An Experimental Study Of The Reactions Of Excited Neon Atoms In Pure Afterglow Plasmas Using Resonance Absorption Spectrometry

Resonance absorption spectrometry has been applied in a room temperature study of the reactions of excited neon atoms in pure afterglow plasmas. The pressure range 10-500 Torr was investigated. Lorentz broadened linewidths calculated using a simple classical interruption theory allowed fractional absorption signals as large as 98% to be analyzed and absolute excited-state concentrations to be determined. The first absorption studies of the decay of 1P1 excited atoms in neon afterglows are reported. Analysis of the decay profiles of the 3P2, 3P0 and 1P1 excited states allowed quenching rate coefficients for each state to be determined and the role of neutral atoms and electrons in the afterglow relaxation to be studied. The importance of charge neutralization of the dimer ion Ne2+ as an afterglow source of 1P1 excited atoms was established in this study

Thermal Destabilization of Azurin by Fatty Acid Ionic Liquids

Azurin is a mixed-structure redox protein involved in bacterial denitrification. Previous studies have shown that azurin is destabilized by imidazolium chloride ionic liquids (ImCl ILs) that can form micelles in aqueous solution, likely by micellar encapsulation. In these ImCl ILs the micelles form from the imidazolium cations. A relatively new class of ionic liquids is fatty acid ionic liquids (FAILs), in which the anion is a fatty acid. In FAILs micelles can form from the fatty acid anions. This presentation presents the results of a thermal unfolding study of azurin in the presence of FAILs in solution. The FAILs tetramethylguanidinium decanoate and choline decanoate both strongly destabilize azurin when present above their critical micelle concentrations, while decanoic acid alone does not affect azurin (at the same concentration). The results point to the special nature of the FAILs and their interactions with the azurin structure and may be related to how the protein is encapsulated by FAIL micelles

A New Mechanism for Dansgaard-Oeschger Cycles

[1] We present a new hypothesis to explain the millennial-scale temperature variability recorded in ice cores known as Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles. We propose that an ice shelf acted in concert with sea ice to set the slow and fast timescales of the DO cycle, respectively. The abrupt warming at the onset of a cycle is caused by the rapid retreat of sea ice after the collapse of an ice shelf. The gradual cooling during the subsequent interstadial phase is determined by the timescale of ice-shelf regrowth. Once the ice shelf reaches a critical size, sea ice expands, driving the climate rapidly back into stadial conditions. The stadial phase ends when warm subsurface waters penetrate beneath the ice shelf and cause it to collapse. This hypothesis explains the full shape of the DO cycle, the duration of the different phases, and the transitions between them and is supported by proxy records in the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas.Engineering and Applied Science

Is the effect of precipitation on acute gastrointestinal illness in southwestern Uganda different between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities?

Acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) is a global public health priority that often disproportionately effects Indigenous populations. While previous research examines the association between meteorological conditions and AGI, little is known about how socio-cultural factors may modify this relationship. This present study seeks to address this research gap by comparing AGI prevalence and determinants between an Indigenous and non-Indigenous population in Uganda. We estimate the 14-day self-reported prevalence of AGI among adults in an Indigenous Batwa population and their non-Indigenous neighbours using cross-sectional panel data collected over four periods spanning typically rainy and dry seasons (January 2013 to April 2014). The independent associations between Indigenous status, precipitation, and AGI are examined with multivariable multi-level logistic regression models, controlling for relative wealth status and clustering at the community level. Estimated prevalence of AGI among the Indigenous Batwa was greater than among the non-Indigenous Bakiga. Our models indicate that both Indigenous identity and decreased levels of precipitation in the weeks preceding the survey period were significantly associated with increased AGI, after adjusting for confounders. Multivariable models stratified by Indigenous identity suggest that Indigenous identity may not modify the association between precipitation and AGI in this context. Our results suggest that short-term changes in precipitation affect both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations similarly, though from different baseline AGI prevalences, maintaining rather than exacerbating this socially patterned health disparity. In the context of climate change, these results may challenge the assumption that changing weather patterns will necessarily exacerbate existing socially patterned health disparities

Concert recording 2023-02-26

[Track 1 - 4]. Quartet in F (1814/15), Op. 37. I. Allegro ; II. Andantino ; III Menuetto ; IV. Rondo / Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer -- [Track 5 - 7]. Trio (1970). I. Allegro con brio ; II. Andante semplice ; III. Allegro giocoso / Madeleine Dring -- [Track 8 - 9]. Trio de Salon, Op. 8. I. Andantino sostenuto ; II. Allegro Moderato / Clemence de Grandval ; [Track 10 - 11]. Wind Quintet (1922), Op. 43. I. Allegro be moderato ; II. Menuet ; Praeludium: Temo con variazioni / Carl Nielse

Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self

The concept of the brain as a prediction machine has enjoyed a resurgence in the context of the Bayesian brain and predictive coding approaches within cognitive science. To date, this perspective has been applied primarily to exteroceptive perception (e.g., vision, audition), and action. Here, I describe a predictive, inferential perspective on interoception: ‘interoceptive inference’ conceives of subjective feeling states (emotions) as arising from actively-inferred generative (predictive) models of the causes of interoceptive afferents. The model generalizes ‘appraisal’ theories that view emotions as emerging from cognitive evaluations of physiological changes, and it sheds new light on the neurocognitive mechanisms that underlie the experience of body ownership and conscious selfhood in health and in neuropsychiatric illness

Long-Term Vegetation Dynamics in a Megadiverse Hotspot: The Ice-Age Record of a Pre-montane Forest of Central Ecuador.

Tropical ecosystems play a key role in many aspects of Earth system dynamics currently of global concern, including carbon sequestration and biodiversity. To accurately understand complex tropical systems it is necessary to parameterise key ecological aspects, such as rates of change (RoC), species turnover, dynamism, resilience, or stability. To obtain a long-term (>50 years) perspective on these ecological aspects we must turn to the fossil record. However, compared to temperate zones, collecting continuous sedimentary archives in the lowland tropics is often difficult due to the active landscape processes, with potentially frequent volcanic, tectonic, and/or fluvial events confounding sediment deposition, preservation, and recovery. Consequently, the nature, and drivers, of vegetation dynamics during the last glacial are barely known from many non-montane tropical landscapes. One of the first lowland Amazonian locations from which palaeoecological data were obtained was an outcrop near Mera (Ecuador). Mera was discovered, and analysed, by Paul Colinvaux in the 1980s, but his interpretation of the data as indicative of a forested glacial period were criticised based on the ecology and age control. Here we present new palaeoecological data from a lake located less than 10 km away from Mera. Sediment cores raised from Laguna Pindo (1250 masl; 1°27'S, 78°05'W) have been shown to span the late last glacial period [50-13 cal kyr BP (calibrated kiloyears before present)]. The palaeoecological information obtained from Laguna Pindo indicate that the region was characterised by a relatively stable plant community, formed by taxa nowadays common at both mid and high elevations. was the dominant taxon until around 30 cal kyr BP, when it was replaced by , Asteraceae and among other taxa. Heat intolerant taxa including , , and peaked around the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (c. 21 cal kyr BP). The results obtained from Laguna Pindo support Colinvaux's hypothesis that glacial cooling resulted in a reshuffling of taxa in the region but did not lead to a loss of the forest structure. Wide tolerances of the plant species occurring to glacial temperature range and cloud formation have been suggested to explain Pindo forest stability. This scenario is radically different than the present situation, so vulnerability of the tropical pre-montane forest is highlighted to be increased in the next decades

TMEM16F Regulates Spinal Microglial Function in Neuropathic Pain States

Neuropathic pain is a widespread chronic pain state that results from injury to the nervous system. Spinal microglia play a causative role in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain through secretion of growth factors and cytokines. Here, we investigated the contribution of TMEM16F, a protein that functions as a Ca2+-dependent ion channel and a phospholipid scramblase, to microglial activity during neuropathic pain. We demonstrate that mice with a conditional ablation of TMEM16F in microglia do not develop mechanical hypersensitivity upon nerve injury. In the absence of TMEM16F, microglia display deficits in process motility and phagocytosis. Moreover, loss of GABA immunoreactivity upon injury is spared in TMEM16F conditional knockout mice. Collectively, these data indicate that TMEM16F is an essential component of the microglial response to injury and suggest the importance of microglial phagocytosis in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain

Landscape-scale drivers of glacial ecosystem change in the montane forests of the eastern Andean flank, Ecuador

Understanding the impact of landscape-scale disturbance events during the last glacial period is vital in accu- rately reconstructing the ecosystem dynamics of montane environments. Here, a sedimentary succession from the tropical montane cloud forest of the eastern Andean flank of Ecuador provides evidence of the role of non- climate drivers of vegetation change (volcanic events, fire regime and herbivory) during the late-Pleistocene. Multiproxy analysis (pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal, geochemistry and carbon content) of the se- diments, radiocarbon dated to ca. 45–42 ka, provide a snap shot of the depositional environment, vegetation community and non-climate drivers of ecosystem dynamics. The geomorphology of the Vinillos study area, along with the organic‐carbon content, and aquatic remains suggest deposition took place near a valley floor in a swamp or shallow water environment. The pollen assemblage initially composed primarily of herbaceous types (Poaceae-Asteraceae-Solanaceae) is replaced by assemblages characterised by Andean forest taxa, (first Melastomataceae-Weinmannia-Ilex, and later, Alnus-Hedyosmum-Myrica). The pollen assemblages have no modern analogues in the tropical montane cloud forest of Ecuador. High micro-charcoal and rare macro-charcoal abundances co-occur with volcanic tephra deposits suggesting transportation from extra-local regions and that volcanic eruptions were an important source of ignition in the wider glacial landscape. The presence of the coprophilous fungi Sporormiella reveals the occurrence of herbivores in the glacial montane forest landscape. Pollen analysis indicates a stable regional vegetation community, with changes in vegetation population co- varying with large volcanic tephra deposits suggesting that the structure of glacial vegetation at Vinillos was driven by volcanic activity

Losing ourselves:Active inference, depersonalization, and meditation

This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this recordDisruptions in the ordinary sense of selfhood underpin both pathological and “enlightened” states of consciousness. People suffering from depersonalization can experience the loss of a sense of self as devastating, often accompanied by intense feelings of alienation, fear, and hopelessness. However, for meditative contemplatives from various traditions, “selfless” experiences are highly sought after, being associated with enduring peace and joy. Little is understood about how these contrasting dysphoric and euphoric experiences should be conceptualized. In this paper, we propose a unified account of these selfless experiences within the active inference framework. Building on our recent active inference research, we propose an account of the experiences of selfhood as emerging from a temporally deep generative model. We go on to develop a view of the self as playing a central role in structuring ordinary experience by “tuning” agents to the counterfactually rich possibilities for action. Finally, we explore how depersonalization may result from an inferred loss of allostatic control and contrast this phenomenology with selfless experiences reported by meditation practitioners. We will show how, by beginning with a conception of self-modeling within an active inference framework, we have available to us a new way of conceptualizing the striking experiential similarities and important differences between these selfless experiences within a unifying theoretical framework. We will explore the implications for understanding and treating dissociative disorders, as well as elucidate both the therapeutic potential, and possible dangers, of meditation.European Union Horizon 202