WhatIF: R Software for Evaluating Counterfactuals

WhatIf is an R package that implements the methods for evaluating counterfactuals introduced in King and Zeng (2006a) and King and Zeng (2006b). It offers easy-to-use techniques for assessing a counterfactual's model dependence without having to conduct sensitivity testing over specified classes of models. These same methods can be used to approximate the common support of the treatment and control groups in causal inference.

Late Miocene threshold response of marine algae to carbon dioxide limitation

Coccolithophores are marine algae that use carbon for calcification and photosynthesis. The long term adaptation of these and other marine algae to decreasing carbon dioxide levels during the Cenozoic era1 has resulted in modern algae capable of actively enhancing carbon dioxide at the site of photosynthesis. This enhancement occurs through the transport of dissolved bicarbonate (HCO3 -12 ) and with the help of enzymes whose expression can be modulated by variable aqueous carbon dioxide concentration, [CO2], in laboratory cultures . Coccolithophores preserve the geological history of this adaptation because the stable carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of their calcite plates (coccoliths), which are preserved in the fossil record, are sensitive to active carbon uptake and transport by the cell. Here we use a model of cellular carbon fluxes and show that at low [CO2], the increased demand for HCO3- at the site of photosynthesis results in a diminished allocation of HCO3 - to calcification, which is most pronounced in larger cells. This results in a large divergence between the carbon isotopic compositions of small versus large coccoliths only at low [CO2]. Our evaluation of the oxygen and carbon isotope record of size-separated fossil coccoliths reveals that this isotopic divergence first arose during the late Miocene to the earliest Pliocene epoch (about 7-5 million years ago). We interpret this to be a threshold response of the cells' carbon acquisition strategies to decreasing [CO2]. The documented coccolithophore response is synchronous with a global shift in terrestrial vegetation distribution between 8 and 5 Myr ago, which has been interpreted by some studies as a floral response to decreasing partial pressures of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in the atmosphere. We infer a global decrease in carbon dioxide levels for this time interval that has not yet been identified in the sparse pCO2 proxy record but that is synchronous with global cooling and progressive glaciations

WhatIF: R Software for Evaluating Counterfactuals

WhatIf is an R package that implements the methods for evaluating counterfactuals introduced in King and Zeng (2006a) and King and Zeng (2006b). It offers easy-to-use techniques for assessing a counterfactual's model dependence without having to conduct sensitivity testing over specified classes of models. These same methods can be used to approximate the common support of the treatment and control groups in causal inference.Governmen

WhatIF: R Software for Evaluating Counterfactuals

WhatIf is an R package that implements the methods for evaluating counterfactuals introduced in King and Zeng (2006a) and King and Zeng (2006b). It offers easy-to-use techniques for assessing a counterfactual’s model dependence without having to conduct sensitivity testing over specified classes of models. These same methods can be used to approximate the common support of the treatment and control groups in causal inference

Detailed analysis of the lamination and the geochemical varibility of the speleothem Zerolin to study the paleoclimate of SE Spain

This work reports an exhaustive analysis of geochemistry and lamination in the paleoclimate study of Málaga using an actively stalagmite called Zerolín, collected in 2007 in the Cave of Ardales. U-Th dates indicate that the speleothem began forming 1000 years ago. The older portion of the stalagmite presents a very marked lamination with an alternation of white and porous layers and denser dark layers. Lamination is absent in the younger portion of the stalagmite, which features darker calcite and slower growth rates. In the laminated part of the speleothem, a comparison of layer counting and U/Th dates indicates that light and dark couplets are annual. A detailed age model was then produced for the laminated part of the stalagmite based on layer counting anchored to a precise U/Th age. For the non-laminated portion of the stalagmite, U/Th dates were used in Bchron software to produce an age model. Periods of higher growth rate coincide with a greater thickness of white layers. In nonlaminated sections, U/Th dates confirm important depositional gaps. In the geochemical analysis it was discovered that the relationship and behavior of trace elements and stable isotopes is different in the upper zone than in the lower annually laminated zone. Over annual laminae cycles, trace elements such as Sr and d13C covary and may be driven by prior calcite precipitation, however Mg is out of phase with Sr. In nonlaminated segments, the correlations are not as systematic. The trace element and d13C indicate two periods of drier conditions in the stalagmite (1100-1200/1600-1800 AD) .These coincide with periods when there was an increase in the frequency of prayers for rainfall in historical documents from the Toledo Cathedral (F.Dominguez Castro et.al 2008), suggesting that the stalagmite is reflecting regionally significant humidity changes.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Insights on coccolith chemistry from a new ion probe method for analysis of individually picked coccoliths

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 8 (2007): Q06020, doi:10.1029/2006GC001546.The elemental chemistry of calcareous nannofossils may provide valuable information on past ocean conditions and coccolithophorid physiology, but artifacts from noncoccolith particles and from changing nannofossil assemblages may bias geochemical records from coccolith size fractions. We describe the first method for picking individual coccoliths using a tungsten needle in micromanipulator. Epoxy-mounted individuals and populations of coccoliths can be analyzed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). For Paleocene sediments the technique distinguishes the high Sr/Ca ratios of coccoliths (0.3 to 2.8 mmol/mol) from low ratios in abiogenic calcite blades (0.1 mmol/mol). The large heterogeneity of Sr/Ca ratios among different genera suggests that primary geochemical differences have not been homogenized by diagenetic overgrowth and the thick massive coccoliths of the late Paleocene are a primary feature of biomineralization. Sr/Ca ratios for modern genera are on average higher than those of Paleogene genera but exhibit a comparable level of variability.Research supported by NSF OCE-0424474 to H. Stoll and a fellowship to H. Stoll from the Spanish Ministry of Education cofunded by the European Social Fund

Beauty and the Beast: Perception of Beauty for the Female Athlete

This chapter is a discussion and reflection of how beauty is perceived through the lens of four different athletes over four different decades. Two basketball players, a gymnast and a skater, reflect on the language of their sport and how beauty is perceived and manipulated through language and coaching techniques. The experiences affect athletes over a lifetime, both positively and negatively

Coccolithophore productivity at the western Iberian Margin during the Middle Pleistocene (310–455 ka) – evidence from coccolith Sr∕Ca data

Coccolithophores contribute significantly to marine primary productivity and play a unique role in ocean biogeochemistry by using carbon for photosynthesis (soft-tissue pump) and for calcification (carbonate counter pump). Despite the importance of including coccolithophores in Earth system models to allow better predictions of the climate system’s responses to planetary change, the reconstruction of coccolithophore productivity mostly relied on proxies dependent on accumulation and sedimentation rates and preservation conditions. In this study we used an independent proxy, based on the coccolith fraction (CF) Sr=Ca ratio, to reconstruct coccolithophore productivity. We studied the marine sediment core MD03-2699 from the western Iberian margin (IbM), concentrating on glacial–interglacial cycles of Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 12 to MIS 9. We found that IbM coccolithophore productivity was controlled by changes in the oceanographic conditions, such as in sea surface temperature (SST) and nutrient availability, and by competition with other phytoplankton groups. Long-term coccolithophore productivity was primarily affected by variations in the dominant surface water mass. Polar and subpolar surface waters during glacial substages were associated with decreased coccolithophore productivity, with the strongest productivity minima concomitant with Heinrich-type events (HtEs). Subtropical, nutrient-poorer waters, increased terrigenous input, and moderate to strong upwelling during the deglaciation and early MIS11 are hypothesized to have attributed a competitive advantage to diatoms to the detriment of coccolithophores, resulting in intermediate coccolithophore productivity levels. During the progression towards full glacial conditions an increasing presence of nutrient-richer waters, related to the growing influence of transitional surface waters and/or intensified upwelling, probably stimulated coccolithophore productivity to maxima following the rapid depletion of silica by diatoms. We present conceptual models of the carbon and carbonate cycle components for the IbM in different time slices that might serve as a basis for further investigation and modelling experiments.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia CCMAR (UID/Multi/04326/2019), (IF/01500/2014).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Missing Science: Ethics in Practice

The Greeks argued that philosophy was the most important science even though it was a science that studied no things. Their science, philosophy, focused on the meaning of life and death, life after death, existence, knowledge, knowing the good and bad, as well as the application of right and wrong. We argue that what is right and what is wrong should underlie the development of the current book Sports and Exercise Science. The stated purposes of the book, “to present the up to date knowledge about etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, management and prevention of chronic injuries or sports related long term changes in locomotor system. Moreover, topics about influence of sports activities on growth and development in pediatric population and presentation of acute injuries that often develop to chronic…as well,” are topics that should be addressed through science in sports and exercise science—philosophy and ethics. Ethics should govern all science, including the growth and development of sports and exercise science. Injury often occurs because of poor coaching, poor training, or overtraining. The problem exists because of unethical practice of either coaches, parents, leaders, trainers, or a combination of all of them. This chapter focuses on ethical education for professionals, educators, practitioners, and coaches