Abundance of plastic debris across European and Asian rivers

Plastic pollution in the marine environment is an urgent global environmental challenge. Land-based plastics, emitted into the ocean through rivers, are believed to be the main source of marine plastic litter. According to the latest model-based estimates, most riverine plastics are emitted in Asia. However, the exact amount of global riverine plastic emission remains uncertain due to a severe lack of observation. Field-based studies are rare in numbers, focused on rivers in Europe and North America and used strongly varying data collection methods. We present a harmonized assessment of floating macroplastic transport from observations at 24 locations in rivers in seven countries in Europe and Asia. Visual counting and debris sampling were used to assess (1) magnitude of plastic transport, (2) the spatial distribution across the river width, and (3) the plastic polymer composition. Several waterways in Indonesia and Vietnam contain up to four orders of magnitude more plastic than waterways in Italy, France, and The Netherlands in terms of plastic items per hour. We present a first transcontinental overview of plastic transport, providing observational evidence that, for the sampled rivers, Asian rivers transport considerably more plastics towards the ocean. New insights are presented in the magnitude, composition, and spatiotemporal variation of riverine plastic debris. We emphasize the urgent need for more long-term monitoring efforts. Accurate data on riverine plastic debris are extremely important to improve global and local modeling approaches and to optimize prevention and collection strategies

Simulation of a fully coupled 3D glacial isostatic adjustment - ice sheet model for the Antarctic ice sheet over a glacial cycle

Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) has a stabilizing effect on the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet by reducing the grounding line migration following ice melt. The timescale and strength of this feedback depends on the spatially varying viscosity of the Earth's mantle. Most studies assume a relatively long and laterally homogenous response time of the bedrock. However, the mantle viscosity is spatially variable, with a high mantle viscosity beneath East Antarctica and a low mantle viscosity beneath West Antarctica. For this study, we have developed a new method to couple a 3D GIA model and an ice sheet model to study the interaction between the solid Earth and the Antarctic ice sheet during the last glacial cycle. With this method, the ice sheet model and GIA model exchange ice thickness and bedrock elevation during a fully coupled transient experiment. The feedback effect is taken into account with a high temporal resolution, where the coupling time steps between the ice sheet and GIA model are 5000 years over the glaciation phase and vary between 500 and 1000 years over the deglaciation phase of the last glacial cycle. During each coupling time step, the bedrock elevation is adjusted at every ice sheet model time step, and the deformation is computed for a linearly changing ice load. We applied the method using the ice sheet model ANICE and a 3D GIA finite element model. We used results from a regional seismic model for Antarctica embedded in the global seismic model SMEAN2 to determine the patterns in the mantle viscosity. The results of simulations over the last glacial cycle show that differences in mantle viscosity of an order of magnitude can lead to differences in the grounding line position up to 700gkm and to differences in ice thickness of the order of 2gkm for the present day near the Ross Embayment. These results underline and quantify the importance of including local GIA feedback effects in ice sheet models when simulating the Antarctic ice sheet evolution over the last glacial cycle

Rapid Assessment of Floating Macroplastic Transport in the Rhine

Most marine litter pollution is assumed to originate from land-based sources, entering the marine environment through rivers. To better understand and quantify the risk that plastic pollution poses on aquatic ecosystems, and to develop effective prevention and mitigation methods, a better understanding of riverine plastic transport is needed. To achieve this, quantification of riverine plastic transport is crucial. Here, we demonstrate how established methods can be combined to provide a rapid and cost-effective characterization and quantification of floating macroplastic transport in the River Rhine. We combine visual observations with passive sampling to arrive at a first-order estimate of macroplastic transport, both in number (10–75 items per hour) and mass per unit of time (1.3–9.7 kg per day). Additionally, our assessment gives insight in the most abundant macroplastic polymer types the downstream reach of the River Rhine. Furthermore, we explore the spatial and temporal variation of plastic transport within the river, and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of current sampling methods. Finally, we present an outlook for future monitoring of major rivers, including several suggestions on how to expand the rapid assessment presented in this paper.</p

