Ecogeomorphic feedbacks and flood loss of riparian tree seedlings in meandering channel experiments

During floods, fluvial forces interact with riparian plants to influence evolution of river morphology and floodplain plant community development. Understanding of these interactions, however, is constrained by insufficient precision and control of drivers in field settings, and insufficient realism in laboratory studies. We completed a novel set of flume experiments using woody seedlings planted on a sandbar within an outdoor meandering stream channel. We quantified effects on local sedimentation and seedling loss to scour and burial across realistic ranges of woody plant morphologies (Populus versus Tamarix species), densities (240 plants m-2 versus 24 m-2), and sediment supply (equilibrium versus deficit). Sedimentation was higher within Tamarix patches than Populus patches, reflecting Tamarix’s greater crown frontal area and lower maximum crown density. Plant dislodgement occurred rarely (1% of plants) and was induced in plants with shorter roots. Complete burial was most frequent for small Tamarix that occurred at high densities. Burial risk decreased 3% for Populus and 13% for Tamarix for every centimeter increment in stem height, and was very low for plants \u3e50 cm tall. These results suggest that Tamarix are proportionally more vulnerable than Populus when small (\u3c20 cm tall), but that larger plants of both species are resistant to both burial and scour. Thus, plant morphological traits and development windows must be considered in addition to physical drivers when designing process-based restoration efforts on regulated rivers such as flow releases to benefit native tree species

Feeding practices and nutritional status of infants in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

Breast feeding practice especially exclusive breast feeding (EBF) is a major determinant of child growth and development. In Tanzania, most women breastfeed their infants for long periods, but many introduce alternative feeding too early in life. The objective of this study was to determine factors affecting EBF and the relationship between feeding practices and the nutritional status of infants. This cross-sectional survey, using a semi-structured questionnaire, was conducted in Morogoro Municipality in Tanzania. The study involved lactating women recruited from five randomly selected health facilities. Demographic, clinical, knowledge and practices related to infant feeding as well as infant anthropometric information were collected. Infant nutritional status was assessed based on weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight- for- height. There were wide variations in knowledge and practice of breastfeeding among women. Majority (92%) of the respondents gave colostrums to infants although more than 50% did not know its benefits. Eight percent of the respondents discarded colostrums on the account that it is not good for their neonates. Only 23.1% of the respondents thought that infants should be breastfed exclusively during the first six months of infancy. Ninety–eight percent of infants < 1 month of age received breast milk only, compared with 28.5% of infants aged 2-3 months and 22.3% among those who were above 3 months of age. No child in the ≥4 months old was exclusively breastfed. Over 80% of the infants had normal weights, 13% were stunted and 8% wasted. EBF was associated with higher scores for height- for- age Z (P<0.05) and weight- for- height Z (P<0.01). Age, education level and occupation of respondents were important predictors of EBF. Overall, breast feeding practices in the study population were largely suboptimal. As a result, considerable proportions of children had poor health indicators. Thus, correct breastfeeding practices should be supported and promoted to improve the well-being of children

Flow and scour constrainst on uprooting of pioneer woody seedlings

Scour and uprooting during flood events is a major disturbance agent that affects plant mortality rates and subsequent vegetation composition and density, setting the trajectory of physical-biological interactions in rivers. During flood events, riparian plants may be uprooted if they are subjected to hydraulic drag forces greater than their resisting force. We measured the resisting force of woody seedlings established on river bars with in situ lateral pull tests that simulated flood flows with and without substrate scour. We quantified the influence of seedling sizes, species (Populus and Tamarix), water-table depth, and scour depth on resisting force. Seedling size and resisting force were positively related with scour depth and water-table depth--a proxy for root length--exerting strong and opposing controls on resisting force. Populus required less force to uproot than Tamarix, but displayed a greater increase in uprooting force with seedling size. Further, we found that calculated mean velocities required to uproot seedlings were greater than modeled flood velocities under most conditions. Only when plants were either shallowly rooted or subjected to substrate scour (≥0.3 m) did the calculated velocities required for uprooting decrease to within the range of modeled flood velocities, indicating that drag forces alone are unlikely to uproot seedlings in the absence of extreme events of bar-scale sediment transport. Seedlings on river bars are most resilient to uprooting when they are large, deeply rooted, and unlikely to experience substrate scour, which has implications for ecogeomorphic evolution and river management

Pandangan Dunia Evolusioner dan Respon Iman Kristen

Abstract: The evolutionary worldview confirms its position since the discovery of various ancient human sites, and continues to develop with various genetic engineerings and protein discoveries as well as advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Initially the religious community was the party who felt most attacked by the theory of evolution because it stripped the Bible of the truth about the creation of the world and humans. Later some Catholic Church appreciative statements about the theory of evolution and the big bang theory, including Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's attempt to explain the evolution of human consciousness towards the cosmic Christ, showed a change in religion towards acceptance of the diversity of world views: religion, culture and science. This evolutionary world development raises ethical questions about what is religion’s contribution. One of them is the awareness about shadow. The awareness is derived from religion which teaches that men are created by God that even though unique, but mortal and finite creations. Shadow is liberation so that men are not shackled to matter. He is a fragile human who longs to evolve to be a Christ as the perfect human image.Abstraksi:Pandangan dunia evolusioner meneguhkan kedudukannya sejak penemuan berbagai situs manusia purba, dan terus berkembang dengan berbagai penemuan rekayasa genetik dan protein dan kemajuan di bidang teknologi artificial intelligence (AI). Semula kalangan agama menjadi pihak yang merasa paling diserang dengan teori evolusi karena melucuti kebenaran Alkitab tentang penciptaan dunia dan manusia. Belakangan beberapa pernyataan apresiatif Gereja Katolik terhadap teori evolusi dan teori big bang, termasuk usaha Pierre Teilhard de Chardin menjelaskan tentang evolusi kesadaran manusia menuju Kristus kosmis, memperlihatkan perubahan agama menuju penerimaan akan keragaman pandangan dunia: agama, budaya dan ilmu pengetahuan. Perkembangan dunia evolusioner ini memperhadapkan berbagai pertanyaan etis tentang apa sumbangan agama. Salah satunya adalah kesadaran tentang bayangan. Kesadaran akan bayangan diperoleh dari agama yang mengajarkan bahwa manusia yang diciptakan Tuhan, sekalipun unik, adalah ciptaan yang fana dan terbatas. Bayangan adalah pembebasan agar manusia tidak tertambat pada materi. Ia adalah manusia yang rapuh yang merindukan berevolusi menuju Kristus sebagai gambaran manusia yang sempurna

An ALMA Search for Substructure, Fragmentation, and Hidden Protostars in Starless Cores in Chamaeleon I

We present an Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 106 GHz (Band 3) continuum survey of the complete population of dense cores in the Chamaeleon I molecular cloud. We detect a total of 24 continuum sources in 19 different target fields. All previously known Class 0 and Class I protostars in Chamaeleon I are detected, whereas all of the 56 starless cores in our sample are undetected. We show that the Spitzer+Herschel census of protostars in Chamaeleon I is complete, with the rate at which protostellar cores have been misclassified as starless cores calculated as <1/56, or < 2%. We use synthetic observations to show that starless cores collapsing following the turbulent fragmentation scenario are detectable by our ALMA observations when their central densities exceed ~10^8 cm^-3, with the exact density dependent on the viewing geometry. Bonnor-Ebert spheres, on the other hand, remain undetected to central densities at least as high as 10^10 cm^-3. Our starless core non-detections are used to infer that either the star formation rate is declining in Chamaeleon I and most of the starless cores are not collapsing, matching the findings of previous studies, or that the evolution of starless cores are more accurately described by models that develop less substructure than predicted by the turbulent fragmentation scenario, such as Bonnor-Ebert spheres. We outline future work necessary to distinguish between these two possibilities.Comment: Accepted by Ap

Coupled-cluster techniques for computational chemistry: The CFOUR program package

An up-to-date overview of the CFOUR program system is given. After providing a brief outline of the evolution of the program since its inception in 1989, a comprehensive presentation is given of its well-known capabilities for high-level coupled-cluster theory and its application to molecular properties. Subsequent to this generally well-known background information, much of the remaining content focuses on lesser-known capabilities of CFOUR, most of which have become available to the public only recently or will become available in the near future. Each of these new features is illustrated by a representative example, with additional discussion targeted to educating users as to classes of applications that are now enabled by these capabilities. Finally, some speculation about future directions is given, and the mode of distribution and support for CFOUR are outlined

Groundwater dependence of riparian woodlands and the disrupting effect of anthropogenically altered streamflow

Riparian ecosystems fundamentally depend on groundwater, especially in dryland regions, yet their water requirements and sources are rarely considered in water resource management decisions. Until recently, technological limitations and data gaps have hindered assessment of groundwater influences on riparian ecosystem health at the spatial and temporal scales relevant to policy and management. Here, we analyze Sentinel-2–derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI; n = 5,335,472 observations), field-based groundwater elevation (n = 32,051 observations), and streamflow alteration data for riparian woodland communities (n = 22,153 polygons) over a 5-y period (2015 to 2020) across California. We find that riparian woodlands exhibit a stress response to deeper groundwater, as evidenced by concurrent declines in greenness represented by NDVI. Furthermore, we find greater seasonal coupling of canopy greenness to groundwater for vegetation along streams with natural flow regimes in comparison with anthropogenically altered streams, particularly in the most water-limited regions. These patterns suggest that many riparian woodlands in California are subsidized by water management practices. Riparian woodland communities rely on naturally variable groundwater and streamflow components to sustain key ecological processes, such as recruitment and succession. Altered flow regimes, which stabilize streamflow throughout the year and artificially enhance water supplies to riparian vegetation in the dry season, disrupt the seasonal cycles of abiotic drivers to which these Mediterranean forests are adapted. Consequently, our analysis suggests that many riparian ecosystems have become reliant on anthropogenically altered flow regimes, making them more vulnerable and less resilient to rapid hydrologic change, potentially leading to future riparian forest loss across increasingly stressed dryland regions