State of the California current 2013-14: El niño looming

In 2013, the California current was dominated by strong coastal upwelling and high productivity. Indices of total cumulative upwelling for particular coastal locations reached some of the highest values on record. Chlorophyll a levels were high throughout spring and summer. Catches of upwelling-related fish species were also high. After a moderate drop in upwelling during fall 2013, the California current system underwent a major change in phase. Three major basin-scale indicators, the PDO, the NPGO, and the ENSO-MEI, all changed phase at some point during the winter of 2013/14. The PDO changed to positive values, indicative of warmer waters in the North Pacific; the NPGO to negative values, indicative of lower productivity along the coast; and the MEI to positive values, indicative of an oncoming El Niño. Whereas the majority of the California Current system appears to have transitioned to an El Niño state by August 2014, based on decreases in upwelling and chlorophyll a concentration, and increases in SST, there still remained pockets of moderate upwelling, cold water, and high chlorophyll a biomass at various central coast locations, unlike patterns seen during the more major El Niños (e.g., the 97-98 event). Catches of rockfish, market squid, euphausiids, and juvenile sanddab remained high along the central coast, whereas catches of sardine and anchovy were low throughout the CCS. 2014 appears to be heading towards a moderate El Niño state, with some remaining patchy regions of upwellingdriven productivity along the coast. Superimposed on this pattern, three major regions have experienced possibly non-El Niño-related warming since winter: the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, and offshore of southern California. It is unclear how this warming may interact with the predicted El Niño, but the result will likely be reduced growth or reproduction for many key fisheries species

Proteomic analysis of early diabetic retinopathy reveals mediators of neurodegenerative brain diseases

© 2018 The Authors. PURPOSE. Current evidence suggests that retinal neurodegeneration is an early event in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. Our main goal was to examine whether, in the diabetic human retina, common proteins and pathways are shared with brain neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS. A proteomic analysis was performed on three groups of postmortem retinas matched by age: nondiabetic control retinas (n = 5), diabetic retinas without glial activation (n = 5), and diabetic retinas with glial activation (n = 5). Retinal lysates from each group were pooled and run on an SDS-PAGE gel. Bands were analyzed sequentially by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) using an Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer. RESULTS. A total of 2190 proteins were identified across all groups. To evaluate the association of the identified proteins with neurological signaling, significant signaling pathways belonging to the category ‘‘Neurotransmitters and Other Nervous System Signaling” were selected for analysis. Pathway analysis revealed that ‘‘Neuroprotective Role of THOP1 in Alzheimer’s Disease” and ‘‘Unfolded Protein Response” pathways were uniquely enriched in control retinas. By contrast, ‘‘Dopamine Degradation” and ‘‘Parkinson’s Signaling” were enriched only in diabetic retinas with glial activation. The ‘‘Neuregulin Signaling,” “Synaptic Long Term Potentiation,” and “Amyloid Processing” pathways were enriched in diabetic retinas with no glial activation. CONCLUSIONS. Diabetes-induced retinal neurodegeneration and brain neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, share common pathogenic pathways. These findings suggest that the study of neurodegeneration in the diabetic retina could be useful to further understand the neurodegenerative processes that occur in the brain of persons with diabetes

Unusual presentation of eosinophilic fasciitis: two case reports and a review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Eosinophilic fasciitis is an uncommon disorder with unknown etiology and a poorly understood pathogenesis. We present the cases of two patients with eosinophilic fasciitis with unusual presentation, and describe the clinical characteristics and laboratory findings related to them.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>The first case involves a 29-year-old Turkish man admitted with pain, edema and induration of his right-upper and left-lower limbs. Unilateral edema and stiffness with prominent pretibial edema was noted upon physical examination. A high eosinophil count was found on the peripheral smear. The second case involves a 63-year-old Turkish man who had pain, edema, erythema, and itching on his upper and lower extremities, which developed after strenuous physical activity. He had cervical lymphadenopathy and polyarthritis upon physical examination, and rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibody upon laboratory examination.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Eosinophilic fasciitis can present with various symptoms. When patients exhibit eosinophilia, arthralgia and myalgia, eosinophilic fasciitis should be considered as a possible diagnosis.</p

Low-dimensional network formation in molten sodium carbonate

Molten carbonates are highly inviscid liquids characterized by low melting points and high solubility of rare earth elements and volatile molecules. An understanding of the structure and related properties of these intriguing liquids has been limited to date. We report the results of a study of molten sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) which combines high energy X-ray diffraction, containerless techniques and computer simulation to provide insight into the liquid structure. Total structure factors (Fx(Q)) are collected on the laser-heated carbonate spheres suspended in flowing gases of varying composition in an aerodynamic levitation furnace. The respective partial structure factor contributions to Fx(Q) are obtained by performing molecular dynamics simulations treating the carbonate anions as flexible entities. The carbonate liquid structure is found to be heavily temperature-dependent. At low temperatures a low-dimensional carbonate chain network forms, at T = 1100 K for example ~55% of the C atoms form part of a chain. The mean chain lengths decrease as temperature is increased and as the chains become shorter the rotation of the carbonate anions becomes more rapid enhancing the diffusion of Na+ ions

