Fourier transform infrared cell for surface studies at controlled temperatures and in controlled atmospheres with time resolution and spatial resolution

A new micro-Fourier transform infrared cell has been constructed and evaluated using (i) the transformation of aurichalcite crystals at 298-475 K, (ii) the adsorption/desorption of pyridine on a Cu2O/ZnO junction, and (iii) the adsorption of CO on Pt/alumina pellets; it enables spatial and time resolution of processes in such diverse samples held at known thermal and baric conditions. The potential of this cell in catalytic and analytical science is considered

Preliminary site report for the 2005 ICDP-USGS deep corehole in the Chesapeake Bay impact crater

First report for the ICDP-USGS 1.7-km-deep corehole drilled into the central part of the Chesapeake Bay impact crater during 2005

Chironomid fauna of the lakes from the Pechora river basin (east of European part of Russian Arctic): Ecology and reconstruction of recent ecological changes in the region

© 2017, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. We investigated chironomid fauna of surface sediments and a short sediment core (Bol’shoy Kharbey Lake) from Pechora river basin, Northern Russia. Twenty three investigated lakes have thermokarst, glacial or floodplain origin and are characterised by low mineralization, mostly hydrocarbon-calcium type of water and low concentration of nutrients. Most of the lakes have circumneutral pH around ≤7 and only two lakes are slightly more acidic with pH ≤ 6. Ninety six chironomid taxa were identified in the surface sediments. Distribution of chironomids in the studied region is driven by continentality, mean T July and рН. Chironomid communities from the core of the B. Kharbei Lake demonstrate the highest similarity with the fauna of the deeper lakes of the glacial origin. The glacial lakes have the highest indices of continentality and the lowest winter temperatures within the investigated data set. The chironomid fauna of the glacial lakes is composed of the profundal, oligotrophic and cold-stenotherm taxa. The fauna of the floodplain and thermokarst lakes is more closely related to T July and is composed of littoral and phytophilic taxa of meso–or eutrophic waters and moderate temperature conditions. The fauna of the acidic thermokarst lakes considerably differs from the other lakes. Chironomid communities here are represented by tolerant to acidification taxa, and by the typically littoral and shallow water acid-tolerant taxa that apparently also can tolerate acidification. Studied sediment record covers ca last 200 years. The reconstructed T July during the entire period remain slightly below the modern temperatures. From 1970 reconstructed T July shows steady increase to the modern level. The reconstructed water depths (WDs) of the lake are higher than today till 1980. The highest WDs are reconstructed for ca 1970. After that the WDs gradually decrease to the modern level. Changes of the WDs are most probably related to changes in the precipitation rate

Quantifying volcanic ash dispersal and impact of the Campanian Ignimbrite super-eruption

1] We apply a novel computational approach to assess, for the first time, volcanic ash dispersal during the Campanian Ignimbrite (Italy) super-eruption providing insights into eruption dynamics and the impact of this gigantic event. The method uses a 3D time-dependent computational ash dispersion model, a set of wind fields, and more than 100 thickness measurements of the CI tephra deposit. Results reveal that the CI eruption dispersed 250–300 km3 of ash over ∼3.7 million km2. The injection of such a large quantity of ash (and volatiles) into the atmosphere would have caused a volcanic winter during the Heinrich Event 4, the coldest and driest climatic episode of the Last Glacial period. Fluorine-bearing leachate from the volcanic ash and acid rain would have further affected food sources and severely impacted Late Middle-Early Upper Paleolithic groups in Southern and Eastern Europ

