Influence of ocean warming and acidification on trace metal biogeochemistry

Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations will have profound effects on atmospheric and hydrographic processes, which will ultimately modify the supply and chemistry of trace metals in the ocean. In addition to an increase in sea surface temperatures, higher CO2 also results in a decrease of seawater pH, known as ocean acidification, with implications for inorganic trace metal chemistry. Furthermore, direct or indirect effects of ocean acidification and ocean warming on marine biota will also affect trace metal biogeochemistry via alteration of biological trace metal uptake rates and metal binding to organic ligands. Currently, we still lack a holistic understanding of the impacts of decreasing seawater pH and rinsing temperatures on different trace metals and marine biota, which complicates projections into the future. Here, we outline how ocean acidification and ocean warming will influence the inputs and cycling of Fe and other biologically relevant trace metals globally, and regionally in high and low latitudes of the future ocean, discuss uncertainties, and highlight essential future research fields

The Growth Response of Two Diatom Species to Atmospheric Dust from the Last Glacial Maximum

Relief of iron (Fe) limitation in the surface Southern Ocean has been suggested as one driver of the regular glacial-interglacial cycles in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The proposed cause is enhanced deposition of Fe-bearing atmospheric dust to the oceans during glacial intervals, with consequent effects on export production and the carbon cycle. However, understanding the role of enhanced atmospheric Fe supply in biogeochemical cycles is limited by knowledge of the fluxes and ‘bioavailability’ of atmospheric Fe during glacial intervals. Here, we assess the effect of Fe fertilization by dust, dry-extracted from the Last Glacial Maximum portion of the EPICA Dome C Antarctic ice core, on the Antarctic diatom species Eucampia antarctica and Proboscia inermis. Both species showed strong but differing reactions to dust addition. E. antarctica increased cell number (3880 vs. 786 cells mL-1), chlorophyll a (51 vs. 3.9 μg mL-1) and particulate organic carbon (POC; 1.68 vs. 0.28 μg mL-1) production in response to dust compared to controls. P. inermis did not increase cell number in response to dust, but chlorophyll a and POC per cell both strongly increased compared to controls (39 vs. 15 and 2.13 vs. 0.95 ng cell-1 respectively). The net result of both responses was a greater production of POC and chlorophyll a, as well as decreased Si:C and Si:N incorporation ratios within cells. However, E, antarctica decreased silicate uptake for the same nitrate and carbon uptake, while P. inermis increased carbon and nitrate uptake for the same silicate uptake. This suggests that nutrient utilization changes in response to Fe addition could be driven by different underlying mechanisms between different diatom species. Enhanced supply of atmospheric dust to the surface ocean during glacial intervals could therefore have driven nutrient-utilization changes which could permit greater carbon fixation for lower silica utilization. Additionally, both species responded more strongly to lower amounts of direct Fe chloride addition than they did to dust, suggesting that not all the Fe released from dust was in a bioavailable form available for uptake by diatoms

Influence of trace metal release from volcanic ash on growth of Thalassiosira pseudonana and Emiliania huxleyi

Recent studies demonstrate that volcanic ash has the potential to increase phytoplankton biomass in the open ocean. However, besides fertilizing trace metals such as Fe, volcanic ash contains a variety of potentially toxic metals such as Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Especially in coastal regions closer to the volcanic eruption, where ash depositions can be very high, toxic effects are possible. Here we present the first results of laboratory experiments, showing that trace metal release from different volcanic materials can have both fertilizing and toxic effects on marine phytoplankton in natural coastal seawater. The diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana generally showed higher growth rates in seawater that was in short contact with volcanic ash compared to the controls without ash addition. In contrast to that, the addition of volcanic ash had either no effect or significantly decreased the growth rate of the coccolithophoride Emiliania huxleyi. It was not possible to attribute the effects to single trace metals, however, our results suggest that Mn plays an important role in regulating the antagonistic and synergistic effects of the different trace metals. This study shows that volcanic ash can lead to changes in the phytoplankton species composition in the high fall-out area of the surface ocean. Highlights: ► We tested the effect of volcanic ash on growth of T. pseudonana and E. huxleyi ► Volcanic ash increased growth of T. pseudonana but not of E. huxleyi ► Mn seems important to regulate the effects of different trace metals from the ash ► Volcanic eruptions have the potential to change phytoplankton community structure

Correlation of Isotope Count With Sentinel Node Positivity in Vulvar Cancer

Objective: Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) has become standard of care in early stage vulvar cancer. As the correlation of isotope count with the presence of metastases remains unclear, often several active nodes are excised per groin. This can result in increased morbidity in node-negative disease despite of SNB. In the current analysis, we assess whether resection of the hottest node could be sufficient to detect sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis. Methods: Patients with primary vulvar cancer receiving an SNB with radioactive tracer at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf between 2008 and 2015 were evaluated. Results: A total of 145 patients with SNB were analyzed;thereof, 144 underwent bilateral SNB, resulting in 289 analyzed groins. A median of 2 SLNs (range, 1-7) per groin were removed. From 94 (32.5%) of 289 groins, more than 2 SLNs were excised. Median overall SLN isotope count was 1400 cps. In 50 groins, a positive SLN was detected (unilateral in 38 patients, bilateral in 6). The median number of positive SLN per groin was 1 (range, 1-4). The SLN with the highest isotope count carried metastases in 36 (78.3%) of 46 groins (in 4 cases, the highest count was unknown). In 10 (21.7%) of 46 positive groins, the SLN with the highest count was not the metastatic SLN (9/10 second highest count). Median count of these 10 SLN was 60% of the highest count with a range from 11.0% to 74.0%. Conclusions: The highest isotope count does not reliably detect the positive SLN in vulvar cancer. To prevent mostly fatal groin recurrences, surgeons should continue to remove all SLN accumulating relevant radioactive tracer over background activity

