Late glacial and deglacial age model and biomarker analyses of sediment core MSM05/5_712-2 from the western continental slope of Svalbard

The transition from last glacial to deglacial and subsequently to modern interglacial climate conditions was accompanied by abrupt shifts in the palaeoceanographic setting in the subpolar North Atlantic. Knowledge about the role that sea ice coverage played during these rapid climate reversals is limited since most marine sediment cores from the higher latitudes provide only a coarse temporal resolution and often poorly preserved microfossils. Here we present a highly resolved reconstruction of sea ice conditions that characterised the eastern Fram Strait - a key area for water mass exchange between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic - for the past 30 ka BP. This reconstruction is based on the distribution of the sea ice biomarker IP25 and phytoplankton derived biomarkers in a sediment core from the continental slope of western Svalbard. During the late glacial (30 ka to 19 ka BP), recurrent advances and retreats of sea ice characterised the study area and point to a hitherto less considered oceanic (and/or atmospheric) variability. A long-lasting perennial sea ice coverage in eastern Fram Strait persisted only at the very end of the Last Glacial Maximum (i.e. from 19.2 to 17.6 ka BP) and was abruptly reduced at the onset of Heinrich Event 1 - coincident with or possibly even inducing the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Further maximum sea ice conditions prevailed during the Younger Dryas cooling event and support the assumption of an AMOC reduction due to increased formation and export of Arctic sea ice through Fram Strait. A significant retreat of sea ice and sea surface warming are observed for the Early Holocene.

Tips for using the food guide pyramid for young children 2 to 6 years old.

"March 1999."

Stability and continuity of parentally reported child eating behaviours and feeding practices from 2 to 5 years of age

Previous research suggests that many eating behaviours are stable in children but that obesigenic eating behaviours tend to increase with age. This research explores the stability (consistency in individual levels over time) and continuity (consistency in group levels over time) of child eating behaviours and parental feeding practices in children between 2 and 5 years of age. Thirty one participants completed measures of child eating behaviours, parental feeding practices and child weight at 2 and 5 years of age. Child eating behaviours and parental feeding practices remained stable between 2 and 5 years of age. There was also good continuity in measures of parental restriction and monitoring of food intake, as well as in mean levels of children's eating behaviours and BMI over time. Mean levels of maternal pressure to eat significantly increased, whilst mean levels of desire to drink significantly decreased, between 2 and 5 years of age. These findings suggest that children's eating behaviours are stable and continuous in the period prior to 5 years of age. Further research is necessary to replicate these findings and to explore why later developmental increases are seen in children's obesigenic eating behaviours. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Cognitive-behavioural phenotype in a group of girls from 1.2 to 12 years old with the Incontinentia Pigmenti syndrome:recommendations for clinical management

Incontinentia Pigmenti (IP, OMIM#308300) is a rare X-linked genomic disorder (about 1,400 cases) that affects the neuroectodermal tissue and Central Nervous System (CNS). The objective of this study was to describe the cognitive-behavioural profile in children in order to plan a clinical intervention to improve their quality of life. A total of 14 girls (age range: from 1 year and 2 months to 12 years and 10 months) with IP and the IKBKG/NEMO gene deletion were submitted to a cognitive assessment including intelligence scales, language and visuo-spatial competence tests, learning ability tests, and a behavioural assessment. Five girls had severe to mild intellectual deficiencies and the remaining nine had a normal neurodevelopment. Four girls were of school age and two of these showed no intellectual disability, but had specific disabilities in calculation and arithmetic reasoning. This is the first description of the cognitive-behavioural profile in relation to developmental age. We stress the importance of an early assessment of learning abilities in individuals with IP without intellectual deficiencies to prevent the onset of any such deficit.

Stable carbon isotope ratios of carbon dioxide from EDC and Berkner Island ice cores for 40-50 ka BP

The stable carbon isotopic signature of carbon dioxide (d13CO2) measured in the air occlusions of polar ice provides important constraints on the carbon cycle in past climates. In order to exploit this information for previous glacial periods, one must use deep, clathrated ice, where the occluded air is preserved not in bubbles but in the form of air hydrates. Therefore, it must be established whether the original atmospheric d13CO2 signature can be reconstructed from clathrated ice. We present a comparative study using coeval bubbly ice from Berkner Island and ice from the bubble-clathrate transformation zone (BCTZ) of EPICA Dome C (EDC). In the EDC samples the gas is partitioned into clathrates and remaining bubbles as shown by erroneously low and scattered CO2 concentration values, presenting a worst-case test for d13CO2 reconstructions. Even so, the reconstructed atmospheric d13CO2 values show only slightly larger scatter. The difference to data from coeval bubbly ice is statistically significant. However, the 0.16 per mil magnitude of the offset is small for practical purposes, especially in light of uncertainty from non-uniform corrections for diffusion related fractionation that could contribute to the discrepancy. Our results are promising for palaeo-atmospheric studies of d13CO2 using a ball mill dry extraction technique below the BCTZ of ice cores, where gas is not subject to fractionation into microfractures and between clathrate and bubble reservoirs.

