Sterilization of liquids by filtration and certification of probability

Sterilization of liquids by hydrosol filtratio

Olfactory Imagery and Emotional Control

Olfaction and gustation are important survival mechanisms. These sensory modalities also have an impact on memory and emotions. Olfactory stimulation has recently been used in virtual reality environments to treat emotional distress. There is evidence that olfactory and gustatory stimuli reach the insula, where they influence a number of other brain networks. There is little research on the use of smell and taste during mindfulness, but it will be shown that they can foster balanced emotional responses. In this chapter, we will look at how to incorporate olfactory and gustatory memory-based experiences during mindfulness exercises to bring about emotional homeostasis

Oceanic Zircon Records Extreme Fractional Crystallization of MORB to Rhyolite on the Alarcon Rise Mid-Ocean Ridge

The first known occurrence of rhyolite along the submarine segments of the mid-ocean ridge (MOR) system was discovered on Alarcon Rise, the northernmost segment of the East Pacific Rise (EPR), by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in 2012. Zircon trace element and Hf and O isotope patterns indicate that the rhyolite formed by extreme crystal fractionation of primary mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) sourced from normal to enriched MOR mantle with little to no addition of continental lithosphere or hydrated oceanic crust. A large range in zircon ϵHf spanning 11 ϵ units is comparable to the range of whole rock ϵHf from the entire EPR. This variability is comparable to continental granitoids that develop over long periods of time from multiple sources. Zircon geochronology from Alarcon Rise suggests that at least 20 kyr was needed for rhyolite petrogenesis. Grain-scale textural discontinuities and trace element trends from zircon cores and rims are consistent with crystal fractionation from a MORB magma with possible perturbations associated with mixing or replenishment events. Comparison of whole rock and zircon oxygen isotopes with modeled fractionation and zircon-melt patterns suggests that, after they formed, rhyolite magmas entrained hydrated mafic crust from conduit walls during ascent and/or were hydrated by seawater in the vent during eruption. These data do not support a model where rhyolites formed directly from partial melts of hydrated oceanic crust or do they require assimilation of such crust during fractional crystallization, both models being commonly invoked for the formation of oceanic plagiogranites and dacites. A spatial association of highly evolved lavas (rhyolites) with an increased number of fault scarps on the northern Alarcon Rise might suggest that low magma flux for ∼20 kyr facilitated extended magma residence necessary to generate rhyolite from MORB

Intertwined ocean and climate: implications for international climate negotiations

The atmosphere and ocean are two components of the Earth system that are essential for life, yet humankind is altering both. Contemporary climate change is now a well-identified problem: anthropogenic causes, disturbance in extreme events patterns, gradual environmental changes, widespread impacts on life and natural resources, and multiple threats to human societies all around the world. But part of the problem remains largely unknown outside the scientific community: significant changes are also occurring in the ocean, threatening life and its sustainability on Earth. This Policy Brief explains the significance of these changes in the ocean. It is based on a scientific paper recently published in Science (Gattuso et al., 2015), which synthesizes recent and future changes to the ocean and its ecosystems, as well as to the goods and services they provide to humans. Two contrasting CO2 emission scenarios are considered: the high emissions scenario (also known as “business-as-usual” and as the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5, RCP8.5) and a stringent emissions scenario (RCP2.6) consistent with the Copenhagen Accord1 of keeping mean global temperature increase below 2°C in 2100

Neuraminidase-deficient Sendai virus HN mutants provide protection from homologous superinfection

Binding of hemagglutinin-neuraminidase proteins (HN) to sialylated receptors initiates the infection process of several paramyxoviruses, whereas later in the viral life cycle, the neuramindase (NA) activity of newly synthesized HN destroys all receptors. Prior to NA action, expressed HN has to bind the receptor. To evaluate this HN–receptor complex with respect to receptor inactivation, three temperature-sensitive Sendai virus HN mutants carrying amino acid exchanges at positions 262, 264 and/or 461 were created that uncoupled NA activity from receptor binding at 39°C. Interestingly, at elevated temperature, when there is no detectable neuramindase activity, all infected cells are protected against homologous superinfection. Mutated HN protein on the cell surface is mainly bound to sialylated cell-surface components but can be released by treatment with NA. Thus, continuous binding to HN already inactivates the receptors quantitatively. Furthermore, mutant HN bound to receptors is prevented from being incorporated into virus particles in the absence of NA. It is shown here for the first time that during paramyxoviral infection, quantitative receptor inactivation already occurs due to binding of receptors to expressed HN protein without involvement of NA and is independent of NA activity of viral progeny. NA subsequently functions in the release of HN from the complex, coupled with desialysation of receptors. These findings could have implications for further antiviral drug development

