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The Kinematic Driver-Aerosol (KiD-A) intercomparison was established to test the hypothesis that detailed warm microphysical schemes provide a benchmark for lower-complexity bulk microphysics schemes. KiD-A is the first intercomparison to compare multiple Lagrangian cloud models (LCMs), size bin-resolved schemes, and double-moment bulk microphysics schemes in a consistent 1D dynamic framework and box cases. In the absence of sedimentation and collision–coalescence, the drop size distributions (DSDs) from the LCMs exhibit similar evolution with expected physical behaviors and good interscheme agreement, with the volume mean diameter (Dvol) from the LCMs within 1%–5% of each other. In contrast, the bin schemes exhibit nonphysical broadening with condensational growth. These results further strengthen the case that LCMs are an appropriate numerical benchmark for DSD evolution under condensational growth. When precipitation processes are included, however, the simulated liquid water path, precipitation rates, and response to modified cloud drop/aerosol number concentrations from the LCMs vary substantially, while the bin and bulk schemes are relatively more consistent with each other. The lack of consistency in the LCM results stems from both the collision–coalescence process and the sedimentation process, limiting their application as a numerical benchmark for precipitation processes. Reassuringly, however, precipitation from bulk schemes, which are the basis for cloud microphysics in weather and climate prediction, is within the spread of precipitation from the detailed schemes (LCMs and bin). Overall, this intercomparison identifies the need for focused effort on the comparison of collision–coalescence methods and sedimentation in detailed microphysics schemes, especially LCMs.

The retrieval of hail kinetic energy with weather radars or its simulation in numerical models is challenging because of the shape complexity and variable density of hailstones. We combine 3D scans of individual hailstones with measurements of the particle size distributions (PSD) and T-matrix calculations to understand how hail reflectivity Z changes when approximating hailstones as spheroids, as compared to the realistic shapes obtained by 3D scanning technology. Additionally, recent terminal velocity relations are used to compare Z to the hail kinetic energy flux . We parameterize the hail backscattering cross sections at L, S, C, and X bands as a function of size between 0.5 and 5.0 cm, matching the range of the observed PSDs. The scattering calculations use the T-matrix method for size parameters below 1.0 and the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) method otherwise. The DDA calculations are done for 48 digital models of realistic hailstones of sizes between 1 and 5 cm. The DDA cross sections are calculated for multiple orientations and averaged assuming a fully random orientation distribution to provide a single value per hailstone. The T-matrix reflectivity assuming solid ice spheres presents negligible differences to DDA results for size parameters below 1.0. Therefore, T matrix was used to fill in the gaps left by the DDA calculations. The results are mapped to the same size bins of the observed PSDs, allowing the calculation of the radar reflectivity. This is then correlated to , allowing a potential improvement of past retrieval methods of from Z in multiple wavelengths.

Many global-climate models have substantial biases in their predictions of the Asian monsoon. For example, the Met Office Unified Model predicts a monsoon trough that is too zonal and therefore underestimates summer rainfall over south and east Asia. These errors have persisted over many cycles of research-to-operations, and appear robust to significant developments in all major parametrizations in the model. Here, we address a simple question: why are these biases systematic? That is, why have they not been removed by optimization of parameters in the model's physics? Using a Perturbed Parameter Ensemble of AMIP simulations, we show that a strong constraint exists which prevents the Unified Model from simultaneously producing an unbiased monsoon and unbiased global top-of-atmosphere radiation fluxes. We use this constraint to define a scalar parameter, the "structural bias" of the ensemble, the magnitude of which measures the conflict between the constraints and therefore how "untunable" the model is. We identify the drivers of this parameter, show that it is related to an inability to independently affect the properties of tropical and extra-tropical clouds, and suggest ways in which it could be reduced in future model versions.

The observed variety of aerosol effects on precipitation at different spatial and time scales means that no simple answer to this question has so far been discovered. However, although aerosol effects are many, it remains possible that there are universal constraints on the number of degrees of freedom needed to represent them. We use convective-scale simulations to reveal a self-similar probability density function that underpins surface rainfall statistics. This function is independent of cloud-droplet number concentration and is unchanged by aerosol perturbations. It therefore represents an invariant property of our model with respect to cloud–aerosol interactions. For a given aerosol concentration, if at least one moment of the rainfall distribution on cloud-droplet number is a known input parameter, then this can be combined with the self-similar function to reconstruct the entire rainfall distribution to a useful degree of accuracy. We will demonstrate this using simulations from convective permitting, aerosol interacting simulations over China.

By synthesising remote-sensing measurements made in the central Arctic into a model-gridded Cloudnet cloud product, we evaluate how well the Met Office Unified Model (UM) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) capture Arctic clouds and their associated interactions with the surface energy balance and the thermodynamic structure of the lower troposphere. This evaluation was conducted using a 4-week observation period from the Arctic Ocean 2018 expedition, where the transition from sea ice melting to freezing conditions was measured. Three different cloud schemes were tested within a nested limited-area model (LAM) configuration of the UM – two regionally operational single-moment schemes (UM_RA2M and UM_RA2T) and one novel double-moment scheme (UM_CASIM-100) – while one global simulation was conducted with the IFS, utilising its default cloud scheme (ECMWF_IFS). Consistent weaknesses were identified across both models, with both the UM and IFS overestimating cloud occurrence below 3 km. This overestimation was also consistent across the three cloud configurations used within the UM framework, with >90 % mean cloud occurrence simulated between 0.15 and 1 km in all the model simulations. However, the cloud microphysical structure, on average, was modelled reasonably well in each simulation, with the cloud liquid water content (LWC) and ice water content (IWC) comparing well with observations over much of the vertical profile. The key microphysical discrepancy between the models and observations was in the LWC between 1 and 3 km, where most simulations (all except UM_RA2T) overestimated the observed LWC. Despite this reasonable performance in cloud physical structure, both models failed to adequately capture cloud-free episodes: this consistency in cloud cover likely contributes to the ever-present near-surface temperature bias in every simulation. Both models also consistently exhibited temperature and moisture biases below 3 km, with particularly strong cold biases coinciding with the overabundant modelled cloud layers. These biases are likely due to too much cloud-top radiative cooling from these persistent modelled cloud layers and were consistent across the three UM configurations tested, despite differences in their parameterisations of cloud on a sub-grid scale. Alarmingly, our findings suggest that these biases in the regional model were inherited from the global model, driving a cause–effect relationship between the excessive low-altitude cloudiness and the coincident cold bias. Using representative cloud condensation nuclei concentrations in our double-moment UM configuration while improving cloud microphysical structure does little to alleviate these biases; therefore, no matter how comprehensive we make the cloud physics in the nested LAM configuration used here, its cloud and thermodynamic structure will continue to be overwhelmingly biased by the meteorological conditions of its driving model.

In the Arctic, the aerosol budget plays a particular role in determining the behaviour of clouds, which are important for the surface energy balance and thus for the region’s climate. A key question is the extent to which cloud condensation nuclei in the high Arctic summertime boundary layer are controlled by local emission and formation processes as opposed to transport from outside. Each of these sources is likely to respond differently to future changes in ice cover. Here we use a global model and observations from ship and aircraft field campaigns to understand the source of high Arctic aerosol in late summer. We find that particles formed remotely, i.e. at latitudes outside the Arctic, are the dominant source of boundary layer Aitken mode particles during the sea ice melt period up to the end of August. Particles from such remote sources, entrained into the boundary layer from the free troposphere, account for nucleation and Aitken mode particle concentrations that are otherwise underestimated by the model. This source from outside the high Arctic declines as photochemical rates decrease towards the end of summer and is largely replaced by local new particle formation driven by iodic acid created during freeze-up. Such a local source increases the simulated Aitken mode particle concentrations by 2 orders of magnitude during sea ice freeze-up and is consistent with strong fluctuations in nucleation mode concentrations that occur in September. Our results suggest a high-Arctic aerosol regime shift in late summer, and only after this shift do cloud condensation nuclei become sensitive to local aerosol processes.

