Composition of melt inclusions and age of zircons of plagiogneisses from the Kola Superdeep Borehole

A comprehensive study of melt inclusions and SHRIMP dating of zircons from trondhjemite gneisses of the sequence VIII from the Kola Superdeep Borehole has revealed presence of old primary magmatic crystals with age up to 2887+/-15 Ma. This is not consistent with the previous view, according to which the oldest zircons from the Archean Complex in SG-3 are products of granulite metamorphism. Primary magmatic zircons of early generation (from 2887 to 2842 Ma) formed in deep-seated magma chambers during partial crystallization of CO2-saturated trondhjemite estimates on duration of generation of tonalite-trondhjemite-granite melts through partial melting of mafic rocks.

Climate and Terrain Characteristics Linked to Mud Ejection Occurrence in the Canadian High Arctic

Pressurised slurries of fine-grained sediment expelled from the base of the active layer have been observed in recent years in the High Arctic. Such mud ejections, however, are poorly understood in terms of how exactly climate and landscape factors determine when and where they occur. Mud ejections at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory, Melville Island, Nunavut, were systematically mapped in 2012 and 2013, and this was combined with observations of mud ejection activity and climatic measurements carried out since 2003. The mud ejections occur late in the melt season during warm years and closely following major rainfall events. High-resolution satellite imagery demonstrates that mud ejections are associated with polar semi-desert vegetative settings, flat or low-sloping terrain and south-facing slopes. The localised occurrence of mud ejections appears to be related to differential soil moisture retention.

Umbrella pine above ground biomass estimation with very high spatial resolution satellite images

Above ground biomass is frequently estimated with forest inventory data and an extrapolation method for the per unit area evaluations. This procedure is labour demanding and costly. In this study above ground biomass functions, whose independent variable is crown horizontal projection, were developed. Multi-resolution segmentation method and object-oriented classification, based on very high spatial resolution satellite images, were used to obtain the area of tree crown horizontal projection for umbrella pine (Pinus pinea L.). A set of inventory plots were measured and with existing allometric functions for this species above ground biomass per tree and per plot were calculated. The two data sets were used to fit linear functions both for individual plot and their cumulative values. The results show a good performance of the models. Errors smaller than 10% are obtained for stand areas greater than 1.4 ha. These functions have the advantages of estimating above ground biomass for all the area under study or surveillance, not requiring forest inventory; allow monitoring in short time periods; and are easily implemented in a geographical information system environment.

Above ground biomass estimation in Mediterranean multiple use systems with high spatial resolution satellite images

Forest biomass has been having an increasing importance in the world economy and in the evaluation of the forests development and monitoring. It was identified as a global strategic reserve, due to its applications in bioenergy, bioproduct development and issues related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The estimation of above ground biomass is frequently done with allometric functions per species with plot inventory data. An adequate sampling design and intensity for an error threshold is required. The estimation per unit area is done using an extrapolation method. This procedure is labour demanding and costly. The mail goal of this study is the development of allometric functions for the estimation of above ground biomass with ground cover as independent variable, for forest areas of holm aok (Quercus rotundifolia), cork oak (Quercus suber) and umbrella pine (Pinus pinea) in multiple use systems. Ground cover per species was derived from crown horizontal projection obtained by processing high resolution satellite images, orthorectified, geometrically and atmospheric corrected, with multi-resolution segmentation method and object oriented classification. Forest inventory data were used to estimate plot above ground biomass with published allometric functions at tree level. The developed functions were fitted for monospecies stands and for multispecies stands of Quercus rotundifolia and Quercus suber, and Quercus suber and Pinus pinea. The stand composition was considered adding dummy variables to distinguish monospecies from multispecies stands. The models showed a good performance. Noteworthy is that the dummy variables, reflecting the differences between species, originated improvements in the models. Significant differences were found for above ground biomass estimation with the functions with and without the dummy variables. An error threshold of 10% corresponds to stand areas of about 40 ha. This method enables the overall area evaluation, not requiring extrapolation procedures, for the three species, which occur frequently in multispecies stands.

