Collection and processing of shipboard ADCP velocities from the Barents Sea Polar Front Experiment

The Barents Sea Polar Front Experiment was a combined physical oceanography and acoustic tomography field study which took place from 6-26 August 1992. Both shipboard and moored data were collected in a 80 x 70 km experimental region on the south flank of Sptisbergen Bank about 60 km east of Bear Island. Of principal interest in this report are the data from an Acoustic Doppler Current Profier (ADCP) which was operated continuously during the experimental period as a part of the shipboard instrumentation aboard the USNS Barlett. The data from eight current meters deployed on three moorings in the experimental region are used to supplement the ADCP analysis. Preliminary results showed that velocities in the experimental region were dominated by semi-diurnal tides. The strong tidal oscilations dictated the use of a tide removal scheme to extract a steady flow component from the space-time grid of ADCP velocities. This report describes the configuration and operation of the ADCP, the space-time sampling grid on which the data were collected, the determination of absolute velocity from the ADCP measurements, and the application and results of a tide removal technique which allowed estimation of the sub-tidal flow.Funding was provided by the Office of Naval Research under Grant No. NOOOI4-90-J-1359

Accelerated turnover of taste bud cells in mice deficient for the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1

Background: Mammalian taste buds contain several specialized cell types that coordinately respond to tastants and communicate with sensory nerves. While it has long been appreciated that these cells undergo continual turnover, little is known concerning how adequate numbers of cells are generated and maintained. The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 has been shown to influence cell number in several developing tissues, by coordinating cell cycle exit during cell differentiation. Here, we investigated its involvement in the control of taste cell replacement by examining adult mice with targeted ablation of the p27Kip1 gene.Results: Histological and morphometric analyses of fungiform and circumvallate taste buds reveal no structural differences between wild-type and p27Kip1-null mice. However, when examined in functional assays, mutants show substantial proliferative changes. In BrdU incorporation experiments, more S-phase-labeled precursors appear within circumvallate taste buds at 1 day post-injection, the earliest time point examined. After 1 week, twice as many labeled intragemmal cells are present, but numbers return to wild-type levels by 2 weeks. Mutant taste buds also contain more TUNEL-labeled cells and 50% more apoptotic bodies than wild-type controls. In normal mice, p27 Kip1 is evident in a subset of receptor and presynaptic taste cells beginning about 3 days post-injection, correlating with the onset of taste cell maturation. Loss of gene function, however, does not alter the proportions of distinct immunohistochemically-identified cell types.Conclusions: p27Kip1 participates in taste cell replacement by regulating the number of precursor cells available for entry into taste buds. This is consistent with a role for the protein in timing cell cycle withdrawal in progenitor cells. The equivalence of mutant and wild-type taste buds with regard to cell number, cell types and general structure contrasts with the hyperplasia and tissue disruption seen in certain developing p27Kip1-null sensory organs, and may reflect a compensatory capability inherent in the regenerative taste system

TMEM106B is a genetic modifier of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions

Hexanucleotide repeat expansions in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) have recently been linked to frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and may be the most common genetic cause of both neurodegenerative diseases. Genetic variants at TMEM106B influence risk for the most common neuropathological subtype of FTLD, characterized by inclusions of TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (FTLD-TDP). Previous reports have shown that TMEM106B is a genetic modifier of FTLD-TDP caused by progranulin (GRN) mutations, with the major (risk) allele of rs1990622 associating with earlier age at onset of disease. Here, we report that rs1990622 genotype affects age at death in a single-site discovery cohort of FTLD patients with C9orf72 expansions (n = 14), with the major allele correlated with later age at death (p = 0.024). We replicate this modifier effect in a 30-site international neuropathological cohort of FTLD-TDP patients with C9orf72 expansions (n = 75), again finding that the major allele associates with later age at death (p = 0.016), as well as later age at onset (p = 0.019). In contrast, TMEM106B genotype does not affect age at onset or death in 241 FTLD-TDP cases negative for GRN mutations or C9orf72 expansions. Thus, TMEM106B is a genetic modifier of FTLD with C9orf72 expansions. Intriguingly, the genotype that confers increased risk for developing FTLD-TDP (major, or T, allele of rs1990622) is associated with later age at onset and death in C9orf72 expansion carriers, providing an example of sign epistasis in human neurodegenerative disease

An index to assess the health and benefits of the global ocean

The ocean plays a critical role in supporting human well-being, from providing food, livelihoods and recreational opportunities to regulating the global climate. Sustainable management aimed at maintaining the flow of a broad range of benefits from the ocean requires a comprehensive and quantitative method to measure and monitor the health of coupled human–ocean systems. We created an index comprising ten diverse public goals for a healthy coupled human–ocean system and calculated the index for every coastal country. Globally, the overall index score was 60 out of 100 (range 36–86), with developed countries generally performing better than developing countries, but with notable exceptions. Only 5% of countries scored higher than 70, whereas 32% scored lower than 50. The index provides a powerful tool to raise public awareness, direct resource management, improve policy and prioritize scientific research.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the Nature Publishing Group and can be found at: http://www.nature.com/nature/index.htm

The Jan Mayen Current from 1989 and 1990 summer data

As part of the Greenland Sea Project, a hydrographic survey consisting of 45 CTD stations was conducted in the vicinity of the Jan Mayen Current (JMC) in August 1990 aboard the USNS BARTLETT to further characterize and quantify circulation of the JMC. Comparisons were made with a similar survey performed in September 1989. In the summer of 1990, as in 1989, the JMC appears to be both a portion of the East Greenland Current (EGC) flowing eastward to close the Greenland Sea Gyre (GSG) and an anticyclonic meander in the EGC flow north of Jan Mayen. Geostrophic velocities and transports were similar for 1990 and 1989 with typical near-surface speeds of 3 cm/s slowing to 1 cm/s at depth. The total input flow to the JMC from the EGC is estimated at 1.45 Sv for August 1990 compared to 2 Sv during September 1989. Baroclinic calculations for 1990 data indicate that the meander portion of the JMC is concentrated in the upper waters (approx 100 m) with the result that 44% of the upper layer and 25% of lower layer (approx 100 - 1000 m) flow contributes to the JMC meander. The remainder, 56% from the surface and 75% from the lower layer, continues eastward as throughput to the GSG. Similarly, in 1989, it was determined that about half of the upper layer flow is involved in the meander with flow becoming more easterly with depth.http://archive.org/details/janmayencurrentf00stonCivilian, Naval Postgraduate SchoolApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

USNS BARTLETT cruise to the Greenland Sea in August 1990: data report

As a component of the Greenland Sea Project, a hydrographic cruise was conducted on board the USNS BARTLETT during August 1990 in the southern Greenland Sea to continue the study of the southern half of the Greenland Gyre (GG) and the Jan Mayen Current (JMC) that was begun with the BARTLETT cruise of September 1989, previously reported by Bourke et al. (1989, 1990, 1992) and by Blythe (1990). A total of 44 high-quality CTD stations were occupied to depths of 1000 m. Contrasting with 1989, 21 instead of five of these stations extended to near bottom at depths of 2200 to 3500 mhttp://archive.org/details/usnsbartlettcrui00paquN

USNS BARTLETT Cruise to the Greenland Sea in August 1990 Data Report

As a component of the Greenland Sea Project, a hydrographic cruise was conducted on board the USNS BARTLETT during August 1990 in the southern Greenland Sea to continue the study of the southern half of the Greenland Gyre (GG) and the Jan Mayen Current (JMC) that was begun with the BARTLETT cruise of September 1989, previously reported by Bourke et al. (1989, 1990, 1992) and by Blythe (1990). A total of 44 high-quality CTD stations were occupied to depths of 1000 m. Contrasting with 1989, 21 instead of five of these stations extended to near bottom at depths of 2200 to 3500 mhttp://archive.org/details/usnsbartlettcrui00paquN

Twenty-first century bioarchaeology: Taking stock and moving forward

This article presents outcomes from a Workshop entitled “Bioarchaeology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward,” which was held at Arizona State University (ASU) on March 6–8, 2020. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (ASU), and the Center for Bioarchaeological Research (CBR, ASU), the Workshop's overall goal was to explore reasons why research proposals submitted by bioarchaeologists, both graduate students and established scholars, fared disproportionately poorly within recent NSF Anthropology Program competitions and to offer advice for increasing success. Therefore, this Workshop comprised 43 international scholars and four advanced graduate students with a history of successful grant acquisition, primarily from the United States. Ultimately, we focused on two related aims: (1) best practices for improving research designs and training and (2) evaluating topics of contemporary significance that reverberate through history and beyond as promising trajectories for bioarchaeological research. Among the former were contextual grounding, research question/hypothesis generation, statistical procedures appropriate for small samples and mixed qualitative/quantitative data, the salience of Bayesian methods, and training program content. Topical foci included ethics, social inequality, identity (including intersectionality), climate change, migration, violence, epidemic disease, adaptability/plasticity, the osteological paradox, and the developmental origins of health and disease. Given the profound changes required globally to address decolonization in the 21st century, this concern also entered many formal and informal discussions