Two-electron spin correlations in precision placed donors in silicon

Substitutional donor atoms in silicon are promising qubits for quantum computation with extremely long relaxation and dephasing times demonstrated. One of the critical challenges of scaling these systems is determining inter-donor distances to achieve controllable wavefunction overlap while at the same time performing high fidelity spin readout on each qubit. Here we achieve such a device by means of scanning tunnelling microscopy lithography. We measure anti-correlated spin states between two donor-based spin qubits in silicon separated by 16 ± 1 nm. By utilising an asymmetric system with two phosphorus donors at one qubit site and one on the other (2P−1P), we demonstrate that the exchange interaction can be turned on and off via electrical control of two in-plane phosphorus doped detuning gates. We determine the tunnel coupling between the 2P−1P system to be 200 MHz and provide a roadmap for the observation of two-electron coherent exchange oscillations

You had to be there: Anachronism and the limits of laughing at the Middle Ages

Comic medievalism is one of the most widespread but least examined forms of postmedieval response. Its combination of comic modality, modern sensibility and historical vision captures what postmedieval audiences have deemed amusing about medieval society. But some instances have been less successful. ‘You had to be there,’ the phrase marking the failure of a comic attempt, and the relationship of that failure to the loss of immediacy, is realized in comic medievalism through the temporal fragility of laughter, historical mediation and temporal paradox. This essay explores some limitpoints to the comic reception of the Middle Ages, focusing especially on its use of anachronism

Surveillance for endometrial cancer with transvaginal ultrasonography of breast cancer patients under tamoxifen treatment

The association of endometrial thickness with the risk of developing endometrial cancer (EC) within 2 years was investigated in a consecutive cohort of 1205 breast cancer patients under tamoxifen treatment, undergoing transvaginal ultrasonography (TVUS) for follow-up purpose (asymptomatic, 1068) or for abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB, 137). Linkage with tumour registry allowed for the follow-up of 3184.3 person-years. According to underlying incidence, 1.85 EC cases were expected in the study cohort while 12 were observed (observed/expected ratio=6.49, 95% CI 3.35–11.33; asymptomatic=4.09, 95% CI 1.65–8.43, symptomatic=35.71, 95% CI 11.59–83.34). No EC was observed with thickness (half layer) <3 mm. Raising this threshold increased specificity with a substantial loss of sensitivity (⩾3, ⩾4, ⩾6, ⩾9 mm; spec.=25.8, 44.5, 76.1, 91.5%, sens.=100, 91.6, 75.0, 66.6%). The presence of AUB was rather specific (88.94%) but poorly sensitive (41.67%). A combination of AUB presence/absence and thickness allowed the best accuracy (AUB + thickness ⩾3, ⩾4 or ⩾5; sens.=100, 81.6 or 91.6%; spec.=22.8, 40.4, or 56.7%). Breast cancer patients under tamoxifen might be selected for further invasive assessment on the basis of AUB and endometrial thickness assessed at TVUS

Supernumerary, ectopic tooth in the maxillary antrum presenting with recurrent haemoptysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ectopic eruption of teeth in non-dental sites is a rare phenomenon and can present in a variety of ways such as chronic or recurrent sinusitis, sepsis, nasolacrimal duct obstruction, headaches, ostiomeatal complex disease and facial numbness. However, presentation of such patients with recurrent haemoptysis has not been described in the literature so far. We have described a case of an ectopic, supernumerary molar tooth in the maxillary antrum in a patient who initially presented with haemoptysis.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 45-year-old male presented with a 2-month history of episodic haemoptysis. A pedunculated growth from the inferior nasal turbinate was seen with fibre-optic visualization. Although the patient was empirically started on antibiotic and anti-allergic therapy, there was no improvement after a few weeks and the patient had recurrent episodes of haemoptysis. Fibre-optic visualization was repeated showing bilateral osteomeatal erythema. Computed tomography scan of the paranasal sinuses demonstrated complete opacification of the left maxillary antrum along with a focal area of density comparable to bone. An ectopic, supernumerary molar tooth was found in the left maxillary antrum on endoscopic examination and subsequently removed. In addition, copious purulent discharge was seen. Post-operatively, the patient was treated with a 10-day course of oral amoxicillin-clavulanate. On follow-up, he reported resolution of symptoms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Recurrent haemoptysis has not been described as a presentation for a supernumerary, ectopic tooth in literature before. We recommend that in patients with sinusitis-type of opacification of maxillary antrum and whose condition is refractory to conventional medical treatment, consideration should be given to the investigation of possible underlying anomalies as the cause of such symptoms. Presence of foreign bodies and ectopic teeth in paranasal sinuses can be reliably excluded with the use of appropriate radiological imaging and endoscopic examination.</p

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world