Global Sinusoidal Seasonality in Precipitation Isotopes

Quantifying seasonal variations in precipitation δ2H and δ18O is important for many stable isotope applications, including inferring plant water sources and streamflow ages. Our objective is to develop a data product that concisely quantifies the seasonality of stable isotope ratios in precipitation. We fit sine curves defined by amplitude, phase, and offset parameters to quantify annual precipitation isotope cycles at 653 meteorological stations on all seven continents. At most of these stations, including in tropical and subtropical regions, sine curves can represent the seasonal cycles in precipitation isotopes. Additionally, the amplitude, phase, and offset parameters of these sine curves correlate with site climatic and geographic characteristics. Multiple linear regression models based on these site characteristics capture most of the global variation in precipitation isotope amplitudes and offsets; while phase values were not well predicted by regression models globally, they were captured by zonal (0–30∘ and 30–90∘) regressions, which were then used to produce global maps. These global maps of sinusoidal seasonality in precipitation isotopes based on regression models were adjusted for the residual spatial variations that were not captured by the regression models. The resulting mean prediction errors were 0.49 ‰ for δ18O amplitude, 0.73 ‰ for δ18O offset (and 4.0 ‰ and 7.4 ‰ for δ2H amplitude and offset), 8 d for phase values at latitudes outside of 30∘, and 20 d for phase values at latitudes inside of 30∘. We make the gridded global maps of precipitation δ2H and δ18O seasonality publicly available. We also make tabulated site data and fitted sine curve parameters available to support the development of regionally calibrated models, which will often be more accurate than our global model for regionally specific studies

ZooMS analysis of two Châtelperronian faunal assemblages

Human Origin

Subbarrel patterns in somatosensory cortical barrels can emerge from local dynamic instabilities

Complex spatial patterning, common in the brain as well as in other biological systems, can emerge as a result of dynamic interactions that occur locally within developing structures. In the rodent somatosensory cortex, groups of neurons called "barrels" correspond to individual whiskers on the contralateral face. Barrels themselves often contain subbarrels organized into one of a few characteristic patterns. Here we demonstrate that similar patterns can be simulated by means of local growth-promoting and growth-retarding interactions within the circular domains of single barrels. The model correctly predicts that larger barrels contain more spatially complex subbarrel patterns, suggesting that the development of barrels and of the patterns within them may be understood in terms of some relatively simple dynamic processes. We also simulate the full nonlinear equations to demonstrate the predictive value of our linear analysis. Finally, we show that the pattern formation is robust with respect to the geometry of the barrel by simulating patterns on a realistically shaped barrel domain. This work shows how simple pattern forming mechanisms can explain neural wiring both qualitatively and quantitatively even in complex and irregular domains. © 2009 Ermentrout et al

The importance of monsoon precipitation for foundation tree species across the semiarid Southwestern U.S.

Forest dynamics in arid and semiarid regions are sensitive to water availability, which is becoming increasingly scarce as global climate changes. The timing and magnitude of precipitation in the semiarid southwestern U.S. (“Southwest”) has changed since the 21st century began. The region is projected to become hotter and drier as the century proceeds, with implications for carbon storage, pest outbreaks, and wildfire resilience. Our goal was to quantify the importance of summer monsoon precipitation for forested ecosystems across this region. We developed an isotope mixing model in a Bayesian framework to characterize summer (monsoon) precipitation soil water recharge and water use by three foundation tree species (Populus tremuloides [aspen], Pinus edulis [piñon], and Juniperus osteosperma [Utah juniper]). In 2016, soil depths recharged by monsoon precipitation and tree reliance on monsoon moisture varied across the Southwest with clear differences between species. Monsoon precipitation recharged soil at piñon-juniper (PJ) and aspen sites to depths of at least 60 cm. All trees in the study relied primarily on intermediate to deep (10-60 cm) moisture both before and after the onset of the monsoon. Though trees continued to primarily rely on intermediate to deep moisture after the monsoon, all species increased reliance on shallow soil moisture to varying degrees. Aspens increased reliance on shallow soil moisture by 13% to 20%. Utah junipers and co-dominant ñons increased their reliance on shallow soil moisture by about 6% to 12%. Nonetheless, approximately half of the post-monsoon moisture in sampled piñon (38-58%) and juniper (47-53%) stems could be attributed to the monsoon. The monsoon contributed lower amounts to aspen stem water (24-45%) across the study area with the largest impacts at sites with recent precipitation. Therefore, monsoon precipitation is a key driver of growing season moisture that semiarid forests rely on across the Southwest. This monsoon reliance is of critical importance now more than ever as higher global temperatures lead to an increasingly unpredictable and weaker North American Monsoon

A pilot investigation of emotional regulation difficulties and mindfulness-based strategies in manic and remitted bipolar I disorder and major depressive disorder

Background: Both bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are characterized by difficulties in emotion regulation. Little is known about which specific emotion regulatory patterns may be transdiagnostic versus disorder specific, and how such patterns change as a function of current mood states. Methods: This preliminary investigation examined specific patterns of self-reported trait emotion regulation difficulties and mindfulness-based regulations strategies across four groups: remitted adults with bipolar I disorder (BD-remitted; n = 32), currently manic adults with bipolar I disorder (BD-manic; n = 19), remitted adults with major depressive disorder (MDD-remitted; n = 32), and healthy controls (CTL; n = 30). Results: All three clinical groups reported significantly greater difficulties with emotion regulation and decreased overall mindfulness-based strategies. Conclusions: These results suggest that increased emotion regulation difficulties, decreased mindfulness, and increased emotion-driven impulsivity may be transdiagnostic across mood disorders and states, and that impulsivity may be particularly impaired during periods of mania. Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Emotion regulation; Emotional awareness; Impulsivity; Major depressive disorder; Mindfulness.</p

Pauli's Principle in Probe Microscopy

Exceptionally clear images of intramolecular structure can be attained in dynamic force microscopy through the combination of a passivated tip apex and operation in what has become known as the "Pauli exclusion regime" of the tip-sample interaction. We discuss, from an experimentalist's perspective, a number of aspects of the exclusion principle which underpin this ability to achieve submolecular resolution. Our particular focus is on the origins, history, and interpretation of Pauli's principle in the context of interatomic and intermolecular interactions.Comment: This is a chapter from "Imaging and Manipulation of Adsorbates using Dynamic Force Microscopy", a book which is part of the "Advances in Atom and Single Molecule Machines" series published by Springer [http://www.springer.com/series/10425]. To be published late 201

Enhancing accuracy and precision of transparent synthetic soil modelling

Over recent years non-intrusive modelling techniques have been developed to investigate soil-structure interaction problems of increasingly complex geometry. This paper concerns the development of a small-scale, 1 g, modelling technique using a transparent analogue for soil with particle image velocimetry for internal displacement measurement. Larger model geometry achieved in this research using fine-grained transparent synthetic soils has led to an increased need for rigorous photogrammetric correction techniques. A correction framework, based upon a modified version of the pinhole camera model, is presented that corrects for lens and camera movement induced errors as well as scaling from image space to object space. An additional statistical approach is also developed to enhance the system precision, by minimising the impact of increased non-coplanarity between the photogrammetry control plane and the target plane. The enhanced data correction and statistical precision is demonstrated using a case study examining the failure mechanism around a double helical screw pile installed in transparent synthetic soil representative of a soft clay

A 41,500 year-old decorated ivory pendant from Stajnia Cave (Poland)

Evidence of mobiliary art and body augmentation are associated with the cultural innovations introduced by Homo sapiens at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. Here, we report the discovery of the oldest known human-modified punctate ornament, a decorated ivory pendant from the Paleolithic layers at Stajnia Cave in Poland. We describe the features of this unique piece, as well as the stratigraphic context and the details of its chronometric dating. The Stajnia Cave plate is a personal 'jewellery' object that was created 41,500 calendar years ago (directly radiocarbon dated). It is the oldest known of its kind in Eurasia and it establishes a new starting date for a tradition directly connected to the spread of modern Homo sapiens in Europe

First Glimpse of the N= 82 Shell Closure below Z= 50 from Masses of Neutron-Rich Cadmium Isotopes and Isomers

We probe the N = 82 nuclear shell closure by mass measurements of neutron-rich cadmium isotopes with the ISOLTRAP spectrometer at ISOLDE-CERN. The new mass of 132 Cd offers the first value of the N = 82 , two-neutron shell gap below Z = 50 and confirms the phenomenon of mutually enhanced magicity at 132 Sn . Using the recently implemented phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance method, the ordering of the low-lying isomers in 129 Cd and their energies are determined. The new experimental findings are used to test large-scale shell-model, mean-field, and beyond-mean-field calculations, as well as the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group

Multicenter evaluation of the vitek MS matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry system for identification of gram-positive aerobic bacteria

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) is gaining momentum as a tool for bacterial identification in the clinical microbiology laboratory. Compared with conventional methods, this technology can more readily and conveniently identify a wide range of organisms. Here, we report the findings from a multicenter study to evaluate the Vitek MS v2.0 system (bioMérieux, Inc.) for the identification of aerobic Gram-positive bacteria. A total of 1,146 unique isolates, representing 13 genera and 42 species, were analyzed, and results were compared to those obtained by nucleic acid sequence-based identification as the reference method. For 1,063 of 1,146 isolates (92.8%), the Vitek MS provided a single identification that was accurate to the species level. For an additional 31 isolates (2.7%), multiple possible identifications were provided, all correct at the genus level. Mixed-genus or single-choice incorrect identifications were provided for 18 isolates (1.6%). Although no identification was obtained for 33 isolates (2.9%), there was no specific bacterial species for which the Vitek MS consistently failed to provide identification. In a subset of 463 isolates representing commonly encountered important pathogens, 95% were accurately identified to the species level and there were no misidentifications. Also, in all but one instance, the Vitek MS correctly differentiated Streptococcus pneumoniae from other viridans group streptococci. The findings demonstrate that the Vitek MS system is highly accurate for the identification of Gram-positive aerobic bacteria in the clinical laboratory setting