The Moxee City (Washington) Mammoth: Morphostratigraphic, Taphonomic, and Taxonomic Considerations

A nearly complete, but highly fractured, proboscidean tusk was unearthed during parking lot construction near Moxee City in central Washington in May 2001. Schreger angle analysis revealed that the tusk was from a mammoth. AMS radiocarbon dating of the tusk established that the mammoth died 14,570 14C yr BP. The age, combined with the biogeography of proboscidean finds in the Pacific Northwest, suggests the tusk is from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). The condition of the tusk and its association with basalt and crystalline erratics suggest that a locally derived tusk was swept up in the advancing flood and transported to ∼320 m elevation, where it was deposited in the sediments of the 3rd of 3 Missoula Floods that are preserved in the area. The tusk\u27s weathering indicates subaerial exposure prior to burial in the slackwater sediments. Slackwater deposits at the site are pale, ∼30-100 cm thick, calcareous, fine-textured strata that include occasional coarse basalt and crystalline sand and gravel. They are intruded by numerous clastic dikes. The sediments encapsulating the tusk lack rhythmites because of their deposition in the nearshore zone of an ephemeral slackwater lake. The first 2 floods inundated the site between 15,300 14C yr BP and 14,570 14C yr BP, stripping the A horizon from a well-developed soil formed in alluvial fan sediments sitting above an Ellensburg Formation pediment. The last flood to reach the site occurred later than 14,570 14C yr BP, as indicated by the presence of the dated tusk. Post-flood and post-MSH S tephra loess derived from the Yakima River floodplain mantles these slackwater deposits. The Warden soil is forming in the now-stable loess parent material

Kolsänkan av levande biomassa i fjällnära skog

The study focuses on facts about the role of the forests, near the mountains in the northwestern part of Sweden, from a climate perspective. This refers to the net removal in living tree biomass while the substitution effect is omitted. The area-based (design based) estimates are based on data from the Swedish National Forest Inventories permanent sample plots in two areas close to the mountains. The first area refers to the above limit for forests close to the mountains (above GFS) according to the Swedish Forest Agency and the second according to a map layer that is considered important of protection for biodiversity reasons according to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). Of the 8.1 Mha of land above the limit for forests close to mountains, 3.1 Mha is forest land, of which 1.7 Mha is formally protected forest land. Productive forest land used for timber production amounts to less than 0.5 Mha. For both formally protected forest land and non-formally protected forest land, living biomass constitutes a net uptake of -1 Mton CO2 / year during the period 1990-2016 on a reasonably similar area. If all forest land above GFS is excluded from timber production, the short-term increase in net removal in the forest will be approximately -0.4 Mton CO2 / year, which corresponds to harvest. Then we do not expect any substitution effect and believe that other carbon pools (dead wood, soil, litter and the carbon pool harvested wood products) in the short term are not affected by the stopping of felling. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has selected an area close to the mountains where two thirds comprise forest land. No land is formally protected. Of approximately 1.0 Mha of forest land, 0.39 Mha was assessed as forest land for timber production. The net uptake in living biomass of forest land amounted to approximately -1 Mton CO2 / year during the period. On productive forest land for timber production, the net uptake was approximately -0.6 Mton CO2 / year during the period. If all forest land according to the map layer is excluded from timber production, the short-term increase in net removal in the forest will be approximately -0.1 Mton CO2 / year, which corresponds to harvest. Then we do not expect any substitution effect and believe that other carbon pools in the short term are not affected by the stopping of felling.The study focuses on facts about the role of the forests, near the mountains in the northwestern part of Sweden, from a climate perspective. This refers to the net removal in living tree biomass while the substitution effect is omitted. The area-based (design based) estimates are based on data from the Swedish National Forest Inventories permanent sample plots in two areas close to the mountains. The first area refers to the above limit for forests close to the mountains (above GFS) according to the Swedish Forest Agency and the second according to a map layer that is considered important of protection for biodiversity reasons according to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). Of the 8.1 Mha of land above the limit for forests close to mountains, 3.1 Mha is forest land, of which 1.7 Mha is formally protected forest land. Productive forest land used for timber production amounts to less than 0.5 Mha. For both formally protected forest land and non-formally protected forest land, living biomass constitutes a net uptake of -1 Mton CO2 / year during the period 1990-2016 on a reasonably similar area. If all forest land above GFS is excluded from timber production, the short-term increase in net removal in the forest will be approximately -0.4 Mton CO2 / year, which corresponds to harvest. Then we do not expect any substitution effect and believe that other carbon pools (dead wood, soil, litter and the carbon pool harvested wood products) in the short term are not affected by the stopping of felling. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has selected an area close to the mountains where two thirds comprise forest land. No land is formally protected. Of approximately 1.0 Mha of forest land, 0.39 Mha was assessed as forest land for timber production. The net uptake in living biomass of forest land amounted to approximately -1 Mton CO2 / year during the period. On productive forest land for timber production, the net uptake was approximately -0.6 Mton CO2 / year during the period. If all forest land according to the map layer is excluded from timber production, the short-term increase in net removal in the forest will be approximately -0.1 Mton CO2 / year, which corresponds to harvest. Then we do not expect any substitution effect and believe that other carbon pools in the short term are not affected by the stopping of felling

The Scandinavian multicenter hemodynamic evaluation of the SJM Regent aortic valve

Background: 112 patients who received small and medium sized St.Jude Regent heart valves (19-25 mm) at 7 Scandinavian centers were studied between January 2003 and February 2005 to obtain non-invasive data regarding the hemodynamic performance at rest and during Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) testing one year after surgery. Material and methods: 46 woman and 66 men, aged 61.8 +/- 9.7 (18-75) years, were operated on for aortic regurgitation (17), stenosis (65), or mixed dysfunction (30). Valve sizes were 19 mm (6), 21 mm (33), 23 mm (41), 25 mm (30). Two patients receiving size 27 valves were excluded from the hemodynamic evaluation. Pledgets were used in 100 patients, everted mattress in 66 and simple interrupted sutures in 21. Valve orientation varied and was dependent on the surgeons' choice. 34 patients (30.4%) underwent concomitant coronary artery surgery. Results: There were two early deaths (1.8%) and three late deaths, one because of pancreatic cancer. Late events during follow-up were: non structural dysfunction (1), bleeding (2), thromboembolism (2). At one year follow up 93% of the patients were in NYHA classes 1-2 versus 47.8% preoperatively. Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) was performed in a total of 66 and maximal peak stress was reached in 61 patients. During DSE testing, the following statistically significant changes took place: Heart rate increased by 73.0%, cardiac output by 85.5%, left ventriclular ejection fraction by 19.6%, and maximal mean prosthetic transvalvular gradient by 133.8%, whereas the effective orifice area index did not change. Left ventricular mass fell during one year from 215 +/- 63 to 197 +/- 62 g (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The Dobutamine test induces a substantial stress, well suitable for echocardiographic assessment of prosthesis valve function and can be performed in the majority of the patients. The changes in pressure gradients add to the hemodynamic characteristics of the various valve sizes. In our patients the St. Jude Regent valve performed satisfactory at rest and under pharmacological stress situation

Mitral valve analysis adding a virtual semi-transparent annulus plane for detection of prolapsing segments

Background We hypothesized that a novel three-dimensional virtual semi-transparent annulus plane (3D VSAP) presented on a holographic screen can be used to visualize the prolapsing tissue in degenerative mitral valve disease and furthermore, provide us with geometrical data of the mitral valve apparatus. Phantom and patient studies were designed to demonstrate the feasibility of creating a semi-automatic, semi-transparent mitral annulus plane visualized on a holographic display. Methods Ten pipe cleaners mimicking the mitral annulus with different shapes and three types of annuloplasty rings served as phantoms. We obtained 3D transoesophageal examination of the phantoms in a special designed box filled with water. Recordings were converted to the holographic display and a 3D VSAP was created. The ratio of the major and minor axes as well as the non-planar angles were calculated and compared with direct measures of the phantoms. Forty patients with degenerative mitral valve disease were then analyzed with 3D transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and a 3D VSAP was created on the holographic display. A total of 240 segments were analyzed by two independent observers, one echo expert (observer I), and the other novice with limited echo experience (observer II). The two observers created the 3D VSAP in each patient before suggesting the valve pathology. Results The major/minor axes ratio and non-planar angles by 3D VSAP correlated with direct measurements by r = 0.65, p < 0.02 and r = 0.99, p < 0.0001, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the 3D VSAP method in patients was 81 and 97 %, respectively (observer I) and for observer II 77 and 96 %, respectively. The accuracy and precisions were 93.9 and 89.4 %, respectively (observer I), 92.3 and 85.1 % (observer II). Mitral valve analysis adding a 3D VSAP was feasible with high accuracy and precision, providing a quick and less subjective method for diagnosing mitral valve prolapse. This novel method may improve preoperative diagnostics and may relieve a better understanding of the pathophysiology of mitral valve disease. Thus, based on the specific findings in each patient, a tailored surgical repair can be planned and hopefully enhance long-term repair patency in the future

ABS-NET: Fully Decentralized Runtime Adaptation for Distributed Objects

We present a formalized, fully decentralized runtime semantics for a core subset of ABS, a language graph representation of a network infrastructure, with network endpoints represented as graph nodes, and links as arcs with buffers, corresponding to OSI layer 2 interconnects. The key problem we wish to address is how to allocate computational tasks to nodes so that certain performance objectives are met. To this end, we use the semantics as a foundation for performing networkadaptive task execution via object migration between nodes. Adaptability is analyzed in terms of three Quality of Service objectives: node load, arc load and message latency. We have implemented the key parts of our semantics in a simulator and evaluated how well objectives are achieved for some application-relevant choices of network topology, migration procedure and ABS program. The evaluation suggests that it is feasible in a decentralized setting to continually meet both the objective of a node-balanced task allocation and make headway towards minimizing communication, and thus arc load and message latency.

Fördelning av kolpoolsförändringar på olika skogstyper

För att kunna redovisa kolpoolsförändringar i levande biomassa uppdelat på olika skogstyper kopplades databaserna GreenbaseWeb, som används för Sveriges klimatrapportering, ihop med RT-bas, som utgör Riksskogstaxeringens (RT) viktigaste databas. Den totala skogsmarksarealen summerad per skogstyp i RT-bas överensstämde med total rapporterad skogsmarksareal under Sveriges klimatrapportering baserat på GreenbaseWeb. Detta gällde även förändring av levade trädbiomassa som utgör den viktigaste kolpoolen i Sveriges klimatrapportering för Skog- och marksektorn (LULUCF). I förlängningen möjliggör kopplingen mellan dessa databaser många möjligheter till alternativa skärningar av resultatredovisningen för LULUCF. Resultaten visar att 26 % eller 7,3 Mha av totalt 28,1 Mha skogsmark 2016 var undantagen från skogsbruk för virkesproduktion baserat på Riksskogstaxeringen (formellt skydd, frivilliga avsättningar och improduktiv skogsmark). Så kallade hänsynsytor räknas inte till undantagen areal i denna studie och redovisas under skogsmark för virkesproduktion. Nettoupptaget 2016 i levande biomassa var störst i skogar för virkesproduktion: -24 Mton CO2/år eller 77 % av det totala nettoupptaget om -31 Mton CO2/år. Eftersom Riksskogstaxeringen baseras på fem omdrev med vardera en femårig inventeringscykel så kan redovisningen klassificeras som ett medeltal och därför kan faktiska årliga variationer vara relativt stora beroende på avverkningsnivå och variationer i tillväxt enskilda år. De största nettoupptagen per areal återfanns på produktiv skogsmark för virkesproduktion och frivilliga avsättningar. Det förra beror på att den totala tillväxten är stor i dessa brukade skogar och dessutom större än avverkningen, och det senare på att de frivilliga avsättningarna är biologiskt unga och därmed har en relativt hög tillväxt. Med tiden förväntas nettoupptaget för frivilliga avsättningar att gå mot noll. Levande biomassa har nästan alla år från 1990-2016 utgjort ett nettoupptag för Götaland, Svealand, Södra Norrland och Norra Norrland med två undantag. I samband med stormarna 2005 och 2007 bidrog Götaland med ett nettoutsläpp som delvis tycks ha kompenserats av större nettoupptag i andra regioner.In order to report carbon pool changes in living biomass for forest land divided into different forest types, the databases GreenbaseWeb, which is used for Sweden's climate reporting, were linked to the NFI database, which constitutes the National Forest Inventory’s most important database. The area by forest type from the NFI database summed up to the total reported forest land area of Sweden's climate reporting based on GreenbaseWeb. This also applied to changes in living tree biomass, which is the most important carbon pool in Sweden's climate reporting of the LULUCF-sector. The link between these databases enables many reporting alternatives for the LULUCF-sector.  The results show that 26 % or 7.3 Mha of a total of 28.1 Mha of forest land is not used for timber production based on the NFI (note that tree retention areas are reported under forestry for timber production). The net uptake in living biomass 2016 was largest in forests for timber production: -24 Mton CO2/year or 77% of the total uptake of -31 Mton CO2/year. Since the National Forest Inventory is based on five panels, each with a five-year inventory cycle, the result can be classified as an average and therefore actual annual variations can be larger. The largest net uptake per area were found on forest land for timber production and for voluntary set asides. The former is due to the fact that the total growth is greater than the felling rate and the latter is due to the fact that the voluntary set asides are biologically young and therefore have a relatively high growth. Over time, the net uptake for voluntary set aside areas are expected to decease to zero. Almost every year from 1990 to 2016, living biomass has constituted a net uptake for Götaland, Svealand, Södra Norrland and Norra Norrland with two exceptions. In connection with the storms in 2005 and 2007, Götaland contributed with a net emission that seems to have been partially offset by larger net uptake in other regions

