| 1. |
- Bernal, Ximena E., et al.
(author)
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Empowering Latina scientists
- 2019
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 363:6429, s. 825-826
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 2. |
- Arndt, D. S., et al.
(author)
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State of the Climate in 2016
- 2017
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 98:8, s. S1-S280
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2016, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere-carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide-continued to increase and reach new record highs. The 3.5 +/- 0.1 ppm rise in global annual mean carbon dioxide from 2015 to 2016 was the largest annual increase observed in the 58-year measurement record. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth's surface surpassed 400 ppm (402.9 +/- 0.1 ppm) for the first time in the modern atmospheric measurement record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800000 years. One of the strongest El Nino events since at least 1950 dissipated in spring, and a weak La Nina evolved later in the year. Owing at least in part to the combination of El Nino conditions early in the year and a long-term upward trend, Earth's surface observed record warmth for a third consecutive year, albeit by a much slimmer margin than by which that record was set in 2015. Above Earth's surface, the annual lower troposphere temperature was record high according to all datasets analyzed, while the lower stratospheric temperature was record low according to most of the in situ and satellite datasets. Several countries, including Mexico and India, reported record high annual temperatures while many others observed near-record highs. A week-long heat wave at the end of April over the northern and eastern Indian peninsula, with temperatures surpassing 44 degrees C, contributed to a water crisis for 330 million people and to 300 fatalities. In the Arctic the 2016 land surface temperature was 2.0 degrees C above the 1981-2010 average, breaking the previous record of 2007, 2011, and 2015 by 0.8 degrees C, representing a 3.5 degrees C increase since the record began in 1900. The increasing temperatures have led to decreasing Arctic sea ice extent and thickness. On 24 March, the sea ice extent at the end of the growth season saw its lowest maximum in the 37-year satellite record, tying with 2015 at 7.2% below the 1981-2010 average. The September 2016 Arctic sea ice minimum extent tied with 2007 for the second lowest value on record, 33% lower than the 1981-2010 average. Arctic sea ice cover remains relatively young and thin, making it vulnerable to continued extensive melt. The mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which has the capacity to contribute similar to 7 m to sea level rise, reached a record low value. The onset of its surface melt was the second earliest, after 2012, in the 37-year satellite record. Sea surface temperature was record high at the global scale, surpassing the previous record of 2015 by about 0.01 degrees C. The global sea surface temperature trend for the 21st century-to-date of +0.162 degrees C decade(-1) is much higher than the longer term 1950-2016 trend of +0.100 degrees C decade(-1). Global annual mean sea level also reached a new record high, marking the sixth consecutive year of increase. Global annual ocean heat content saw a slight drop compared to the record high in 2015. Alpine glacier retreat continued around the globe, and preliminary data indicate that 2016 is the 37th consecutive year of negative annual mass balance. Across the Northern Hemisphere, snow cover for each month from February to June was among its four least extensive in the 47-year satellite record. Continuing a pattern below the surface, record high temperatures at 20-m depth were measured at all permafrost observatories on the North Slope of Alaska and at the Canadian observatory on northernmost Ellesmere Island. In the Antarctic, record low monthly surface pressures were broken at many stations, with the southern annular mode setting record high index values in March and June. Monthly high surface pressure records for August and November were set at several stations. During this period, record low daily and monthly sea ice extents were observed, with the November mean sea ice extent more than 5 standard deviations below the 1981-2010 average. These record low sea ice values contrast sharply with the record high values observed during 2012-14. Over the region, springtime Antarctic stratospheric ozone depletion was less severe relative to the 1991-2006 average, but ozone levels were still low compared to pre-1990 levels. Closer to the equator, 93 named tropical storms were observed during 2016, above the 1981-2010 average of 82, but fewer than the 101 storms recorded in 2015. Three basins-the North Atlantic, and eastern and western North Pacific-experienced above-normal activity in 2016. The Australian basin recorded its least active season since the beginning of the satellite era in 1970. Overall, four tropical cyclones reached the Saffir-Simpson category 5 intensity level. The strong El Nino at the beginning of the year that transitioned to a weak La Nina contributed to enhanced precipitation variability around the world. Wet conditions were observed throughout the year across southern South America, causing repeated heavy flooding in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Wetter-than-usual conditions were also observed for eastern Europe and central Asia, alleviating the drought conditions of 2014 and 2015 in southern Russia. In the United States, California had its first wetter-than-average year since 2012, after being plagued by drought for several years. Even so, the area covered by drought in 2016 at the global scale was among the largest in the post-1950 record. For each month, at least 12% of land surfaces experienced severe drought conditions or worse, the longest such stretch in the record. In northeastern Brazil, drought conditions were observed for the fifth consecutive year, making this the longest drought on record in the region. Dry conditions were also observed in western Bolivia and Peru; it was Bolivia's worst drought in the past 25 years. In May, with abnormally warm and dry conditions already prevailing over western Canada for about a year, the human-induced Fort McMurray wildfire burned nearly 590000 hectares and became the costliest disaster in Canadian history, with $3 billion (U.S. dollars) in insured losses.
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| 3. |
- Álvarez-Asencio, Ruben, et al.
(author)
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Molecular-scale shear response of the organic semiconductor β -DBDCS (100) surface
- 2017
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In: Physical Review B. - 2469-9950 .- 2469-9969. ; 96:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work we present friction-force microscopy (FFM) lattice-resolved images acquired on the (100) facet of the semiconductor organic oligomer (2Z,2′Z)-3,3′-(1,4-phenylene)bis(2-(4-butoxyphenyl)acrylonitrile) (β-DBDCS) crystal in water at room temperature. Stick-slip contrast, lateral contact stiffness, and friction forces are found to depend strongly on the sliding direction due to the anisotropic packing of the molecular chains forming the crystal surface along the [010] and [001] directions. The anisotropy also causes the maximum value of the normal force applicable before wearing to increase by a factor of 3 when the scan is performed along the [001] direction on the (100) face. Altogether, our results contribute to achieving a better understanding of the molecular origin of friction anisotropy on soft crystalline surfaces, which has been often hypothesized but rarely investigated in the literature.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Arndt, D. S., et al.
(author)
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STATE OF THE CLIMATE IN 2017
- 2018
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - : American Meteorological Society. - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 99:8, s. S1-S310
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Research review (peer-reviewed)
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| 6. |
- Bedell, Megan, et al.
(author)
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Kepler-11 is a Solar Twin : Revising the Masses and Radii of Benchmark Planets via Precise Stellar Characterization
- 2017
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 839:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The six planets of the Kepler-11 system are the archetypal example of a population of surprisingly low-density transiting planets revealed by the Kepler mission. We have determined the fundamental parameters and chemical composition of the Kepler-11 host star to unprecedented precision using an extremely high-quality spectrum from Keck-HIRES (R ≃ 67,000, S/N per pixel at 600 nm). Contrary to previously published results, our spectroscopic constraints indicate that Kepler-11 is a young main-sequence solar twin. The revised stellar parameters and new analysis raise the densities of the Kepler-11 planets by between 20% and 95% per planet, making them more typical of the emerging class of "puffy" close-in exoplanets. We obtain photospheric abundances of 22 elements and find that Kepler-11 has an abundance pattern similar to that of the Sun with a slightly higher overall metallicity. We additionally analyze the Kepler light curves using a photodynamical model and discuss the tension between spectroscopic and transit/TTV-based estimates of stellar density.
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| 7. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N, et al.
(author)
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The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
- 2017
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In: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 7:1, s. 145-188
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
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| 8. |
- Jaén-Luchoro, Daniel, et al.
(author)
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Complete Genome Sequence of the Mycobacterium immunogenum Type Strain CCUG 47286.
- 2016
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In: Genome Announcements. - 2169-8287. ; 4:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Mycobacterium immunogenum type strain CCUG 47286, a nontuberculous mycobacterium. The whole genome has 5,573,781bp and covers as many as 5,484 predicted genes. This genome contributes to the task of closing the still-existing gap of genomes of rapidly growing mycobacterial type strains.
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| 9. |
- Letcher, Susan G., et al.
(author)
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Environmental gradients and the evolution of successional habitat specialization : a test case with 14 Neotropical forest sites
- 2015
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In: Journal of Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 103:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- * Successional gradients are ubiquitous in nature, yet few studies have systematically examined the evolutionary origins of taxa that specialize at different successional stages. Here we quantify successional habitat specialization in Neotropical forest trees and evaluate its evolutionary lability along a precipitation gradient. Theoretically, successional habitat specialization should be more evolutionarily conserved in wet forests than in dry forests due to more extreme microenvironmental differentiation between early and late-successional stages in wet forest. * We applied a robust multinomial classification model to samples of primary and secondary forest trees from 14 Neotropical lowland forest sites spanning a precipitation gradient from 788 to 4000 mm annual rainfall, identifying species that are old-growth specialists and secondary forest specialists in each site. We constructed phylogenies for the classified taxa at each site and for the entire set of classified taxa and tested whether successional habitat specialization is phylogenetically conserved. We further investigated differences in the functional traits of species specializing in secondary vs. old-growth forest along the precipitation gradient, expecting different trait associations with secondary forest specialists in wet vs. dry forests since water availability is more limiting in dry forests and light availability more limiting in wet forests. * Successional habitat specialization is non-randomly distributed in the angiosperm phylogeny, with a tendency towards phylogenetic conservatism overall and a trend towards stronger conservatism in wet forests than in dry forests. However, the specialists come from all the major branches of the angiosperm phylogeny, and very few functional traits showed any consistent relationships with successional habitat specialization in either wet or dry forests. * Synthesis. The niche conservatism evident in the habitat specialization of Neotropical trees suggests a role for radiation into different successional habitats in the evolution of species-rich genera, though the diversity of functional traits that lead to success in different successional habitats complicates analyses at the community scale. Examining the distribution of particular lineages with respect to successional gradients may provide more insight into the role of successional habitat specialization in the evolution of species-rich taxa.
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| 10. |
- Ramirez, Jorge, et al.
(author)
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Difference in Clinical Presentation between Female and Male Patients with Primary Sjogren's Syndrome at Diagnosis and in Long-Term Follow-up
- 2017
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In: Arthritis & Rheumatology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 2326-5191 .- 2326-5205. ; 69
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background/Purpose: Despite men being less prone to develop autoimmune diseases, male sex has been associated with a more severe disease course in several systemic autoimmune diseases. In the present study, we aimed to identify differences in clinical presentation between the sexes at the time of diagnosis and during long-term follow-up of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), and to establish whether male sex is associated with a more severe form of pSS. Methods: Incident, treatment naïve patients (n=199, 186 females and 13 males) from Stockholm, Sweden were prospectively included during a 5-year period and examined for items of classification criteria for pSS as well as extraglandular manifestations (EGM). Serum was sampled at the time of diagnosis and anti-Ro52/SSA levels measured by ELISA. Replication of significant findings was confirmed in an independent cohort of incident pSS patients from Pisa, Italy (n=377, 368 females and 9 males), and meta-analysis performed. We further studied a cohort of 967 patients with prevalent pSS (899 females and 68 males) from Scandinavian clinical centers. The mean follow-up time (years) was 8.8 ± 7.6 for women and 8.5 ± 6.2 for men (ns). Clinical data including serological and hematological parameters, glandular, EGM and comorbidities were compared between men and women. Results: An increased frequency of EGM in men at diagnosis was observed and replicated (p=0.05, p=0.0003, and pmeta=0.002, respectively). This related to pulmonary involvement, vasculitis and lymphadenopathy being more common in men, for whom a lower age at diagnosis was observed in the exploratory cohort. Additionally, SSA positive male patients had significantly higher levels of anti-Ro52 levels than their female counterparts (p=0.02). After long-term follow-up, male patient serology was characterized by more frequent positivity for anti-SSA and anti-SSB (p=0.02), and ANA (p=0.02). Also, men with pSS were more frequently diagnosed with interstitial lung disease (p=0.008), lymphadenopathy (p=0.04) and lymphoma (p=0.007). Conversely, concomitant hypothyroidism was more common among female patients (p=0.009). Conclusion: Our analysis of two independent cohorts of incident pSS and a large cohort of prevalent pSS demonstrates significant differences between women and men with pSS. Notably, men present with more EGM, enhanced serological profile and a higher frequency of lymphoma development.
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