Neogene benthic foraminiferal stratigraphy and deep water history of Sites 645, 646, and 647, Baffin Bay and Labrador Sea

Benthic foraminifers were examined from Neogene sediments of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 645, 646, and 647 to determine their biostratigraphy and to place constraints on the paleoceanographic history of Baffin Bay, Eirik Ridge, and the Gloria Drift. At Site 645 in Baffin Bay, a Pleistocene Stetsonia assemblage is similar to the modern Baffin Bay assemblage, but an underlying Epistominella takayanagii assemblage has no modern analog. Miocene assemblages below a barren interval display low diversity and consist mainly of agglutinated species. At Site 646 in the Labrador Sea, benthic faunal turnovers occur near important seismic horizons. A Miocene Nuttallides umbonifera assemblage similar to assemblages at other North Atlantic sites occurs below reflector R3. Above reflector R3, a coarse agglutinated assemblage containing more diversified calcareous benthic foraminifers was found that displays affinity to assemblages in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea. The faunal turnover near reflector R3 was interpreted as reflecting the onset (or renewal) of significant Denmark Straits Overflow Water at Site 646 at ~7.5 Ma, Agglutinated species disappear between reflector R2 and the base of the sediment drift, indicating a change in deep-water properties that occurred at ~ 4.7 Ma. This turnover ultimately may be linked to the reopening of the Mediterranean. The beginning of drift sedimentation at the Eirik Ridge is dated at —4.5 Ma. Drift formation ceased at ~2.5 Ma, concomitant with the appearance of ice-rafted sediments. Pleistocene assemblages containing Stetsonia horvathi display affinity to deep assemblages in high-latitude ocean basins. Upper Pliocene and Pleistocene benthic assemblages at Site 647 contain N. umbonifera, which indicates a continued influence of corrosive deep water at the Gloria Drift

Signal Processing on Waveform Data from the Eyesafe Ladar Testbed (ELT)

The Eyesafe Ladar Test-bed (ELT) is a raster scanning, single-beam, energy-detection ladar with the capability of digitizing and recording the return pulse waveform at 2 GHz in the field for off-line 3D point cloud formation research in the laboratory. The ELT serves as a prime tool in understanding the behavior of ladar waveforms. Signal processing techniques have been applied to the ELT waveform in an effort to exploit the signal with respect to noise reduction, range resolution improvement, and ability to discriminate between two surfaces of similar range. This paper presents a signal processing method used on the ELT waveform. In the processing, three deconvolution techniques were investigated-the Wiener filter, Richardson-Lucy deconvolution, and a new method that synthesizes the surface response using least squares minimization. Range error and range resolution are reported for these methods

Gene-flow between populations of cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is highly variable between years

Both large and small scale migrations of Helicoverpa armigera Hübner in Australia were investigated using AMOVA analysis and genetic assignment tests. Five microsatellite loci were screened across 3142 individuals from 16 localities in eight major cotton and grain growing regions within Australia, over a 38-month period (November 1999 to January 2003). From November 1999 to March 2001 relatively low levels of migration were characterized between growing regions. Substantially higher than average gene-flow rates and limited differentiation between cropping regions characterized the period from April 2001 to March 2002. A reduced migration rate in the year from April 2002 to March 2003 resulted in significant genetic structuring between cropping regions. This differentiation was established within two or three generations. Genetic drift alone is unlikely to drive genetic differentiation over such a small number of generations, unless it is accompanied by extreme bottlenecks and/or selection. Helicoverpa armigera in Australia demonstrated isolation by distance, so immigration into cropping regions is more likely to come from nearby regions than from afar. This effect was most pronounced in years with limited migration. However, there is evidence of long distance dispersal events in periods of high migration (April 2001–March 2002). The implications of highly variable migration patterns for resistance management are considered.K.D. Scott, K.S. Wilkinson, N. Lawrence, C.L. Lange, L.J. Scott, M.A. Merritt, A.J. Lowe and G.C Graha

More than a Bumper Sticker: The Factors Influencing Information Systems Career Choices

Considering the ongoing concerns regarding enrollments in MIS programs, it is necessary for MIS educators to understand the underlying motivations that influence student choices of major, as well as how students view the field of MIS related to these factors. To address this problem, a series of focus group sessions were conducted on three distinct samples of students which examined the following questions: (1) What factors influence a business student’s selection of a field of study and/or career? (2) What factors encourage or deter a business student’s choice to enter the field of MIS? and (3) What strategies can an MIS department employ to increase awareness about MIS-related careers among business students? Results from these focus groups suggest that most students rated job scope as an important issue in their deciding on a major; however, students with little or no knowledge of MIS perceived this career path as narrowly focused (e.g., sitting at a computer and coding all day). Results also suggest that non-MIS majors held more negative perceptions of the characteristics associated with MIS professionals, whereas freshman and sophomore students declaring MIS as their future major held more positive perceptions than non-MIS majors, and junior and senior MIS majors held even more positive perceptions

Projected sea surface temperatures over the 21st century: Changes in the mean, variability and extremes for large marine ecosystem regions of Northern Oceans

Global climate models were used to assess changes in the mean, variability and extreme sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in northern oceans with a focus on large marine ecosystems (LMEs) adjacent to North America, Europe, and the Arctic Ocean. Results were obtained from 26 models in the Community Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) archive and 30 simulations from the National Center for Atmospheric Research Large Ensemble Community Project (CESM-LENS). All of the simulations used the observed greenhouse gas concentrations for 1976–2005 and the RCP8.5 “business as usual” scenario for greenhouse gases through the remainder of the 21st century. In general, differences between models are substantially larger than among the simulations in the CESM-LENS, indicating that the SST changes are more strongly affected by model formulation than internal climate variability. The annual SST trends over 1976–2099 in the 18 LMEs examined here are all positive ranging from 0.05 to 0.5°C decade–1. SST changes by the end of the 21st century are primarily due to a positive shift in the mean with only modest changes in the variability in most LMEs, resulting in a substantial increase in warm extremes and decrease in cold extremes. The shift in the mean is so large that in many regions SSTs during 2070–2099 will always be warmer than the warmest year during 1976–2005. The SST trends are generally stronger in summer than in winter, as greenhouse gas heating is integrated over a much shallower climatological mixed layer depth in summer than in winter, which amplifies the seasonal cycle of SST over the 21st century. In the Arctic, the mean SST and its variability increases substantially during summer, when it is ice free, but not during winter when a thin layer of ice reforms and SSTs remain near the freezing point

TCR signal strength controls thymic differentiation of iNKT cell subsets.

During development in the thymus, invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells commit to one of three major functionally different subsets, iNKT1, iNKT2, and iNKT17. Here, we show that T cell antigen receptor (TCR) signal strength governs the development of iNKT cell subsets, with strong signaling promoting iNKT2 and iNKT17 development. Altering TCR diversity or signaling diminishes iNKT2 and iNKT17 cell subset development in a cell-intrinsic manner. Decreased TCR signaling affects the persistence of Egr2 expression and the upregulation of PLZF. By genome-wide comparison of chromatin accessibility, we identify a subset of iNKT2-specific regulatory elements containing NFAT and Egr binding motifs that is less accessible in iNKT2 cells that develop from reduced TCR signaling. These data suggest that variable TCR signaling modulates regulatory element activity at NFAT and Egr binding sites exerting a determinative influence on the dynamics of gene enhancer accessibility and the developmental fate of iNKT cells

Measurement of νˉμ\bar{\nu}_{\mu} and νμ\nu_{\mu} charged current inclusive cross sections and their ratio with the T2K off-axis near detector

We report a measurement of cross section $\sigma(\nu_{\mu}+{\rm nucleus}\rightarrow\mu^{-}+X)$ and the first measurements of the cross section $\sigma(\bar{\nu}_{\mu}+{\rm nucleus}\rightarrow\mu^{+}+X)$ and their ratio $R(\frac{\sigma(\bar \nu)}{\sigma(\nu)})$ at (anti-)neutrino energies below 1.5 GeV. We determine the single momentum bin cross section measurements, averaged over the T2K $\bar{\nu}/\nu$-flux, for the detector target material (mainly Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen and Copper) with phase space restricted laboratory frame kinematics of $\theta_{\mu}$500 MeV/c. The results are $\sigma(\bar{\nu})=\left( 0.900\pm0.029{\rm (stat.)}\pm0.088{\rm (syst.)}\right)\times10^{-39}$ and $\sigma(\nu)=\left( 2.41\ \pm0.022{\rm{(stat.)}}\pm0.231{\rm (syst.)}\ \right)\times10^{-39}$in units of cm$^{2}$/nucleon and$R\left(\frac{\sigma(\bar{\nu})}{\sigma(\nu)}\right)= 0.373\pm0.012{\rm (stat.)}\pm0.015{\rm (syst.)}$.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure

Social Network Analysis: Recent Achievements and Current Controversies

Network analysis has grown rapidly over the past two decades, but criticisms of the approach have increased as well This article focuses on several accomplishments and unresolved problems of the network approach In the first section. I illustrate the value of the network model in several substantive areas. focusing on studies of centrahty and power, network subgroups, and interorganizational relations I then discuss three issues over which the approach has provoked controversy the relation between network analysis and rational choice theory; the role of norms and culture, and the question of human agency I conclude with some examples of how network theorists are addressing these problemsPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68023/2/10.1177_000169939403700403.pd

Navigating institutional pressure in state-socialist and democratic regimes: The case of movement brontosaurus

Using the case of Movement Brontosaurus, a Czech organization founded in state socialist times, this article investigates how civic associations and nongovernmental organizations seeking to promote alternatives to the status quo respond to institutional pressures in different political and social contexts. The case shows that under state socialism, Brontosaurus appeared to conform to state mandates and societal expectations. However, its formal structure was decoupled from many activities to obscure its oppositional intent.After the transition to democracy, the organization was only able to maintain its place in society after it aligned its structure and practices with each other and openly expressed its alternative agenda. The findings demonstrate how social change and alternative lifestyle organizations vary their responses to institutional pressure in ways that enable them to realize their values and pursue their missions while accounting for the political and social contexts in which they are embedded

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results