Glacial isostatic adjustment and post-seismic deformation in Antarctica

This chapter reviews glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and post-seismic deformation in Antarctica. It discusses numerical models and their inputs, and observations and inferences that have been made from them. Both processes are controlled by mantle viscosity but their forcings are different. Ongoing GIA induced by the loss of ice since the last glacial maximum (LGM) could have amounted to 5–15 m of global sea-level rise. However, mantle viscosity is so low in parts of West Antarctica (c. 1018 Pa s) that changes in ice thickness over the last centuries and decades have controlled the current uplift rates there. The uplift due to GIA has promoted ice-sheet stability since the LGM, and in West Antarctica GIA is a significant negative feedback on the current decline of the ice sheet. Post-seismic deformation following the 1998 earthquake near the Balleny Islands south of New Zealand has been detected in global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data and compared to model outputs. The best-fitting viscosity for this area is c. 1019 Pa s, similar to GIA-based estimates for the Antarctic Peninsula. Future work should focus on unifying descriptions of viscosity across geodynamic models, and integrating information from seismic, gravity, experimental and geological data

Simulation of a fully coupled 3D glacial isostatic adjustment – ice sheet model for the Antarctic ice sheet over a glacial cycle

Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) has a stabilizing effect on the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet by reducing the grounding line migration following ice melt. The timescale and strength of this feedback depends on the spatially varying viscosity of the Earth's mantle. Most studies assume a relatively long and laterally homogenous response time of the bedrock. However, the mantle viscosity is spatially variable, with a high mantle viscosity beneath East Antarctica and a low mantle viscosity beneath West Antarctica. For this study, we have developed a new method to couple a 3D GIA model and an ice sheet model to study the interaction between the solid Earth and the Antarctic ice sheet during the last glacial cycle. With this method, the ice sheet model and GIA model exchange ice thickness and bedrock elevation during a fully coupled transient experiment. The feedback effect is taken into account with a high temporal resolution, where the coupling time steps between the ice sheet and GIA model are 5000 years over the glaciation phase and vary between 500 and 1000 years over the deglaciation phase of the last glacial cycle. During each coupling time step, the bedrock elevation is adjusted at every ice sheet model time step, and the deformation is computed for a linearly changing ice load. We applied the method using the ice sheet model ANICE and a 3D GIA finite element model. We used results from a regional seismic model for Antarctica embedded in the global seismic model SMEAN2 to determine the patterns in the mantle viscosity. The results of simulations over the last glacial cycle show that differences in mantle viscosity of an order of magnitude can lead to differences in the grounding line position up to 700 km and to differences in ice thickness of the order of 2 km for the present day near the Ross Embayment. These results underline and quantify the importance of including local GIA feedback effects in ice sheet models when simulating the Antarctic ice sheet evolution over the last glacial cycle.</p

A global transcriptional regulatory role for c-Myc in Burkitt's lymphoma cells

Overexpression of c-Myc is one of the most common alterations in human cancers, yet it is not clear how this transcription factor acts to promote malignant transformation. To understand the molecular targets of c-Myc function, we have used an unbiased genome-wide location-analysis approach to examine the genomic binding sites of c-Myc in Burkitt's lymphoma cells. We find that c-Myc together with its heterodimeric partner, Max, occupy >15% of gene promoters tested in these cancer cells. The DNA binding of c-Myc and Max correlates extensively with gene expression throughout the genome, a hallmark attribute of general transcription factors. The c-Myc/Max heterodimer complexes also colocalize with transcription factor IID in these cells, further supporting a general role for overexpressed c-Myc in global gene regulation. In addition, transcription of a majority of c-Myc target genes exhibits changes correlated with levels of c-myc mRNA in a diverse set of tissues and cell lines, supporting the conclusion that c-Myc regulates them. Taken together, these results suggest a general role for overexpressed c-Myc in global transcriptional regulation in some cancer cells and point toward molecular mechanisms for c-Myc function in malignant transformation