High temporal resolution insights into early life histories: integrating histomorphometric, trace element and isotopic analyses of dental hard tissues in archaeological populations from Italy

Teeth, with their high mineralisation, incremental growth, and lack of remodelling, serve as biological archives that document an individual's development. This project aims to utilise the potential of teeth in bioarchaeological studies to achieve three primary objectives: 1) to investigate the application of histological and histochemical methods in reconstructing developmental bio-chronologies and early life histories; 2) to refine the temporal precision of isotopic analysis of dentine collagen by developing a novel protocol that integrates micro-sampling techniques with high-resolution histomorphometrics; and 3) to synthesise data from enamel and dentine for a comprehensive understanding of early life development and dietary transitions. This study adopts an integrated multidisciplinary bioarchaeological approach, conducting histomorphometric analysis on enamel and dentine across deciduous and permanent dentitions. It applies high-temporal resolution trace element analysis to enamel using LA-ICPMS and δ13C and δ15N isotope analyses through sequential micro-sampling to dentine of permanent teeth. Samples were selected from diverse archaeological contexts across the Italian peninsula, covering the Upper Palaeolithic, Copper Age, and Early Medieval periods, providing insight into diachronic variations in infant development and life history. Findings highlight the efficacy of histological and histochemical techniques in accurately determining growth rates, physiological stress, dietary shifts (particularly timing of weaning), and age at death in infant remains. The consistency and comparison between enamel and dentine underscores the enhanced insight obtained from integrating information from both tissues. Importantly, the newly proposed protocol significantly improves the temporal accuracy of dentine collagen analysis, facilitating precise chronological placement of the results over broad developmental associations. This study reaffirms the significance of teeth as valuable bioarchaeological instruments. By introducing and testing multidisciplinary methods, it provides deeper insights into early life history and cultural practices across diverse chronological contexts, highlighting the importance of advanced methodologies in extracting detailed, accurate, and nuanced information from past populations.

Characterization Of Anfo Explosive By High Accuracy Esi(±)-ftms With Forensic Identification On Real Samples By Easi(-)-ms.

Ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) is an explosive used in many civil applications. In Brazil, ANFO has unfortunately also been used in criminal attacks, mainly in automated teller machine (ATM) explosions. In this paper, we describe a detailed characterization of the ANFO composition and its two main constituents (diesel and a nitrate explosive) using high resolution and accuracy mass spectrometry performed on an FT-ICR-mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization (ESI(±)-FTMS) in both the positive and negative ion modes. Via ESI(-)-MS, an ion marker for ANFO was characterized. Using a direct and simple ambient desorption/ionization technique, i.e., easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry (EASI-MS), in a simpler, lower accuracy but robust single quadrupole mass spectrometer, the ANFO ion marker was directly detected from the surface of banknotes collected from ATM explosion theft.

AUTOMATED DETERMINATION OF [Fe/H] AND [C/Fe] FROM LOW-RESOLUTION SPECTROSCOPY

We develop an automated spectral synthesis technique for the estimation of metallicities ([Fe/H]) and carbon abundances ([C/Fe]) for metal-poor stars, including carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars, for which other methods may prove insufficient. This technique, autoMOOG, is designed to operate on relatively strong features visible in even low- to medium-resolution spectra, yielding results comparable to much more telescope-intensive high-resolution studies. We validate this method by comparison with 913 stars which have existing high-resolution and low- to medium-resolution to medium-resolution spectra, and that cover a wide range of stellar parameters. We find that at low metallicities ([Fe/H] less than or similar to -2.0), we successfully recover both the metallicity and carbon abundance, where possible, with an accuracy of similar to 0.20 dex. At higher metallicities, due to issues of continuum placement in spectral normalization done prior to the running of autoMOOG, a general underestimate of the overall metallicity of a star is seen, although the carbon abundance is still successfully recovered. As a result, this method is only recommended for use on samples of stars of known sufficiently low metallicity. For these low- metallicity stars, however, autoMOOG performs much more consistently and quickly than similar, existing techniques, which should allow for analyses of large samples of metal-poor stars in the near future. Steps to improve and correct the continuum placement difficulties are being pursued.

Millennial and orbital variations of El Nino/Southern Oscillation and high-latitude climate in the last glacial period

The El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is believed to have operated continuously over the last glacial interglacial cycle(1). ENSO variability has been suggested to be linked to millennial-scale oscillations in North Atlantic climate during that time(2,3), but the proposals disagree on whether increased frequency of El Nino events, the warm phase of ENSO, was linked to North Atlantic warm or cold periods. Here we present a high-resolution record of surface moisture, based on the degree of peat humification and the ratio of sedges to grass, from northern Queensland, Australia, covering the past 45,000 yr. We observe millennial-scale dry periods, indicating periods of frequent El Nino events ( summer precipitation declines in El Nino years in northeastern Australia). We find that these dry periods are correlated to the Dansgaard - Oeschger events - millennial-scale warm events in the North Atlantic climate record - although no direct atmospheric connection from the North Atlantic to our site can be invoked. Additionally, we find climatic cycles at a semiprecessional timescale (, 11,900 yr). We suggest that climate variations in the tropical Pacific Ocean on millennial as well as orbital timescales, which determined precipitation in northeastern Australia, also exerted an influence on North Atlantic climate through atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections.

