Glacier mass balance reconstruction by sublimation induced enrichment of chemical species on Cerro Tapado (Chilean Andes)

A 36 m long ice core down to bedrock from the Cerro Tapado glacier (5536 m a.s.l, 30°08' S, 69°55' W) was analyzed to reconstruct past climatic conditions for Northern Chile. Because of the marked seasonality in the precipitation (short wet winter and extended dry summer periods) in this region, major snow ablation and related post-depositional processes occur on the glacier surface during summer periods. They include predominantly sublimation and dry deposition. Assuming that, like measured during the field campaign, the enrichment of chloride was always related to sublimation, the chemical record along the ice core may be applied to reconstruct the history of such secondary processes linked to the past climatic conditions over northern Chile. For the time period 1962–1999, a mean annual net accumulation of 316 mm water equivalent (weq) and 327 mm weq loss by sublimation was deduced by this method. This corresponds to an initial total annual accumulation of 539 mm weq. The annual variability of the accumulation and sublimation is related with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI): higher net-accumulation during El-Niño years and more sublimation during La Niña years. The deepest part of the ice record shows a time discontinuity; with an ice body deposited under different climatic conditions: 290 mm higher precipitation but with reduced seasonal distribution (+470 mm in winter and –180 mm in summer) and –3°C lower mean annual temperature. Unfortunately, its age is unknown. The comparison with regional proxy data however let us conclude that the glacier buildup did most likely occur after the dry mid-Holocene.

Governor Tom Judge: Early Years - The Path to Becoming Montana's 18th Governor -- Sidney Armstrong, Larry Pettit & Kent Kleinkopf “In the Crucible of Change”

The dramatic period of progressive change in Montana that is documented "In the Crucible of Change" series really exploded with the election of Governors Forrest Anderson and Tom Judge. Anderson's single term saw the dispatching of the sales tax as an issue for a long period, the reorganization of the executive branch of state government and the revision of Montana's Constitution. As a former legislator, county attorney, Supreme Court justice, and Attorney General, Anderson brought unmatched experience to the governorship when elected. Tom Judge, although much younger (elected MT’s youngest governor at age 38 immediately following Anderson), also brought serious experience to the governorship: six years as a MT State Representative, two years as a MT State Senator, four years is Lieutenant Governor and significant business experience. The campaign and election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 spurred other young Americans to service, including Tom Judge. First elected in 1960, he rose rapidly through MT’s political-governmental hierarchy until he took over the governorship in time to implement many of the changes started in Governor Anderson’s term. But as a strong progressive leader in his own right, Governor Judge sponsored and implemented significant advancements of his own for Montana. Those accomplishments, however, are the subject of other films in this series. This film deals with Tom Judge’s early years – his rise to the governorship from when he returned home after college at Notre Dame and newspaper experience in Kentucky to his actual election in November 1972. That story is discussed in this episode by three major players in the effort, all directly involved in Tom Judge’s early years and path to the governorship: Sidney Armstrong, Larry Pettit and Kent Kleinkopf. Their recollections of the early Tom Judge and the period of his advancement to the governorship provide an insider’s perspective of the growth of this significant leader of the important period of progressive change documented “In the Crucible of Change.” Sidney Armstrong, President of Sidney Armstrong Consulting, serves on the board and as the Executive Director of the Greater Montana Foundation. Formerly Executive Director of the Montana Community Foundation (MCF), she has served on national committees and participated in national foundation initiatives. While at MCF, she worked extensively with MT Governors Racicot and Martz on the state charitable endowment tax credit and other endowed philanthropy issues. A member of MT Governor Thomas L. Judge’s staff in the 1970s, she was also part of Governor Brian Schweitzer’s 2004 Transition Team, continuing to serve as a volunteer advisor during his term. In the 1980s, Sidney also worked for the MT State AFL-CIO and the MT Democratic Party as well as working two sessions with the MT Senate as Assistant Secretary of the Senate and aide to the President. A Helena native, and great granddaughter of pioneer Montanans, Sidney has served on numerous nonprofit boards, and is currently a board member for the Montana History Foundation. Recently she served on the board of the Holter Museum of Art and was a Governor’s appointee to the Humanities Montana board. She is a graduate of the International School of Geneva, Switzerland and the University of Montana. Armstrong's Irish maternal immigrant great-grandparents, Thomas and Maria Cahill Cooney, came to Virginia City, MT in a covered wagon in 1865, looking for gold. Eventually, they settled on the banks of the Missouri River outside Helena as ranchers. She also has roots in Butte, MT, where her journalist father's family, both of whom were newspaper people, lived. Her father, Richard K. O’Malley, is also the author of a well-known book about Butte, Mile High, Mile Deep, recently re-published by Russell Chatham. She is the mother of four and the grandmother of eight. Dr. Lawrence K. Pettit (Larry Pettit) (b. 5/2/1937) has had a dual career in politics and higher education. In addition to being Montana’s first Commissioner of Higher Education (the subject of another film in this series); Pettit, of Lewistown, served as legislative assistant to U.S. Senators James E. Murray and Lee Metcalf, campaign manager, head of transition team and assistant to Montana Governor Thomas L. Judge; taught political science at The Pennsylvania State University (main campus), was chair of political science at Montana State University, Deputy Commissioner for Academic Programs at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Chancellor of the University System of South Texas (since merged with Texas A&M University), President of Southern Illinois University, and President of Indiana University of Pennsylvania from where he retired in 2003. He has served as chair of the Commission on Leadership for the American Council on Education, president of the National Association of (University) System Heads, and on many national and state boards and commissions in higher education. Pettit is author of “If You Live by the Sword: Politics in the Making and Unmaking of a University President.” More about Pettit is found at http://www.lawrencekpettit.com… Kent Kleinkopf of Missoula is co-founder of a firm with a national scope of business that specializes in litigation consultation, expert vocational testimony, and employee assistance programs. His partner (and wife of 45 years) Kathy, is an expert witness in the 27 year old business. Kent received a BA in History/Education from the University of Idaho and an MA in Economics from the University of Utah. The Kleinkopfs moved to Helena, MT in 1971 where he was Assistant to the Commissioner of State Lands (later Governor) Ted Schwinden. In early 1972 Kent volunteered full time in Lt. Governor Tom Judge’s campaign for Governor, driving the Lt. Governor extensively throughout Montana. After Judge was elected governor, Kent briefly joined the staff of Governor Forrest Anderson, then in 1973 transitioned to Judge’s Governor’s Office staff, where he became Montana’s first “Citizens’ Advocate.” In that capacity he fielded requests for assistance from citizens with concerns and information regarding State Agencies. While on the Governor’s staff, Kent continued as a travel aide with the governor both in Montana and nationally. In 1977 Kent was appointed Director of the MT Department of Business Regulation. That role included responsibility as Superintendent of Banking and Chairman of the State Banking Board, where Kent presided over the chartering of many banks, savings and loans, and credit unions. In 1981 the Kleinkopfs moved to Missoula and went into the business they run today. Kent was appointed by Governor Brian Schweitzer to the Board of the Montana Historical Society in 2006, was reappointed and continues to serve. Kathy and Kent have a daughter and son-in-law in Missoula.

