On the acoustic diffraction by the edges of benthic shells

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 116 (2004): 239-244, doi:10.1121/1.1675813.Recent laboratory measurements of acoustic backscattering by individual benthic shells have isolated the edge-diffracted echo from echoes due to the surface of the main body of the shell. The data indicate that the echo near broadside incidence is generally the strongest for all orientations and is due principally to the surface of the main body. At angles well away from broadside, the echo levels are lower and are due primarily to the diffraction from the edge of the shell. The decrease in echo levels from broadside incidence to well off broadside is shown to be reasonably consistent with the decrease in acoustic backscattering from normal incidence to well off normal incidence by a shell-covered seafloor. The results suggest the importance of the edge of the shell in off-normal-incidence backscattering by a shell-covered seafloor. Furthermore, when considering bistatic diffraction by edges, there are implications that the edge of the shell (lying on the seafloor) can cause significant scattering in many directions, including at subcritical angles.This research was supported by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (Grant No. N00014-02-1-0095) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Woods Hole, MA

The design and development of a third generation OSEE instrument

Optically Stimulated Electron Emission (OSEE) has been used to quantify surface contamination in the aerospace community. As advances are made towards the understanding of OSEE, it is desirable to incorporate technological advances with succeeding generations of instrumentation, so that improvements in the practical application of OSEE may be disseminated among the user community. Several studies undertaken by Yost, Welch, Abedin and others have expanded the knowledge base related to the underlying principles of OSEE. The conclusions of these studies, together with inputs from the user community were the foundation upon which the development of a third generation OSEE instrument was based. This manuscript describes the significant improvements incorporated into a third generation OSEE instrument as well as the elements unique to its design

Democratization and the Diffusion of Shari'a Law: Comparative Insights from Indonesia

The democratization of politics has been accompanied by a rise of Islamic laws in many Muslim-majority countries. Despite a growing interest in the phenomenon, the Islamization of politics in democratizing Muslim-majority countries is rarely understood as a process that unfolds across space and time. Based on an original dataset established during years of field research in Indonesia, this article analyzes the spread of shari’a regulations across the world’s largest Muslim-majority democracy since 1998. The article shows that shari’a regulations in Indonesia diffused unevenly across space and time. Explanations put forward in the literature on the diffusion of morality policies in other countries such as geographic proximity, institutions, intergovernmental relations and economic conditions did not explain the patterns in the diffusion of shari’a regulations in Indonesia well. Instead, shari’a regulations in Indonesia were most likely to spread across jurisdictions where local Islamist groups situated outside the party system had an established presence. In short, the Islamization of politics was highly contingent on local conditions. Future research will need to pay more attention to local Islamist activists and networks situated outside formal politics as potential causes for the diffusion of shari’a law in democratizing Muslim-majority countries

“It Was Easier in Prison!” : Russian Baptist Rehab as a Therapeutic Community, Monastery, Prison, and Ministry

This chapter revisits a Foucauldian concept of “complete and austere institutions,” using the ethnographic study of therapeutic communities, monasteries, prisons, and religious ministries to draw a line between those concepts, specifically addressing a Christian ministry in the Russian Baptist interpretation. My argument is based on an ethnographic account of the Russian Baptist ministry for people suffering from addiction. I unfold the concept of an Evangelical ministry, contrasting it to the Foucauldian austere institutions in order to highlight its nature. I argue that even though a rehabilitation ministry may use methods and techniques of austere institutions, and even resemble them in their implementation, the distinctive feature of a ministry is its focus on the result, rather than the process, interpreted as serving God by serving men.Peer reviewe

Impairment of Adolescent Hippocampal Plasticity in a Mouse Model for Alzheimer's Disease Precedes Disease Phenotype

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) was assumed to be an important neuron-morphoregulatory protein and plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. In the study presented here, we analyzed the APP-transgenic mouse model APP23 using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis technology in combination with DIGE and mass spectrometry. We investigated cortex and hippocampus of transgenic and wildtype mice at 1, 2, 7 and 15 months of age. Furthermore, cortices of 16 days old embryos were analyzed. When comparing the protein patterns of APP23 with wildtype mice, we detected a relatively large number of altered protein spots at all age stages and brain regions examined which largely preceded the occurrence of amyloid plaques. Interestingly, in hippocampus of adolescent, two-month old mice, a considerable peak in the number of protein changes was observed. Moreover, when protein patterns were compared longitudinally between age stages, we found that a large number of proteins were altered in wildtype mice. Those alterations were largely absent in hippocampus of APP23 mice at two months of age although not in other stages compared. Apparently, the large difference in the hippocampal protein patterns between two-month old APP23 and wildtype mice was caused by the absence of distinct developmental changes in the hippocampal proteome of APP23 mice. In summary, the absence of developmental proteome alterations as well as a down-regulation of proteins related to plasticity suggest the disturption of a normally occurring peak of hippocampal plasticity during adolescence in APP23 mice. Our findings are in line with the observation that AD is preceded by a clinically silent period of several years to decades. We also demonstrate that it is of utmost importance to analyze different brain regions and different age stages to obtain information about disease-causing mechanisms

‘Gatekeepers’ of Islamic financial circuits: Analysing urban geographies of the global Shari’a elite

This paper analyses the importance of 'Shari'a scholars' in the Islamic Financial Services (IFS) sector, which has been a growing global practice since the 1970s. Based on Shari'a Law, IFS firms provide banking, finance and insurance respecting faith-based prohibitions on interest, speculation and risk taking. Although IFS firms operate across a variety of scales and involve a range of actors, this paper focuses on the transnational capacities of Shari'a experts employed by IFS firms. These scholars use their extensive knowledge of Shari'a Law to assess the 'Islamic' character of a firm's operations, and assist the development of Shari'a-compliant products. As they embody necessary entry-points into Islamic circuits of knowledge and authority, members of what we dub the 'global Shari'a elite' can be regarded as 'gatekeepers' of Islamic financial circuits. Drawing on a comprehensive data source we present a geographical analysis of Shari'a board membership, nationality and educational background of 253 Shari'a scholars. The results show that the global Shari'a elite connects a limited number of IFS hubs (e. g. Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Manama, and London) to knowledge and authority networks falling outside 'mainstream' business and service spheres

A genome-wide association scan implicates <i>DCHS2, RUNX2, GLI3, PAX1</i> and <i>EDAR</i> in human facial variation

We report a genome-wide association scan for facial features in ∼6,000 Latin Americans. We evaluated 14 traits on an ordinal scale and found significant association (P values−8) at single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in four genomic regions for three nose-related traits: columella inclination (4q31), nose bridge breadth (6p21) and nose wing breadth (7p13 and 20p11). In a subsample of ∼3,000 individuals we obtained quantitative traits related to 9 of the ordinal phenotypes and, also, a measure of nasion position. Quantitative analyses confirmed the ordinal-based associations, identified SNPs in 2q12 associated to chin protrusion, and replicated the reported association of nasion position with SNPs in PAX3. Strongest association in 2q12, 4q31, 6p21 and 7p13 was observed for SNPs in the EDAR, DCHS2, RUNX2 and GLI3 genes, respectively. Associated SNPs in 20p11 extend to PAX1. Consistent with the effect of EDAR on chin protrusion, we documented alterations of mandible length in mice with modified Edar function

Global carbon budget 2022

Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere in a changing climate is critical to better understand the global carbon cycle, support the development of climate policies, and project future climate change. Here we describe and synthesize data sets and methodologies to quantify the five major components of the global carbon budget and their uncertainties. Fossil CO2 emissions (EFOS) are based on energy statistics and cement production data, while emissions from land-use change (ELUC), mainly deforestation, are based on land use and land-use change data and bookkeeping models. Atmospheric CO2 concentration is measured directly, and its growth rate (GATM) is computed from the annual changes in concentration. The ocean CO2 sink (SOCEAN) is estimated with global ocean biogeochemistry models and observation-based data products. The terrestrial CO2 sink (SLAND) is estimated with dynamic global vegetation models. The resulting carbon budget imbalance (BIM), the difference between the estimated total emissions and the estimated changes in the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere, is a measure of imperfect data and understanding of the contemporary carbon cycle. All uncertainties are reported as ±1σ. For the year 2021, EFOS increased by 5.1% relative to 2020, with fossil emissions at 10.1±0.5GtCyr-1 (9.9±0.5GtCyr-1 when the cement carbonation sink is included), and ELUC was 1.1±0.7GtCyr-1, for a total anthropogenic CO2 emission (including the cement carbonation sink) of 10.9±0.8GtCyr-1 (40.0±2.9GtCO2). Also, for 2021, GATM was 5.2±0.2GtCyr-1 (2.5±0.1ppmyr-1), SOCEAN was 2.9 ±0.4GtCyr-1, and SLAND was 3.5±0.9GtCyr-1, with a BIM of -0.6GtCyr-1 (i.e. the total estimated sources were too low or sinks were too high). The global atmospheric CO2 concentration averaged over 2021 reached 414.71±0.1ppm. Preliminary data for 2022 suggest an increase in EFOS relative to 2021 of +1.0% (0.1% to 1.9%) globally and atmospheric CO2 concentration reaching 417.2ppm, more than 50% above pre-industrial levels (around 278ppm). Overall, the mean and trend in the components of the global carbon budget are consistently estimated over the period 1959-2021, but discrepancies of up to 1GtCyr-1 persist for the representation of annual to semi-decadal variability in CO2 fluxes. Comparison of estimates from multiple approaches and observations shows (1) a persistent large uncertainty in the estimate of land-use change emissions, (2) a low agreement between the different methods on the magnitude of the land CO2 flux in the northern extratropics, and (3) a discrepancy between the different methods on the strength of the ocean sink over the last decade. This living data update documents changes in the methods and data sets used in this new global carbon budget and the progress in understanding of the global carbon cycle compared with previous publications of this data set. The data presented in this work are available at 10.18160/GCP-2022 (Friedlingstein et al., 2022b)

Fluoxetine Exerts Age-Dependent Effects on Behavior and Amygdala Neuroplasticity in the Rat

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) Prozac® (fluoxetine) is the only registered antidepressant to treat depression in children and adolescents. Yet, while the safety of SSRIs has been well established in adults, serotonin exerts neurotrophic actions in the developing brain and thereby may have harmful effects in adolescents. Here we treated adolescent and adult rats chronically with fluoxetine (12 mg/kg) at postnatal day (PND) 25 to 46 and from PND 67 to 88, respectively, and tested the animals 7–14 days after the last injection when (nor)fluoxetine in blood plasma had been washed out, as determined by HPLC. Plasma (nor)fluoxetine levels were also measured 5 hrs after the last fluoxetine injection, and matched clinical levels. Adolescent rats displayed increased behavioral despair in the forced swim test, which was not seen in adult fluoxetine treated rats. In addition, beneficial effects of fluoxetine on wakefulness as measured by electroencephalography in adults was not seen in adolescent rats, and age-dependent effects on the acoustic startle response and prepulse inhibition were observed. On the other hand, adolescent rats showed resilience to the anorexic effects of fluoxetine. Exploratory behavior in the open field test was not affected by fluoxetine treatment, but anxiety levels in the elevated plus maze test were increased in both adolescent and adult fluoxetine treated rats. Finally, in the amygdala, but not the dorsal raphe nucleus and medial prefrontal cortex, the number of PSA-NCAM (marker for synaptic remodeling) immunoreactive neurons was increased in adolescent rats, and decreased in adult rats, as a consequence of chronic fluoxetine treatment. No fluoxetine-induced changes in 5-HT1A receptor immunoreactivity were observed. In conclusion, we show that fluoxetine exerts both harmful and beneficial age-dependent effects on depressive behavior, body weight and wakefulness, which may relate, in part, to differential fluoxetine-induced neuroplasticity in the amygdala