Spatial and seasonal contrasts of sedimentary organic matter in floodplain lakes of the central Amazon basin

In this study, we investigated the seasonal andspatial pattern of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) in fivefloodplain lakes of the central Amazon basin (Cabaliana,Janauaca, Canaçari, Mirituba and Curuai) which have differentmorphologies, hydrodynamics and vegetation coverages.Surface sediments were collected in four hydrologicalseasons: low water (LW), rising water (RW), high water(HW) and falling water (FW) in 2009 and 2010.We investigatedcommonly used bulk geochemical tracers such as theC V N ratio and the stable isotopic composition of organic carbon(?13Corg/. These results were compared with lignin phenolparameters as an indicator of vascular plant detritus andbranched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) totrace the input of soil organic matter (OM) from land to theaquatic settings. We also applied the crenarchaeol as an indicatorof aquatic (rivers and lakes) OM. Our data showed thatduring the RW and FW seasons, the surface sediments wereenriched in lignin and brGDGTs in comparison to other seasons.Our study also indicated that floodplain lake sedimentsprimarily consisted of allochthonous, C3 plant-derived OM.However, a downstream increase in C4 macrophyte-derivedOM contribution was observed along the gradient of increasingopen waters – i.e., from upstream to downstream. Accordingly,we attribute the temporal and spatial difference inSOM composition to the hydrological dynamics between thefloodplain lakes and the surrounding flooded forests

Some flows in shape optimization

Geometric flows related to shape optimization problems of Bernoulli type are investigated. The evolution law is the sum of a curvature term and a nonlocal term of Hele-Shaw type. We introduce generalized set solutions, the definition of which is widely inspired by viscosity solutions. The main result is an inclusion preservation principle for generalized solutions. As a consequence, we obtain existence, uniqueness and stability of solutions. Asymptotic behavior for the flow is discussed: we prove that the solutions converge to a generalized Bernoulli exterior free boundary problem

Thomson and Compton scattering with an intense laser pulse

Our paper concerns the scattering of intense laser radiation on free electrons and it is focused on the relation between nonlinear Compton and nonlinear Thomson scattering. The analysis is performed for a laser field modeled by an ideal pulse with a finite duration, a fixed direction of propagation and indefinitely extended in the plane perpendicular to it. We derive the classical limit of the quantum spectral and angular distribution of the emitted radiation, for an arbitrary polarization of the laser pulse. We also rederive our result directly, in the framework of classical electrodynamics, obtaining, at the same time, the distribution for the emitted radiation with a well defined polarization. The results reduce to those established by Krafft et al. [Phys. Rev. E 72, 056502 (2005)] in the particular case of linear polarization of the pulse, orthogonal to the initial electron momentum. Conditions in which the differences between classical and quantum results are visible are discussed and illustrated by graphs

Aldosterone signaling through transient receptor potential melastatin 7 cation channel (TRPM7) and its α-kinase domain

We demonstrated a role for the Mg2 + transporter TRPM7, a bifunctional protein with channel and α-kinase domains, in aldosterone signaling. Molecular mechanisms underlying this are elusive. Here we investigated the function of TRPM7 and its α-kinase domain on Mg2 + and pro-inflammatory signaling by aldosterone. Kidney cells (HEK-293) expressing wild-type human TRPM7 (WThTRPM7) or constructs in which the α-kinase domain was deleted (ΔKinase) or rendered inactive with a point mutation in the ATP binding site of the α-kinase domain (K1648R) were studied. Aldosterone rapidly increased [Mg2 +]i and stimulated NADPH oxidase-derived generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in WT hTRPM7 and TRPM7 kinase dead mutant cells. Translocation of annexin-1 and calpain-II and spectrin cleavage (calpain target) were increased by aldosterone in WT hTRPM7 cells but not in α-kinase-deficient cells. Aldosterone stimulated phosphorylation of MAP kinases and increased expression of pro-inflammatory mediators ICAM-1, Cox-2 and PAI-1 in Δkinase and K1648R cells, effects that were inhibited by eplerenone (mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) blocker). 2-APB, a TRPM7 channel inhibitor, abrogated aldosterone-induced Mg2 + responses in WT hTRPM7 and mutant cells. In 2-APB-treated ΔKinase and K1648R cells, aldosterone-stimulated inflammatory responses were unchanged. These data indicate that aldosterone stimulates Mg2 + influx and ROS production in a TRPM7-sensitive, kinase-insensitive manner, whereas activation of annexin-1 requires the TRPM7 kinase domain. Moreover TRPM7 α-kinase modulates inflammatory signaling by aldosterone in a TRPM7 channel/Mg2 +-independent manner. Our findings identify novel mechanisms for non-genomic actions of aldosterone involving differential signaling through MR-activated TRPM7 channel and α-kinase