Early gene expression analysis in 9L orthotopic tumor-bearing rats identifies immune modulation in molecular response to synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy

Synchrotron Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT) relies on the spatial fractionation of the synchrotron photon beam into parallel micro-beams applying several hundred of grays in their paths. Several works have reported the therapeutic interest of the radiotherapy modality at preclinical level, but biological mechanisms responsible for the described efficacy are not fully understood to date. The aim of this study was to identify the early transcriptomic responses of normal brain and glioma tissue in rats after MRT irradiation (400Gy). The transcriptomic analysis of similarly irradiated normal brain and tumor tissues was performed 6 hours after irradiation of 9 L orthotopically tumor-bearing rats. Pangenomic analysis revealed 1012 overexpressed and 497 repressed genes in the irradiated contralateral normal tissue and 344 induced and 210 repressed genes in tumor tissue. These genes were grouped in a total of 135 canonical pathways. More than half were common to both tissues with a predominance for immunity or inflammation (64 and 67% of genes for normal and tumor tissues, respectively). Several pathways involving HMGB1, toll-like receptors, C-type lectins and CD36 may serve as a link between biochemical changes triggered by irradiation and inflammation and immunological challenge. Most immune cell populations were involved: macrophages, dendritic cells, natural killer, T and B lymphocytes. Among them, our results highlighted the involvement of Th17 cell population, recently described in tumor. The immune response was regulated by a large network of mediators comprising growth factors, cytokines, lymphokines. In conclusion, early response to MRT is mainly based on inflammation and immunity which appear therefore as major contributors to MRT efficacy.

The palaeoecological history of the Praz-Rodet bog (Swiss Jura) based on pollen, plant macrofossils and testate amoebae (Protozoa)

Stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating and analyses of pollen, plant macrofossils and testate amoebae were used to reconstruct the development and ecology of a small raised bog in a karst-dominated landscape in the Swiss Jura Mountains. Special focus was on past vegetation and on the history of Pinus rotundata in relation to anthropogenic and climatic influences. Testate amoebae were used to reconstruc-t past local soil pH and water-table depth. The inferred development of the Praz-Rodet bog typifies a classic hydroseral tefrestrialization of a small basin. Two features are specific for this site. First, the bog was much wetter than today for a long period; according to our hypothesis, this only changed as a consequence of human activities. Second, two hiatuses are present at the coring location (Younger Dryas--early Preboreal, and 4700-2800 cal. yr BP), the former probably caused by low lake productivity due to cold temperatures and the latter by the erosional activity of the adjacent small river. The date of 2800 cal. yr BP for renewed peat accumulation may be related to climatic change (Subboreal-Subatlantic transition). Pollen indicators failed to show one hiatus: an apparently complete pollen sequence is therefore no guarantee of an uninterrupted sediment accumulation. Evidence of early minor human impact on the vegetation in the Joux Valley dates back to c. 6850 calendar years, congruous with the early Neolithic in the Jura Mountains. The history of Pinuis rotindata appears to be more complex than previously believed. Human activity is clearly responsible for the present abundance of this species, but the tree was naturally present on the bog long before the first evidence of important human disturbance of the site (1500 cal. yr BP). It is suggested that, in karst-dominated landscapes, dense forests growing on mineral soils around raised bogs may significantly reduce summer evapotranspiration by acting as windbreaks. Forest clearance results in increased evapotranspiration, causing a lowering of the water table on the bog and a modification of the vegetation cover. This hypothesis has implications for the management of similar small raised bogs in karst-dominated landscape.

Mid-Wisconsin to Holocene permafrost and landscape dynamics based on a drained lake basin core from the northern Seward Peninsula, Northwest Alaska

Permafrost-related processes drive regional landscape dynamics in the Arctic terrestrial system. A better understanding of past periods indicative of permafrost degradation and aggradation is important for predicting the future response of Arctic landscapes to climate change. Here, we used a multi-proxy approach to analyze a ~4 m long sediment core from a drained thermokarst lake basin on the northern Seward Peninsula in western Arctic Alaska (USA). Sedimentological, biogeochemistical, geochronological, micropaleontological (ostracoda, testate amoeba) and tephra analyses were used to determine the long-term environmental Early-Wisconsin to Holocene history preserved in our core for Central Beringia. Yedoma accumulation dominated throughout the Early to Late-Wisconsin but was interrupted by wetland formation from 44.5 to 41.5 ka BP. The latter was terminated by deposition of 1 m of volcanic tephra, most likely originating from the South Killeak Maar eruption at about 42 ka BP. Yedoma deposition continued until 22.5 ka BP and was followed by a depositional hiatus in the sediment core between 22.5 and 0.23 ka BP. We interpret this hiatus as due to intense thermokarst activity in the areas surrounding the site, which served as a sediment source during the Late-Wisconsin to Holocene climate transition. The lake forming the modern basin on the upland initiated around 0.23 ka BP, which drained catastrophically in spring 2005. The present study emphasizes that Arctic lake systems and periglacial landscapes are highly dynamic and permafrost formation as well as degradation in Central Beringia was controlled by regional to global climate patterns and as well as by local disturbances.

Producción en masa, economía monetaria y vitalidad comercial del Mediterráneo

Se argumenta que la arqueología y la historia monetaria reúnen entre sí el potencial para proyectar una imagen de la economía romana muy diferente a la que sugieren los estereotipos minimalistas. Se discuten las implicancias de esta argumentación para el período tardoantiguo en particular, rechazando el catastrofismo con el que Rostovtzeff concluía su célebre historia del temprano imperio. En el imperio tardío la fortaleza de los intereses privados se mantuvo tan firme como siempre, en una economía caracterizada por la integración de los negocios públicos y privados antes que por un supuesto conflicto o antagonismo entre ambos. El imperio de Oriente conservó estas tendencias en forma pura, con niveles sostenidos de comercio y circulación monetaria hasta las décadas centrales del siglo VII. En este trabajo se argumenta que pensar en términos de ciclos económicos sería para los historiadores más razonable que la patología convencional de la "declinación", "decadencia", etc. Este patrón es notablemente evidente en la historia económica bizantina, marcada por abruptas fluctuaciones entre los siglos V y XII.

Le Goff : Balance crítico de un legado

Los primeros trabajos de Jacques Le Goff, sobre mercaderes, banqueros e intelectuales de la Edad Media, presentan cualidades que anuncian su desarrollo posterior: débil teoría económica y mayor desarrollo sobre historia de las ideas. A partir de 1964, con la publicación de La civilización del occidente medieval, se produce un cambio. Ese cambio se inscribe en una nueva orientación general de la escuela de Annales: el estudio de las mentalidades. Le Goff pretende realizar un análisis de la mentalidad del hombre medieval. Su estudio se basa principalmente en textos eruditos eclesiásticos. Se demuestra en este artículo que ese tipo de fuentes permiten acceder a la mentalidad de la parte sacerdotal de la clase de poder. De manera secundaria, Le Goff estudió fuentes literarias que permiten acercarse a la mentalidad de los caballeros. Para el análisis de los campesinos y de distintos sectores subalternos se necesitarían otro tipo de fuentes que nunca fueron utilizadas por Le Goff. Este análisis mantiene algunas semejanzas con el materialismo histórico, pero también tiene profundas diferencias con la doctrina de Marx. En base a esto se determina el alcance del legado de Le Goff

Producción en masa, economía monetaria y vitalidad comercial del Mediterráneo

Se argumenta que la arqueología y la historia monetaria reúnen entre sí el potencial para proyectar una imagen de la economía romana muy diferente a la que sugieren los estereotipos minimalistas. Se discuten las implicancias de esta argumentación para el período tardoantiguo en particular, rechazando el catastrofismo con el que Rostovtzeff concluía su célebre historia del temprano imperio. En el imperio tardío la fortaleza de los intereses privados se mantuvo tan firme como siempre, en una economía caracterizada por la integración de los negocios públicos y privados antes que por un supuesto conflicto o antagonismo entre ambos. El imperio de Oriente conservó estas tendencias en forma pura, con niveles sostenidos de comercio y circulación monetaria hasta las décadas centrales del siglo VII. En este trabajo se argumenta que pensar en términos de ciclos económicos sería para los historiadores más razonable que la patología convencional de la "declinación", "decadencia", etc. Este patrón es notablemente evidente en la historia económica bizantina, marcada por abruptas fluctuaciones entre los siglos V y XII.

Le Goff : Balance crítico de un legado

Los primeros trabajos de Jacques Le Goff, sobre mercaderes, banqueros e intelectuales de la Edad Media, presentan cualidades que anuncian su desarrollo posterior: débil teoría económica y mayor desarrollo sobre historia de las ideas. A partir de 1964, con la publicación de La civilización del occidente medieval, se produce un cambio. Ese cambio se inscribe en una nueva orientación general de la escuela de Annales: el estudio de las mentalidades. Le Goff pretende realizar un análisis de la mentalidad del hombre medieval. Su estudio se basa principalmente en textos eruditos eclesiásticos. Se demuestra en este artículo que ese tipo de fuentes permiten acceder a la mentalidad de la parte sacerdotal de la clase de poder. De manera secundaria, Le Goff estudió fuentes literarias que permiten acercarse a la mentalidad de los caballeros. Para el análisis de los campesinos y de distintos sectores subalternos se necesitarían otro tipo de fuentes que nunca fueron utilizadas por Le Goff. Este análisis mantiene algunas semejanzas con el materialismo histórico, pero también tiene profundas diferencias con la doctrina de Marx. En base a esto se determina el alcance del legado de Le Goff

Producción en masa, economía monetaria y vitalidad comercial del Mediterráneo

Se argumenta que la arqueología y la historia monetaria reúnen entre sí el potencial para proyectar una imagen de la economía romana muy diferente a la que sugieren los estereotipos minimalistas. Se discuten las implicancias de esta argumentación para el período tardoantiguo en particular, rechazando el catastrofismo con el que Rostovtzeff concluía su célebre historia del temprano imperio. En el imperio tardío la fortaleza de los intereses privados se mantuvo tan firme como siempre, en una economía caracterizada por la integración de los negocios públicos y privados antes que por un supuesto conflicto o antagonismo entre ambos. El imperio de Oriente conservó estas tendencias en forma pura, con niveles sostenidos de comercio y circulación monetaria hasta las décadas centrales del siglo VII. En este trabajo se argumenta que pensar en términos de ciclos económicos sería para los historiadores más razonable que la patología convencional de la "declinación", "decadencia", etc. Este patrón es notablemente evidente en la historia económica bizantina, marcada por abruptas fluctuaciones entre los siglos V y XII.