Advanced Hydrogen Transport Membranes for Vision 21 Fossil Fuel Plants

Eltron Research Inc., and team members CoorsTek, McDermott Technology, Inc., Sued Chemie, Argonne National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing an environmentally benign, inexpensive, and efficient method for separating hydrogen from gas mixtures produced during industrial processes, such as coal gasification. This objective is being pursued using dense membranes based in part on Eltron-patented ceramic materials with a demonstrated ability for proton and electron conduction. The technical goals are being addressed by modifying single-phase and composite membrane composition and microstructure to maximize proton and electron conductivity without loss of material stability. Ultimately, these materials must enable hydrogen separation at practical rates under ambient and high-pressure conditions, without deactivation in the presence of feedstream components such as carbon dioxide, water, and sulfur. This project was motivated by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Vision 21 initiative which seeks to economically eliminate environmental concerns associated with the use of fossil fuels. The proposed technology addresses the DOE Vision 21 initiative in two ways. First, this process offers a relatively inexpensive solution for pure hydrogen separation that can be easily incorporated into Vision 21 fossil fuel plants. Second, this process could reduce the cost of hydrogen, which is a clean burning fuel under increasing demand as supporting technologies are developed for hydrogen utilization and storage. Additional motivation for this project arises from the potential of this technology for other applications. Membranes testing during this reporting period were greater than 1 mm thick and had the general perovskite composition AB{sub 1-x}B'{sub x}O{sub 3-{delta}}, where 0.05 {&lt;=} x {&lt;=} 0.3. These materials demonstrated hydrogen separation rates between 1 and 2 mL/min/cm{sup 2}, which represents roughly 20% of the target goal for membranes of this thickness. The sintered membranes were greater than 95% dense, but the phase purity decreased with increasing dopant concentration. The quantity of dopant incorporated into the perovskite phase was roughly constant, with excess dopant forming an additional phase. Composite materials with distinct ceramic and metallic phases, and thin film perovskites (100 {micro}m) also were successfully prepared, but have not yet been tested for hydrogen transport. Finally, porous platinum was identified as a excellent catalyst for evaluation of membrane materials, however, lower cost nickel catalyst systems are being developed

Sea-level rise: from global perspectives to local services

Coastal areas are highly diverse, ecologically rich, regions of key socio-economic activity, and are particularly sensitive to sea-level change. Over most of the 20th century, global mean sea level has risen mainly due to warming and subsequent expansion of the upper ocean layers as well as the melting of glaciers and ice caps. Over the last three decades, increased mass loss of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets has also started to contribute significantly to contemporary sea-level rise. The future mass loss of the two ice sheets, which combined represent a sea-level rise potential of ∼65 m, constitutes the main source of uncertainty in long-term (centennial to millennial) sea-level rise projections. Improved knowledge of the magnitude and rate of future sea-level change is therefore of utmost importance. Moreover, sea level does not change uniformly across the globe and can differ greatly at both regional and local scales. The most appropriate and feasible sea level mitigation and adaptation measures in coastal regions strongly depend on local land use and associated risk aversion. Here, we advocate that addressing the problem of future sea-level rise and its impacts requires (i) bringing together a transdisciplinary scientific community, from climate and cryospheric scientists to coastal impact specialists, and (ii) interacting closely and iteratively with users and local stakeholders to co-design and co-build coastal climate services, including addressing the high-end risks

Recent Concepts on Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome in Children

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder that can occur in both children and adults. Clinical courses of CVS manifesting recurrent severe vomiting episodes and interval illness may affect the long-term quality of life in children with CVS. Therefore, we should be careful in accessing a patient suggestive of CVS. Accurate diagnosis based on diagnostic criteria for CVS and the exclusion from other organic diseases mimicking clinical manifestations of cyclic vomiting is absolutely required. In patients diagnosed as CVS, optimal therapy should be performed to improve symptoms and to reduce complications in prodromal phase and emetic phase, and long-term prophylactic therapy should be tried to prevent the development of vomiting episodes. The identification of triggering factors which induce vomiting episodes might be helpful in preventing vomiting attacks. Systematic approach should be recommended to improve clinical outcome of CVS

Recommendations for the nutrition management of phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency

The effectiveness of a phenylalanine-restricted diet to improve the outcome of individuals with phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency (OMIM no. 261600) has been recognized since the first patients were treated 60 years ago. However, the treatment regime is complex, costly, and often difficult to maintain for the long term. Improvements and refinements in the diet for phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency have been made over the years, and adjunctive therapies have proven to be successful for certain patients. Yet evidence-based guidelines for managing phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency, optimizing outcomes, and addressing all available therapies are lacking. Thus, recommendations for nutrition management were developed using evidence from peer-reviewed publications, gray literature, and consensus surveys. The areas investigated included choice of appropriate medical foods, integration of adjunctive therapies, treatment during pregnancy, monitoring of nutritional and clinical markers, prevention of nutrient deficiencies, providing of access to care, and compliance strategies. This process has not only provided assessment and refinement of current nutrition management and monitoring recommendations but also charted a direction for future studies. This document serves as a companion to the concurrently published American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guideline for the medical treatment of phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency