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Unprecedented and dramatic transformations are occurring in the Arctic in response to climate change, but academic, public, and political discourse has disproportionately focussed on the most visible and direct aspects of change, including sea ice melt, permafrost thaw, the fate of charismatic megafauna, and the expansion of fisheries. Such narratives disregard the importance of less visible and indirect processes and, in particular, miss the substantive contribution of the shelf seafloor in regulating nutrients and sequestering carbon. Here, we summarise the biogeochemical functioning of the Arctic shelf seafloor before considering how climate change and regional adjustments to human activities may alter its biogeochemical and ecological dynamics, including ecosystem function, carbon burial, or nutrient recycling. We highlight the importance of the Arctic benthic system in mitigating climatic and anthropogenic change and, with a focus on the Barents Sea, offer some observations and our perspectives on future management and policy.

Microplastics are contaminants of emerging concern, not least due to their global presence in marine surface waters. Unsurprisingly, microplastics have been reported in salts harvested from numerous locations. We extracted microplastics from 13 European sea salts through 30% H2O2 digestion and filtration over 5-µm filters. Filters were visually inspected at magnifications to x100. A subsample of potential microplastics was subjected to Raman spectroscopy. Particle mass was estimated, and human dose exposure calculated. After blank corrections, median concentrations were 466±152 microplastics kg-1 ranging from 74-1,155 items kg-1. Traditionally harvested salts contained fewer microplastics than most industrially harvested ones (t-test, p < 0.01). Approximately 14 µg of microplastics (< 12 particles) may be absorbed by the human body annually, of which a quarter may derive from a consumer choosing sea salt. We reviewed existing studies, showing that targeting different particle sizes and incomplete filtrations hinder interstudy comparison, indicating the importance of method harmonisation for future studies. Excess salt consumption is detrimental to human health; the hazardousness of ingesting microplastics on the other hand has yet to be shown. A portion of microplastics may enter sea salts through production processes rather than source materials.

Climate-driven changes in disturbance are a major threat to ecosystem Functional diversity. The selective mechanisms underlying ecosystem response to disturbance are far from universal and remain the subject of scientific debate. Ice scouring of the shallow Antarctic benthos is one of the largest disturbance gradients in the natural environment and thus provides an opportunity to investigate how disturbance gradients influence functional structure of a biological assemblage. The Western Antarctic Peninsula, in particular, is a hotspot of climate-driven environmental change. Addressing how this system might respond to species loss is critical. Previous surveys across the shallowest 100 m of the seabed, detected unimodal changes in diversity and a shift in assemblage composition in response to disturbance gradients. This study investigated how functional traits and associated functional diversity change across the depth gradient. Our results revealed that selective mechanisms, such as disturbance filtering and inter-species competition, reduce functional redundancy at the extremes of the disturbance gradient. Our study highlights areas of potential vulnerability to future environmental change due to low functional redundancy. Threatening the important negative (mitigating) feedbacks on climate change, through blue carbon, currently provided by Antarctic continental shelf benthic assemblages.

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals experience a variety of disparities regarding healthcare and healthcare access. While many of these disparities are interpersonal, such as discrimination and experiences of violence at the hands of medical providers, there are also systemic issues that contribute to these inequities. One such issue is that of finding and accessing providers who are knowledgeable about trans-related care. This study examines how far TGD people are traveling to access providers with more trans-related health knowledge and explores gender differences regarding distance traveled. Data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey are used, with an analytic sample of N = 5,639. Findings from the chi-square tests of independence and logistic regressions indicate there is a relationship between highly knowledgeable care and distance traveled, such that certain groups of TGD individuals (across race, income level, and educational achievement) are taking on the burden of having to travel further in order to access the most knowledgeable healthcare providers, with few significant differences across genders. Overall, 34.5% of TGD individuals have to travel over 25 miles to access providers knowledgeable about trans-related care. While much of the discussion about increasing trans-affirming healthcare has centered on reducing interpersonal issues, the hardship potentially caused by traveling further to get knowledgeable care should certainly be part of this conversation.

Ecosystems and their biota operate on cyclic rhythms, often entrained by predictable, small-scale changes in their natural environment. Recording and understanding these rhythms can detangle the effect of human induced shifts in the climate state from natural fluctuations. In this study, we assess long-term patterns of reproductive investment in the Antarctic sea urchin, Sterechinus neumayeri, in relation to changes in the environment to identify drivers of reproductive processes. Polar marine biota are sensitive to small changes in their environment and so serve as a barometer whose responses likely mirror effects that will be seen on a wider global scale in future climate change scenarios. Our results indicate that seasonal reproductive periodicity in the urchin is underpinned by a multiyear trend in reproductive investment beyond and in addition to, the previously reported 18–24 month gametogenic cycle. Our model provides evidence that annual reproductive investment could be regulated by an endogenous rhythm since environmental factors only accounted for a small proportion of the residual variation in gonad index. This research highlights a need for multiyear datasets and the combination of biological time series data with large-scale climate metrics that encapsulate multi-factorial climate state shifts, rather than using single explanatory variables to inform changes in biological processes.

We present details of a high-accuracy absolute scalar magnetometer based on pulsed proton NMR. The B-field magnitude is determined from the precession frequency of proton spins in a cylindrical sample of water after accounting for field perturbations from probe materials, sample shape, and other corrections. Features of the design, testing procedures, and corrections necessary for qualification as an absolute scalar magnetometer are described. The device was tested at B = 1.45 T but can be modified for a range exceeding 1–3 T. The magnetometer was used to calibrate other NMR magnetometers and measure absolute magnetic field magnitudes to an accuracy of 19 parts per billion as part of a measurement of the muon magnetic moment anomaly at Fermilab.

The Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) has measured the muon anomalous precession frequency $\omega_a$ to an uncertainty of 434 parts per billion (ppb), statistical, and 56 ppb, systematic, with data collected in four storage ring configurations during its first physics run in 2018. When combined with a precision measurement of the magnetic field of the experiment's muon storage ring, the precession frequency measurement determines a muon magnetic anomaly of $a_{\mu}({\rm FNAL}) = 116\,592\,040(54) \times 10^{-11}$ (0.46 ppm). This article describes the multiple techniques employed in the reconstruction, analysis and fitting of the data to measure the precession frequency. It also presents the averaging of the results from the eleven separate determinations of \omega_a, and the systematic uncertainties on the result., Comment: 29 pages, 19 figures. Published in Physical Review D

Pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is widely used in high-precision magnetic field measurements. The absolute value of the magnetic field is determined from the precession frequency of nuclear magnetic moments. The Hilbert transform is one of the methods that have been used to extract the phase function from the observed free induction decay (FID) signal and then its frequency. In this paper, a detailed implementation of a Hilbert-transform based FID frequency extraction method is described, and it is briefly compared with other commonly used frequency extraction methods. How artifacts and noise level in the FID signal affect the extracted phase function are derived analytically. A method of mitigating the artifacts in the extracted phase function of an FID is discussed. Correlations between noises of the phase function samples are studied for different noise spectra. We discovered that the error covariance matrix for the extracted phase function is nearly singular and improper for constructing the χ 2 used in the fitting routine. A down-sampling method for fixing the singular covariance matrix has been developed, so that the minimum χ 2 -fit yields properly the statistical uncertainty of the extracted frequency. Other practical methods of obtaining the statistical uncertainty are also discussed.

Despite being the first homolog of the bacterial RecQ helicase to be identified in humans, the function of RECQL1 remains poorly characterized. Furthermore, unlike other members of the human RECQ family of helicases, mutations in RECQL1 have not been associated with a genetic disease. Here, we identify 2 families with a genome instability disorder that we have named RECON (RECql ONe) syndrome, caused by biallelic mutations in the RECQL gene. The affected individuals had short stature, progeroid facial features, a hypoplastic nose, xeroderma, and skin photosensitivity and were homozygous for the same missense mutation in RECQL1 (p.Ala459Ser), located within its zinc binding domain. Biochemical analysis of the mutant RECQL1 protein revealed that the p.A459S missense mutation compromised its ATPase, helicase, and fork restoration activity, while its capacity to promote single-strand DNA annealing was largely unaffected. At the cellular level, this mutation in RECQL1 gave rise to a defect in the ability to repair DNA damage induced by exposure to topoisomerase poisons and a failure of DNA replication to progress efficiently in the presence of abortive topoisomerase lesions. Taken together, RECQL1 is the fourth member of the RecQ family of helicases to be associated with a human genome instability disorder.

The Muon g−2 Experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) has measured the muon anomalous precession frequency ωma to an uncertainty of 434 parts per billion (ppb), statistical, and 56 ppb, systematic, with data collected in four storage ring configurations during its first physics run in 2018. When combined with a precision measurement of the magnetic field of the experiment’s muon storage ring, the precession frequency measurement determines a muon magnetic anomaly of aμ(FNAL)=116592040(54)×10−11 (0.46 ppm). This article describes the multiple techniques employed in the reconstruction, analysis, and fitting of the data to measure the precession frequency. It also presents the averaging of the results from the 11 separate determinations of ωma, and the systematic uncertainties on the result.

The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory has measured the anomalous precession frequency $a^{}_\mu = (g^{}_\mu-2)/2$ of the muon to a combined precision of 0.46 parts per million with data collected during its first physics run in 2018. This paper documents the measurement of the magnetic field in the muon storage ring. The magnetic field is monitored by nuclear magnetic resonance systems and calibrated in terms of the equivalent proton spin precession frequency in a spherical water sample at 34.7$^\circ$C. The measured field is weighted by the muon distribution resulting in $\tilde{\omega}'^{}_p$, the denominator in the ratio $\omega^{}_a$/$\tilde{\omega}'^{}_p$ that together with known fundamental constants yields $a^{}_\mu$. The reported uncertainty on $\tilde{\omega}'^{}_p$ for the Run-1 data set is 114 ppb consisting of uncertainty contributions from frequency extraction, calibration, mapping, tracking, and averaging of 56 ppb, and contributions from fast transient fields of 99 ppb., Comment: Added one citation and corrected missing normalization in Eqs (35) and (36)

