Speleothem CaCO
δ
O is a commonly employed paleomonsoon proxy. However, inferring local rainfall amount from speleothem δ
O can be complicated due to changing source water δ
O, temperature effects, ...and rainout over the moisture transport path. These complications are addressed using δ
O of planktonic foraminiferal CaCO
, offshore from the Yangtze River Valley (YRV). The advantage is that the effects of global seawater δ
O and local temperature changes can be quantitatively removed, yielding a record of local seawater δ
O, a proxy that responds primarily to dilution by local precipitation and runoff. Whereas YRV speleothem δ
O is dominated by precession-band (23 ky) cyclicity, local seawater δ
O is dominated by eccentricity (100 ky) and obliquity (41 ky) cycles, with almost no precession-scale variance. These results, consistent with records outside the YRV, suggest that East Asian monsoon rainfall is more sensitive to greenhouse gas and high-latitude ice sheet forcing than to direct insolation forcing.
Isotropic hardening models for elastic-plastic materials are often used to simulate cold forging processes, although it cannot represent the Bauschinger effect. However, the Bauschinger effect must ...be considered for precise simulation of the strength in service of cold-forged components without heat treatment, as well as their geometry. A cold-forged bolt made of stainless steel is a typical example. In this report, finite element analysis of the forming process and the strength was performed for two multi-stage cold forging processes of non-heat-treated stainless steel bolts. The Yoshida-Uemori model was used as a kinematic hardening model that takes into consideration the Bauschinger effect of a material. The Yoshida-Uemori model was modified so that they can represent the strain hardening behavior in a large strain region appropriately for applying the model to cold forging process. As a result, it was possible to account for the Bauschinger effect during the forming process. Moreover, it was possible to estimate the difference in strength between the isotropic and kinematic hardening models by analysis of the tensile test results. Furthermore, the impact of the forming process on the strength of the cold-forged bolt was also evaluated.
The Median Tectonic Line (MTL) in Southwest Japan, a major east‐west trending arc‐parallel fault, has been defined as the boundary fault between the Cretaceous Sambagawa metamorphic rocks and the ...Ryoke granitic and metamorphic rocks, which are unconformably covered by the Upper Cretaceous Izumi Group. Based on the detailed fieldwork and microstructural studies of fault rocks, we reconstruct the kinematic history along the MTL during the Paleogene, which can be divided into the Ichinokawa and pre‐Tobe phases. While the Ichinokawa phase is defined by large‐scale, top‐to‐the‐north normal faulting, the pre‐Tobe phase is represented by large‐scale, high‐angle right‐stepping en échelon faults almost parallel to the MTL in the Upper Cretaceous Izumi Group. We found that left‐handed en échelon folds have developed along the right‐stepping faults, which contain 25–60 m wide cataclasite and fault gouge. Both map scale en échelon folds and microstructures (e.g., composite planar structures) in the fault rocks suggest that they were formed by sinistral‐reverse faulting with top‐to‐the‐SW kinematics. Furthermore, based on the new K‐Ar age dating of authigenic illite from the fault gouge along the MTL and right‐stepping faults, it can be concluded that the MTL was activated in two discrete stages at approximately 59 Ma (Ichinokawa phase) and 47–46 Ma (pre‐Tobe phase). Based on these results, we reappraise the kinematic framework of the MTL in the Paleogene, which can be interpreted as the record of the movements of the subducting oceanic plate relative to the continental plate.
Key Points
The kinematics of the Median Tectonic Line (MTL), a major arc‐parallel fault in SW Japan, are investigated and dated by the K‐Ar method
In the Paleogene, large‐scale normal faulting at approximately 59 Ma is followed by sinistral‐reverse faulting at 47‐46 Ma along the MTL
These kinematic histories of the MTL are well‐correlated with the reconstructed plate motion in the Pacific region in geological time
Pyramidal cells in the neocortex are differentiated into several subgroups based on their extracortical projection targets. However, little is known regarding the relative intracortical connectivity ...of pyramidal neurons specialized for these specific output channels. We used paired recordings and quantitative morphological analysis to reveal distinct synaptic transmission properties, connection patterns, and morphological differentiation correlated with heterogeneous thalamic input to two different groups of pyramidal cells residing in layer 5 (L5) of rat frontal cortex. Retrograde tracers were used to label two projection subtypes in L5: crossed-corticostriatal (CCS) cells projecting to both sides of the striatum, and corticopontine (CPn) cells projecting to the ipsilateral pons. Although CPn/CPn and CCS/CCS pairs had similar connection probabilities, CPn/CPn pairs exhibited greater reciprocal connectivity, stronger unitary synaptic transmission, and more facilitation of paired-pulse responses. These synaptic characteristics were strongly correlated to the projection subtype of the presynaptic neuron. CPn and CCS cells were further differentiated according to their somatic position (L5a and L5b, the latter denser thalamic afferent fibers) and their dendritic/axonal arborizations. Together, our data demonstrate that the pyramidal projection system is segregated into different output channels according to subcortical target and thalamic input, and that information flow within and between these channels is selectively organized.
Summary
Background
The efficacy of thrombolytic therapy in patients with submassive pulmonary embolism (PE) remains unclear. Previous meta‐analyses have not separately reported the proportion of ...patients with submassive PE.
Objective
We assessed the effect of thrombolytic therapy on mortality, recurrent PE, clinical deterioration requiring treatment escalation and bleeding in patients with submassive PE.
Methods
The MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases were searched to identify all relevant randomized controlled trials comparing adjunctive thrombolytic therapy with heparin alone as initial treatments in patients with acute submassive PE, and reported 30‐day mortality or in‐hospital clinical outcomes.
