Ginkgo leaf cuticle chemistry across changing pCO2 regimes

Cuticles have been a key part of palaeobotanical research since the mid-19th Century. Recently, cuticular research has moved beyond morphological traits to incorporate the chemical signature of modern and fossil cuticles, with the aim of using this as a taxonomic and classification tool. For this approach to work, cuticle chemistry would have to maintain a strong taxonomic signal, with a limited input from the ambient environment in which the plant grew. Here, we use attenuated total reflectance Fourier Transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to analyse leaf cuticles from Ginkgo biloba plants grown in experimentally enhanced CO2 conditions, to test for the impact of changing CO2 regimes on cuticle chemistry. We find limited evidence for an impact of CO2 on the chemical signature of Ginkgo cuticles, with more pronounced differences demonstrated between the abaxial (lower leaf surface) and adaxial (upper leaf surface) cuticles. These findings support the use of chemotaxonomy for plant cuticular remains across geological timescales, and the concomitant large-scale variations in CO2 concentrations

Secondary cratering on Earth: The Wyoming impact crater field

A large number of small impact structures have been discovered in Wyoming, USA, and we raise the question of how this accumulation occurred. We document 31 crater structures of 10–70 m diameter with corresponding shock features but missing meteorite relics. All craters occur along the outcrops of the uppermost Permo-Pennsylvanian Casper Sandstone Formation and are ~280 m.y. old. Their spatial arrangement shows clusters and ray-like alignments. Several craters have elliptical crater morphologies that allow the reconstruction of impact trajectories. The radial arrangement of the trajectories indicates that the craters are secondary craters formed by ejecta from a primary crater whose likely position and size are reconstructed. Modeling ballistic trajectories and secondary crater formation indicates that impacts occurred at around 700–1000 m/s and caused small shock volumes with respect to crater volumes. This is the first field of secondary craters found on Earth, and we disentangle its formation conditions

Does the prescriptive lifestyle of Seventh-Day Adventists provide \u27immunity\u27 from the secular effects of changes in BMI?

Objective: To examine the effect of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) membership on &lsquo;immunity&rsquo; to the secular effects of changes in BMI.Design: Three independent, cross-sectional, screening surveys conducted by Sydney Adventist Hospital in 1976, 1986 and 1988 and a survey conducted among residents of Melbourne in 2006.Subjects: Two hundred and fifty-two SDA and 464 non-SDA in 1976; 166 SDA and 291 non-SDA in 1986; 120 SDA and 300-non SDA in 1988; and 251 SDA and 294 non-SDA in 2006.Measurements: Height and weight measured by hospital staff in 1976, 1986 and 1988; self-reported by respondents in 2006.Results: The mean BMI of non-SDA men increased between 1986 and 2006 (P &lt; 0&middot;001) but did not change for SDA men or non-SDA women. Despite small increases in SDA women&rsquo;s mean BMI (P = 0&middot;030) between 1988 and 2006, this was no different to that of SDA men and non-SDA women in 2006. The diet and eating patterns of SDA men and women were more &lsquo;prudent&rsquo; than those of non-SDA men and women, including more fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes, and less alcohol, meat, sweetened drinks and coffee. Many of these factors were found to be predictors of lower BMI.Conclusion: The &lsquo;prudent&rsquo; dietary and lifestyle prescriptions of SDA men appear to have &lsquo;immunised&rsquo; them to the secular effects of changes that occurred among non-SDA men&rsquo;s BMI. The dietary and lifestyle trends of SDA women did not reflect the increase in their BMI observed in 2006.<br /

Effects of a clinician referral and exercise program for men who have completed active treatment for prostate cancer: A multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial (ENGAGE)

BACKGROUNDThe purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a clinician referral and exercise program in improving exercise levels and quality of life for men with prostate cancer.METHODSThis was a multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial in Melbourne, Australia comprising 15 clinicians: 8 clinicians were randomized to refer eligible participants (n&thinsp;=&thinsp;54) to a 12-week exercise program comprising 2 supervised gym sessions and 1 home-based session per week, and 7 clinicians were randomized to follow usual care (n&thinsp;=&thinsp;93). The primary outcome was self-reported physical activity; the secondary outcomes were quality of life, anxiety, and symptoms of depression.RESULTSA significant intervention effect was observed for vigorous-intensity exercise (effect size: Cohen\u27s d, 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09-0.82; P&thinsp;=&thinsp;.010) but not for combined moderate and vigorous exercise levels (effect size: d, 0.08; 95% CI, &minus;0.28 to 0.45; P&thinsp;=&thinsp;.48). Significant intervention effects were also observed for meeting exercise guidelines (&ge;150 min/wk; odds ratio, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.9-7.8; P&thinsp;=&thinsp;.002); positive intervention effects were observed in the intervention group for cognitive functioning (effect size: d, 0.34; 95% CI, &minus;0.02 to 0.70; P&thinsp;=&thinsp;.06) and depression symptoms (effect size: d, &minus;0.35; 95% CI, &minus;0.71 to 0.02; P&thinsp;=&thinsp;.06). Eighty percent of participants reported that the clinician\u27s referral influenced their decision to participate in the exercise program.CONCLUSIONSThe clinician referral and 12-week exercise program significantly improved vigorous exercise levels and had a positive impact on mental health outcomes for men living with prostate cancer. Further research is needed to determine the sustainability of the exercise program and its generalizability to other cancer populations

Optimization of inhomogeneous electron correlation factors in periodic solids

A method is presented for the optimization of one-body and inhomogeneous two-body terms in correlated electronic wave functions of Jastrow-Slater type. The most general form of inhomogeneous correlation term which is compatible with crystal symmetry is used and the energy is minimized with respect to all parameters using a rapidly convergent iterative approach, based on Monte Carlo sampling of the energy and fitting energy fluctuations. The energy minimization is performed exactly within statistical sampling error for the energy derivatives and the resulting one- and two-body terms of the wave function are found to be well-determined. The largest calculations performed require the optimization of over 3000 parameters. The inhomogeneous two-electron correlation terms are calculated for diamond and rhombohedral graphite. The optimal terms in diamond are found to be approximately homogeneous and isotropic over all ranges of electron separation, but exhibit some inhomogeneity at short- and intermediate-range, whereas those in graphite are found to be homogeneous at short-range, but inhomogeneous and anisotropic at intermediate- and long-range electron separation.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, 1 table, REVTeX4, submitted to PR

The time-averaged paleomagnetic field

We review indications of persistent deviations from the geocentric axial dipole model of the time-averaged geomagnetic field and present a zonal harmonic model derived from 185 deep-sea sediment piston cores taken from low to middle latitudes (to approximately ±45°). Analysis of the paleomagnetic inclination recorded in these cores for the Brunhes (normal polarity; 0-73 Ma) and Matuyama (reverse polarity; 0.73-2.47 Ma) chrons, after plate motion correction, gives well-constrained estimates of the dominant long-term nondipole contributions (the axial quadrupole and axial octupole) and shows no significant deviation from axial symmetry. The amplitude of the axial quadrupole is found to vary with polarity (2.6% of the geocentric axial dipole for normal; 4.6% for reverse), while the axial octupole does not show appreciable change (-2.9% for normal; -2.1% for reverse). These estimates of the quadrupole contribution agree well with prior determinations for the Plio-Pleistocene (0-5 Ma); however, the octupole contribution we find is opposite in sign to previous estimates. We suggest that a negative octupole is representative of the actual time-averaged paleomagnetic field, while prior positive octupole estimates probably reflect spurious inclination shallowing. The lack of polarity asymmetry in the octupole suggests that this nondipole component may be more closely linked to the main dipole field than is the quadrupole and so supports models of the geodynamo in which dipole and quadrupole families do not interact