Effect of Metronidazole on Halitosis of 2 to 10 Years Old Children

Background: Regarding the fact that halitosis has social and personal aspects which can lead to social embarrassment and consequently low self-esteem and self-confidence in subjects suffering from the problem, especially children, its proper treatment is an important issue. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of metronidazole as a nonspecific antimicrobial agent in the treatment of halitosis in children. Materials and Methods: In this study, 2-10 years old children with oral halitosis were enrolled. Children without H. pylori infection and parasitic infection were randomized in two interventional and control groups. Metronidazole was given 5mg/kg/day for one week. Information regarding the demographic characteristics of studied population and halitosis (duration and time of day with more halitosis and its severity) before and after intervention was recorded using a questionnaire Results: 77 children with halitosis were studied in two interventional (40 children) and control (37 children) groups. There was no significant difference between two groups before intervention. After intervention, halitosis improvement rate - according to the reports of mothers of studied children - was higher significantly in intervention group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The results support the effectiveness of metronidazole in the treatment of halitosis. Moreover, it supports recent findings regarding the participation of specific bacteria specially unculturable ones in the pathogenesis of the disease.

High-resolution multi-proxy record of the last glacial period from Lake Van, eastern Anatolian high plateau, Turkey

Detailed analyses of the Lake Van pollen, Ca/K ratio and stable oxygen isotope record allow the identification of millennial-scale vegetation and environmental changes in eastern Anatolia throughout the last glacial (~75-15 ka BP). The climate within the last glacial was cold and dry, with low arboreal pollen (AP) levels. The driest and coldest period corresponds to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 (~28-14.5 ka BP) dominated by the highest values of xerophytic steppe vegetation. Our high-resolution multi proxy record shows rapid expansions and contractions of tree populations that reflects variability in temperature and moisture availability. This rapid vegetation and environmental changes can be linked to the stadial-interstadial pattern of the Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events as recorded in the Greenland ice cores. Periods of reduced moisture availability were characterized by enhanced xerophytic species and high terrigenous input from the Lake Van catchment area. Furthermore, comparison with the marine realm reveals that the complex atmosphere-ocean interaction can be explained by the strength and position of the westerlies, which is responsible for the supply of humidity in eastern Anatolia. Influenced by diverse topography of the Lake Van catchment, larger DO interstadials (e.g. DO 19, 17-16, 14, 12 and 8) show the highest expansion of temperate species within the last glacial. However, Heinrich events (HE), characterized by highest concentrations of ice-rafted debris (IRD) in marine sediments, are identified in eastern Anatolia by AP values not lower and high steppe components not more abundant than during DO stadials. In addition, this work is a first attempt to establish a continuous microscopic charcoal record over the last glacial in the Near East, which documents an initial immediate response to millennial-scale climate and environmental variability and enables us to shed light on the history of fire activity during the last glacial.

Planktonic foraminiferal (Globigerinoides ruber) Mg/Ca ratios and SSTs of sediment cores GeoB9501-4 and GeoB9501-5

Multidecadal variations in Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SST) influence the climate of the Northern Hemisphere. However, prior to the instrumental time period, information on multidecadal climate variability becomes limited, and there is a particular scarcity of sufficiently resolved SST reconstructions. Here, we present an eastern tropical North Atlantic reconstruction of SSTs based on foraminiferal (Globigerinoides ruber pink) Mg/Ca ratios that resolves multidecadal variability over the past 1700 years. Spectral power in the multidecadal band (50 to 70 years period) is significant over several time intervals suggesting that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) has been influencing local SST. Since our data exhibit high scatter the absence of multidecadal variability in the remaining record does not exclude the possibility that SST variations on this time scale might have been present without being detected in our data. Cooling by ~0.5 °C takes place between about AD 1250 and AD 1500; while this corresponds to the inception of the Little Ice Age (LIA), the end of the LIA is not reflected in our record and SST remains relatively low. This transition to cooler SSTs parallels the previously reconstructed shift in the North Atlantic Oscillation towards a low pre-20th century mean state and possibly reflects common solar forcing.

Benthic foraminifera abundance data of sediment core GeoB7926-2

We present a high resolution, multiproxy study of the relationship between pelagic and benthic environments of a coastal upwelling system in the subtropical NE Atlantic Ocean. Marine sediments corresponding to late MIS3 to the Holocene in the radiocarbon dated core GeoB7926, retrieved off Mauritania (21°N) were analysed to reconstruct productivity in surface waters and its linkage to deep waters during the last 35 ka BP. High latitude cold events and changes in atmospheric and oceanographic dynamics influenced upwelling intensity over this time period. Subsequently, this caused changes in primary productivity off this low-latitude coastal upwelling locality. The benthic foraminiferal fauna displays four main community shifts corresponding to fundamental climatic events, first of all during late MIS3 (35-28 ka BP), secondly from 28 to 19 ka BP (including Heinrich event 2 and the LGM), thirdly within Heinrich event 1, the Bølling Allerød and the Younger Dryas (18-11.5 ka BP) and finally during the Holocene (11.5-0 ka BP). In particular, strong pelagic-benthic coupling is apparent in MIS 3, as demonstrated by increased primary productivity, indicated by moderate DAR and the dominance of benthic foraminiferal species which prefer fresh phytodetritus. A decline in upwelling intensity and nutrient availability follows, which resulted in a proportionately larger amount of older, degraded matter, provoking a shift in the benthic foraminifera fauna composition. This rapid response of the benthic environment continues with a progressive increase in upwelling intensity due to sea level and oceanographic changes and according high surface production during the LGM. During Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Dryas, extreme levels of primary production actually hindered benthic environment through the development of low oxygen conditions. After this period, a final change in benthic foraminiferal community composition occurs which indicates a return to more oxygenated conditions during the Holocene.