Increased Hydrogen Production by Genetic Engineering of Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli is capable of producing hydrogen under anaerobic growth conditions. Formate is converted to hydrogen in the fermenting cell by the formate hydrogenlyase enzyme system. The specific hydrogen yield from glucose was improved by the modification of transcriptional regulators and metabolic enzymes involved in the dissimilation of pyruvate and formate. The engineered E. coli strains ZF1 (ΔfocA; disrupted in a formate transporter gene) and ZF3 (ΔnarL; disrupted in a global transcriptional regulator gene) produced 14.9, and 14.4 µmols of hydrogen/mg of dry cell weight, respectively, compared to 9.8 µmols of hydrogen/mg of dry cell weight generated by wild-type E. coli strain W3110. The molar yield of hydrogen for strain ZF3 was 0.96 mols of hydrogen/mol of glucose, compared to 0.54 mols of hydrogen/mol of glucose for the wild-type E. coli strain. The expression of the global transcriptional regulator protein FNR at levels above natural abundance had a synergistic effect on increasing the hydrogen yield in the ΔfocA genetic background. The modification of global transcriptional regulators to modulate the expression of multiple operons required for the biosynthesis of formate hydrogenlyase represents a practical approach to improve hydrogen production

The Holocene environmental history of a small coastal lake on the north-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula

© 2015. A radiocarbon and tephra-dated sediment core from Lifebuoy Lake, located on the north-east coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, was analysed for pollen, spores, diatoms, chironomids and tephra in order to uncover regional environmental history. The 6500-year environmental history of Lifebuoy Lake correlates with the broad regional patterns of vegetation development and climate dynamics with both diatoms and chironomids showing near-synchronous changes. Between ca. 6300 and 3900 cal. yr. BP, the lake ecosystem was naturally enriched, with several Stephanodiscus species dominating the diatom plankton. This natural eutrophication state is likely to be due to a combination of the base-rich catchment geology, the fertilisation effect of several fires in the catchment, silica input from tephra layers and, possibly, nitrogen input from seabirds. The substantial tephra deposit at about 3850 cal. yr. BP might have stopped sedimentary phosphorus from entering the lake water thus decreasing the trophic state of the lake and facilitating the shift in diatom composition to a benthic Fragiliariaceae complex. Both diatoms and chironomids showed simultaneous compositional changes, which are also reflected by statistically significant changes in their rates of change 300-400. years after the arrival of Pinus pumila in the lake catchment. The rapid increase in both total diatom concentration and the percentage abundance of the large heavy species, Aulacoseira subarctica might be a response to the change in timing and intensity of lake spring turn-over due to the changes in the patterns of North Pacific atmospheric circulation, most notably westward shift of the Aleutian Low. The two highest peaks in A. subarctica abundance at Lifebouy Lake occurred during opposite summer temperature inferences: the earlier peak (3500-2900. cal. yr. BP) coincided with warm summers and the latter peak (300. cal. yr. BP-present) occurred during the cold summer period. These imply that A. subarctica shows no direct response to the changes of summer air temperature. Instead, it appears to thrive during the periods of increased winter precipitation, thicker ice and late spring turn-over periods, i.e., shows indirect response to climate. The clearest effect of tephra deposition on the lake ecosystem is above 908 cm (ca. 3800 cal. yr. BP) where the tephra deposit might have caused the shift from Stephanodiscus-dominated planktonic assemblages to the Fragilariaceae complex of benthic species. Tephra deposits might have also contributed towards the development of eutrophic plankton from about 6300 cal. yr. BP. It is not certain if several tephra deposits influenced diatom and chironomid changes during the last 300 years

Veterinary students' views on animal patiens and human clients, using Q methodology

Veterinarians serve two masters: animal patients and human clients. Both animal patients and human clients have legitimate interests, and conflicting moral claims may flow from these interests. Earlier research concludes that veterinary students are very much aware of the complex and often paradoxical relationship they have and will have with animals. In this article the views of veterinary students about their anticipated relationship with animal patients and human clients are studied. The main part of the article describes discourses of first-year and fourth-year students about their (future) relationship with animals and their caretakers, for which Q-methodology is used. At the end of the article, the discourses are related to the students' gender and their workplace preferences. © 2007 AAVMC