A nanometre-scale non-periodic structural variation in high temperature superconducting ceramics and the implications for properties

Non-periodic structural variation has been found in the high T-c cuprates, YBa2Cu3O7-x and Hg0.67Pb0.33Ba2Ca2Cu3O8+delta, by image analysis of high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images. We use two methods for analysis of the HRTEM images. The first method is a means for measuring the bending of lattice fringes at twin planes. The second method is a low-pass filter technique which enhances information contained by diffuse-scattered electrons and reveals what appears to be an interference effect between domains of differing lattice parameter in the top and bottom of the thin foil. We believe that these methods of image analysis could be usefully applied to the many thousands of HRTEM images that have been collected by other workers in the high temperature superconductor field. This work provides direct structural evidence for phase separation in high T-c cuprates, and gives support to recent stripes models that have been proposed to explain various angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance data. We believe that the structural variation is a response to an opening of an electronic solubility gap where holes are not uniformly distributed in the material but are confined to metallic stripes. Optimum doping may occur as a consequence of the diffuse boundaries between stripes which arise from spinodal decomposition. Theoretical ideas about the high T-c cuprates which treat the cuprates as homogeneous may need to be modified in order to take account of this type of structural variation.

Structural and surface property changes of macadamia nut-shell char upon activation and high temperature treatment

Structural and surface property changes of macadamia nut-shell (MNS) char upon activation and high temperature treatment (HTT) were studied by high-resolution nitrogen adsorption, diffuse reflectance infra-red Fourier transform spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed desorption. It is found that activation of MNS char can be divided into the low extent activation which may involve the reactions of internal oxygen-containing groups and leads to the formation of comparatively uniform micropores, and the high extent activation which induces reactions between carbon and activating gas and produces a large amount of micropores. The surface functional groups (SFGs) basically increase with the increase of activation extent, but high extent activation preferentially increases the amount of -C-O and -C=O. HTT in air for a short tithe at a high temperature (1173 K) greatly increases the micropore volume and the amounts of SFGs. By appropriately choosing the activation and HTT conditions, it is possible to control both the textural structure and the type and amounts of SFG. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

A sensitivity study of the WRF model in wind simulation for an area of high wind energy

The performance of the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model in wind simulation was evaluated under different numerical and physical options for an area of Portugal, located in complex terrain and characterized by its significant wind energy resource. The grid nudging and integration time of the simulations were the tested numerical options. Since the goal is to simulate the near-surface wind, the physical parameterization schemes regarding the boundary layer were the ones under evaluation. Also, the influences of the local terrain complexity and simulation domain resolution on the model results were also studied. Data from three wind measuring stations located within the chosen area were compared with the model results, in terms of Root Mean Square Error, Standard Deviation Error and Bias. Wind speed histograms, occurrences and energy wind roses were also used for model evaluation. Globally, the model accurately reproduced the local wind regime, despite a significant underestimation of the wind speed. The wind direction is reasonably simulated by the model especially in wind regimes where there is a clear dominant sector, but in the presence of low wind speeds the characterization of the wind direction (observed and simulated) is very subjective and led to higher deviations between simulations and observations. Within the tested options, results show that the use of grid nudging in simulations that should not exceed an integration time of 2 days is the best numerical configuration, and the parameterization set composed by the physical schemes MM5–Yonsei University–Noah are the most suitable for this site. Results were poorer in sites with higher terrain complexity, mainly due to limitations of the terrain data supplied to the model. The increase of the simulation domain resolution alone is not enough to significantly improve the model performance. Results suggest that error minimization in the wind simulation can be achieved by testing and choosing a suitable numerical and physical configuration for the region of interest together with the use of high resolution terrain data, if available.

High-Content Analysis of Breast Cancer Using Single-Cell Deep Transfer Learning

High-content analysis has revolutionized cancer drug discovery by identifying substances that alter the phenotype of a cell, which prevents tumor growth and metastasis. The high-resolution biofluorescence images from assays allow precise quantitative measures enabling the distinction of small molecules of a host cell from a tumor. In this work, we are particularly interested in the application of deep neural networks (DNNs), a cutting-edge machine learning method, to the classification of compounds in chemical mechanisms of action (MOAs). Compound classification has been performed using image-based profiling methods sometimes combined with feature reduction methods such as principal component analysis or factor analysis. In this article, we map the input features of each cell to a particular MOA class without using any treatment-level profiles or feature reduction methods. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of DNN in this domain, leveraging single-cell information. Furthermore, we use deep transfer learning (DTL) to alleviate the intensive and computational demanding effort of searching the huge parameter's space of a DNN. Results show that using this approach, we obtain a 30% speedup and a 2% accuracy improvement.

Addressing Sea Surface Salinity retrieval at different spatial resolution. Feasibility study using OCCAM data within SEPS simulator and L2 processor tools

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d’una estada a la National Oceanography Centre of Southampton (NOCS), Gran Bretanya, entre maig i juliol del 2006. La possibilitat d’obtenir una estimació precissa de la salinitat marina (SSS) és important per a investigar i predir l’extensió del fenòmen del canvi climàtic. La missió Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) va ser seleccionada per l’Agència Espacial Europea (ESA) per a obtenir mapes de salinitat de la superfície marina a escala global i amb un temps de revisita petit. Abans del llençament de SMOS es preveu l’anàlisi de la variabilitat horitzontal de la SSS i del potencial de les dades recuperades a partir de mesures de SMOS per a reproduir comportaments oceanogràfics coneguts. L’objectiu de tot plegat és emplenar el buit existent entre les fonts de dades d’entrada/auxiliars fiables i les eines desenvolupades per a simular i processar les dades adquirides segons la configuració de SMOS. El SMOS End-to-end Performance Simulator (SEPS) és un simulador adhoc desenvolupat per la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) per a generar dades segons la configuració de SMOS. Es va utilitzar dades d’entrada a SEPS procedents del projecte Ocean Circulation and Climate Advanced Modeling (OCCAM), utilitzat al NOCS, a diferents resolucions espacials. Modificant SEPS per a poder fer servir com a entrada les dades OCCAM es van obtenir dades de temperatura de brillantor simulades durant un mes amb diferents observacions ascendents que cobrien la zona seleccionada. Les tasques realitzades durant l’estada a NOCS tenien la finalitat de proporcionar una tècnica fiable per a realitzar la calibració externa i per tant cancel•lar el bias, una metodologia per a promitjar temporalment les diferents adquisicions durant les observacions ascendents, i determinar la millor configuració de la funció de cost abans d’explotar i investigar les posibiltats de les dades SEPS/OCCAM per a derivar la SSS recuperada amb patrons d’alta resolució.

Some solutions to obtain very efficient separations in isocratic and gradient modes using small particles size and ultra-high pressure.

The UHPLC strategy which combines sub-2 microm porous particles and ultra-high pressure (>1000 bar) was investigated considering very high resolution criteria in both isocratic and gradient modes, with mobile phase temperatures between 30 and 90 degrees C. In isocratic mode, experimental conditions to reach the maximal efficiency were determined using the kinetic plot representation for DeltaP(max)=1000 bar. It has been first confirmed that the molecular weight of the compounds (MW) was a critical parameter which should be considered in the construction of such curves. With a MW around 1000 g mol(-1), efficiencies as high as 300,000 plates could be theoretically attained using UHPLC at 30 degrees C. By limiting the column length to 450 mm, the maximal plate count was around 100,000. In gradient mode, the longest column does not provide the maximal peak capacity for a given analysis time in UHPLC. This was attributed to the fact that peak capacity is not only related to the plate number but also to column dead time. Therefore, a compromise should be found and a 150 mm column should be preferentially selected for gradient lengths up to 60 min at 30 degrees C, while the columns coupled in series (3x 150 mm) were attractive only for t(grad)>250 min. Compared to 30 degrees C, peak capacities were increased by about 20-30% for a constant gradient length at 90 degrees C and gradient time decreased by 2-fold for an identical peak capacity.

MP2RAGE, a self bias-field corrected sequence for improved segmentation and T-1-mapping at high field

The large spatial inhomogeneity in transmit B, field (B-1(+)) observable in human MR images at hi h static magnetic fields (B-0) severely impairs image quality. To overcome this effect in brain T-1-weighted images the, MPRAGE sequence was modified to generate two different images at different inversion times MP2RAGE By combining the two images in a novel fashion, it was possible to create T-1-weigthed images where the result image was free of proton density contrast, T-2* contrast, reception bias field, and, to first order transmit field inhomogeneity. MP2RAGE sequence parameters were optimized using Bloch equations to maximize contrast-to-noise ratio per unit of time between brain tissues and minimize the effect of B-1(+) variations through space. Images of high anatomical quality and excellent brain tissue differentiation suitable for applications such as segmentation and voxel-based morphometry were obtained at 3 and 7 T. From such T-1-weighted images, acquired within 12 min, high-resolution 3D T-1 maps were routinely calculated at 7 T with sub-millimeter voxel resolution (0.65-0.85 mm isotropic). T-1 maps were validated in phantom experiments. In humans, the T, values obtained at 7 T were 1.15 +/- 0.06 s for white matter (WM) and 1.92 +/- 0.16 s for grey matter (GM), in good agreement with literature values obtained at lower spatial resolution. At 3 T, where whole-brain acquisitions with 1 mm isotropic voxels were acquired in 8 min the T-1 values obtained (0.81 +/- 0.03 S for WM and 1.35 +/- 0.05 for GM) were once again found to be in very good agreement with values in the literature. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.