Global ocean heat content in the Last Interglacial

The Last Interglacial (129-116 ka) represents one of the warmest climate intervals of the last 800,000 years and the most recent time when sea level was meters higher than today. However, the timing and magnitude of peak warmth varies between reconstructions, and the relative importance of individual sources contributing to elevated sea level (mass gain versus seawater expansion) during the Last Interglacial remains uncertain. Here we present the first mean ocean temperature record for this interval from noble gas measurements in ice cores and constrain the thermal expansion contribution to sea level. Mean ocean temperature reaches its maximum value of 1.1±0.3°C warmer-than-modern at the end of the penultimate deglaciation at 129 ka, resulting in 0.7±0.3m of elevated sea level, relative to present. However, this maximum in ocean heat content is a transient feature; mean ocean temperature decreases in the first several thousand years of the interglacial and achieves a stable, comparable-to-modern value by ~127 ka. The synchroneity of the peak in mean ocean temperature with proxy records of abrupt transitions in oceanic and atmospheric circulation suggests that the mean ocean temperature maximum is related to the accumulation of heat in the ocean interior during the preceding period of reduced overturning circulation

The longitudinal relationship between job mobility, perceived organizational justice, and health

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The main purpose of the present study was to examine the 2-year longitudinal and reciprocal relationship between job mobility and health and burnout. A second aim was to elucidate the effects of perceived organizational justice and turnover intentions on the relationship between job mobility (non-, internally and externally mobile), and health (SF-36) and burnout (CBI).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study used questionnaire data from 662 Swedish civil servants and the data were analysed with Structural Equation Modeling statistical methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that job mobility was a better predictor of health and burnout, than health and burnout were as predictors of job mobility. The predictive effects were most obvious for psychosocial health and burnout, but negligible as far as physical health was concerned. Organizational justice was found to have a direct impact on health, but not on job mobility; whereas turnover intentions had a direct effect on job mobility.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The predictive relationship between job mobility and health has practical implications for health promotive actions in different organizations.</p

Sleep-wake sensitive mechanisms of adenosine release in the basal forebrain of rodents : an in vitro study

Adenosine acting in the basal forebrain is a key mediator of sleep homeostasis. Extracellular adenosine concentrations increase during wakefulness, especially during prolonged wakefulness and lead to increased sleep pressure and subsequent rebound sleep. The release of endogenous adenosine during the sleep-wake cycle has mainly been studied in vivo with microdialysis techniques. The biochemical changes that accompany sleep-wake status may be preserved in vitro. We have therefore used adenosine-sensitive biosensors in slices of the basal forebrain (BFB) to study both depolarization-evoked adenosine release and the steady state adenosine tone in rats, mice and hamsters. Adenosine release was evoked by high K+, AMPA, NMDA and mGlu receptor agonists, but not by other transmitters associated with wakefulness such as orexin, histamine or neurotensin. Evoked and basal adenosine release in the BFB in vitro exhibited three key features: the magnitude of each varied systematically with the diurnal time at which the animal was sacrificed; sleep deprivation prior to sacrifice greatly increased both evoked adenosine release and the basal tone; and the enhancement of evoked adenosine release and basal tone resulting from sleep deprivation was reversed by the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor, 1400 W. These data indicate that characteristics of adenosine release recorded in the BFB in vitro reflect those that have been linked in vivo to the homeostatic control of sleep. Our results provide methodologically independent support for a key role for induction of iNOS as a trigger for enhanced adenosine release following sleep deprivation and suggest that this induction may constitute a biochemical memory of this state

A general lithography-free method of microscale/nanoscale fabrication and patterning on Si and Ge surfaces

Here, we introduce and give an overview of a general lithography-free method to fabricate silicide and germanide micro-/nanostructures on Si and Ge surfaces through metal-vapor-initiated endoepitaxial growth. Excellent controls on shape and orientation are achieved by adjusting the substrate orientation and growth parameters. Furthermore, micro-/nanoscale pits with controlled morphologies can also be successfully fabricated on Si and Ge surfaces by taking advantage of the sublimation of silicides/germanides. The aim of this brief report is to illustrate the concept of lithography-free synthesis and patterning on surfaces of elemental semiconductors, and the differences and the challenges associated with the Si and the Ge surfaces will be discussed. Our results suggest that this low-cost bottom-up approach is promising for applications in functional nanodevices

