A Collaborative International Research Program on the Coupled North Atlantic-Arctic System: Science Plan

This North Atlantic-Arctic science plan is derived from an international workshop held in April 2014 with support from the National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences and the European Union (EU). The workshop was designed to facilitate development of a core vision for advancing the next phase of research on the North Atlantic-Arctic system and strengthening international collaborations within and between the EU and North America

Unshifting the baseline: a framework for documenting historical population changes and assessing long-term anthropogenic impacts

Ecological baselines—reference states of species' distributions and abundances—are key to the scientific arguments underpinning many conservation and management interventions, as well as to the public support to such interventions. Yet societal as well as scientific perceptions of these baselines are often based on ecosystems that have been deeply transformed by human actions. Despite increased awareness about the pervasiveness and implications of this shifting baseline syndrome, ongoing global assessments of the state of biodiversity do not take into account the long-term, cumulative, anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity. Here, we propose a new framework for documenting such impacts, by classifying populations according to the extent to which they deviate from a baseline in the absence of human actions. We apply this framework to the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) to illustrate how it can be used to assess populations with different geographies and timelines of known or suspected impacts. Through other examples, we discuss how the framework can be applied to populations for which there is a wide diversity of existing knowledge, by making the best use of the available ecological, historical and archaeological data. Combined across multiple populations, this framework provides a standard for assessing cumulative anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity

Intracapsular pressures in the flexion-abduction-external rotation and flexion-adduction-internal rotation tests and their comparison with classic hip range of motion : a cadaveric assessment

Background Flexion-Abduction-External-Rotation and Flexion-Adduction-Internal-Rotation tests are used to reproduce pain at the hip during clinical assessment. As pain can be elicited by high intracapsular pressure, no information has been provided regarding intracapsular pressure during these pain provocative tests. Methods Eight hip joints from four cadaveric specimens (78.5 ± 7.9 years) were assessed using intra-osseous tunnels reaching the lateral and acetabular compartments. To simulate synovial liquid, 2.7 ml of liquid were inserted in both compartments using adaptor injectors. Optic pressure transducers were used to measure pressure variations. Pressures were compared between compartments in each test and between tests for each compartment. Both tests were compared with uniplanar movements. Findings The Flexion-Adduction-Internal-Rotation test showed a significant difference between pressure measured in the lateral (27.17 ± 42.63 mmHg) and acetabular compartment (−26.80 ± 29.26 mmHg) (P < 0.006). The pressure measured in the lateral compartment during the Flexion-Adduction-Internal-Rotation test (27.17 ± 42.63 mmHg) was significantly higher than in the Flexion-Abduction-External-Rotation test (−8.09 ± 15.09 mmHg) (P < 0.010). The pressure measured in the lateral compartment in the Flexion-Abduction-External-Rotation test was significantly lower than during internal rotation (P = 0.011) and extension (P = 0.006). Interpretation High intracapsular pressure is correlated with greater pain at the hip. Clinicians should assess pain with caution during the Flexion-Adduction-Internal-Rotation test as this test showed high intracapsular pressures in the lateral compartment. The Flexion-Abduction-External-Rotation is not influenced by high intra-capsular pressures

Diamond electrode facilitated electrosynthesis of water and wastewater treatment oxidants

While diamond electrodes have been commonly used to generate •OH to treat a variety of persistent water and wastewater micropollutants, mass transfer limitations and the non-selective, short-lived nature of the •OH restrict the degradation to the solution at, or near, the electrode surface. However, diamond electrodes can generate oxidizing species that facilitate micropollutant degradation in the bulk water solution. These include persulfate, sulfate radicals, peroxodiphosphate, ferrate, permanganate, reactive chlorine species, hydrogen peroxide, and ozone, which have been reported during electrochemical treatment of water with diamond electrodes. Although still restricted to specialized applications, recent studies, summarized in this review, have proven the electrogeneration of these additional oxidant species to be effective. They have shown the adaptability and potential of diamond electrode-based water treatment to mitigate the presence of micropollutants in water

Potential Energy Surface for H_2 Dissociation over Pd(100)

The potential energy surface (PES) of dissociative adsorption of H_2 on Pd(100) is investigated using density functional theory and the full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. Several dissociation pathways are identified which have a vanishing energy barrier. A pronounced dependence of the potential energy on ``cartwheel'' rotations of the molecular axis is found. The calculated PES shows no indication of the presence of a precursor state in front of the surface. Both results indicate that steering effects determine the observed decrease of the sticking coefficient at low energies of the H_2 molecules. We show that the topology of the PES is related to the dependence of the covalent H(s)-Pd(d) interactions on the orientation of the H_2 molecule.Comment: RevTeX, 8 pages, 5 figures in uufiles forma

Combination of surgical excision and custom designed silicon pressure splint therapy for keloids on the helical rim

Keloids are defined as dermal fibrotic lesions which are considered an aberration of the wound healing process. Their etiology and pathogenesis are poorly understood. Different treatment modalities are described in the literature depending on the morphology and size of the keloid. We report a case of a large ear keloid on the helical rim which was successfully treated with surgery and a custom designed silicon pressure clip

Normal range of motion at the hip show different pressure behavior in the lateral and acetabular compartments: a cadaveric investigation

The techniques used previously to assess intracapsular pressures did not allow the assessment of pressure variations in both compartments throughout the entire range of motion without puncturing the capsular tissue. Our hypothesis was that the intra-capsular pressure would be different in the lateral and acetabular compartment depending on the movement assessed

The Reform of Employee Compensation in China’s Industrial Enterprises

Although employee compensation reform in Chinese industrial sector has been discussed in the literature, the real changes in compensation system and pay practices have received insufficient attention and warrant further examination. This paper briefly reviews the pre- and post-reform compensation system, and reports the results of a survey of pay practices in the four major types of industrial enterprises in China. The research findings indicate that the type of enterprise ownership has little influence on general compensation practices, adoption of profit-sharing plans, and subsidy and allowance packages. In general, pay is linked more to individual performance and has become an important incentive to Chinese employees. However, differences are found across the enterprise types with regard to performance-related pay. Current pay practices are positively correlated to overall effectiveness of the enterprise