Fördelning av kolpoolsförändringar på olika skogstyper

För att kunna redovisa kolpoolsförändringar i levande biomassa uppdelat på olika skogstyper kopplades databaserna GreenbaseWeb, som används för Sveriges klimatrapportering, ihop med RT-bas, som utgör Riksskogstaxeringens (RT) viktigaste databas. Den totala skogsmarksarealen summerad per skogstyp i RT-bas överensstämde med total rapporterad skogsmarksareal under Sveriges klimatrapportering baserat på GreenbaseWeb. Detta gällde även förändring av levade trädbiomassa som utgör den viktigaste kolpoolen i Sveriges klimatrapportering för Skog- och marksektorn (LULUCF). I förlängningen möjliggör kopplingen mellan dessa databaser många möjligheter till alternativa skärningar av resultatredovisningen för LULUCF. Resultaten visar att 26 % eller 7,3 Mha av totalt 28,1 Mha skogsmark 2016 var undantagen från skogsbruk för virkesproduktion baserat på Riksskogstaxeringen (formellt skydd, frivilliga avsättningar och improduktiv skogsmark). Så kallade hänsynsytor räknas inte till undantagen areal i denna studie och redovisas under skogsmark för virkesproduktion. Nettoupptaget 2016 i levande biomassa var störst i skogar för virkesproduktion: -24 Mton CO2/år eller 77 % av det totala nettoupptaget om -31 Mton CO2/år. Eftersom Riksskogstaxeringen baseras på fem omdrev med vardera en femårig inventeringscykel så kan redovisningen klassificeras som ett medeltal och därför kan faktiska årliga variationer vara relativt stora beroende på avverkningsnivå och variationer i tillväxt enskilda år. De största nettoupptagen per areal återfanns på produktiv skogsmark för virkesproduktion och frivilliga avsättningar. Det förra beror på att den totala tillväxten är stor i dessa brukade skogar och dessutom större än avverkningen, och det senare på att de frivilliga avsättningarna är biologiskt unga och därmed har en relativt hög tillväxt. Med tiden förväntas nettoupptaget för frivilliga avsättningar att gå mot noll. Levande biomassa har nästan alla år från 1990-2016 utgjort ett nettoupptag för Götaland, Svealand, Södra Norrland och Norra Norrland med två undantag. I samband med stormarna 2005 och 2007 bidrog Götaland med ett nettoutsläpp som delvis tycks ha kompenserats av större nettoupptag i andra regioner.In order to report carbon pool changes in living biomass for forest land divided into different forest types, the databases GreenbaseWeb, which is used for Sweden's climate reporting, were linked to the NFI database, which constitutes the National Forest Inventory’s most important database. The area by forest type from the NFI database summed up to the total reported forest land area of Sweden's climate reporting based on GreenbaseWeb. This also applied to changes in living tree biomass, which is the most important carbon pool in Sweden's climate reporting of the LULUCF-sector. The link between these databases enables many reporting alternatives for the LULUCF-sector.  The results show that 26 % or 7.3 Mha of a total of 28.1 Mha of forest land is not used for timber production based on the NFI (note that tree retention areas are reported under forestry for timber production). The net uptake in living biomass 2016 was largest in forests for timber production: -24 Mton CO2/year or 77% of the total uptake of -31 Mton CO2/year. Since the National Forest Inventory is based on five panels, each with a five-year inventory cycle, the result can be classified as an average and therefore actual annual variations can be larger. The largest net uptake per area were found on forest land for timber production and for voluntary set asides. The former is due to the fact that the total growth is greater than the felling rate and the latter is due to the fact that the voluntary set asides are biologically young and therefore have a relatively high growth. Over time, the net uptake for voluntary set aside areas are expected to decease to zero. Almost every year from 1990 to 2016, living biomass has constituted a net uptake for Götaland, Svealand, Södra Norrland and Norra Norrland with two exceptions. In connection with the storms in 2005 and 2007, Götaland contributed with a net emission that seems to have been partially offset by larger net uptake in other regions

The Scandinavian multicenter hemodynamic evaluation of the SJM Regent aortic valve

Abstract Background 112 patients who received small and medium sized St.Jude Regent heart valves (19-25 mm) at 7 Scandinavian centers were studied between January 2003 and February 2005 to obtain non-invasive data regarding the hemodynamic performance at rest and during Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) testing one year after surgery. Material and methods 46 woman and 66 men, aged 61.8 ± 9.7 (18-75) years, were operated on for aortic regurgitation (17), stenosis (65), or mixed dysfunction (30). Valve sizes were 19 mm (6), 21 mm (33), 23 mm (41), 25 mm (30). Two patients receiving size 27 valves were excluded from the hemodynamic evaluation. Pledgets were used in 100 patients, everted mattress in 66 and simple interrupted sutures in 21. Valve orientation varied and was dependent on the surgeons' choice. 34 patients (30.4%) underwent concomitant coronary artery surgery. Results There were two early deaths (1.8%) and three late deaths, one because of pancreatic cancer. Late events during follow-up were: non structural dysfunction (1), bleeding (2), thromboembolism (2). At one year follow up 93% of the patients were in NYHA classes 1-2 versus 47.8% preoperatively. Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) was performed in a total of 66 and maximal peak stress was reached in 61 patients. During DSE testing, the following statistically significant changes took place: Heart rate increased by 73.0%, cardiac output by 85.5%, left ventriclular ejection fraction by 19.6%, and maximal mean prosthetic transvalvular gradient by 133.8%, whereas the effective orifice area index did not change. Left ventricular mass fell during one year from 215 ± 63 to 197 ± 62 g (p Conclusion The Dobutamine test induces a substantial stress, well suitable for echocardiographic assessment of prosthesis valve function and can be performed in the majority of the patients. The changes in pressure gradients add to the hemodynamic characteristics of the various valve sizes. In our patients the St. Jude Regent valve performed satisfactory at rest and under pharmacological stress situation.</p