One of the most intense air mass transformations on Earth happens when cold air flows from frozen surfaces to much warmer open water in cold-air outbreaks (CAOs), a process captured beautifully in satellite imagery. Despite the ubiquity of the CAO cloud regime over high-latitude oceans, we have a rather poor understanding of its properties, its role in energy and water cycles, and its treatment in weather and climate models. The Cold-Air Outbreaks in the Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (COMBLE) was conducted to better understand this regime and its representation in models. COMBLE aimed to examine the relations between surface fluxes, boundary layer structure, aerosol, cloud, and precipitation properties, and mesoscale circulations in marine CAOs. Processes affecting these properties largely fall in a range of scales where boundary layer processes, convection, and precipitation are tightly coupled, which makes accurate representation of the CAO cloud regime in numerical weather prediction and global climate models most challenging. COMBLE deployed an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Mobile Facility at a coastal site in northern Scandinavia (69°N), with additional instruments on Bear Island (75°N), from December 2019 to May 2020. CAO conditions were experienced 19% (21%) of the time at the main site (on Bear Island). A comprehensive suite of continuous in situ and remote sensing observations of atmospheric conditions, clouds, precipitation, and aerosol were collected. Because of the clouds’ well-defined origin, their shallow depth, and the broad range of observed temperature and aerosol concentrations, the COMBLE dataset provides a powerful modeling testbed for improving the representation of mixed-phase cloud processes in large-eddy simulations and large-scale models.

ObjectiveThere has been limited systematic evaluation of outcomes and drivers of inappropriate non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) dosing among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This review identified and systematically evaluated literature on clinical and economic outcomes of inappropriate NOAC dosing and associated patient characteristics.MethodsMEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Econlit, PubMed and NHS EEDs databases were searched for English language observational studies from all geographies published between 2008 and 2020, examining outcomes of, or factors associated with, inappropriate NOAC dosing in adult patients with AF.ResultsOne hundred and six studies were included in the analysis. Meta-analysis showed that compared with recommended NOAC dosing, off-label underdosing was associated with a null effect on stroke outcomes (ischaemic stroke and stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA), stroke/systemic embolism (SE) and stroke/SE/TIA). Meta-analysis of 15 studies examining clinical outcomes of inappropriate NOAC dosing found a null effect of underdosing on bleeding outcomes (major bleeding HR=1.04, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.19; p=0.625) but an increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR=1.28, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.49; p=0.006). Overdosing was associated with an increased risk of major bleeding (HR=1.41, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.85; p=0.013). No studies were found examining economic outcomes of inappropriate NOAC dosing. Narrative synthesis of 12 studies examining drivers of inappropriate NOAC dosing found that increased age, history of minor bleeds, hypertension, congestive heart failure and low creatine clearance (CrCl) were associated with an increased risk of underdosing. There was insufficient evidence to assess drivers of overdosing.ConclusionsOur analysis suggests that off-label underdosing of NOACs does not reduce bleeding outcomes. Patients prescribed off-label NOAC doses are at an increased risk of all-cause mortality. These data underscore the importance of prescriber adherence to NOAC dosing guidelines to achieve optimal clinical outcomes for patients with AF.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020219844.

Preparation of chromatographic columns requires considerable time during chemical separation procedures. Automated systems capable of repeatedly generating renewable, uniformly packed columns would...

