published in Natur

Science and Technology of Future Light Sources

Many of the important challenges facing humanity, including developing alternative sources of energy and improving health, are being addressed by advances that demand the improved understanding and control of matter. While the visualization, exploration, and manipulation of macroscopic matter have long been technological goals, scientific developments in the twentieth century have focused attention on understanding matter on the atomic scale through the underlying framework of quantum mechanics. Of special interest is matter that consists of natural or artificial nanoscale building blocks defined either by atomic structural arrangements or by electron or spin formations created by collective correlation effects The essence of the challenge to the scientific community has been expressed in five grand challenges for directing matter and energy recently formulated by the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee [1]. These challenges focus on increasing our understanding of, and ultimately control of, matter at the level of atoms, electrons. and spins, as illustrated in Figure 1.1, and serve the entire range of science from advanced materials to life sciences. Meeting these challenges will require new tools that extend our reach into regions of higher spatial, temporal, and energy resolution. X-rays with energies above 10 keV offer capabilities extending beyond the nanoworld shown in Figure 1.1 due to their ability to penetrate into optically opaque or thick objects. This opens the door to combining atomic level information from scattering studies with 3D information on longer length scales from real space imaging with a resolution approaching 1 nm. The investigation of multiple length scales is important in hierarchical structures, providing knowledge about function of living organisms, the atomistic origin of materials failure, the optimization of industrial synthesis, or the working of devices. Since the fundamental interaction that holds matter together is of electromagnetic origin, it is intuitively clear that electromagnetic radiation is the critical tool in the study of material properties. On the level of atoms, electrons, and spins, x-rays have proved especially valuable. Future advanced x-ray sources and instrumentation will extend the power of x-ray methods to reach greater spatial resolution, increased sensitivity, and unexplored temporal domains. The purpose of this document is threefold: (1) summarize scientific opportunities that are beyond the reach of today's x-ray sources and instrumentation; (2) summarize the requirements for advanced x-ray sources and instrumentation needed to realize these scientific opportunities, as well as potential methods of achieving them; and (3) outline the R&D required to establish the technical feasibility of these advanced x-ray sources and instrumentation

Breeding progress and preparedness for mass‐scale deployment of perennial lignocellulosic biomass crops switchgrass, miscanthus, willow and poplar

UK: The UK‐led miscanthus research and breeding was mainly supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the BBSRC CSP strategic funding grant BB/CSP1730/1, Innovate UK/BBSRC “MUST” BB/N016149/1, CERES Inc. and Terravesta Ltd. through the GIANT‐LINK project (LK0863). Genomic selection and genomewide association study activities were supported by BBSRC grant BB/K01711X/1, the BBSRC strategic programme grant on Energy Grasses & Bio‐refining BBS/E/W/10963A01. The UK‐led willow R&D work reported here was supported by BBSRC (BBS/E/C/00005199, BBS/E/C/00005201, BB/G016216/1, BB/E006833/1, BB/G00580X/1 and BBS/E/C/000I0410), Defra (NF0424) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (B/W6/00599/00/00). IT: The Brain Gain Program (Rientro dei cervelli) of the Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research supports Antoine Harfouche. US: Contributions by Gerald Tuskan to this manuscript were supported by the Center for Bioenergy Innovation, a US Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science, under contract number DE‐AC05‐00OR22725. Willow breeding efforts at Cornell University have been supported by grants from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Contributions by the University of Illinois were supported primarily by the DOE Office of Science; Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER); grant nos. DE‐SC0006634, DE‐SC0012379 and DE‐SC0018420 (Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation); and the Energy Biosciences Institute. EU: We would like to further acknowledge contributions from the EU projects “OPTIMISC” FP7‐289159 on miscanthus and “WATBIO” FP7‐311929 on poplar and miscanthus as well as “GRACE” H2020‐EU.3.2.6. Bio‐based Industries Joint Technology Initiative (BBI‐JTI) Project ID 745012 on miscanthus.Peer reviewedPostprintPublisher PD

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

ICONE18-30343 Enhanced CANDU 6: An Upgraded Reactor Product with Optimal Fuel Cycle Capability

ABSTRACT Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) has two CAND