Spatial variation in short-term (234Th) sediment bioturbation intensity along an organic-carbon gradient

Natural and human-induced spatial gradients provide a useful vehicle with which to better understand diverse marine processes. On the Palos Verdes margin (S. California), historical and ongoing waste-water discharge has created an along-shelf gradient in organic C and total N, as well as various trace metals and other pollutants (e.g., DDT). To better understand the impact of such pollution on bioturbation and to develop a more general understanding of the controlling factors of sediment bioturbation intensity, a series of stations representing severely, moderately and negligibly impacted sediments was studied. Vertical profiles of the naturally occurring radionuclide, 234Th, as well as the abundance and species composition of macrofauna were measured from box cores collected at three sites during July 1992. During a March 1993 cruise, radionuclide profiles were collected at an additional eleven sites on the margin. Excess 234Th profiles are, in general, consistent with a steady-state model that balances vertical biodiffusive mixing with radioactive decay. Biodiffusivities determined from the 234Th profiles yield a spatial pattern in which sediments near the outfall are mixed at intensities of ≈10 cm2/yr, and bioturbation intensities are five times as rapid at sites 5–7 km from the outfall. Average mixing intensities are between these extremes (28 cm2/yr) at a nearby unimpacted site. Despite the overall consistency of this pattern the reasons behind it remain unclear. Structural aspects of the macrofauna either do not vary between the three intensively studied stations (e.g., depth distribution, size) or do so in a manner that would suggest an opposite effect on the biodiffusivity (e.g., abundance). There is also little variability in trophic groupings along the enrichment gradient. Behavioral modifications, such as: (1) sublethal pollution effects caused by elevated contaminant (e.g., organic carbon and DDT) concentrations, and (2) inhibition by a tube-building polychaete, Mediomastus sp., are postulated to suppress mixing intensities near the outfall. The results of this study suggest that, at least in shallow-water settings, the general controls of bioturbation intensity are still poorly understood

A mechanistic view of the particulate biodiffusion coefficient: Step lengths, rest periods and transport directions

We link specific mechanisms of biogenous sediment mixing with the commonly used bioturbation coefficient (Db) that describes their bulk effects. Using an isotropic, stationary, unbiased random walk model we mechanistically decompose the particulate bioturbation coefficient into the fundamental dimensions of length and time. The result shows that Db depends directly on the square of the distance particles are moved (step length) and inversely on the elapsed time between movements (rest period). This new decomposition in terms of explicit mechanisms (i.e., animal activities), leads to scaling arguments that large, deposit feeding animals will in nearly all cases dominate biogenous mixing. Paradoxically, such animals often transport particles vertically in an advective fashion (e.g., conveyor-belt feeding), making the widespread fit of the diffusion equation to tracer profiles equivocal. Finite-difference simulations reveal that even in the complete absence of vertical diffusion, rapid diffusive horizontal mixing coupled with vertical advection can produce vertical profiles characteristic of diffusion. We suggest that near-surface horizontal mixing rates by animals far exceed vertical mixing rates in the same stratum and that this anisotropy may persist throughout the surface mixed layer. Thus, despite their apparently good kinematic fit, one-dimensional biodiffusion coefficients may not accurately describe the dynamics of sediment displacement, leading to errors in models of early diagenesis

Trends in the suspended-sediment yields of coastal rivers of northern California, 1955–2010

Time-depe ndencies of suspended-sediment discharge from six coastal watersheds of northern Califor nia – Smith River, Klamath River, Trinity River, Redwood Creek, Mad River, and Eel River –were evaluated using monitoring data from 1955 to 2010. Suspended-sediment concentrations revealed ti me-dependent hysteresis and multi-year trends. The multi-year trends had two primary patterns relative to river dis- charge: (i)increases in concentration resulting from both land clearing from loggin gand the floodof record during December 1964 (water year 1965),and (ii)continual decreases in concentration during the decades following this flood.Data from the Eel River revealed that changes in suspended-sediment concentrations occurred for all grain-size fractions, but were most pronounced for the sand fraction. Because of these changes, the use of bulk discharge-concentration relationships (i.e.,‘‘sediment ratin g curves’’) without time-dependencies in these relationships resulted in substantial errors in sediment load estimates, including 2.5-fold over-prediction of Eel River sediment loads since 1979. We conclu de that sedimen tdischarge and sediment discharge relationships (suchas sediment rating curves)from these coastal rivers have varied substantially with time in response to land use and climate. Thus, the use of historical river sediment data and sediment rating curves without considerations for time-depende nt trends may result in significanterrors in sediment yield estimates from the globally-im portant steep, small watersheds.Keywords: Northern California, River, Suspended-sediment discharge, Time series analysi

Primary accumulation in the Soviet transition

The Soviet background to the idea of primary socialist accumulation is presented. The mobilisation of labour power and of products into public sector investment from outside are shown to have been the two original forms of the concept. In Soviet primary accumulation the mobilisation of labour power was apparently more decisive than the mobilisation of products. The primary accumulation process had both intended and unintended results. Intended results included bringing most of the economy into the public sector, and industrialisation of the economy as a whole. Unintended results included substantial economic losses, and the proliferation of coercive institutions damaging to attainment of the ultimate goal - the building of a communist society

Novel Role of the IGF-1 Receptor in Endothelial Function and Repair: Studies in Endothelium-Targeted IGF-1 Receptor Transgenic Mice

We recently demonstrated that reducing IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) numbers in the endothelium enhances nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and endothelial cell insulin sensitivity. In the present report, we aimed to examine the effect of increasing IGF-1R on endothelial cell function and repair. To examine the effect of increasing IGF-1R in the endothelium, we generated mice overexpressing human IGF-1R in the endothelium (human IGF-1R endothelium-overexpressing mice [hIGFREO]) under direction of the Tie2 promoter enhancer. hIGFREO aorta had reduced basal NO bioavailability (percent constriction to NG-monomethyl-l-arginine [mean (SEM) wild type 106% (30%); hIGFREO 48% (10%)]; P < 0.05). Endothelial cells from hIGFREO had reduced insulin-stimulated endothelial NO synthase activation (mean [SEM] wild type 170% [25%], hIGFREO 58% [3%]; P = 0.04) and insulin-stimulated NO release (mean [SEM] wild type 4,500 AU [1,000], hIGFREO 1,500 AU [700]; P < 0.05). hIGFREO mice had enhanced endothelium regeneration after denuding arterial injury (mean [SEM] percent recovered area, wild type 57% [2%], hIGFREO 47% [5%]; P < 0.05) and enhanced endothelial cell migration in vitro. The IGF-1R, although reducing NO bioavailability, enhances in situ endothelium regeneration. Manipulating IGF-1R in the endothelium may be a useful strategy to treat disorders of vascular growth and repair. Insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes characterized by perturbation of the insulin/IGF-1 system is a multisystem disorder of nutrient homeostasis, cell growth, and tissue repair (1). As a result, type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor for the development of a range of disorders of human health, including occlusive coronary artery disease (2), peripheral vascular disease (3), stroke (4), chronic vascular ulcers (5), proliferative retinopathy (6), and nephropathy (7). A key hallmark of these pathologies is endothelial cell dysfunction characterized by a reduction in bioavailability of the signaling radical nitric oxide (NO). In the endothelium, insulin binding to its tyrosine kinase receptor stimulates release of NO (8). Insulin resistance at a whole-body level (9,10) and specific to the endothelium (11) leads to reduced bioavailability of NO, indicative of a critical role for insulin in regulating NO bioavailability. The insulin receptor (IR) and IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) are structurally similar—both composed of two extracellular α and two transmembrane β subunits linked by disulfide bonds (12). As a result, IGF-1R and IR can heterodimerize to form insulin-resistant hybrid receptors composed of one IGF-1R-αβ complex and one IR-αβ subunit complex (13,14). We recently demonstrated that reducing IGF-1R (by reducing the number of hybrid receptors) enhances insulin sensitivity and NO bioavailability in the endothelium (15). To examine the effect of increasing IGF-1R specifically in the endothelium on NO bioavailability, endothelial repair, and metabolic homeostasis, we generated a transgenic mouse with targeted overexpression of the human IGF-1R in the endothelium (hIGFREO)

Insulin Resistance Impairs Circulating Angiogenic Progenitor Cell Function and Delays Endothelial Regeneration