Results
A total of 1510 patients were enrolled in this meta‐analysis. No significant differences were apparent in the composite endpoint of all‐cause death or recurrent PE between the adjunctive thrombolytic therapy arm and the heparin‐alone arm (3.1% vs. 5.4%; RR, 0.64 0.32–1.28; P = 0.2). Adjunctive thrombolytic therapy significantly reduced the incidence of the composite endpoint of all‐cause death or clinical deterioration (3.9% vs. 9.4%; RR, 0.44; P < 0.001). There were no statistically significant associations for major bleeding when adjunctive thrombolytic therapy was compared with heparin therapy alone (6.6% vs. 1.9%; P = 0.2).
Conclusions
This meta‐analysis shows that adjunctive thrombolytic therapy does not significantly reduce the risk of mortality or recurrent PE in patients with acute submassive PE, but that adjuvant thrombolytic therapy prevents clinical deterioration requiring the escalation of treatment in patients with acute submassive PE. Bleeding risk assessment might be the most successful approach for improving clinical outcomes and patient‐specific benefit.
Nonlinear optical frequency conversion has been challenged to move down to the extreme ultraviolet and x-ray region. However, the extremely low signals have allowed researchers to only perform ...transmission experiments of the gas phase or ultrathin films. Here, we report second harmonic generation (SHG) of the reflected beam of a soft x-ray free-electron laser from a solid, which is enhanced by the resonant effect. The observation revealed that the double resonance condition can be met by absorption edges for transition metal oxides in the soft x-ray range, and this suggests that the resonant SHG technique can be applicable to a wide range of materials. We discuss the possibility of element-selective SHG spectroscopy measurements in the soft x-ray range.
Species assembly patterns of local communities are shaped by the balance between multiple abiotic/biotic filters and dispersal that both select individuals from species pools at the regional scale. ...Knowledge regarding functional assembly can provide insight into the relative importance of the deterministic and stochastic processes that shape species assembly. We evaluated the hierarchical roles of the a niche and β niches by analyzing the influence of environmental filtering relative to functional traits on geographical patterns of tree species assembly in mid-latitude forests. Using forest plot datasets, we examined the a niche traits (leaf and wood traits) and β niche properties (cold/drought tolerance) of tree species, and tested non-randomness (clustering/over-dispersion) of trait assembly based on null models that assumed two types of species pools related to biogeographical regions. For most plots, species assembly patterns fell within the range of random expectation. However, particularly for cold/drought tolerance-related β niche properties, deviation from randomness was frequently found; non-random clustering was predominant in higher latitudes with harsh climates. Our findings demonstrate that both randomness and non-randomness in trait assembly emerged as a result of the a and β niches, although we suggest the potential role of dispersal processes and/or species equalization through trait similarities in generating the prevalence of randomness. Clustering of β niche traits along latitudinal climatic gradients provides clear evidence of species sorting by filtering particular traits. Our results reveal that multiple filters through functional niches and stochastic processes jointly shape geographical patterns of species assembly across mid-latitude forests.
The δ18O of seawater (δ18Ow), an indirect indicator of sea surface salinity (SSS), in the northern East China Sea (ECS) is reconstructed for the Holocene using paired analyses of Mg / Ca ratio and ...δ18O of planktic foraminiferal tests. According to modern observation, interannual variations in SSS during summer in the northern ECS are mainly controlled by the Changjiang (Yangtze River) discharge, which reflects summer rainfall in its drainage basin. Thus, changes in the summer SSS in the northern ECS are interpreted as reflecting variations in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation in the Changjiang Basin. This interpretation is confirmed by a strong relationship between the SSS in the northern ECS and the Changjiang discharge during the wet season (May–October) based on instrumental salinity records from 1951 to 2000. However, it is difficult to estimate absolute salinity values in the past with high accuracy, because the past salinity–δ18Ow regression slope, end member salinity, and δ18Ow values are not well understood. Here, we conduct δ18Ow mass-balance calculation to estimate the freshwater contribution to the surface water of the northern ECS during the last 7 kyr by assuming a simple mixing between two end members – the seawater and the Changjiang freshwater. The result indicates that there has been no gradual decreasing secular trend in the Changjiang freshwater flux from the middle Holocene to the present day, suggesting that summer insolation in the Northern Hemisphere does not regulate the EASM precipitation in the Changjiang Basin. Instead, internal feedback appears to have been more important during the Holocene. The absence of a decreasing trend in regional summer precipitation over the Changjiang Basin since the middle Holocene is contradictory to Chinese speleothems' δ18O records, suggesting that it is not possible to explain orbital changes in Chinese speleothems' δ18O during the Holocene by changes in summer precipitation, but that such changes are related to other factors such as changes in the moisture source.
We describe a new device concept for digital microfluidics, based on an active matrix electrowetting on dielectric (AM-EWOD) device. A conventional EWOD device is limited by the number of electrical ...connections that can be made practically, which restricts the number and type of droplet operations. In an AM-EWOD, the patterned electrodes of a conventional EWOD device are replaced by a thin film transistor (TFT) array, as found in a liquid crystal display (LCD), facilitating independent control of each electrode. The arrays can have many thousand individually addressable electrodes, are fully reconfigurable and can be programmed to support multiple simultaneous operations. Each element is 210 μm × 210 μm in size and contains a circuit that measures the electrical impedance of the liquid above it. This is used to determine the presence and size of a droplet, a method that can improve assay reliability and accuracy. This sensor provides feedback, error detection and closed loop control of an assay sequence. We describe the design, fabrication and testing of a 64 × 64 format AM-EWOD device with impedance sensor functionality. A colorimetric assay is implemented on the device and used to measure glucose in human blood serum. Results are compared with the same assay performed on a microtitre plate.
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