Collecting and Acquiring in Earnest (The 14th Annual Health Sciences Lively Lunch)

In this year\u27s sponsored but no holds barred lunch, host Wendy Bahnsen (substituting for colleague Nicole Gallo) offered a brief greeting, and Ramune Kubilius provided the traditional “year in review” synopsis of developments since the last Charleston Conference. Panelists then shared insights and led discussion on earnest attempts to meet users’ information needs and satisfy administrations’ budget and other expectations. No matter how information has become repackaged, two formats remain important in health sciences communication: books and journals (articles). Speakers focused on library experiments with these formats. Is PDA a solution? Bahnsen contributed highlights and findings from a survey by Rittenhouse on health sciences customers’ experience with the R2 PDA program. Yumin Jiang shared some impressions on the experience of her institution with a few e‐book PDA/DDA (patron‐driven or demand‐driven acquisition) packages. Suggestions were made about best practices in e‐book collection building with PDA programs. What conclusions can be reached from experimentation with and implementation of on‐demand article acquisitions? Emma O\u27Hagan shared insights and experience with journal article “on demand” and “pay per view” services at two institutions. Andrea Twiss‐Brooks fielded questions and moderated discussion with session participants about the services and programs described by panelists, ranging from discussion about specific programs and models to broader collection and service implications

Spatially resolved microwave pulsations of a flare loop

A microwave burst with quasi-periodic pulsations was studied with high spatial resolution using observations with the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH). We found that the time profiles of the microwave emission at 17 and 34 GHz exhibit quasi-periodic (with two well defined periods P 1 = 14–17 s and P 2 = 8–11 s) variations of the intensity at different parts of an observed flaring loop. Detailed Fourier analysis shows the P 1 spectral component to be dominant at the top, while the P 2 one near the feet of the loop. The 14–17 s pulsations are synchronous at the top and in both legs of the loop. The 8–11 s pulsations at the legs are well correlated with each other but the correlation is not so obvious with the pulsations at the loop top. For this P 2 spectral component, a definite phase shift, P 2 /4 ≈ 2.2 s, between pulsations in the northern leg and loop top parts of the loop have been found. The length of the flaring loop is estimated as L = 25 Mm (≈34 ) and its average width at half intensity at 34 GHz as about 6 Mm (≈8 ). Microwave diagnostics shows the loop to be filled with a dense plasma with the number density n 0 ≈ 10 11 cm −3, penetrated by the magnetic field changing from B 0 ≈ 100 G near the loop top up to B 0 ≈ 200 G near the north footpoint. A comparative analysis of different MHD modes of the loop demonstrates the possibility of the simultaneous existence of two modes of oscillations in the loop: the global sausage mode, with the period P 1 = 14–17 s and the nodes at the footpoints, and a higher harmonics mode (possibly with the radial wave number l > 1), with P 2 = 8–11 s

A Guided Tour of Issues and Trends: The Thirteenth Annual Health Sciences Lively Lunch

In this year\u27s sponsored but no holds barred lunch, the conference theme, Too much is not enough , resonates. Lunch host, Wendy Bahnsen from Rittenhouse offers a brief greeting, and Ramune Kubilius provides the traditional “year in review” synopsis. Moderator Andrea Twiss-Brooks sets the scene and provides a brief introduction to issues of current interest in the health sciences information arena. Topics of this session include: methods of measurement of health sciences journal use (Deborah Blecic); shared collection development and policies (Elizabeth Ketterman); scholarly communication activities in health sciences libraries (Robin Champieux); current challenges, trials, pitfalls and successes of e-books in the health sciences (Anneliese Taylor); provision of information resources for basic scientists (Marysue Schaffer)

Observations of aerosols over Southern California coastal waters

To characterize the background aerosol in air off the California coast, observations of suspended particles were made in the summer and fall of 1970 on San Nicolas Island (SNI), located about 130 km west-south-west of Los Angeles. Measurements of the physical and chemical properties of aerosols showed that the particles are a complex mixture of material from marine and continental origins. The Aitken nuclei population averaged 2400 cm−3, while the particles >0.5 μm diameter averaged 20–100 cm−3. The average total mass concentration of aerosol evaluated from 22 samples was 29.8 μg m−3, but the refined fraction defined as particles ~< 3.5 μm diameter was 40% of this level. The averages of the chemical analysis of 13 samples revealed that 11% of the aerosol sampled at a 200 m height above the ocean was sea salt, while approximately 20% evidently was soil dust, as indicated by silicates. Over 25% of the suspended material was found to be sulfate, nitrate or ammonium, which are constituents believed to be produced primarily from gaseous transformation reactions in the atmosphere. More than 20% of the sampled material was volatile in nature and is believed to be partly water. The ratio for the average chlorine to sodium concentrations from the analysis of 13 different samples was 2.4 compared with 1.8 for sea water. This high ratio supports other limited results for unpolluted air from offshore sources taken in this geographical region. The anomaly is believed to be linked with chemical reactions transforming gaseous chlorine compounds into condensed material. Comparison was made between the aerosol sampled on San Nicolas Island and the “natural” background contribution of the Los Angeles smog aerosol, as estimated elsewhere assuming contributions solely from sea salt and soil dust. The calculated background and the composition of the SNI aerosol were qualitatively similar, with the principal differences showing in Ca, Zn, SO4− and NO3−. Further comparison with aerosol analyzed from Pasadena illustrated the major contribution of localized pollution to the chemical properties of the particles, particularly in the concentrations of Mu, Ca, Br, Fe, Pb, SO4− and NO3−