OBJECTIVE Circulating angiogenic progenitor cells (APCs) participate in endothelial repair after arterial injury. Type 2 diabetes is associated with fewer circulating APCs, APC dysfunction, and impaired endothelial repair. We set out to determine whether insulin resistance adversely affects APCs and endothelial regeneration. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We quantified APCs and assessed APC mobilization and function in mice hemizygous for knockout of the insulin receptor (IRKO) and wild-type (WT) littermate controls. Endothelial regeneration after femoral artery wire injury was also quantified after APC transfusion. RESULTS IRKO mice, although glucose tolerant, had fewer circulating Sca-1+/Flk-1+ APCs than WT mice. Culture of mononuclear cells demonstrated that IRKO mice had fewer APCs in peripheral blood, but not in bone marrow or spleen, suggestive of a mobilization defect. Defective vascular endothelial growth factor–stimulated APC mobilization was confirmed in IRKO mice, consistent with reduced endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression in bone marrow and impaired vascular eNOS activity. Paracrine angiogenic activity of APCs from IRKO mice was impaired compared with those from WT animals. Endothelial regeneration of the femoral artery after denuding wire injury was delayed in IRKO mice compared with WT. Transfusion of mononuclear cells from WT mice normalized the impaired endothelial regeneration in IRKO mice. Transfusion of c-kit+ bone marrow cells from WT mice also restored endothelial regeneration in IRKO mice. However, transfusion of c-kit+ cells from IRKO mice was less effective at improving endothelial repair. CONCLUSIONS Insulin resistance impairs APC function and delays endothelial regeneration after arterial injury. These findings support the hypothesis that insulin resistance per se is sufficient to jeopardize endogenous vascular repair. Defective endothelial repair may be normalized by transfusion of APCs from insulin-sensitive animals but not from insulin-resistant animals

The mimetic politics of lone-wolf terrorism

Written at a time of crisis in the project of social and political modernity, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1864 novel Notes from Underground offers an intriguing parallel for the twenty-first century lone-wolf; it portrays an abject, outcast, spiteful unnamed anti-hero boiling with rage, bitter with resentment and on the verge of radicalisation. A Girardian reading of the poetic truths contained in Dostoevsky’s work is able to provide important keys to explain the contemporary transformation from ‘fourth-wave’ religious terrorism to ‘fifth-wave’ lone-wolf terrorism. Such a reading argues that it is mimetic rivalry – rather than much-trumpeted forms of religious violence or cultural differences – that fuels the triangular relation between governments, terrorists and civilian victims at heart of terrorist acts. This approach is further able to blend social inquiry with an account of the individual, in fact anthropological, conditions of lone-wolf terrorism by tracing the globalisation of resentment and the individualisation of violence to the hyper-mimeticism characterising the globalisation of late modernity. Finally, a mimetic reading of ‘fifth-wave’ terrorism accounts for the turbulence of a global politics in which victimhood and scapegoating no longer have the ability to stabilise social order and warns against a future where violence proliferates and escalates unchecked

Methodological approaches to determining the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect

The marine radiocarbon reservoir effect is an offset in 14C age between contemporaneous organisms from the terrestrial environment and organisms that derive their carbon from the marine environment. Quantification of this effect is of crucial importance for correct calibration of the &lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;C ages of marine-influenced samples to the calendrical timescale. This is fundamental to the construction of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental chronologies when such samples are employed in &lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;C analysis. Quantitative measurements of temporal variations in regional marine reservoir ages also have the potential to be used as a measure of process changes within Earth surface systems, due to their link with climatic and oceanic changes. The various approaches to quantification of the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect are assessed, focusing particularly on the North Atlantic Ocean. Currently, the global average marine reservoir age of surface waters, R(t), is c. 400 radiocarbon years; however, regional values deviate from this as a function of climate and oceanic circulation systems. These local deviations from R(t) are expressed as +R values. Hence, polar waters exhibit greater reservoir ages (&#948;R = c. +400 to +800 &lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;C y) than equatorial waters (&#948;R = c. 0 &lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;C y). Observed temporal variations in &#948;R appear to reflect climatic and oceanographic changes. We assess three approaches to quantification of marine reservoir effects using known age samples (from museum collections), tephra isochrones (present onshore/offshore) and paired marine/terrestrial samples (from the same context in, for example, archaeological sites). The strengths and limitations of these approaches are evaluated using examples from the North Atlantic region. It is proposed that, with a suitable protocol, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurements on paired, short-lived, single entity marine and terrestrial samples from archaeological deposits is the most promising approach to constraining changes over at least the last 5 ky BP