Crowdsourcing in the Quaternary sea level community: insights from the Pliocene

In order to establish the ‘fingerprint’ of past sea level changes, many field measurements of paleo sea level from globally distributed locations are needed. It is because this problem requires a geographically expansive database that it becomes an ideal candidate for crowdsourcing techniques. In order to crowdsource sea level data from the Mid-Pliocene Warm Period, we developed three tools: PlioWiki, RSLcalc and RSLmap. PlioWiki is a web portal, open to contributions, where investigators can share knowledge on Pliocene to Quaternary relative sea levels. RSLcalc is a standardized, ready-to-use tool for field geologists to log their own sea level field observations and, if they desire, submit new data to an open access database of relative sea level markers. RSLmap allows one to visualize and query the database built with RSLcalc on a Google Map interface. Here we describe these tools and discuss the advantages of crowdsourcing, relative to traditional approaches, for the creation of sea level databases for any time period

Isobaric multiplet yrast energies and isospin non-conserving forces

The isovector and isotensor energy differences between yrast states of isobaric multiplets in the lower half of the $pf$ region are quantitatively reproduced in a shell model context. The isospin non-conserving nuclear interactions are found to be at least as important as the Coulomb potential. Their isovector and isotensor channels are dominated by J=2 and J=0 pairing terms, respectively. The results are sensitive to the radii of the states, whose evolution along the yrast band can be accurately followed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Superseeds second part of nucl-th/010404

Cerebral Blood Velocity Increases during Face Cooling in Symptomatic Concussed Athletes

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Triacylglycerol profiling of microalgae strains for biofuel feedstock by liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry

Biofuels from photosynthetic microalgae are quickly gaining interest as a viable carbon-neutral energy source. Typically, characterization of algal feedstock involves breaking down triacylglycerols (TAG) and other intact lipids, followed by derivatization of the fatty acids to fatty acid methyl esters prior to analysis by gas chromatography (GC). However, knowledge of the intact lipid profile could offer significant advantages for discovery stage biofuel research such as the selection of an algal strain or the optimization of growth and extraction conditions. Herein, lipid extracts from microalgae were directly analyzed by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) using a benchtop Orbitrap mass spectrometer. Phospholipids, glycolipids, and TAGs were analyzed in the same chromatographic run, using a combination of accurate mass and diagnostic fragment ions for identification. Using this approach, greater than 100 unique TAGs were identified over the six algal strains studied and TAG profiles were obtained to assess their potential for biofuel applications. Under the growth conditions employed, Botryococcus braunii and Scenedesmus obliquus yielded the most comprehensive TAG profile with a high abundance of TAGs containing oleic acid

Time Reversal and n-qubit Canonical Decompositions

For n an even number of qubits and v a unitary evolution, a matrix decomposition v=k1 a k2 of the unitary group is explicitly computable and allows for study of the dynamics of the concurrence entanglement monotone. The side factors k1 and k2 of this Concurrence Canonical Decomposition (CCD) are concurrence symmetries, so the dynamics reduce to consideration of the a factor. In this work, we provide an explicit numerical algorithm computing v=k1 a k2 for n odd. Further, in the odd case we lift the monotone to a two-argument function, allowing for a theory of concurrence dynamics in odd qubits. The generalization may also be studied using the CCD, leading again to maximal concurrence capacity for most unitaries. The key technique is to consider the spin-flip as a time reversal symmetry operator in Wigner's axiomatization; the original CCD derivation may be restated entirely in terms of this time reversal. En route, we observe a Kramers' nondegeneracy: the existence of a nondegenerate eigenstate of any time reversal symmetric n-qubit Hamiltonian demands (i) n even and (ii) maximal concurrence of said eigenstate. We provide examples of how to apply this work to study the kinematics and dynamics of entanglement in spin chain Hamiltonians.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures; v2 (17pp.): major revision, new abstract, introduction, expanded bibliograph

Raman Spectral Signatures of Cervical Exfoliated Cells from Liquid-Based Cytology Samples

It is widely accepted that cervical screening has significantly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer worldwide. The primary screening test for cervical cancer is the Papanicolaou (Pap) test, which has extremely variable specificity and sensitivity. There is an unmet clinical need for methods to aid clinicians in the early detection of cervical precancer. Raman spectroscopy is a label-free objective method that can provide a biochemical fingerprint of a given sample. Compared with studies on infrared spectroscopy, relatively few Raman spectroscopy studies have been carried out to date on cervical cytology. The aim of this study was to define the Raman spectral signatures of cervical exfoliated cells present in liquid-based cytology Pap test specimens and to compare the signature of high-grade dysplastic cells to each of the normal cell types. Raman spectra were recorded from single exfoliated cells and subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. The study demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy can identify biochemical signatures associated with the most common cell types seen in liquid-based cytology samples; superficial, intermediate, and parabasal cells. In addition, biochemical changes associated with high-grade dysplasia could be identified suggesting that Raman spectroscopy could be used to aid current cervical screening tests

The changing pattern of domestic cannabis cultivation in the UK and its impact on the cannabis market

With improvements in both technology and information cannabis is being increasingly grown indoors for domestic use, rather than being imported. This study examines 50 cannabis farms detected by an English police force, and examines the characteristics of the 61 suspects associated with them. The study highlights a UK pattern in domestic cultivation, that is moving away from large scale commercial cultivation, at times co-ordinated by South East Asian organised crime groups, to increased cultivation within residential premises by British citizens. Offenders range from those who have no prior criminal history to those who are serious and persistent offenders. The ramifications for law enforcement agencies and policy formers are discussed

Combined data analysis of fossil and living mammals: a Paleogene sister taxon of Placentalia and the antiquity of Marsupialia

The Cretaceous–Paleogene (KPg) boundary, one of Earth’s five major extinction events, occurred just before the appearance of Placentalia in the fossil record. The Gobi Desert, Mongolia and the Western Interior of North America have important fossil mammals occurring just before and after the KPg boundary (e.g. Prodiacodon, Deltatheridium) that have yet to be phylogenetically tested in a character-rich context with molecular data. We present here phylogenetic analyses of >6000 newly scored anatomical observations drawn from six untested fossils and added to the largest existing morphological matrix for mammals. These data are combined with sequence data from 27 nuclear genes. Results show the existence of a new eutherian sister clade to Placentalia, which we name and characterize. The extinct clade Leptictidae is part of this placental sister clade, indicating that the sister clade survived the KPg event to co-exist in ancient ecosystems during the Paleogene radiation of placentals. Analysing the Cretaceous metatherian Deltatheridium in this character-rich context reveals it is a member of Marsupialia, a finding that extends the minimum age of Marsupialia before the KPg boundary. Numerous shared-derived features from multiple anatomical systems support the assignment of Deltatheridium to Marsupialia. Computed tomography scans of exquisite new specimens better document the marsupial-like dental replacement pattern of Deltatheridium. The new placental sister clade has both Asian and North American species, and is ancestrally characterized by shared derived features such as a hind limb modified for saltatorial locomotion