Characterization of Zebrafish von Willebrand Factor Reveals Conservation of Domain Structure, Multimerization, and Intracellular Storage

von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the most common inherited human bleeding disorder and is caused by quantitative or qualitative defects in von Willebrand factor (VWF). VWF is a secreted glycoprotein that circulates as large multimers. While reduced VWF is associated with bleeding, elevations in overall level or multimer size are implicated in thrombosis. The zebrafish is a powerful genetic model in which the hemostatic system is well conserved with mammals. The ability of this organism to generate thousands of offspring and its optical transparency make it unique and complementary to mammalian models of hemostasis. Previously, partial clones of zebrafish vwf have been identified, and some functional conservation has been demonstrated. In this paper we clone the complete zebrafish vwf cDNA and show that there is conservation of domain structure. Recombinant zebrafish Vwf forms large multimers and pseudo-Weibel-Palade bodies (WPBs) in cell culture. Larval expression is in the pharyngeal arches, yolk sac, and intestinal epithelium. These results provide a foundation for continued study of zebrafish Vwf that may further our understanding of the mechanisms of VWD

The Changing Face of Winter: Lessons and Questions From the Laurentian Great Lakes

Among its many impacts, climate warming is leading to increasing winter air temperatures, decreasing ice cover extent, and changing winter precipitation patterns over the Laurentian Great Lakes and their watershed. Understanding and predicting the consequences of these changes is impeded by a shortage of winter-period studies on most aspects of Great Lake limnology. In this review, we summarize what is known about the Great Lakes during their 3–6 months of winter and identify key open questions about the physics, chemistry, and biology of the Laurentian Great Lakes and other large, seasonally frozen lakes. Existing studies show that winter conditions have important effects on physical, biogeochemical, and biological processes, not only during winter but in subsequent seasons as well. Ice cover, the extent of which fluctuates dramatically among years and the five lakes, emerges as a key variable that controls many aspects of the functioning of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Studies on the properties and formation of Great Lakes ice, its effect on vertical and horizontal mixing, light conditions, and biota, along with winter measurements of fundamental state and rate parameters in the lakes and their watersheds are needed to close the winter knowledge gap. Overcoming the formidable logistical challenges of winter research on these large and dynamic ecosystems may require investment in new, specialized research infrastructure. Perhaps more importantly, it will demand broader recognition of the value of such work and collaboration between physicists, geochemists, and biologists working on the world\u27s seasonally freezing lakes and seas

Size-fractionated labile trace elements in the Northwest Pacific and Southern Oceans

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Chemistry 126 (2011): 108-113, doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2011.04.004.Photosynthesis by marine phytoplankton requires bioavailable forms of several trace elements that are found in extremely low concentrations in the open ocean. We have compared the concentration, lability and size distribution (< 1 nm and < 10 nm) of a suite of trace elements that are thought to be limiting to primary productivity as well as a toxic element (Pb) in two High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) regions using a new dynamic speciation technique, Diffusive Gradients in Thin-film (DGT). The labile species trapped within the DGT probes have a size that is smaller or similar than the pore size of algal cell walls and thus present a proxy for bioavailable species. Total Dissolvable trace element concentrations (TD concentration) varied between 0.05 nM (Co) and 4.0 nM (Ni) at K2 (Northwest Pacific Ocean) and between 0.026 nM (Co) and 4.7 nM (Ni) in the Southern Ocean. The smallest size fractionated labile concentrations (< 1 nm) observed at Southern Ocean sampling stations ranged between 0.002 nM (Co) and 2.1 nM (Ni). Moreover, large differences in bioavailable fractions (ratio of labile to TD concentration) were observed between the trace elements. In the Northwest Pacific Ocean Fe, Cu and Mn had lower labile fractions (between 10 and 44%) than Co, Cd, Ni and Pb (between 80 and 100%). In the Southern Ocean a similar trend was observed, and in addition: (1) Co, Cd, Ni and Pb have lower labile fractions in the Southern Ocean than in the Northwest Pacific and (2) the ratios of <1nm to dissolvable element concentrations at some Southern Ocean stations were very low and varied between 4 and16 %.This research was supported by Federal Science Policy Office, Brussels, through contracts EV/03/7A, SD/CA/03A, the Research Foundation Flanders through grant G.0021.04 and Vrije Universiteit Brussel via grant GOA 22, as well as for K2, the VERTIGO program funding primarily by the US National Science Foundation programs in Chemical and Biological Oceanograph

Nano-manipulation of diamond-based single photon sources

The ability to manipulate nano-particles at the nano-scale is critical for the development of active quantum systems. This paper presents a new technique to manipulate diamond nano-crystals at the nano-scale using a scanning electron microscope, nano-manipulator and custom tapered optical fibre probes. The manipulation of a ~ 300 nm diamond crystal, containing a single nitrogen-vacancy centre, onto the endface of an optical fibre is demonstrated. The emission properties of the single photon source post manipulation are in excellent agreement with those observed on the original substrate.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure