The tail of the Jurassic fish Leedsichthys problematicus (Osteichthyes: Actinopterygii) collected by Alfred Nicholson Leeds - an example of the importance of historical records in palaeontology

The specimen of the tail of <i>Leedsichthys problematicus</i>, now in The Natural History Museum, London, was one of the most spectacular fossil vertebrates from the Oxford Clay Formation of Peterborough, but as an isolated find it shares no bones in common with the holotype of the genus and species. However, a letter from Alfred Nicholson Leeds and related documents cast valuable new light on the excavation of the tail, indicating that it was discovered with cranial bones, gill-rakers, and two pectoral fins, thereby including elements that can potentially be compared with those of the holotype. The documents also clearly indicate that The Natural History Museum's specimen is not part of the same individual as any other numbered specimen of <i>Leedsichthys</i> as had been speculated on other occasions. The maximum size of the animal represented by The Natural History Museum's specimen was possibly around 9 metres, considerably less than previous estimates of up to 27.6 metres for <i>Leedsichthys</i>. Historical documentary evidence should therefore be rigorously checked both when studying historical specimens in science, and in preparing text for museum display labels

Dynamic Kerr Effect and Spectral Weight Transfer in the Manganites

We perform pump-probe Kerr spectroscopy in the colossally magnetoresistive manganite Pr0.67Ca0.33MnO3. Kerr effects uncover surface magnetic dynamics undetected by established methods based on reflectivity and optical spectral weight transfer. Our findings indicate the connection between spin and charge dynamics in the manganites may be weaker than previously thought. Additionally, important differences between this system and conventional ferromagnetic metals manifest as long-lived, magneto-optical coupling transients, which may be generic to all manganites.Comment: 12 text pages, 4 figure

BIODIESEL FROM MICROALGAE: THE EFFECT OF FUEL PROPERTIES ON POLLUTANT EMISSIONS

Recently, biofuels have been presented as a viable alternative for the main challenges of the energy industry: the depleting supplies of petroleum and the global warming due to greenhouse effect. Biofuels may be produced from several different feedstocks, such as sugarcane, animal fat, oil crops or even microalgae. Replacing conventional petroleum sourced fuels with biofuels may significantly reduce global greenhouse effect gases emission when considering the life cycle of such fuels. Even with this advantage, biofuels present new challenges concerning the engine adaptation and the pollutant emissions. In this context, this paper aims to clarify the relation between fuel properties of microalgae biodiesel and pollutant emissions, studying which properties are desirable in these new fuels to guarantee engine operation without degradation of performance in comparison to conventional diesel

Socioeconomic inequalities and the equity impact of population-level interventions for adolescent health: an overview of systematic reviews

Objectives: Despite robust evidence on health inequalities in adulthood, less attention has been paid to inequalities in adolescence. The aim of this overview was to examine systematic review (SR) evidence on the equity impact of population-level interventions intended to improve health, happiness and wellbeing for adolescents. Study Design: An overview (review of systematic reviews). Methods: Eleven electronic databases were systematically searched to identify SRs of population-level interventions for adolescent health. A secondary data analysis of socioeconomic inequality was conducted to identify whether SRs reported on primary studies in terms of disadvantage, by measures of socioeconomic status (SES) and by differential effects. Results: 35,310 review titles were screened; 566 full texts were retrieved and 140 SRs met the predefined selection criteria. Differential intervention effects were considered in 42/140 (30%) SRs, 18/140 (13%) reported primary studies using an SES measure and 16/140 (11%) explicitly reported differential effects. 15/140 SRs (11%) explicitly focused on socioeconomic inequalities; of these 4/15 reported differential intervention effects in more detail, 7/15 concluded there was insufficient primary evidence to identify the impact of interventions on socioeconomic inequalities and 4/15 planned to examine differential effects by SES, but this was not reported further. Conclusions: Our overview identifies that there is limited SR evidence on the equity impact of population-level interventions for adolescent health. Strengthening the evidence on whether interventions narrow or widen inequalities for adolescents must be a priority for public health research

Prenatal development is linked to bronchial reactivity: epidemiological and animal model evidence

Chronic cardiorespiratory disease is associated with low birthweight suggesting the importance of the developmental environment. Prenatal factors affecting fetal growth are believed important, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The influence of developmental programming on bronchial hyperreactivity is investigated in an animal model and evidence for comparable associations is sought in humans. Pregnant Wistar rats were fed either control or protein-restricted diets throughout pregnancy. Bronchoconstrictor responses were recorded from offspring bronchial segments. Morphometric analysis of paraffin-embedded lung sections was conducted. In a human mother-child cohort ultrasound measurements of fetal growth were related to bronchial hyperreactivity, measured at age six years using methacholine. Protein-restricted rats' offspring demonstrated greater bronchoconstriction than controls. Airway structure was not altered. Children with lesser abdominal circumference growth during 11-19 weeks' gestation had greater bronchial hyperreactivity than those with more rapid abdominal growth. Imbalanced maternal nutrition during pregnancy results in offspring bronchial hyperreactivity. Prenatal environmental influences might play a comparable role in humans

Optical evidence for transient photoinduced magnetization in La\u3csub\u3e0.7\u3c/sub\u3eCa\u3csub\u3e0.3\u3c/sub\u3eMnO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e

Pump-probe Kerr spectroscopy reveals evidence for transient photoinduced magnetization (PIM) near Tc in the colossally magnetoresistive manganite La0.7Ca0.3MnO3. For temperatures above Tc, the PIM signature reaches full strength at the field-driven magnetic phase transition, while below Tc it exhibits a magnetic activation threshold of ~0.5 T. We compare the temperature dependence of the effect with diffuse spin scattering previously measured with neutrons and discuss these findings in the context of phase separation near Tc

Protocol for The International Cohort on Lifestyle Determinants of Health Study: A Longitudinal Investigation of Complementary and Integrative Health Utilization in Postsecondary Education Students.

Objectives: The specific aims are: 1) To characterize the health, wellness, and lifestyle of graduate and undergraduate students, and how these characteristics change over time; 2) To evaluate associations between lifestyle factors and gut microbiota populations and diversity; and 3) To evaluate associations between stress and stress management practices with sleep habits, quality of life, and overall health. Design: The International Cohort on Lifestyle Determinants of Health (INCLD Health) longitudinal cohort study is designed to assess health behaviors and lifestyle practices amongst adults studying complementary and integrative health (CIH) and higher-education students more generally after at least one to six years of exposure to CIH education. INCLD Health will adhere to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Settings/Location: Colleges and universities with a CIH focus or interest with the flagship site being the National University of Natural Medicine. Participants: Adults currently enrolled in a college or university with a CIH focus or interest. Outcome Measures: Study visits will be conducted at baseline, 6 months, then every 12 months until the end of each participants' degree program. Measures include anthropometrics; serum and salivary biomarkers of cardiovascular risk, reproductive hormones, and cortisol; nutritional intake measured by a digital food frequency questionnaire; sequencing of fecal microbiota; plus validated questionnaires investigating mood, perceived stress, stress management practices, physical activity, sleep, and wellness. Conclusions: The INCLD Health Study, approved by the NUNM IRB in late 2018, will enroll a unique cohort of adults to characterize the use of CIH practices in relation to short- and long-term health. Our study design provides a breadth of information that could be implemented at multiple sites internationally allowing for comparisons across diverse student cohorts with relatively low cost and personnel

Transition-metal interactions in aluminum-rich intermetallics

The extension of the first-principles generalized pseudopotential theory (GPT) to transition-metal (TM) aluminides produces pair and many-body interactions that allow efficient calculations of total energies. In aluminum-rich systems treated at the pair-potential level, one practical limitation is a transition-metal over-binding that creates an unrealistic TM-TM attraction at short separations in the absence of balancing many-body contributions. Even with this limitation, the GPT pair potentials have been used effectively in total-energy calculations for Al-TM systems with TM atoms at separations greater than 4 AA. An additional potential term may be added for systems with shorter TM atom separations, formally folding repulsive contributions of the three- and higher-body interactions into the pair potentials, resulting in structure-dependent TM-TM potentials. Towards this end, we have performed numerical ab-initio total-energy calculations using VASP (Vienna Ab Initio Simulation Package) for an Al-Co-Ni compound in a particular quasicrystalline approximant structure. The results allow us to fit a short-ranged, many-body correction of the form a(r_0/r)^{b} to the GPT pair potentials for Co-Co, Co-Ni, and Ni-Ni interactions.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR