Phase change material in automated window shades

The purpose of this report is to detail the development process for a phase change material window shading system, which stores solar thermal energy and later releases it indoors to provide nighttime space heating. To do this, wax-filled louvers with thermally absorptive front faces were developed and outfitted with a control system, which utilized historical weather data to orient the louvers to specific solar azimuthal angles, thus maximizing the thermal absorption. The system was tested against other common window treatments in a pair of thermally comparable testing structures, and was found to provide energy savings as high as 50%

Does elevated CO2 alter the way microbes behave underground?

Increase in carbon (C) emissions due to human activity is a major cause of global change, but it is unclear how trees obtain soil nutrients to sustain growth under these conditions. To better understand how root symbiotic fungi (ectomycorrhizal fungi, EMF) will react to an increase in atmospheric CO2 we’ve simulated such scenario using synthetic ecosystems where pine trees were planted with and without their EMF (Suillus cothurnatus), nitrogen (N), and soil carbon (C) additions, in elevated vs ambient CO2 growth chambers. By combining biogeochemical analysis with differential isotopic signatures of soil vs plant C, and a series of -omic approaches, we captured changes in soil nutrients, soil respiration, and microbial composition and activity. We found that elevated CO2 did not lead to a change in free living fungal community composition compared to ambient CO2. However, under elevated CO2, more gene modules of S. cothurnatus involved in C-N degradation pathways were impacted by soil C and N additions. In turn, under elevated CO2 and when the EMF was present, we found high enrichment of non-targeted metabolites. The release of CO2 from soil was highly dependent on soil C and N availability and shifted depending on plant C availability. Our results inform ecosystem models by showing that interactions between free living fungi and EMF are an important mechanism for determining ecosystem responses to elevated CO2. In turn, our results challenge the classic perspective that EMF solely absorb nutrients and water and give them to plants.Fil: Policelli, Nahuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; Argentina. Boston University; Estados UnidosFil: Averill, Colin. Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule zurich (eth Zurich);Fil: Brzostek, Edward. West Virginia University; Estados UnidosFil: Wang, Haihua. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Liao, Hui-Ling. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Verma, Vijay. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Tappero, Ryan. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Vietorisz, Corinne. Boston University; Estados UnidosFil: Nash, Jake. University of Duke; Estados UnidosFil: Vilgalys, Rytas. University of Duke; Estados UnidosFil: Bhatnagar, Jennifer M.. Boston University; Estados UnidosESA 2023 - Meeting of the Ecological Society of AmericaPortlandEstados UnidosEcological Society of Americ

Petrological and geochemical characterisation of the sarsen stones at Stonehenge.

Little is known of the properties of the sarsen stones (or silcretes) that comprise the main architecture of Stonehenge. The only studies of rock struck from the monument date from the 19th century, while 20th century investigations have focussed on excavated debris without demonstrating a link to specific megaliths. Here, we present the first comprehensive analysis of sarsen samples taken directly from a Stonehenge megalith (Stone 58, in the centrally placed trilithon horseshoe). We apply state-of-the-art petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical techniques to two cores drilled from the stone during conservation work in 1958. Petrographic analyses demonstrate that Stone 58 is a highly indurated, grain-supported, structureless and texturally mature groundwater silcrete, comprising fine-to-medium grained quartz sand cemented by optically-continuous syntaxial quartz overgrowths. In addition to detrital quartz, trace quantities of silica-rich rock fragments, Fe-oxides/hydroxides and other minerals are present. Cathodoluminescence analyses show that the quartz cement developed as an initial <10 μm thick zone of non-luminescing quartz followed by ~16 separate quartz cement growth zones. Late-stage Fe-oxides/hydroxides and Ti-oxides line and/or infill some pores. Automated mineralogical analyses indicate that the sarsen preserves 7.2 to 9.2 area % porosity as a moderately-connected intergranular network. Geochemical data show that the sarsen is chemically pure, comprising 99.7 wt. % SiO2. The major and trace element chemistry is highly consistent within the stone, with the only magnitude variations being observed in Fe content. Non-quartz accessory minerals within the silcrete host sediments impart a trace element signature distinct from standard sedimentary and other crustal materials. 143Nd/144Nd isotope analyses suggest that these host sediments were likely derived from eroded Mesozoic rocks, and that these Mesozoic rocks incorporated much older Mesoproterozoic material. The chemistry of Stone 58 has been identified recently as representative of 50 of the 52 remaining sarsens at Stonehenge. These results are therefore representative of the main stone type used to build what is arguably the most important Late Neolithic monument in Europe

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity interacts with soil nutrients to predict plant growth despite weak plant-soil feedbacks

Background and aims: Plant-soil feedbacks are the result of multiple abiotic and biotic mechanisms. However, few studies have addressed how feedbacks vary based on abiotic context or attempted to identify microbiota responsible for feedbacks. We investigated whether plant-soil feedbacks of an ectomycorrhizal tree (Quercus macrocarpa) varied based on soil nutrient status and whether fungal community composition and diversity could explain feedback patterns. Methods: We inoculatedQ. macrocarpaseedlings with field-sampled soils taken from five soil origins - including heterospecific and conspecific trees and an old field - which were profiled using fungal DNA metabarcoding. Results: There was a positive home vs. away plant-soil feedback, though feedbacks with individual hosts were not significant regardless of fertilization. Still, hosts harbored distinctive fungal communities that were predictive of plant growth. There was a growth promotive effect of ectomycorrhizal OTU diversity that was weakened with fertilization, suggesting context-dependent relationships between plant growth and a guild of fungal mutualists. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that the host-specific accumulation of functionally important soil microbes is not always sufficient to drive species level plant-soil feedbacks. Our data provide support for a role of ECM fungal diversity in mediating plant growth responses, though it is unclear whether this effect was direct or indirect

Barriers to Effective Cancer Pain Management: A Survey of Hospitalized Cancer Patients in Australia

The purpose of this study was to examine attitudinal barriers to effective pain management in a consecutively recruited cohort of 114 cancer patients from four Australian hospitals. When surveyed, 48% of this sample reported experiencing pain within the previous 24 hours. Of these, 56% reported this pain to be "distressing, horrible or excruciating," with large proportions indicating that this pain had affected their movement, sleep and emotional well-being. Three factors were identified as potentially impacting on patients' responses to pain—poor levels of patient knowledge about pain, low perceived control over pain, and a deficit in communication about pain. A trend for older patients to experience more severe pain was also identified. These older patients reported being more willing to tolerate pain and perceive less control over their pain. Suggestions are made for developing patient education programs and further research using concepts drawn from broader social and behavioral models

Determinants of Nurses' Intention to Administer Opioids for Pain Relief

A statewide cross-sectional survey was conducted in Australia to identify the determinants of registered nurses' intention to administer opioids to patients with pain. Attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control, the key determinants of the Theory of Planned Behavior, were found to independently predict nurses' intention to administer opioids to these patients. Perceived control was the strongest predictor. Nurses reported positive overall attitudes towards opioids and their use in pain management. However, many negative attitudes were identified; for example, administering the least amount of opioid and encouraging patients to have non-opioids rather than opioids for pain relief. The findings related to specific attitudes and normative pressures provide insight into registered nurses' management of pain for hospitalized patients and the direction for educational interventions to improve registered nurses' administration of opioids for pain management

Petrography, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Stonehenge Sarsens: Digital Data Collection

This collection includes a suite of digital materials that, in combination, characterise the petrography, mineralogy and geochemistry of a sarsen upright (Stone 58) from the central trilithon horseshoe at Stonehenge. The collection arises from work undertaken during the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust project "Geochemical fingerprinting the sarsen stones at Stonehenge" (Small Research Grant SG-170610), led by the University of Brighton. The data accompanies the publication: Nash, D. J., Ciborowski, T. J. R., Darvill, T., Parker Pearson, M., Ullyott, J. S., Damaschke, M., Evans, J. A., Goderis, S., Greaney, S., Huggett, J. M., Ixer, R. A., Pirrie, D., Power, M. R., Salge, T. & Whitaker, N. (2021, in review) Petrological and geochemical characterisation of the sarsen stones at Stonehenge. PLoS ONE