The representation of clouds, aerosols and cloud-aerosol-radiation impacts remain some of the largest uncertainties in climate change, limiting our ability to accurately reconstruct and predict future climate. The south-east Atlantic is a region where high atmospheric aerosol loadings and semi-permanent stratocumulus clouds are co-located, providing a natural laboratory for studying the full range of aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions and their perturbations of the Earth’s radiation budget. While satellite measurements have provided some useful insights into aerosol-radiation and aerosol cloud interactions over the region, these observations do not have the spatial and temporal resolution, nor the required level of precision to allow for a process level assessment. Detailed measurements from high spatial and temporal resolution airborne atmospheric measurements in the region are very sparse, limiting their use in assessing the performance of aerosol modelling in numerical weather prediction and climate models. CLARIFY-2017 was a major consortium programme consisting of 5 principal UK universities with project partners from the UK Met Office and European and USA-based universities and research centres involved in the complementary ORACLES, LASIC and AEROCLO-sA projects. The aims of CLARIFY-2017 were four-fold; (1) to improve the representation and reduce uncertainty in model estimates of the direct, semi-direct and indirect radiative effect of absorbing biomass burning aerosols; (2) improve our knowledge and representation of the processes determining stratocumulus cloud microphysical and radiative properties and their transition to cumulus regimes; (3) challenge, validate and improve satellite retrievals of cloud and aerosol properties and their radiative impacts; (4) improve numerical models of cloud and aerosol and their impacts on radiation, weather and climate. This paper describes the modelling and measurement strategies central to the CLARIFY-2017 deployment of the FAAM BAe146 instrumented aircraft campaign, summarises the flight objectives and flight patterns, and highlights some key results from our initial analyses.

RATIONALE To detect the small changes in past pH, the boron isotope ratio of coral carbonates, expressed as the δ11 B value, needs to be both precise and accurate (2sd <

Measuring arsenic in urine provides important information for clinical and epidemiological studies. While many researchers have studied ways to improve sample storage and understand why arsenic species undergo species interconversion, none have investigated inline dilution as a solution for arsenic speciation sample stability. A fast inline dilution method for AsB, DMA, MMA, As III, and As V was demonstrated in this work. Inline dilution calibrations from a single stock standard were shown to have good linearity and resulted in LODs in the single digit ppt range. Inline dilutions of 30X, 50X, and 100X resulted in 0.1 s to 1.1 s variation in retention time. Manual sample preparation resulted in poor recovery (61%) for As III over a 24 h time period, which was a direct result of As III converting to As V. Inline dilution of urine spiked with As III resulted in good recovery (101%) and reduced the species interconversion of As III to As V to ∼1%. Accuracy to NIST SRM 2669 (arsenic in frozen urine) was found to be within reported values for the five arsenic species tested for in this method.

Copper is an essential element for biological functions within humans and animals. There are several known diseases associated with Cu deficiency or overload, such as Menkes disease and Wilson disease, respectively. A common clinical method for determining extractable Cu levels in serum, which is thought to be potentially dangerous if in excess, is to subtract the value of tightly incorporated Cu in ceruloplasmin from total serum Cu. In this work, an automated sample preparation and liquid chromatography (LC) system was combined with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine bound Cu and extractable Cu in serum. This LC-ICP-MS method took 250 s for sample preparation and analysis, followed by a column recondition/system reset, thus, a 6 minute sample-to-sample time including sample preparation. The method was validated using serum collected from either control (Atp7b+/−) or Wilson disease rats (Atp7b−/−). The extractable Cu was found to be 4.0 ± 2.3 μM Cu in healthy control rats, but 2.1 ± 0.6 μM Cu in healthy Wilson rats, and 27 ± 16 μM Cu in diseased Wilson rats, respectively. In addition, the extractable Cu/bound Cu ratio was found to be 6.4 ± 3.5%, 38 ± 29%, and 34 ± 22%, respectively. These results suggest that the developed method could be of diagnostic value for Wilson disease, and possibly other copper related diseases.

To detect the small changes in past pHSamples were purified using the prepFAST-MC automated system with a ~25-μL column of Amberlite IRA743 resin. Boron isotope measurements were performed by MC-ICPMS. The effects of matrix load, speed of sample loading onto the column, and blank contamination were tested to evaluate the effects on the purification process. The optimised protocol was tested on various standards and samples of aragonite corals.The blank contribution for the approach is ~60 pg and is negligible given our sample size (0.2% sample size). Efficiency of matrix removal is demonstrated with the addition of up to 1.6 mg of dissolved low-B calcium carbonate to NIST SRM 951 with no impact on the accuracy of δOur study demonstrates the capacity of the prepFAST-MC method to generate accurate and reproducible δ

Convection-permitting simulations are used to understand the effects of cloud-aerosol interactions on a case of heavy rainfall over south China. The simulations are evaluated using radar observations from the South China Monsoon Rainfall Experiment and remotely sensed estimates of precipitation, clouds and radiation. We focus on the effects of complexity in cloud-aerosol interactions, especially processing and transport of dissolved material inside clouds. In particular, simulations with aerosol concentrations held constant are compared with a fully coupled cloud-aerosol-interacting system to isolate the effects of processing on a line of organised-deep convection. It is shown that in-cloud processing of aerosols can change the vertical structure of squall lines thereby inducing changes in the statistics of surface rainfall. These effects are shown to be consistent with a modulation by aerosol of the timescale of the converting cloud-droplets to rain.

Aerosol-cloud interactions represent the leading uncertainty in our ability to infer climate sensitivity from the observational record. The forcing from changes in cloud albedo driven by increases in cloud droplet number (Nd) (the first indirect effect) is confidently negative and has narrowed its probable range in the last decade, but the sign and strength of forcing associated with changes in cloud macrophysics in response to aerosol (aerosol-cloud adjustments) remain uncertain. This uncertainty reflects our inability to accurately quantify variability not associated with a causal link flowing from the cloud microphysical state to cloud macrophysical state. Once variability associated with meteorology has been removed, covariance between the liquid water path averaged across cloudy and clear regions (LWP, here, characterizing the macrophysical state) and Nd (characterizing the microphysical) is the sum of two causal pathways linking Nd to LWP: Nd altering LWP (adjustments) and precipitation scavenging aerosol and thus depleting Nd. Only the former term is relevant to constraining adjustments, but disentangling these terms in observations is challenging. We hypothesize that the diversity of constraints on aerosol-cloud adjustments in the literature may be partly due to not explicitly characterizing covariance flowing from cloud to aerosol, and aerosol to cloud. Here, we restrict our analysis to the regime of extratropical clouds outside of low-pressure centers associated with cyclonic activity. Observations from MAC-LWP, and MODIS are compared to simulations in the MetOffice Unified Model (UM) GA7.1 (the atmosphere model of HadGEM3-GC3.1 and UKESM1). The meteorological predictors of LWP are found to be similar between the model and observations. There is also agreement with previous literature on cloud-controlling factors finding that increasing stability, moisture, and sensible heat flux enhance LWP, while increasing subsidence, and sea surface temperature decrease it. A simulation where cloud microphysics are insensitive to changes in Nd is used to characterize covariance between Nd and LWP that is induced by factors other than aerosol-cloud adjustments. By removing variability associated with meteorology and scavenging we infer the sensitivity of LWP to changes in Nd. Application of this technique to UM GA7.1 simulations reproduces the true model adjustment strength. Observational constraints developed using simulated covariability not induced by adjustments and observed covariability between Nd and LWP predict a 25–30 % overestimate by the UM GA7.1 in LWP change and a 30–35% overestimate in associated radiative forcing.