Global Search for New Physics with 2.0/fb at CDF

Data collected in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron are searched for indications of new electroweak-scale physics. Rather than focusing on particular new physics scenarios, CDF data are analyzed for discrepancies with the standard model prediction. A model-independent approach (Vista) considers gross features of the data, and is sensitive to new large cross-section physics. Further sensitivity to new physics is provided by two additional algorithms: a Bump Hunter searches invariant mass distributions for "bumps" that could indicate resonant production of new particles; and the Sleuth procedure scans for data excesses at large summed transverse momentum. This combined global search for new physics in 2.0/fb of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV reveals no indication of physics beyond the standard model.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Final version which appeared in Physical Review D Rapid Communication

Observation of Orbitally Excited B_s Mesons

We report the first observation of two narrow resonances consistent with states of orbitally excited (L=1) B_s mesons using 1 fb^{-1} of ppbar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We use two-body decays into K^- and B^+ mesons reconstructed as B^+ \to J/\psi K^+, J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^- or B^+ \to \bar{D}^0 \pi^+, \bar{D}^0 \to K^+ \pi^-. We deduce the masses of the two states to be m(B_{s1}) = 5829.4 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2 and m(B_{s2}^*) = 5839.7 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2.Comment: Version accepted and published by Phys. Rev. Let

Quantifying stratospheric biases and identifying their potential sources in subseasonal forecast systems

The stratosphere can be a source of predictability for surface weather on timescales of several weeks to months. However, the potential predictive skill gained from stratospheric variability can be limited by biases in the representation of stratospheric processes and the coupling of the stratosphere with surface climate in forecast systems. This study provides a first systematic identification of model biases in the stratosphere across a wide range of subseasonal forecast systems. It is found that many of the forecast systems considered exhibit warm global-mean temperature biases from the lower to middle stratosphere, too strong/cold wintertime polar vortices, and too cold extratropical upper-troposphere/lowerstratosphere regions. Furthermore, tropical stratospheric anomalies associated with the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation tend to decay toward each system¿s climatology with lead time. In the Northern Hemisphere (NH), most systems do not capture the seasonal cycle of extreme-vortex-event probabilities, with an underestimation of sudden stratospheric warming events and an overestimation of strong vortex events in January. In the Southern Hemisphere (SH), springtime interannual variability in the polar vortex is generally underestimated, but the timing of the final breakdown of the polar vortex often happens too early in many of the prediction systems. These stratospheric biases tend to be considerably worse in systems with lower model lid heights. In both hemispheres, most systems with low-top atmospheric models also consistently underestimate the upward wave driving that affects the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex. We expect that the biases identified here will help guide model development for subseasonal-to-seasonal forecast systems and further our understanding of the role of the stratosphere in predictive skill in the troposphere.This work uses S2S Project data. S2S is a joint initiative of the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). This work was initiated by the Stratospheric Network for the Assessment of Predictability (SNAP), a joint activity of SPARC (WCRP) and the S2S Project (WWRP–WCRP). The work of Rachel W.-Y. Wu is funded through ETH grant ETH-05 19-1. Support from the Swiss National Science Foundation through projects PP00P2_170523 and PP00P2_198896 to Daniela I. V. Domeisen is gratefully acknowledged. Chaim I. Garfinkel and Chen Schwartz are supported by the ISF–NSFC joint research program (grant no. 3259/19). The work of Marisol Osman was supported by UBACyT20020170100428BA and PICT-2018-03046 projects. The work of Alvaro de la Cámara is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through project PID2019-109107GB-I00. Blanca Ayarzagüena and Natalia Calvo acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the JeDiS (RTI2018-096402-B-I00) project. Froila M. Palmeiro and Javier García-Serrano have been partially supported by the Spanish ATLANTE project (PID2019-110234RB-C21) and Ramón y Cajal program (RYC-2016-21181), respectively. Neil P. Hindley and Corwin J. Wright are supported by UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), grant number NE/S00985X/1. Corwin J. Wright is also supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship UF160545. Seok-Woo Son and Hera Kim are supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (2017R1E1A1A01074889). This material is based upon work supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), Regional and Global Model Analysis (RGMA) component of the Earth and Environmental System Modeling program under award no. DE-SC0022070 and National Science Foundation (NSF) IA 1947282. This work was also supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which is a major facility sponsored by the NSF under cooperative agreement no. 1852977. Pu Lin is supported by award NA18OAR4320123 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce. Zachary D. Lawrence was partially supported under NOAA award NA20NWS4680051; Zachary D. Lawrence and Judith Perlwitz also acknowledge support from US federally appropriated funds