Geology of the Alarcon Rise, Southern Gulf of California

Abstract Meter-scale AUV bathymetric mapping and ROV sampling of the entire 47 km-long Alarcon Rise between the Pescadero and Tamayo transforms show that the shallowest inflated portion of the segment hosts all four active hydrothermal vent fields and the youngest, hottest, and highest effusion rate lava flows. This shallowest inflated part is located ~1/3 of the way between the Tamayo and Pescadero transforms and is paved by a 16 km2 channelized flow that erupted from 9 km of en echelon fissures and is larger than historic flows on the East Pacific Rise or on the Gorda and Juan de Fuca Ridges. Starting ~5 km south of the Pescadero transform, 6.5 km of the Alarcon Rise is characterized by faulted ridges and domes of fractionated lavas ranging from basaltic andesite to rhyolite with up to 77.3 wt % SiO2. These are the first known rhyolites from the submarine global mid-ocean ridge system. Silicic lavas range from \u3e11.7 ka, to as young as 1.1 ka. A basalt-to-basaltic andesite sequence and an andesite-to-dacite-to-rhyolite sequence are consistent with crystal fractionation but some intermediate basaltic andesite and andesite formed by mixing basalt with dacite or rhyolite. Magmatism occurred along the bounding Tamayo and Pescadero transforms as extensive channelized flows. The flows erupted from ring faults surrounding uplifted sediment hills inferred to overlie sills. The transforms are transtensional to accommodate magma migration from the adjacent Alarcon Rise. Plain Language Summary This study combines 1 m resolution bathymetry collected using an autonomous underwater vehicle, with chemical compositions of precisely located lava samples and ages of lava flows determined from short sediment cores collected using a remotely operated vehicle. The objective was to determine the history of an entire 47 km long segment of the global mid-ocean ridge system. The ridge segment studied is named the Alarcon Rise and is located at the mouth of the Gulf of California. The Rise is bounded to the north and south by strike-slip faults that offset the Rise from adjacent segments of the spreading ridge system. Such faults are usually thought to be parallel to the direction of seafloor spreading, but these have an oblique component to their movement that makes space for magma to be injected along the faults where it uplifts hills of sediment and sometimes erupts. Most lavas erupted along midocean ridges are basalts, but some highly unusual silica-rich lavas were identified by their rough surface texture and sampled. These lavas include the most silica-rich ones found along the entire global submarine mid-ocean ridge system. They formed, not by melting of nearby continental crust, but from common basalt by extreme amounts of crystallization of minerals, leaving a small volume of remaining high-silica magma. The complete mapping and closely spaced sampling along the Rise show that old ideas indicating a central point of magma delivery from the underlying mantle for each ridge segment followed by shallow transport of the magmas along the ridge are supported by the central distribution of (1) hydrothermally active sites, (2) the youngest, hottest, most fluid lava flows, and (3) the most voluminous lava flows that accumulate to form the shallowest portion of the ridge segment. The study shows how magmas are transported at shallow depths along the ridge and even around the corners in the adjacent faults

Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Threatened Species in UK Waters

Global climate change is affecting the distribution of marine species and is thought to represent a threat to biodiversity. Previous studies project expansion of species range for some species and local extinction elsewhere under climate change. Such range shifts raise concern for species whose long-term persistence is already threatened by other human disturbances such as fishing. However, few studies have attempted to assess the effects of future climate change on threatened vertebrate marine species using a multi-model approach. There has also been a recent surge of interest in climate change impacts on protected areas. This study applies three species distribution models and two sets of climate model projections to explore the potential impacts of climate change on marine species by 2050. A set of species in the North Sea, including seven threatened and ten major commercial species were used as a case study. Changes in habitat suitability in selected candidate protected areas around the UK under future climatic scenarios were assessed for these species. Moreover, change in the degree of overlap between commercial and threatened species ranges was calculated as a proxy of the potential threat posed by overfishing through bycatch. The ensemble projections suggest northward shifts in species at an average rate of 27 km per decade, resulting in small average changes in range overlap between threatened and commercially exploited species. Furthermore, the adverse consequences of climate change on the habitat suitability of protected areas were projected to be small. Although the models show large variation in the predicted consequences of climate change, the multi-model approach helps identify the potential risk of increased exposure to human stressors of critically endangered species such as common skate (Dipturus batis) and angelshark (Squatina squatina)