Shipboard manipulation experiments were conducted during the 2011 austral summer to assess the responses of eukaryote phytoplankton assemblages in the Ross Sea to ferric chloride, Fe–siderophore complexes, and apo-siderophore addition. An emphasis was placed on the model catecholate siderophore enterobactin, including limited experiments to test hypothesized interactions between Cu availability and the capacity to access Fe from Fe-enterobactin. Stations included those on Pennell Bank, along the western flank of Pennell Bank and at the shelf break. Growth rate estimates based on chlorophyll a (chl a) accumulation and nitrate drawdown under constant illumination, as well as silicate:nitrate (Si:N) drawdown and variable fluorescence (Fv/Fm), were used to evaluate bulk phytoplankton responses to Fe and siderophores. Responses to ferric chloride, copper and Fe-enterobactin plus Cu manipulations revealed widespread Fe limitation but no evidence of Cu limitation of enterobactin availability. These results were consistent with ambient surface water dissolved Fe concentrations ranging from 110 to 320 pM, known to limit Southern Ocean diatoms, and with dissolved Cu profiles showing non-limiting surface water concentrations of ~ 1.8 nM. Fe-enterobactin additions (2 nM) stimulated growth of Ross Sea populations to the same extent as ferric chloride based on either chl a accumulation or nitrate drawdown, except on Pennell Bank (station 7) where the chl a-based growth rate was slightly lower. All Fe-enterobactin treatments resulted in decreases in Si:N drawdown and increases in Fv/Fm by the end of the incubations. Given the general availability of Fe-enterobactin among these treatments, we hypothesized that apo-enterobactin might be an effective shuttle from less available reservoirs of Fe, and therefore increase Fe availability. Apo-enterobactin led to a modest improvement in nitrate-based growth at one station. We amplified the V7–V9 hypervariable region of 18S ribosomal DNA with high phylogenetic resolution to investigate whether the source of Fe elicited a shift in community composition, which would suggest clade-specific capacities to access siderophore bound Fe. Despite differences in community structure at Pennell Bank (dominated by Chaetoceros clades) and other locations (dominated by Pseudonitzschia), there was no evidence for changes in community composition during incubations in response to ferric chloride or enterobactin treatments. Preliminary results from one incubation suggest that Fe limitation was relieved with Fe added as any one of four model siderophores (enterobactin, ferrichrome, ferrioxamine, and pyoverdin) of differing coordination, stability and dissociation rates, suggesting that extant species may be able to utilize Fe, either directly or indirectly, from a variety of strong ligands on these time scales.

This paper presents an iron wire trigger mechanism that will be used for a new generation of low-cost corrosion sensors that are wireless and do not require batteries or any other external power sources. The corrosion of thin sensor wires, 0.065 to 0.25 mm in diameter, were investigated in sodium chloride solutions and compared with the mass loss from steel coupons under similar conditions. The 0.125- and 0.065-mm wires were embedded in concrete and subjected to accelerated corrosion testing. These wires are suitable for use as triggers for corrosive salts. They behaved similarly to mild reinforcing steel used in concrete structures and their resistance increased significantly at predictable chloride levels. Prototype sensors, constructed using commercial radio frequency identification tags with a section of the antenna replaced by a wire trigger, were embedded in concrete. These results demonstrate the methodology to create successful radio frequency identification based sensors for the egress of...

The Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica, is home to the most productive polynyas of the Southern Ocean, where summer primary production can reach 3 g C m − 2 d − 1 . The remoteness of this region has meant that systematic studies of biogeochemistry in the Amundsen Sea polynyas have been limited, despite their importance to overall Antarctic shelf productivity and proximity to the fastest thinning glaciers on the continent. Particulate iron inputs to the productive shelf waters of the Amundsen Sea may be important to the overall bioavailability of Fe in this region of natural Fe fertilization. Here we discuss findings from the US–Swedish 2007–08 expedition aboard the I/B Oden, during which 12 stations were sampled for particulate trace metal analyses at depths of 8–800 m in the eastern and central polynyas as well as in sea ice covered waters, both on the Amundsen continental shelf and in deep waters north of the shelf break. Suspended particulate samples were collected in two size fractions, 0.45–5 μm and > 5 μm. Particulate Fe concentrations ranged from as low as 10 pmol L − 1 in open Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) waters off the continental shelf to > 100,000 pmol L − 1 near the Crosson Ice Shelf, and were dominated by particles > 5 μm at all stations. The relative concentrations of total particulate Fe, Al, Mn and P show the near-ubiquitous influence of crustal particles in the water column at stations on the Amundsen continental shelf. However, many samples had Fe/Al and Mn/Al ratios substantially in excess of mean crustal ratios, especially in the small size fraction (0.45–5 μm), suggesting that more labile Fe oxyhydroxides and authigenic MnO 2 phases, resulting from sediment resuspension, are also present at relatively high concentrations. In contrast, Fe/P ratios indicate that Fe associated with biogenic particles rarely accounts for more than 20% of total particulate Fe, even in offshore stations. A detailed examination of particulate elemental composition and spatial distribution in the context of water mass temperature and salinity gradients suggests that particle delivery processes associated with melting ice shelves and sediment resuspension dominate the particulate Fe sources to the Amundsen Sea water column.

Background: Weight loss (WL) is associated with a decrease in calcium absorption and may be one mechanism that induces bone loss with weight reduction. Objective: Because vitamin D supplementation has been shown to increase true fractional calcium absorption (TFCA), the goal of this study was to examine the effect of vitamin D during WL or weight maintenance (WM). Design: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind 6-wk study was conducted in 82 postmenopausal women [BMI (in kg/m2; ±SD): 30.2 ± 3.7] with 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations

Key-words. - Mosasaurs, Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, Iridium. Abstract. - New data regarding the placement of the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary in New Jersey is presented based on a recent campaign of drill coring boundary sections in the Atlantic coastal plain of southern New Jersey. The occurrence of late Maastrichtian mosasaurs worldwide and in New Jersey is reviewed in light of the continuing contro- versy over the rate and cause of the extinction at the K/Pg boundary. At the Meirs Farm site in Monmouth County, NJ, the biostratigraphic position of mosasaur specimens (Halisaurus platyspondylus, Mosasaurus hoffmann) is related to the occurrence of an iridium excursion of 0.5 ppb (5x background levels) in the basal Hornerstown Formation just above the upper Maastrichtian New Egypt Formation. Other specimens in museum collections obtained during the acme of nine- teenth century marl mining are from this area of the Maastrichtian outcrop belt in New Jersey. It is concluded that late Maastrichtian mosasaurs show no diminution of their biogeographic ranges and are not particularly rare in New Jersey in comparison to older mosasaur faunas. Mosasaurs became extinct in association with the collapse of the marine food web at the K/Pg boundary, and were replaced as apical marine predators in the early Danian by a variety of crocodilians.

Menopause and increasing age are associated with a decrease in calcium absorption that can contribute to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. We hypothesized that alendronate plus vitamin D3 (ALN + D) would increase fractional calcium absorption (FCA). In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter clinical trial, 56 postmenopausal women with 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations of 25 ng/mL or less and low bone mineral density (BMD) received 5 weekly doses of placebo or alendronate 70 mg plus vitamin D3 2800 IU (ALN + D). Calcium intake was stabilized to approximately 1200 mg/d prior to randomization. FCA was determined using a dual-tracer stable-calcium isotope method. FCA and 25(OH)D were similar between treatment groups at baseline (0.31 ± 0.12 ng/mL and 19.8 ± 4.7 ng/mL, respectively). After 1 month of treatment, subjects randomized to ALN + D experienced a significant least squares (LS) mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] increase in FCA [0.070 (0.042, 0.098)], whereas FCA did not change significantly in the placebo group [−0.016 (−0.044, 0.012)]. After ALN + D treatment, patients had higher 25(OH)D levels (LS mean difference 7.3 ng/mL, p

This article profiles CornerHouse, an organisation that has played a key role in facilitating the emergence and development of a large number of mental health services and self‐help groups in West Surrey. CornerHouse takes a community development approach, facilitating and empowering small local mental health groups, and building an active and sustainable local mental health community.

We directly link iridium (Ir) anomalies in New Jersey to the mass extinction of marine plankton marking the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary. We confirm previous reports of an Ir anomaly 20 cm below the extinction of Cretaceous macrofauna (the “ Pinna ” bed) with new results from a muddy sand section from Tighe Park, Freehold, New Jersey (United States), but we also show that Ir anomalies correlate with marine mass extinctions at three other clay-rich New Jersey sections. Thus, we attribute the anomaly at Freehold to the downward movement of Ir and reaffirm the link between impact and mass extinction.

Recent regulation mandates that ships conduct mid-ocean ballast water exchange (BWE) prior to discharging foreign ballast in U.S. territorial waters. We investigated the utility of dissolved concentration measurements for 6 elements (Ba, P, Mn, U, V and Mo) in the ballast tanks of ships operating in the North Pacific and Atlantic oceans as tracers of mid-ocean BWE. Relatively conservative elements Mo, U and V provided little additional information beyond that obtained from salinity, whereas nonconservative Ba, P and Mn offered greater resolution. The utility of Ba, P and Mn was further examined in the context of three criteria: (1) stability, or whether tracers maintain stable concentrations in ballast tanks over time; (2) fidelity, or the degree to which tracer concentrations in ballast tanks faithfully reflect concentrations at their ocean source; and (3) predictability, or the degree to which ballast tanks have a predictable and restricted range of tracer concentrations following BWE. We found that in water held in ballast tanks over time, average stability increased for MnPBa, as reflected by decreasing coefficients of variation (30%21%3%) and fidelity increased in the same direction. While Ba and P usually increased discrimination at high salinities, Mn was typically the most sensitive indicator of BWE and the presence of residual port water in partially exchanged tanks. Ba, P and Mn in tanks exchanged in the Atlantic exhibited different concentration ranges compared to tanks exchanged in the Pacific, suggesting that if trace elements are to be used to verify BWE, criteria for discriminating between exchanged and unexchanged ballast tanks may need to be basin-specific.

Twenty-four hour average fine particle concentrations of 23 trace elements (TEs) were measured concurrently in (a) ambient air in three urban neighborhoods (Battle Creek-BCK; East St. Paul-ESP; and Phillips-PHI), (b) air inside residences of participants, and (c) personal air near the breathing zone of healthy, non-smoking adults. The outdoor (O), indoor (I), and personal (P) samples were collected in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area over three seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall) using either the federal reference (O) or inertial impactor (I,P) inlets to collect PM(2.5). In addition to descriptive statistics, a hierarchical, mixed-effects statistical model was used to estimate the mutually adjusted effects of monitor location, community, and season on mean differences between monitoring locations while accounting for within-subject and within-monitoring period correlation. The relationships among P, I, and O concentrations varied across TEs. The O concentrations were usually higher than P or I for elements like Ca and Al that originate mainly from entrained crustal material, while P concentrations were often highest for other elements with non-crustal sources. Unadjusted mixed model results demonstrated that O monitors more frequently underestimated than overestimated P TE exposures for elements associated with non-crustal sources. This finding was true even though the O TE measurements were taken in the same neighborhoods as the P and I measurements. Further adjustment for community or season effects in the mixed models reduced the number of significant O-P and O-I differences compared to unadjusted models, but still indicated a tendency for underestimation of personal and indoor TE exposures by central site monitors, particularly in the PHI community. These results indicate that community and season are important covariates for developing long term TE exposure estimates, and that personal exposure to trace elements in PM(2.5) is likely to be underestimated by outdoor central site monitors.

BACKGROUND Weight loss is associated with bone loss, but this has not been examined in overweight premenopausal women. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess whether overweight premenopausal women lose bone with moderate weight loss at recommended or higher than recommended calcium intakes. DESIGN Overweight premenopausal women [n = 44; x (+/-SD) age: 38 +/- 6.4 y; body mass index (BMI): 27.7 +/- 2.1 kg/m(2)] were randomly assigned to either a normal (1 g/d) or high (1.8 g/d) calcium intake during 6 mo of energy restriction [weight loss (WL) groups] or were recruited for weight maintenance at 1 g Ca/d intake. Regional bone mineral density and content were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and markers of bone turnover were measured before and after weight loss. True fractional calcium absorption (TFCA) was measured at baseline and during caloric restriction by using a dual-stable calcium isotope method. RESULTS The WL groups lost 7.2 +/- 3.3% of initial body weight. No significant decrease in BMD or rise in bone turnover was observed with weight loss at normal or high calcium intake. The group that consumed high calcium showed a strong relation (r = 0.71) between increased femoral neck bone mineral density and increased serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D. No significant effect of weight loss on TFCA was observed, and the total calcium absorbed was adequate at 238 +/- 81 and 310 +/- 91 mg/d for the normal- and high-calcium WL groups, respectively. CONCLUSION Overweight premenopausal women do not lose bone during weight loss at the recommended calcium intake, which may be explained by sufficient amounts of absorbed calcium.