Разработка алгоритма поэтапного совмещения перекрывающихся изображений для сравнительного анализа методов обнаружения ключевых точек

Memristive switches are promising devices for future nonvolatile nanocrossbar memory devices. In particular, complementary resistive switches (CRSs) are the key enabler for passive crossbar array implementation solving the sneak path obstacle. To provide logic along with memory functionality, "material implication" (IMP) was suggested as the basic logic operation for bipolar resistive switches. Here, we show that every bipolar resistive switch as well as CRSs can be considered as an elementary IMP logic unit and can systematically be understood in terms of finite-state machines, i.e., either a Moore or a Mealy machine. We prove our assumptions by measurements, which make the IMP capability evident. Local fusion of logic and memory functions in crossbar arrays becomes feasible for CRS arrays, particularly for the suggested stacked topology, which offers even more common Boolean logic operations such as AND and NOR

The Programmable Logic-in-Memory (PLiM) Computer (Invited)

Realization of logic and storage operations in memristive circuits have opened up a promising research direction of in-memory computing. Elementary digital circuits, e.g., Boolean arithmetic circuits, can be economically realized within memristive circuits with a limited performance overhead as compared to the standard computation paradigms. This paper takes a major step along this direction by proposing a fully-programmable in-memory computing system. In particular, we address, for the first time, the question of controlling the in-memory computation, by proposing a lightweight unit managing the operations performed on a memristive array. Assembly-level programming abstraction is achieved by a natively-implemented majority and complement operator. This platform enables diverse sets of applications to be ported with little effort. As a case study, we present a standardized symmetric-key cipher for lightweight security applications. The detailed system design flow and simulation results with accurate device models are reported validating the approach.LSI

p53 and p16 expression profiles in vulvar cancer:a translational analysis by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gynäkologische Onkologie Chemo and Radiotherapy in Epithelial Vulvar Cancer study group

Background: There are 2 known pathways for tumorigenesis of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma—a human papillomavirus–dependent pathway characterized by p16 overexpression and a human papillomavirus–independent pathway linked to lichen sclerosus, characterized by TP53 mutation. A correlation of human papillomavirus dependency with a favorable prognosis has been proposed. Objective: The objective of the study was to further understand the role of human papillomavirus and p53 status in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma and characterize its clinical relevance. Study Design: The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gynaecological Oncology Chemo and Radiotherapy in Epithelial Vulvar Cancer-1 study is a retrospective cohort study of 1618 patients with primary vulvar squamous cell carcinoma Fédération Internationale de Gynécologie et d'Obstétrique stage ≥1B treated at 29 gynecologic cancer centers in Germany between 1998 and 2008. For this translational substudy, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue was collected. A tissue microarray was constructed (n=652 samples); p16 and p53 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. Human papillomavirus status and subtype were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. Results: p16 immunohistochemistry was positive in 166 of 550 tumors (30.2%); p53 staining in 187 of 597 tumors (31.3%). Only tumors with available information regarding p16 and p53 immunohistochemistry and without p53 silent expression pattern were further analyzed (n=411); 3 groups were defined: p53+ (n=163), p16+/p53− (n=132), and p16−/p53− (n=116). Human papillomavirus DNA was detected in 85.6% of p16+/p53− tumors; human papillomavirus-16 was the most common subtype (86.3%). Patients with p16+ tumors were younger (64 vs 72 years for p53+, respectively, 69 years for p16−/p53− tumors; P<.0001) and showed lower rates of lymph-node involvement (28.0% vs 42.3% for p53+, respectively, 30.2% for p16−/p53− tumors; P=.050). Notably, 2-year-disease-free and overall survival rates were significantly different among the groups: disease-free survival, 47.1% (p53+), 60.2% (p16−/p53−), and 63.9% (p16+/p53−) (P<.001); overall survival, 70.4% (p53+), 75.4% (p16−/p53−), and 82.5% (p16+/p53−) (P=.002). In multivariate analysis, the p16+/p53− phenotype showed a consistently improved prognosis compared with the other groups (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval, 0.44–0.99; P=.042). Conclusion: p16 overexpression is associated with an improved prognosis whereas p53 positivity is linked to an adverse outcome. Our data support the hypothesis of a clinically relevant third subgroup of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma with a p53−/p16− phenotype showing an intermediate prognosis that needs to be further characterized

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI