Hillslopes record the growth and decay of landscapes

Earth's surface archives the combined history of tectonics and erosion, which tend to roughen landscapes, and sediment transport and deposition, which smooth them. We analyzed hillslope morphology in the tectonically active Dragon’s Back Pressure Ridge in California, United States, to assess whether tectonic uplift history can be reconstructed using measurable attributes of hillslope features within landscapes. Hilltop curvature and hillslope relief mirror measured rates of vertical displacement caused by tectonic forcing, and their relationships are consistent with those expected when idealizing hillslope transport as a nonlinear diffusion process. Hilltop curvature lags behind relief in its response to changing erosion rates, allowing growing landscapes to be distinguished from decaying landscapes. Numerical modeling demonstrates that hillslope morphology may be used to infer changes in tectonic rates

Six-week time series of eddy covariance CO2 flux at Mammoth Mountain, California: performance evaluation and role of meteorological forcing

CO{sub 2} and heat fluxes were measured over a six-week period (09/08/2006 to 10/24/2006) by the eddy covariance (EC) technique at the Horseshoe Lake tree kill (HLTK), Mammoth Mountain, CA, a site with complex terrain and high, spatially heterogeneous CO{sub 2} emission rates. EC CO{sub 2} fluxes ranged from 218 to 3500 g m{sup -2} d{sup -1} (mean = 1346 g m{sup -2} d{sup -1}). Using footprint modeling, EC CO{sub 2} fluxes were compared to CO{sub 2} fluxes measured by the chamber method on a grid repeatedly over a 10-day period. Half-hour EC CO{sub 2} fluxes were moderately correlated (R{sup 2} = 0.42) with chamber fluxes, whereas average-daily EC CO{sub 2} fluxes were well correlated (R{sup 2} = 0.70) with chamber measurements. Average daily EC CO{sub 2} fluxes were correlated with both average daily wind speed and atmospheric pressure; relationships were similar to those observed between chamber CO{sub 2} fluxes and the atmospheric parameters over a comparable time period. Energy balance closure was assessed by statistical regression of EC energy fluxes (sensible and latent heat) against available energy (net radiation, less soil heat flux). While incomplete (R{sup 2} = 0.77 for 1:1 line), the degree of energy balance closure fell within the range observed in many investigations conducted in contrasting ecosystems and climates. Results indicate that despite complexities presented by the HLTK, EC can be reliably used to monitor background variations in volcanic CO{sub 2} fluxes associated with meteorological forcing, and presumably changes related to deeply derived processes such as volcanic activity

Eddy covariance observations of surface leakage during shallow subsurface CO2 releases

We tested the ability of eddy covariance (EC) to detect, locate, and quantify surface CO{sub 2} flux leakage signals within a background ecosystem. For 10 days starting on 07/09/2007, and for seven days starting on 08/03/2007, 0.1 (Release 1) and 0.3 (Release 2) t CO{sub 2}d{sup -1}, respectively, were released from a horizontal well {approx}100 m in length and {approx}2.5 m in depth located in an agricultural field in Bozeman, MT. An EC station measured net CO{sub 2} flux (F{sub c}) from 06/08/2006 to 09/04/2006 (mean and standard deviation = -12.4 and 28.1 g m{sup -2} d{sup -1}, respectively) and from 05/28/2007 to 09/04/2007 (mean and standard deviation = -12.0 and 28.1 g m{sup -2} d{sup -1}, respectively). The Release 2 leakage signal was visible in the F{sub c} time series, whereas the Release 1 signal was difficult to detect within variability of ecosystem fluxes. To improve detection ability, we calculated residual fluxes (F{sub cr}) by subtracting fluxes corresponding to a model for net ecosystem exchange from F{sub c}. F{sub cr} had reduced variability and lacked the negative bias seen in corresponding F{sub c} distributions. Plotting the upper 90th percentile F{sub cr} versus time enhanced the Release 2 leakage signal. However, values measured during Release 1 fell within the variability assumed to be related to unmodeled natural processes. F{sub cr} measurements and corresponding footprint functions were inverted using a least-squares approach to infer the spatial distribution of surface CO{sub 2} fluxes during Release 2. When combined with flux source area evaluation, inversion results roughly located the CO{sub 2} leak, while resolution was insufficient to quantify leakage rate

The capabilities approach and worker wellbeing

Recently, scholars have attempted to apply the capabilities approach, as advanced by Amartya Sen, to the realm of labour. They argue that it provides a philosophical justification for a ‘development’ approach to labour regulation, supports the design of policies that promote workers’ wellbeing and validates the institution of worker participation mechanisms. For labour proponents, this is an exciting prospect. This article argues that despite its promise for expanding workers’ capabilities, certain ambiguities potentially impede the approach’s utility, particularly in developing countries. We suggest ways in which it can be refined and developed to better serve the interests of labour in these contexts, notably by promoting collective and not merely individual capabilities

Linking Taiwan's subcritical Hsuehshan Range topography and foreland basin architecture

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95204/1/tect2249.pd

Disease-associated CAG·CTG triplet repeats expand rapidly in non-dividing mouse cells, but cell cycle arrest is insufficient to drive expansion

Artículo científico -- Universidad de Costa Rica, Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud. 2014Genetically unstable expanded CAG·CTG trinucleotide repeats are causal in a number of human disorders, including Huntington disease and myotonic dystrophy type 1. It is still widely assumed that DNA polymerase slippage during replication plays an important role in the accumulation of expansions. Nevertheless, somatic mosaicism correlates poorly with the proliferative capacity of the tissue and rates of cell turnover, suggesting that expansions can occur in the absence of replication. We monitored CAG·CTG repeat instability in transgenicmouse cells arrested by chemical or genetic manipulation of the cell cycle and generated unequivocal evidence for the continuous accumulation of repeat expansions in non-dividing cells. Importantly, the rates of expansion in non-dividing cells were at least as high as those of proliferating cells. These data are consistent with amajor role for cell division-independent expansion in generating somatic mosaicism in vivo. Although expansions can accrue in non-dividing cells, we also show that cell cycle arrest is not sufficient to drive instability, implicating other factors as the key regulators of tissue-specific instability. Our data reveal that de novo expansion events are not limited to S-phase and further support a cell divisionindependent mutational pathway.Universidad de Costa Rica. Instituto de Investigaciones en SaludInstitute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, GlasgowParis Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cité UniversityUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud (INISA

Association analysis of ACE and ACTN3 in Elite Caucasian and East Asian Swimmers

Purpose: Polymorphic variation in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and α-actinin-3 (ACTN3) genes has been reported to be associated with endurance and/or power-related human performance. Our aim was to investigate whether polymorphisms in ACE and ACTN3 are associated with elite swimmer status in Caucasian and East Asian populations. Methods: ACE I/D and ACTN3 R577X genotyping was carried out for 200 elite Caucasian swimmers from European, Commonwealth, Russian, and American cohorts (short and middle distance, ≤400 m, n = 130; long distance, >400 m, n = 70) and 326 elite Japanese and Taiwanese swimmers (short distance, ≤100 m, n = 166; middle distance, 200-400 m, n = 160). Genetic associations were evaluated by logistic regression and other tests accommodating multiple testing adjustment. Results: ACE I/D was associated with swimmer status in Caucasians, with the D allele being overrepresented in short-and-middle-distance swimmers under both additive and I-allele-dominant models (permutation test P = 0.003 and P = 0.0005, respectively). ACE I/D was also associated with swimmer status in East Asians. In this group, however, the I allele was overrepresented in the short-distance swimmer group (permutation test P = 0.041 and P = 0.0098 under the additive and the D-allele-dominant models, respectively). ACTN3 R577X was not significantly associated with swimmer status in either Caucasians or East Asians. Conclusions: ACE I/D associations were observed in these elite swimmer cohorts, with different risk alleles responsible for the associations in swimmers of different ethnicities. The functional ACTN3 R577X polymorphism did not show any significant association with elite swimmer status, despite numerous previous reports of associations with "power/sprint" performance in other sports

The Scaling Relationship between Self-Potential and Fluid Flow on Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua

The concurrent measurement of self-potential (SP) and soil CO2 flux (FCO2s) in volcanic sys- tems may be an important tool to monitor intrusive activity and understand interaction between magmatic and groundwater systems. However, quantitative relationships between these parameters must be established to apply them toward understanding processes operating at depth. Power-law scaling exponents calculated for SP and FCO2s measured along a fault on the flanks of Masaya volcano, Nicaragua indicate a nonlinear relationship between these parameters. Scaling exponents suggest that there is a declining increase in SP with a given increase in FCO2s, until a threshold (log FCO2s ≈ 2.5 g m−2d−1) above which SP remains constant with increasing FCO2s. Implications for subsurface processes that may influence SP at Masaya are discussed