X-Ray Spectroscopy of Stars

(abridged) Non-degenerate stars of essentially all spectral classes are soft X-ray sources. Low-mass stars on the cooler part of the main sequence and their pre-main sequence predecessors define the dominant stellar population in the galaxy by number. Their X-ray spectra are reminiscent, in the broadest sense, of X-ray spectra from the solar corona. X-ray emission from cool stars is indeed ascribed to magnetically trapped hot gas analogous to the solar coronal plasma. Coronal structure, its thermal stratification and geometric extent can be interpreted based on various spectral diagnostics. New features have been identified in pre-main sequence stars; some of these may be related to accretion shocks on the stellar surface, fluorescence on circumstellar disks due to X-ray irradiation, or shock heating in stellar outflows. Massive, hot stars clearly dominate the interaction with the galactic interstellar medium: they are the main sources of ionizing radiation, mechanical energy and chemical enrichment in galaxies. High-energy emission permits to probe some of the most important processes at work in these stars, and put constraints on their most peculiar feature: the stellar wind. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of cool and hot stars through the study of X-ray spectra, in particular high-resolution spectra now available from XMM-Newton and Chandra. We address issues related to coronal structure, flares, the composition of coronal plasma, X-ray production in accretion streams and outflows, X-rays from single OB-type stars, massive binaries, magnetic hot objects and evolved WR stars.Comment: accepted for Astron. Astrophys. Rev., 98 journal pages, 30 figures (partly multiple); some corrections made after proof stag

Differences in the processing of anaphoric reference between closely related languages: neurophysiological evidence

Contains fulltext : 67857.pdf ( ) (Open Access)1 p

The role of liquid based cytology and ancillary techniques in the peritoneal washing analysis: our institutional experience

Background The cytological analysis of peritoneal effusions serves as a diagnostic and prognostic aid for either primary or metastatic diseases. Among the different cytological preparations, liquid based cytology (LBC) represents a feasible and reliable method ensuring also the application of ancillary techniques (i.e immunocytochemistry-ICC and molecular testing). Methods We recorded 10348 LBC peritoneal effusions between January 2000 and December 2014. They were classified as non-diagnostic (ND), negative for malignancy-NM, atypical-suspicious for malignancy-SM and positive for malignancy-PM. Results The cytological diagnosis included 218 ND, 9.035 NM, 213 SM and 882 PM. A total of 8048 (7228 NM, 115SM, 705 PM) cases with histological follow-up were included. Our NM included 21 malignant and 7207 benign histological diagnoses. Our 820 SMs+PMs were diagnosed as 107 unknown malignancies (30SM and 77PM), 691 metastatic lesions (81SM and 610PM), 9 lymphomas (2SM and 7PM), 9 mesotheliomas (1SM and 8SM), 4 sarcomas (1SM and 3PM). Primary gynecological cancers contributed with 64% of the cases. We documented 97.4% sensitivity, 99.9% specificity, 98% diagnostic accuracy, 99.7% negative predictive value (NPV) and 99.7% positive predictive value (PPV). Furthermore, the morphological diagnoses were supported by either 173 conclusive ICC results or 50 molecular analyses. Specifically the molecular testing was performed for the EGFR and KRAS mutational analysis based on the previous or contemporary diagnoses of Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and colon carcinomas. We identified 10 EGFR in NSCCL and 7 KRAS mutations on LBC stored material. Conclusions Peritoneal cytology is an adjunctive tool in the surgical management of tumors mostly gynecological cancers. LBC maximizes the application of ancillary techniques such as ICC and molecular analysis with feasible diagnostic and predictive yields also in controversial cases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

High resolution 3-Dimensional imaging of the human cardiac conduction system from microanatomy to mathematical modeling

Cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disturbances are accompanied by structural remodelling of the specialised cardiomyocytes known collectively as the cardiac conduction system. Here, using contrast enhanced micro-computed tomography, we present, in attitudinally appropriate fashion, the first 3-dimensional representations of the cardiac conduction system within the intact human heart. We show that cardiomyocyte orientation can be extracted from these datasets at spatial resolutions approaching the single cell. These data show that commonly accepted anatomical representations are oversimplified. We have incorporated the high-resolution anatomical data into mathematical simulations of cardiac electrical depolarisation. The data presented should have multidisciplinary impact. Since the rate of depolarisation is dictated by cardiac microstructure, and the precise orientation of the cardiomyocytes, our data should improve the fidelity of mathematical models. By showing the precise 3-dimensional relationships between the cardiac conduction system and surrounding structures, we provide new insights relevant to valvar replacement surgery and ablation therapies. We also offer a practical method for investigation of remodelling in disease, and thus, virtual pathology and archiving. Such data presented as 3D images or 3D printed models, will inform discussions between medical teams and their patients, and aid the education of medical and surgical trainees

Reaction rates and transport in neutron stars

Understanding signals from neutron stars requires knowledge about the transport inside the star. We review the transport properties and the underlying reaction rates of dense hadronic and quark matter in the crust and the core of neutron stars and point out open problems and future directions.Comment: 74 pages; commissioned for the book "Physics and Astrophysics of Neutron Stars", NewCompStar COST Action MP1304; version 3: minor changes, references updated, overview graphic added in the introduction, improvements in Sec IV.A.