²¹⁰Pb- ²²⁶Ra chronology reveals rapid growth rate of Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa on world's largest cold-water coral reef

Here we show the use of the 210Pb- 226Ra excess method to determine the growth rate of two corals from the world's largest known cold-water coral reef, Røst Reef, north of the Arctic circle off Norway. Colonies of each of the two species that build the reef, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, were collected alive at 350 m depth using a submersible. Pb and Ra isotopes were measured along the major growth axis of both specimens using low level alpha and gamma spectrometry and trace element compositions were studied. 210Pb and 226Ra differ in the way they are incorporated into coral skeletons. Hence, to assess growth rates, we considered the exponential decrease of initially incorporated 210Pb, as well as the increase in 210Pb from the decay of 226Ra and contamination with 210Pb associated with Mn-Fe coatings that we were unable to remove completely from the oldest parts of the skeletons. 226Ra activity was similar in both coral species, so, assuming constant uptake of 210Pb through time, we used the 210Pb- 226Ra chronology to calculate growth rates. The 45.5 cm long branch of M. oculata was 31 yr with an average linear growth rate of 14.4 ± 1.1 mm yr -1 (2.6 polyps per year). Despite cleaning, a correction for Mn-Fe oxide contamination was required for the oldest part of the colony; this correction corroborated our radiocarbon date of 40 yr and a mean growth rate of 2 polyps yr -1. This rate is similar to the one obtained in aquarium experiments under optimal growth conditions. For the 80 cm-long L. pertusa colony, metal-oxide contamination remained in both the middle and basal part of the coral skeleton despite cleaning, inhibiting similar age and growth rate estimates. The youngest part of the colony was free of metal oxides and this 15 cm section had an estimated a growth rate of 8 mm yr -1, with high uncertainty (∼1 polyp every two to three years). We are less certain of this 210Pb growth rate estimate which is within the lowermost ranges of previous growth rate estimates. We show that 210Pb- 226Ra dating can be successfully applied to determine the age and growth rate of framework-forming cold-water corals if Mn-Fe oxide deposits can be removed. Where metal oxides can be removed, large M. oculata and L. pertusa skeletons provide archives for studies of intermediate water masses with an up to annual time resolution and spanning over many decades. © 2012 Author(s)

Paradox lost:disappearing female job satisfaction

The greater job satisfaction reported by female workers represents a puzzle given, on average, their worse labour market outcomes. Using the original data source of Clark (1997), we show that over the last two decades the female satisfaction gap has largely vanished. This reflects a strong secular decline in female job satisfaction. This decline happened for younger women in the 1990s as they aged and because of new female workers in more recent years that have lower job satisfaction than their early 1990s peers. Decompositions make clear that the decline does not reflect deteriorating job characteristics for women but rather their increasingly harsh evaluation of jobs characteristics. These findings fit with the suggestion that women in the early 1990s had a gap between their labour market expectations and actual experience that has since closed and that the gender satisfaction gap has vanished as a consequence

Workers in the vanguard: the 1960 Industrial Relations Ordinance and the struggle for independence in Aden

The promulgation in 1960 of a new Industrial Relations Ordinance in Aden was a singular event in the history of British decolonisation because it made many forms of strike action illegal. Earlier initiatives to liberalise trade union law in the colonies were intended to channel and manage the discontent of workers; but for nationalist movements, the new order in industrial relations provided an opportunity to mobilise workers in the cause of independence. Aden, which was the location of a significant British base, a major oil refinery and a key commercial port, became the site of a bitter confrontation between the nascent trade union movement and the colonial administration. Three aspects of the conflict were of particular significance. First, Aden’s unique political status as a British colony in the Arab world and it strategic and economic value, contributed to the fractious industrial relations environment. Secondly, conflicts between workers and the colonial government demonstrate continuity with wider British efforts to suppress anti-colonial dissent and demonstrate that charges of appeasement in the last years of empire are not well founded. Lastly, the exceptional nature of the new legislation attracted the critical attention of the ILO and the major international trade union confederations, which internationalised the dispute over the IRO. An examination of the manner in which the British government sought to regulate its relations with various labour organisations, including the British TUC, the colonial ATUC and the two rival international labour confederations of the WFTU and ICFTU, demonstrates that the conduct of industrial relations in Aden was significant in the context of both the Cold War and decolonisation

Three-dimensional reconstruction of autologous vein bypass graft distal anastomoses imaged with magnetic resonance: clinical and research applications

AbstractHigh-resolution magnetic resonance imaging was combined with computational modeling to create focused three-dimensional reconstructions of the distal anastomotic region of autologous vein peripheral bypass grafts in a preliminary series of patients. Readily viewed on a personal computer or printed as hard copies, a detailed appreciation of in vivo postoperative features of the anastomosis is possible. These reconstructions are suitable for analysis of geometric features, including vessel caliber, tortuosity, anastomotic angles, and planarity. Some potential clinical and research applications of this technique are discussed

Primary care services co-located with Emergency Departments across a UK region: early views on their development

Background Co-location of primary care services with Emergency Departments (ED) is one initiative aiming to reduce the burden on EDs of patients attending with non-urgent problems. However, the extent to which these services are operating within or alongside EDs is not currently known. This study aimed to create a typology of co-located primary care services in operation across Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) as well as identify early barriers and facilitators to their implementation and sustainability. Methods A self-report survey was sent to the lead consultant or other key contact at 17 EDs in the Y&H region to establish the extent and configuration of co-located primary care services. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with urgent and unscheduled care stakeholders across five hospital sites to explore the barriers and facilitators to the formation and sustainability of these services. Results Thirteen EDs completed the survey and interviews were carried out with four ED consultants, one ED nurse and three general practitioners (GPs). Three distinct models were identified: ‘Primary Care Services Embedded within the ED’ (seven sites), ‘Co-located Urgent Care Centre’ (two sites) and ‘GP out-of-hours’ (nine sites). Qualitative data were analysed using framework analysis. Four interview themes emerged (justification for the service, level of integration, referral processes and sustainability) highlighting some of the challenges in implementing these co-located primary care services. Conclusion Creating a service within or alongside the ED in which GPs can use their distinct skills and therefore add value to the existing skill mix of ED staff is an important consideration when setting up these systems. Effective triage arrangements should also be established to ensure appropriate patients are referred to GPs. Further research is required to identify the full range of models nationally and to carry out a rigorous assessment of their impact

A New Population of High-z, Dusty Lyα Emitters and Blobs Discovered by WISE: Feedback Caught in the Act?

By combining data from the NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission with optical spectroscopy from the W. M. Keck telescope, we discover a mid-IR color criterion that yields a 78% success rate in identifying rare, typically radio-quiet, 1.6 ≾ z ≾ 4.6 dusty Lyα emitters (LAEs). Of these, at least 37% have emission extended on scales of 30-100 kpc and are considered Lyα "blobs" (LABs). The objects have a surface density of only ~0.1 deg^(–2), making them rare enough that they have been largely missed in deep, small area surveys. We measured spectroscopic redshifts for 92 of these galaxies, and find that the LAEs (LABs) have a median redshift of 2.3 (2.5). The WISE photometry coupled with data from Herschel (Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA) reveals that these galaxies are in the Hyper Luminous IR galaxy regime (L IR ≳ 10^(13)-10^(14) L_☉) and have warm colors. They are typically more luminous and warmer than other dusty, z ~ 2 populations such as submillimeter-selected galaxies and dust-obscured galaxies. These traits are commonly associated with the dust being illuminated by intense active galactic nucleus activity. We hypothesize that the combination of spatially extended Lyα, large amounts of warm IR-luminous dust, and rarity (implying a short-lived phase) can be explained if the galaxies are undergoing brief, intense "feedback" transforming them from an extreme dusty starburst/QSO into a mature galaxy

Regional Geographies of Extreme Heat

Shaped by countless influences from the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and anthroposphere acting across a wide spectrum of spatiotemporal scales, spatial variations in climate are ubiquitous. Meanwhile, the warming signal from anthropogenically elevated greenhouse-gas concentrations is emerging as an overriding determinant for more and more aspects of the climate system, extreme heat among them. In this dissertation, I explore the interaction of these two effects, and the implications of the patterns they create. A key finding is that rapid increases in extreme heat are already occurring, by some metrics having already doubled in the past 40 years, and further nonlinear increases are expected. Another is the strong dependence of extreme heat-humidity combinations on atmospheric moisture, creating subseasonal and interannual patterns dictated by the principal source of regional warm-season moisture — pre-monsoonal advection in some cases, local evapotranspiration in others. These relationships lead to the demonstrated potential for improvements in predictive power, on the basis of sea-surface temperatures and other canonical modes of large-scale climate variability. In contrast to this overall confidence in current temporal patterns and long-term projections, I show that extreme heat at small spatial scales is much more poorly characterized in gridded products, and that these biases are especially acute along coastlines. While summer daytime temperature differences between the shoreline of the Northeast U.S. and locations 60 km inland are often 5°C or more, I find that recent high-resolution downscaled Earth-system models typically represent no more than 25% of this difference. Across the globe, ERA-Interim reanalysis similarly underestimates extreme humid heat by >3°C, a highly significant margin given the large sensitivity of health and economic impacts to marginal changes in the most extreme conditions. I find that these biases propagate into projections, and their importance is also amplified by the large populations living in the affected areas. Rapid mean warming is pushing the climate system to more and more frequently include extreme heat-humidity combinations beyond that which the human species has likely ever experienced. Such conditions, which had not been previously reported in weather-station data, are described in detail and some of the associated characteristics examined. Several channels of analysis highlight that these events are driven primarily by rising sea-surface temperatures in shallow subtropical gulfs, and the subsequent impingement of marine air on the coastline. Given the severity of potential impacts on infrastructure and agriculture, and the size of the populations exposed, this result underscores that major research and adaptation efforts are needed to avoid calamitous outcomes from the emergence of extreme heat-humidity combinations too severe to tolerate in the absence of artificial cooling. This dissertation discusses strategies for advancing knowledge of extreme heat’s natural variations and its behavior under climate change, in order to design metrics, models, methodologies, and presentation types such that essential findings are translated into tangible action in the most effective way possible. Sustained and integrated efforts are necessary to transition to a climate-system management style encompassing more foresight than the effectively unplanned experiment which has been pursued so far, and which has already exacerbated extreme heat events so much