Western Pacific paleoceanography across the Early–Middle Pleistocene boundary (~773 ka, Marine Isotope Stage 19): Dinoflagellate cysts of the Chiba composite section, Japan.

The Chiba composite section, central Boso Peninsular, Japan, is a candidate Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Early–Middle Pleistocene Subseries boundary. This well-exposed, continuous and expanded marine silty sedimentary succession has a detailed paleomagnetic record and an ultra-high-resolution oxygen isotope stratigraphy supported by U-Pb zircon dating of the Byk-E tephra bed which occurs ~1 m below the Matuyama– Brunhes boundary. A detailed dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) study from late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 20 to late MIS 19 provides information on paleoceanographic changes in the Western Pacific Ocean between 791 and 770 ka. During Termination IX, a decrease in heterotrophic species (e.g. Brigantidinium spp., Selenopemphix nephroides) and corresponding increase in warm-water autotrophs (e.g. Spiniferites hyperacanthus/mirabilis, Spiniferites sp. 2) indicate a progressive decline in productivity corresponding to deglaciation and a transition from cold nutrient-rich waters of MIS 20 to warm conditions in MIS 19. This gradual warming is interrupted by a sudden but brief cooling at 790 ka which is also reflected in the MAT-based dinocyst sea-surface temperature (SST) for February and August. The dinocyst record shows a gradational response to the onset of MIS 19c. Abundant warm-water autotrophic dinocysts during MIS 19c reflects warm conditions and a northward shift of the warm Kuroshio current from 786 to 773 ka. The end of MIS 19c is marked by a sharp decrease in species richness and evenness, an abrupt and sustained rise to dominance of Protoceratium reticulatum, and a corresponding increase in dinocyst concentrations, indicating an increase in productivity and presaging the onset of the MIS 18 glaciation. Pollen and spore concentrations show a strong terrestrial influence during MIS 19. During the peak of MIS 19, Tsuga has low abundance while angiosperm pollen (deciduous broadleaved trees) increase significantly, which is similar to vegetation presently dominant in the northeastern part of the Japanese archipelago

Wakeful rest benefits recall, but not recognition, of incidentally encoded memory stimuli in younger and older adults

Older adults exhibit deficits in episodic memory tasks, which have often been attributed to encoding or retrieval deficits, with little attention to consolidation mechanisms. More recently, researchers have attempted to measure consolidation in the context of a behavioral experiment using the wakeful rest paradigm (i.e., a brief, quiet period of minimal stimulation, which facilitates memory performance, compared to a distractor task). Critically, older adults might not produce this effect, given established age differences in other episodic memory processes and mind-wandering. In three experiments, we directly compared younger and older adults in modified versions of the wakeful rest paradigm. Critically, we utilized incidental encoding procedures (all experiments) and abstract shape stimuli (in Experiment 3) to limit the possibility of retrieval practice or maintenance rehearsal as potential confounding mechanisms in producing the wakeful rest effect. Wakeful rest reliably and equally benefited recall of incidentally encoded words in both younger and older adults. In contrast, wakeful rest had no benefit for standard accuracy measures of recognition performance in verbal stimuli, although there was an effect in response latencies for non-verbal stimuli. Overall, these results suggest that the benefits of wakeful rest on episodic retrieval are preserved across age groups, and hence support age-independence in potential consolidation mechanisms as measured by wakeful rest. Further, these benefits do not appear to be dependent on the intentionality of encoding or variations in distractor task types. Finally, the lack of wakeful rest benefits on recognition performance might be driven by theoretical constraints on the effect or methodological limitations of recognition memory testing in the current paradigm

Contextual diversity, not word frequency, determines word-naming and lexical decision times

Word frequency is an important predictor of word-naming and lexical decision times. It is, however, confounded with contextual diversity, the number of contexts in which a word has been seen. In a study using a normative, corpus-based measure of contextual diversity, word-frequency effects were eliminated when effects of contextual diversity were taken into account (but not vice versa) across three naming and three lexical decision data sets; the same pattern of results was obtained regardless of which of three corpora was used to derive the frequency and contextual-diversity values. The results are incompatible with existing models of visual word recognition, which attribute frequency effects directly to frequency, and are particularly problematic for accounts in which frequency effects reflect learning. We argue that the results reflect the importance of likely need in memory processes, and that the continuity between reading and memory suggests using principles from memory research to inform theories of reading

The use of Bluetooth Beacons in Maritime Emergencies Mobile safety and security - DigLogs pilot project by University of Trieste

The aim of this paper is to research and describe how the use of mobile technologies can help in reducing the time required for the ship evacuation and abandonment procedures, as it was identified within the scope of 2014 - 2020 Interreg V-A Italy - Croatia CBC Programme \u201cDigitalising Logistics processes - DIGLOGS\u201d project. Furthermore, main findings and opportunities for proving technical feasibility will be identified and presented along with a carefully selected and envisaged test scenario chosen to compare the standard evacuation time with the one related to the adoption of the mobile technologies, the final goal being the streamlined evacuation procedures, and the increase of the ship's security and target group stakeholders' satisfaction

Ocorrência de bactérias diazotróficas e fungos micorrízicos arbusculares na cultura da mandioca

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a ocorrência, isolar e identificar fungos micorrízicos arbusculares associados à cultura da mandioca (Manihot esculenta). Amostras de solo rizosférico e de várias partes da planta (raízes, tubérculos, manivas e folhas) de locais nos Estados do Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo e Paraná, foram inoculadas nos meios LGI-P, NFb-malato e NFb-GOC, avaliando-se o número mais provável de células e a atividade de redução de acetileno. Bactérias diazotróficas foram isoladas de todas as partes da planta, com exceção das folhas, sendo identificadas como Klebsiella sp., Azospirillum lipoferum e uma bactéria denominada "E", provavelmente pertencente ao gênero Burkholderia. A Bactéria E acumulou de 7,63 mg a 14,84 mg de N/g de C em meio semi-sólido, isento de N, e conseguiu manter a capacidade de fixação biológica de N, mesmo após uma dezena de repicagens consecutivas. A colonização micorrízica variou de 31% a 69%, e a densidade de esporos de 10 a 384 esporos/100 mL de solo, predominando as espécies Entrophospora colombiana e Acaulospora scrobiculata no Rio de Janeiro, A. scrobiculata e Scutellospora heterogama no Paraná e em Piracicaba (São Paulo) e A. appendicula e S. pellucida em Campinas (São Paulo)

C, N AND P STOCKS AND FLUX THROUGH THE MICROBIAL BIOMASS UNDER DIFFERENT SOIL MANAGEMENT

Abstract - The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different crop systems on soil microbial properties and C, N and P stock after 22 years of cropping on an Oxisol (Typic Haplorthox) at Londrina, Brazil. Soil samples were taken at 0-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm depths and evaluated for microbial biomass C, N and P. The cultivated sites presented lower microbial biomass and C and N stock than Forest site. While the total P stock presented under crop sites were higher than Forest site. The annual N and P flux through the soil microbial biomass means respectively about 65% and 45% for Coffee, about 50% and 70% for maize and 65% and 60% for wheat of the annual N e P needs. Those results evidence that the microbial biomass represents a substantial reserve of nutrients in the soil and may contribute substantially to the nutrients requirements of crops

Importância do sistema de semeadura direta na população microbiana do solo.

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