Genetic Risk Can Be Decreased: Quitting Smoking Decreases and Delays Lung Cancer for Smokers With High and Low CHRNA5 Risk Genotypes - A Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Recent meta-analyses show that individuals with high risk variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25 are likely to develop lung cancer earlier than those with low-risk genotypes. The same high-risk genetic variants also predict nicotine dependence and delayed smoking cessation. It is unclear whether smoking cessation confers the same benefits in terms of lung cancer risk reduction for those who possess CHRNA5 risk variants versus those who do not. METHODS: Meta-analyses examined the association between smoking cessation and lung cancer risk in 15 studies of individuals with European ancestry who possessed varying rs16969968 genotypes (N=12,690 ever smokers, including 6988 cases of lung cancer and 5702 controls) in the International Lung Cancer Consortium. RESULTS: Smoking cessation (former vs. current smokers) was associated with a lower likelihood of lung cancer (OR=0.48, 95%CI=0.30-0.75, p=0.0015). Among lung cancer patients, smoking cessation was associated with a 7-year delay in median age of lung cancer diagnosis (HR=0.68, 95%CI=0.61-0.77, p=4.9∗10(-10)). The CHRNA5 rs16969968 risk genotype (AA) was associated with increased risk and earlier diagnosis for lung cancer, but the beneficial effects of smoking cessation were very similar in those with and without the risk genotype. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that quitting smoking is highly beneficial in reducing lung cancer risks for smokers regardless of their CHRNA5 rs16969968 genetic risk status. Smokers with high-risk CHRNA5 genotypes, on average, can largely eliminate their elevated genetic risk for lung cancer by quitting smoking- cutting their risk of lung cancer in half and delaying its onset by 7years for those who develop it. These results: 1) underscore the potential value of smoking cessation for all smokers, 2) suggest that CHRNA5 rs16969968 genotype affects lung cancer diagnosis through its effects on smoking, and 3) have potential value for framing preventive interventions for those who smoke

The FOAM study : Is Hysterosalpingo foam sonography (HyFoSy) a cost-effective alternative for hysterosalpingography (HSG) in assessing tubal patency in subfertile women? Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

This is an investigator initiated trial, VU medical center Amsterdam is the sponsor, contact information: prof. CJM de Groot, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tel: + 31-204444444. This study is funded by ZonMw, a Dutch organization for Health Research and Development, project number 837001504. ZonMW gives financial support for the whole project. IQ Medical Ventures provides the ExEm FOAM® kits. The funding bodies have no role in the design of the study; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and in writing the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD