Editorial: New Insights in Skeletal Muscle Channelopathies - A Rapidly Expanding Field

not availabl

The global melt inclusion C/Ba array: Mantle variability, melting process, or degassing?

The Earth’s mantle holds more carbon than its oceans, atmosphere and con- tinents combined, yet the distribution of carbon within the mantle remains uncertain. Our best constraints on the distribution of carbon within the up- per mantle are derived from the carbon-trace element systematics of ultra- depleted glasses and melt inclusions from mid-ocean ridge basalts. How- ever, carbon-trace element systematics are susceptible to modification by crustal processes, including concurrent degassing and mixing, and melt in- clusion decrepitation. In this study we explore how the influence of these processes varies systematically with both the mantle source and melting pro- cess, thereby modulating both global and local carbon-trace element trends. We supplement the existing melt inclusion data from Iceland with four new datasets, significantly enhancing the spatial and geochemical coverage of melt inclusion datasets from the island. Within the combined Iceland dataset there is significant variation in melt inclusion C/Ba ratio, which is tightly correlated with trace element enrichment. The trends in C/Ba- Ba space displayed by our new data coincide with the same trends in data compiled from global ocean islands and mid-ocean ridges, forming a global array. The overall structure of the global C/Ba-Ba array is not a property of the source, instead it is controlled by CO2 vapour loss pre- and post-melt inclusion entrapment; i.e., the array is a consequence of degassing creating near-constant maximum melt-inclusion carbon contents over many orders of magnitude of Ba concentration. On Iceland, extremely high C/Ba (>100) and C/Nb (>1000) ratios are found in melt inclusions from the most depleted eruptions. The high C/Ba and C/Nb ratios are unlikely to be either analytical artefacts, or to be the product of extreme fractionation of the most incompatible elements during silicate melting. Whilst high C/Ba and C/Nb ratios could be generated by regassing of melt inclusions by CO2 vapour, or by mantle melting occurring in the presence of residual graphite, we suggest the high values most likely derive from an intrinsically high C/Ba and C/Nb mantle component that makes up a small fraction of the Icelandic mantle

Acceptability of novel lifelogging technology to determine context of sedentary behaviour in older adults

<strong>Objective:</strong> Lifelogging, using body worn sensors (activity monitors and time lapse photography) has the potential to shed light on the context of sedentary behaviour. The objectives of this study were to examine the acceptability, to older adults, of using lifelogging technology and indicate its usefulness for understanding behaviour.<strong> </strong><strong>Method:</strong> 6 older adults (4 males, mean age: 68yrs) wore the equipment (ActivPAL^TM and Vicon Revue^TM/SenseCam^TM) for 7 consecutive days during free-living activity. The older adults’ perception of the lifelogging technology was assessed through semi-structured interviews, including a brief questionnaire (Likert scale), and reference to the researcher&#39;s diary. <strong>Results:</strong> Older adults in this study found the equipment acceptable to wear and it did not interfere with privacy, safety or create reactivity, but they reported problems with the actual technical functioning of the camera. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> This combination of sensors has good potential to provide lifelogging information on the context of sedentary behaviour

Why is it so hard to enact responsible change?: Scientists need to work more closely with other social groups to implement sustainable innovation

This is the final version. Available on open access from EMBO Press via the DOI in this record. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)UK Research and Innovation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)Wellcome Trus

Evaluating Active U: an Internet-mediated physical activity program.

Background: Engaging in regular physical activity can be challenging, particularly during the winter months. To promote physical activity at the University of Michigan during the winter months, an eight-week Internet-mediated program (Active U) was developed providing participants with an online physical activity log, goal setting, motivational emails, and optional team participation and competition. Methods: This study is a program evaluation of Active U. Approximately 47,000 faculty, staff, and graduate students were invited to participate in the online Active U intervention in the winter of 2007. Participants were assigned a physical activity goal and were asked to record each physical activity episode into the activity log for eight weeks. Statistics for program reach, effectiveness, adoption, and implementation were calculated using the Re-Aim framework. Multilevel regression analyses were used to assess the decline in rates of data entry and goal attainment during the program, to assess the likelihood of joining a team by demographic characteristics, to test the association between various predictors and the number of weeks an individual met his or her goal, and to analyze server load. Results: Overall, 7,483 individuals registered with the Active U website (≈16% of eligible), and 79% participated in the program by logging valid data at least once. Staff members, older participants, and those with a BMI < 25 were more likely to meet their weekly physical activity goals, and average rate of meeting goals was higher among participants who joined a competitive team compared to those who participated individually (IRR = 1.28, P < .001). Conclusion: Internet-mediated physical activity interventions that focus on physical activity logging and goal setting while incorporating team competition may help a significant percentage of the target population maintain their physical activity during the winter months

Moisture transport by Atlantic tropical cyclones onto the North American continent

Tropical Cyclones (TCs) are an important source of freshwater for the North American continent. Many studies have tried to estimate this contribution by identifying TC-induced precipitation events, but few have explicitly diagnosed the moisture fluxes across continental boundaries. We design a set of attribution schemes to isolate the column-integrated moisture fluxes that are directly associated with TCs and to quantify the flux onto the North American Continent due to TCs. Averaged over the 2004–2012 hurricane seasons and integrated over the western, southern and eastern coasts of North America, the seven schemes attribute 7 to 18 % (mean 14 %) of total net onshore flux to Atlantic TCs. A reduced contribution of 10 % (range 9 to 11 %) was found for the 1980–2003 period, though only two schemes could be applied to this earlier period. Over the whole 1980–2012 period, a further 8 % (range 6 to 9 % from two schemes) was attributed to East Pacific TCs, resulting in a total TC contribution of 19 % (range 17 to 22 %) to the ocean-to-land moisture transport onto the North American continent between May and November. Analysis of the attribution uncertainties suggests that incorporating details of individual TC size and shape adds limited value to a fixed radius approach and TC positional errors in the ERA-Interim reanalysis do not affect the results significantly, but biases in peak wind speeds and TC sizes may lead to underestimates of moisture transport. The interannual variability does not appear to be strongly related to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomenon

Human Female Genital Tract Infection by the Obligate Intracellular Bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis Elicits Robust Type 2 Immunity

While Chlamydia trachomatis infections are frequently asymptomatic, mechanisms that regulate host response to this intracellular Gram-negative bacterium remain undefined. This investigation thus used peripheral blood mononuclear cells and endometrial tissue from women with or without Chlamydia genital tract infection to better define this response. Initial genome-wide microarray analysis revealed highly elevated expression of matrix metalloproteinase 10 and other molecules characteristic of Type 2 immunity (e.g., fibrosis and wound repair) in Chlamydia-infected tissue. This result was corroborated in flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry studies that showed extant upper genital tract Chlamydia infection was associated with increased co-expression of CD200 receptor and CD206 (markers of alternative macrophage activation) by endometrial macrophages as well as increased expression of GATA-3 (the transcription factor regulating TH2 differentiation) by endometrial CD4+ T cells. Also among women with genital tract Chlamydia infection, peripheral CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD4- cells that proliferated in response to ex vivo stimulation with inactivated chlamydial antigen secreted significantly more interleukin (IL)-4 than tumor necrosis factor, interferon-γ, or IL-17; findings that repeated in T cells isolated from these same women 1 and 4 months after infection had been eradicated. Our results thus newly reveal that genital infection by an obligate intracellular bacterium induces polarization towards Type 2 immunity, including Chlamydia-specific TH2 development. Based on these findings, we now speculate that Type 2 immunity was selected by evolution as the host response to C. trachomatis in the human female genital tract to control infection and minimize immunopathological damage to vital reproductive structures. © 2013 Vicetti Miguel et al

Towards High Performance Relativistic Electronic Structure Modelling: The EXP-T Program Package

Modern challenges arising in the fields of theoretical and experimental physics require new powerful tools for high-precision electronic structure modelling; one of the most perspective tools is the relativistic Fock space coupled cluster method (FS-RCC). Here we present a new extensible implementation of the FS-RCC method designed for modern parallel computers. The underlying theoretical model, algorithms and data structures are discussed. The performance and scaling features of the implementation are analyzed. The software developed allows to achieve a completely new level of accuracy for prediction of properties of atoms and molecules containing heavy and superheavy nuclei