This paper presents the beam dynamics systematic corrections and their uncertainties for the Run-1 data set of the Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment. Two corrections to the measured muon precession frequency $\omega_a^m$ are associated with well-known effects owing to the use of electrostatic quadrupole (ESQ) vertical focusing in the storage ring. An average vertically oriented motional magnetic field is felt by relativistic muons passing transversely through the radial electric field components created by the ESQ system. The correction depends on the stored momentum distribution and the tunes of the ring, which has relatively weak vertical focusing. Vertical betatron motions imply that the muons do not orbit the ring in a plane exactly orthogonal to the vertical magnetic field direction. A correction is necessary to account for an average pitch angle associated with their trajectories. A third small correction is necessary because muons that escape the ring during the storage time are slightly biased in initial spin phase compared to the parent distribution. Finally, because two high-voltage resistors in the ESQ network had longer than designed RC time constants, the vertical and horizontal centroids and envelopes of the stored muon beam drifted slightly, but coherently, during each storage ring fill. This led to the discovery of an important phase-acceptance relationship that requires a correction. The sum of the corrections to $\omega_a^m$ is 0.50 $\pm$ 0.09 ppm; the uncertainty is small compared to the 0.43 ppm statistical precision of $\omega_a^m$., Comment: 35 pages, 29 figures. Accepted by Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams

Climate‐induced changes in the ocean and sea ice environment of the Arctic are beginning to generate major and rapid changes in Arctic ecosystems, but the effects of directional forcing on the persistence and distribution of species remain poorly understood. Here, we examine the reproductive traits and population dynamics of the bivalve Astarte crenata and sea star Ctenodiscus crispatus across a north–south transect that intersects the polar front in the Barents Sea. Both species present large oocytes indicative of short pelagic or direct development that do not differ in size–frequency between 74.5 and 81.3º latitude. However, despite gametogenic maturity, we found low frequencies of certain size classes within populations that may indicate periodic recruitment failure. We suggest that recruitment of A. crenata could occur periodically when conditions are favorable, while populations of C. crispatus are characterized by episodic recruitment failures. Pyloric caeca indices in C. crispatus show that food uptake is greatest at, and north of, the polar front, providing credence to the view that interannual variations in the quantity and quality of primary production and its flux to the seafloor, linked to the variable extent and thickness of sea ice, are likely to be strong determinants of physiological fitness. Our findings provide evidence that the distribution and long‐term survival of species is not only a simple function of adaptive capacity to specific environmental changes, but will also be contingent on the frequency and occurrence of years where environmental conditions support reproduction and settlement., Using functionally important sea star and bivalve species from the high Arctic seafloor, we examine reproduction and population dynamics across a north–south transect intersecting the polar front and show that there is no difference in reproductive traits across the polar front. However, population dynamics suggest recruitment may be episodic. Our analyses reveal that long‐term viability of species is contingent on the occurrence of years where environmental conditions support reproduction and settlement.

Arctic marine ecosystems are undergoing rapid correction in response to multiple expressions of climate change, but the consequences of altered biodiversity for the sequestration, transformation and storage of nutrients are poorly constrained. Here, we determine the bioturbation activity of sediment-dwelling invertebrate communities over two consecutive summers that contrasted in sea-ice extent along a transect intersecting the polar front. We find a clear separation in community composition at the polar front that marks a transition in the type and amount of bioturbation activity, and associated nutrient concentrations, sufficient to distinguish a southern high from a northern low. While patterns in community structure reflect proximity to arctic versus boreal conditions, our observations strongly suggest that faunal activity is moderated by seasonal variations in sea ice extent that influence food supply to the benthos. Our observations help visualize how a climate-driven reorganization of the Barents Sea benthic ecosystem may be expressed, and emphasize the rapidity with which an entire region could experience a functional transformation. As strong benthic-pelagic coupling is typical across most parts of the Arctic shelf, the response of these ecosystems to a changing climate will have important ramifications for ecosystem functioning and the trophic structure of the entire food web. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The changing Arctic Ocean: consequences for biological communities, biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning'.

The E989 Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab aims to measure the anomalous magnetic moment, a$_\mu$, of the muon with a precision of 140 parts-per-billion. This requires a precise measurement of both the anomalous spin precession frequency, $\omega_a$, and the average magnetic field in terms of the equivalent, free proton Larmor frequency, $\omega_p$. The measurement of $\omega_p$ with a total systematic uncertainty of 70 parts-per-billion involves a combination of various NMR probes. There are 378 probes in fixed locations constantly monitoring field drifts. A water-based probe provides the calibration in terms of $\omega_p$. A crucial element for the multi-step measurement of $\omega_p$ is the regular mapping of the magnetic field over the muon storage region. The former E821 experiment at Brookhaven employed an in-vacuum field mapping system equipped with 17 NMR probes, which was developed by the University of Heidelberg. We have refurbished and upgraded this system with new probes and electronics. The upgrades include a new communication scheme incorporating time-division multiplexing to separate the important NMR reference clock from the data communication. The addition digitization of the NMR signals replaced the hardware-implemented zero-crossing counting of the E821 system. The digitized signals offer new capabilities in the NMR frequency analysis and its related systematic uncertainties. While the mechanical systems that move the field mapper around the ring have been mostly refurbished, the motion control system was completely replaced with a custom-built electronics centered around a commercial Galil motion controller. Both the field mapping NMR system and its motion control were successfully commissioned at Fermilab and have been in reliable operation during the first data taking periods. This article provides details of the upgrades of the field mapper and its performance.

Decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure in all major basins globally has focused attention on its importance as hard substratum on continental shelf and slope habitats. Observational studies are needed to improve understanding of faunal assemblages supported by offshore infrastructure and better predict the effect of removal. Here we present results from visual inspection and physical sampling of a small oil and gas industry structure decommissioned from an oil field in the North East Atlantic. This is supported by observations of similar structures nearby and by photographs of the surrounding seabed from environmental baseline surveys. The structure supported a reasonably high biomass and diversity of invertebrates (>10 kg and > 39 macrofaunal and 17 megafaunal species) and fishes (>20 kg biomass and > 4 species). The invertebrate megafaunal species present on the structure were a sub-set of the hard substratum fauna observed on surrounding seabed. Porifera were absent from the structure. Biological succession in the first two years occurred as follows. Sparse colonies of the hydroid Obelia sp. stet were early colonisers then subsequent development of thick hydroid turf (Obelia sp. stet. and Halecium sp. stet.) supported a diverse invertebrate assemblage (2654 individuals kg wet mass-1) dominated by saddle oysters (Pododesmus squama (Gmelin, 1791) and Heteranomia sp. stet.)) and scale worms (Hormothoe spp.). Percentage cover of hydroid turf varied significantly over the structure, with most growth on sections exposed to strongest currents. Commercially important fish species present around the structure included Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod), Pollachius virens (saithe) and Lophius piscatorius (monkfish). Studies of artificial structures such as this provide much needed data to understand their role in the ecology of seafloor habitats and inform environmental decision making on all stages of industry from exploration to decommissioning. We show that the ecological role of the decommissioned three-dimensional structures was to enhance the biomass of a sub-set of epifaunal invertebrates found in the area. This supported diverse associated macrofaunal organisms, providing a food source for motile invertebrates and fishes in an area where background hard substratum can be lost through the impacts of drilling.

Summary Data assimilation methods and multi-realisation geomodelling workflow have been applied to history match a heavily faulted turbidic reservoir. With this approach it was possible to take into account a large number of uncertainties related to seismic data interpretation, geological modelling and dynamic data.

The accepted paradigm for reproduction in Antarctic marine species is one where oogenesis takes 18 months to 2 years, and a bimodal egg-size distribution where two cohorts of eggs are present in female gonads throughout the year. These slow gametogenic traits are driven by low temperature and/or the restriction of resource availability because of extreme seasonality in the marine environment. Here we present data on the reproductive ecology of the common Antarctic bivalve Aequiyoldia eightsii (Jay, 1839) (Protobranchia: Sarepidae) from monthly samples collected between January 2013 and May 2014 at Hangar Cove, Rothera Point on the West Antarctic Peninsula. These data show that A. eightsii is unusual because it does not follow the typical pattern expected for reproduction in Antarctic marine invertebrates, and differs also from closely related nuculanid protobranch bivalves with respect to gametogenic duration and reproductive periodicity. Continuous oogenesis, evidenced by the year-round occurrence of previtellogenic, vitellogenic, and ripe oocytes in female gonads, is supplemented by a seasonal increase in reproductive intensity and spawning in Austral winter (April–May), evidenced by the loss of maturespermatozoa and ripe oocytes from males and females, respectively. The simultaneous occurrence of these contrasting traits in individuals is attributed to a flexible feeding strategy (suspension and deposit feeding) in response to seasonal changes in food supply characteristic of the Antarctic marine environment. Asynchrony between individual females is also notable. Wehypothesise that the variability may represent a trade-off between somatic and reproductive growth, and previously reported internal interannual cycles in shell growth.

We report the first measurement of monoenergetic muon neutrino charged current interactions. MiniBooNE has isolated 236 MeV muon neutrino events originating from charged kaon decay at rest ($K^+ \rightarrow \mu^+ \nu_\mu$) at the NuMI beamline absorber. These signal $\nu_\mu$-carbon events are distinguished from primarily pion decay in flight $\nu_\mu$ and $\overline{\nu}_\mu$ backgrounds produced at the target station and decay pipe using their arrival time and reconstructed muon energy. The significance of the signal observation is at the 3.9$\sigma$ level. The muon kinetic energy, neutrino-nucleus energy transfer ($\omega=E_\nu-E_\mu$), and total cross section for these events is extracted. This result is the first known-energy, weak-interaction-only probe of the nucleus to yield a measurement of $\omega$ using neutrinos, a quantity thus far only accessible through electron scattering., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from an analysis of $\nu_e$ appearance data from $12.84 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target in neutrino mode, an increase of approximately a factor of two over previously reported results. A $\nu_e$ charged-current quasielastic event excess of $381.2 \pm 85.2$ events ($4.5 \sigma$) is observed in the energy range $200, Comment: Improved some of the figures and improved the correlation between neutrino and antineutrino data

The MiniBooNE-DM collaboration searched for vector-boson mediated production of dark matter using the Fermilab 8 GeV Booster proton beam in a dedicated run with $1.86 \times 10^{20}$ protons delivered to a steel beam dump. The MiniBooNE detector, 490~m downstream, is sensitive to dark matter via elastic scattering with nucleons in the detector mineral oil. Analysis methods developed for previous MiniBooNE scattering results were employed, and several constraining data sets were simultaneously analyzed to minimize systematic errors from neutrino flux and interaction rates. No excess of events over background was observed, leading to a 90\% confidence limit on the dark-matter cross section parameter, $Y=\epsilon^2\alpha_D(m_\chi/m_V)^4 \lesssim10^{-8}$, for $\alpha_D=0.5$ and for dark-matter masses of $0.01, Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, Version consistent with final PRL

To compare the efficacy of a double-balloon catheter versus vaginal prostaglandin E2 (dinoprostone) for cervical ripening in obese patients with unfavorable cervix at term.The study had an open-label, prospective combined with retrospective, observational design. From January 2013 until May 2016, a prospective cohort study of 46 women with pre-pregnancy BMI30kg/mAfter 24h, there was a significantly higher rate of women with favorable cervix (Bishop score ≥6) in the double-balloon group than in dinoprostone group (80.4% vs 47.8%; P=0.001). After adjustment, a double-balloon catheter was significantly associated with an efficient cervical ripening compared to vaginal dinoprostone (aOR 7.81, 95% CI 2.58-23.60). No difference was observed in cesarean section rate (39.1% in each group; P=0.96) and in mean induction time to vaginal delivery (34.5h in the balloon group vs 36.5h in the dinoprostone group; P=0.53). Maternal and neonatal outcomes were similar.For obese patients at term, cervical ripening using a double-balloon catheter is more efficient on Bishop score after 24h compared to vaginal dinoprostone.

Medusae can be conspicuous and abundant members of seafloor communities in deep-sea benthic boundary layers. The epibenthic trachymedusa, Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa: Trachylina: Ptychogastriidae) occurs in the cold, high latitude systems of both the northern and southern hemispheres, with a circumpolar distribution in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas, and disjunct reports of a few individuals from Antarctica. In January-February 2010, during benthic megafaunal photosurveys in three subpolar fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula (Andvord, Flandres and Barilari Bays), P. polaris was recorded in Antarctic Peninsula waters. The trachymedusa, identified from megacore-collected specimens, was a common component of the epifauna in the sediment floored basins at 436–725 m depths in Andvord and Flandres Bays, reaching densities up to 13 m-2, with mean densities in individual basins ranging from 0.06 to 4.19 m-2. These densities are 2 to 400-fold higher than previously reported for P. polaris in either the Arctic or Antarctic. This trachymedusa had an aggregated distribution, occurring frequently in Andvord Bay, but was often solitary in Flandres Bay, with a distribution not significantly different from random. Epibenthic individuals were similar in size, typically measuring 15–25 mm in bell diameter. A morphologically similar trachymedusa, presumably the same species, was also observed in the water column near the bottom in all three fjords. This benthopelagic form attained abundances of up to 7 m-2 of seafloor; however, most P. polaris (~ 80%), were observed on soft sediments. Our findings indicate that fjords provide a prime habitat for the development of dense populations of P. polaris, potentially resulting from high and varied food inputs to the fjord floors. Because P. polaris resides in the water column and at the seafloor, large P. polaris populations may contribute significantly to pelagic-benthic coupling in the WAP fjord ecosystems.

Over the last decade, there has been enormous effort to measure neutrino interaction cross sections important to oscillation experiments. However, a number of results from modern experiments appear to be in tension with each other, despite purporting to measure the same processes. The TENSIONS2016 workshop was held at University of Pittsburgh July 24-31, 2016 and was sponsored by the Pittsburgh High Energy Physics, Astronomy, and Cosmology Center (PITT-PACC). The focus was on bringing experimentalists from three experiments together to compare results in detail and try to find the source of tension by clarifying and comparing signal definitions and the analysis strategies used for each measurement. A set of comparisons between the measurements using a consistent set of models was also made. This paper summarizes the main conclusions of that work., 35 pages, 20 figures

The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) shelf is deep and detritus-based (i.e., it is fueled by organic material sinking from intense seasonal cycles of primary production in the water column), leading to pelagic-benthic coupling. The WAP is warming rapidly, yielding increases in seawater temperatures and reductions in sea ice that may fundamentally alter pelagic-benthic coupling and shelf benthic ecosystems. RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer and ARSV Laurence M. Gould have provided year-round access to the WAP sea ice zone, facilitating studies of pelagic-benthic coupling and climate change. In the Food for Benthos along the Antarctic Continental Shelf (FOODBANCS) Project, we conducted a 15-month field program to evaluate benthic ecosystem function across the mid-WAP shelf, testing the hypothesis that "phytodetrital material deposited from the summer bloom provides a sustained source of food for benthic detritivores during winter months, when organic-matter flux from the water column is extremely low." We found that the intense seasonality in primary production and food availability in the WAP water column is heavily dampened at the shelf floor by the presence of a "food bank" that sustains benthic ecosystem functions (including sediment-community respiration, deposit feeding, vitellogenesis, spawning, and recruitment of benthos) over the winter; this food bank also influences community structure and life-history strategies of the WAP benthos. The persistence of the food bank may be mediated by low bottom-water temperatures, with the consequence that climate warming might reduce food availability in shelf communities. During the FOODBANCS2 Project, we studied the benthic ecosystem response to the strong latitudinal sea ice gradient along the WAP to explore the ecosystem consequences of sea ice loss from climate change. We found that some aspects of benthic ecosystem structure (e.g., macrofaunal dominance by the polychaete Aurospio foodbancsia) covaried with sea ice duration and are likely to be sensitive to sea ice loss. Other benthic parameters (e.g., the standing crop of macro- and megabenthos) exhibited nonlinear responses, with evidence of resilience along much of the sea ice gradient and abrupt change near one end. Still other benthic parameters (e.g., sediment community respiration) changed very little with sea ice duration. We also found that climate warming is facilitating invasion of the WAP shelf by predacious king crabs, with dramatic reduction in benthic biodiversity and altered ecosystem function. In summary, some important benthic ecosystem parameters along the WAP may be resilient to climate-induced changes in pelagic-benthic coupling, while many others may be highly sensitive, responding nonlinearly to sea ice loss. Incorporation of climate change effects into WAP benthic ecosystem models, including the effects of invasive species, will be challenging until mechanisms, nonlinearities, synergies, and tipping points of climate change effects are better understood. - See more at: http://www.tos.org/oceanography/archive/25-3_smith_c.html#sthash.YDijuDU5.dpuf

Background IMM-101 is a heat-killed innate and adaptive immune-activating mycobacterial product; a phase I study aimed to determine its safety and tolerability in individuals with melanoma. Patients and methods An intra-patient placebo-controlled study evaluated the safety and tolerability of three doses, namely, 0.1 (1 mg/ml), 0.5 (5 mg/ml) and 1.0 mg (10 mg/ml) of IMM-101 in stage III or IV melanoma. Each dose was administered in ascending order to one of the three cohorts. Results Based on observations from patients administered the 0.1-mg dose, it was considered appropriate to proceed with dosing the patients in the 0.5-mg dose cohort and then the 1.0-mg cohort (n = 6 per cohort). Treatment-emergent adverse events that would be considered typical of a post-vaccination state (including joint pains/aches, headaches and influenza-like symptoms) occurred at all dose levels, along with injection site reactions. These were mainly mild in intensity, resolved in a matter of days and responded well to supportive care. During post-study follow-up, two clinical responses (15%) were observed in patients with stage IV disease. Conclusion IMM-101 is safe and well tolerated and there is a rationale for studying IMM-101 at a nominal 1.0-mg dose to complement conventional cytotoxic therapy for patients with advanced cancer.

Waters around the Antarctic Peninsula are experiencing one of the fastest rates of warming seen anywhere on Earth in the sea in recent times. Species inhabiting nearshore seabed sites in Antarctica have a long history in near freezing temperatures and have poor physiological capacities to cope with change. Reproductive success is a vital characteristic in species survival and evaluation of how reproductive processes vary with time is key to identifying vulnerable species and evaluating the effects of ocean warming. The long-term gametogenic development of the nemertean Parborlasia corrugatus (McIntosh, 1876) was analysed from monthly samples collected between July 1997 and November 2000 from a shallow water site adjacent to the British Antarctic Survey Rothera Research Station (Western Antarctic Peninsula). Spermatogenesis, oocyte size and reproductive condition are described for each month using histological and image analysis techniques. Male and female reproductive condition varied seasonally, with a reduction in the proportion of large oocytes and mature sperm in the gonad during the late austral summer (December–March). We identify three key characteristics in the reproductive ecology of P. corrugatus (1) the timing of reproduction was consistent in the late austral summer of each year and synchronous between males and females (2) oogenesis progressed over a discrete 15–16 month period with a single generation of oocytes in the ovary during most stages of gametogenic development and (3) notable differences in reproductive condition were not apparent from year to year. The majority of long-term studies on reproductive ecology of marine invertebrates at high latitudes, with the exception of one or two species, revealed that 18–24 months are required for gametogenesis compared to 6–12 months in temperate species and there is extreme inter-annual variation in reproductive output. P. corrugatus differs from this in requiring only 15 months for gametogenesis, and has little or no variation between years. This may be because of its predatory lifestyle and that coupling between its gametogenic development and timing, and larval abundance and nutrition with phytoplankton productivity is much less than in the previously studied Antarctic marine herbivores and omnivores. However, the timing of larval settlement and peak juvenile abundance in P. corrugatus does suggest coupling with seasonal productivity through the nemertean's larval and juvenile ecology.

This study reports the first multi-year observations on the reproductive patterns for an Antarctic predator/scavenger, Odontaster validus (Koehler 1912). Seastars were collected monthly from a shallow site (15–20 m depth) near the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Rothera Research Station (Adelaide Island, 67°34′S 68°08′W) from July 1997 to January 2001. Reproductive condition, oocyte size frequencies and spermatogenesis were examined in at least ten seastars each month using histological and image analysis techniques. Gonad indices (GI) and pyloric caeca indices (PI) were also examined in the same samples. Female and male GIs varied seasonally, in parallel with a reduction in the proportion of large oocytes and mature sperm in the gonad in August to mid-October following winter spawning. Despite there being remarkable consistency in the timing of spawning from year to year, differences in the reproductive condition of individuals were apparent. Patterns in the digestive tissues also varied with season, peaking in December and reaching a minimum in February in two of the three study years. This weaker annual pattern may partly reflect the varied diet of this predator/scavenger species, which is not directly dependant on the timing and magnitude of the annual phytoplankton bloom. Pooled oocyte size distributions and residual analysis suggested that oogenesis progressed over 18–24 months, with the largest of the two size classes (maximum diameter = 183 μm) being spawned annually. This pattern of oocyte growth and spawning was previously reported in the early 1960s for an O. validus population from McMurdo Sound, which lies south of Rothera by 10° latitude. The extremely catholic diet of this predator/scavenger suggests the reproductive patterns of the seastar will be less susceptible to changes in food supply compared to polar suspension feeders or deposit feeders.

During recent decades, mechanical devices have been substituted by pharmacological methods. Their place in the therapeutic arsenal remains important with a renewed obstetrical interest for these devices. Due to a lack of data they are still not recommended as first-line. This review thus attempted to examine the use of expansion dilatation balloons (Foley catheter and double-balloons) to analyze their effectiveness in case of native uterus and previous cesarean section. Twenty-seven clinical trials had compared balloons catheter and prostaglandins in patients without a history of uterine scar. The risk of cesarean section did not differ. Mechanical methods seemed to be more effective in achieving delivery within 24hours, with fewer episodes of excessive uterine contractions, but they necessitated more oxytocin during labor. Ten clinical trials analyzed dilatation balloons in patients with previous cesarean section. More than 70% women had favorable cervical ripening (Bishop score6), and vaginal delivery was reported between 35 and 70% of patients. The risk of uterine rupture was low between 0.64 and 0.72%, with neither increased risk of severe neonatal and maternal morbidity nor increased risk of infectious morbidity. Mechanical methods are effective and safe for third trimester cervical ripening, mainly in women with previous cesarean section. Potential advantages may include wide availability and reduction of some of the side effects.

The anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is one of the most precisely measured quantities in experimental particle physics. Its latest measurement at Brookhaven National Laboratory deviates from the Standard Model expectation by approximately 3.5 standard deviations. The goal of the new experiment, E989, now under construction at Fermilab, is a fourfold improvement in precision. Here, we discuss the details of the future measurement and its current status. C 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4917553]

There is a long standing discrepancy between the Standard Model prediction for the muon and the value measured by the Brookhaven E821 Experiment. At present the discrepancy stands at about three standard deviations, with a comparable accuracy between experiment and theory. Two new proposals – at Fermilab and J-PARC – plan to improve the experimental uncertainty by a factor of 4, and it is expected that there will be a significant reduction in the uncertainty of the Standard Model prediction. I will review the status of the planned experiment at Fermilab, E989, which will analyse 21 times more muons than the BNL experiment and discuss how the systematic uncertainty will be reduced by a factor of 3 such that a precision of 0.14 ppm can be achieved.

Fludarabine (FDR) therapy gives a response rate of about 30% in previously treated patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM). The combination of FDR and cyclophosphamide (Cy) has been shown to be effective in chronic lymphoproliferative disorders. We administered the combination of FDR (30 mg/m2 i.v. D1-D3) and Cy (300 mg/m2 i.v. D1-D3) to 49 patients. Median age was 64 years. The median hemoglobin, albumin, beta 2 microglobulin and immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels were 9.9 g/100 ml, 39.6 g/l, 3 mg/l and 24.7 g/l, respectively. In all, 14 patients (29%) had not previously been treated. FDR/Cy was administered every 4 weeks for a median of four cycles. In all, 38 patients (77.6%) had partial responses, nine had stable disease and two had progressive disease. After a median of follow-up of 25 months, six patients relapsed and two patients developed large-cell lymphoma. The median time to treatment failure was 27 months. The main toxicity was hematological. In all, 12 patients died, four from progression, one from large-cell lymphoma, three from infection and four from a second malignancy. Two factors negatively influenced overall and event-free survival, age65 years and IgM40 g/l. The FDR/Cy combination, therefore, gives a high response rate in WM, even in previously treated patients with factors of poor prognosis.

Durant la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle se répand dans le discours politique italien l''usage d''un vocable nouveau, celui d'' «italianità » pour exprimer ce qui relève du plus profond de l''identité italienne. Le réceptacle par excellence de cette italianité -et donc de l''identité du peuple -paraît bien être la langue «âme de la nation » , «mémoire de la patrie » , comme on la qualifie communément. Cette langue, qui a pu être un refuge quand l''Italie n''était qu''une «expression géographique » , peut maintenant servir d''instrument de cohésion, voire de conquête, en direction de la diaspora italienne en Méditerranée et des colonies européennes ou trans-océaniques d''émigrés récents. La société «Dante Alighieri » , fondée en 1889 sous l''égide du grand poète florentin pour «défendre et diffuser la langue italienne hors du Royaume » , joua rapidement un rôle de premier plan comme relais de la politique irrédendiste et comme support des liens à maintenir entre la métropole et les noyaux de population italienne disséminés à travers le monde. Langue et italianité deviennent alors affaires d''État., Grange Daniel. La société "Dante Alighieri" et la défense de l'"Italianità". In: Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée, tome 117, n°1. 2005. La Trinité-des-Monts dans la «République romaine des sciences et des arts». Langue, langages et question nationale en Italie. pp. 261-267.

Spermatogenesis, oogenesis and fecundity are described and the gonad index calculated for 10 individuals from each month using histological and image analysis techniques for the Antarctic brittle star Ophionotus victoriae (Bell 1902). Individuals were collected between September 1997 and December 2000 from a shallow water population (15 to 20 m) on the west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Both male and female gonad index varied seasonally, where proportions of large oocytes and mature sperm decreased markedly between November and December of each year, indicating the spawning period. Although the annual timing of reproduction was consistent among years, O. victoriae displayed considerable inter-annual variation in reproductive effort. This variability was notable in the gonad and gut index of both males and females and in female fecundity, which showed no discernible change in some years, but varied more than an order of magnitude in others. We identify 3 main aspects to the reproductive ecology of 0. victoriae: (1) spawning was synchronous and annually consistent; (2) long periods were required for gamete development, with oocytes requiring similar to18 to 24 mo to mature; (3) there was clear inter-annual variability in reproductive effort and nutritional condition, which could be associated with the extent of the preceding organic sedimentation event. Subsidiary effects may also have been felt from the seasonal ice profile and temperature signal. A combination of all or some of these patterns may be an adaptation to the distinct seasonality and low level resource supply characteristic of the Antarctic and the long-term cycles intrinsic in polar environmental variables.

This paper explores the use of $L/E$ oscillation probability distributions to compare experimental measurements and to evaluate oscillation models. In this case, $L$ is the distance of neutrino travel and $E$ is a measure of the interacting neutrino's energy. While comparisons using allowed and excluded regions for oscillation model parameters are likely the only rigorous method for these comparisons, the $L/E$ distributions are shown to give qualitative information on the agreement of an experiment's data with a simple two-neutrino oscillation model. In more detail, this paper also outlines how the $L/E$ distributions can be best calculated and used for model comparisons. Specifically, the paper presents the $L/E$ data points for the final MiniBooNE data samples and, in the Appendix, explains and corrects the mistaken analysis published by the ICARUS collaboration.

High-quality charged current quasielastic scattering data have recently been reported for both muon neutrinos and antineutrinos from several accelerator-based neutrino experiments. Measurements from MiniBooNE were the first to indicate that more complex nuclear effects, now thought to be the result of nucleon pair correlations, may contribute to neutrino quasielastic samples at a much higher significance than previously assumed. These findings are now being tested by $\mathrm{MINER}\ensuremath{\nu}\mathrm{A}$ and other contemporary neutrino experiments. Presented here is a comparison of data from MiniBooNE and $\mathrm{MINER}\ensuremath{\nu}\mathrm{A}$ to a few example parametrizations of these nuclear effects. It has been demonstrated that such effects may bias future measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters, and so this issue continues to press the neutrino community. A comparison of data over a large range of neutrino energies is one approach to exploring the extent to which such nucleon correlations may influence our understanding and subsequent modeling of neutrino quasielastic scattering.

To date, aneurysm research has been primarily descriptive, reiterating the complex nature of the disease process. Enhanced by the convergence of matrix biochemistry, cell biology and immunology, this work is providing important new insight into how matrix metabolism is regulated in the diseased aorta. The focus is now on the inflammatory process and its regulation of the matrix remodeling which occurs with abdominal aortic aneurysm. A family of matrix-degrading enzymes appear to have a central role in this process. As we have learned from the evolution of the treatment of other pathologic processes such as peptic ulcer disease, the most effective pharmacologic therapies are designed from a thorough understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease. We are quickly moving forward in formulating a comprehensive understanding of the various complex interactions that result in the formation of aortic aneurysm. Given the progress of the past decade, we can expect the identification of aneurysm-associated genes and clinical trials of anti-inflammatory medications and protease inhibitors as we enter the 21st century.

While the role of the foam cell in early atherogenesis has been well characterized, much less is known about the interaction between infiltrating macrophages and medial smooth muscle cells (SMC) in chronic atherosclerosis. Our purpose was to determine the effects of soluble macrophage mediators on normal human aortic SMC proliferation and matrix expression. Human aortic SMC in subconfluent culture were exposed to supernatants from activated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and nonactivated macrophages. SMC proliferation and type-I procollagen expression were determined. Both activated and nonactivated macrophage supernatants exhibited a potent growth inhibitory effect which became apparent at 48 hours. While nonactivated macrophage supernatant had no effect on procollagen expression, activated supernatant inhibited its expression. (33%; p < 0.05) These findings are consistent with the loss of medial SMC and matrix proteins associated with chronic atherosclerosis.

We report a measurement of the flux-averaged neutral-current elastic differential cross section for neutrinos scattering on mineral oil (CH{sub 2}) as a function of four-momentum transferred squared, Q{sup 2}. It is obtained by measuring the kinematics of recoiling nucleons with kinetic energy greater than 50 MeV which are readily detected in MiniBooNE. This differential cross-section distribution is fit with fixed nucleon form factors apart from an axial mass, M{sub A}, that provides a best fit for M{sub A} = 1.39 {+-} 0.11 GeV. Using the data from the charged-current neutrino interaction sample, a ratio of neutral-current to charged-current quasi-elastic cross sections as a function of Q{sup 2} has been measured. Additionally, single protons with kinetic energies above 350 MeV can be distinguished from neutrons and multiple nucleon events. Using this marker, the strange quark contribution to the neutral-current axial vector form factor at Q{sup 2} = 0, {Delta}s, is found to be {Delta}s = 0.08{+-} 0.26.