Sample records for commodities including fossil

  1. Processing of solid fossil-fuel deposits by electrical induction heating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fisher, S. T.

    1980-02-01

    A study has been made to determine the feasibility of extracting the energy commodities electricity, gas, petroleum, chemical feedstocks, and coke from the solid fossil fuels coal, oil shale, oil sand, and heavy oil by the electrical induction heating of the deposits. Available electrical, physical, and chemical data indicate that this process may be technically and economically feasible. Some basic data are missing, and it has been necessary to indicate possible ranges of values for some parameters. The tentative conclusions drawn are the following. All four solid fossil fuels can be processed successfully underground. All five energy commodities can be produced economically in adequate quantities for a period of a century or more in North America, without recourse to any other major energy source. The development and construction time required is short enough to permit an uninterrupted supply of all energy commodities as present sources decline

  2. Sustainable Systems Analysis of Production and Transportation Scenarios for Conventional and Bio-based Energy Commodities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Doran, E. M.; Golden, J. S.; Nowacek, D. P.

    2013-12-01

    International commerce places unique pressures on the sustainability of water resources and marine environments. System impacts include noise, emissions, and chemical and biological pollutants like introduction of invasive species into key ecosystems. At the same time, maritime trade also enables the sustainability ambition of intragenerational equity in the economy through the global circulation of commodities and manufactured goods, including agricultural, energy and mining resources (UN Trade and Development Board 2013). This paper presents a framework to guide the analysis of the multiple dimensions of the sustainable commerce-ocean nexus. As a demonstration case, we explore the social, economic and environmental aspects of the nexus framework using scenarios for the production and transportation of conventional and bio-based energy commodities. Using coupled LCA and GIS methodologies, we are able to orient the findings spatially for additional insight. Previous work on the sustainable use of marine resources has focused on distinct aspects of the maritime environment. The framework presented here, integrates the anthropogenic use, governance and impacts on the marine and coastal environments with the natural components of the system. A similar framework has been highly effective in progressing the study of land-change science (Turner et al 2007), however modification is required for the unique context of the marine environment. This framework will enable better research integration and planning for sustainability objectives including mitigation and adaptation to climate change, sea level rise, reduced dependence on fossil fuels, protection of critical marine habitat and species, and better management of the ocean as an emerging resource base for the production and transport of commodities and energy across the globe. The framework can also be adapted for vulnerability analysis, resilience studies and to evaluate the trends in production, consumption and commerce. To demonstrate the usefulness of the framework, we construct several scenarios as case studies to explore the emerging trends of larger ship deployment and the changing portfolio of energy resources including the increased consumption of bio-based energy. The maritime transportation industry remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels to power transport, while energy, mineral and grain remain the largest bulk commodities shipped. Emerging markets for such commodities, as well as new production methods and locations are considered. We overlay these trends and shifts with ecological areas of concern and biological migration routes. The diversity of governance regimes is also considered to produce a clearer picture of the emerging hot-spots for further study and for the synergies and tradeoffs that must be considered to achieve a sustainable ocean system. References Turner BL, Lambin EF, Reenberg A (2007) Proc Natl Acad Sci, (104):20666-20671. UN Trade and Development Board (2013) Recent developments and trends in international maritime transport affecting trade of developing countries, TD/B/C.1/30.

  3. Beyond fossil fuel–driven nitrogen transformations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chen, Jingguang G.; Crooks, Richard M.; Seefeldt, Lance C.

    Nitrogen is fundamental to all of life and many industrial processes. The interchange of nitrogen oxidation states in the industrial production of ammonia, nitric acid, and other commodity chemicals is largely powered by fossil fuels. Here, a key goal of contemporary research in the field of nitrogen chemistry is to minimize the use of fossil fuels by developing more efficient heterogeneous, homogeneous, photo-, and electrocatalytic processes or by adapting the enzymatic processes underlying the natural nitrogen cycle. These approaches, as well as the challenges involved, are discussed in this Review.

  4. Beyond fossil fuel–driven nitrogen transformations

    DOE PAGES

    Chen, Jingguang G.; Crooks, Richard M.; Seefeldt, Lance C.; ...

    2018-05-25

    Nitrogen is fundamental to all of life and many industrial processes. The interchange of nitrogen oxidation states in the industrial production of ammonia, nitric acid, and other commodity chemicals is largely powered by fossil fuels. Here, a key goal of contemporary research in the field of nitrogen chemistry is to minimize the use of fossil fuels by developing more efficient heterogeneous, homogeneous, photo-, and electrocatalytic processes or by adapting the enzymatic processes underlying the natural nitrogen cycle. These approaches, as well as the challenges involved, are discussed in this Review.

  5. Estimates of electricity requirements for the recovery of mineral commodities, with examples applied to sub-Saharan Africa

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bleiwas, Donald I.

    2011-01-01

    To produce materials from mine to market it is necessary to overcome obstacles that include the force of gravity, the strength of molecular bonds, and technological inefficiencies. These challenges are met by the application of energy to accomplish the work that includes the direct use of electricity, fossil fuel, and manual labor. The tables and analyses presented in this study contain estimates of electricity consumption for the mining and processing of ores, concentrates, intermediate products, and industrial and refined metallic commodities on a kilowatt-hour per unit basis, primarily the metric ton or troy ounce. Data contained in tables pertaining to specific currently operating facilities are static, as the amount of electricity consumed to process or produce a unit of material changes over time for a great number of reasons. Estimates were developed from diverse sources that included feasibility studies, company-produced annual and sustainability reports, conference proceedings, discussions with government and industry experts, journal articles, reference texts, and studies by nongovernmental organizations.

  6. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    King, Paul W; Chen, Jingguang G.; Crooks, Richard M.

    Nitrogen is fundamental to all of life and many industrial processes. The interchange of nitrogen oxidation states in the industrial production of ammonia, nitric acid, and other commodity chemicals is largely powered by fossil fuels. A key goal of contemporary research in the field of nitrogen chemistry is to minimize the use of fossil fuels by developing more efficient heterogeneous, homogeneous, photo-, and electrocatalytic processes or by adapting the enzymatic processes underlying the natural nitrogen cycle. These approaches, as well as the challenges involved, are discussed in this Review.

  7. Beyond fossil fuel-driven nitrogen transformations.

    PubMed

    Chen, Jingguang G; Crooks, Richard M; Seefeldt, Lance C; Bren, Kara L; Bullock, R Morris; Darensbourg, Marcetta Y; Holland, Patrick L; Hoffman, Brian; Janik, Michael J; Jones, Anne K; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G; King, Paul; Lancaster, Kyle M; Lymar, Sergei V; Pfromm, Peter; Schneider, William F; Schrock, Richard R

    2018-05-25

    Nitrogen is fundamental to all of life and many industrial processes. The interchange of nitrogen oxidation states in the industrial production of ammonia, nitric acid, and other commodity chemicals is largely powered by fossil fuels. A key goal of contemporary research in the field of nitrogen chemistry is to minimize the use of fossil fuels by developing more efficient heterogeneous, homogeneous, photo-, and electrocatalytic processes or by adapting the enzymatic processes underlying the natural nitrogen cycle. These approaches, as well as the challenges involved, are discussed in this Review. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  8. Ethanol for a sustainable energy future.

    PubMed

    Goldemberg, José

    2007-02-09

    Renewable energy is one of the most efficient ways to achieve sustainable development. Increasing its share in the world matrix will help prolong the existence of fossil fuel reserves, address the threats posed by climate change, and enable better security of the energy supply on a global scale. Most of the "new renewable energy sources" are still undergoing large-scale commercial development, but some technologies are already well established. These include Brazilian sugarcane ethanol, which, after 30 years of production, is a global energy commodity that is fully competitive with motor gasoline and appropriate for replication in many countries.

  9. COPROCESSING OF FOSSIL FUELS AND BIOMASS FOR CO2 EMISSION REDUCTION IN THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper discusses an evaluation of the Hydrocarb process for conversion of carbonaceous raw material to clean carbon and methanol products. hese products are valuable in the market either as fuel or as chemical commodities. s fuel, methanol and carbon can be used economically, ...

  10. Sustainable agricultural practices: energy inputs and outputs, pesticide, fertilizer and greenhouse gas management.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yue-Wen

    2009-01-01

    The food security issue was addressed by the development of "modern agriculture" in the last century. But food safety issues and environment degradation were the consequences suffered as a result. Climate change has been recognized as the result of release of stored energy in fossil fuel into the atmosphere. Homogeneous crop varieties, machinery, pesticides and fertilizers are the foundation of uniform commodities in modern agriculture. Fossil fuels are used to manufacture fertilizers and pesticides as well as the energy source for agricultural machinery, thus characterizes modern agriculture. Bio-fuel production and the possibility of the agriculture system as a form of energy input are discussed.

  11. Annual energy review 1994

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1995-07-01

    This 13th edition presents the Energy Information Administration`s historical energy statistics. For most series, statistics are given for every year from 1949 through 1994; thus, this report is well-suited to long-term trend analyses. It covers all major energy activities, including consumption, production, trade, stocks, and prices for all major energy commodities, including fossil fuels and electricity. Statistics on renewable energy sources are also included: this year, for the first time, usage of renewables by other consumers as well as by electric utilities is included. Also new is a two-part, comprehensive presentation of data on petroleum products supplied by sector formore » 1949 through 1994. Data from electric utilities and nonutilities are integrated as ``electric power industry`` data; nonutility power gross generation are presented for the first time. One section presents international statistics (for more detail see EIA`s International Energy Annual).« less

  12. Global impacts of U.S. bioenergy production and policy: A general equilibrium perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Evans, Samuel Garner

    The conversion of biomass to energy represents a promising pathway forward in efforts to reduce fossil fuel use in the transportation and electricity sectors. In addition to potential benefits, such as greenhouse gas reductions and increased energy security, bioenergy production also presents a unique set of challenges. These challenges include tradeoffs between food and fuel production, distortions in energy markets, and terrestrial emissions associated with changing land-use patterns. Each of these challenges arises from market-mediated responses to bioenergy production, and are therefore largely economic in nature. This dissertation directly addresses these opportunities and challenges by evaluating the economic impacts of U.S. bioenergy production and policy, focusing on both existing and future biomass-to-energy pathways. The analysis approaches the issue from a global, economy-wide perspective, reflecting two important facts. First, that large-scale bioenergy production connects multiple sectors of the economy due to the use of agricultural land resources for biomass production, and competition with fossil fuels in energy markets. Second, markets for both agricultural and energy commodities are highly integrated globally, causing domestic policies to have international effects. The reader can think of this work as being comprised of three parts. Part I provides context through an extensive review of the literature on the market-mediated effects of conventional biofuel production (Chapter 2) and develops a general equilibrium modeling framework for assessing the extent to which these phenomenon present a challenge for future bioenergy pathways (Chapter 3). Part II (Chapter 4) explores the economic impacts of the lignocellulosic biofuel production targets set in the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard on global agricultural and energy commodity markets. Part III (Chapter 5) extends the analysis to consider potential inefficiencies associated with policy-induced competition for biomass between the electricity and transportation fuel sectors.

  13. Cellulases: Role in Lignocellulosic Biomass Utilization.

    PubMed

    Soni, Sanjeev Kumar; Sharma, Amita; Soni, Raman

    2018-01-01

    Rapid depletion of fossil fuels worldwide presents a dire situation demanding a potential replacement to surmount the current energy crisis. Lignocellulose presents a logical candidate to be exploited at industrial scale owing to its vast availability, inexpensive and renewable nature. Microbial degradation of lignocellulosic biomass is a lucrative, sustainable, and promising approach to obtain valuable commercial commodities at gigantic scale. The enzymatic hydrolysis involving cellulases is fundamental to all the technologies needed to transform lignocellulosic biomass to valuable industry relevant products. Cellulases have enormous potential to utilize cellulosic biomass, thus reducing environmental stress in addition to production of commodity chemicals resolving the current challenge to meet the energy needs globally. The substitution of petroleum-based fuels with bio-based fuels is the subject of thorough research establishing biofuel production as the future technology to achieve a sustainable, eco-friendly society with a zero waste approach.

  14. ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS STUDY AREA, WASHINGTON.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gualtieri, J.L.; Thurber, H.K.

    1984-01-01

    The Alpine Lakes Wilderness study area, located in the central part of the Cascade Mountains of Washington was examined for its mineral-resource potential. On the basis of that study the area was found to contain deposits of copper, other base metals, and gold and silver. Probable or substantiated mineral-resource potential exists for these commodities in the southwest-central, northwest, and southeast-central parts of the area. The geologic terrane precludes the occurrence of fossil fuel resources.

  15. Maintaining Balance: The Increasing Role of Energy Storage for Renewable Integration

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stenclik, Derek; Denholm, Paul; Chalamala, Babu

    For nearly a century, global power systems have focused on three key functions: generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity as a real-time commodity. Physics requires that electricity generation always be in real-time balance with load-despite variability in load on time scales ranging from subsecond disturbances to multiyear trends. With the increasing role of variable generation from wind and solar, the retirement of fossil-fuel-based generation, and a changing consumer demand profile, grid operators are using new methods to maintain this balance.

  16. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seiferlein, Katherine E.

    The Annual Energy Review (AER) presents the Energy Information Administration’s historical energy statistics. For many series, statistics are given for every year from 1949 through 2000. The statistics, expressed in either physical units or British thermal units, cover all major energy activities, including consumption, production, trade, stocks, and prices, for all major energy commodities, including fossil fuels, electricity, and renewable energy sources. Publication of this report is required under Public Law 95–91 (Department of Energy Organization Act), Section 205(c), and is in keeping with responsibilities given to the Energy Information Administration under Section 205(a)(2), which states: “The Administrator shall bemore » responsible for carrying out a central, comprehensive, and unified energy data and information program which will collect, evaluate, assemble, analyze, and disseminate data and information....” The AER is intended for use by Members of Congress, Federal and State agencies, energy analysts, and the general public. EIA welcomes suggestions from readers regarding data series in the AER and in other EIA publications.« less

  17. Annual Energy Review 1997

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seiferlein, Katherine E.

    1998-07-01

    The Annual Energy Review (AER) presents the Energy Information Administration’s historical energy statistics. For many series, statistics are given for every year from 1949 through 1997. The statistics, expressed in either physical units or British thermal units, cover all major energy activities, including consumption, production, trade, stocks, and prices, for all major energy commodities, including fossil fuels, electricity, and renewable energy sources. Publication of this report is in keeping with responsibilities given to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in Public Law 95–91 (Department of Energy Organization Act), which states, in part, in Section 205(a)(2) that: “The Administrator shall be responsiblemore » for carrying out a central, comprehensive, and unified energy data and information program which will collect, evaluate, assemble, analyze, and disseminate data and information....” The AER is intended for use by Members of Congress, Federal and State agencies, energy analysts, and the general public. EIA welcomes suggestions from readers regarding data series in the AER and in other EIA publications.« less

  18. Maintaining Balance: The Increasing Role of Energy Storage for Renewable Integration

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stenclik, Derek; Denholm, Paul; Chalamala, Babu

    For nearly a century, global power systems have focused on three key functions: to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity as a real-time commodity. Physics requires that electricity generation always be in real-time balance with load, despite variability in load on timescales ranging from sub-second disturbances to multi-year trends. With the increasing role of variable generation from wind and solar, retirements of fossil fuel-based generation, and a changing consumer demand profile, grid operators are using new methods to maintain this balance.

  19. Maintaining Balance: The Increasing Role of Energy Storage for Renewable Integration

    DOE PAGES

    Stenclik, Derek; Denholm, Paul; Chalamala, Babu

    2017-10-17

    For nearly a century, global power systems have focused on three key functions: to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity as a real-time commodity. Physics requires that electricity generation always be in real-time balance with load, despite variability in load on timescales ranging from sub-second disturbances to multi-year trends. With the increasing role of variable generation from wind and solar, retirements of fossil fuel-based generation, and a changing consumer demand profile, grid operators are using new methods to maintain this balance.

  20. 17 CFR 210.4-08 - General notes to financial statements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ..., options, and other financial instruments with similar characteristics. (ii) Derivative commodity... futures, commodity forwards, commodity swaps, commodity options, and other commodity instruments with... policies for certain derivative instruments. Disclosures regarding accounting policies shall include...

  1. C1-carbon sources for chemical and fuel production by microbial gas fermentation.

    PubMed

    Dürre, Peter; Eikmanns, Bernhard J

    2015-12-01

    Fossil resources for production of fuels and chemicals are finite and fuel use contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Thus, sustainable fuel supply, security, and prices necessitate the implementation of alternative routes to the production of chemicals and fuels. Much attention has been focussed on use of cellulosic material, particularly through microbial-based processes. However, this is still costly and proving challenging, as are catalytic routes to biofuels from whole biomass. An alternative strategy is to directly capture carbon before incorporation into lignocellulosic biomass. Autotrophic acetogenic, carboxidotrophic, and methanotrophic bacteria are able to capture carbon as CO, CO2, or CH4, respectively, and reuse that carbon in products that displace their fossil-derived counterparts. Thus, gas fermentation represents a versatile industrial platform for the sustainable production of commodity chemicals and fuels from diverse gas resources derived from industrial processes, coal, biomass, municipal solid waste (MSW), and extracted natural gas. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Solar energy demand (SED) of commodity life cycles.

    PubMed

    Rugani, Benedetto; Huijbregts, Mark A J; Mutel, Christopher; Bastianoni, Simone; Hellweg, Stefanie

    2011-06-15

    The solar energy demand (SED) of the extraction of 232 atmospheric, biotic, fossil, land, metal, mineral, nuclear, and water resources was quantified and compared with other energy- and exergy-based indicators. SED represents the direct and indirect solar energy required by a product or service during its life cycle. SED scores were calculated for 3865 processes, as implemented in the Ecoinvent database, version 2.1. The results showed that nonrenewable resources, and in particular minerals, formed the dominant contribution to SED. This large share is due to the indirect solar energy required to produce these resource inputs. Compared with other energy- and exergy-based indicators, SED assigns higher impact factors to minerals and metals and smaller impact factors to fossil energetic resources, land use, and nuclear energy. The highest differences were observed for biobased and renewable energy generation processes, whose relative contribution of renewable resources such as water, biomass, and land occupation was much lower in SED than in energy- and exergy-based indicators.

  3. 26 CFR 4.954-0 - Introduction.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... corporation beginning after December 31, 1986. Consequently, any gain or loss (including foreign currency gain.... [Reserved] (f) Commodities transactions. (1) In general. (2) Definitions. (i) Commodity. (ii) Commodities transaction. (3) Definition of the term “qualified active sales”. (i) In general. (ii) Sale of commodities...

  4. 26 CFR 4.954-0 - Introduction.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... corporation beginning after December 31, 1986. Consequently, any gain or loss (including foreign currency gain.... [Reserved] (f) Commodities transactions. (1) In general. (2) Definitions. (i) Commodity. (ii) Commodities transaction. (3) Definition of the term “qualified active sales”. (i) In general. (ii) Sale of commodities...

  5. 7 CFR 1488.9a - Evidence of export for commodities delivered before export.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... COMMODITIES Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC Export Credit... financial period is 12 months or less, the exporter shall furnish a certification to the Treasurer, CCC... Assistant Treasurer, CCC, certifying that the commodities have been exported. The certification must include...

  6. 7 CFR 1488.9a - Evidence of export for commodities delivered before export.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... COMMODITIES Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC Export Credit... financial period is 12 months or less, the exporter shall furnish a certification to the Treasurer, CCC... Assistant Treasurer, CCC, certifying that the commodities have been exported. The certification must include...

  7. 7 CFR 1488.9a - Evidence of export for commodities delivered before export.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... COMMODITIES Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC Export Credit... financial period is 12 months or less, the exporter shall furnish a certification to the Treasurer, CCC... Assistant Treasurer, CCC, certifying that the commodities have been exported. The certification must include...

  8. Data Cubes Integration in Spatial OLAP for Agricultural Commodities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Putri, A. I.; Sitanggang, I. S.

    2017-03-01

    Ministry of Agriculture Indonesia collects data of agricultural commodities in Indonesia in the annual period. Agricultural commodities data include food crops, horticulture, plantations, and livestock. The data are available in the spreadsheet format. This study developed data cubes for food crops, plantations, and livestock using the galaxy schema of data warehouse and integrated the data cubes into the SOLAP Horticulture using SpagoBI. SOLAP is useful for data analysis and data visualization. The application displays agricultural commodities data in form of crosstab and chart. This study also developed the location intelligence module that visualizes agricultural commodities data on the map. The system was tested using the black box approach. The result showed that main functions including roll up, drill down, slice, dice, and pivot work properly. This application is expected to enable users to easily obtain data summaries of agricultural commodities.

  9. Multiple commodities in statistical microeconomics: Model and market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baaquie, Belal E.; Yu, Miao; Du, Xin

    2016-11-01

    A statistical generalization of microeconomics has been made in Baaquie (2013). In Baaquie et al. (2015), the market behavior of single commodities was analyzed and it was shown that market data provides strong support for the statistical microeconomic description of commodity prices. The case of multiple commodities is studied and a parsimonious generalization of the single commodity model is made for the multiple commodities case. Market data shows that the generalization can accurately model the simultaneous correlation functions of up to four commodities. To accurately model five or more commodities, further terms have to be included in the model. This study shows that the statistical microeconomics approach is a comprehensive and complete formulation of microeconomics, and which is independent to the mainstream formulation of microeconomics.

  10. Bio-Refineries Bioprocess Technologies for Waste-Water Treatment, Energy and Product Valorization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keith Cowan, A.

    2010-04-01

    Increasing pressure is being exerted on communities and nations to source energy from forms other than fossil fuels. Also, potable water is becoming a scarce resource in many parts of the world, and there remains a large divide in the demand and utilization of plant products derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and non-GMOs. The most extensive user and manager of terrestrial ecosystems is agriculture which is also the de facto steward of natural resources. As stated by Miller (2008) no other industry or institution comes close to the comparative advantage held for this vital responsibility while simultaneously providing food, fiber, and other biology-based products, including energy. Since modern commercial agriculture is transitioning from the production of bulk commodities to the provision of standardized products and specific-attribute raw materials for differentiated markets, we can argue that processes such as mass cultivation of microalgae and the concept of bio-refineries be seen as part of a `new' agronomy. EBRU is currently exploring the integration of bioprocess technologies using microalgae as biocatalysts to achieve waste-water treatment, water polishing and endocrine disruptor (EDC) removal, sustainable energy production, and exploitation of the resultant biomass in agriculture as foliar fertilizer and seed coatings, and for commercial extraction of bulk commodities such as bio-oils and lecithin. This presentation will address efforts to establish a fully operational solar-driven microalgae bio-refinery for use not only in waste remediation but to transform waste and biomass to energy, fuels, and other useful materials (valorisation), with particular focus on environmental quality and sustainability goals.

  11. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seiferlein, Katherine E.

    The Annual Energy Review (AER) presents the Energy Information Administration’s historical energy statistics. For many series, statistics are given for every year from 1949 through 2002. The statistics, expressed in either physical units or British thermal units, cover all major energy activities, including consumption, production, trade, stocks, and prices, for all major energy commodities, including fossil fuels, electricity, and renewable energy sources. Publication of this report is required under Public Law 95–91 (Department of Energy Organization Act), Section 205(c), and is in keeping with responsibilities given to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) under Section 205(a)(2), which states: “The Administrator shallmore » be responsible for carrying out a central, comprehensive, and unified energy data and information program which will collect, evaluate, assemble, analyze, and disseminate data and information....” The AER is intended for use by Members of Congress, Federal and State agencies, energy analysts, and the general public. EIA welcomes suggestions from readers regarding data series in the AER and in other EIA publications. Related Publication: Readers of the AER may also be interested in EIA’s Monthly Energy Review, which presents monthly updates of many of the data in the AER. Contact our National Energy Information Center for more information.« less

  12. School Meal Programs: More Systematic Development of Specifications Could Improve the Safety of Foods Purchased through USDA's Commodity Program. Report to the Ranking Member, Committee on Education and the Workforce, House of Representatives. GAO-11-376

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shames, Lisa

    2011-01-01

    Through its commodity program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides commodity foods at no cost to schools taking part in the national school meals programs. Commodities include raw ground beef, cheese, poultry, and fresh produce. Like federal food safety agencies, the commodity program has taken steps designed to reduce microbial…

  13. The role of oil palm companies in Indonesia as a nation's competitive advantage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tampubolon, N.; Pasaribu, M.

    2017-09-01

    Indonesia is the largest world Crude Palm Oil (CPO) producer with Malaysia in second place. This agricultural commodity has become a chief Indonesian foreign exchange earner behind fossil fuel exports. In 2016, the export value of this commodity reached USD 17.8 billion. Historically, Malaysia has been more advanced in the CPO delivery, which can be explained by the general companies’environment of management, technological advancement and engineering, human resource skills and superior external support, such as road infrastructure, regulations and research& development by the industry and government. It is clear from data that the Indonesian production is disadvantaged by a wide range of inefficiencies. They range from limited technology and production management skills to limitedcultivation advancement. Applications of technical improvements are desired to enhance the national competitive advantage to the next level. This paper is an exploration of the current management culture and to consider a strategic management model that would be the most appropriate for Indonesia and would enourage high end technology and plantation management. A gradual level improvement would enable Indonesia to compete on a global scale as an industry leader in the palm oil market.

  14. Biomass: An overview in the United States of America

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Robertson, T.; Shapouri, H.

    1993-12-31

    Concerns about the heavy reliance on foreign sources of fossil fuels, environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels, environmental impacts of agricultural activities, the need to find sustainable renewable sources of energy, and the need for a sustainable agricultural resource base have been driving forces for the development of biomass as a source of energy. The development of biomass conversion technologies, of high-yielding herbaceous and short-rotation woody biomass crops, of high-yielding food, feed, and fiber crops, and of livestock with higher levels of feed conversion efficiencies has made the transition from total reliance on fossil fuels to utilization of renewable sourcesmore » of energy from biomass a reality. A variety of biomass conversion technologies have been developed and tested. Public utilities, private power companies, and the paper industry are interested in applying this technology. Direct burning of biomass and/or cofiring in existing facilities will reduce emissions of greenhouse and other undesirable gases. Legislation has been passed to promote biomass production and utilization for liquid fuels and electricity. Land is available. The production of short-rotation woody crops and perennial grasses provides alternatives to commodity crops to stabilize income in the agricultural sector. The production of biomass crops can also reduce soil erosion, sediment loadings to surface water, and agricultural chemical loadings to ground and surface water; provide wildlife habitat; increase income and employment opportunities in rural areas; and provide a more sustainable agricultural resource base.« less

  15. Fossil Simulation in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoehn, Robert G.

    1977-01-01

    Describes classroom science demonstrations and experiments that simulate the process of fossil formation. Lists materials, procedures and suggestions for successful activities. Includes ten student activities (coral fossils, leaf fossils, leaf scars, carbonization, etc.). Describes a fossil game in which students work in pairs. (CS)

  16. Will My Fossil Float?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Riesser, Sharon; Airey, Linda

    1993-01-01

    Explains how young students can be introduced to fossils. Suggests books to read and science activities including "Fossils to Eat" where students make fossils from peanut butter, honey, and powdered milk. (PR)

  17. A new slider turtle (Testudines: Emydidae: Deirochelyinae: Trachemys) from the late Hemphillian (late Miocene/early Pliocene) of eastern Tennessee and the evolution of the deirochelyines

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    Trachemys (Testudines: Emydidae) represents one of the most well-known turtle genera today. The evolution of Trachemys, while being heavily documented with fossil representatives, is not well understood. Numerous fossils from the late Hemphillian Gray Fossil Site (GFS) in northeastern Tennessee help to elucidate its evolution. The fossil Trachemys at the GFS represent a new species. The new taxon, Trachemys haugrudi, is described, and currently represents the most thoroughly described fossil emydid species known. A phylogenetic analysis, including 31 species, focusing on the subfamily Deirochelyinae is performed that includes the new fossil species, along with numerous other modern and fossil deirochelyine species, representing the first phylogenetic analysis published that includes several fossil deirochelyines. The phylogenetic analysis, utilizing morphological evidence, provides monophyletic clades of all modern deirochelyines, including Chrysemys, Deirochelys, Pseudemys, Malaclemys, Graptemys, and Trachemys. A strict consensus tree finds the recently described fossil species Graptemys kerneri to be part of a clade of Graptemys + Malaclemys. Three fossil taxa, including one previously referred to Pseudemys (Pseudemys caelata) and two to Deirochelys (Deirochelys carri and Deirochelys floridana) are found to form a clade with modern Deirochelys reticularia reticularia, with D. floridana sister to the other members of the clade. Chrysemys is found to be part of a basal polytomy with Deirochelys in relation to other deirochelyine taxa. Two fossil taxa previously referred to Chrysemys (Chrysemys timida and Chrysemys williamsi) form a paraphyly with the modern Chrysemys picta picta and Deirochelys, and may be referable to distinct genera. Additionally, fossil taxa previously attributed to Trachemys (Trachemys hillii, Trachemys idahoensis, Trachemys inflata, and Trachemys platymarginata) and T. haugrudi are found to form a clade separate from clades of northern and southern Trachemys species, potentially suggesting a distinct lineage of Trachemys with no modern survivors. Hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships mostly agree between the present study and previous ones, although the inclusion of fossil taxa provides further clues to the evolution of parts of the Deirochelyinae. The inclusion of more fossil taxa and characters may help resolve the placement of some taxa, and further elucidate the evolution of these New World turtles. PMID:29456887

  18. 17 CFR 23.403-23.409 - [Reserved

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false [Reserved] 23.403-23.409 Section 23.403-23.409 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP DEALERS... Dealing With Counterparties, Including Special Entities §§ 23.403-23.409 [Reserved] ...

  19. 17 CFR 23.411-23.429 - [Reserved

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false [Reserved] 23.411-23.429 Section 23.411-23.429 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP DEALERS... Dealing With Counterparties, Including Special Entities §§ 23.411-23.429 [Reserved] ...

  20. 17 CFR 23.441-23.449 - [Reserved

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false [Reserved] 23.441-23.449 Section 23.441-23.449 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP DEALERS... Dealing With Counterparties, Including Special Entities §§ 23.441-23.449 [Reserved] ...

  1. 17 CFR 23.435-23.439 - [Reserved

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false [Reserved] 23.435-23.439 Section 23.435-23.439 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP DEALERS... Dealing With Counterparties, Including Special Entities §§ 23.435-23.439 [Reserved] ...

  2. 15 CFR 774.2 - [Reserved

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...” that “incorporate” commodities or software on the Commerce Control List (Supplement No. 1 to part 774... the practice of medicine (does not include medical research). (2) Commodities or software are considered “incorporated” if the commodity or software is: Essential to the functioning of the medical...

  3. A world of minerals in your mobile device

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jenness, Jane E.; Ober, Joyce A.; Wilkins, Aleeza M.; Gambogi, Joseph

    2016-09-15

    Mobile phones and other high-technology communications devices could not exist without mineral commodities. More than one-half of all components in a mobile device—including its electronics, display, battery, speakers, and more—are made from mined and semiprocessed materials (mineral commodities). Some mineral commodities can be recovered as byproducts during the production and processing of other commodities. As an example, bauxite is mined for its aluminum content, but gallium is recovered during the aluminum production process. The images show the ore minerals (sources) of some mineral commodities that are used to make components of a mobile device. On the reverse side, the map and table depict the major source countries producing these mineral commodities along with how these commodities are used in mobile devices. For more information on minerals, visit http://minerals.usgs.gov.

  4. 40 CFR 180.41 - Crop group tables.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    .... var. bulbiferum L.H. Bailey; A. cepa L. var. viviparum (Metz.) Alef.) 3-07B Onion, Welsh, tops (Allium... grains group. (19) Crop Group 17. Grass Forage, Fodder, and Hay Group. (i) Representative commodities. Bermuda grass; bluegrass; and bromegrass or fescue. (ii) Commodities. The commodities included in Crop...

  5. 40 CFR 180.420 - Fluridone; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... of the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... indirect or inadvertent residues of the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in...

  6. 40 CFR 180.420 - Fluridone; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... of the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... indirect or inadvertent residues of the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in...

  7. Demonstrating Hybrid Heat Transport and Energy Conversion System Performance Characterization Using Intelligent Control Systems

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ostrum, Lee; Manic, Milos

    The debate continues on the magnitude and validity of climate change caused by human activities. However, there is no debate about the need to make buildings, modes of transportation, factories, and homes as energy efficient as possible. Given that climate change could occur with the wasteful use of fossil fuel and the fact that fossil energy costs could and will swing wildly, it is imperative that every effort be made to utilize energy sources to their fullest. Hybrid energy systems (HES) are two or more separate energy producers used together to produce energy commodities. The HES this report focuses onmore » is the use of nuclear reactor waste heat as a source of further energy utilization. Nuclear reactors use a fluid to cool the core and produce the steam needed for the production of electricity. Traditionally this steam, or coolant, is used to convert the energy then cooled elsewhere. The heat is released into the environment without being used further. By adding technologies to nuclear reactors to use the wasted heat, a system can be developed to make more than just electricity and allow for loading following capabilities.« less

  8. Engineering and Evolution of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Produce Biofuels and Chemicals.

    PubMed

    Turner, Timothy L; Kim, Heejin; Kong, In Iok; Liu, Jing-Jing; Zhang, Guo-Chang; Jin, Yong-Su

    To mitigate global climate change caused partly by the use of fossil fuels, the production of fuels and chemicals from renewable biomass has been attempted. The conversion of various sugars from renewable biomass into biofuels by engineered baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is one major direction which has grown dramatically in recent years. As well as shifting away from fossil fuels, the production of commodity chemicals by engineered S. cerevisiae has also increased significantly. The traditional approaches of biochemical and metabolic engineering to develop economic bioconversion processes in laboratory and industrial settings have been accelerated by rapid advancements in the areas of yeast genomics, synthetic biology, and systems biology. Together, these innovations have resulted in rapid and efficient manipulation of S. cerevisiae to expand fermentable substrates and diversify value-added products. Here, we discuss recent and major advances in rational (relying on prior experimentally-derived knowledge) and combinatorial (relying on high-throughput screening and genomics) approaches to engineer S. cerevisiae for producing ethanol, butanol, 2,3-butanediol, fatty acid ethyl esters, isoprenoids, organic acids, rare sugars, antioxidants, and sugar alcohols from glucose, xylose, cellobiose, galactose, acetate, alginate, mannitol, arabinose, and lactose.

  9. 46 CFR 520.4 - Tariff contents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...-commodities, e.g., “cargo, n.o.s.,” “general cargo,” or “freight-all kinds”—“00”. (3) Commodity index. (i...,” “projects” or “project rates,” “n.o.s.” descriptions, and “FAK,” shall be included in the commodity index...

  10. 77 FR 55183 - Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-09-07

    ...] Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and... Administration Regulations for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba. BIS will include a description of...), to Cuba. Requirements and procedures associated with such authorization are set forth in Sec. 740.18...

  11. 75 FR 54594 - Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-08

    ...] Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and... Administration Regulations for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba. BIS will include a description of...), to Cuba. Requirements and procedures associated with such authorization are set forth in section 740...

  12. 17 CFR 32.5 - Disclosure.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... transactions being offered including: (i) The duration of the commodity options being offered and the total quantity and quality of the commodities which may be purchased or sold upon exercise of the options being... PERSON SHOULD NOT PURCHASE A COMMODITY OPTION UNLESS HE IS PREPARED TO SUSTAIN A TOTAL LOSS OF THE...

  13. 7 CFR 1401.4 - Commodity certificates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... FORMS OF PAYMENT § 1401.4 Commodity certificates. (a) General. CCC may issue commodity certificates as a... transferred, exchanged for the inventory of CCC (including the receipt in accordance with paragraph (e) of... and the date of the transfer, and signed by the transferor. CCC will not honor any certificate bearing...

  14. 7 CFR 1401.4 - Commodity certificates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... FORMS OF PAYMENT § 1401.4 Commodity certificates. (a) General. CCC may issue commodity certificates as a... transferred, exchanged for the inventory of CCC (including the receipt in accordance with paragraph (e) of... and the date of the transfer, and signed by the transferor. CCC will not honor any certificate bearing...

  15. 7 CFR 1401.4 - Commodity certificates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... FORMS OF PAYMENT § 1401.4 Commodity certificates. (a) General. CCC may issue commodity certificates as a... transferred, exchanged for the inventory of CCC (including the receipt in accordance with paragraph (e) of... and the date of the transfer, and signed by the transferor. CCC will not honor any certificate bearing...

  16. 7 CFR 1401.4 - Commodity certificates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... FORMS OF PAYMENT § 1401.4 Commodity certificates. (a) General. CCC may issue commodity certificates as a... transferred, exchanged for the inventory of CCC (including the receipt in accordance with paragraph (e) of... and the date of the transfer, and signed by the transferor. CCC will not honor any certificate bearing...

  17. Secrets of the Past.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Naturescope, 1987

    1987-01-01

    Provides background information on how scientists have learned about the history of the Earth, including studying fossils, dating rocks, and tracing geological movements. Included are teaching activities about prehistoric animals, state fossils, tracing animal movement and evolution, and discovering fossils. Contains reproducible handouts and…

  18. [Research progress on standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica and discussion on several key problems].

    PubMed

    Yang, Guang; Zeng, Yan; Guo, Lan-Ping; Huang, Lu-Qi; Jin, Yan; Zheng, Yu-Guang; Wang, Yong-Yan

    2014-05-01

    Standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica is an important way to solve the "Lemons Problem" of traditional Chinese medicine market. Standards of commodity classes are also helpful to rebuild market mechanisms for "high price for good quality". The previous edition of commodity classes standards of Chinese materia medica was made 30 years ago. It is no longer adapted to the market demand. This article researched progress on standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica. It considered that biological activity is a better choice than chemical constituents for standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica. It is also considered that the key point to set standards of commodity classes is finding the influencing factors between "good quality" and "bad quality". The article also discussed the range of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica, and how to coordinate standards of pharmacopoeia and commodity classes. According to different demands, diversiform standards can be used in commodity classes of Chinese materia medica, but efficacy is considered the most important index of commodity standard. Decoction pieces can be included in standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica. The authors also formulated the standards of commodity classes of Notoginseng Radix as an example, and hope this study can make a positive and promotion effect on traditional Chinese medicine market related research.

  19. 45 CFR 670.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring of or the dead body or parts thereof excluding fossils. Native... indigenous to Antarctica. It includes any part thereof, but excludes fossils. Native mammal means any member... fossils. Native plant means any terrestrial or freshwater vegetation, including bryophytes, lichens, fungi...

  20. 45 CFR 670.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring of or the dead body or parts thereof excluding fossils. Native... indigenous to Antarctica. It includes any part thereof, but excludes fossils. Native mammal means any member... fossils. Native plant means any terrestrial or freshwater vegetation, including bryophytes, lichens, fungi...

  1. 45 CFR 670.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring of or the dead body or parts thereof excluding fossils. Native... indigenous to Antarctica. It includes any part thereof, but excludes fossils. Native mammal means any member... fossils. Native plant means any terrestrial or freshwater vegetation, including bryophytes, lichens, fungi...

  2. 45 CFR 670.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring of or the dead body or parts thereof excluding fossils. Native... indigenous to Antarctica. It includes any part thereof, but excludes fossils. Native mammal means any member... fossils. Native plant means any terrestrial or freshwater vegetation, including bryophytes, lichens, fungi...

  3. Critical mineral resources of the United States—An introduction

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schulz, Klaus J.; DeYoung, John H.; Seal, Robert R.; Bradley, Dwight C.; Schulz, Klaus J.; DeYoung,, John H.; Seal, Robert R.; Bradley, Dwight C.

    2017-12-19

    Many changes have taken place in the mineral resource sector since the publication by the U.S. Geological Survey of Professional Paper 820, “United States Mineral Resources,” which is a review of the long-term United States resource position for 65 mineral commodities or commodity groups. For example, since 1973, the United States has continued to become increasingly dependent on imports to meet its demands for an increasing number of mineral commodities. The global demand for mineral commodities is at an alltime high and is expected to continue to increase, and the development of new technologies and products has led to the use of a greater number of mineral commodities in increasing quantities to the point that, today, essentially all naturally occurring elements have several significant industrial uses. Although most mineral commodities are present in sufficient amounts in the earth to provide adequate supplies for many years to come, their availability can be affected by such factors as social constraints, politics, laws, environmental regulations, land-use restrictions, economics, and infrastructure.This volume presents updated reviews of 23 mineral commodities and commodity groups viewed as critical to a broad range of existing and emerging technologies, renewable energy, and national security. The commodities or commodity groups included are antimony, barite, beryllium, cobalt, fluorine, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, indium, lithium, manganese, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare-earth elements, rhenium, selenium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, vanadium, and zirconium. All these commodities have been listed as critical and (or) strategic in one or more of the recent studies based on assessed likelihood of supply interruption and the possible cost of such a disruption to the assessor. For some of the minerals, current production is limited to only one or a few countries. For many, the United States currently has no mine production or any significant identified resources and is largely dependent on imports to meet its needs. As a result, the emphasis in this volume is on the global distribution and availability of each mineral commodity. The environmental issues related to production of each mineral commodity, including current mitigation and remediation approaches to deal with these challenges, are also addressed.This introductory chapter provides an overview of the mineral resource classifications, terms, and definitions used in this volume. A review of the history of the use and meaning of the term “critical” minerals (or materials) is included as an appendix to the chapter.

  4. 75 FR 40005 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Granting...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-07-13

    ... including, but not limited to, stock index futures contracts, options on futures, options on securities and... holding and/ or managing portfolios or baskets of securities, commodity futures contracts, options on commodity futures contracts, swaps, forward contracts and/or options on physical commodities and/or non-U.S...

  5. 75 FR 54199 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-03

    ... Commission has approved other exchange-traded fund- like products linked to the performance of underlying... (each, an ``Index Commodity'' and, collectively, ``Index Commodities''): Aluminum, cocoa, coffee, copper... products; Group II includes seven Index Commodities which are highly liquid; Group III is comprised of four...

  6. 17 CFR 4.14 - Exemption from registration as a commodity trading advisor.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... its principal office and place of business outside of the United States, its territories or...; a commodity trading advisor that has its principal office and place of business in the United States... include transactions involving contracts for the purchase or sale of a commodity for future delivery or...

  7. 40 CFR 180.292 - Picloram; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... picloram, 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the following table from its application in the acid form or in the form of its salts... picloram, 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid, in or on the commodity. Commodity Parts per million Barley...

  8. 17 CFR 10.5 - Computation of time.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Computation of time. 10.5 Section 10.5 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION RULES OF PRACTICE... computed is to be included unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday; in which event the period...

  9. 78 FR 64934 - BTG Pactual Commodities (US) LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER14-120-000] BTG Pactual Commodities (US) LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket... Commodities (US) LLC's application for market-based rate authority, with an accompanying rate schedule, noting...

  10. Commodities Trading: An Essential Economic Tool.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Welch, Mary A., Ed.

    1989-01-01

    This issue focuses on commodities trading as an essential economic tool. Activities include critical thinking about marketing decisions and discussion on how futures markets and options are used as important economic tools. Discussion questions and a special student project are included. (EH)

  11. Cross-commodity delay discounting of alcohol and money in alcohol users

    PubMed Central

    Moody, Lara N.; Tegge, Allison N.; Bickel, Warren K.

    2017-01-01

    Despite real-world implications, the pattern of delay discounting in alcohol users when the commodities now and later differ has not been well characterized. In this study, 60 participants on Amazon's Mechanical Turk completed the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) to assess severity of use and completed four delay discounting tasks between hypothetical, equivalent amounts of alcohol and money available at five delays. The tasks included two cross-commodity (alcohol now-money later and money now-alcohol later) and two same-commodity (money now-money later and alcohol now-alcohol later) conditions. Delay discounting was significantly associated with clinical cutoffs of the AUDIT for both of the cross-commodity conditions but not for either of the same-commodity delay discounting tasks. The cross-commodity discounting conditions were related to severity of use wherein heavy users discounted future alcohol less and future money more. The change in direction of the discounting effect was dependent on the commodity that was distally available suggesting a distinctive pattern of discounting across commodities when comparing light and heavy alcohol users. PMID:29056767

  12. Cross-commodity delay discounting of alcohol and money in alcohol users.

    PubMed

    Moody, Lara N; Tegge, Allison N; Bickel, Warren K

    2017-06-01

    Despite real-world implications, the pattern of delay discounting in alcohol users when the commodities now and later differ has not been well characterized. In this study, 60 participants on Amazon's Mechanical Turk completed the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) to assess severity of use and completed four delay discounting tasks between hypothetical, equivalent amounts of alcohol and money available at five delays. The tasks included two cross-commodity (alcohol now-money later and money now-alcohol later) and two same-commodity (money now-money later and alcohol now-alcohol later) conditions. Delay discounting was significantly associated with clinical cutoffs of the AUDIT for both of the cross-commodity conditions but not for either of the same-commodity delay discounting tasks. The cross-commodity discounting conditions were related to severity of use wherein heavy users discounted future alcohol less and future money more. The change in direction of the discounting effect was dependent on the commodity that was distally available suggesting a distinctive pattern of discounting across commodities when comparing light and heavy alcohol users.

  13. VIEW OF FOSSIL CREEK DIVERSION DAM FROM DOWNSTREAM (INCLUDES 1950s ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    VIEW OF FOSSIL CREEK DIVERSION DAM FROM DOWNSTREAM (INCLUDES 1950s AUTOMATIC/REMOTE CONTROL SLUICE GATE IN UPPER CENTER OF DAM, NORTH SIDE). LOOKING NORTH-NORTHWEST - Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Project, Fossil Creek Diversion Dam, Forest Service Road 708/502, Camp Verde, Yavapai County, AZ

  14. 7 CFR 65.250 - Slaughter.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... OF BEEF, PORK, LAMB, CHICKEN, GOAT MEAT, PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, MACADAMIA NUTS, PECANS... a livestock animal (including chicken) is prepared into meat products (covered commodities) for...

  15. 17 CFR 75.20 - Program for compliance; reporting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... two calendar years shall maintain records that include: (1) Documentation of the exclusions or...; reporting. 75.20 Section 75.20 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION... (a) of this section, at a minimum, shall include: (1) Written policies and procedures reasonably...

  16. 40 CFR 73.20 - Phase II early reduction credits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... utility, including generators that are not fossil fuel-fired) that has decreased its total coal-fired... reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions; and (2) A report listing all units in the utility system, each fossil... total electrical generation for calendar years 1980 and 1985 (including all generators, whether fossil...

  17. 40 CFR 73.20 - Phase II early reduction credits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... utility, including generators that are not fossil fuel-fired) that has decreased its total coal-fired... reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions; and (2) A report listing all units in the utility system, each fossil... total electrical generation for calendar years 1980 and 1985 (including all generators, whether fossil...

  18. 40 CFR 73.20 - Phase II early reduction credits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... utility, including generators that are not fossil fuel-fired) that has decreased its total coal-fired... reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions; and (2) A report listing all units in the utility system, each fossil... total electrical generation for calendar years 1980 and 1985 (including all generators, whether fossil...

  19. 40 CFR 73.20 - Phase II early reduction credits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... utility, including generators that are not fossil fuel-fired) that has decreased its total coal-fired... reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions; and (2) A report listing all units in the utility system, each fossil... total electrical generation for calendar years 1980 and 1985 (including all generators, whether fossil...

  20. 40 CFR 51.166 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... pollutant: Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of more than 250 million British thermal units per hour... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or... that produce ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel...

  1. 40 CFR 52.21 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... regulated NSR pollutant: Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of more than 250 million British thermal... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or... that produce ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel...

  2. 40 CFR 51.166 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... pollutant: Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of more than 250 million British thermal units per hour... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or... that produce ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel...

  3. 40 CFR 52.21 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... regulated NSR pollutant: Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of more than 250 million British thermal... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or... that produce ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel...

  4. 40 CFR 51.166 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... pollutant: Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of more than 250 million British thermal units per hour... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or... that produce ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel...

  5. 40 CFR 51.166 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... pollutant: Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of more than 250 million British thermal units per hour... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or... that produce ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel...

  6. 22 CFR 201.64 - Application of the price rules to commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... purchase price of a commodity exceeds the price in comparable export sales or in comparable domestic sales... addition to the price of the commodity at an internal point in the source country, transportation from that point to the port of export in the source country, and to the extent not already included in the price...

  7. United States trade in forest products, 1978 To 1987.

    Treesearch

    John T. Chmelik; David J. Brooks; Richard W. Haynes

    1989-01-01

    Tables summarize volume and unit value of United States trade in forest products. Import and export data are shown for 18 groups of commodities aggregated from 800 individual commodity items; original data were collected and reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Data given for each commodity group include detail on trading partners and information on shipments...

  8. 40 CFR 180.463 - Quinclorac; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... of the herbicide quinclorac, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in... the herbicide quinclorac, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodity in the...) Section 18 emergency exemptions. Time-limited tolerances are established for residues of the herbicide...

  9. 22 CFR 201.01 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... the source country (including waiting time at the dock), ocean and other freight, loading, heavy lift..., and services of a freight forwarder. Delivery services may also include work and materials necessary... which a commodity is shipped to the cooperating country, or the cooperating country if the commodity is...

  10. 22 CFR 201.01 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... the source country (including waiting time at the dock), ocean and other freight, loading, heavy lift..., and services of a freight forwarder. Delivery services may also include work and materials necessary... which a commodity is shipped to the cooperating country, or the cooperating country if the commodity is...

  11. 22 CFR 201.01 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... the source country (including waiting time at the dock), ocean and other freight, loading, heavy lift..., and services of a freight forwarder. Delivery services may also include work and materials necessary... which a commodity is shipped to the cooperating country, or the cooperating country if the commodity is...

  12. 22 CFR 201.01 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... the source country (including waiting time at the dock), ocean and other freight, loading, heavy lift..., and services of a freight forwarder. Delivery services may also include work and materials necessary... which a commodity is shipped to the cooperating country, or the cooperating country if the commodity is...

  13. 22 CFR 201.01 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... the source country (including waiting time at the dock), ocean and other freight, loading, heavy lift..., and services of a freight forwarder. Delivery services may also include work and materials necessary... which a commodity is shipped to the cooperating country, or the cooperating country if the commodity is...

  14. Estimating the variable cost for high-volume and long-haul transportation of densified biomass and biofuel

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jacob J. Jacobson; Erin Searcy; Md. S. Roni

    This article analyzes rail transportation costs of products that have similar physical properties as densified biomass and biofuel. The results of this cost analysis are useful to understand the relationship and quantify the impact of a number of factors on rail transportation costs of denisfied biomass and biofuel. These results will be beneficial and help evaluate the economic feasibility of high-volume and long-haul transportation of biomass and biofuel. High-volume and long-haul rail transportation of biomass is a viable transportation option for biofuel plants, and for coal plants which consider biomass co-firing. Using rail optimizes costs, and optimizes greenhouse gas (GHG)more » emissions due to transportation. Increasing bioenergy production would consequently result in lower GHG emissions due to displacing fossil fuels. To estimate rail transportation costs we use the carload waybill data, provided by Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Board for products such as grain and liquid type commodities for 2009 and 2011. We used regression analysis to quantify the relationship between variable transportation unit cost ($/ton) and car type, shipment size, rail movement type, commodity type, etc. The results indicate that: (a) transportation costs for liquid is $2.26/ton–$5.45/ton higher than grain type commodity; (b) transportation costs in 2011 were $1.68/ton–$5.59/ton higher than 2009; (c) transportation costs for single car shipments are $3.6/ton–$6.68/ton higher than transportation costs for multiple car shipments of grains; (d) transportation costs for multiple car shipments are $8.9/ton and $17.15/ton higher than transportation costs for unit train shipments of grains.« less

  15. 43 CFR 8224.0-2 - Objectives.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS PROCEDURES Fossil Forest Research Natural Area § 8224.0-2... Fossil Forest, including paleontological study, excavation and interpretation projects within the Fossil...

  16. 43 CFR 8224.0-2 - Objectives.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS PROCEDURES Fossil Forest Research Natural Area § 8224.0-2... Fossil Forest, including paleontological study, excavation and interpretation projects within the Fossil...

  17. 43 CFR 8224.0-2 - Objectives.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS PROCEDURES Fossil Forest Research Natural Area § 8224.0-2... Fossil Forest, including paleontological study, excavation and interpretation projects within the Fossil...

  18. 43 CFR 8224.0-2 - Objectives.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS PROCEDURES Fossil Forest Research Natural Area § 8224.0-2... Fossil Forest, including paleontological study, excavation and interpretation projects within the Fossil...

  19. 40 CFR 52.21 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ..., or has the potential to emit, 100 tons per year or more of any regulated NSR pollutant: Fossil fuel... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or combinations thereof) totaling more than... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel boilers (or combination thereof) totaling more...

  20. 40 CFR 52.21 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., or has the potential to emit, 100 tons per year or more of any regulated NSR pollutant: Fossil fuel... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or combinations thereof) totaling more than... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel boilers (or combination thereof) totaling more...

  1. 77 FR 54355 - Amendments to Commodity Pool Operator and Commodity Trading Advisor Regulations Resulting From...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-09-05

    ... forex transaction, offset), exercised, expired (including, in the case of a retail forex transaction... activity (including retail forex and swap transactions) expected to be engaged in by the offered pool. (h...) Any costs or fees included in the spread between bid and asked prices for retail forex or, if known...

  2. 29 CFR 780.116 - Commodities included by reference to the Agricultural Marketing Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... commodity’ includes, in addition to other agricultural commodities, crude gum (oleoresin) from a living tree... spirits of turpentine made from gum (oleoresin) from a living tree” and “ ‘gum rosin’ means rosin... therefore within the definition of “agriculture.” (b) Since the only oleoresin included within section 15(g...

  3. 29 CFR 780.116 - Commodities included by reference to the Agricultural Marketing Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... commodity’ includes, in addition to other agricultural commodities, crude gum (oleoresin) from a living tree... spirits of turpentine made from gum (oleoresin) from a living tree” and “ ‘gum rosin’ means rosin... therefore within the definition of “agriculture.” (b) Since the only oleoresin included within section 15(g...

  4. 29 CFR 780.116 - Commodities included by reference to the Agricultural Marketing Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... commodity’ includes, in addition to other agricultural commodities, crude gum (oleoresin) from a living tree... spirits of turpentine made from gum (oleoresin) from a living tree” and “ ‘gum rosin’ means rosin... therefore within the definition of “agriculture.” (b) Since the only oleoresin included within section 15(g...

  5. 29 CFR 780.116 - Commodities included by reference to the Agricultural Marketing Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... commodity’ includes, in addition to other agricultural commodities, crude gum (oleoresin) from a living tree... spirits of turpentine made from gum (oleoresin) from a living tree” and “ ‘gum rosin’ means rosin... therefore within the definition of “agriculture.” (b) Since the only oleoresin included within section 15(g...

  6. 12 CFR 32.2 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...) Consumer means the user of any products, commodities, goods, or services, whether leased or purchased, but does not include any person who purchases products or commodities for resale or fabrication into goods... also includes paper covering the lease (where the bank is not the owner or lessor) or purchase of...

  7. Mineral production and mining trends for selected non-fuel commodities in Idaho and Montana, 1905-2001

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Larsen, Jeremy C.; Long, Keith R.; Assmus, Kenneth C.; Zientek, Michael L.

    2004-01-01

    Idaho and Montana state mining statistics were obtained from historical mineral production records and compiled into a continuous record from 1905 through 2001. To facilitate comparisons, the mineral production data were normalized by converting the units of measure to metric tons for all included commodities. These standardized statistical data include production rates for principal non-fuel mineral commodities from both Idaho and Montana, as well as the production rates of similar commodities for the U.S. and the world for contrast. Data are presented here in both tabular and bar chart format. Moreover, the tables of standardized mineral production data are also provided in digital format as, commodity_production.xls. Some significant historical events pertaining to the mining industry are described as well. When taken into account with the historical production data, this combined information may to help explain both specific fluctuations and general tendencies in the overall trends in the rates of mineral resource production over time.

  8. 40 CFR 180.420 - Fluridone; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... of the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... specified in the following table are established for residues of the herbicide fluridone, 1-methyl-3-phenyl...

  9. 40 CFR 180.420 - Fluridone; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... of the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... the herbicide fluridone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... specified in the following table are established for residues of the herbicide fluridone, 1-methyl-3-phenyl...

  10. 17 CFR 160.6 - Information to be included in privacy notices.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... privacy notices. 160.6 Section 160.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Privacy and Opt Out Notices § 160.6 Information to be included in privacy notices. (a) General rule. The initial, annual, and revised privacy notices that you...

  11. 26 CFR 1.543-1 - Personal holding company income.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ..., franchises, and other like property. It does not, however, include rents. For rules relating to rents see... from futures transactions in commodities. Gross income and personal holding company income include the amount by which the gains exceed the losses from futures transactions in any commodity on or subject to...

  12. Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kelly, Thomas; Matos, Grecia; with Buckingham, David; DiFrancesco, Carl; Porter, Kenneth; Berry, Cyrus; Crane, Melissa; Goonan, Thomas; Sznopek, John

    2005-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides information to the public and to policy-makers concerning the current use and flow of minerals and materials in the United States economy. The USGS collects, analyzes, and disseminates minerals information on most nonfuel mineral commodities.This USGS digital database is an online compilation of historical U.S. statistics on mineral and material commodities. The database contains information on approximately 90 mineral commodities, including production, imports, exports, and stocks; reported and apparent consumption; and unit value (the real and nominal price in U.S. dollars of a metric ton of apparent consumption). For many of the commodities, data are reported as far back as 1900. Each commodity file includes a document that describes the units of measure, defines terms, and lists USGS contacts for additional information End-use tables complement these statistics by supplying, for most of these commodities, information about the distribution of apparent consumption.This publication draws on more than 125 years of minerals information experience. At the request of the 47th Congress of the United States (1882; 22 Stat. 329), the U.S. Government began the collection and public distribution of these types of data. The Federal agencies responsible for the collection of the data have changed through time. For the years 1882-1924, the USGS collected and published these data; the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) performed these tasks from 1925-95; and in 1996, the responsibilities once again passed to the USGS (following the closure of the USBM) (Mlynarski, 1998).The USGS collects data on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual, and annual basis from more than 18,000 minerals-related producer and consumer establishments that cooperate with the USGS. These companies voluntarily complete about 40,000 canvass forms that survey production, consumption, recycling, stocks, shipments, and other essential information. Data are also gathered from site visits, memberships on domestic and international minerals-related committees, and coordination with other government organizations and trade associations.The USGS makes this information available through published products, including monthly, quarterly, and annual Mineral Industry Surveys, the annual Minerals Yearbook (MYB), the annual Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS), and special mineral commodity studies, including the history of metal prices and materials flow studies. 

  13. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yao, Yuan; Graziano, Diane; Riddle, Matthew

    The chemical industry is poised for significant growth and investment, which presents an opportunity for adoption of greener chemical technologies. This article reviews available and emerging technologies for reducing the fossil fuel demand associated with the ammonia, ethylene, methanol, propylene, and benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) industries. These few energy-intensive commodity chemicals (EICCs) account for around half of the energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the global chemical industry. Available data are harmonized to characterize potential energy use and GHG emissions savings, while technical and economic barriers to adoption are discussed. This information sheds light on the statusmore » of future technological options for reducing the impacts of the chemicals industry, and provides quantitative data to industry analysts and policy makers seeking a greater understanding of such options for EICCs.« less

  14. 7 CFR 4288.1 - Purpose and scope.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ..., Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) (Pub. L. 110-246), to replace the use of fossil fuels... percentage reduction in fossil fuel used by the biorefinery (including the quantity of fossil fuels a... reduction in fossil fuel used by the biorefinery that will result from the installation of the renewable...

  15. 7 CFR 4288.1 - Purpose and scope.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ..., Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) (Pub. L. 110-246), to replace the use of fossil fuels... percentage reduction in fossil fuel used by the biorefinery (including the quantity of fossil fuels a... reduction in fossil fuel used by the biorefinery that will result from the installation of the renewable...

  16. 7 CFR 4288.1 - Purpose and scope.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ..., Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) (Pub. L. 110-246), to replace the use of fossil fuels... percentage reduction in fossil fuel used by the biorefinery (including the quantity of fossil fuels a... reduction in fossil fuel used by the biorefinery that will result from the installation of the renewable...

  17. Oldest Known Eucalyptus Macrofossils Are from South America

    PubMed Central

    Zamaloa, María C.; Nixon, Kevin C.; González, Cynthia C.; Wilf, Peter; Cúneo, N. Rubén; Johnson, Kirk R.

    2011-01-01

    The evolutionary history of Eucalyptus and the eucalypts, the larger clade of seven genera including Eucalyptus that today have a natural distribution almost exclusively in Australasia, is poorly documented from the fossil record. Little physical evidence exists bearing on the ancient geographical distributions or morphologies of plants within the clade. Herein, we introduce fossil material of Eucalyptus from the early Eocene (ca. 51.9 Ma) Laguna del Hunco paleoflora of Chubut Province, Argentina; specimens include multiple leaves, infructescences, and dispersed capsules, several flower buds, and a single flower. Morphological similarities that relate the fossils to extant eucalypts include leaf shape, venation, and epidermal oil glands; infructescence structure; valvate capsulate fruits; and operculate flower buds. The presence of a staminophore scar on the fruits links them to Eucalyptus, and the presence of a transverse scar on the flower buds indicates a relationship to Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus. Phylogenetic analyses of morphological data alone and combined with aligned sequence data from a prior study including 16 extant eucalypts, one outgroup, and a terminal representing the fossils indicate that the fossils are nested within Eucalyptus. These are the only illustrated Eucalyptus fossils that are definitively Eocene in age, and the only conclusively identified extant or fossil eucalypts naturally occurring outside of Australasia and adjacent Mindanao. Thus, these fossils indicate that the evolution of the eucalypt group is not constrained to a single region. Moreover, they strengthen the taxonomic connections between the Laguna del Hunco paleoflora and extant subtropical and tropical Australasia, one of the three major ecologic-geographic elements of the Laguna del Hunco paleoflora. The age and affinities of the fossils also indicate that Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus is older than previously supposed. Paleoecological data indicate that the Patagonian Eucalyptus dominated volcanically disturbed areas adjacent to standing rainforest surrounding an Eocene caldera lake. PMID:21738605

  18. Phylogenetic analysis of molecular and morphological data highlights uncertainty in the relationships of fossil and living species of Elopomorpha (Actinopterygii: Teleostei).

    PubMed

    Dornburg, Alex; Friedman, Matt; Near, Thomas J

    2015-08-01

    Elopomorpha is one of the three main clades of living teleost fishes and includes a range of disparate lineages including eels, tarpons, bonefishes, and halosaurs. Elopomorphs were among the first groups of fishes investigated using Hennigian phylogenetic methods and continue to be the object of intense phylogenetic scrutiny due to their economic significance, diversity, and crucial evolutionary status as the sister group of all other teleosts. While portions of the phylogenetic backbone for Elopomorpha are consistent between studies, the relationships among Albula, Pterothrissus, Notacanthiformes, and Anguilliformes remain contentious and difficult to evaluate. This lack of phylogenetic resolution is problematic as fossil lineages are often described and placed taxonomically based on an assumed sister group relationship between Albula and Pterothrissus. In addition, phylogenetic studies using morphological data that sample elopomorph fossil lineages often do not include notacanthiform or anguilliform lineages, potentially introducing a bias toward interpreting fossils as members of the common stem of Pterothrissus and Albula. Here we provide a phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences sampled from multiple nuclear genes that include representative taxa from Albula, Pterothrissus, Notacanthiformes and Anguilliformes. We integrate our molecular dataset with a morphological character matrix that spans both living and fossil elopomorph lineages. Our results reveal substantial uncertainty in the placement of Pterothrissus as well as all sampled fossil lineages, questioning the stability of the taxonomy of fossil Elopomorpha. However, despite topological uncertainty, our integration of fossil lineages into a Bayesian time calibrated framework provides divergence time estimates for the clade that are consistent with previously published age estimates based on the elopomorph fossil record and molecular estimates resulting from traditional node-dating methods. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Baseline study of methane emission from anaerobic ponds of palm oil mill effluent treatment.

    PubMed

    Yacob, Shahrakbah; Ali Hassan, Mohd; Shirai, Yoshihito; Wakisaka, Minato; Subash, Sunderaj

    2006-07-31

    The world currently obtains its energy from the fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal. However, the international crisis in the Middle East, rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves as well as climate change have driven the world towards renewable energy sources which are abundant, untapped and environmentally friendly. Malaysia has abundant biomass resources generated from the agricultural industry particularly the large commodity, palm oil. This paper will focus on palm oil mill effluent (POME) as the source of renewable energy from the generation of methane and establish the current methane emission from the anaerobic treatment facility. The emission was measured from two anaerobic ponds in Felda Serting Palm Oil Mill for 52 weeks. The results showed that the methane content was between 35.0% and 70.0% and biogas flow rate ranged between 0.5 and 2.4 L/min/m(2). Total methane emission per anaerobic pond was 1043.1 kg/day. The total methane emission calculated from the two equations derived from relationships between methane emission and total carbon removal and POME discharged were comparable with field measurement. This study also revealed that anaerobic pond system is more efficient than open digesting tank system for POME treatment. Two main factors affecting the methane emission were mill activities and oil palm seasonal cropping.

  20. Government Contracting Under the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-12-01

    to manufacture its commodities, or provide its services. Likewise, a qualified work center for the severely disabled must employ personnel with... manufacture (CAD/CAM) systems. Additionally, it studies a unique and innovative business arrangement that serves as a model of contract efficiency and...Additional research areas include the types of commodities currently manufactured in the workshops, tha barriers to enlarging the commodity 3 base, the

  1. 29 CFR 780.116 - Commodities included by reference to the Agricultural Marketing Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... commodity’ includes, in addition to other agricultural commodities, crude gum (oleoresin) from a living tree... spirits of turpentine made from gum (oleoresin) from a living tree” and “ ‘gum rosin’ means rosin...) of the Agricultural Marketing Act is that derived from a living tree, the production of oleoresin...

  2. 17 CFR 160.6 - Information to be included in privacy notices.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... privacy notices. 160.6 Section 160.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION UNDER TITLE V OF THE GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY ACT Privacy and Opt Out Notices § 160.6 Information to be included in privacy notices. (a) General rule. The initial...

  3. 17 CFR 160.6 - Information to be included in privacy notices.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... privacy notices. 160.6 Section 160.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION (CONTINUED) PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION UNDER TITLE V OF THE GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY ACT Privacy and Opt Out Notices § 160.6 Information to be included in privacy notices. (a) General rule. The...

  4. 17 CFR 160.6 - Information to be included in privacy notices.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... privacy notices. 160.6 Section 160.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION UNDER TITLE V OF THE GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY ACT Privacy and Opt Out Notices § 160.6 Information to be included in privacy notices. (a) General rule. The initial...

  5. Fossils and living taxa agree on patterns of body mass evolution: a case study with Afrotheria.

    PubMed

    Puttick, Mark N; Thomas, Gavin H

    2015-12-22

    Most of life is extinct, so incorporating some fossil evidence into analyses of macroevolution is typically seen as necessary to understand the diversification of life and patterns of morphological evolution. Here we test the effects of inclusion of fossils in a study of the body size evolution of afrotherian mammals, a clade that includes the elephants, sea cows and elephant shrews. We find that the inclusion of fossil tips has little impact on analyses of body mass evolution; from a small ancestral size (approx. 100 g), there is a shift in rate and an increase in mass leading to the larger-bodied Paenungulata and Tubulidentata, regardless of whether fossils are included or excluded from analyses. For Afrotheria, the inclusion of fossils and morphological character data affect phylogenetic topology, but these differences have little impact upon patterns of body mass evolution and these body mass evolutionary patterns are consistent with the fossil record. The largest differences between our analyses result from the evolutionary model, not the addition of fossils. For some clades, extant-only analyses may be reliable to reconstruct body mass evolution, but the addition of fossils and careful model selection is likely to increase confidence and accuracy of reconstructed macroevolutionary patterns. © 2015 The Authors.

  6. Fossils and living taxa agree on patterns of body mass evolution: a case study with Afrotheria

    PubMed Central

    Puttick, Mark N.; Thomas, Gavin H.

    2015-01-01

    Most of life is extinct, so incorporating some fossil evidence into analyses of macroevolution is typically seen as necessary to understand the diversification of life and patterns of morphological evolution. Here we test the effects of inclusion of fossils in a study of the body size evolution of afrotherian mammals, a clade that includes the elephants, sea cows and elephant shrews. We find that the inclusion of fossil tips has little impact on analyses of body mass evolution; from a small ancestral size (approx. 100 g), there is a shift in rate and an increase in mass leading to the larger-bodied Paenungulata and Tubulidentata, regardless of whether fossils are included or excluded from analyses. For Afrotheria, the inclusion of fossils and morphological character data affect phylogenetic topology, but these differences have little impact upon patterns of body mass evolution and these body mass evolutionary patterns are consistent with the fossil record. The largest differences between our analyses result from the evolutionary model, not the addition of fossils. For some clades, extant-only analyses may be reliable to reconstruct body mass evolution, but the addition of fossils and careful model selection is likely to increase confidence and accuracy of reconstructed macroevolutionary patterns. PMID:26674947

  7. A dataset on tail risk of commodities markets.

    PubMed

    Powell, Robert J; Vo, Duc H; Pham, Thach N; Singh, Abhay K

    2017-12-01

    This article contains the datasets related to the research article "The long and short of commodity tails and their relationship to Asian equity markets"(Powell et al., 2017) [1]. The datasets contain the daily prices (and price movements) of 24 different commodities decomposed from the S&P GSCI index and the daily prices (and price movements) of three share market indices including World, Asia, and South East Asia for the period 2004-2015. Then, the dataset is divided into annual periods, showing the worst 5% of price movements for each year. The datasets are convenient to examine the tail risk of different commodities as measured by Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) as well as their changes over periods. The datasets can also be used to investigate the association between commodity markets and share markets.

  8. 76 FR 7975 - Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors: Amendments to Compliance Obligations

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-11

    ...The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is proposing to amend its existing regulations and proposing one new regulation regarding Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors. The Commission is proposing a new data collection for CPOs and CTAs that is consistent with the data collection required under the Dodd-Frank Act. The proposed amendments would: Rescind the exemptions from registration provided in the Commission's regulations; rescind the relief from the certification requirement for annual reports provided to operators of certain pools only offered to qualified eligible persons (``QEPs''); modify the criteria for claiming relief under the Commission's regulations; and require the annual filing of notices claiming exemptive relief. Finally, the proposal includes new risk disclosure requirements for CPOs and CTAs regarding swap transactions.

  9. 77 FR 5232 - Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Repowering Assistance Payments to Eligible Biorefineries

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-02

    ... renewable biomass as a replacement fuel source for fossil fuels used to provide process heat or power in the... Bill) (Pub. L. 110-246), to replace the use of fossil fuels used to produce heat or power at their... reduction in fossil fuel used by the biorefinery (including the quantity of fossil fuels a renewable biomass...

  10. 77 FR 1396 - Procurement of Commodities and Services Financed by USAID Federal Program Funds.

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-10

    ... Agriculture Commodities, has been revised to state that USAID provides a list of restricted agricultural... salts, biologicals, and some in-vitro diagnostic reagents/test kits; but does not include devices or...

  11. Methyl Bromide Commodity Fumigation Buffer Zone Lookup Tables

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Product labels for methyl bromide used in commodity and structural fumigation include requirements for buffer zones around treated areas. The information on this page will allow you to find the appropriate buffer zone for your planned application.

  12. 7 CFR 1400.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ..., and marketing of agricultural commodities in the farming operation. Other physical activities include... those physical activities necessary in livestock operations. Active personal management means personally..., and marketing of agricultural commodities, as well as activities required to establish and maintain...

  13. Commodity aspirations in Easterlin's relative income theory of fertility.

    PubMed

    Ahlburg, D A

    1984-01-01

    This paper presents the preference ordering that underlies Easterlin's relative income theory of fertility. Commodity aspirations are a key component of the theory and the paper explores how the introduction of commodity aspirations into the utility function affects the consumption of commodities and bearing of children. The formation and empirical specification of commodity aspirations are also discussed. Commodity aspirations are formed by the material environment experienced during childhood and are primarily a function of parental income. Easterlin, Leibenstein and Ben-Porath argus that it is the parental consumption or standard of living that determines the child's testes or aspirations. It is the parents' spending on themseleves rather than total parental income that can be used as a proxy for the child's commodity aspirations. Bagozzi and Van Loo identify 4 significant contributions made by Easterlinhs theory of fertility. They cite his stress on potential income flow through time as being pertinent to household decision making; tastes being an explicit determinant of fertility; background charactersticis and norms as to standards of child care and family size affecting fertility indirectly through tastes rather than directly; and the fact that relative income has an effect on fertility in addition to the influence of the absolute level of income. The number of children demanded is a negative function of commodity aspirations, as is the utility of the family. Studies of the demand for commodities and children should include data on parental resources.

  14. A comprehensive database of quality-rated fossil ages for Sahul's Quaternary vertebrates.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Rey, Marta; Herrando-Pérez, Salvador; Brook, Barry W; Saltré, Frédérik; Alroy, John; Beeton, Nicholas; Bird, Michael I; Cooper, Alan; Gillespie, Richard; Jacobs, Zenobia; Johnson, Christopher N; Miller, Gifford H; Prideaux, Gavin J; Roberts, Richard G; Turney, Chris S M; Bradshaw, Corey J A

    2016-07-19

    The study of palaeo-chronologies using fossil data provides evidence for past ecological and evolutionary processes, and is therefore useful for predicting patterns and impacts of future environmental change. However, the robustness of inferences made from fossil ages relies heavily on both the quantity and quality of available data. We compiled Quaternary non-human vertebrate fossil ages from Sahul published up to 2013. This, the FosSahul database, includes 9,302 fossil records from 363 deposits, for a total of 478 species within 215 genera, of which 27 are from extinct and extant megafaunal species (2,559 records). We also provide a rating of reliability of individual absolute age based on the dating protocols and association between the dated materials and the fossil remains. Our proposed rating system identified 2,422 records with high-quality ages (i.e., a reduction of 74%). There are many applications of the database, including disentangling the confounding influences of hypothetical extinction drivers, better spatial distribution estimates of species relative to palaeo-climates, and potentially identifying new areas for fossil discovery.

  15. A comprehensive database of quality-rated fossil ages for Sahul’s Quaternary vertebrates

    PubMed Central

    Rodríguez-Rey, Marta; Herrando-Pérez, Salvador; Brook, Barry W.; Saltré, Frédérik; Alroy, John; Beeton, Nicholas; Bird, Michael I.; Cooper, Alan; Gillespie, Richard; Jacobs, Zenobia; Johnson, Christopher N.; Miller, Gifford H.; Prideaux, Gavin J.; Roberts, Richard G.; Turney, Chris S.M.; Bradshaw, Corey J.A.

    2016-01-01

    The study of palaeo-chronologies using fossil data provides evidence for past ecological and evolutionary processes, and is therefore useful for predicting patterns and impacts of future environmental change. However, the robustness of inferences made from fossil ages relies heavily on both the quantity and quality of available data. We compiled Quaternary non-human vertebrate fossil ages from Sahul published up to 2013. This, the FosSahul database, includes 9,302 fossil records from 363 deposits, for a total of 478 species within 215 genera, of which 27 are from extinct and extant megafaunal species (2,559 records). We also provide a rating of reliability of individual absolute age based on the dating protocols and association between the dated materials and the fossil remains. Our proposed rating system identified 2,422 records with high-quality ages (i.e., a reduction of 74%). There are many applications of the database, including disentangling the confounding influences of hypothetical extinction drivers, better spatial distribution estimates of species relative to palaeo-climates, and potentially identifying new areas for fossil discovery. PMID:27434208

  16. The Use of a Fractional Factorial Design to Determine the Factors That Impact 1,3-Propanediol Production from Glycerol by Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans.

    PubMed

    Kalia, Shivani; Trager, Jordan; Sitton, Oliver C; Mormile, Melanie R

    2016-08-20

    In recent years, biodiesel, a substitute for fossil fuels, has led to the excessive production of crude glycerol. The resulting crude glycerol can possess a high concentration of salts and an alkaline pH. Moreover, current crude glycerol purification methods are expensive, rendering this former commodity a waste product. However, Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans, a haloalkaliphilic bacterium, possesses the metabolic capability to convert glycerol into 1,3-propanediol, a valuable commodity compound, without the need for salt dilution or adjusting pH when grown on this waste. Experiments were performed with different combinations of 24 medium components to determine their impact on the production of 1,3-propanediol by using a fractional factorial design. Tested medium components were selected based on data from the organism's genome. Analysis of HPLC data revealed enhanced production of 1,3-propanediol with additional glycerol, pH, vitamin B12, ammonium ions, sodium sulfide, cysteine, iron, and cobalt. However, other selected components; nitrate ions, phosphate ions, sulfate ions, sodium:potassium ratio, chloride, calcium, magnesium, silicon, manganese, zinc, borate, nickel, molybdenum, tungstate, copper and aluminum, did not enhance 1,3-propanediol production. The use of a fractional factorial design enabled the quick and efficient assessment of the impact of 24 different medium components on 1,3-propanediol production from glycerol from a haloalkaliphilic bacterium.

  17. Using Discrete Event Simulation to Model Integrated Commodities Consumption for a Launch Campaign of the Space Launch System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leonard, Daniel; Parsons, Jeremy W.; Cates, Grant

    2014-01-01

    In May 2013, NASA's GSDO Program requested a study to develop a discrete event simulation (DES) model that analyzes the launch campaign process of the Space Launch System (SLS) from an integrated commodities perspective. The scope of the study includes launch countdown and scrub turnaround and focuses on four core launch commodities: hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and helium. Previously, the commodities were only analyzed individually and deterministically for their launch support capability, but this study was the first to integrate them to examine the impact of their interactions on a launch campaign as well as the effects of process variability on commodity availability. The study produced a validated DES model with Rockwell Arena that showed that Kennedy Space Center's ground systems were capable of supporting a 48-hour scrub turnaround for the SLS. The model will be maintained and updated to provide commodity consumption analysis of future ground system and SLS configurations.

  18. 17 CFR 4.7 - Exemption from certain part 4 requirements for commodity pool operators with respect to offerings...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... percentage amounts and computational basis for each such fee and include a statement that the CPO is not able... percentage amounts and computational basis for each such fee and include a statement that the CPO is not able... fund, the commodity pool operator must disclose the percentage amounts and computational basis for each...

  19. 77 FR 11251 - Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors: Compliance Obligations

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-24

    ...The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is adopting amendments to its existing part 4 regulations and promulgating one new regulation regarding Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors. The Commission is also adopting new data collections for CPOs and CTAs that are consistent with a data collection required under the Dodd-Frank Act for entities registered with both the Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The adopted amendments rescind the exemption from registration; rescind relief from the certification requirement for annual reports provided to operators of certain pools offered only to qualified eligible persons (QEPs; modify the criteria for claiming relief); and require the annual filing of notices claiming exemptive relief under several sections of the Commission's regulations. Finally, the adopted amendments include new risk disclosure requirements for CPOs and CTAs regarding swap transactions.

  20. Soft-Bodied Fossils Are Not Simply Rotten Carcasses - Toward a Holistic Understanding of Exceptional Fossil Preservation: Exceptional Fossil Preservation Is Complex and Involves the Interplay of Numerous Biological and Geological Processes.

    PubMed

    Parry, Luke A; Smithwick, Fiann; Nordén, Klara K; Saitta, Evan T; Lozano-Fernandez, Jesus; Tanner, Alastair R; Caron, Jean-Bernard; Edgecombe, Gregory D; Briggs, Derek E G; Vinther, Jakob

    2018-01-01

    Exceptionally preserved fossils are the product of complex interplays of biological and geological processes including burial, autolysis and microbial decay, authigenic mineralization, diagenesis, metamorphism, and finally weathering and exhumation. Determining which tissues are preserved and how biases affect their preservation pathways is important for interpreting fossils in phylogenetic, ecological, and evolutionary frameworks. Although laboratory decay experiments reveal important aspects of fossilization, applying the results directly to the interpretation of exceptionally preserved fossils may overlook the impact of other key processes that remove or preserve morphological information. Investigations of fossils preserving non-biomineralized tissues suggest that certain structures that are decay resistant (e.g., the notochord) are rarely preserved (even where carbonaceous components survive), and decay-prone structures (e.g., nervous systems) can fossilize, albeit rarely. As we review here, decay resistance is an imperfect indicator of fossilization potential, and a suite of biological and geological processes account for the features preserved in exceptional fossils. © 2017 The Authors. BioEssays Published by WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Mineral commodity summaries 2013

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    2013-01-01

    Each chapter of the 2013 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest comprehensive source of 2012 mineral production data for the world. More than 90 individual minerals and materials are covered by two-page synopses. For mineral commodities for which there is a Government stockpile, detailed information concerning the stockpile status is included in the two-page synopsis. Abbreviations and units of measure, and definitions of selected terms used in the report, are in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. “Appendix C—Reserves and Resources” includes “Part A—Resource/Reserve Classification for Minerals” and “Part B—Sources of Reserves Data.” A directory of USGS minerals information country specialists and their responsibilities is Appendix D. The USGS continually strives to improve the value of its publications to users. Constructive comments and suggestions by readers of the MCS 2013 are welcomed.

  2. Mineral commodity summaries 2014

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    2014-01-01

    Each chapter of the 2014 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest comprehensive source of 2013 mineral production data for the world. More than 90 individual minerals and materials are covered by two-page synopses. For mineral commodities for which there is a Government stockpile, detailed information concerning the stockpile status is included in the two-page synopsis. Abbreviations and units of measure, and definitions of selected terms used in the report, are in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. “Appendix C—Reserves and Resources” includes “Part A—Resource/Reserve Classification for Minerals” and “Part B—Sources of Reserves Data.” A directory of USGS minerals information country specialists and their responsibilities is Appendix D. The USGS continually strives to improve the value of its publications to users. Constructive comments and suggestions by readers of the MCS 2014 are welcomed.

  3. 50 CFR 10.12 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils... offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils), whether or not included in a... part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils...

  4. 50 CFR 10.12 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils... offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils), whether or not included in a... part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils...

  5. 50 CFR 10.12 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils... offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils), whether or not included in a... part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils...

  6. 50 CFR 10.12 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils... offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils), whether or not included in a... part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils...

  7. 50 CFR 10.12 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils... offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils), whether or not included in a... part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof (excluding fossils...

  8. 7 CFR 65.250 - Slaughter.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... OF BEEF, PORK, LAMB, CHICKEN, GOAT MEAT, PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, MACADAMIA NUTS, PECANS... a livestock animal (including chicken) is prepared into meat products (covered commodities) for human consumption. For purposes of labeling under this part, the word harvested may be used in lieu of...

  9. 7 CFR 1402.2 - Sales of inventory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... owned by CCC, including those commodities that are marketed through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Various commodities owned by CCC may be offered for sale through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Interested parties may submit requests for information related to Internet-based...

  10. 7 CFR 1402.2 - Sales of inventory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... owned by CCC, including those commodities that are marketed through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Various commodities owned by CCC may be offered for sale through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Interested parties may submit requests for information related to Internet-based...

  11. 7 CFR 1402.2 - Sales of inventory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... owned by CCC, including those commodities that are marketed through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Various commodities owned by CCC may be offered for sale through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Interested parties may submit requests for information related to Internet-based...

  12. 7 CFR 1402.2 - Sales of inventory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... owned by CCC, including those commodities that are marketed through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Various commodities owned by CCC may be offered for sale through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Interested parties may submit requests for information related to Internet-based...

  13. 7 CFR 1402.2 - Sales of inventory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... owned by CCC, including those commodities that are marketed through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Various commodities owned by CCC may be offered for sale through commercial, Internet-based marketing services. Interested parties may submit requests for information related to Internet-based...

  14. Mineral facilities of Asia and the Pacific

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Baker, Michael S.; Elias, Nurudeen; Guzman, Eric; Soto-Viruet, Yadira

    2010-01-01

    This map displays over 1,500 records of mineral facilities throughout the continent of Asia and the countries of the Pacific Ocean. Each record represents one commodity and one facility type at a single geographic location. Facility types include mines, oil and gas fields, and plants, such as refineries, smelters, and mills. Common commodities of interest include aluminum, cement, coal, copper, gold, iron and steel, lead, nickel, petroleum, salt, silver, and zinc. Records include attributes, such as commodity, country, location, company name, facility type and capacity (if applicable), and latitude and longitude geographical coordinates (in both degrees-minutes-seconds and decimal degrees). The data shown on this map and in table 1 were compiled from multiple sources, including (1) the 2008 U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook (Asia and the Pacific volume), (2) minerals statistics and information from the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Web site (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/), and (3) data collected by U.S. Geological Survey minerals information country specialists. Other sources include statistical publications of individual countries, annual reports and press releases of operating companies, and trade journals. Due to the sensitivity of some energy commodity data, the quality of these data should be evaluated on a country-by-country basis. Additional information is available from the country specialists listed in table 2.

  15. Pre-Design of Transitional Rural Housing for Syria with Recycled Rubble from Destroyed Buildings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morishita, Naomi; Haj Ismail, Salah; Cetin, Rukiye

    2017-10-01

    The scale of destruction caused by seven years of on-going war in Syria has caused mass migration of the Syrian people within and outside of Syria. The situation calls for a means to provide the internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Syria with humane post-war affordable housing that can be quickly and easily built with few resources. Fossil fuel resources are not only scarce because of the war, but are also being used as a valuable commodity to finance the war economy, and thus, housing should minimize consumption of energy for heating and cooling because of the fossil fuel scarcity while providing high thermal comfort to the inhabitants. The housing parameters for the proposed solution are to integrate as much of the local building materials in the Aleppo region as possible using existing regional building traditions. Imported products such as building materials, machinery, equipment, as well as foreign labour and knowhow are to be kept to a minimum while incorporating recycled rubble from destroyed buildings. A comparative study of current disaster relief housing illustrates the appropriateness of each design solution in relation to the above-proposed housing parameters. A detailed analysis of the physical properties of an existing case study building in Dabiq, a town 40 km northeast of Aleppo, outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the building tradition to determine which aspects of the construction may be improved for better thermal comfort and resistance against earthquakes. The simulation results from WUFI Plus show the building behaviour of the case study house. This paper offers a concept for transitional single-family housing for IDPs based upon the adobe tradition in the rural areas of Aleppo. Reducing the heating and cooling loads can also drastically reduce fossil fuel requirements during the construction and operation phases of the single-family homes while maintaining a high level of indoor thermal comfort. Traditional construction techniques can potentially employ more craftspeople combined with manual labour instead of using automated systems. The relative safety of the rural areas can thus be increased, as storage and use of fossil fuels in the villages will be decreased allowing for quicker resettlement with less disruption from war.

  16. A revised checklist of Nepticulidae fossils (Lepidoptera) indicates an Early Cretaceous origin.

    PubMed

    Doorenweerd, Camiel; Nieukerken, Erik J Van; Sohn, Jae-Cheon; Labandeira, Conrad C

    2015-05-27

    With phylogenetic knowledge of Lepidoptera rapidly increasing, catalysed by increasingly powerful molecular techniques, the demand for fossil calibration points to estimate an evolutionary timeframe for the order is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. The family Nepticulidae is a species rich, basal branch within the phylogeny of the Lepidoptera, characterized by larval leaf-mining habits, and thereby represents a potentially important lineage whose evolutionary history can be established more thoroughly with the potential use of fossil calibration points. Using our experience with extant global Nepticulidae, we discuss a list of characters that may be used to assign fossil leaf mines to Nepticulidae, and suggest useful methods for classifying relevant fossil material. We present a checklist of 79 records of Nepticulidae representing adult and leaf-mine fossils mentioned in literature, often with multiple exemplars constituting a single record. We provide our interpretation of these fossils. Two species now are included in the collective generic name Stigmellites: Stigmellites resupinata (Krassilov, 2008) comb. nov. (from Ophiheliconoma) and Stigmellites almeidae (Martins-Neto, 1989) comb. nov. (from Nepticula). Eleven records are for the first time attributed to Nepticulidae. After discarding several dubious records, including one possibly placing the family at a latest Jurassic position, we conclude that the oldest fossils likely attributable to Nepticulidae are several exemplars representing a variety of species from the Dakota Formation (USA). The relevant strata containing these earliest fossils are now dated at 102 Ma (million years ago) in age, corresponding to the latest Albian Stage of the Early Cretaceous. Integration of all records in the checklist shows that a continuous presence of nepticulid-like leaf mines preserved as compression-impression fossils and by amber entombment of adults have a fossil record extending to the latest Early Cretaceous.

  17. Changing Concepts of the Nature and Significance of Fossils.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gregory, Joseph T.

    1984-01-01

    Provides information on early written accounts of fossils and contrasts historical phases regarding their organic or inorganic origin. Topic areas discussed include the deluge as a stimulant to geological investigation, stratigraphic sequences and earth history, extinction, faunal succession and organic evolution, and fossil evidence of…

  18. Research on intelligent recommendation algorithm of e-commerce based on association rules

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Jiajie; Cheng, Xianyi

    2017-09-01

    As the commodities of e-commerce are more and more rich, more and more consumers are willing to choose online shopping, because of these rich varieties of commodity information, customers will often appear aesthetic fatigue. Therefore, we need a recommendation algorithm according to the recent behavior of customers including browsing and consuming to predicate and intelligently recommend goods which the customers need, thus to improve the satisfaction of customers and to increase the profit of e-commerce. This paper first discusses recommendation algorithm, then improves Apriori. Finally, using R language realizes a recommendation algorithm of commodities. The result shows that this algorithm provides a certain decision-making role for customers to buy commodities.

  19. 17 CFR 256.301 - Organization.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Organization. 256.301 Section 256.301 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (CONTINUED) UNIFORM... service company such as stock, minute books and corporate seal. Note: This account shall not include any...

  20. 17 CFR 256.301 - Organization.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Organization. 256.301 Section 256.301 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (CONTINUED) UNIFORM... service company such as stock, minute books and corporate seal. Note: This account shall not include any...

  1. 75 FR 65586 - Agricultural Commodity Definition

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-26

    ... processed from cellulose before it becomes fiber. Category two would include high fructose corn syrup, but... wheat, cotton, rice, corn, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, grain sorghum, mill feeds, butter, eggs, and... remained unchanged since the 1974 amendments: ``The term ``commodity'' means wheat, cotton, rice, corn...

  2. 17 CFR 256.303 - Miscellaneous intangible plant.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Miscellaneous intangible plant. 256.303 Section 256.303 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION... plant. (a) This account shall include the cost of patent rights, licenses, privileges, and other...

  3. 17 CFR 256.216 - Unappropriated retained earnings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... retained earnings. This account shall include the balance, either debit or credit, arising from earnings... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Unappropriated retained earnings. 256.216 Section 256.216 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION...

  4. Maps showing mineral resource assessment for copper and molybdenum in porphyry and stockwork deposits and for tungsten, iron, gold, copper, and silver in skarn deposits, Dillion 1 degree by 2 degrees Quadrangle, Idaho and Montana

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pearson, R.C.; Trautwein, C.M.; Moll, S.H.; Berger, B.R.; Hanna, W.F.; Loen, J.S.; Rowan, L.C.; Ruppel, E.T.; Segal, D.B.

    1992-01-01

    This report is one of several in the series that assess the mineral resources of the Dillon quadrangle. For the purpose of the assessment, mineral deposits· in the quadrangle that are either known or suspected from a knowledge of the geologic setting have been grou~d into 30 deposit types on the basis of mineralogy, commodity, or structural or depositional setting. The emphasis in these assessment reports is on metallic minerals, but some important nonmetallic minerals will also be assessed. Fossil fuels are beyond the scope of this investigation; phosphate and uranium have been investigated previously (Swanson, 1970; Wodzicki andKrason, 1981); and certain nonmetallic. minerals, including bulk commodities such as sand and gravel, are in large supply and thus not considered. The ·mineral resource assessment discussed in this report considers two deposit types: (1) porphyry or stockwork deposits of copper. and molybdenum (referred to generally in this report as porphyry deposits) and (2) skarn deposits of tungsten, iron, gold, copper, and silver. Combining copper and molybenum porphyry deposits into a single deposit type is believed necessary for this purpose· mainly because the two metals are found together in most .deposits in the quadrangle, a geochemical signature unique to each has not been determined, and the significant petrologic characteristics of many associated plutons are not well known, especially characterist~cs of subsurface plutons whose presence is .inferred from geophysical data. In assessing mineral resources,· we have adopted a general philosophy similar to that of Harrison and others (19S6). We attempt to identify those parts of the quadrangle that are favorable for the occurrence of mineral resources. We do not attempt to locate specific exploration targets nor to determine the quantity of reserves or resources present.

  5. Projections of Demand for Waterborne Transportation, Ohio River Basin, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2020, 2040. Volume 1. Study Summary.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-12-01

    NOTES 3 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on revere side If n.cessary d Identify by block number) Bulk cargo Market demand analysis Commodity resource inventory...The study included a Commodity Resource Inventory, a Modal Split Analysis and a Market Demand Analysis. The work included investigation and analyses...inventory, a modal split analysis and a market demand analysis. The work included investigation and analyses of the production, transportation, and

  6. 17 CFR 204.62 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Definitions. 204.62 Section 204.62 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION RULES RELATING TO DEBT... subpart, “amounts required by law to be withheld” include amounts for deductions such as social security...

  7. 12 CFR 614.4020 - Banks for cooperatives.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ..., collateral custody, discounting notes and other obligations, guarantees, and currency exchanges necessary to... to a transaction with a voting stockholder of the bank, for the import of agricultural commodities....3200(c) of this chapter, for the export (including the cost of freight) of agricultural commodities or...

  8. 12 CFR 614.4020 - Banks for cooperatives.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ..., collateral custody, discounting notes and other obligations, guarantees, and currency exchanges necessary to... to a transaction with a voting stockholder of the bank, for the import of agricultural commodities....3200(c) of this chapter, for the export (including the cost of freight) of agricultural commodities or...

  9. 7 CFR 251.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... following categories: (i) Emergency feeding organizations (including food banks, food pantries and soup... of food or edible commodities, or the products of food or edible commodities, to food pantries, soup... into an agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture under § 251.2(c). (j) Soup kitchen...

  10. Fleet Forecasts for the United States to 2020

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-03-21

    Commodity 36). In particular, WSTS Commodity 33 includes auto-related items - piston engines, electric motors and generators, air conditioners, fuel pumps...as last year, at best. Mazda , for example, recently announced an actual cutback at its Flat Rock production site. The Voluntary Restraint Agreements

  11. Voluntary medical male circumcision: logistics, commodities, and waste management requirements for scale-up of services.

    PubMed

    Edgil, Dianna; Stankard, Petra; Forsythe, Steven; Rech, Dino; Chrouser, Kristin; Adamu, Tigistu; Sakallah, Sameer; Thomas, Anne Goldzier; Albertini, Jennifer; Stanton, David; Dickson, Kim Eva; Njeuhmeli, Emmanuel

    2011-11-01

    The global HIV prevention community is implementing voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs across eastern and southern Africa, with a goal of reaching 80% coverage in adult males by 2015. Successful implementation will depend on the accessibility of commodities essential for VMMC programming and the appropriate allocation of resources to support the VMMC supply chain. For this, the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, has developed a standard list of commodities for VMMC programs. This list of commodities was used to inform program planning for a 1-y program to circumcise 152,000 adult men in Swaziland. During this process, additional key commodities were identified, expanding the standard list to include commodities for waste management, HIV counseling and testing, and the treatment of sexually transmitted infections. The approximate costs for the procurement of commodities, management of a supply chain, and waste disposal, were determined for the VMMC program in Swaziland using current market prices of goods and services. Previous costing studies of VMMC programs did not capture supply chain costs, nor the full range of commodities needed for VMMC program implementation or waste management. Our calculations indicate that depending upon the volume of services provided, supply chain and waste management, including commodities and associated labor, contribute between US$58.92 and US$73.57 to the cost of performing one adult male circumcision in Swaziland. Experience with the VMMC program in Swaziland indicates that supply chain and waste management add approximately US$60 per circumcision, nearly doubling the total per procedure cost estimated previously; these additional costs are used to inform the estimate of per procedure costs modeled by Njeuhmeli et al. in "Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Modeling the Impact and Cost of Expanding Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention in Eastern and Southern Africa." Program planners and policy makers should consider the significant contribution of supply chain and waste management to VMMC program costs as they determine future resource needs for VMMC programs.

  12. Organic molecules as chemical fossils - The molecular fossil record

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eglinton, G.

    1983-01-01

    The study of biochemical clues to the early earth and the origin of life is discussed. The methods used in such investigation are described, including the extraction, fractionation, and analysis of geolipids and the analysis of kerogen. The occurrence of molecular fossils in the geological record is examined, discussing proposed precursor-product relationships and the molecular assessment of deep sea sediments, ancient sediments, and crude petroleums. Alterations in the molecular record due to diagenesis and catagenesis are considered, and the use of microbial lipids as molecular fossils is discussed. The results of searches for molecular fossils in Precambrian sediments are assessed.

  13. Crustaceans from bitumen clast in Carboniferous glacial diamictite extend fossil record of copepods.

    PubMed

    Selden, Paul A; Huys, Rony; Stephenson, Michael H; Heward, Alan P; Taylor, Paul N

    2010-08-10

    Copepod crustaceans are extremely abundant but, because of their small size and fragility, they fossilize poorly. Their fossil record consists of one Cretaceous (c. 115 Ma) parasite and a few Miocene (c. 14 Ma) fossils. In this paper, we describe abundant crustacean fragments, including copepods, from a single bitumen clast in a glacial diamictite of late Carboniferous age (c. 303 Ma) from eastern Oman. Geochemistry identifies the source of the bitumen as an oilfield some 100-300 km to the southwest, which is consistent with an ice flow direction from glacial striae. The bitumen likely originated as an oil seep into a subglacial lake. This find extends the fossil record of copepods by some 188 Ma, and of free-living forms by 289 Ma. The copepods include evidence of the extant family Canthocamptidae, believed to have colonized fresh water in Pangaea during Carboniferous times.

  14. What commodities and countries impact inequality in the global food system?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carr, Joel A.; D'Odorico, Paolo; Suweis, Samir; Seekell, David A.

    2016-09-01

    The global distribution of food production is unequal relative to the distribution of human populations. International trade can increase or decrease inequality in food availability, but little is known about how specific countries and commodities contribute to this redistribution. We present a method based on the Gini coefficient for evaluating the contributions of country and commodity specific trade to inequality in the global food system. We applied the method to global food production and trade data for the years 1986-2011 to identify the specific countries and commodities that contribute to increasing and decreasing inequality in global food availability relative to food production. Overall, international trade reduced inequality in food availability by 25%-33% relative to the distribution of food production, depending on the year. Across all years, about 58% of the total trade links acted to reduce inequality with ˜4% of the links providing 95% of the reduction in inequality. Exports from United States of America, Malaysia, Argentina, and Canada are particularly important in decreasing inequality. Specific commodities that reduce inequality when traded include cereals and vegetables. Some trade connections contribute to increasing inequality, but this effect is mostly concentrated within a small number of commodities including fruits, stimulants, and nuts. In terms of specific countries, exports from Slovenia, Oman, Singapore, and Germany act to increase overall inequality. Collectively, our analysis and results represent an opportunity for building an enhanced understanding of global-scale patterns in food availability.

  15. Projections of Demand for Waterborne Transportation, Ohio River Basin, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2020, 2040. Volume 10. Group VIII. Iron Ore, Steel and Iron.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-12-01

    SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse aide if neceeary aod identify by block number) Bulk cargo Market demand analysis Iron Commodity resource...shown below. The study included a Commodity Resource Inventory, a Modal Split Analysis and a Market Demand Analysis. The work included investigation...resource inventory, a modal split analysis and a market demand analysis. The work included investigation and analyses of the production

  16. International Illegal Trade in Wildlife: Threats and U.S. Policy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-05-19

    and Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB), are reportedly sponsoring elephant and rhino poaching for profit, according to a British news article.101 CRS...wildlife commodities include tiger parts, caviar, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and exotic birds and reptiles. Demand for illegally obtained wildlife is...officials, some of the most lucrative illicit wildlife commodities include tiger parts, caviar, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and exotic birds and reptiles. Due

  17. AgRISTARS: Foreign commodity production forecasting. Project test reports document, volume 1. [using North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Waggoner, J. T.; Phinney, D. E. (Principal Investigator)

    1981-01-01

    Foreign Commodity Production Forecasting testing activities through June 1981 are documented. A log of test reports is presented. Standard documentation sets are included for each test. The documentation elements presented in each set are summarized.

  18. Commodity Cluster Computing for Remote Sensing Applications using Red Hat LINUX

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dorband, John

    2003-01-01

    Since 1994, we have been doing research at Goddard Space Flight Center on implementing a wide variety of applications on commodity based computing clusters. This talk is about these clusters and haw they are used on these applications including ones for remote sensing.

  19. 17 CFR 49.22 - Chief compliance officer.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ....22 Section 49.22 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP DATA... 49, the term “board of directors” means the board of directors of a registered swap data repository, or for those swap data repositories whose organizational structure does not include a board of...

  20. 17 CFR 49.22 - Chief compliance officer.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ....22 Section 49.22 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP DATA... 49, the term “board of directors” means the board of directors of a registered swap data repository, or for those swap data repositories whose organizational structure does not include a board of...

  1. Supply of and demand for selected energy related mineral commodities

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sibley, Scott F.

    2010-01-01

    In this report, subjects discussed include components of mineral supply, production, and consumption data, and information on selected mineral commodities in which the Energy Critical Elements Study Group has an interest, and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recycling studies, with some results of these studies.

  2. 17 CFR 32.7 - Books and recordkeeping.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Books and recordkeeping. 32.7... COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.7 Books and recordkeeping. (a) Each person which accepts any money... least include all orders (filled, unfilled or cancelled), signature cards, books of records, journals...

  3. 17 CFR 32.7 - Books and recordkeeping.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Books and recordkeeping. 32.7... COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.7 Books and recordkeeping. (a) Each person which accepts any money... least include all orders (filled, unfilled or cancelled), signature cards, books of records, journals...

  4. 17 CFR 32.7 - Books and recordkeeping.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Books and recordkeeping. 32.7... COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.7 Books and recordkeeping. (a) Each person which accepts any money... least include all orders (filled, unfilled or cancelled), signature cards, books of records, journals...

  5. 17 CFR 160.6 - Information to be included in privacy notices.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... future to disclose, but to whom you do not currently disclose, nonpublic personal information. (f) Model... privacy notices. 160.6 Section 160.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING... that you make disclosures to other nonaffiliated companies: (1) For your everyday business purposes...

  6. 40 CFR 52.21 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... potential to emit, 100 tons per year or more of any regulated NSR pollutant: Fossil fuel-fired steam... NAICS codes 325193 or 312140), fossil-fuel boilers (or combinations thereof) totaling more than 250... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel boilers (or combination thereof) totaling more...

  7. Late Cretaceous Extreme Polar Warmth recorded by Vertebrate Fossils from the High Canadian Arctic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vandermark, D.; Tarduno, J. A.; Brinkman, D.

    2006-12-01

    A vertebrate fossil assemblage from Late Cretaceous (Coniacian-Turonian, ~92 to 86 Ma) rocks on Axel Heiberg Island in the High Canadian Arctic reflects what was once a diverse community of freshwater fishes and reptiles. Paleomagnetic data indicate a paleolatitude of ~71° N for the site; the fossils are from non-migratory fauna, so they can provide insight into Late Cretaceous polar climate. The fossil assemblage includes large (> 2.4 m long) champsosaurs (extinct crocodilelike reptiles). The presence of large champsosaurs suggests a mean annual temperature > 14 °C (and perhaps as great as 25 °C). Here we summarize findings and analyses following the discovery of the fossil-bearing strata in 1996. Examination of larger fish elements, isolated teeth and SEM studies of microstructures indicates the presence of lepisosteids, amiids and teleosts (Friedman et al., 2003) Interestingly, the only other known occurrence of amiids and lepisosteids, fossil or recent, are from intervals of extreme warmth during the Tertiary. Turtles present in the assemblage include Boreralochelys axelheibergensis, a generically indeterminate eucryptodire and a trioychid (Brinkman and Tarduno, 2005). The level of turtle diversity is also comparable to mid-latitude assemblages with a mean annual paleotemperature of at least 14 °C. A large portion of the champsosaur fossil assemblage is comprised of elements from subadults. This dominance of subadults is similar to that seen from low latitude sites. Because of the sensitivity of juveniles to ice formation, the make-up of the Arctic champsosaur population further indicates that the Late Cretaceous saw an interval of extreme warmth and low seasonality. We note the temporal coincidence of these fossils with volcanism at large igneous provinces (including high Arctic volcanism) and suggest that a pulse in volcanic carbon dioxide emissions helped cause the global warmth.

  8. Using more than the oldest fossils: dating osmundaceae with three Bayesian clock approaches.

    PubMed

    Grimm, Guido W; Kapli, Paschalia; Bomfleur, Benjamin; McLoughlin, Stephen; Renner, Susanne S

    2015-05-01

    A major concern in molecular clock dating is how to use information from the fossil record to calibrate genetic distances from DNA sequences. Here we apply three Bayesian dating methods that differ in how calibration is achieved-"node dating" (ND) in BEAST, "total evidence" (TE) dating in MrBayes, and the "fossilized birth-death" (FBD) in FDPPDiv-to infer divergence times in the royal ferns. Osmundaceae have 16-17 species in four genera, two mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and two in South Africa and Australasia; they are the sister clade to the remaining leptosporangiate ferns. Their fossil record consists of at least 150 species in ∼17 genera. For ND, we used the five oldest fossils, whereas for TE and FBD dating, which do not require forcing fossils to nodes and thus can use more fossils, we included up to 36 rhizomes and frond compression/impression fossils, which for TE dating were scored for 33 morphological characters. We also subsampled 10%, 25%, and 50% of the 36 fossils to assess model sensitivity. FBD-derived divergence ages were generally greater than those inferred from ND; two of seven TE-derived ages agreed with FBD-obtained ages, the others were much younger or much older than ND or FBD ages. We prefer the FBD-derived ages because they best fit the Osmundales fossil record (including Triassic fossils not used in our study). Under the preferred model, the clade encompassing extant Osmundaceae (and many fossils) dates to the latest Paleozoic to Early Triassic; divergences of the extant species occurred during the Neogene. Under the assumption of constant speciation and extinction rates, the FBD approach yielded speciation and extinction rates that overlapped those obtained from just neontological data. However, FBD estimates of speciation and extinction are sensitive to violations in the assumption of continuous fossil sampling; therefore, these estimates should be treated with caution. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Nature or petrochemistry?-biologically degradable materials.

    PubMed

    Mecking, Stefan

    2004-02-20

    Naturally occurring polymers have been utilized for a long time as materials, however, their application as plastics has been restricted because of their limited thermoplastic processability. Recently, the microbial synthesis of polyesters directly from carbohydrate sources has attracted considerable attention. The industrial-scale production of poly(lactic acid) from lactic acid generated by fermentation now provides a renewable resources-based polyester as a commodity plastic for the first time. The biodegradability of a given material is independent of its origin, and biodegradable plastics can equally well be prepared from fossil fuel feedstocks. A consideration of the overall carbon dioxide emissions and consumption of non-renewable resources over the entire life-cycle of a product is not necessarily favorable for plastics based on renewable resources with current technology-in addition to the feedstocks for the synthesis of the polymer materials, the feedstock for generation of the overall energy required for production and processing is decisive.

  10. Carbon recycling by cyanobacteria: improving CO2 fixation through chemical production.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Angela; Carroll, Austin L; Atsumi, Shota

    2017-09-01

    Atmospheric CO2 levels have reached an alarming level due to industrialization and the burning of fossil fuels. In order to lower the level of atmospheric carbon, strategies to sequester excess carbon need to be implemented. The CO2-fixing mechanism in photosynthetic organisms enables integration of atmospheric CO2 into biomass. Additionally, through exogenous metabolic pathways in these photosynthetic organisms, fixed CO2 can be routed to produce various commodity chemicals that are currently produced from petroleum. This review will highlight studies and modifications to different components of cyanobacterial CO2-fixing systems, as well as the application of these systems toward CO2-derived chemical production. 2,3-Butanediol is given particular focus as one of the most thoroughly studied systems for conversion of CO2 to a bioproduct. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. WHETSTONE ROADLESS AREA, ARIZONA.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wrucke, Chester T.; McColly, Robert A.

    1984-01-01

    A mineral survey conducted has shown that areas in and adjacent to the Whetstone Roadless Area, Arizona have a substantiated resource potential for copper, lead, gold, silver, and quartz, and a probable mineral-resource potential for copper silver, lead, gold, molybdenum, tungsten, uranium, and gypsum. Copper and silver occur in a small vein deposit in the southwestern part of the roadless area. Copper, lead, silver, gold, and molybdenum are known in veins associated with a porphyry copper deposit in a reentrant near the southern border of the roadless area. Vein deposits of tungsten and uranium are possible in the northeast part of the roadless area near areas of known production of these commodities. Demonstrated resources of quartz for smelter flux extend into the roadless area from the Ricketts mine. Areas of probable potential for gypsum resources also occur within the roadless area. No potential for fossil fuel resources was identified in the study.

  12. Role of non-fossil energy in meeting China's energy and climate target for 2020

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhou, Sheng; Tong, Qing; Yu, Sha

    2012-12-01

    China is the largest energy consumer and CO2 emitter in the world. The Chinese government faces growing challenges of ensuring energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To address these two issues, the Chinese government has announced two ambitious domestic indicative autonomous mitigation targets for 2020: increasing the ratio of non-fossil energy to 15% and reducing carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% from 2005 levels. To explore the role of non-fossil energy in achieving these two targets, this paper first provides an overview of current status of non-fossil energy development in China; then gives a brief reviewmore » of GDP and primary energy consumption; next assesses in detail the role of the non fossil energy in 2020, including the installed capacity and electricity generation of non-fossil energy sources, the share and role of non-fossil energy in the electricity structure, emissions reduction resulting from the shift to non-fossil energy, and challenges for accomplishing the mitigation targets in 2020 ; finally, conclusions and policy measures for non-fossil energy development are proposed.« less

  13. 40 CFR 180.422 - Tralomethrin; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... the following food commodities: Commodity Parts per million Broccoli 0.5 Cotton, undelinted seed 0.02 Cotton, oil 0.20 Lettuce, head 1.00 Lettuce, leaf 3.00 Soybean 0.05 Sunflower, seed 0.05 (2) A tolerance...-handling establishments, including food service, manufacturing, and processing establishments, such as...

  14. 40 CFR 180.422 - Tralomethrin; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... the following food commodities: Commodity Parts per million Broccoli 0.5 Cotton, undelinted seed 0.02 Cotton, oil 0.20 Lettuce, head 1.00 Lettuce, leaf 3.00 Soybean 0.05 Sunflower, seed 0.05 (2) A tolerance...-handling establishments, including food service, manufacturing, and processing establishments, such as...

  15. 17 CFR 1.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... a transaction in the spot market for the commodity. (e) Commodity. This term means and includes... the Act. (h) Contract market; designated contract market. These terms mean a board of trade designated by the Commission as a contract market under the Act and in accordance with the provisions of part 38...

  16. Current and state-of-the-art approaches for detecting mycotoxins in commodities

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The tools that have been applied to detection of mycotoxins in commodities are numerous and powerful. These include everything from simple to use diagnostic test strips to complex, instrument intensive, methods such as ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). This wi...

  17. 12 CFR 220.9 - Clearance of securities, options, and futures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... security (including options on any security, certificate of deposit, securities index or foreign currency); or (ii) Guarantees performance of contracts for the purchase or sale of a commodity for future... Exchange Commission or is the clearing agency for a contract market regulated by the Commodity Futures...

  18. 12 CFR 220.9 - Clearance of securities, options, and futures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... security (including options on any security, certificate of deposit, securities index or foreign currency); or (ii) Guarantees performance of contracts for the purchase or sale of a commodity for future... Exchange Commission or is the clearing agency for a contract market regulated by the Commodity Futures...

  19. 7 CFR 1488.6 - Amendments to financing agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC... of amendment and is determined to be in the interest of CCC. Amendments may include extension of the... been delivered, CCC will consider requests to increase the amount of the sale registration value for...

  20. 7 CFR 1488.6 - Amendments to financing agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC Export Credit Sales... determined to be in the interest of CCC. Amendments may include extension of the period for delivery or the period for export, and change in the interest rate. After the commodity has been delivered, CCC will...

  1. 7 CFR 1488.6 - Amendments to financing agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC Export Credit Sales... determined to be in the interest of CCC. Amendments may include extension of the period for delivery or the period for export, and change in the interest rate. After the commodity has been delivered, CCC will...

  2. 7 CFR 1488.6 - Amendments to financing agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC Export Credit Sales... determined to be in the interest of CCC. Amendments may include extension of the period for delivery or the period for export, and change in the interest rate. After the commodity has been delivered, CCC will...

  3. 7 CFR 1488.6 - Amendments to financing agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC... of amendment and is determined to be in the interest of CCC. Amendments may include extension of the... been delivered, CCC will consider requests to increase the amount of the sale registration value for...

  4. Partially incorrect fossil data augment analyses of discrete trait evolution in living species.

    PubMed

    Puttick, Mark N

    2016-08-01

    Ancestral state reconstruction of discrete character traits is often vital when attempting to understand the origins and homology of traits in living species. The addition of fossils has been shown to alter our understanding of trait evolution in extant taxa, but researchers may avoid using fossils alongside extant species if only few are known, or if the designation of the trait of interest is uncertain. Here, I investigate the impacts of fossils and incorrectly coded fossils in the ancestral state reconstruction of discrete morphological characters under a likelihood model. Under simulated phylogenies and data, likelihood-based models are generally accurate when estimating ancestral node values. Analyses with combined fossil and extant data always outperform analyses with extant species alone, even when around one quarter of the fossil information is incorrect. These results are especially pronounced when model assumptions are violated, such as when there is a trend away from the root value. Fossil data are of particular importance when attempting to estimate the root node character state. Attempts should be made to include fossils in analysis of discrete traits under likelihood, even if there is uncertainty in the fossil trait data. © 2016 The Authors.

  5. Discovering Hominins - Application of Medical Computed Tomography (CT) to Fossil-Bearing Rocks from the Site of Malapa, South Africa.

    PubMed

    Smilg, Jacqueline S; Berger, Lee R

    2015-01-01

    In the South African context, computed tomography (CT) has been used applied to individually prepared fossils and small rocks containing fossils, but has not been utilized on large breccia blocks as a means of discovering fossils, and particularly fossil hominins. Previous attempts at CT imaging of rocks from other South African sites for this purpose yielded disappointing results. For this study, 109 fossil- bearing rocks from the site of Malapa, South Africa were scanned with medical CT prior to manual preparation. The resultant images were assessed for accuracy of fossil identification and characterization against the standard of manual preparation. The accurate identification of fossils, including those of early hominins, that were not visible on the surface of individual blocks, is shown to be possible. The discovery of unexpected fossils is reduced, thus lowering the potential that fossils could be damaged through accidental encounter during routine preparation, or even entirely missed. This study should significantly change the way fossil discovery, recovery and preparation is done in the South African context and has potential for application in other palaeontological situations. Medical CT imaging is shown to be reliable, readily available, cost effective and accurate in finding fossils within matrix conglomerates. Improvements in CT equipment and in CT image quality are such that medical CT is now a viable imaging modality for this palaeontological application.

  6. Discovering Hominins - Application of Medical Computed Tomography (CT) to Fossil-Bearing Rocks from the Site of Malapa, South Africa

    PubMed Central

    Smilg, Jacqueline S.; Berger, Lee R.

    2015-01-01

    In the South African context, computed tomography (CT) has been used applied to individually prepared fossils and small rocks containing fossils, but has not been utilized on large breccia blocks as a means of discovering fossils, and particularly fossil hominins. Previous attempts at CT imaging of rocks from other South African sites for this purpose yielded disappointing results. For this study, 109 fossil- bearing rocks from the site of Malapa, South Africa were scanned with medical CT prior to manual preparation. The resultant images were assessed for accuracy of fossil identification and characterization against the standard of manual preparation. The accurate identification of fossils, including those of early hominins, that were not visible on the surface of individual blocks, is shown to be possible. The discovery of unexpected fossils is reduced, thus lowering the potential that fossils could be damaged through accidental encounter during routine preparation, or even entirely missed. This study should significantly change the way fossil discovery, recovery and preparation is done in the South African context and has potential for application in other palaeontological situations. Medical CT imaging is shown to be reliable, readily available, cost effective and accurate in finding fossils within matrix conglomerates. Improvements in CT equipment and in CT image quality are such that medical CT is now a viable imaging modality for this palaeontological application. PMID:26684299

  7. 77 FR 23178 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; Deferral for CO2

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-18

    ... other than fossil fuels and mineral sources of carbon. Examples of ``biogenic CO 2 emissions'' include... biomass can be part of the national strategy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Efforts are underway at.... In that event, Virginia may revise its SIP accordingly. For stationary sources co-firing fossil fuel...

  8. 76 FR 1109 - Notice of Data Availability for Federal Implementation Plans To Reduce Interstate Transport of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-07

    ... characters, avoid any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information... any stationary, fossil-fuel-fired boiler or stationary, fossil-fuel-fired combustion turbine located... included any fossil-fuel-fired unit serving a generator greater than 25 MWe producing electricity for sale...

  9. Protein molecular data from ancient (>1 million years old) fossil material: pitfalls, possibilities and grand challenges.

    PubMed

    Schweitzer, Mary Higby; Schroeter, Elena R; Goshe, Michael B

    2014-07-15

    Advances in resolution and sensitivity of analytical techniques have provided novel applications, including the analyses of fossil material. However, the recovery of original proteinaceous components from very old fossil samples (defined as >1 million years (1 Ma) from previously named limits in the literature) is far from trivial. Here, we discuss the challenges to recovery of proteinaceous components from fossils, and the need for new sample preparation techniques, analytical methods, and bioinformatics to optimize and fully utilize the great potential of information locked in the fossil record. We present evidence for survival of original components across geological time, and discuss the potential benefits of recovery, analyses, and interpretation of fossil materials older than 1 Ma, both within and outside of the fields of evolutionary biology.

  10. A Jurassic wood providing insights into the earliest step in Ginkgo wood evolution.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Zikun; Wang, Yongdong; Philippe, Marc; Zhang, Wu; Tian, Ning; Zheng, Shaolin

    2016-12-16

    The fossil record of Ginkgo leaf and reproductive organs has been well dated to the Mid-Jurassic (170 Myr). However, the fossil wood record that can safely be assigned to Ginkgoales has not yet been reported from strata predating the late Early Cretaceous (ca. 100 Myr). Here, we report a new fossil wood from the Mid-Late Jurassic transition deposit (153-165 Myr) of northeastern China. The new fossil wood specimen displays several Ginkgo features, including inflated axial parenchyma and intrusive tracheid tips. Because it is only slightly younger than the oldest recorded Ginkgo reproductive organs (the Yima Formation, 170 Myr), this fossil wood very probably represents the oldest bona fide fossil Ginkgo wood and the missing ancestral form of Ginkgo wood evolution.

  11. A Jurassic wood providing insights into the earliest step in Ginkgo wood evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Zikun; Wang, Yongdong; Philippe, Marc; Zhang, Wu; Tian, Ning; Zheng, Shaolin

    2016-12-01

    The fossil record of Ginkgo leaf and reproductive organs has been well dated to the Mid-Jurassic (170 Myr). However, the fossil wood record that can safely be assigned to Ginkgoales has not yet been reported from strata predating the late Early Cretaceous (ca. 100 Myr). Here, we report a new fossil wood from the Mid-Late Jurassic transition deposit (153-165 Myr) of northeastern China. The new fossil wood specimen displays several Ginkgo features, including inflated axial parenchyma and intrusive tracheid tips. Because it is only slightly younger than the oldest recorded Ginkgo reproductive organs (the Yima Formation, 170 Myr), this fossil wood very probably represents the oldest bona fide fossil Ginkgo wood and the missing ancestral form of Ginkgo wood evolution.

  12. 36 CFR 62.5 - Natural landmark criteria.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... history; and fossil evidence of biological evolution. Because the general character of natural diversity... more rare, threatened, or endangered species Badlands, including strata that contain rare fossils...

  13. 36 CFR 62.5 - Natural landmark criteria.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... history; and fossil evidence of biological evolution. Because the general character of natural diversity... more rare, threatened, or endangered species Badlands, including strata that contain rare fossils...

  14. 36 CFR 62.5 - Natural landmark criteria.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... history; and fossil evidence of biological evolution. Because the general character of natural diversity... more rare, threatened, or endangered species Badlands, including strata that contain rare fossils...

  15. 36 CFR 62.5 - Natural landmark criteria.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... history; and fossil evidence of biological evolution. Because the general character of natural diversity... more rare, threatened, or endangered species Badlands, including strata that contain rare fossils...

  16. 36 CFR 62.5 - Natural landmark criteria.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... history; and fossil evidence of biological evolution. Because the general character of natural diversity... more rare, threatened, or endangered species Badlands, including strata that contain rare fossils...

  17. Microbial Fossilization in Mineralizing Environments: Relevance for Mars "EXOPALEONTOLOGY"

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Farmer, Jack D.; DesMarais, David J.; Morrison, David (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    The goals of post-Viking exobiology include the search for a Martian fossil record. How can we optimize future exploration efforts to search for fossils on Mars? The Precambrian fossil record indicates that key factors for the long-term preservation of microbial fossils include: 1) the rapid entombment and/or replacement of organisms and organic matter by fine-grained, stable mineral phases (e.g. silica, phosphate, and to a lesser extent, carbonate), 2) low-permeability host sediments (maintaining a closed chemical system during early diagenesis), and 3) shallow burial (maintaining post-depositional temperatures and pressures within the stability range for complex organic molecules). Modem terrestrial environments where early mineralization commonly occurs in association with microbial organisms include: subaerial thermal springs and shallow hydrothermal systems, sub-lacustrine springs and evaporites of alkaline lakes, and subsoil environments where hardpans (e.g. calcretes, silcretes) and duricrusts form. Studies of microbial fossilization in such environments provide important insights preservation patterns in Precambrian rocks, while also playing a role in the development of strategies for Mars exopaleontology. The refinement of site priorities for Mars exopaleontology is expected to benefit greatly from high resolution imaging and altimetry acquired during upcoming orbital missions, and especially infrared and gamma ray spectral data needed for determining surface composition. In anticipation of future orbital missions, constraints for identifying high priority mineral deposits on Mars are being developed through analog remote sensing studies of key mineralizing environments on Earth.

  18. Delay and probability discounting of multiple commodities in smokers and never-smokers using multiple-choice tasks.

    PubMed

    Poltavski, Dmitri V; Weatherly, Jeffrey N

    2013-12-01

    The purpose of the present study was to investigate temporal and probabilistic discounting in smokers and never-smokers, across a number of commodities, using a multiple-choice method. One hundred and eighty-two undergraduate university students, of whom 90 had never smoked, 73 were self-reported light smokers (<10 cigarettes/day), and 17 were heavy smokers (10+cigarettes/day), completed computerized batteries of delay and probability discounting questions pertaining to a total of eight commodities and administered in a multiple-choice format. In addition to cigarettes, monetary rewards, and health outcomes, the tasks included novel commodities such as ideal dating partner and retirement income. The results showed that heavy smokers probability discounted commodities at a significantly shallower rate than never-smokers, suggesting greater risk-taking. No effect of smoking status was observed for delay discounting questions. The only commodity that was probability discounted significantly less than others was 'finding an ideal dating partner'. The results suggest that probability discounting tasks using the multiple-choice format can discriminate between non-abstaining smokers and never-smokers and could be further explored in the context of behavioral and drug addictions.

  19. From Fossil Parasitoids to Vectors: Insects as Parasites and Hosts.

    PubMed

    Nagler, Christina; Haug, Joachim T

    2015-01-01

    Within Metazoa, it has been proposed that as many as two-thirds of all species are parasitic. This propensity towards parasitism is also reflected within insects, where several lineages independently evolved a parasitic lifestyle. Parasitic behaviour ranges from parasitic habits in the strict sense, but also includes parasitoid, phoretic or kleptoparasitic behaviour. Numerous insects are also the host for other parasitic insects or metazoans. Insects can also serve as vectors for numerous metazoan, protistan, bacterial and viral diseases. The fossil record can report this behaviour with direct (parasite associated with its host) or indirect evidence (insect with parasitic larva, isolated parasitic insect, pathological changes of host). The high abundance of parasitism in the fossil record of insects can reveal important aspects of parasitic lifestyles in various evolutionary lineages. For a comprehensive view on fossil parasitic insects, we discuss here different aspects, including phylogenetic systematics, functional morphology and a direct comparison of fossil and extant species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. 44 CFR 401.1 - Prohibited transportation and discharge.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... International Commerce, Department of Commerce (15 CFR parts 368 through 399), any article designated as arms... commodity, including fissionable, materials controlled for export under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as... aircraft any such commodity or article at any such port or place or at any other port or place in transit...

  1. 17 CFR 160.13 - Exception to opt out requirements for service providers and joint marketing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... this section may include marketing of your own products or services or marketing of financial products... requirements for service providers and joint marketing. 160.13 Section 160.13 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Exceptions § 160.13...

  2. 76 FR 6506 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Order Instituting Proceedings To...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-04

    ... stockpiling companies, and cited particular aspects of the proposal, including the frequency and source of... Disapprove Proposed Rule Change To Adopt Additional Criteria for Listing Commodity Stockpiling Companies That... listing companies that have indicated that their business plan is to buy and hold commodities. The...

  3. 17 CFR 230.239 - Exemption for offers and sales of certain security-based swaps.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... specified Internet address or includes in its agreement covering the security-based swap that the eligible... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Exemption for offers and sales of certain security-based swaps. 230.239 Section 230.239 Commodity and Securities Exchanges...

  4. 17 CFR 230.239 - Exemption for offers and sales of certain security-based swaps.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... specified Internet address or includes in its agreement covering the security-based swap that the eligible... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Exemption for offers and sales of certain security-based swaps. 230.239 Section 230.239 Commodity and Securities Exchanges...

  5. 22 CFR 211.9 - Liability for loss damage or improper distribution of commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... specify how such losses occurred; (E) Obtain copies of port and/or ship records including scale weights... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Liability for loss damage or improper... § 211.9 Liability for loss damage or improper distribution of commodities. (Where the instructions in...

  6. 22 CFR 211.9 - Liability for loss damage or improper distribution of commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... specify how such losses occurred; (E) Obtain copies of port and/or ship records including scale weights... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Liability for loss damage or improper... § 211.9 Liability for loss damage or improper distribution of commodities. (Where the instructions in...

  7. 26 CFR 1.892-3T - Income of foreign governments (temporary regulations).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... include commodity forward or futures contracts and commodity options unless they constitute securities for... similar instrument in a functional or nonfunctional currency (see section 985(b) for the definition of functional currency) or in precious metals when held by a foreign government or central bank of issue (as...

  8. Economic Indicators of the Farm Sector. Costs of Production, 1985.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Economic Research Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

    This report presents the Economic Research Service's estimates of the costs of producing wheat, feed grains, cotton, and dairy commodities. It includes costs for other farm products that compete with the required commodities, namely rice, peanuts, soybeans, flax, sunflowers, fed cattle, hogs, sheep, and sugar. The report begins by assessing costs…

  9. Ultralow oxygen treatment for control of western flower thrips, frankliniella occidentalis (thysanoptera: thripidae), on harvested table grapes

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is a common pest on grapes and other fresh commodities in the United States, but a quarantined pest in Taiwan. Methyl bromide fumigation has been used to control the thrips on U.S. exported fresh commodities, including organic table grap...

  10. 40 CFR 180.1122 - Inert ingredients of semiochemical dispensers; exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1122 Inert ingredients of semiochemical... (including the monomers, plasticizers, dispersing agents, antioxidants, UV protectants, stabilizers, and... commodity (RAC) or processed foods/feeds derived from the commodity by virtue of its proximity to the RAC or...

  11. 78 FR 67331 - Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Assessment Exemption for Organic Commodities

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-12

    ... for the forms currently used by marketers to apply for exemption from market promotion assessments...: Title: Organic Handler Market Promotion Assessment Exemption under 26 Federal Marketing Orders. OMB..., including paid advertising, to promote various commodities, which is paid for by assessments that are levied...

  12. 40 CFR 180.1122 - Inert ingredients of semiochemical dispensers; exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1122 Inert ingredients of semiochemical... (including the monomers, plasticizers, dispersing agents, antioxidants, UV protectants, stabilizers, and... commodity (RAC) or processed foods/feeds derived from the commodity by virtue of its proximity to the RAC or...

  13. 17 CFR 270.2a-46 - Certain issuers as eligible portfolio companies.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Certain issuers as eligible portfolio companies. 270.2a-46 Section 270.2a-46 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE... eligible portfolio companies. The term eligible portfolio company shall include any issuer that meets the...

  14. 40 CFR Appendix S to Part 51 - Emission Offset Interpretative Ruling

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel boilers (or combination thereof) totaling more... fiber processing plants; (y) Charcoal production plants; (z) Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of... and PM10 emissions shall include gaseous emissions from a source or activity which condense to form...

  15. 40 CFR Appendix S to Part 51 - Emission Offset Interpretative Ruling

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel boilers (or combination thereof) totaling more... fiber processing plants; (y) Charcoal production plants; (z) Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of... and PM10 emissions shall include gaseous emissions from a source or activity which condense to form...

  16. 40 CFR Appendix S to Part 51 - Emission Offset Interpretative Ruling

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel boilers (or combination thereof) totaling more... fiber processing plants; (y) Charcoal production plants; (z) Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of... and PM10 emissions shall include gaseous emissions from a source or activity which condense to form...

  17. 75 FR 53613 - Notice of Data Availability Supporting Federal Implementation Plans To Reduce Interstate...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-01

    ... files should avoid the use of special characters, avoid any form of encryption, and be free of any... modeling. This includes both units affected by the Proposed Transport Rule and other EGUs (e.g. fossil-fired units smaller than 25 MWe, non-fossil-fired units, and fossil-fired units 25 MWe or greater in...

  18. Critical mineral resources of the United States—Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schulz, Klaus J.; DeYoung,, John H.; Seal, Robert R.; Bradley, Dwight C.

    2017-12-19

    SummaryMineral commodities are vital for economic growth, improving the quality of life, providing for national defense, and the overall functioning of modern society. Minerals are being used in larger quantities than ever before and in an increasingly diverse range of applications. With the increasing demand for a considerably more diverse suite of mineral commodities has come renewed recognition that competition and conflict over mineral resources can pose significant risks to the manufacturing industries that depend on them. In addition, production of many mineral commodities has become concentrated in relatively few countries (for example, tungsten, rare-earth elements, and antimony in China; niobium in Brazil; and platinum-group elements in South Africa and Russia), thus increasing the risk for supply disruption owing to political, social, or other factors. At the same time, an increasing awareness of and sensitivity to potential environmental and health issues caused by the mining and processing of many mineral commodities may place additional restrictions on mineral supplies. These factors have led a number of Governments, including the Government of the United States, to attempt to identify those mineral commodities that are viewed as most “critical” to the national economy and (or) security if supplies should be curtailed.This book presents resource and geologic information on the following 23 mineral commodities currently among those viewed as important to the national economy and national security of the United States: antimony (Sb), barite (barium, Ba), beryllium (Be), cobalt (Co), fluorite or fluorspar (fluorine, F), gallium (Ga), germanium (Ge), graphite (carbon, C), hafnium (Hf), indium (In), lithium (Li), manganese (Mn), niobium (Nb), platinum-group elements (PGE), rare-earth elements (REE), rhenium (Re), selenium (Se), tantalum (Ta), tellurium (Te), tin (Sn), titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), and zirconium (Zr). For a number of these commodities—for example, graphite, manganese, niobium, and tantalum—the United States is currently wholly dependent on imports to meet its needs. The first two chapters (A and B) deal with general information pertinent to the study of mineral resources. Chapters C through V describe individual mineral commodities and include an overview of current uses of the commodity, identified resources and their distribution nationally and globally, the state of current geologic knowledge, the potential for finding additional deposits nationally and globally, and geoenvironmental issues that may be related to the production and uses of the commodity. These chapters are updates of the commodity chapters published in 1973 in U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 820, “United States Mineral Resources.”

  19. Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Logistics, Commodities, and Waste Management Requirements for Scale-Up of Services

    PubMed Central

    Edgil, Dianna; Stankard, Petra; Forsythe, Steven; Rech, Dino; Chrouser, Kristin; Adamu, Tigistu; Sakallah, Sameer; Thomas, Anne Goldzier; Albertini, Jennifer; Stanton, David; Dickson, Kim Eva; Njeuhmeli, Emmanuel

    2011-01-01

    Background The global HIV prevention community is implementing voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs across eastern and southern Africa, with a goal of reaching 80% coverage in adult males by 2015. Successful implementation will depend on the accessibility of commodities essential for VMMC programming and the appropriate allocation of resources to support the VMMC supply chain. For this, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, has developed a standard list of commodities for VMMC programs. Methods and Findings This list of commodities was used to inform program planning for a 1-y program to circumcise 152,000 adult men in Swaziland. During this process, additional key commodities were identified, expanding the standard list to include commodities for waste management, HIV counseling and testing, and the treatment of sexually transmitted infections. The approximate costs for the procurement of commodities, management of a supply chain, and waste disposal, were determined for the VMMC program in Swaziland using current market prices of goods and services. Previous costing studies of VMMC programs did not capture supply chain costs, nor the full range of commodities needed for VMMC program implementation or waste management. Our calculations indicate that depending upon the volume of services provided, supply chain and waste management, including commodities and associated labor, contribute between US$58.92 and US$73.57 to the cost of performing one adult male circumcision in Swaziland. Conclusions Experience with the VMMC program in Swaziland indicates that supply chain and waste management add approximately US$60 per circumcision, nearly doubling the total per procedure cost estimated previously; these additional costs are used to inform the estimate of per procedure costs modeled by Njeuhmeli et al. in “Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Modeling the Impact and Cost of Expanding Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention in Eastern and Southern Africa.” Program planners and policy makers should consider the significant contribution of supply chain and waste management to VMMC program costs as they determine future resource needs for VMMC programs. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary PMID:22140363

  20. The legacy of fossil fuels.

    PubMed

    Armaroli, Nicola; Balzani, Vincenzo

    2011-03-01

    Currently, over 80% of the energy used by mankind comes from fossil fuels. Harnessing coal, oil and gas, the energy resources contained in the store of our spaceship, Earth, has prompted a dramatic expansion in energy use and a substantial improvement in the quality of life of billions of individuals in some regions of the world. Powering our civilization with fossil fuels has been very convenient, but now we know that it entails severe consequences. We treat fossil fuels as a resource that anyone anywhere can extract and use in any fashion, and Earth's atmosphere, soil and oceans as a dump for their waste products, including more than 30 Gt/y of carbon dioxide. At present, environmental legacy rather than consistence of exploitable reserves, is the most dramatic problem posed by the relentless increase of fossil fuel global demand. Harmful effects on the environment and human health, usually not incorporated into the pricing of fossil fuels, include immediate and short-term impacts related to their discovery, extraction, transportation, distribution, and burning as well as climate change that are spread over time to future generations or over space to the entire planet. In this essay, several aspects of the fossil fuel legacy are discussed, such as alteration of the carbon cycle, carbon dioxide rise and its measurement, greenhouse effect, anthropogenic climate change, air pollution and human health, geoengineering proposals, land and water degradation, economic problems, indirect effects on the society, and the urgent need of regulatory efforts and related actions to promote a gradual transition out of the fossil fuel era. While manufacturing sustainable solar fuels appears to be a longer-time perspective, alternatives energy sources already exist that have the potential to replace fossil fuels as feedstocks for electricity production. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. A second Eocene species of death-watch beetle belonging to the genus Microbregma Seidlitz (Coleoptera: Bostrichoidea) with a checklist of fossil Ptinidae.

    PubMed

    Bukejs, Andris; Alekseev, Vitalii I

    2015-04-17

    Based on a well-preserved specimen from Upper Eocene Baltic amber (Kaliningrad region, Russia), Microbregma waldwico sp. nov., the second fossil species of this genus, is described. The new species is similar to the extant Holarctic M. emarginatum (Duftschmid), 1825, and fossil M. sucinoemarginatum (Kuśka), 1992, but differs in its shorter abdominal ventrite 1 (about 0.43 length of ventrite 2) and larger body (5.1 mm). A key to species of the genus Microbregma is given, and a check-list of described fossil Ptinidae is provided. The fossil record of Ptinidae now includes 48 species in 27 genera and 8 subfamilies.

  2. Corrected placement of Mus-Rattus fossil calibration forces precision in the molecular tree of rodents.

    PubMed

    Kimura, Yuri; Hawkins, Melissa T R; McDonough, Molly M; Jacobs, Louis L; Flynn, Lawrence J

    2015-09-28

    Time calibration derived from the fossil record is essential for molecular phylogenetic and evolutionary studies. Fossil mice and rats, discovered in the Siwalik Group of Pakistan, have served as one of the best-known fossil calibration points in molecular phylogenic studies. Although these fossils have been widely used as the 12 Ma date for the Mus/Rattus split or a more basal split, conclusive paleontological evidence for the nodal assignments has been absent. This study analyzes newly recognized characters that demonstrate lineage separation in the fossil record of Siwalik murines and examines the most reasonable nodal placement of the diverging lineages in a molecular phylogenetic tree by ancestral state reconstruction. Our specimen-based approach strongly indicates that Siwalik murines of the Karnimata clade are fossil members of the Arvicanthini-Otomyini-Millardini clade, which excludes Rattus and its relatives. Combining the new interpretation with the widely accepted hypothesis that the Progonomys clade includes Mus, the lineage separation event in the Siwalik fossil record represents the Mus/Arvicanthis split. Our test analysis on Bayesian age estimates shows that this new calibration point provides more accurate estimates of murine divergence than previous applications. Thus, we define this fossil calibration point and refine two other fossil-based points for molecular dating.

  3. Corrected placement of Mus-Rattus fossil calibration forces precision in the molecular tree of rodents

    PubMed Central

    Kimura, Yuri; Hawkins, Melissa T. R.; McDonough, Molly M.; Jacobs, Louis L.; Flynn, Lawrence J.

    2015-01-01

    Time calibration derived from the fossil record is essential for molecular phylogenetic and evolutionary studies. Fossil mice and rats, discovered in the Siwalik Group of Pakistan, have served as one of the best-known fossil calibration points in molecular phylogenic studies. Although these fossils have been widely used as the 12 Ma date for the Mus/Rattus split or a more basal split, conclusive paleontological evidence for the nodal assignments has been absent. This study analyzes newly recognized characters that demonstrate lineage separation in the fossil record of Siwalik murines and examines the most reasonable nodal placement of the diverging lineages in a molecular phylogenetic tree by ancestral state reconstruction. Our specimen-based approach strongly indicates that Siwalik murines of the Karnimata clade are fossil members of the Arvicanthini-Otomyini-Millardini clade, which excludes Rattus and its relatives. Combining the new interpretation with the widely accepted hypothesis that the Progonomys clade includes Mus, the lineage separation event in the Siwalik fossil record represents the Mus/Arvicanthis split. Our test analysis on Bayesian age estimates shows that this new calibration point provides more accurate estimates of murine divergence than previous applications. Thus, we define this fossil calibration point and refine two other fossil-based points for molecular dating. PMID:26411391

  4. The Quaternary fossil-pollen record and global change

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Grimm, E.C.

    Fossil pollen provide one of the most valuable records of vegetation and climate change during the recent geological past. Advantages of the fossil-pollen record are that deposits containing fossil pollen are widespread, especially in areas having natural lakes, that fossil pollen occurs in continuous stratigraphic sequences spanning millennia, and that fossil pollen occurs in quantitative assemblages permitting a multivariate approach for reconstructing past vegetation and climates. Because of stratigraphic continuity, fossil pollen records climate cycles on a wide range of scales, from annual to the 100 ka Milankovitch cycles. Receiving particular emphasis recently are decadal to century scale changes, possiblemore » from the sediments of varved lakes, and late Pleistocene events on a 5--10 ka scale possibly correlating with the Heinrich events in the North Atlantic marine record or the Dansgaard-Oeschger events in the Greenland ice-core record. Researchers have long reconstructed vegetation and climate by qualitative interpretation of the fossil-pollen record. Recently quantitative interpretation has developed with the aid of large fossil-pollen databases and sophisticated numerical models. In addition, fossil pollen are important climate proxy data for validating General Circulation Models, which are used for predicting the possible magnitude future climate change. Fossil-pollen data also contribute to an understanding of ecological issues associated with global climate change, including questions of how and how rapidly ecosystems might respond to abrupt climate change.« less

  5. Chemical, experimental, and morphological evidence for diagenetically altered melanin in exceptionally preserved fossils.

    PubMed

    Colleary, Caitlin; Dolocan, Andrei; Gardner, James; Singh, Suresh; Wuttke, Michael; Rabenstein, Renate; Habersetzer, Jörg; Schaal, Stephan; Feseha, Mulugeta; Clemens, Matthew; Jacobs, Bonnie F; Currano, Ellen D; Jacobs, Louis L; Sylvestersen, Rene Lyng; Gabbott, Sarah E; Vinther, Jakob

    2015-10-13

    In living organisms, color patterns, behavior, and ecology are closely linked. Thus, detection of fossil pigments may permit inferences about important aspects of ancient animal ecology and evolution. Melanin-bearing melanosomes were suggested to preserve as organic residues in exceptionally preserved fossils, retaining distinct morphology that is associated with aspects of original color patterns. Nevertheless, these oblong and spherical structures have also been identified as fossilized bacteria. To date, chemical studies have not directly considered the effects of diagenesis on melanin preservation, and how this may influence its identification. Here we use time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to identify and chemically characterize melanin in a diverse sample of previously unstudied extant and fossil taxa, including fossils with notably different diagenetic histories and geologic ages. We document signatures consistent with melanin preservation in fossils ranging from feathers, to mammals, to amphibians. Using principal component analyses, we characterize putative mixtures of eumelanin and phaeomelanin in both fossil and extant samples. Surprisingly, both extant and fossil amphibians generally exhibit melanosomes with a mixed eumelanin/phaeomelanin composition rather than pure eumelanin, as assumed previously. We argue that experimental maturation of modern melanin samples replicates diagenetic chemical alteration of melanin observed in fossils. This refutes the hypothesis that such fossil microbodies could be bacteria, and demonstrates that melanin is widely responsible for the organic soft tissue outlines in vertebrates found at exceptional fossil localities, thus allowing for the reconstruction of certain aspects of original pigment patterns.

  6. Chemical, experimental, and morphological evidence for diagenetically altered melanin in exceptionally preserved fossils

    PubMed Central

    Colleary, Caitlin; Dolocan, Andrei; Gardner, James; Singh, Suresh; Wuttke, Michael; Rabenstein, Renate; Habersetzer, Jörg; Schaal, Stephan; Feseha, Mulugeta; Clemens, Matthew; Jacobs, Bonnie F.; Currano, Ellen D.; Jacobs, Louis L.; Sylvestersen, Rene Lyng; Gabbott, Sarah E.; Vinther, Jakob

    2015-01-01

    In living organisms, color patterns, behavior, and ecology are closely linked. Thus, detection of fossil pigments may permit inferences about important aspects of ancient animal ecology and evolution. Melanin-bearing melanosomes were suggested to preserve as organic residues in exceptionally preserved fossils, retaining distinct morphology that is associated with aspects of original color patterns. Nevertheless, these oblong and spherical structures have also been identified as fossilized bacteria. To date, chemical studies have not directly considered the effects of diagenesis on melanin preservation, and how this may influence its identification. Here we use time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to identify and chemically characterize melanin in a diverse sample of previously unstudied extant and fossil taxa, including fossils with notably different diagenetic histories and geologic ages. We document signatures consistent with melanin preservation in fossils ranging from feathers, to mammals, to amphibians. Using principal component analyses, we characterize putative mixtures of eumelanin and phaeomelanin in both fossil and extant samples. Surprisingly, both extant and fossil amphibians generally exhibit melanosomes with a mixed eumelanin/phaeomelanin composition rather than pure eumelanin, as assumed previously. We argue that experimental maturation of modern melanin samples replicates diagenetic chemical alteration of melanin observed in fossils. This refutes the hypothesis that such fossil microbodies could be bacteria, and demonstrates that melanin is widely responsible for the organic soft tissue outlines in vertebrates found at exceptional fossil localities, thus allowing for the reconstruction of certain aspects of original pigment patterns. PMID:26417094

  7. The evolution of methods for establishing evolutionary timescales

    PubMed Central

    2016-01-01

    The fossil record is well known to be incomplete. Read literally, it provides a distorted view of the history of species divergence and extinction, because different species have different propensities to fossilize, the amount of rock fluctuates over geological timescales, as does the nature of the environments that it preserves. Even so, patterns in the fossil evidence allow us to assess the incompleteness of the fossil record. While the molecular clock can be used to extend the time estimates from fossil species to lineages not represented in the fossil record, fossils are the only source of information concerning absolute (geological) times in molecular dating analysis. We review different ways of incorporating fossil evidence in modern clock dating analyses, including node-calibrations where lineage divergence times are constrained using probability densities and tip-calibrations where fossil species at the tips of the tree are assigned dates from dated rock strata. While node-calibrations are often constructed by a crude assessment of the fossil evidence and thus involves arbitrariness, tip-calibrations may be too sensitive to the prior on divergence times or the branching process and influenced unduly affected by well-known problems of morphological character evolution, such as environmental influence on morphological phenotypes, correlation among traits, and convergent evolution in disparate species. We discuss the utility of time information from fossils in phylogeny estimation and the search for ancestors in the fossil record. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Dating species divergences using rocks and clocks’. PMID:27325838

  8. The evolution of methods for establishing evolutionary timescales.

    PubMed

    Donoghue, Philip C J; Yang, Ziheng

    2016-07-19

    The fossil record is well known to be incomplete. Read literally, it provides a distorted view of the history of species divergence and extinction, because different species have different propensities to fossilize, the amount of rock fluctuates over geological timescales, as does the nature of the environments that it preserves. Even so, patterns in the fossil evidence allow us to assess the incompleteness of the fossil record. While the molecular clock can be used to extend the time estimates from fossil species to lineages not represented in the fossil record, fossils are the only source of information concerning absolute (geological) times in molecular dating analysis. We review different ways of incorporating fossil evidence in modern clock dating analyses, including node-calibrations where lineage divergence times are constrained using probability densities and tip-calibrations where fossil species at the tips of the tree are assigned dates from dated rock strata. While node-calibrations are often constructed by a crude assessment of the fossil evidence and thus involves arbitrariness, tip-calibrations may be too sensitive to the prior on divergence times or the branching process and influenced unduly affected by well-known problems of morphological character evolution, such as environmental influence on morphological phenotypes, correlation among traits, and convergent evolution in disparate species. We discuss the utility of time information from fossils in phylogeny estimation and the search for ancestors in the fossil record.This article is part of the themed issue 'Dating species divergences using rocks and clocks'. © 2016 The Authors.

  9. Integrated Analyses Resolve Conflicts over Squamate Reptile Phylogeny and Reveal Unexpected Placements for Fossil Taxa

    PubMed Central

    Reeder, Tod W.; Townsend, Ted M.; Mulcahy, Daniel G.; Noonan, Brice P.; Wood, Perry L.; Sites, Jack W.; Wiens, John J.

    2015-01-01

    Squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) are a pivotal group whose relationships have become increasingly controversial. Squamates include >9000 species, making them the second largest group of terrestrial vertebrates. They are important medicinally and as model systems for ecological and evolutionary research. However, studies of squamate biology are hindered by uncertainty over their relationships, and some consider squamate phylogeny unresolved, given recent conflicts between molecular and morphological results. To resolve these conflicts, we expand existing morphological and molecular datasets for squamates (691 morphological characters and 46 genes, for 161 living and 49 fossil taxa, including a new set of 81 morphological characters and adding two genes from published studies) and perform integrated analyses. Our results resolve higher-level relationships as indicated by molecular analyses, and reveal hidden morphological support for the molecular hypothesis (but not vice-versa). Furthermore, we find that integrating molecular, morphological, and paleontological data leads to surprising placements for two major fossil clades (Mosasauria and Polyglyphanodontia). These results further demonstrate the importance of combining fossil and molecular information, and the potential problems of estimating the placement of fossil taxa from morphological data alone. Thus, our results caution against estimating fossil relationships without considering relevant molecular data, and against placing fossils into molecular trees (e.g. for dating analyses) without considering the possible impact of molecular data on their placement. PMID:25803280

  10. Integrated analyses resolve conflicts over squamate reptile phylogeny and reveal unexpected placements for fossil taxa.

    PubMed

    Reeder, Tod W; Townsend, Ted M; Mulcahy, Daniel G; Noonan, Brice P; Wood, Perry L; Sites, Jack W; Wiens, John J

    2015-01-01

    Squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) are a pivotal group whose relationships have become increasingly controversial. Squamates include >9000 species, making them the second largest group of terrestrial vertebrates. They are important medicinally and as model systems for ecological and evolutionary research. However, studies of squamate biology are hindered by uncertainty over their relationships, and some consider squamate phylogeny unresolved, given recent conflicts between molecular and morphological results. To resolve these conflicts, we expand existing morphological and molecular datasets for squamates (691 morphological characters and 46 genes, for 161 living and 49 fossil taxa, including a new set of 81 morphological characters and adding two genes from published studies) and perform integrated analyses. Our results resolve higher-level relationships as indicated by molecular analyses, and reveal hidden morphological support for the molecular hypothesis (but not vice-versa). Furthermore, we find that integrating molecular, morphological, and paleontological data leads to surprising placements for two major fossil clades (Mosasauria and Polyglyphanodontia). These results further demonstrate the importance of combining fossil and molecular information, and the potential problems of estimating the placement of fossil taxa from morphological data alone. Thus, our results caution against estimating fossil relationships without considering relevant molecular data, and against placing fossils into molecular trees (e.g. for dating analyses) without considering the possible impact of molecular data on their placement.

  11. Potential pitfalls of reconstructing deep time evolutionary history with only extant data, a case study using the canidae (mammalia, carnivora).

    PubMed

    Finarelli, John A; Goswami, Anjali

    2013-12-01

    Reconstructing evolutionary patterns and their underlying processes is a central goal in biology. Yet many analyses of deep evolutionary histories assume that data from the fossil record is too incomplete to include, and rely solely on databases of extant taxa. Excluding fossil taxa assumes that character state distributions across living taxa are faithful representations of a clade's entire evolutionary history. Many factors can make this assumption problematic. Fossil taxa do not simply lead-up to extant taxa; they represent now-extinct lineages that can substantially impact interpretations of character evolution for extant groups. Here, we analyze body mass data for extant and fossil canids (dogs, foxes, and relatives) for changes in mean and variance through time. AIC-based model selection recovered distinct models for each of eight canid subgroups. We compared model fit of parameter estimates for (1) extant data alone and (2) extant and fossil data, demonstrating that the latter performs significantly better. Moreover, extant-only analyses result in unrealistically low estimates of ancestral mass. Although fossil data are not always available, reconstructions of deep-time organismal evolution in the absence of deep-time data can be highly inaccurate, and we argue that every effort should be made to include fossil data in macroevolutionary studies. © 2013 The Authors. Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  12. Federico Cesi and his field studies on the origin of fossils between 1610 and 1630.

    PubMed

    Scott, A C

    2001-09-01

    In 1603 Federico Cesi, along with four of his friends, founded the first Scientific Academy in Europe, the Accademia dei Lincei, which included Galileo Galillei as a member. Between 1611 and 1630 Cesi undertook an ambitious project to collect and record fossils from his lands around Acquasparta in Umbria. He had drawings and descriptions made of all the excavated fossils, fossil woods and their sites of origin. He died before his work could be published and it was left to his friend Francesco Stelluti to publish a monograph in which he claimed that evidence demonstrated that the fossil woods were formed from stone and were 'not once living'. The corpus of drawings, now in the Royal Collection at Windsor, has allowed the project to be reconstructed and fieldwork in Italy has shown that the complex nature of the fossil preservation could have easily confused the researchers and have led to misinterpretation of the fossils. This research by Cesi is the first to combine field and specimen data to interpret the origin of fossils and has been widely neglected by historians of Science.

  13. Source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosols in a megacity of northwest China: insights from radiocarbon measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ni, Haiyan; Huang, Rujin; Dusek, Ulrike

    2017-04-01

    Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected from 5 July 2008 to 27 June 2009 at Xi'an, a very polluted megacity in Northwest China. The 24 h averaged PM2.5concentrations (ranged from 32 μg m-3 to 339 μg m-3) were 1-14 times higher than the WHO guideline for 24 h PM2.5(25 μg m-3). In this work, we unambiguously quantify fossil (e.g., vehicle emissions, coal burning etc.) and non-fossil (e.g., biomass burning, cooking, biogenic emissions etc.) contributions to organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) of PM2.5using radiocarbon (14C) measurement. In addition, we measured PM2.5 major components and source markers, including OC and EC, ions, trace elements, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), oxygenated PAHs (o-PAHs), anhydrous sugars and hopanes. The preliminary results of radiocarbon measurements in OC and EC show that the annual mean contributions from fossil-fuel combustion to EC was 76 ± 8% (6 ± 2 μg m-3). The remaining 24 ± 8% (2 ± 1 μg m-3) was attributed to biomass burning, with higher contribution in the cold period (˜33%) compared to the warm period (˜21%), due to enhanced emissions from local biomass burning activities in winter. In contrast with EC, OC was dominated by non-fossil sources, with an annual average of 54 ± 8 % (13 ± 10 μg m-3). Clear seasonal variations were seen in OC concentrations both from fossil fuel (OCff), and from non-fossil sources (OCnf), with maxima in the cold period and minima in the warm period, because of enhanced fossil and non-fossil activities in winter, mainly biomass burning and domestic coal burning. Further source apportionment of OC, including primary/secondary fossil OC, primary/secondary non-fossil OC, will be conducted by combining 14C results with positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of organic matter (OM).

  14. Likelihood of Tree Topologies with Fossils and Diversification Rate Estimation.

    PubMed

    Didier, Gilles; Fau, Marine; Laurin, Michel

    2017-11-01

    Since the diversification process cannot be directly observed at the human scale, it has to be studied from the information available, namely the extant taxa and the fossil record. In this sense, phylogenetic trees including both extant taxa and fossils are the most complete representations of the diversification process that one can get. Such phylogenetic trees can be reconstructed from molecular and morphological data, to some extent. Among the temporal information of such phylogenetic trees, fossil ages are by far the most precisely known (divergence times are inferences calibrated mostly with fossils). We propose here a method to compute the likelihood of a phylogenetic tree with fossils in which the only considered time information is the fossil ages, and apply it to the estimation of the diversification rates from such data. Since it is required in our computation, we provide a method for determining the probability of a tree topology under the standard diversification model. Testing our approach on simulated data shows that the maximum likelihood rate estimates from the phylogenetic tree topology and the fossil dates are almost as accurate as those obtained by taking into account all the data, including the divergence times. Moreover, they are substantially more accurate than the estimates obtained only from the exact divergence times (without taking into account the fossil record). We also provide an empirical example composed of 50 Permo-Carboniferous eupelycosaur (early synapsid) taxa ranging in age from about 315 Ma (Late Carboniferous) to 270 Ma (shortly after the end of the Early Permian). Our analyses suggest a speciation (cladogenesis, or birth) rate of about 0.1 per lineage and per myr, a marginally lower extinction rate, and a considerable hidden paleobiodiversity of early synapsids. [Extinction rate; fossil ages; maximum likelihood estimation; speciation rate.]. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Legislative and Regulatory Timeline for Fossil Fuel Combustion Wastes

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This timeline walks through the history of fossil fuel combustion waste regulation since 1976 and includes information such as regulations, proposals, notices, amendments, reports and meetings and site visits conducted.

  16. Scaling the Geologic Past

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerritts, Mary

    1975-01-01

    Describes construction of a Geologic Time Scale on a 100 foot roll of paper and suggests activities concerning its use. Includes information about fossils and suggestions for conducting a fossil field trip with students. (BR)

  17. The Origin of Large-Bodied Shrimp that Dominate Modern Global Aquaculture

    PubMed Central

    Wilkins, Blake; Bracken-Grissom, Heather D.; Chan, Tin-Yam; O’Leary, Maureen A.

    2016-01-01

    Several shrimp species from the clade Penaeidae are farmed industrially for human consumption, and this farming has turned shrimp into the largest seafood commodity in the world. The species that are in demand for farming are an anomaly within their clade because they grow to much larger sizes than other members of Penaeidae. Here we trace the evolutionary history of the anomalous farmed shrimp using combined data phylogenetic analysis of living and fossil species. We show that exquisitely preserved fossils of †Antrimpos speciosus from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen limestone belong to the same clade as the species that dominate modern farming, dating the origin of this clade to at least 145 mya. This finding contradicts a much younger Late Cretaceous age (ca. 95 mya) previously estimated for this clade using molecular clocks. The species in the farmed shrimp clade defy a widespread tendency, by reaching relatively large body sizes despite their warm water lifestyles. Small body sizes have been shown to be physiologically favored in warm aquatic environments because satisfying oxygen demands is difficult for large organisms breathing in warm water. Our analysis shows that large-bodied, farmed shrimp have more gills than their smaller-bodied shallow-water relatives, suggesting that extra gills may have been key to the clade’s ability to meet oxygen demands at a large size. Our combined data phylogenetic tree also suggests that, during penaeid evolution, the adoption of mangrove forests as habitats for young shrimp occurred multiple times independently. PMID:27415002

  18. Exploration for fossil and nuclear fuels from orbital altitudes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Short, N. M.

    1977-01-01

    The paper discusses the application of remotely sensed data from orbital satellites to the exploration for fossil and nuclear fuels. Geological applications of Landsat data are described including map editing, lithologic identification, structural geology, and mineral exploration. Specific results in fuel exploration are reviewed and a series of related Landsat images is included.

  19. 40 CFR 63.11237 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... controlled flame combustion in which water is heated to recover thermal energy in the form of steam and/or... this definition. Coal subcategory includes any boiler that burns any solid fossil fuel and no more than... included in this definition. Electric utility steam generating unit (EGU) means a fossil fuel-fired...

  20. 40 CFR 63.11237 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... controlled flame combustion in which water is heated to recover thermal energy in the form of steam and/or... this definition. Coal subcategory includes any boiler that burns any solid fossil fuel and no more than... included in this definition. Electric utility steam generating unit (EGU) means a fossil fuel-fired...

  1. The emergence of lobsters: phylogenetic relationships, morphological evolution and divergence time comparisons of an ancient group (decapoda: achelata, astacidea, glypheidea, polychelida).

    PubMed

    Bracken-Grissom, Heather D; Ahyong, Shane T; Wilkinson, Richard D; Feldmann, Rodney M; Schweitzer, Carrie E; Breinholt, Jesse W; Bendall, Matthew; Palero, Ferran; Chan, Tin-Yam; Felder, Darryl L; Robles, Rafael; Chu, Ka-Hou; Tsang, Ling-Ming; Kim, Dohyup; Martin, Joel W; Crandall, Keith A

    2014-07-01

    Lobsters are a ubiquitous and economically important group of decapod crustaceans that include the infraorders Polychelida, Glypheidea, Astacidea and Achelata. They include familiar forms such as the spiny, slipper, clawed lobsters and crayfish and unfamiliar forms such as the deep-sea and "living fossil" species. The high degree of morphological diversity among these infraorders has led to a dynamic classification and conflicting hypotheses of evolutionary relationships. In this study, we estimated phylogenetic relationships among the major groups of all lobster families and 94% of the genera using six genes (mitochondrial and nuclear) and 195 morphological characters across 173 species of lobsters for the most comprehensive sampling to date. Lobsters were recovered as a non-monophyletic assemblage in the combined (molecular + morphology) analysis. All families were monophyletic, with the exception of Cambaridae, and 7 of 79 genera were recovered as poly- or paraphyletic. A rich fossil history coupled with dense taxon coverage allowed us to estimate and compare divergence times and origins of major lineages using two drastically different approaches. Age priors were constructed and/or included based on fossil age information or fossil discovery, age, and extant species count data. Results from the two approaches were largely congruent across deep to shallow taxonomic divergences across major lineages. The origin of the first lobster-like decapod (Polychelida) was estimated in the Devonian (∼409-372 Ma) with all infraorders present in the Carboniferous (∼353-318 Ma). Fossil calibration subsampling studies examined the influence of sampling density (number of fossils) and placement (deep, middle, and shallow) on divergence time estimates. Results from our study suggest including at least 1 fossil per 10 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in divergence dating analyses. [Dating; decapods; divergence; lobsters; molecular; morphology; phylogenetics.]. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. All rights reserved.For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. 17 CFR 229.908 - (Item 908) Reasons for and alternatives to the roll-up transaction.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... with their existing business plans, including the effects of such continuation and the material risks... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false (Item 908) Reasons for and alternatives to the roll-up transaction. 229.908 Section 229.908 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES...

  3. The Impact of Changing Affluence on Diet and Demand Patterns for Agricultural Commodities. World Bank Staff Working Papers Number 785.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chaudhri, Rajiv; Timmer, C. Peter

    Demand for agricultural commodities, particularly for basic food-stuffs, depends on a household's income, competitive prices, and a set of unique household characteristics which include tastes, location, education, family composition, and farm status. This monograph reviews disaggregated evidence at the national level on the relative contribution…

  4. 75 FR 16453 - Nasdaq OMX Commodities Clearing-Finance, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-01

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER10-914-000] Nasdaq OMX Commodities Clearing--Finance, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization March 25, 2010. This is a supplemental notice in the above-referenced proceeding of Nasdaq OMX...

  5. The impact of fossil data on annelid phylogeny inferred from discrete morphological characters.

    PubMed

    Parry, Luke A; Edgecombe, Gregory D; Eibye-Jacobsen, Danny; Vinther, Jakob

    2016-08-31

    As a result of their plastic body plan, the relationships of the annelid worms and even the taxonomic makeup of the phylum have long been contentious. Morphological cladistic analyses have typically recovered a monophyletic Polychaeta, with the simple-bodied forms assigned to an early-diverging clade or grade. This is in stark contrast to molecular trees, in which polychaetes are paraphyletic and include clitellates, echiurans and sipunculans. Cambrian stem group annelid body fossils are complex-bodied polychaetes that possess well-developed parapodia and paired head appendages (palps), suggesting that the root of annelids is misplaced in morphological trees. We present a reinvestigation of the morphology of key fossil taxa and include them in a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of annelids. Analyses using probabilistic methods and both equal- and implied-weights parsimony recover paraphyletic polychaetes and support the conclusion that echiurans and clitellates are derived polychaetes. Morphological trees including fossils depict two main clades of crown-group annelids that are similar, but not identical, to Errantia and Sedentaria, the fundamental groupings in transcriptomic analyses. Removing fossils yields trees that are often less resolved and/or root the tree in greater conflict with molecular topologies. While there are many topological similarities between the analyses herein and recent phylogenomic hypotheses, differences include the exclusion of Sipuncula from Annelida and the taxa forming the deepest crown-group divergences. © 2016 The Authors.

  6. Silicification of trace fossils in carbonates; evidence from Permian Kaibab Formation, southwestern Utah

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Whidden, K.J.; Bottjer, D.J.

    Silicification in carbonates, particularly silicified trace fossils, has received relatively little previous study. Chert comprises a significant percentage of the upper Fossil Mountain Member of the Kaibab Formation, a Permian epicontinental limestone. Distribution and origin of this chert were studied from outcrops in southwestern Utah. The origin of much of this chert is believed to be as silicified Thalassinoides burrows. Field evidence for trace fossil silicification includes (1) silicified cylindrical tubes with Y-shaped branching patterns as well as hollow tubes, and (2) polygonal box-work patterns of tubes. In addition, brachiopods, bryozoans, and abundant specimens of the sponge Actinocelia maendrina Finksmore » are also silicified. Recognition of silicified trace fossils in carbonates provides a different approach to the study of early diagenetic silica precipitation. These silicified trace fossils also represent new information on bioturbation in ancient carbonates, a subject that has, until recently, been relatively unstudied.« less

  7. The oldest gibbon fossil (Hylobatidae) from insular Southeast Asia: evidence from Trinil, (East Java, Indonesia), Lower/Middle Pleistocene.

    PubMed

    Ingicco, Thomas; de Vos, John; Huffman, O Frank

    2014-01-01

    A fossil femur excavated by Eugène Dubois between 1891-1900 in the Lower/Middle Pleistocene bonebed of the Trinil site (Java, Indonesia) was recognised by us as that of a Hylobatidae. The specimen, Trinil 5703 of the Dubois Collection (Leiden, The Netherlands), has the same distinctive form of fossilization that is seen in many of the bonebed fossils from Trinil in the collection. Anatomical comparison of Trinil 5703 to a sample of carnivore and primate femora, supported by morphometric analyses, lead to the attribution of the fossil to gibbon. Trinil 5703 therefore provides the oldest insular record of this clade, one of the oldest known Hylobatidae fossils from Southeast Asia. Because living Hylobatidae only inhabit evergreen rain forests, the paleoenvironment within the river drainage in the greater Trinil area evidently included forests of this kind during the Lower/Middle Pleistocene as revealed here.

  8. Cretaceous flowers of Nymphaeaceae and implications for complex insect entrapment pollination mechanisms in early angiosperms.

    PubMed

    Gandolfo, M A; Nixon, K C; Crepet, W L

    2004-05-25

    Based on recent molecular systematics studies, the water lily lineage (Nymphaeales) provides an important key to understanding ancestral angiosperm morphology and is of considerable interest in the context of angiosperm origins. Therefore, the fossil record of Nymphaeales potentially provides evidence on both the timing and nature of diversification of one of the earliest clades of flowering plants. Recent fossil evidence of Turonian age (approximately 90 million years B.P.) includes fossil flowers with characters that, upon rigorous analysis, firmly place them within Nymphaeaceae. Unequivocally the oldest floral record of the Nymphaeales, these fossils are closely related to the modern Nymphaealean genera Victoria (the giant Amazon water lily) and Euryale. Although the fossils are much smaller than their modern relatives, the precise and dramatic correspondence between the fossil floral morphology and that of modern Victoria flowers suggests that beetle entrapment pollination was present in the earliest part of the Late Cretaceous.

  9. Dating Tips for Divergence-Time Estimation.

    PubMed

    O'Reilly, Joseph E; Dos Reis, Mario; Donoghue, Philip C J

    2015-11-01

    The molecular clock is the only viable means of establishing an accurate timescale for Life on Earth, but it remains reliant on a capricious fossil record for calibration. 'Tip-dating' promises a conceptual advance, integrating fossil species among their living relatives using molecular/morphological datasets and evolutionary models. Fossil species of known age establish calibration directly, and their phylogenetic uncertainty is accommodated through the co-estimation of time and topology. However, challenges remain, including a dearth of effective models of morphological evolution, rate correlation, the non-random nature of missing characters in fossil data, and, most importantly, accommodating uncertainty in fossil age. We show uncertainty in fossil-dating propagates to divergence-time estimates, yielding estimates that are older and less precise than those based on traditional node calibration. Ultimately, node and tip calibrations are not mutually incompatible and may be integrated to achieve more accurate and precise evolutionary timescales. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. The Oldest Gibbon Fossil (Hylobatidae) from Insular Southeast Asia: Evidence from Trinil, (East Java, Indonesia), Lower/Middle Pleistocene

    PubMed Central

    Ingicco, Thomas; de Vos, John; Huffman, O. Frank

    2014-01-01

    A fossil femur excavated by Eugène Dubois between 1891–1900 in the Lower/Middle Pleistocene bonebed of the Trinil site (Java, Indonesia) was recognised by us as that of a Hylobatidae. The specimen, Trinil 5703 of the Dubois Collection (Leiden, The Netherlands), has the same distinctive form of fossilization that is seen in many of the bonebed fossils from Trinil in the collection. Anatomical comparison of Trinil 5703 to a sample of carnivore and primate femora, supported by morphometric analyses, lead to the attribution of the fossil to gibbon. Trinil 5703 therefore provides the oldest insular record of this clade, one of the oldest known Hylobatidae fossils from Southeast Asia. Because living Hylobatidae only inhabit evergreen rain forests, the paleoenvironment within the river drainage in the greater Trinil area evidently included forests of this kind during the Lower/Middle Pleistocene as revealed here. PMID:24914951

  11. Trace-fossil and storm-deposit relationships of San Carlos formation, west Texas

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Metz, C.L.; Bednarski, S.P.

    1986-05-01

    Two distinct assemblages of trace fossils are preserved in the storm deposits in delta-front facies of the Upper Cretaceous San Carlos Formation, west Texas. The assemblages represent two widely differing responses to storm deposition and sediment-trace-fossil relationships, indicating that other environmental parameters, probably water depth and oxygen levels, influenced trace-fossil distribution within the San Carlos delta front. Evidence of the storm-deposited nature of the sandstones includes a scoured basal contact, planar to hummocky cross-stratification, and a upper contact that is either ripple marked or is gradational with overlying shales.

  12. A cosmopolitan late Ediacaran biotic assemblage: new fossils from Nevada and Namibia support a global biostratigraphic link.

    PubMed

    Smith, E F; Nelson, L L; Tweedt, S M; Zeng, H; Workman, J B

    2017-07-12

    Owing to the lack of temporally well-constrained Ediacaran fossil localities containing overlapping biotic assemblages, it has remained uncertain if the latest Ediacaran ( ca 550-541 Ma) assemblages reflect systematic biological turnover or environmental, taphonomic or biogeographic biases. Here, we report new latest Ediacaran fossil discoveries from the lower member of the Wood Canyon Formation in Nye County, Nevada, including the first figured reports of erniettomorphs, Gaojiashania , Conotubus and other problematic fossils. The fossils are spectacularly preserved in three taphonomic windows and occur in greater than 11 stratigraphic horizons, all of which are below the first appearance of Treptichnus pedum and the nadir of a large negative δ 13 C excursion that is a chemostratigraphic marker of the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary. The co-occurrence of morphologically diverse tubular fossils and erniettomorphs in Nevada provides a biostratigraphic link among latest Ediacaran fossil localities globally. Integrated with a new report of Gaojiashania from Namibia, previous fossil reports and existing age constraints, these finds demonstrate a distinctive late Ediacaran fossil assemblage comprising at least two groups of macroscopic organisms with dissimilar body plans that ecologically and temporally overlapped for at least 6 Myr at the close of the Ediacaran Period. This cosmopolitan biotic assemblage disappeared from the fossil record at the end of the Ediacaran Period, prior to the Cambrian radiation. © 2017 The Author(s).

  13. A cosmopolitan late Ediacaran biotic assemblage: new fossils from Nevada and Namibia support a global biostratigraphic link

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Smith, E. F.; Nelson, L. L.; Tweedt, S. M.; Zeng, H.; Workman, Jeremiah B.

    2017-01-01

    Owing to the lack of temporally well-constrained Ediacaran fossil localities containing overlapping biotic assemblages, it has remained uncertain if the latest Ediacaran (ca 550–541 Ma) assemblages reflect systematic biological turnover or environmental, taphonomic or biogeographic biases. Here, we report new latest Ediacaran fossil discoveries from the lower member of the Wood Canyon Formation in Nye County, Nevada, including the first figured reports of erniettomorphs, Gaojiashania, Conotubus and other problematic fossils. The fossils are spectacularly preserved in three taphonomic windows and occur in greater than 11 stratigraphic horizons, all of which are below the first appearance of Treptichnus pedum and the nadir of a large negative δ13C excursion that is a chemostratigraphic marker of the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary. The co-occurrence of morphologically diverse tubular fossils and erniettomorphs in Nevada provides a biostratigraphic link among latest Ediacaran fossil localities globally. Integrated with a new report of Gaojiashania from Namibia, previous fossil reports and existing age constraints, these finds demonstrate a distinctive late Ediacaran fossil assemblage comprising at least two groups of macroscopic organisms with dissimilar body plans that ecologically and temporally overlapped for at least 6 Myr at the close of the Ediacaran Period. This cosmopolitan biotic assemblage disappeared from the fossil record at the end of the Ediacaran Period, prior to the Cambrian radiation.

  14. Impacts of curatorial and research practices on the preservation of fossil hominid remains.

    PubMed

    Le Cabec, Adeline; Toussaint, Michel

    2017-12-30

    Fossil remains are the only physical evidence of past forms of life which researchers can use to study the evolutionary biology of a species, especially regarding the human lineage. We review and consider the way in which the conditions surrounding a fossil's discovery and its use for scientific research impacts its long-term preservation. The deterioration of the body starts soon after death, continues in the sediments and only a subsample of the anatomical elements will persist and may finally be unearthed by archeologists. From their recovery onwards, fossil remains are exposed to many sources of further damage: from handling, restoration, measuring to invasive sampling. On the one hand, curators are faced with the inherent challenge of balancing their responsibility to protect fossil specimens with allowing researchers to perform specific analyses or invasive sampling detrimental to the preservation of the fossil. On the other hand, scientists may find their analyses complicated by multiple factors including taphonomy, or restoration techniques (e.g., consolidants, cleaning chemicals). We provide several historical examples illustrating the complex nature of the factors acting on fossil preservation. We discuss concerns about producing and sharing (digital) data from fossils. Finally, we also suggest and support some curatorial practices which maximize the traceability of treatments underwent by a fossil.

  15. Experimental taphonomy of giant sulphur bacteria: implications for the interpretation of the embryo-like Ediacaran Doushantuo fossils.

    PubMed

    Cunningham, J A; Thomas, C-W; Bengtson, S; Marone, F; Stampanoni, M; Turner, F R; Bailey, J V; Raff, R A; Raff, E C; Donoghue, P C J

    2012-05-07

    The Ediacaran Doushantuo biota has yielded fossils interpreted as eukaryotic organisms, either animal embryos or eukaryotes basal or distantly related to Metazoa. However, the fossils have been interpreted alternatively as giant sulphur bacteria similar to the extant Thiomargarita. To test this hypothesis, living and decayed Thiomargarita were compared with Doushantuo fossils and experimental taphonomic pathways were compared with modern embryos. In the fossils, as in eukaryotic cells, subcellular structures are distributed throughout cell volume; in Thiomargarita, a central vacuole encompasses approximately 98 per cent cell volume. Key features of the fossils, including putative lipid vesicles and nuclei, complex envelope ornament, and ornate outer vesicles are incompatible with living and decay morphologies observed in Thiomargarita. Microbial taphonomy of Thiomargarita also differed from that of embryos. Embryo tissues can be consumed and replaced by bacteria, forming a replica composed of a three-dimensional biofilm, a stable fabric for potential fossilization. Vacuolated Thiomargarita cells collapse easily and do not provide an internal substrate for bacteria. The findings do not support the hypothesis that giant sulphur bacteria are an appropriate interpretative model for the embryo-like Doushantuo fossils. However, sulphur bacteria may have mediated fossil mineralization and may provide a potential bacterial analogue for other macroscopic Precambrian remains.

  16. Experimental taphonomy of giant sulphur bacteria: implications for the interpretation of the embryo-like Ediacaran Doushantuo fossils

    PubMed Central

    Cunningham, J. A.; Thomas, C.-W.; Bengtson, S.; Marone, F.; Stampanoni, M.; Turner, F. R.; Bailey, J. V.; Raff, R. A.; Raff, E. C.; Donoghue, P. C. J.

    2012-01-01

    The Ediacaran Doushantuo biota has yielded fossils interpreted as eukaryotic organisms, either animal embryos or eukaryotes basal or distantly related to Metazoa. However, the fossils have been interpreted alternatively as giant sulphur bacteria similar to the extant Thiomargarita. To test this hypothesis, living and decayed Thiomargarita were compared with Doushantuo fossils and experimental taphonomic pathways were compared with modern embryos. In the fossils, as in eukaryotic cells, subcellular structures are distributed throughout cell volume; in Thiomargarita, a central vacuole encompasses approximately 98 per cent cell volume. Key features of the fossils, including putative lipid vesicles and nuclei, complex envelope ornament, and ornate outer vesicles are incompatible with living and decay morphologies observed in Thiomargarita. Microbial taphonomy of Thiomargarita also differed from that of embryos. Embryo tissues can be consumed and replaced by bacteria, forming a replica composed of a three-dimensional biofilm, a stable fabric for potential fossilization. Vacuolated Thiomargarita cells collapse easily and do not provide an internal substrate for bacteria. The findings do not support the hypothesis that giant sulphur bacteria are an appropriate interpretative model for the embryo-like Doushantuo fossils. However, sulphur bacteria may have mediated fossil mineralization and may provide a potential bacterial analogue for other macroscopic Precambrian remains. PMID:22158954

  17. Publications of the Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development Materials Program: April 1, 1993-March 31, 1995

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carlson, Paul T.

    1995-04-01

    The objective of the Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development (AR and TD) Materials Program is to conduct research and development on materials for fossil energy applications, with a focus on the longer-term needs for materials with general applicability to the various fossil fuel technologies. The Program includes research aimed at a better understanding of materials behavior in fossil energy environments and on the development of new materials capable of substantial improvement in plant operations and reliability. The scope of the Program addresses materials requirements for all fossil energy systems, including materials for coal preparation, coal liquefaction, coal gasification, heat engines and heat recovery, combustion systems, and fuel cells. Work on the Program is conducted at national and government laboratories, universities, and industrial research facilities. This bibliography covers the period of April 1, 1993, through March 31, 1995, and is a supplement to previous bibliographies in this series. It is the intent of this series of bibliographies to list only those publications that can be conveniently obtained by a researcher through relatively normal channels. The publications listed in this document have been limited to topical reports, open literature publications in referred journals, full-length papers in published proceedings of conferences, full-length papers in unreferred journals, and books and book articles.

  18. Operation of marine diesel engines on biogenic fuels: modification of emissions and resulting climate effects.

    PubMed

    Petzold, Andreas; Lauer, Peter; Fritsche, Uwe; Hasselbach, Jan; Lichtenstern, Michael; Schlager, Hans; Fleischer, Fritz

    2011-12-15

    The modification of emissions of climate-sensitive exhaust compounds such as CO(2), NO(x), hydrocarbons, and particulate matter from medium-speed marine diesel engines was studied for a set of fossil and biogenic fuels. Applied fossil fuels were the reference heavy fuel oil (HFO) and the low-sulfur marine gas oil (MGO); biogenic fuels were palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and animal fat. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the production of biogenic fuels were treated by means of a fuel life cycle analysis which included land use changes associated with the growth of energy plants. Emissions of CO(2) and NO(x) per kWh were found to be similar for fossil fuels and biogenic fuels. PM mass emission was reduced to 10-15% of HFO emissions for all low-sulfur fuels including MGO as a fossil fuel. Black carbon emissions were reduced significantly to 13-30% of HFO. Changes in emissions were predominantly related to particulate sulfate, while differences between low-sulfur fossil fuels and low-sulfur biogenic fuels were of minor significance. GHG emissions from the biogenic fuel life cycle (FLC) depend crucially on energy plant production conditions and have the potential of shifting the overall GHG budget from positive to negative compared to fossil fuels.

  19. 17 CFR 4.41 - Advertising by commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, and the principals thereof.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... operators, commodity trading advisors, and the principals thereof. 4.41 Section 4.41 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS Advertising § 4.41 Advertising by commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, and the...

  20. Fossil energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, including soil carbon effects, of producing agriculture and forestry feedstocks

    Treesearch

    Christina E. Canter; Zhangcai Qin; Hao Cai; Jennifer B. Dunn; Michael Wang; D. Andrew Scott

    2017-01-01

    The GHG emissions and fossil energy consumption associated with producing potential biomass sup­ply in the select BT16 scenarios include emissions and energy consumption from biomass production, harvest/collection, transport, and pre-processing activities to the reactor throat. Emissions associated with energy, fertilizers, and...

  1. Experimental taphonomy and the anatomy and diversity of the earliest fossil vertebrates (Chengjiang Biota, Cambrian, China)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Purnell, Mark; Gabbott, Sarah; Murdock, Duncan; Cong, Peiyun

    2016-04-01

    The oldest fossil vertebrates are from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota of China, which contains four genera of fish-like, primitive vertebrates: Haikouichthys, Myllokunmingia, Zhongjianichthys and Zhongxiniscus. These fossils play key roles in calibrating molecular clocks and informing our view of the anatomy of animals close to the origin of vertebrates, potentially including transitional forms between vertebrates and their nearest relatives. Despite the evident importance of these fossils, the degree to which taphonomic processes have affected their anatomical completeness has not been investigated. For example, some or all might have been affected by stemward slippage - the pattern observed in experimental decay of non-biomineralised chordates in which preferential decay of synapomorphies and retention of plesiomorphic characters would cause fossil taxa to erroneously occupy more basal positions than they should. This hypothesis is based on experimental data derived from decay of non-biomineralised chordates under laboratory conditions. We have expanded this analysis to include a broader range of potentially significant environmental variables; we have also compared and combined the results of experiments from several taxa to identify general patterns of chordate decay. Examination of the Chengjiang vertebrates in the light of these results demonstrates that, contrary to some assertions, experimentally derived models of phylogenetic bias are applicable to fossils. Anatomical and phylogenetic interpretations of early vertebrates that do not take taphonomic biases into account risk overestimating diversity and the evolutionary significance of differences between fossil specimens.

  2. Fossilized bioelectric wire - the trace fossil Trichichnus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kędzierski, M.; Uchman, A.; Sawlowicz, Z.; Briguglio, A.

    2014-12-01

    The trace fossil Trichichnus is proposed as an indicator of fossil bioelectric bacterial activity at the interface oxic - anoxic zone of marine sediments. This fulfils the idea that such processes, commonly found in the modern realm, should be also present in the geological past. Trichichnus is an exceptional trace fossil due to its very thin diameter (mostly less than 1 mm) and common pyritic filling. It is ubiquitous in some fine-grained sediments, where it has been interpreted as a burrow formed deeper than any other trace fossils, below the redox boundary. Trichichnus formerly referred to as deeply burrowed invertebrates, has been found as remnant of a fossilized intrasediment bacterial mat that is pyritized. As visualized in 3-D by means of X-ray computed microtomography scanner, Trichichnus forms dense filamentous fabric, which reflects that produced by modern large, mat-forming, sulphide-oxidizing bacteria, belonging mostly to Trichichnus-related taxa, which are able to house a complex bacterial consortium. Several stages of Trichichnus formation, including filamentous, bacterial mat and its pyritization, are proposed to explain an electron exchange between oxic and suboxic/anoxic layers in the sediment. Therefore, Trichichnus can be considered a fossilized "electric wire".

  3. Fossilized bioelectric wire - the trace fossil Trichichnus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kędzierski, M.; Uchman, A.; Sawlowicz, Z.; Briguglio, A.

    2015-04-01

    The trace fossil Trichichnus is proposed as an indicator of fossil bioelectric bacterial activity at the oxic-anoxic interface zone of marine sediments. This fulfils the idea that such processes, commonly found in the modern realm, should be also present in the geological past. Trichichnus is an exceptional trace fossil due to its very thin diameter (mostly less than 1 mm) and common pyritic filling. It is ubiquitous in some fine-grained sediments, where it has been interpreted as a burrow formed deeper than any other trace fossils, below the redox boundary. Trichichnus, formerly referred to as deeply burrowed invertebrates, has been found as remnant of a fossilized intrasediment bacterial mat that is pyritized. As visualized in 3-D by means of X-ray computed microtomography scanner, Trichichnus forms dense filamentous fabric, which reflects that it is produced by modern large, mat-forming, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria, belonging mostly to Thioploca-related taxa, which are able to house a complex bacterial consortium. Several stages of Trichichnus formation, including filamentous, bacterial mat and its pyritization, are proposed to explain an electron exchange between oxic and suboxic/anoxic layers in the sediment. Therefore, Trichichnus can be considered a fossilized "electric wire".

  4. An early Oligocene fossil demonstrates treeshrews are slowly evolving "living fossils".

    PubMed

    Li, Qiang; Ni, Xijun

    2016-01-14

    Treeshrews are widely considered a "living model" of an ancestral primate, and have long been called "living fossils". Actual fossils of treeshrews, however, are extremely rare. We report a new fossil species of Ptilocercus treeshrew recovered from the early Oligocene (~34 Ma) of China that represents the oldest definitive fossil record of the crown group of treeshrews and nearly doubles the temporal length of their fossil record. The fossil species is strikingly similar to the living Ptilocercus lowii, a species generally recognized as the most plesiomorphic extant treeshrew. It demonstrates that Ptilocercus treeshrews have undergone little evolutionary change in their morphology since the early Oligocene. Morphological comparisons and phylogenetic analysis support the long-standing idea that Ptilocercus treeshrews are morphologically conservative and have probably retained many characters present in the common stock that gave rise to archontans, which include primates, flying lemurs, plesiadapiforms and treeshrews. This discovery provides an exceptional example of slow morphological evolution in a mammalian group over a period of 34 million years. The persistent and stable tropical environment in Southeast Asia through the Cenozoic likely played a critical role in the survival of such a morphologically conservative lineage.

  5. Organic preservation of fossil musculature with ultracellular detail

    PubMed Central

    McNamara, Maria; Orr, Patrick J.; Kearns, Stuart L.; Alcalá, Luis; Anadón, Pere; Peñalver-Mollá, Enrique

    2010-01-01

    The very labile (decay-prone), non-biomineralized, tissues of organisms are rarely fossilized. Occurrences thereof are invaluable supplements to a body fossil record dominated by biomineralized tissues, which alone are extremely unrepresentative of diversity in modern and ancient ecosystems. Fossil examples of extremely labile tissues (e.g. muscle) that exhibit a high degree of morphological fidelity are almost invariably replicated by inorganic compounds such as calcium phosphate. There is no consensus as to whether such tissues can be preserved with similar morphological fidelity as organic remains, except when enclosed inside amber. Here, we report fossilized musculature from an approximately 18 Myr old salamander from lacustrine sediments of Ribesalbes, Spain. The muscle is preserved organically, in three dimensions, and with the highest fidelity of morphological preservation yet documented from the fossil record. Preserved ultrastructural details include myofilaments, endomysium, layering within the sarcolemma, and endomysial circulatory vessels infilled with blood. Slight differences between the fossil tissues and their counterparts in extant amphibians reflect limited degradation during fossilization. Our results provide unequivocal evidence that high-fidelity organic preservation of extremely labile tissues is not only feasible, but likely to be common. This is supported by the discovery of similarly preserved tissues in the Eocene Grube Messel biota. PMID:19828545

  6. Fossilized bioelectric wire – the trace fossil Trichichnus

    PubMed Central

    Kędzierski, M.; Uchman, A.; Sawlowicz, Z.; Briguglio, A.

    2015-01-01

    The trace fossil Trichichnus is proposed as an indicator of fossil bioelectric bacterial activity at the oxic–anoxic interface zone of marine sediments. This fulfils the idea that such processes, commonly found in the modern realm, should be also present in the geological past. Trichichnus is an exceptional trace fossil due to its very thin diameter (mostly less than 1 mm) and common pyritic filling. It is ubiquitous in some fine-grained sediments, where it has been interpreted as a burrow formed deeper than any other trace fossils, below the redox boundary. Trichichnus, formerly referred to as deeply burrowed invertebrates, has been found as remnant of a fossilized intrasediment bacterial mat that is pyritized. As visualized in 3-D by means of X-ray computed microtomography scanner, Trichichnus forms dense filamentous fabric, which reflects that it is produced by modern large, mat-forming, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria, belonging mostly to Thioploca-related taxa, which are able to house a complex bacterial consortium. Several stages of Trichichnus formation, including filamentous, bacterial mat and its pyritization, are proposed to explain an electron exchange between oxic and suboxic/anoxic layers in the sediment. Therefore, Trichichnus can be considered a fossilized “electric wire”. PMID:26290671

  7. 17 CFR 240.15g-100 - Schedule 15G-Information to be included in the document distributed pursuant to 17 CFR 240.15g-2.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... page] Important Information on Penny Stocks The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Schedule 15G-Information to be... Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (CONTINUED) GENERAL RULES AND...

  8. Apparent Consumption vs. Total Consumption--A Lead-Acid Battery Case Study

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wilburn, David R.; Buckingham, David A.

    2006-01-01

    Introduction: This report compares estimates of U.S. apparent consumption of lead with estimates of total U.S. consumption of this mineral commodity from a materials flow perspective. The difference, attributed to the amount of lead contained in imported and exported products, was found to be significant for this sector. The study also assesses the effects of including mineral commodities incorporated in manufactured products on the interpretation of observed trends in minerals consumption and trade. Materials flow is a systems approach to understanding what happens to the materials we use from the time a material is extracted, through its processing and manufacturing, to its ultimate disposition. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides accurate and detailed mineral production and mineral commodity consumption statistics that are essential for government, nongovernment organizations, and the public to gain a better understanding of how and where materials are used and their effect on the environment and society. Published statistics on mineral apparent consumption are limited to estimates of consumption of raw material forms (ore, concentrate, and [or] refined metal). For this study, apparent consumption is defined as mine production + secondary refined production + imports (concentrates and refined metal) ? exports (concentrates and refined metal) + adjustments for government and industry stock changes. These estimates do not account for the amount of mineral commodities contained in manufactured products that are imported to the United States, nor do they deduct the amount of these mineral commodities contained in manufactured products that are exported from the United States. When imports or exports of manufactured products contribute significantly to the total use of a particular raw material, an estimate of consumption that does not consider the incorporated forms of these mineral commodities within imported or exported manufactured products can be either under- or overreported (depending on the net trade flow). Factors that influence consumption and trade patterns include variations in industry structure, labor or financial markets, legislation, and technology. As U.S. trade patterns of manufactured products change, omitting mineral commodities incorporated into these goods as part of U.S. mineral commodity consumption estimates may affect the interpretation of observed trends in minerals consumption and trade. Although it may be desirable to include minerals contained in manufactured products as part of consumption estimates, collection and estimation of these data are sometimes difficult. Consumption and trade data for every traded product may not be readily available. Compiling comprehensive consumption statistics for mineral commodities, which have many end uses, each including multiple products, may be time consuming. For these reasons, studies of all mineral commodities are not feasible. Mineral commodity selection for this study is based on data accessibility considerations and the relative importance of lead contained in imported and exported products when considered part of total U.S. lead consumption. Lead was selected for this initial evaluation of total mineral consumption because of the need to understand the consumption pattern of this potentially toxic metal and its compounds, the relative simplicity of this sector?s end-use structure, and the availability of trade data. This study draws upon the findings of an earlier lead consumption study (Biviano and others, 1999) conducted by the USGS for the period 1984 to 1993, but uses a different study methodology for an industry whose structure has changed from that considered in the earlier study. Figure 1 shows the quantity of material contributing to U.S. total consumption of lead metal from domestic and foreign industrial sectors in 2004, based upon trade data reported by the USGS and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). For

  9. HESTIA Commodities Exchange Pallet and Sounding Rocket Test Stand

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chaparro, Javier

    2013-01-01

    During my Spring 2016 internship, my two major contributions were the design of the Commodities Exchange Pallet and the design of a test stand for a 100 pounds-thrust sounding rocket. The Commodities Exchange Pallet is a prototype developed for the Human Exploration Spacecraft Testbed for Integration and Advancement (HESTIA) program. Under the HESTIA initiative the Commodities Exchange Pallet was developed as a method for demonstrating multi-system integration thru the transportation of In-Situ Resource Utilization produced oxygen and water to a human habitat. Ultimately, this prototype's performance will allow for future evaluation of integration, which may lead to the development of a flight capable pallet for future deep-space exploration missions. For HESTIA, my main task was to design the Commodities Exchange Pallet system to be used for completing an integration demonstration. Under the guidance of my mentor, I designed, both, the structural frame and fluid delivery system for the commodities pallet. The fluid delivery system includes a liquid-oxygen to gaseous-oxygen system, a water delivery system, and a carbon-dioxide compressors system. The structural frame is designed to meet safety and transportation requirements, as well as the ability to interface with the ER division's Portable Utility Pallet. The commodities pallet structure also includes independent instrumentation oxygen/water panels for operation and system monitoring. My major accomplishments for the commodities exchange pallet were the completion of the fluid delivery systems and the structural frame designs. In addition, parts selection was completed in order to expedite construction of the prototype, scheduled to begin in May of 2016. Once the commodities pallet is assembled and tested it is expected to complete a fully integrated transfer demonstration with the ISRU unit and the Environmental Control and Life Support System test chamber in September of 2016. In addition to the development of the Commodities Exchange Pallet, I also assisted in preparation for testing the upper stage of a sounding rocket developed as a Center Innovation Fund project. The main objective of this project is to demonstrate the integration between a propulsion system and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The upper stage and SOFC are scheduled to complete an integrated test in August of 2016. As part of preparation for scheduled testing, I was responsible for designing the upper stage's test stand/support structure and main engine plume deflector to be used during hot-fire testing (fig. 3). The structural components of the test stand need to meet safety requirements for operation of the propulsion system, which consist of a 100 pounds-thrust main engine and two 15 pounds-thrust reaction control thrusters. My main accomplishment for this project was the completion of the design and the parts selection for construction of the structure, scheduled to begin late April of 2016.

  10. The taphonomy of unmineralised Palaeozoic fossils preserved as siliciclastic moulds and casts, and their utility in assessing the interaction between environmental change and the fossil record

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    MacGabhann, Breandán; Schiffbauer, James; Hagadorn, James; Van Roy, Peter; Lynch, Edward; Morrsion, Liam; Murray, John

    2015-04-01

    The enhanced preservation potential of biomineralised tissues in fossil organisms is a key factor in their utility in the investigation of palaeoenvironmental change on fossil ecosystems. By contrast, the considerably lower preservation potential of entirely unmineralised organisms severely reduces the utility of their temporal and spatial distribution in such analyses. However, understanding the taphonomic processes which lead to the preservation of such soft-bodied fossils may be an under-appreciated source of information, particularly in the case of specimens preserved as moulds and casts in coarser siliciclastic sediments. This information potential is well demonstrated by fossil eldonids, a Cambrian to Devonian clade of unmineralised asymmetrical discoidal basal or stem deuterostomes, with an apparently conservative biology and no clear palaeoenvironmental or biogeographical controls on their distribution. We investigated the taphonomic processes involved in the preservation of fossil eldonids as moulds and casts on bedding surfaces and within event beds from sandstones of the Ordovician Tafilalt lagerstätte in south-eastern Morocco, and from siltstones of the Devonian West Falls Group of New York, USA. Laser Raman microspectroscopy, SEM BSE imaging and EDS elemental mapping of fossil specimens reveals that moulded biological surfaces are coated by a fossil surface veneer primarily consisting of mixed iron oxides and oxyhydroxides (including pseudomorphs after pyrite), and aluminosilicate clay minerals. Moreover, comparison to fossil eldonids preserved as carbonaceous compressions in the Burgess Shale reveals that the biological structures preserved in the Tafilalt and New York specimens - the dorsal surface and a coiled sac containing the digestive tract - represent only specific portions of the anatomy of the complete animal. We suggest that the preserved remains were the only parts of these eldonid organisms composed primarily of complex organic biopolymers, and that these tissues were preferentially fossilised by the formation of an early diagenic mould directly on the organic surfaces. Excess divalent iron ions, produced during decay of more labile tissues by means of bacterial iron reduction, would have adsorbed to anionic functional groups in the biopolymeric tissues. This would have provided a ready substrate for the formation and growth of such an early diagenic mineralised mould, including aluminosilicate minerals produced via reaction with seawater silica and metal ions, and iron sulphide minerals produced via reaction with hydrogen sulphide and free sulphur produced from seawater sulphate through bacterial sulphate reduction associated with further decay. Subsequent weathering would have oxidised such iron sulphides to oxides and oxyhydroxides. This taphonomic model supports the lack of utility of the eldonid palaeobiological record in analysing environmental influence on biological communities, due to the lack of preservation of key anatomical components. However, it also suggests that the very occurrence of fossils preserved in this style is dependent on extrinsic palaeoenvironmental factors - including pH, Eh, and the concentration of other ions in the contemporaneous seawater. Analyses of the distribution of fossils preserved in this style may therefore provide information on ambient conditions which may have affected the distribution of contemporaneous mineralised fossils, potentially allowing a more complete analysis of the effects of palaeoenvironmental change on fossil ecosystems.

  11. Dental development in living and fossil orangutans.

    PubMed

    Smith, Tanya M

    2016-05-01

    Numerous studies have investigated molar development in extant and fossil hominoids, yet relatively little is known about orangutans, the only great ape with an extensive fossil record. This study characterizes aspects of dental development, including cuspal enamel daily secretion rate, long-period line periodicities, cusp-specific molar crown formation times and extension rates, and initiation and completion ages in living and fossil orangutan postcanine teeth. Daily secretion rate and periodicities in living orangutans are similar to previous reports, while crown formation times often exceed published values, although direct comparisons are limited. One wild Bornean individual died at 4.5 years of age with fully erupted first molars (M1s), while a captive individual and a wild Sumatran individual likely erupted their M1s around five or six years of age. These data underscore the need for additional samples of orangutans of known sex, species, and developmental environment to explore potential sources of variation in molar emergence and their relationship to life history variables. Fossil orangutans possess larger crowns than living orangutans, show similarities in periodicities, and have faster daily secretion rate, longer crown formation times, and slower extension rates. Molar crown formation times exceed reported values for other fossil apes, including Gigantopithecus blacki. When compared to African apes, both living and fossil orangutans show greater cuspal enamel thickness values and periodicities, resulting in longer crown formation times and slower extension rates. Several of these variables are similar to modern humans, representing examples of convergent evolution. Molar crown formation does not appear to be equivalent among extant great apes or consistent within living and fossil members of Pongo or Homo. Copyright © 2016 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. Education Program on Fossil Resources Including Coal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Usami, Masahiro

    Fossil fuels including coal play a key role as crucial energies in contributing to economic development in Asia. On the other hand, its limited quantity and the environmental problems causing from its usage have become a serious global issue and a countermeasure to solve such problems is very much demanded. Along with the pursuit of sustainable development, environmentally-friendly use of highly efficient fossil resources should be therefore, accompanied. Kyushu-university‧s sophisticated research through long years of accumulated experience on the fossil resources and environmental sectors together with the advanced large-scale commercial and empirical equipments will enable us to foster cooperative research and provide internship program for the future researchers. Then, this program is executed as a consignment business from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2007 fiscal year to 2009 fiscal year. The lecture that uses the textbooks developed by this program is scheduled to be started a course in fiscal year 2010.

  13. Fossil Energy organization restructured

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    The Department of Energy has restructured its fossil energy organization to accommodate increases in activity and visibility of the President's $2.5 billion clean coal technology initiative. The realignment also includes changes in the coal research and development program and in supporting staff functions. In the coal program, changes in the organization include the establishment of two associate deputy assistant secretaries, both reporting to the deputy Assistant Secretary for Coal Technology. One associate deputy assistant secretary will oversee the Clean Coal Technology Program. A second associate deputy assistant secretary will manage the coal research and development program. An organizational chart illustratesmore » the new fossil energy headquarters organization.« less

  14. Energy Conversion in Natural and Artificial Photosynthesis

    PubMed Central

    McConnell, Iain; Li, Gonghu; Brudvig, Gary W.

    2010-01-01

    Summary Modern civilization is dependent upon fossil fuels, a nonrenewable energy source originally provided by the storage of solar energy. Fossil fuel dependence has severe consequences including energy security issues and greenhouse gas emissions. The consequences of fossil fuel dependence could be avoided by fuel-producing artificial systems that mimic natural photosynthesis, directly converting solar energy to fuel. This review describes the three key components of solar energy conversion in photosynthesis: light harvesting, charge separation, and catalysis. These processes are compared in natural and artificial systems. Such a comparison can assist in understanding the general principles of photosynthesis and in developing working devices including photoelectrochemical cells for solar energy conversion. PMID:20534342

  15. Fossil Energy Planning for Navajo Nation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Acedo, Margarita

    This project includes fossil energy transition planning to find optimal solutions that benefit the Navajo Nation and stakeholders. The majority of the tribe’s budget currently comes from fossil energy-revenue. The purpose of this work is to assess potential alternative energy resources including solar photovoltaics and biomass (microalgae for either biofuel or food consumption). This includes evaluating carbon-based reserves related to the tribe’s resources including CO 2 emissions for the Four Corners generating station. The methodology for this analysis will consist of data collection from publicly available data, utilizing expertise from national laboratories and academics, and evaluating economic, health, and environmentalmore » impacts. Finally, this report will highlight areas of opportunities to implement renewable energy in the Navajo Nation by presenting the technology requirements, cost, and considerations to energy, water, and environment in an educational structure.« less

  16. Total-Evidence Dating under the Fossilized Birth–Death Process

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Chi; Stadler, Tanja; Klopfstein, Seraina; Heath, Tracy A.; Ronquist, Fredrik

    2016-01-01

    Bayesian total-evidence dating involves the simultaneous analysis of morphological data from the fossil record and morphological and sequence data from recent organisms, and it accommodates the uncertainty in the placement of fossils while dating the phylogenetic tree. Due to the flexibility of the Bayesian approach, total-evidence dating can also incorporate additional sources of information. Here, we take advantage of this and expand the analysis to include information about fossilization and sampling processes. Our work is based on the recently described fossilized birth–death (FBD) process, which has been used to model speciation, extinction, and fossilization rates that can vary over time in a piecewise manner. So far, sampling of extant and fossil taxa has been assumed to be either complete or uniformly at random, an assumption which is only valid for a minority of data sets. We therefore extend the FBD process to accommodate diversified sampling of extant taxa, which is standard practice in studies of higher-level taxa. We verify the implementation using simulations and apply it to the early radiation of Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, and bees). Previous total-evidence dating analyses of this data set were based on a simple uniform tree prior and dated the initial radiation of extant Hymenoptera to the late Carboniferous (309 Ma). The analyses using the FBD prior under diversified sampling, however, date the radiation to the Triassic and Permian (252 Ma), slightly older than the age of the oldest hymenopteran fossils. By exploring a variety of FBD model assumptions, we show that it is mainly the accommodation of diversified sampling that causes the push toward more recent divergence times. Accounting for diversified sampling thus has the potential to close the long-discussed gap between rocks and clocks. We conclude that the explicit modeling of fossilization and sampling processes can improve divergence time estimates, but only if all important model aspects, including sampling biases, are adequately addressed. PMID:26493827

  17. Total-Evidence Dating under the Fossilized Birth-Death Process.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Chi; Stadler, Tanja; Klopfstein, Seraina; Heath, Tracy A; Ronquist, Fredrik

    2016-03-01

    Bayesian total-evidence dating involves the simultaneous analysis of morphological data from the fossil record and morphological and sequence data from recent organisms, and it accommodates the uncertainty in the placement of fossils while dating the phylogenetic tree. Due to the flexibility of the Bayesian approach, total-evidence dating can also incorporate additional sources of information. Here, we take advantage of this and expand the analysis to include information about fossilization and sampling processes. Our work is based on the recently described fossilized birth-death (FBD) process, which has been used to model speciation, extinction, and fossilization rates that can vary over time in a piecewise manner. So far, sampling of extant and fossil taxa has been assumed to be either complete or uniformly at random, an assumption which is only valid for a minority of data sets. We therefore extend the FBD process to accommodate diversified sampling of extant taxa, which is standard practice in studies of higher-level taxa. We verify the implementation using simulations and apply it to the early radiation of Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, and bees). Previous total-evidence dating analyses of this data set were based on a simple uniform tree prior and dated the initial radiation of extant Hymenoptera to the late Carboniferous (309 Ma). The analyses using the FBD prior under diversified sampling, however, date the radiation to the Triassic and Permian (252 Ma), slightly older than the age of the oldest hymenopteran fossils. By exploring a variety of FBD model assumptions, we show that it is mainly the accommodation of diversified sampling that causes the push toward more recent divergence times. Accounting for diversified sampling thus has the potential to close the long-discussed gap between rocks and clocks. We conclude that the explicit modeling of fossilization and sampling processes can improve divergence time estimates, but only if all important model aspects, including sampling biases, are adequately addressed. ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists.

  18. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION ALTERNATIVES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This presentation summarizes various electricity and electricity/steam cogeneration alternatives. Among these alternatives, are fossil fuel and biomass power generation plants. These plants have different designs due to the need in fossil fuel (coal) plants to include process u...

  19. The fossil tabanids (Diptera Tabanidae): when they began to appreciate warm blood and when they began transmit diseases?

    PubMed

    Martins-Neto, Rafael Gioia

    2003-01-01

    A discussion of the known fossil tabanids (Diptera Tabanidae) is presented based on fossil evidence. This includes the origin of the hemathophagy in the Brachycera, more specifically for tabanids. Several tabanid species in the extant fauna are vectors for disease-producing organisms that affect humans and animals. Bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, protozoa, and filarial worms can be transmitted by them, causing such diseases as anthrax, tularemia, anaplasmosis, various forms of trypanosomiasis, Q fever, and filariasis. However, if tabanids are directly responsible for all of these diseases is not consensual and the known fossil evidence is presented here.

  20. Identification of Preferential Paths of Fossil Carbon within Water Resource Recovery Facilities via Radiocarbon Analysis.

    PubMed

    Tseng, Linda Y; Robinson, Alice K; Zhang, Xiaying; Xu, Xiaomei; Southon, John; Hamilton, Andrew J; Sobhani, Reza; Stenstrom, Michael K; Rosso, Diego

    2016-11-15

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that all carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions generated by water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) during treatment are modern, based on available literature. Therefore, such emissions were omitted from IPCC's greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting procedures. However, a fraction of wastewater's carbon is fossil in origin. We hypothesized that since the fossil carbon entering municipal WRRFs is mostly from soaps and detergents as dissolved organic matter, its fate can be selectively determined during the universally applied separation treatment processes. Analyzing radiocarbon at different treatment points within municipal WRRFs, we verified that the fossil content could amount to 28% in primary influent and showed varying distribution leaving different unit operations. We recorded the highest proportion of fossil carbon leaving the secondary treatment as off-gas and as solid sludge (averaged 2.08 kg fossil-CO 2 -emission-potential m -3 wastewater treated). By including fossil CO 2 , total GHG emission in municipal WRRFs increased 13%, and 23% if an on-site energy recovery system exists although much of the postdigestion fossil carbon remained in biosolids rather than in biogas, offering yet another carbon sequestration opportunity during biosolids handling. In comparison, fossil carbon contribution to GHG emission can span from negligible to substantial in different types of industrial WRRFs. With such a considerable impact, CO 2 should be analyzed for each WRRF and not omitted from GHG accounting.

  1. 17 CFR 240.15g-100 - Schedule 15G-Information to be included in the document distributed pursuant to 17 CFR 240.15g-2.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Schedule 15G-Information to be... Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (CONTINUED) GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Rules and Regulations Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...

  2. 17 CFR 240.15g-100 - Schedule 15G-Information to be included in the document distributed pursuant to 17 CFR 240.15g-2.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 4 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Schedule 15G-Information to be... Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (CONTINUED) GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Rules and Regulations Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...

  3. 17 CFR 240.15g-100 - Schedule 15G-Information to be included in the document distributed pursuant to 17 CFR 240.15g-2.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Schedule 15G-Information to be... Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (CONTINUED) GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Rules and Regulations Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...

  4. 75 FR 34434 - Request To Amend an Existing Order Under Section 4(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act Permitting...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-17

    ...) pursuant to Section 4(c) of the Act, (a) to permit the clearing of coffee, sugar, and cocoa OTC swap..., ``a * * * commodity swap,'' which latter term includes swaps on agricultural products. While the...(c) of the Act, ICE Clear could not engage in the clearing of OTC swap contracts in cocoa, sugar and...

  5. Pricing commodity outpatient procedures assessing the impact.

    PubMed

    Cleverley, William O

    2015-10-01

    Hospitals should carefully consider all relevant factors before choosing to lower prices and payments for certain outpatient commodity services in an effort to remain competitive in their market. Key steps to take in the evaluation process include: Determining current profitability. Assessing profitability by payer class. Understanding overall cost positions. Assessing the relative payment terms of current commercial contracts. Determining the net revenue effect of proposed changes.

  6. The bat community of Haiti and evidence for its long-term persistence at high elevations

    PubMed Central

    Simmons, Nancy B.; Steadman, David W.

    2017-01-01

    Accurate accounts of both living and fossil mammal communities are critical for creating biodiversity inventories and understanding patterns of changing species diversity through time. We combined data from from14 new fossil localities with literature accounts and museum records to document the bat biodiversity of Haiti through time. We also report an assemblage of late-Holocene (1600–600 Cal BP) bat fossils from a montane cave (Trouing Jean Paul, ~1825m) in southern Haiti. The nearly 3000 chiropteran fossils from Trouing Jean Paul represent 15 species of bats including nine species endemic to the Caribbean islands. The fossil bat assemblage from Trouing Jean Paul is dominated by species still found on Hispaniola (15 of 15 species), much as with the fossil bird assemblage from the same locality (22 of 23 species). Thus, both groups of volant vertebrates demonstrate long-term resilience, at least at high elevations, to the past 16 centuries of human presence on the island. PMID:28574990

  7. Byproduct mineral commodities used for the production of photovoltaic cells

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bleiwas, Donald I.

    2010-01-01

    Rising fossil fuel costs, environmental concerns relating to global climate change, and Government policy to signifcantly increase our Nation's energy independence have placed greater emphasis on the generation of electricity from renewable sources, such as the Sun (light and heat), water, and wind, which for all intents and purposes are inexhaustible resources. Although the total amount of electricity generated from the direct conversion of sunlight through photovoltaic cells is relatively small compared with that from other forms of renewable energy, the rate of growth in the sector is signifcant. The total value of energy of photovoltaic cells produced worldwide increased to nearly 7 gigawatts (GW) in 2008 from 45 megawatts (MW) in 1990, a compound annual growth rate of about 30 percent. In the United States, manufacturing of photovoltaic cells has grown exponentially to about 480 MW in 2008, accounting for 6 percent of world production, from less than 10 MW of photovoltaic capacity in 1990 (Benner, 2007; U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 2010), a compound annual growth rate of approxi-mately 23 percent. A production capacity of 1 GW of electricity [or 8,760 gigawatthours1 (GWh)] is equivalent to the annual electricity requirements for roughly 800,000 average households in the United States (U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 2010). This estimate does not include losses of electricity, such as during transmission through power lines.

  8. The Sima de los Huesos crania (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). A comparative study.

    PubMed

    Arsuaga, J L; Martínez, I; Gracia, A; Lorenzo, C

    1997-01-01

    The Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca) cranial remains found up to and including the 1995 field season are described and compared with other fossils in order to assess their evolutionary relationships. The phenetic affinities of the Sima de los Huesos crania and a large sample of Homo fossils are investigated through principal component analyses. Metrical comparisons of the Sima de los Huesos and other European and African Middle Pleistocene fossils with Neandertals are performed using Z-scores relative to the Neandertal sample statistics. The most relevant cranial traits are metrically and morphologically analyzed and cladistically evaluated. The Sima de los Huesos crania exhibit a number of primitive traits lost in Upper Pleistocene Neandertals (especially in the braincase, but also in the facial skeleton), as well as other traits that are transitional to the Neandertal morphology (particularly in the occipital bone), and features close to what is found in Neandertals (as the supraorbital morphology and midfacial prognathism). Different combinations of primitive and derived traits (shared with Neandertals) are also displayed by the other European Middle Pleistocene fossils. In conclusion, the Sima de los Huesos sample is evolutionarily related to Neandertals as well as to the other European Middle Pleistocene fossils. In our opinion, all the European Middle Pleistocene fossils belong to the Neandertal lineage, and none can be included in an Afroeuropean common ancestor of Neandertals and modern humans.

  9. Publications of the Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development Materials Program: April 1, 1993--March 31, 1995

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Carlson, P.T.

    1995-04-01

    The objective of the Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development (AR and TD) Materials Program is to conduct research and development on materials for fossil energy applications, with a focus on the longer-term needs for materials with general applicability to the various fossil fuel technologies. The Program includes research aimed at a better understanding of materials behavior in fossil energy environments and on the development of new materials capable of substantial improvement in plant operations and reliability. The scope of the Program addresses materials requirements for all fossil energy systems, including materials for coal preparation, coal liquefaction, coal gasification,more » heat engines and heat recovery, combustion systems, and fuel cells. Work on the Program is conducted at national and government laboratories, universities, and industrial research facilities. This bibliography covers the period of April 1, 1993, through March 31, 1995, and is a supplement to previous bibliographies in this series. It is the intent of this series of bibliographies to list only those publications that can be conveniently obtained by a researcher through relatively normal channels. The publications listed in this document have been limited to topical reports, open literature publications in refereed journals, full-length papers in published proceedings of conferences, full-length papers in unrefereed journals, and books and book articles. 159 refs.« less

  10. Evaluation of conventional power systems. [emphasizing fossil fuels and nuclear energy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, K. R.; Weyant, J.; Holdren, J. P.

    1975-01-01

    The technical, economic, and environmental characteristics of (thermal, nonsolar) electric power plants are reviewed. The fuel cycle, from extraction of new fuel to final waste management, is included. Emphasis is placed on the fossil fuel and nuclear technologies.

  11. 17 CFR 5.4 - Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. 5.4 Section 5.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION OFF-EXCHANGE FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS § 5.4 Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. Part 4 of...

  12. 17 CFR 5.4 - Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. 5.4 Section 5.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION OFF-EXCHANGE FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS § 5.4 Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. Part 4 of...

  13. Probing Complex Free-Radical Reaction Pathways of Fuel Model Compounds

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buchanan III, A C; Kidder, Michelle; Beste, Ariana

    2012-01-01

    Fossil (e.g. coal) and renewable (e.g. woody biomass) organic energy resources have received considerable attention as possible sources of liquid transportation fuels and commodity chemicals. Knowledge of the reactivity of these complex materials has been advanced through fundamental studies of organic compounds that model constituent substructures. In particular, an improved understanding of thermochemical reaction pathways involving free-radical intermediates has arisen from detailed experimental kinetic studies and, more recently, advanced computational investigations. In this presentation, we will discuss our recent investigations of the fundamental pyrolysis pathways of model compounds that represent key substructures in the lignin component of woody biomass withmore » a focus on molecules representative of the dominant beta-O-4 aryl ether linkages. Additional mechanistic insights gleaned from DFT calculations on the kinetics of key elementary reaction steps will also be presented, as well as a few thoughts on the significant contributions of Jim Franz to this area of free radical chemistry.« less

  14. Recent progress in the development of solid catalysts for biomass conversion into high value-added chemicals

    PubMed Central

    Hara, Michikazu; Nakajima, Kiyotaka; Kamata, Keigo

    2015-01-01

    In recent decades, the substitution of non-renewable fossil resources by renewable biomass as a sustainable feedstock has been extensively investigated for the manufacture of high value-added products such as biofuels, commodity chemicals, and new bio-based materials such as bioplastics. Numerous solid catalyst systems for the effective conversion of biomass feedstocks into value-added chemicals and fuels have been developed. Solid catalysts are classified into four main groups with respect to their structures and substrate activation properties: (a) micro- and mesoporous materials, (b) metal oxides, (c) supported metal catalysts, and (d) sulfonated polymers. This review article focuses on the activation of substrates and/or reagents on the basis of groups (a)–(d), and the corresponding reaction mechanisms. In addition, recent progress in chemocatalytic processes for the production of five industrially important products (5-hydroxymethylfurfural, lactic acid, glyceraldehyde, 1,3-dihydroxyacetone, and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid) as bio-based plastic monomers and their intermediates is comprehensively summarized. PMID:27877800

  15. Recent progress in the development of solid catalysts for biomass conversion into high value-added chemicals.

    PubMed

    Hara, Michikazu; Nakajima, Kiyotaka; Kamata, Keigo

    2015-06-01

    In recent decades, the substitution of non-renewable fossil resources by renewable biomass as a sustainable feedstock has been extensively investigated for the manufacture of high value-added products such as biofuels, commodity chemicals, and new bio-based materials such as bioplastics. Numerous solid catalyst systems for the effective conversion of biomass feedstocks into value-added chemicals and fuels have been developed. Solid catalysts are classified into four main groups with respect to their structures and substrate activation properties: (a) micro- and mesoporous materials, (b) metal oxides, (c) supported metal catalysts, and (d) sulfonated polymers. This review article focuses on the activation of substrates and/or reagents on the basis of groups (a)-(d), and the corresponding reaction mechanisms. In addition, recent progress in chemocatalytic processes for the production of five industrially important products (5-hydroxymethylfurfural, lactic acid, glyceraldehyde, 1,3-dihydroxyacetone, and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid) as bio-based plastic monomers and their intermediates is comprehensively summarized.

  16. Cell-free metabolic engineering: production of chemicals by minimized reaction cascades.

    PubMed

    Guterl, Jan-Karl; Garbe, Daniel; Carsten, Jörg; Steffler, Fabian; Sommer, Bettina; Reiße, Steven; Philipp, Anja; Haack, Martina; Rühmann, Broder; Koltermann, Andre; Kettling, Ulrich; Brück, Thomas; Sieber, Volker

    2012-11-01

    The limited supply of fossil resources demands the development of renewable alternatives to petroleum-based products. Here, biobased higher alcohols such as isobutanol are versatile platform molecules for the synthesis of chemical commodities and fuels. Currently, their fermentation-based production is limited by the low tolerance of microbial production systems to the end products and also by the low substrate flux into cell metabolism. We developed an innovative cell-free approach, utilizing an artificial minimized glycolytic reaction cascade that only requires one single coenzyme. Using this toolbox the cell-free production of ethanol and isobutanol from glucose was achieved. We also confirmed that these streamlined cascades functioned under conditions at which microbial production would have ceased. Our system can be extended to an array of industrially-relevant molecules. Application of solvent-tolerant biocatalysts potentially allows for high product yields, which significantly simplifies downstream product recovery. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Biocatalysis for the application of CO2 as a chemical feedstock.

    PubMed

    Alissandratos, Apostolos; Easton, Christopher J

    2015-01-01

    Biocatalysts, capable of efficiently transforming CO2 into other more reduced forms of carbon, offer sustainable alternatives to current oxidative technologies that rely on diminishing natural fossil-fuel deposits. Enzymes that catalyse CO2 fixation steps in carbon assimilation pathways are promising catalysts for the sustainable transformation of this safe and renewable feedstock into central metabolites. These may be further converted into a wide range of fuels and commodity chemicals, through the multitude of known enzymatic reactions. The required reducing equivalents for the net carbon reductions may be drawn from solar energy, electricity or chemical oxidation, and delivered in vitro or through cellular mechanisms, while enzyme catalysis lowers the activation barriers of the CO2 transformations to make them more energy efficient. The development of technologies that treat CO2-transforming enzymes and other cellular components as modules that may be assembled into synthetic reaction circuits will facilitate the use of CO2 as a renewable chemical feedstock, greatly enabling a sustainable carbon bio-economy.

  18. Recent progress in the development of solid catalysts for biomass conversion into high value-added chemicals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hara, Michikazu; Nakajima, Kiyotaka; Kamata, Keigo

    2015-06-01

    In recent decades, the substitution of non-renewable fossil resources by renewable biomass as a sustainable feedstock has been extensively investigated for the manufacture of high value-added products such as biofuels, commodity chemicals, and new bio-based materials such as bioplastics. Numerous solid catalyst systems for the effective conversion of biomass feedstocks into value-added chemicals and fuels have been developed. Solid catalysts are classified into four main groups with respect to their structures and substrate activation properties: (a) micro- and mesoporous materials, (b) metal oxides, (c) supported metal catalysts, and (d) sulfonated polymers. This review article focuses on the activation of substrates and/or reagents on the basis of groups (a)-(d), and the corresponding reaction mechanisms. In addition, recent progress in chemocatalytic processes for the production of five industrially important products (5-hydroxymethylfurfural, lactic acid, glyceraldehyde, 1,3-dihydroxyacetone, and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid) as bio-based plastic monomers and their intermediates is comprehensively summarized.

  19. Assessing the completeness of the fossil record using brachiopod Lazarus taxa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gearty, W.; Payne, J.

    2012-12-01

    Lazarus taxa, organisms that disappear from the fossil record only to reappear later, provide a unique opportunity to assess the completeness of the fossil record. In this study, we apply logistic regression to quantify the associations of body size, geographic extent, and species diversity with the probability of being a Lazarus genus using the Phanerozoic fossil record of brachiopods. We find that both the geographic range and species diversity of a genus are inversely associated with the probability of being a Lazarus taxon in the preceding or succeeding stage. In contrast, body size exhibits little association with the probability of becoming a Lazarus taxon. A model including species diversity and geographic extent as predictors performs best among all combinations examined, whereas a model including only shell size as a predictor performs the worst - even worse than a model that assumes Lazarus taxa are randomly drawn from all available genera. These findings suggest that geographic range and species richness data can be used to improve estimates of extensions on the observed fossil ranges of genera and, thereby, better correct for sampling effects in estimates of taxonomic diversity change through the Phanerozoic.

  20. Energy conversion in natural and artificial photosynthesis.

    PubMed

    McConnell, Iain; Li, Gonghu; Brudvig, Gary W

    2010-05-28

    Modern civilization is dependent upon fossil fuels, a nonrenewable energy source originally provided by the storage of solar energy. Fossil-fuel dependence has severe consequences, including energy security issues and greenhouse gas emissions. The consequences of fossil-fuel dependence could be avoided by fuel-producing artificial systems that mimic natural photosynthesis, directly converting solar energy to fuel. This review describes the three key components of solar energy conversion in photosynthesis: light harvesting, charge separation, and catalysis. These processes are compared in natural and in artificial systems. Such a comparison can assist in understanding the general principles of photosynthesis and in developing working devices, including photoelectrochemical cells, for solar energy conversion. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. 40 CFR Appendix A-7 to Part 60 - Test Methods 19 through 25E

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... %O include the unavailable hydrogen and oxygen in the form of H2O.) 12.3.2.2 Use applicable sampling... are used during the averaging period. 12.5.2.1 Solid Fossil (Including Waste) Fuel/Sampling and... of the standards) on a dry basis for each gross sample. 12.5.2.2 Liquid Fossil Fuel-Sampling and...

  2. Are pollen fossils useful for calibrating relaxed molecular clock dating of phylogenies? A comparative study using Myrtaceae.

    PubMed

    Thornhill, Andrew H; Popple, Lindsay W; Carter, Richard J; Ho, Simon Y W; Crisp, Michael D

    2012-04-01

    The identification and application of reliable fossil calibrations represents a key component of many molecular studies of evolutionary timescales. In studies of plants, most paleontological calibrations are associated with macrofossils. However, the pollen record can also inform age calibrations if fossils matching extant pollen groups are found. Recent work has shown that pollen of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, can be classified into a number of morphological groups that are synapomorphic with molecular groups. By assembling a data matrix of pollen morphological characters from extant and fossil Myrtaceae, we were able to measure the fit of 26 pollen fossils to a molecular phylogenetic tree using parsimony optimisation of characters. We identified eight Myrtaceidites fossils as appropriate for calibration based on the most parsimonious placements of these fossils on the tree. These fossils were used to inform age constraints in a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of a sequence alignment comprising two sequences from the chloroplast genome (matK and ndhF) and one nuclear locus (ITS), sampled from 106 taxa representing 80 genera. Three additional analyses were calibrated by placing pollen fossils using geographic and morphological information (eight calibrations), macrofossils (five calibrations), and macrofossils and pollen fossils in combination (12 calibrations). The addition of new fossil pollen calibrations led to older crown ages than have previously been found for tribes such as Eucalypteae and Myrteae. Estimates of rate variation among lineages were affected by the choice of calibrations, suggesting that the use of multiple calibrations can improve estimates of rate heterogeneity among lineages. This study illustrates the potential of including pollen-based calibrations in molecular studies of divergence times. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. 17 CFR 4.13 - Exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... a commodity pool operator. 4.13 Section 4.13 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS General Provisions, Definitions and Exemptions § 4.13 Exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator. This section is...

  4. Learning about Fossil Formation by Classroom Simulation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schlenker, Richard M.; Yoshida, Sarah J.

    1991-01-01

    Activities in which students build their own simulations of fossils, using seashells, chicken bones, toy dinosaurs, or leaves as models and plaster of paris, sand, mud, clay, or a mixture of gravel and clay as a matrix are presented. Curriculum extensions are included. (KR)

  5. Discovering Fossils--A Hands-on Lab.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldstein, Alan

    2002-01-01

    Describes fossil investigations developed and provided by the Falls of the Ohio State Park near Louisville, Kentucky. The Devonian shale beds contain representatives of over 600 species including corals, sponges, brachiopods, mollusks, and echinoderms. Rather than focusing on identification, the activities emphasize the past ecological…

  6. 17 CFR 32.9 - Fraud in connection with commodity option transactions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fraud in connection with commodity option transactions. 32.9 Section 32.9 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.9 Fraud in connection with commodity...

  7. Cell differentiation and germ-soma separation in Ediacaran animal embryo-like fossils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Lei; Xiao, Shuhai; Pang, Ke; Zhou, Chuanming; Yuan, Xunlai

    2014-12-01

    Phosphorites of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation (~600 million years old) yield spheroidal microfossils with a palintomic cell cleavage pattern. These fossils have been variously interpreted as sulphur-oxidizing bacteria, unicellular protists, mesomycetozoean-like holozoans, green algae akin to Volvox, and blastula embryos of early metazoans or bilaterian animals. However, their complete life cycle is unknown and it is uncertain whether they had a cellularly differentiated ontogenetic stage, making it difficult to test their various phylogenetic interpretations. Here we describe new spheroidal fossils from black phosphorites of the Doushantuo Formation that have been overlooked in previous studies. These fossils represent later developmental stages of previously published blastula-like fossils, and they show evidence for cell differentiation, germ-soma separation, and programmed cell death. Their complex multicellularity is inconsistent with a phylogenetic affinity with bacteria, unicellular protists, or mesomycetozoean-like holozoans. Available evidence also indicates that the Doushantuo fossils are unlikely crown-group animals or volvocine green algae. We conclude that an affinity with cellularly differentiated multicellular eukaryotes, including stem-group animals or algae, is likely but more data are needed to constrain further the exact phylogenetic affinity of the Doushantuo fossils.

  8. Cell differentiation and germ-soma separation in Ediacaran animal embryo-like fossils.

    PubMed

    Chen, Lei; Xiao, Shuhai; Pang, Ke; Zhou, Chuanming; Yuan, Xunlai

    2014-12-11

    Phosphorites of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation (∼600 million years old) yield spheroidal microfossils with a palintomic cell cleavage pattern. These fossils have been variously interpreted as sulphur-oxidizing bacteria, unicellular protists, mesomycetozoean-like holozoans, green algae akin to Volvox, and blastula embryos of early metazoans or bilaterian animals. However, their complete life cycle is unknown and it is uncertain whether they had a cellularly differentiated ontogenetic stage, making it difficult to test their various phylogenetic interpretations. Here we describe new spheroidal fossils from black phosphorites of the Doushantuo Formation that have been overlooked in previous studies. These fossils represent later developmental stages of previously published blastula-like fossils, and they show evidence for cell differentiation, germ-soma separation, and programmed cell death. Their complex multicellularity is inconsistent with a phylogenetic affinity with bacteria, unicellular protists, or mesomycetozoean-like holozoans. Available evidence also indicates that the Doushantuo fossils are unlikely crown-group animals or volvocine green algae. We conclude that an affinity with cellularly differentiated multicellular eukaryotes, including stem-group animals or algae, is likely but more data are needed to constrain further the exact phylogenetic affinity of the Doushantuo fossils.

  9. Penetrative trace fossils from the late Ediacaran of Mongolia: early onset of the agronomic revolution.

    PubMed

    Oji, Tatsuo; Dornbos, Stephen Q; Yada, Keigo; Hasegawa, Hitoshi; Gonchigdorj, Sersmaa; Mochizuki, Takafumi; Takayanagi, Hideko; Iryu, Yasufumi

    2018-02-01

    The Cambrian radiation of complex animals includes a dramatic increase in the depth and intensity of bioturbation in seafloor sediment known as the 'agronomic revolution'. This bioturbation transition was coupled with a shift in dominant trace fossil style from horizontal surficial traces in the late Precambrian to vertically penetrative trace fossils in the Cambrian. Here we show the existence of the first vertically penetrative trace fossils from the latest Ediacaran: dense occurrences of the U-shaped trace fossil Arenicolites from late Precambrian marine carbonates of Western Mongolia. Their Ediacaran age is established through stable carbon isotope chemostratigraphy and their occurrence stratigraphically below the first appearance of the trace fossil Treptichnus pedum . These Arenicolites are large in diameter, penetrate down to at least 4 cm into the sediment, and were presumably formed by the activity of bilaterian animals. They are preserved commonly as paired circular openings on bedding planes with maximum diameters ranging up to almost 1 cm, and as U- and J-shaped tubes in vertical sections of beds. Discovery of these complex penetrative trace fossils demonstrates that the agronomic revolution started earlier than previously considered.

  10. Penetrative trace fossils from the late Ediacaran of Mongolia: early onset of the agronomic revolution

    PubMed Central

    Dornbos, Stephen Q.; Yada, Keigo; Hasegawa, Hitoshi; Gonchigdorj, Sersmaa; Mochizuki, Takafumi; Takayanagi, Hideko; Iryu, Yasufumi

    2018-01-01

    The Cambrian radiation of complex animals includes a dramatic increase in the depth and intensity of bioturbation in seafloor sediment known as the ‘agronomic revolution’. This bioturbation transition was coupled with a shift in dominant trace fossil style from horizontal surficial traces in the late Precambrian to vertically penetrative trace fossils in the Cambrian. Here we show the existence of the first vertically penetrative trace fossils from the latest Ediacaran: dense occurrences of the U-shaped trace fossil Arenicolites from late Precambrian marine carbonates of Western Mongolia. Their Ediacaran age is established through stable carbon isotope chemostratigraphy and their occurrence stratigraphically below the first appearance of the trace fossil Treptichnus pedum. These Arenicolites are large in diameter, penetrate down to at least 4 cm into the sediment, and were presumably formed by the activity of bilaterian animals. They are preserved commonly as paired circular openings on bedding planes with maximum diameters ranging up to almost 1 cm, and as U- and J-shaped tubes in vertical sections of beds. Discovery of these complex penetrative trace fossils demonstrates that the agronomic revolution started earlier than previously considered. PMID:29515908

  11. Penetrative trace fossils from the late Ediacaran of Mongolia: early onset of the agronomic revolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oji, Tatsuo; Dornbos, Stephen Q.; Yada, Keigo; Hasegawa, Hitoshi; Gonchigdorj, Sersmaa; Mochizuki, Takafumi; Takayanagi, Hideko; Iryu, Yasufumi

    2018-02-01

    The Cambrian radiation of complex animals includes a dramatic increase in the depth and intensity of bioturbation in seafloor sediment known as the `agronomic revolution'. This bioturbation transition was coupled with a shift in dominant trace fossil style from horizontal surficial traces in the late Precambrian to vertically penetrative trace fossils in the Cambrian. Here we show the existence of the first vertically penetrative trace fossils from the latest Ediacaran: dense occurrences of the U-shaped trace fossil Arenicolites from late Precambrian marine carbonates of Western Mongolia. Their Ediacaran age is established through stable carbon isotope chemostratigraphy and their occurrence stratigraphically below the first appearance of the trace fossil Treptichnus pedum. These Arenicolites are large in diameter, penetrate down to at least 4 cm into the sediment, and were presumably formed by the activity of bilaterian animals. They are preserved commonly as paired circular openings on bedding planes with maximum diameters ranging up to almost 1 cm, and as U- and J-shaped tubes in vertical sections of beds. Discovery of these complex penetrative trace fossils demonstrates that the agronomic revolution started earlier than previously considered.

  12. Modeling the rejection probability in plant imports.

    PubMed

    Surkov, I V; van der Werf, W; van Kooten, O; Lansink, A G J M Oude

    2008-06-01

    Phytosanitary inspection of imported plants and flowers is a major means for preventing pest invasions through international trade, but in a majority of countries availability of resources prevents inspection of all imports. Prediction of the likelihood of pest infestation in imported shipments could help maximize the efficiency of inspection by targeting inspection on shipments with the highest likelihood of infestation. This paper applies a multinomial logistic (MNL) regression model to data on import inspections of ornamental plant commodities in the Netherlands from 1998 to 2001 to investigate whether it is possible to predict the probability that a shipment will be (i) accepted for import, (ii) rejected for import because of detected pests, or (iii) rejected due to other reasons. Four models were estimated: (i) an all-species model, including all plant imports (136,251 shipments) in the data set, (ii) a four-species model, including records on the four ornamental commodities that accounted for 28.9% of inspected and 49.5% of rejected shipments, and two models for single commodities with large import volumes and percentages of rejections, (iii) Dianthus (16.9% of inspected and 46.3% of rejected shipments), and (iv) Chrysanthemum (6.9 and 8.6%, respectively). All models were highly significant (P < 0.001). The models for Dianthus and Chrysanthemum and for the set of four ornamental commodities showed a better fit to data than the model for all ornamental commodities. Variables that characterized the imported shipment's region of origin, the shipment's size, the company that imported the shipment, and season and year of import, were significant in most of the estimated models. The combined results of this study suggest that the MNL model can be a useful tool for modeling the probability of rejecting imported commodities even with a small set of explanatory variables. The MNL model can be helpful in better targeting of resources for import inspection. The inspecting agencies could enable development of these models by appropriately recording inspection results.

  13. The Principles and the Specifics of Trading in Commodities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baran, Dušan; Herbacsková, Anita

    2012-12-01

    In the present period of instability on financial markets, investments in commodities are the solution for elimination of the consequences of inflation and ensure the yield. When investing in commodities, the use of specifics of commodities compared to other assets. The distribution of commodities we can interpret for agricultural commodities, commodities of energy, precious and other metals, and weather. Therefore, in the framework of the investment portfolio are the commodities. This is the reason why one of the most popular types of investment assets now become commodities. In the interpretation of particular commodities we talk about commodity futures. The reason is that the spot market with commodities is limited storage facilities. The growth of the popularity, which allows a wide range of commodities, has caused that in addition to from institutional investors and speculators for trade may involve even small investors. This development will be supplemented by interpretation of the charts and figers, which will be commented and used for generalization of knowledge. Finally, the article will be interpreted by the further development of the market for commodities as it by article assumes from the results of research.

  14. Combining fossil and molecular data to date the diversification of New World Primates.

    PubMed

    Schrago, C G; Mello, B; Soares, A E R

    2013-11-01

    Recent methodological advances in molecular dating associated with the growing availability of sequence data have prompted the study of the evolution of New World Anthropoidea in recent years. Motivated by questions regarding historical biogeography or the mode of evolution, these works aimed to obtain a clearer scenario of Platyrrhini origins and diversification. Although some consensus was found, disputed issues, especially those relating to the evolutionary affinities of fossil taxa, remain. The use of fossil taxa for divergence time analysis is traditionally restricted to the provision of calibration priors. However, new analytical approaches have been developed that incorporate fossils as terminals and, thus, directly assign ages to the fossil tips. In this study, we conducted a combined analysis of molecular and morphological data, including fossils, to derive the timescale of New World anthropoids. Differently from previous studies that conducted total-evidence analysis of molecules and morphology, our approach investigated the morphological clock alone. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that living platyrrhines diversified in the last 20 Ma and that Miocene Patagonian fossils compose an independent evolutionary radiation that diversified in the late Oligocene. When compared to the node ages inferred from the molecular timescale, the inclusion of fossils augmented the precision of the estimates for nodes constrained by the fossil tips. We show that morphological data can be analysed using the same methodological framework applied in relaxed molecular clock studies. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2013 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  15. Assessment of laboratory logistics management information system practice for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis laboratory commodities in selected public health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    PubMed

    Desale, Adino; Taye, Bineyam; Belay, Getachew; Nigatu, Alemayehu

    2013-01-01

    Logistics management information system for health commodities remained poorly implemented in most of developing countries. To assess the status of laboratory logistics management information system for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis laboratory commodities in public health facilities in Addis Ababa. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from September 2010-January 2011 at selected public health facilities. A stratified random sampling method was used to include a total of 43 facilities which, were investigated through quantitative methods using structured questionnaires interviews. Focus group discussion with the designated supply chain managers and key informant interviews were conducted for the qualitative method. There exists a well-designed logistics system for laboratory commodities with trained pharmacy personnel, distributed standard LMIS formats and established inventory control procedures. However, majority of laboratory professionals were not trained in LMIS. Majority of the facilities (60.5%) were stocked out for at least one ART monitoring and TB laboratory reagents and the highest stock out rate was for chemistry reagents. Expired ART monitoring laboratory commodities were found in 25 (73.5%) of facilities. Fifty percent (50%) of the assessed hospitals and 54% of health centers were currently using stock/bin cards for all HIV/AIDS and TB laboratory commodities in main pharmacy store, among these only 25% and 20.8% of them were updated with accurate information matching with the physical count done at the time of visit for hospitals and health centers respectively. Even though there exists a well designed laboratory LMIS, keeping quality stock/bin cards and LMIS reports were very low. Key ART monitoring laboratory commodities were stock out at many facilities at the day of visit and during the past six months. Based on findings, training of laboratory personnel's managing laboratory commodities and keeping accurate inventory control procedures were recommended.

  16. Assessment of laboratory logistics management information system practice for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis laboratory commodities in selected public health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    PubMed Central

    Desale, Adino; Taye, Bineyam; Belay, Getachew; Nigatu, Alemayehu

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Logistics management information system for health commodities remained poorly implemented in most of developing countries. To assess the status of laboratory logistics management information system for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis laboratory commodities in public health facilities in Addis Ababa. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from September 2010-January 2011 at selected public health facilities. A stratified random sampling method was used to include a total of 43 facilities which, were investigated through quantitative methods using structured questionnaires interviews. Focus group discussion with the designated supply chain managers and key informant interviews were conducted for the qualitative method. Results There exists a well-designed logistics system for laboratory commodities with trained pharmacy personnel, distributed standard LMIS formats and established inventory control procedures. However, majority of laboratory professionals were not trained in LMIS. Majority of the facilities (60.5%) were stocked out for at least one ART monitoring and TB laboratory reagents and the highest stock out rate was for chemistry reagents. Expired ART monitoring laboratory commodities were found in 25 (73.5%) of facilities. Fifty percent (50%) of the assessed hospitals and 54% of health centers were currently using stock/bin cards for all HIV/AIDS and TB laboratory commodities in main pharmacy store, among these only 25% and 20.8% of them were updated with accurate information matching with the physical count done at the time of visit for hospitals and health centers respectively. Conclusion Even though there exists a well designed laboratory LMIS, keeping quality stock/bin cards and LMIS reports were very low. Key ART monitoring laboratory commodities were stock out at many facilities at the day of visit and during the past six months. Based on findings, training of laboratory personnel's managing laboratory commodities and keeping accurate inventory control procedures were recommended. PMID:24106574

  17. 40 CFR 51.165 - Permit requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (21) Fossil-fuel boilers (or... processing plants; (24) Glass fiber processing plants; (25) Charcoal production plants; (26) Fossil fuel... source or activity which condense to form particulate matter at ambient temperatures. On or after January...

  18. 40 CFR 51.165 - Permit requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (21) Fossil-fuel boilers (or... processing plants; (24) Glass fiber processing plants; (25) Charcoal production plants; (26) Fossil fuel... source or activity which condense to form particulate matter at ambient temperatures. On or after January...

  19. 40 CFR 51.165 - Permit requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (21) Fossil-fuel boilers (or... processing plants; (24) Glass fiber processing plants; (25) Charcoal production plants; (26) Fossil fuel... source or activity which condense to form particulate matter at ambient temperatures. On or after January...

  20. 40 CFR 51.165 - Permit requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (21) Fossil-fuel boilers (or... processing plants; (24) Glass fiber processing plants; (25) Charcoal production plants; (26) Fossil fuel... source or activity which condense to form particulate matter at ambient temperatures. On or after January...

  1. 40 CFR 51.165 - Permit requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... ethanol by natural fermentation included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (21) Fossil-fuel boilers (or... processing plants; (24) Glass fiber processing plants; (25) Charcoal production plants; (26) Fossil fuel... source or activity which condense to form particulate matter at ambient temperatures. On or after January...

  2. Natural Product Molecular Fossils.

    PubMed

    Falk, Heinz; Wolkenstein, Klaus

    The natural products synthesized by organisms that were living a long time ago gave rise to their molecular fossils. These can consist of either the original unchanged compounds or they may undergo peripheral transformations in which their skeletons remain intact. In cases when molecular fossils can be traced to their organismic source, they are termed "geological biomarkers".This contribution describes apolar and polar molecular fossils and, in particular biomarkers, along the lines usually followed in organic chemistry textbooks, and points to their bioprecursors when available. Thus, the apolar compounds are divided in linear and branched alkanes followed by alicyclic compounds and aromatic and heterocyclic molecules, and, in particular, the geoporphyrins. The polar molecular fossils contain as functional groups or constituent units ethers, alcohols, phenols, carbonyl groups, flavonoids, quinones, and acids, or are polymers like kerogen, amber, melanin, proteins, or nucleic acids. The final sections discuss the methodology used and the fundamental processes encountered by the biomolecules described, including diagenesis, catagenesis, and metagenesis.

  3. The evolution and distribution of life in the Precambrian eon-global perspective and the Indian record.

    PubMed

    Sharma, M; Shukla, Y

    2009-11-01

    The discovery of Precambrian microfossils in 1954 opened a new vista of investigations in the field of evolution of life. Although the Precambrian encompasses 87% of the earth's history, the pace of organismal evolution was quite slow. The life forms as categorised today in the three principal domains viz. the Bacteria, the Archaea and the Eucarya evolved during this period. In this paper, we review the advancements made in the Precambrian palaeontology and its contribution in understanding the evolution of life forms on earth. These studies have enriched the data base on the Precambrian life. Most of the direct evidence includes fossil prokaryotes, protists, advanced algal fossils, acritarchs, and the indirect evidence is represented by the stromatolites, trace fossils and geochemical fossils signatures. The Precambrian fossils are preserved in the form of compressions, impressions, and permineralized and biomineralized remains.

  4. A total-evidence approach to dating with fossils, applied to the early radiation of the hymenoptera.

    PubMed

    Ronquist, Fredrik; Klopfstein, Seraina; Vilhelmsen, Lars; Schulmeister, Susanne; Murray, Debra L; Rasnitsyn, Alexandr P

    2012-12-01

    Phylogenies are usually dated by calibrating interior nodes against the fossil record. This relies on indirect methods that, in the worst case, misrepresent the fossil information. Here, we contrast such node dating with an approach that includes fossils along with the extant taxa in a Bayesian total-evidence analysis. As a test case, we focus on the early radiation of the Hymenoptera, mostly documented by poorly preserved impression fossils that are difficult to place phylogenetically. Specifically, we compare node dating using nine calibration points derived from the fossil record with total-evidence dating based on 343 morphological characters scored for 45 fossil (4--20 complete) and 68 extant taxa. In both cases we use molecular data from seven markers (∼5 kb) for the extant taxa. Because it is difficult to model speciation, extinction, sampling, and fossil preservation realistically, we develop a simple uniform prior for clock trees with fossils, and we use relaxed clock models to accommodate rate variation across the tree. Despite considerable uncertainty in the placement of most fossils, we find that they contribute significantly to the estimation of divergence times in the total-evidence analysis. In particular, the posterior distributions on divergence times are less sensitive to prior assumptions and tend to be more precise than in node dating. The total-evidence analysis also shows that four of the seven Hymenoptera calibration points used in node dating are likely to be based on erroneous or doubtful assumptions about the fossil placement. With respect to the early radiation of Hymenoptera, our results suggest that the crown group dates back to the Carboniferous, ∼309 Ma (95% interval: 291--347 Ma), and diversified into major extant lineages much earlier than previously thought, well before the Triassic. [Bayesian inference; fossil dating; morphological evolution; relaxed clock; statistical phylogenetics.].

  5. A Total-Evidence Approach to Dating with Fossils, Applied to the Early Radiation of the Hymenoptera

    PubMed Central

    Ronquist, Fredrik; Klopfstein, Seraina; Vilhelmsen, Lars; Schulmeister, Susanne; Murray, Debra L.; Rasnitsyn, Alexandr P.

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Phylogenies are usually dated by calibrating interior nodes against the fossil record. This relies on indirect methods that, in the worst case, misrepresent the fossil information. Here, we contrast such node dating with an approach that includes fossils along with the extant taxa in a Bayesian total-evidence analysis. As a test case, we focus on the early radiation of the Hymenoptera, mostly documented by poorly preserved impression fossils that are difficult to place phylogenetically. Specifically, we compare node dating using nine calibration points derived from the fossil record with total-evidence dating based on 343 morphological characters scored for 45 fossil (4--20 complete) and 68 extant taxa. In both cases we use molecular data from seven markers (∼5 kb) for the extant taxa. Because it is difficult to model speciation, extinction, sampling, and fossil preservation realistically, we develop a simple uniform prior for clock trees with fossils, and we use relaxed clock models to accommodate rate variation across the tree. Despite considerable uncertainty in the placement of most fossils, we find that they contribute significantly to the estimation of divergence times in the total-evidence analysis. In particular, the posterior distributions on divergence times are less sensitive to prior assumptions and tend to be more precise than in node dating. The total-evidence analysis also shows that four of the seven Hymenoptera calibration points used in node dating are likely to be based on erroneous or doubtful assumptions about the fossil placement. With respect to the early radiation of Hymenoptera, our results suggest that the crown group dates back to the Carboniferous, ∼309 Ma (95% interval: 291--347 Ma), and diversified into major extant lineages much earlier than previously thought, well before the Triassic. [Bayesian inference; fossil dating; morphological evolution; relaxed clock; statistical phylogenetics.] PMID:22723471

  6. 17 CFR 32.13 - Exemption from prohibition of commodity option transactions for trade options on certain...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Exemption from prohibition of commodity option transactions for trade options on certain agricultural commodities. 32.13 Section 32.13 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.13 Exemption from...

  7. 40 CFR Appendix A-7 to Part 60 - Test Methods 19 through 25E

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... equations for Fw if %H and %O include the unavailable hydrogen and oxygen in the form of H2O.) 12.3.2.2Use... during the averaging period. 12.5.2.1Solid Fossil (Including Waste) Fuel/Sampling and Analysis. Note: For... for each gross sample. 12.5.2.2Liquid Fossil Fuel-Sampling and Analysis. See Note under Section 12.5.2...

  8. 40 CFR Appendix A-7 to Part 60 - Test Methods 19 through 25E

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... equations for Fw if %H and %O include the unavailable hydrogen and oxygen in the form of H2O.) 12.3.2.2Use... during the averaging period. 12.5.2.1Solid Fossil (Including Waste) Fuel/Sampling and Analysis. Note: For... basis for each gross sample. 12.5.2.2Liquid Fossil Fuel-Sampling and Analysis. See Note under Section 12...

  9. 40 CFR Appendix A-7 to Part 60 - Test Methods 19 through 25E

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... equations for Fw if %H and %O include the unavailable hydrogen and oxygen in the form of H2O.) 12.3.2.2Use... during the averaging period. 12.5.2.1Solid Fossil (Including Waste) Fuel/Sampling and Analysis. Note: For... basis for each gross sample. 12.5.2.2Liquid Fossil Fuel-Sampling and Analysis. See Note under Section 12...

  10. 40 CFR Appendix A-7 to Part 60 - Test Methods 19 through 25E

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... equations for Fw if %H and %O include the unavailable hydrogen and oxygen in the form of H2O.) 12.3.2.2Use... during the averaging period. 12.5.2.1Solid Fossil (Including Waste) Fuel/Sampling and Analysis. Note: For... for each gross sample. 12.5.2.2Liquid Fossil Fuel-Sampling and Analysis. See Note under Section 12.5.2...

  11. First records of Canis dirus and Smilodon fatalis from the late Pleistocene Tule Springs local fauna, upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada

    PubMed Central

    Springer, Kathleen B.

    2016-01-01

    Late Pleistocene groundwater discharge deposits (paleowetlands) in the upper Las Vegas Wash north of Las Vegas, Nevada, have yielded an abundant and diverse vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Tule Springs local fauna (TSLF). The TSLF is the largest open-site vertebrate fossil assemblage dating to the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age in the southern Great Basin and Mojave Desert. Over 600 discrete body fossil localities have been recorded from the wash, including an area that now encompasses Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK). Paleowetland sediments exposed in TUSK named the Las Vegas Formation span the last 250 ka, with fossiliferous sediments spanning ∼100–13 ka. The recovered fauna is dominated by remains of Camelopsand Mammuthus, and also includes relatively common remains of extinct Equusand Bisonas well as abundant vertebrate microfaunal fossils. Large carnivorans are rare, with only Puma concolor and Panthera atrox documented previously. Postcranial remains assigned to the species Canis dirus (dire wolf) and Smilodon fatalis (sabre-toothed cat) represent the first confirmed records of these species from the TSLF, as well as the first documentation of Canis dirus in Nevada and the only known occurrence of Smilodonin southern Nevada. The size of the recovered canid fossil precludes assignment to other Pleistocene species of Canis. The morphology of the felid elements differentiates them from other large predators such as Panthera, Homotherium, and Xenosmilus, and the size of the fossils prevents assignment to other species of Smilodon. The confirmed presence of S. fatalis in the TSLF is of particular interest, indicating that this species inhabited open habitats. In turn, this suggests that the presumed preference of S. fatalis for closed-habitat environments hunting requires further elucidation. PMID:27366649

  12. First records of Canis dirus and Smilodon fatalis from the late Pleistocene Tule Springs local fauna, upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Scott, Eric; Springer, Kathleen

    2016-01-01

    Late Pleistocene groundwater discharge deposits (paleowetlands) in the upper Las Vegas Wash north of Las Vegas, Nevada, have yielded an abundant and diverse vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Tule Springs local fauna (TSLF). The TSLF is the largest open-site vertebrate fossil assemblage dating to the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age in the southern Great Basin and Mojave Desert. Over 600 discrete body fossil localities have been recorded from the wash, including an area that now encompasses Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK). Paleowetland sediments exposed in TUSK named the Las Vegas Formation span the last 250 ka, with fossiliferous sediments spanning ∼100–13 ka. The recovered fauna is dominated by remains of Camelopsand Mammuthus, and also includes relatively common remains of extinct Equusand Bisonas well as abundant vertebrate microfaunal fossils. Large carnivorans are rare, with only Puma concolor and Panthera atrox documented previously. Postcranial remains assigned to the species Canis dirus (dire wolf) and Smilodon fatalis(sabre-toothed cat) represent the first confirmed records of these species from the TSLF, as well as the first documentation of Canis dirus in Nevada and the only known occurrence of Smilodonin southern Nevada. The size of the recovered canid fossil precludes assignment to other Pleistocene species of Canis. The morphology of the felid elements differentiates them from other large predators such as Panthera, Homotherium, and Xenosmilus, and the size of the fossils prevents assignment to other species of Smilodon. The confirmed presence of S. fatalis in the TSLF is of particular interest, indicating that this species inhabited open habitats. In turn, this suggests that the presumed preference of S. fatalis for closed-habitat environments hunting requires further elucidation.

  13. Identifying the European fossil fuel plumes in the atmosphere over the Northeast Atlantic Region through isotopic observations and numerical modelling.

    PubMed

    Geels, C; Christensen, J H; Hansen, A W; Heinemeier, J; Kiilsholm, S; Larsen, N W; Larsen, S E; Pedersen, T; Sørensen, L L; Brandt, J; Frohn, L M; Djurhuus, S

    2006-06-01

    As part of the Danish NEAREX project the origin and variability of anthropogenic atmospheric CO(2) over the Northeast Atlantic Region (NEAR) has been studied. The project consisted of a combination of experimental and modelling activities. Local volunteers operated CO(2) sampling stations, built at University of Copenhagen, for (14)C analysis at four locations (East Denmark, Shetland Isles, Faroe Isles and Iceland). The samples were only collected during winter periods of south-easterly winds in an attempt to trace air enriched in fossil-fuel derived CO(2) due to combustion of fossil fuels within European countries. In order to study the transport and concentration fields over the region in detail, a three-dimensional Eulerian hemispheric air pollution model has been extended to include the main anthropogenic sources for atmospheric CO(2). During the project period (1998-2001) only a few episodes of transport from Central Europe towards NEAR arose, which makes the data set for the evaluation of the method sparse. The analysed samples indicate that the signal for fossil CO(2), as expected, is largest (up to 3.7+/-0.4% fossil CO(2)) at the Danish location closest to the European emissions areas and much weaker (up to approximately 1.5+/-0.6% fossil CO(2)) at the most remote location. As the anthropogenic signal is weak in the clean atmosphere over NEAR these numbers will, however, be very sensitive to the assumed background (14)CO(2) activity and the precision of the measurements. The model simulations include the interplay between the driving processes from the emission into the boundary layer and the following horizontal/vertical mixing and atmospheric transport and are used to analyse the meteorological conditions leading to the observed events of high fossil CO(2) over NEAR. This information about the history of the air masses is essential if an observed signal is to be utilised for identifying and quantifying sources for fossil CO(2).

  14. 17 CFR 5.4 - Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. 5.4 Section 5.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION OFF-EXCHANGE FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS § 5.4...

  15. Biogeographic Dating of Speciation Times Using Paleogeographically Informed Processes

    PubMed Central

    Landis, Michael J.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Standard models of molecular evolution cannot estimate absolute speciation times alone, and require external calibrations to do so, such as fossils. Because fossil calibration methods rely on the incomplete fossil record, a great number of nodes in the tree of life cannot be dated precisely. However, many major paleogeographical events are dated, and since biogeographic processes depend on paleogeographical conditions, biogeographic dating may be used as an alternative or complementary method to fossil dating. I demonstrate how a time-stratified biogeographic stochastic process may be used to estimate absolute divergence times by conditioning on dated paleogeographical events. Informed by the current paleogeographical literature, I construct an empirical dispersal graph using 25 areas and 26 epochs for the past 540 Ma of Earth’s history. Simulations indicate biogeographic dating performs well so long as paleogeography imposes constraint on biogeographic character evolution. To gauge whether biogeographic dating may be of practical use, I analyzed the well-studied turtle clade (Testudines) to assess how well biogeographic dating fares when compared to fossil-calibrated dating estimates reported in the literature. Fossil-free biogeographic dating estimated the age of the most recent common ancestor of extant turtles to be from the Late Triassic, which is consistent with fossil-based estimates. Dating precision improves further when including a root node fossil calibration. The described model, paleogeographical dispersal graph, and analysis scripts are available for use with RevBayes. PMID:27155009

  16. The age for the fossil-bearing Tabbowa beds in Sri Lanka

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, S. C.; Dassanayake, S.; Wang, J.

    2014-12-01

    Well-preserved terrestrial fossils, mainly including conifers, cycads and ferns, were discovered from the Tabbowa beds in northwestern Sri Lanka. The high diversity and abundance of plants and insects from these Jurassic sediments provide a unique window to understand floral evolution and plant-insect co-evolution in the Mesozoic. For example, unearthed fossils from the Tabbowa beds indicate that leaf feeding and dwelling insects played a significant role in the Jurassic ecosystem. For another example, feeding and chewing marks on leaves allow studying insect behavior and paleo-ecology. Additionally, the recent discoveries of Otozamites latiphyllus and Otozamites tabbowensis from these sediments provide evidence that Bennettitales, an extinct order of seed plants, widely spread in the Gondwana during the Jurassic period. Although most fossils are yet to be well studied, and only few of the fossil occurrences have been published in western journals, plant fossils from the Tabbowa beds have great potential for substantially increasing our knowledge of Jurassic terrestrial ecosystems. The fossil-bearing Tabbowa beds are mainly composed of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone with occasional thin bands of nodular limestone. Until now, radio-isotopic age determinations for the fossil-rich Tabbowa beds are lacking. In this study, we investigate the geological and geochronological setting of this area by dating detrital zircons from the Tabbowa beds. The age data will allow testing several hypotheses regarding the plant evolution, the basin development of this region.

  17. Comparative anatomy and histology of xenarthran osteoderms.

    PubMed

    Hill, Robert V

    2006-12-01

    Reconstruction of soft tissues in fossil vertebrates is an enduring challenge for paleontologists. Because inferences must be based on evidence from hard tissues (typically bones or teeth), even the most complete fossils provide only limited information about certain organ systems. Osteoderms ("dermal armor") are integumentary bones with high fossilization potential that hold information about the anatomy of the skin in many extant and fossil amniotes. Their importance for functional morphology and phylogenetic research has recently been recognized, but studies have focused largely upon reptiles, in which osteoderms are most common. Among mammals, osteoderms occur only in members of the clade Xenarthra, which includes armadillos and their extinct relatives: glyptodonts, pampatheres, and, more distantly, ground sloths. Here, I present new information on the comparative morphology and histology of osteoderms and their associated soft tissues in 11 extant and fossil xenarthrans. Extinct mylodontid sloths possessed simple, isolated ossicles, the presence of which is likely plesiomorphic for Xenarthra. More highly derived osteoderms of glyptodonts, pampatheres, and armadillos feature complex articulations and surface ornamentation. Osteoderms of modern armadillos are physically associated with a variety of soft tissues, including nerve, muscle, gland, and connective tissue. In some cases, similar osteological features may be caused by two or more different tissue types, rendering soft-tissue inferences for fossil osteoderms equivocal. Certain osteological structures, however, are consistently associated with specific soft-tissue complexes and therefore represent a relatively robust foundation upon which to base soft-tissue reconstructions of extinct xenarthrans. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  18. Fauna and paleoecological setting of the La Meseta Formation (Eocene), Antarctica

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Feldmann, R.M.; Wiedman, L.A.; Zinsmeister, W.J.

    The La Meseta Formation, an Eocene sandstone from Seymour Island, Palmer Peninsula, Antarctica, has yielded a diverse fossil assemblage of body and trace fossils representative of a cool temperate, littoral to shallow sublittoral habitat. Over 61 taxa of macroinvertebrates, excluding gastropod body fossils, and more than 18 ichnogenera collected from the La Meseta represent the largest, most comprehensive and most diverse assemblage of Paleogene fossils from Antarctica. Included in the body fossil assemblage are species representative of at least 26 taxa of bivales, four taxa of echinoids, two of crinoids, two of ophiuroids, two of asteroids, one inarticulate and fourmore » articulate brachiopods, two barnacles, six decapod crustaceans, two cyclostome and two cheilostome bryozoans, a scaphopod and one coral. The traces include several burrow forms characteristic of the Skolithos ichnofacies of Seilacher (1967), several halo and rind burrows, gastropod predation borings, and abundant examples of teredid bivalve borings in lithified wood.Autecological analyses of the preserved organisms and environmental interpretations of the ichnogenera indicate a littoral to very shallow sublittoral environment of deposition, generally above wave base, for the la Meseta Sandstone. Modern congeneric descendants of the body fossils are known to inhabit both deep water and shallow water habitats. Of the 20 extant genera of bivalves reported from the La Meseta, 19 generally occur only in cool temperate habitats. Only one genus is known to occur south of 60/sup 0/. Most of the shallow water forms are known from cool temperate, austral regimes.« less

  19. Infrared mapping resolves soft tissue preservation in 50 million year-old reptile skin.

    PubMed

    Edwards, N P; Barden, H E; van Dongen, B E; Manning, P L; Larson, P L; Bergmann, U; Sellers, W I; Wogelius, R A

    2011-11-07

    Non-destructive Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) mapping of Eocene aged fossil reptile skin shows that biological control on the distribution of endogenous organic components within fossilized soft tissue can be resolved. Mapped organic functional units within this approximately 50 Myr old specimen from the Green River Formation (USA) include amide and sulphur compounds. These compounds are most probably derived from the original beta keratin present in the skin because fossil leaf- and other non-skin-derived organic matter from the same geological formation do not show intense amide or thiol absorption bands. Maps and spectra from the fossil are directly comparable to extant reptile skin. Furthermore, infrared results are corroborated by several additional quantitative methods including Synchrotron Rapid Scanning X-Ray Fluorescence (SRS-XRF) and Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). All results combine to clearly show that the organic compound inventory of the fossil skin is different from the embedding sedimentary matrix and fossil plant material. A new taphonomic model involving ternary complexation between keratin-derived organic molecules, divalent trace metals and silicate surfaces is presented to explain the survival of the observed compounds. X-ray diffraction shows that suitable minerals for complex formation are present. Previously, this study would only have been possible with major destructive sampling. Non-destructive FTIR imaging methods are thus shown to be a valuable tool for understanding the taphonomy of high-fidelity preservation, and furthermore, may provide insight into the biochemistry of extinct organisms.

  20. Infrared mapping resolves soft tissue preservation in 50 million year-old reptile skin

    PubMed Central

    Edwards, N. P.; Barden, H. E.; van Dongen, B. E.; Manning, P. L.; Larson, P. L.; Bergmann, U.; Sellers, W. I.; Wogelius, R. A.

    2011-01-01

    Non-destructive Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) mapping of Eocene aged fossil reptile skin shows that biological control on the distribution of endogenous organic components within fossilized soft tissue can be resolved. Mapped organic functional units within this approximately 50 Myr old specimen from the Green River Formation (USA) include amide and sulphur compounds. These compounds are most probably derived from the original beta keratin present in the skin because fossil leaf- and other non-skin-derived organic matter from the same geological formation do not show intense amide or thiol absorption bands. Maps and spectra from the fossil are directly comparable to extant reptile skin. Furthermore, infrared results are corroborated by several additional quantitative methods including Synchrotron Rapid Scanning X-Ray Fluorescence (SRS-XRF) and Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). All results combine to clearly show that the organic compound inventory of the fossil skin is different from the embedding sedimentary matrix and fossil plant material. A new taphonomic model involving ternary complexation between keratin-derived organic molecules, divalent trace metals and silicate surfaces is presented to explain the survival of the observed compounds. X-ray diffraction shows that suitable minerals for complex formation are present. Previously, this study would only have been possible with major destructive sampling. Non-destructive FTIR imaging methods are thus shown to be a valuable tool for understanding the taphonomy of high-fidelity preservation, and furthermore, may provide insight into the biochemistry of extinct organisms. PMID:21429928

  1. A Policy Option To Provide Sufficient Funding For Massive-Scale Sequestration of CO2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kithil, P. W.

    2007-12-01

    Global emissions of CO2 now are nearly 30 billion tons per year, and are growing rapidly due to strong economic growth. Atmospheric levels of CO2 have reached 380 ppm and recent reports suggest the rate of increase has gone from 1% per year in the 1990's to 3% per year now - with potential to cross 550ppm in the 2020 decade. Without stabilization of atmospheric CO2 below 550ppm, climate models predict unacceptably higher average temperatures with significant risk of runaway global warming this century. While there is much talk about reducing CO2 emissions by switching to non-fossil energy sources, imposing energy efficiency, and a host of other changes, there are no new large-scale energy sources on the horizon. The options are to impose draconian cuts in fossil energy consumption that will keep us below 550ppm (devastating the global economy) - or to adopt massive-scale sequestration of CO2. Three approaches are feasible: biological ocean sequestration, geologic sequestration, and biological terrestrial sequestration. Biological sequestration is applicable to all CO2 sources, whereas geologic sequestration is limited to fossil-fuel power plants and some large point-source emitters such as cement plants and large industrial facilities. Sequestration provides a direct mechanism for reducing atmospheric levels of CO2, whereas offsetting technologies such as wind power or improved efficiency, reduce the need for more fossil fuels but do not physically remove CO2 from the environment. The primary geologic technique, carbon capture & sequestration (CCS), prevents CO2 from entering the atmosphere but likewise does not reduce existing levels of atmospheric CO2. Biological sequestration (ocean or terrestrial) physically removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Since we cannot shut down our global economy, urgent action is needed to counteract CO2 emissions, and avoid catastrophic climate change. Given the long lead time and/or small impact of offsetting energy sources, sequestration is the only way to achieve near and medium-term reductions in atmospheric CO2 levels. To finance massive-scale sequestration of CO2, we propose the World Trade Organization (WTO) become an active player in the sequestration market. Given the WTO's role as overseer of international trade agreements annually representing 30 trillion in imports and exports of goods and services, it is by far the largest global economic force and therefore offers the broadest economic base. Absent a real solution to CO2 emissions, the global economy - and world trade - will shrink dramatically. The WTO can jumpstart the market for CO2 sequestration by issuing long term contracts to purchase bona fide sequestration-derived CO2 credits. Under this proposal, an initial price of 100 per ton which steps-down by 5% per year could bring forth the sequestration investment needed to achieve upwards of 10 billion tons sequestered CO2 per year by 2025 (seven billion tons from biological ocean sequestration and at least three billion tons from geologic and terrestrial sequestration). Assuming a contract term of 40 years, and a parallel commodity market continues to develop for CO2 credits, at some time in the future the WTO's contractual price will be less than the commodity market price - and the WTO begins to recover its investment. Under one set of assumptions, the net WTO annual subsidy would peak at $86 billion by 2022, equal to an across-the-board WTO tariff on imports and exports of about 1.01%, then become positive a few years later as the market price climbed above WTO's contracted price. Under this proposal, the WTO effectively subsidizes CO2 sequestration in the near to medium term and then recoups its investment and reaps large profits over the long term.

  2. Workshop on an Assessment of Gas-Side Fouling in Fossil Fuel Exhaust Environments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Marner, W. J. (Editor); Webb, R. L. (Editor)

    1982-01-01

    The state of the art of gas side fouling in fossil fuel exhaust environments was assessed. Heat recovery applications were emphasized. The deleterious effects of gas side fouling including increased energy consumption, increased material losses, and loss of production were identified.

  3. Surface chemistry control for selective fossil resin flotation

    DOEpatents

    Miller, Jan D.; Yi, Ye; Yu, Qiang

    1994-01-01

    A froth flotation method is disclosed for separating fine particles of fossil resin from by use of frothing reagents which include an aliphatic organic compound having a polar group and containing not more than four carbon atoms. Butanol is an effective frothing reagent in this method.

  4. Surface chemistry control for selective fossil resin flotation

    DOEpatents

    Miller, J.D.; Yi, Y.; Yu, Q.

    1994-06-07

    A froth flotation method is disclosed for separating fine particles of fossil resin by use of frothing reagents which include an aliphatic organic compound having a polar group and containing not more than four carbon atoms. Butanol is an effective frothing reagent in this method. 12 figs.

  5. Food, Energy, and The Environment: Alternatives for Creating New Lifestyles.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sorrells, Nancy R.; Pimentel, David

    1981-01-01

    Provides background information on the interdependency of agriculture and ecological and social systems. Discusses in detail: (1) fossil energy and food production; (2) energy-intensive agriculture and environmental pollution; and (3) methods for developing alternatives. Includes recommendations to conserve fossil energy used in current food…

  6. Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mason, G.T.; Arndt, R.E.

    1996-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates the Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), a digital system that contained 111,955 records on Sept. 1, 1995. Records describe metallic and industrial commodity deposits, mines, prospects, and occurrences in the United States and selected other countries. These records have been created over the years by USGS commodity specialists and through cooperative agreements with geological surveys of U.S. States and other countries. This CD-ROM contains the complete MRDS data base, several subsets of it, and software to allow data retrieval and display. Data retrievals are made by using GSSEARCH, a program that is included on this CD-ROM. Retrievals are made by specifying fields or any combination of the fields that provide information on deposit name, location, commodity, deposit model type, geology, mineral production, reserves, and references. A tutorial is included. Retrieved records may be printed or written to a hard disk file in four different formats: ascii, fixed, comma delimited, and DBASE compatible.

  7. A fossil brain from the Cretaceous of European Russia and avian sensory evolution.

    PubMed

    Kurochkin, Evgeny N; Dyke, Gareth J; Saveliev, Sergei V; Pervushov, Evgeny M; Popov, Evgeny V

    2007-06-22

    Fossils preserving traces of soft anatomy are rare in the fossil record; even rarer is evidence bearing on the size and shape of sense organs that provide us with insights into mode of life. Here, we describe unique fossil preservation of an avian brain from the Volgograd region of European Russia. The brain of this Melovatka bird is similar in shape and morphology to those of known fossil ornithurines (the lineage that includes living birds), such as the marine diving birds Hesperornis and Enaliornis, but documents a new stage in avian sensory evolution: acute nocturnal vision coupled with well-developed hearing and smell, developed by the Late Cretaceous (ca 90Myr ago). This fossil also provides insights into previous 'bird-like' brain reconstructions for the most basal avian Archaeopteryx--reduction of olfactory lobes (sense of smell) and enlargement of the hindbrain (cerebellum) occurred subsequent to Archaeopteryx in avian evolution, closer to the ornithurine lineage that comprises living birds. The Melovatka bird also suggests that brain enlargement in early avians was not correlated with the evolution of powered flight.

  8. Neutron Tomography and X-ray Tomography as Tools for the Morphological Investigation of Non-mammalian Synapsids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laaß, Michael; Schillinger, Burkhard; Werneburg, Ingmar

    As having evolved on the stem line of mammals, the taxonomy and phylogeny of therapsids (Synapsida) are of special interest with respect to early mammalian evolution. Due to the fact that in most cases soft tissue of fossil vertebrates is not preserved, species can only be distinguished by diagnosis of morphological features of the skeleton. Moreover, investigations of vertebrate fossils are often obstructed, because internal cranial anatomy is usually hidden and parts of the fossils may be embedded in stone matrix. As a consequence, most species of non-mammalian synapsids were only defined on the basis of external skeletal features. Our investigations on Diictodon skulls (Therapsida, Anomodontia) show that non-destructive methods are very useful to clearly distinguish fossil species. We, therefore, propose using modern non-destructive techniques such as neutron tomography, synchrotron tomography, and micro-computed tomography (μCT) as standard tools for the investigation and virtual reconstruction of fossils and to include features of the internal cranial anatomy into morphological descriptions and phylogenetic analyses of fossil vertebrates.

  9. AgRISTARS: Foreign Commodity production forecasting. Project procedures designation and description document, volume 1

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Waggoner, J. T.; Phinney, D. E. (Principal Investigator)

    1981-01-01

    The crop estimation analysis procedures documentation of the AgRISTARS - Foreign Commodity Production Forecasting Project (FCPF) is presented. Specifically it includes the technical/management documentation of the remote sensing data analysis procedures prepared in accordance with the guidelines provided in the FCPF communication/documentation standards manual. Standard documentation sets are given arranged by procedural type and level then by crop types or other technically differentiating categories.

  10. Compression fossil Mymaridae (Hymenoptera) from Kishenehn oil shales, with description of two new genera and review of Tertiary amber genera

    PubMed Central

    Huber, John T.; Greenwalt, Dale

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Compression fossils of three genera and six species of Mymaridae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) are described from 46 million year old Kishenehn oil shales in Montana, USA. Two new genera are described: Eoeustochus Huber, gen. n., with two included species, Eoeustochus kishenehn Huber (type species) and Eoeustochus borchersi Huber, sp. n., and Eoanaphes, gen. n., with Eoanaphes stethynioides Huber, sp. n. Three new species of Gonatocerus are also described, Gonatocerus greenwalti Huber, sp. n. , Gonatocerus kootenai Huber, sp. n., and Gonatocerus rasnitsyni Huber, sp. n. Previously described amber fossil genera are discussed and five genera in Baltic amber are tentatively recorded as fossils: Anagroidea, Camptoptera, Dorya, Eustochus, and Mimalaptus. PMID:22259294

  11. 17 CFR 33.3 - Unlawful commodity option transactions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Unlawful commodity option... REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.3 Unlawful commodity option... of, or maintain a position in, any commodity option transaction subject to the provisions of this...

  12. 49 CFR 1248.100 - Commodity classification designated.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Commodity classification designated. 1248.100... STATISTICS Commodity Code § 1248.100 Commodity classification designated. Commencing with reports for the..., reports of commodity statistics required to be made to the Board, shall be based on the commodity codes...

  13. 10 CFR 590.102 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... part: (a) Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy or any employee of the.... 565 (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). (f) FE means the Office of The Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. (g... physical form or phase, including liquefied natural gas and gels primarily composed of natural gas. (j) NGA...

  14. 10 CFR 590.102 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... part: (a) Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy or any employee of the.... 565 (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). (f) FE means the Office of The Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. (g... physical form or phase, including liquefied natural gas and gels primarily composed of natural gas. (j) NGA...

  15. 40 CFR 98.6 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... hydrofluoropolyether. Fossil fuel means natural gas, petroleum, coal, or any form of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel... maintenance shall not be considered an emergency generator. Emergency equipment means any auxiliary fossil... fed to the kiln. Feed does not include the fuels used in the kiln to produce heat to form the clinker...

  16. 40 CFR Appendix S to Part 51 - Emission Offset Interpretative Ruling

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel boilers (or combination thereof) totaling more... fiber processing plants; (y) Charcoal production plants; (z) Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of... source or activity, which condense to form particulate matter at ambient temperatures. On or after...

  17. 40 CFR Appendix S to Part 51 - Emission Offset Interpretative Ruling

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... included in NAICS codes 325193 or 312140; (u) Fossil-fuel boilers (or combination thereof) totaling more... fiber processing plants; (y) Charcoal production plants; (z) Fossil fuel-fired steam electric plants of... source or activity, which condense to form particulate matter at ambient temperatures. On or after...

  18. 10 CFR 590.102 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... part: (a) Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy or any employee of the.... 565 (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). (f) FE means the Office of The Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. (g... physical form or phase, including liquefied natural gas and gels primarily composed of natural gas. (j) NGA...

  19. 10 CFR 590.102 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... part: (a) Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy or any employee of the.... 565 (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). (f) FE means the Office of The Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. (g... physical form or phase, including liquefied natural gas and gels primarily composed of natural gas. (j) NGA...

  20. 10 CFR 590.102 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... part: (a) Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy or any employee of the.... 565 (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). (f) FE means the Office of The Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. (g... physical form or phase, including liquefied natural gas and gels primarily composed of natural gas. (j) NGA...

  1. 40 CFR 73.20 - Phase II early reduction credits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... utility, including generators that are not fossil fuel-fired) that has decreased its total coal-fired... quality of fuel being burned. (c) Initial certification of eligibility. The designated representative of a... reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions; and (2) A report listing all units in the utility system, each fossil...

  2. 17 CFR 33.10 - Fraud in connection with commodity option transactions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fraud in connection with commodity option transactions. 33.10 Section 33.10 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.10 Fraud in...

  3. 17 CFR 32.11 - Suspension of commodity option transactions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suspension of commodity option... REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.11 Suspension of commodity option transactions. (a... accept money, securities or property in connection with, the purchase or sale of any commodity option, or...

  4. 40 CFR 180.634 - Tembotrione; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities...) Tolerances are established for residues of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and...

  5. 40 CFR 180.634 - Tembotrione; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities...) Tolerances are established for residues of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and...

  6. 40 CFR 180.634 - Tembotrione; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities...) Tolerances are established for residues of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and...

  7. 40 CFR 180.634 - Tembotrione; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities...) Tolerances are established for residues of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and...

  8. 40 CFR 180.634 - Tembotrione; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities...) Tolerances are established for residues of the herbicide tembotrione, including its metabolites and...

  9. 7 CFR 65.135 - Covered commodity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ..., PEANUTS, AND GINSENG General Provisions Definitions § 65.135 Covered commodity. (a) Covered commodity... nuts; (6) Pecans; and (7) Ginseng. (b) Covered commodities are excluded from this part if the commodity...

  10. 7 CFR 65.135 - Covered commodity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ..., PEANUTS, AND GINSENG General Provisions Definitions § 65.135 Covered commodity. (a) Covered commodity... nuts; (6) Pecans; and (7) Ginseng. (b) Covered commodities are excluded from this part if the commodity...

  11. 7 CFR 65.135 - Covered commodity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ..., PEANUTS, AND GINSENG General Provisions Definitions § 65.135 Covered commodity. (a) Covered commodity... nuts; (6) Pecans; and (7) Ginseng. (b) Covered commodities are excluded from this part if the commodity...

  12. 7 CFR 65.135 - Covered commodity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ..., PEANUTS, AND GINSENG General Provisions Definitions § 65.135 Covered commodity. (a) Covered commodity... nuts; (6) Pecans; and (7) Ginseng. (b) Covered commodities are excluded from this part if the commodity...

  13. Fossil moonseeds from the Paleogene of West Gondwana (Patagonia, Argentina).

    PubMed

    Jud, Nathan A; Iglesias, Ari; Wilf, Peter; Gandolfo, Maria A

    2018-06-08

    The fossil record is critical for testing biogeographic hypotheses. Menispermaceae (moonseeds) are a widespread family with a rich fossil record and alternative hypotheses related to their origin and diversification. The family is well-represented in Cenozoic deposits of the northern hemisphere, but the record in the southern hemisphere is sparse. Filling in the southern record of moonseeds will improve our ability to evaluate alternative biogeographic hypotheses. Fossils were collected from the Salamanca (early Paleocene, Danian) and the Huitrera (early Eocene, Ypresian) formations in Chubut Province, Argentina. We photographed them using light microscopy, epifluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy and compared the fossils with similar extant and fossil Menispermaceae using herbarium specimens and published literature. We describe fossil leaves and endocarps attributed to Menispermaceae from Argentinean Patagonia. The leaves are identified to the family, and the endocarps are further identified to the tribe Cissampelideae. The Salamancan endocarp is assigned to the extant genus Stephania. These fossils significantly expand the known range of Menispermaceae in South America, and they include the oldest (ca. 64 Ma) unequivocal evidence of the family worldwide. Our findings highlight the importance of West Gondwana in the evolution of Menispermaceae during the Paleogene. Currently, the fossil record does not discern between a Laurasian or Gondwanan origin; however, it does demonstrate that Menispermaceae grew well outside the tropics by the early Paleocene. The endocarps' affinity with Cissampelideae suggests that diversification of the family was well underway by the earliest Paleocene. © 2018 The Authors. American Journal of Botany is published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the Botanical Society of America.

  14. Economics of carbon dioxide capture and utilization-a supply and demand perspective.

    PubMed

    Naims, Henriette

    2016-11-01

    Lately, the technical research on carbon dioxide capture and utilization (CCU) has achieved important breakthroughs. While single CO 2 -based innovations are entering the markets, the possible economic effects of a large-scale CO 2 utilization still remain unclear to policy makers and the public. Hence, this paper reviews the literature on CCU and provides insights on the motivations and potential of making use of recovered CO 2 emissions as a commodity in the industrial production of materials and fuels. By analyzing data on current global CO 2 supply from industrial sources, best practice benchmark capture costs and the demand potential of CO 2 utilization and storage scenarios with comparative statics, conclusions can be drawn on the role of different CO 2 sources. For near-term scenarios the demand for the commodity CO 2 can be covered from industrial processes, that emit CO 2 at a high purity and low benchmark capture cost of approximately 33 €/t. In the long-term, with synthetic fuel production and large-scale CO 2 utilization, CO 2 is likely to be available from a variety of processes at benchmark costs of approx. 65 €/t. Even if fossil-fired power generation is phased out, the CO 2 emissions of current industrial processes would suffice for ambitious CCU demand scenarios. At current economic conditions, the business case for CO 2 utilization is technology specific and depends on whether efficiency gains or substitution of volatile priced raw materials can be achieved. Overall, it is argued that CCU should be advanced complementary to mitigation technologies and can unfold its potential in creating local circular economy solutions.

  15. The Human Carbon Budget: An Estimate of the Spatial Distribution of Metabolic Carbon Consumption and Release in the United States

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    West, Tristram O.; Singh, Nagendra; Marland, Gregg

    Carbon dioxide is taken up by agricultural crops and released soon after during the consumption of agricultural commodities. The global net impact of this process on carbon flux to the atmosphere is negligible, but impact on the spatial distribution of carbon dioxide uptake and release across regions and continents is significant. To estimate the consumption and release of carbon by humans over the landscape, we developed a carbon budget for humans in the United States. The budget was derived from food commodity intake data for the US and from algorithms representing the metabolic processing of carbon by humans. Data onmore » consumption, respiration, and waste of carbon by humans were distributed over the US using geospatial population data with a resolution of approximately 450 x 450 m. The average adult in the US contains about 21 kg C and consumes about 67 kg C yr-1 which is balanced by the annual release of about 59 kg C as expired CO2, 7 kg C as feces and urine, and less than 1 kg C as flatus, sweat, and aromatic compounds. In 2000, an estimated 17.2 Tg C were consumed by the US population and 15.2 Tg C were expired to the atmosphere as CO2. Historically, carbon stock in the US human population has increased between 1790-2006 from 0.06 Tg to 5.37 Tg. Displacement and release of total harvested carbon per capita in the US is nearly 12% of per capita fossil fuel emissions. Humans are using, storing, and transporting carbon about the Earth s surface. Inclusion of these carbon dynamics in regional carbon budgets can improve our understanding of carbon sources and sinks.« less

  16. 17 CFR 4.6 - Exclusion for certain otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term “commodity...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term âcommodity trading advisor.â 4.6 Section 4.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS General Provisions, Definitions and Exemptions § 4.6 Exclusion for certain...

  17. 17 CFR 33.4 - Designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... market for the trading of commodity options. 33.4 Section 33.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.4 Designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options. The Commission may...

  18. 17 CFR 4.6 - Exclusion for certain otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term “commodity...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term âcommodity trading advisor.â 4.6 Section 4.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS General Provisions, Definitions and Exemptions § 4.6 Exclusion for certain...

  19. 17 CFR 4.6 - Exclusion for certain otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term “commodity...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term âcommodity trading advisor.â 4.6 Section 4.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS General Provisions, Definitions and Exemptions § 4.6 Exclusion for certain...

  20. 17 CFR 33.4 - Designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... market for the trading of commodity options. 33.4 Section 33.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.4 Designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options. The Commission may...

  1. 17 CFR 4.6 - Exclusion for certain otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term “commodity...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term âcommodity trading advisor.â 4.6 Section 4.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS General Provisions, Definitions and Exemptions § 4.6 Exclusion for certain...

  2. 17 CFR 4.6 - Exclusion for certain otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term “commodity...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term âcommodity trading advisor.â 4.6 Section 4.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS General Provisions, Definitions and Exemptions § 4.6 Exclusion for certain...

  3. Two new fossil flowers of magnoliid affinity from the Late Cretaceous of New Jersey.

    PubMed

    Crepet, W L; Nixon, K C

    1998-09-01

    Two taxa of cupulate magnoliid fossil flowers, Cronquistiflora and Detrusandra, are described from the Late Cretaceous (Turonian, ∼90 million years before present [MYBP]) Raritan (or lower Magothy) Formation of New Jersey. The fossil taxa are represented by flowers at various stages of development, associated fragments of cup-shaped floral receptacles with attached anthers, and isolated anthers. Both taxa have laminar stamens with adaxial thecae and valvate dehiscence. Pollen is boat-shaped and foveolate in anthers associated with Cronquistiflora and spherical with reticulate ornamentation in Detrusandra. Cup-shaped receptacles are externally bracteose in both taxa. The receptacle of Cronquistiflora is broader than the campanulate one of Detrusandra. Cronquistiflora also has more carpels (∼50 in a spiral vs. ∼5 in a whorl or tight spiral). In Detrusandra the carpels are surrounded by dorsiventrally flattened structures (pistillodes?) that are remote from the attachment of the stamens near the distal rim of the receptacular cupule. Detrusandra stigmas are rounded and bilobed, while those of Cronquistiflora, although bilateral in symmetry, are somewhat peltate. The fossil taxa share prominent characters with extant cupulate magnoliids (e.g., Eupomatia, Calycanthus), but also share characters with other magnoliids including Winteraceae. These fossils represent taxa that are character mosaics relative to currently recognized families. Inclusion of these fossils in existing data matrices and ensuing phylogenetic analyses effect changes in tree topologies consistent with their mosaicism relative to modern taxa. But such analyses do not definitively demonstrate the affinities of the fossils other than illustrating that these fossils are generalized magnoliids. Additional analysis of modern and fossil magnoliids is necessary to fully appreciate the phylogenetic significance and positions of these fossil taxa. However, the results of the phylogenetic analyses do introduce the possibility that extinct taxa of Magnoliales with cupulate floral receptacles were transitional between basal angiosperms and those with tricolpate pollen. The fossils provide insights into the timing of evolution of character complexes now associated with coleopteran pollination.

  4. 17 CFR 4.23 - Recordkeeping.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... the commodity interest was purchased, sold (including, in the case of a retail forex transaction, offset), exercised, expired (including, in the case of a retail forex transaction, whether it was rolled...

  5. 17 CFR 4.23 - Recordkeeping.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... the commodity interest was purchased, sold (including, in the case of a retail forex transaction, offset), exercised, expired (including, in the case of a retail forex transaction, whether it was rolled...

  6. Mineral facilities of Europe

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Almanzar, Francisco; Baker, Michael S.; Elias, Nurudeen; Guzman, Eric

    2010-01-01

    This map displays over 1,700 records of mineral facilities within the countries of Europe and western Eurasia. Each record represents one commodity and one facility type at a single geographic location. Facility types include mines, oil and gas fields, and plants, such as refineries, smelters, and mills. Common commodities of interest include aluminum, cement, coal, copper, gold, iron and steel, lead, nickel, petroleum, salt, silver, and zinc. Records include attributes, such as commodity, country, location, company name, facility type and capacity (if applicable), and latitude and longitude geographical coordinates (in both degrees-minutes-seconds and decimal degrees). The data shown on this map and in table 1 were compiled from multiple sources, including (1) the most recently available data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Minerals Yearbook (Europe and Central Eurasia volume), (2) mineral statistics and information from the USGS Minerals Information Web site (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/europe.html), and (3) data collected by the USGS minerals information country specialists from sources, such as statistical publications of individual countries, annual reports and press releases of operating companies, and trade journals. Data reflect the most recently published table of industry structure for each country at the time of this publication. Additional information is available from the country specialists listed in table 2.

  7. Mineral facilities of Northern and Central Eurasia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Baker, Michael S.; Elias, Nurudeen; Guzman, Eric; Soto-Viruet, Yadira

    2010-01-01

    This map displays almost 900 records of mineral facilities within the countries that formerly constituted the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Each record represents one commodity and one facility type at a single geographic location. Facility types include mines, oil and gas fields, and plants, such as refineries, smelters, and mills. Common commodities of interest include aluminum, cement, coal, copper, gold, iron and steel, lead, nickel, petroleum, salt, silver, and zinc. Records include attributes, such as commodity, country, location, company name, facility type and capacity (if applicable), and latitude and longitude geographical coordinates (in both degrees-minutes-seconds and decimal degrees). The data shown on this map and in table 1 were compiled from multiple sources, including (1) the most recently available data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Minerals Yearbook (Europe and Central Eurasia volume), (2) mineral statistics and information from the USGS Minerals Information Web site (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/europe.html), and (3) data collected by the USGS minerals information country specialists from sources, such as statistical publications of individual countries, annual reports and press releases of operating companies, and trade journals. Data reflect the most recent published table of industry structure for each country at the time of this publication. Additional information is available from the country specialists listed in table 2

  8. 17 CFR 33.5 - Application for designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... a contract market for the trading of commodity options. 33.5 Section 33.5 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.5 Application for designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options. (a...

  9. 17 CFR 37.4 - Election to trade excluded and exempt commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Election to trade excluded and exempt commodities. 37.4 Section 37.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION DERIVATIVES TRANSACTION EXECUTION FACILITIES § 37.4 Election to trade excluded and exempt commodities. A board of trade that is or elects...

  10. 17 CFR 33.5 - Application for designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... a contract market for the trading of commodity options. 33.5 Section 33.5 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS THAT ARE OPTIONS... contract market for the trading of commodity options. (a) Any board of trade desiring to be designated as a...

  11. 17 CFR 33.5 - Application for designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... a contract market for the trading of commodity options. 33.5 Section 33.5 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.5 Application for designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options. (a...

  12. 17 CFR 33.6 - Suspension or revocation of designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options. 33.6 Section 33.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS THAT... designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options. The Commission may, after notice and...

  13. 17 CFR 33.4 - Designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... market for the trading of commodity options. 33.4 Section 33.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS THAT ARE OPTIONS ON CONTRACTS OF SALE OF A COMMODITY FOR FUTURE DELIVERY § 33.4 Designation as a contract market for the trading...

  14. 17 CFR 33.5 - Application for designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... a contract market for the trading of commodity options. 33.5 Section 33.5 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.5 Application for designation as a contract market for the trading of commodity options. (a...

  15. Leaf fossils of the ancient Tasmanian relict Microcachrys (Podocarpaceae) from New Zealand.

    PubMed

    Carpenter, Raymond J; Jordan, Gregory J; Mildenhall, Dallas C; Lee, Daphne E

    2011-07-01

    Microcachrys tetragona (Podocarpaceae), endemic to the mountains of Tasmania, represents the only remaining taxon of one of the world's most ancient and widely distributed conifer lineages. Remarkably, however, despite its ∼150 Myr heritage, our understanding of the fossil history of this lineage is based almost entirely on the pollen record. Fossils of Microcachrys are especially important in light of recent molecular phylogenetic and dating evidence. This evidence dates the Microcachrys lineage to the Mesozoic and does not support the traditional placement of Microcachrys as sister to the southeastern Australian genus Pherosphaera. We undertook comparative studies of the foliage architecture, cuticle, and paleoecology of newly discovered fossils from the Oligo-Miocene of New Zealand and M. tetragona and discussed the importance of Microcachrys in the context of Podocarpaceae phylogeny. The fossils represent the oldest and first extra-Australian macrofossils of Microcachrys and are described as the new foliage species M. novae-zelandiae. These fossils confirm that the distinctive opposite decussate phyllotaxy of the genus is at least as old as the Oligo-Miocene and contribute to evidence that Microcachrys plants were sometimes important components of oligotrophic swampy habitats. Leaf fossils of Microcachrys closely comparable with the only extant species confirm that this lineage had a much wider past distribution. The fossil record and recent molecular phylogenetic studies, including that of Microcachrys, also serve to emphasize the important status of Tasmania as a refugium for seed plant lineages.

  16. New Mesozoic and Cenozoic fossils from Ecuador: Invertebrates, vertebrates, plants, and microfossils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cadena, Edwin A.; Mejia-Molina, Alejandra; Brito, Carla M.; Peñafiel, Sofia; Sanmartin, Kleber J.; Sarmiento, Luis B.

    2018-04-01

    Ecuador is well known for its extensive extant biodiversity, however, its paleobiodiversity is still poorly explored. Here we report seven new Mesozoic and Cenozoic fossil localities from the Pacific coast, inter-Andean depression and Napo basin of Ecuador, including vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and microfossils. The first of these localities is called El Refugio, located near the small town of Chota, Imbabura Province, from where we report several morphotypes of fossil leaves and a mycetopodid freshwater mussel of the Upper Miocene Chota Formation. A second site is also located near the town of Chota, corresponding to potentially Pleistocene to Holocene lake deposits from which we report the occurrence of leaves and fossil diatoms. A third locality is at the Pacific coast of the country, near Rocafuerte, a town in Esmeraldas Province, from which we report a late Miocene palm leaf. We also report the first partially articulated skull with teeth from a Miocene scombridid (Mackerels) fish from El Cruce locality, and completely preserved seeds from La Pila locality, both sites from Manabí Province. Two late Cretaceous fossil sites from the Napo Province, one near Puerto Napo showing a good record of fossil shrimps and a second near the town of Loreto shows the occurrence of granular amber and small gymnosperms seeds and cuticles. All these new sites and fossils show the high potential of the sedimentary sequences and basins of Ecuador for paleontological studies and for a better understanding of the fossil record of the country and northern South America.

  17. Selective Preservation of Fossil Ghost Fish

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meacham, Amanda

    2016-04-01

    A unique type of fossil fish preservation has been discovered in the Angelo Member (Fossil Lake) of the Green River Formation. The Angelo Member is a predominately evaporative deposit dominated by dolomite, but contains facies of fossiliferous laminated calcimicrite. Fossil fish occurring in two beds conspicuously lack bones. Fish in the lower bed are only preserved as organic material, including skin, pigments, and eyes. Fish in the upper bed have three-dimensional etching where bones once existed but also contain skin, pigments, and eyes. The top third of the upper bed often contains calcite crystals that are pseudomorphs after trona and possibly halite. Preliminary mineralogical analysis and mapping of evaporate facies suggests that this unique preservation may be related to lake geochemical conditions, such as high pH and alkalinity. To our knowledge, this is the first time this type of preservation has been observed and studied. Fossils and sediments within these beds are being studied both vertically and laterally through the one-meter thick sequence containing the fossil fish using XRD, isotopic, SEM, thin section, and total organic carbon analysis. Nine quarries, 0.5-1 meter square, were excavated for both fossils and rock samples along with 17 additional rock sample locations across an approximately 25-kilometer square region. This investigation has the capability of reconstructing the paleoenvironment and lake chemistry of Fossil Lake during the deposition of the "ghost-fish" beds and solving the mystery of the "missing bones" and the unusual process of preservation.

  18. 40 CFR 180.463 - Quinclorac; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... the herbicide quinclorac, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... exemptions. Time-limited tolerances are established for residues of the herbicide quinclorac, including its...

  19. 40 CFR 180.222 - Prometryn; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... the herbicide prometryn, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... indirect or inadvertent residues of the herbicide prometryn, including its metabolites and degradates, in...

  20. 40 CFR 180.463 - Quinclorac; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... the herbicide quinclorac, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities in the... tolerances are established for residues of the herbicide quinclorac, including its metabolites and degradates...

  1. Agricultural policy and childhood obesity: a food systems and public health commentary.

    PubMed

    Wallinga, David

    2010-01-01

    For thirty-five years, U.S. agriculture has operated under a "cheap food" policy that spurred production of a few commodity crops, not fruit or vegetables, and thus of the calories from them. A key driver of childhood obesity is the consumption of excess calories, many from inexpensive, nutrient-poor snacks, sweets, and sweetened beverages made with fats and sugars derived from these policy-supported crops. Limiting or eliminating farm subsidies to commodity farmers is wrongly perceived as a quick fix to a complex agricultural system, evolved over decades, that promotes obesity. Yet this paper does set forth a series of policy recommendations that could help, including managing commodity crop oversupply and supporting farmers who produce more fruit and vegetables to build a healthier, more balanced agricultural policy.

  2. Primate phylogenetic relationships and divergence dates inferred from complete mitochondrial genomes.

    PubMed

    Pozzi, Luca; Hodgson, Jason A; Burrell, Andrew S; Sterner, Kirstin N; Raaum, Ryan L; Disotell, Todd R

    2014-06-01

    The origins and the divergence times of the most basal lineages within primates have been difficult to resolve mainly due to the incomplete sampling of early fossil taxa. The main source of contention is related to the discordance between molecular and fossil estimates: while there are no crown primate fossils older than 56Ma, most molecule-based estimates extend the origins of crown primates into the Cretaceous. Here we present a comprehensive mitogenomic study of primates. We assembled 87 mammalian mitochondrial genomes, including 62 primate species representing all the families of the order. We newly sequenced eleven mitochondrial genomes, including eight Old World monkeys and three strepsirrhines. Phylogenetic analyses support a strong topology, confirming the monophyly for all the major primate clades. In contrast to previous mitogenomic studies, the positions of tarsiers and colugos relative to strepsirrhines and anthropoids are well resolved. In order to improve our understanding of how fossil calibrations affect age estimates within primates, we explore the effect of seventeen fossil calibrations across primates and other mammalian groups and we select a subset of calibrations to date our mitogenomic tree. The divergence date estimates of the Strepsirrhine/Haplorhine split support an origin of crown primates in the Late Cretaceous, at around 74Ma. This result supports a short-fuse model of primate origins, whereby relatively little time passed between the origin of the order and the diversification of its major clades. It also suggests that the early primate fossil record is likely poorly sampled. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Shallow and marginal marine Triassic trace fossils and ichnofabric from northwest Australia (ocean drilling program leg 122)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Droser, M.L.; O'Connell, S.

    The ichnofabric index method of ranking amount of bioturbation was used for the first time in conjunction with discrete trace fossils to examine shallow-water marine cores. Previous ichnological studies on cores have focused primarily on outer shelf and deep-sea discrete trace fossils. Upper Triassic cores examined in this study were recovered off northwest Australia during ODP Leg 122. These sediments were deposited in a shallow-water and continental shelf setting, which included swamp and prodelta environments. The most common lithology is siltstone with interbedded mudstone and sandstone. Sediments deposited in a swamp setting have rootlets and coal beds with an ichnologicalmore » record consisting primarily of mottled bedding rather than discrete trace fossils. Ichnofabric indices 1 through 5 were recorded. Marginal marine/lagoonal facies have a low trace fossil diversity with common Chondrites, Planolites, and Teichichnus. Recorded ichnofabric indices include 1, 2, and 3. Laminated mudstones and siltstones (ii1) are most common. Fully marine open shelf strata are thoroughly bioturbated (ii5 and ii6) with Thalassinoides, Zoophycos, Teichichnus, and Planolites. Wackestone and packstone occur in discrete uppermost Triassic intervals and have ii1 through ii6 represented. In part due to the drilling process, sandstones and reefal limestones were poorly recovered and ichnofabric is not well preserved. Physical sedimentary structures and lateral facies relationships can be difficult to discern in core. In shallow marine deposits, the distribution of ichnofabric indices and discrete trace fossils within these strata provide an additional important data base to evaluate depositional environments.« less

  4. The critical role of fossils in inferring deep-node phylogenetic relationships and macroevolutionary patterns in Cornales.

    PubMed

    Atkinson, Brian A

    2018-05-24

    The basal asterid order, Cornales, experienced a rapid radiation during the Cretaceous, which has made it difficult to elucidate the early evolution of the order using extant taxa only. Recent paleobotanical studies, however, have begun to shed light on the early diversification of Cornales. Herein, fossils are directly incorporated in phylogenetic and quantitative morphological analyses to reconstruct early cornalean evolution. A morphological matrix of 77 fruit characters and 58 taxa (24 extinct) was assembled. Parsimony analyses including and excluding fossils were conducted. A fossil inclusive tree was time-scaled to visualize the timing of the initial cornalean radiation. Disparity analyses were utilized to infer the morphological evolution of cornaleans with drupaceous fruits. Fossil inclusive and exclusive parsimony analyses resulted in well-resolved deep-node relationships within Cornales. Resolution in the fossil inclusive analysis is substantially higher, revealing a basal grade including Loasaceae, Hydrangeaceae, Hydrostachyaceae, Grubbiaceae, a Hironoia+Amersinia clade, and Curtisiaceae, respectively, that leads to a "core" group containing a clade comprising a Cretaceous grade leading to clade of Nyssaceae, Mastixiaceae, and Davidiaceae that is sister to a Cornaceae+Alangiaceae clade. The time-scaled tree indicates that the initial cornalean diversification occurred before 89.8 Ma. Disparity analyses suggest the morphological diversity of Cornales peaked during the Paleogene. Phylogenetic analyses clearly demonstrate that novel character mosaics of Cretaceous cornaleans play a critical role in resolving deep-node relationships within Cornales. The post-Cretaceous increase of cornalean disparity is associated with a shift in morphospace occupation, which can be explained from ecological and developmental perspectives. © 2018 Botanical Society of America.

  5. Prehistoric Life, Science (Experimental): 5311.15.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jenks, Lois

    Presented is a survey course of the biological and geological history of the earth which includes: (1) theories of the formation of the earth, (2) theories of the formation of life, (3) geological eras (calendar), (4) fossil formation and fossil fuels, and (5) modern-day research. This course is intended for junior high level and no previous…

  6. 40 CFR 60.41Da - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., means a 24-hour period during which fossil fuel is combusted in a steam-generating unit for the entire... another form. Alkaline slurries or solutions used in dry FGD technology include, but are not limited to... CFR 52.21 or under 40 CFR 51.18 and 51.24. Fossil fuel means natural gas, petroleum, coal, and any...

  7. 76 FR 23768 - National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-04-28

    ...-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel-Fired... Units and Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel-Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial... copy form. The hearing schedules, including lists of speakers, will be posted on EPA's Web Sites http...

  8. 40 CFR 60.41Da - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ..., means a 24-hour period during which fossil fuel is combusted in a steam-generating unit for the entire... another form. Alkaline slurries or solutions used in dry FGD technology include, but are not limited to... CFR 52.21 or under 40 CFR 51.18 and 51.24. Fossil fuel means natural gas, petroleum, coal, and any...

  9. Fossil evidence for evolution of the shape and color of penguin feathers.

    PubMed

    Clarke, Julia A; Ksepka, Daniel T; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo; Altamirano, Ali J; Shawkey, Matthew D; D'Alba, Liliana; Vinther, Jakob; DeVries, Thomas J; Baby, Patrice

    2010-11-12

    Penguin feathers are highly modified in form and function, but there have been no fossils to inform their evolution. A giant penguin with feathers was recovered from the late Eocene (~36 million years ago) of Peru. The fossil reveals that key feathering features, including undifferentiated primary wing feathers and broad body contour feather shafts, evolved early in the penguin lineage. Analyses of fossilized color-imparting melanosomes reveal that their dimensions were similar to those of non-penguin avian taxa and that the feathering may have been predominantly gray and reddish-brown. In contrast, the dark black-brown color of extant penguin feathers is generated by large, ellipsoidal melanosomes previously unknown for birds. The nanostructure of penguin feathers was thus modified after earlier macrostructural modifications of feather shape linked to aquatic flight.

  10. The origin of Chubutolithes Ihering, ichnofossils from the Eocene and Oligocene of Chubut Province, Argentina.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brown, T.M.; Ratcliffe, B.C.

    1988-01-01

    The distinctive trace fossil Chubutolithes gaimanensis n. ichnosp. occurs in Casamayoran (early Eocene) and Colhuehaupian (late Oligocene) alluvial rocks of the Sarmiento Formation in eastern Chubut Province, Argentina. Though known for nearly 70 years, its origin has remained obscure. Examination of new specimens and comparisons with modern analogs demonstrate that specimens of Chubutolithes represent the fossil nests of a mud-dauber (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Virtually identical nests are constructed today by mud-daubers in areas as disparate as southern Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, and Nebraska, confirming that quite similar trace fossils can be produced by several different taxa in a higher taxonomic clade. No satisfactory ethological term exists for trace fossils that, like Chubutolithes, were constructed by organisms above, rather than within, a substrate or medium. The new term aedificichnia is proposed. Chubutolithes occurs in alluvial paleosols and is associated with a large terrestrial ichnofauna. These trace fossils include the nests of scarab beetles, compound nests of social insects, and burrows of earthworms. -Authors

  11. The Energy Future.

    PubMed

    Newman, John; Bonino, Christopher A; Trainham, James A

    2018-06-07

    The foreseeable energy future will be driven by economics of known technologies and the desire to reduce CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere. Renewable energy options are compared with each other and with the use of fossil fuels with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Economic analysis is used to determine the best of several alternatives. One can disagree on the detailed costs, including externalities such as climate change and air and water pollution. But the differences in capital and operating costs between known technologies are so significant that one can draw clear conclusions. Results show that renewable energy cannot compete with fossil fuels on a cost basis alone because energy is intrinsic to the molecule, except for hydroelectricity. However, fossil fuels are implicated in climate change. Using renewable energy exclusively, including transportation and electricity needs, could reduce the standard of living in the United States by 43% to 62%, which would correspond to the level in about 1970. If capture and sequester of CO 2 are implemented, the cost of using fossil fuels will increase, but they beat renewable energy handily as an economic way to produce clean energy.

  12. Armored kinorhynch-like scalidophoran animals from the early Cambrian.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Huaqiao; Xiao, Shuhai; Liu, Yunhuan; Yuan, Xunlai; Wan, Bin; Muscente, A D; Shao, Tiequan; Gong, Hao; Cao, Guohua

    2015-11-26

    Morphology-based phylogenetic analyses support the monophyly of the Scalidophora (Kinorhyncha, Loricifera, Priapulida) and Nematoida (Nematoda, Nematomorpha), together constituting the monophyletic Cycloneuralia that is the sister group of the Panarthropoda. Kinorhynchs are unique among living cycloneuralians in having a segmented body with repeated cuticular plates, longitudinal muscles, dorsoventral muscles, and ganglia. Molecular clock estimates suggest that kinorhynchs may have diverged in the Ediacaran Period. Remarkably, no kinorhynch fossils have been discovered, in sharp contrast to priapulids and loriciferans that are represented by numerous Cambrian fossils. Here we describe several early Cambrian (~535 million years old) kinorhynch-like fossils, including the new species Eokinorhynchus rarus and two unnamed but related forms. E. rarus has characteristic scalidophoran features, including an introvert with pentaradially arranged hollow scalids. Its trunk bears at least 20 annuli each consisting of numerous small rectangular plates, and is armored with five pairs of large and bilaterally placed sclerites. Its trunk annuli are reminiscent of the epidermis segments of kinorhynchs. A phylogenetic analysis resolves E. rarus as a stem-group kinorhynch. Thus, the fossil record confirms that all three scalidophoran phyla diverged no later than the Cambrian Period.

  13. Modified atmosphere packaging of fruits and vegetables.

    PubMed

    Kader, A A; Zagory, D; Kerbel, E L

    1989-01-01

    Modified atmospheres (MA), i.e., elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide and reduced levels of oxygen and ethylene, can be useful supplements to provide optimum temperature and relative humidity in maintaining the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables after harvest. MA benefits include reduced respiration, ethylene production, and sensitivity to ethylene; retarded softening and compositional changes; alleviation of certain physiological disorders; and reduced decay. Subjecting fresh produce to too low an oxygen concentration and/or to too high a carbon dioxide level can result in MA stress, which is manifested by accelerated deterioration. Packaging fresh produce in polymeric films can result in a commodity-generated MA. Atmosphere modification within such packages depends on film permeability, commodity respiration rate and gas diffusion characteristics, and initial free volume and atmospheric composition within the package. Temperature, relative humidity, and air movement around the package can influence the permeability of the film. Temperature also affects the metabolic activity of the commodity and consequently the rate of attaining the desired MA. All these factors must be considered in developing a mathematical model for selecting the most suitable film for each commodity.

  14. ITN utilization among pregnant women attending ANC in Etsako West Lga, Edo State, Nigeria.

    PubMed

    Wagbatsoma, V A; Aigbe, E E

    2010-06-01

    To determine the factors affecting utilization of ITN by pregnant women in Etsako West LGA, Edo State. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed. Using a systematic sampling method, a total of 385 respondents were selected from all ANC facilities in the LGA following a verbally obtained consent. Tool for data collection was a semi-structured, researcher administered questionnaire. The respondents' knowledge of cause of malaria was good, as 269 (69%) had good knowledge but only 9 (2.3%) knew its effects on the foetus. Meanwhile, ownership of ITN and its use were very low, 36 (9.3%) and 31 (8.0) respectively. The main factor affecting the use of the commodity in the LGA was unavailability of ITNs. Other factors included belief of the women on the effectiveness of the commodity, level of education, marital status and family sizes ofrespondents. Use of Insecticide treated bed net has been hampered by unavailability of the commodity. It is therefore recommended that efforts should be made to make the commodity available to reduce morbidity and mortality among this vulnerable group.

  15. 40 CFR 180.659 - Pyroxasulfone; tolerances for residues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... residues of the herbicide pyroxasulfone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on the commodities... established for residues of the herbicide pyroxasulfone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on...

  16. Reassessment of Olduvai Bed I cercopithecoids: A new biochronological and biogeographical link to the South African fossil record.

    PubMed

    Gilbert, Christopher C; Frost, Stephen R; Delson, Eric

    2016-03-01

    Fossil monkeys have long been used as important faunal elements in studies of African Plio-Pleistocene biochronology, particularly in the case of the South African karst cave sites. Cercopithecoid fossils have been known from Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge for nearly a century, with multiple taxa documented including Theropithecus oswaldi and Cercopithecoides kimeui, along with papionins and colobines less clearly attributable to species. A small number of large papionin fossils, including a partial male cranium and partial female skull, have been previously identified as an early form of Papio, but noted as distinct from extant baboons as well as other fossil Papio species. In 2013 we reviewed the Olduvai cercopithecoid material at the National Museum of Tanzania, with a particular focus on the specimens from Beds I-IV. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons of the Olduvai papionins largely confirmed previous observations, with one notable exception. The large papionin taxon from Bed I previously recognized as Papio sp. is more properly recognized as Gorgopithecus major, a taxon previously known only from South Africa. Features shared between the Olduvai specimens and G. major include relatively short and concavo-convex tubular nasals, antero-posteriorly curved upper incisor roots, downwardly curved brow ridges in the midline, and robust zygomatic arches. The recognition of G. major at Olduvai Bed I, a well-known horizon with precise radiometric dates, provides an important biochronological and biogeographical link with South African localities Kromdraai A, Swartkrans Member 1 and possibly Swartkrans Members 2-3 and Cooper's A and D. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Exceptionally preserved crustaceans from western Canada reveal a cryptic Cambrian radiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harvey, Thomas H. P.; Vélez, Maria I.; Butterfield, Nicholas J.

    2012-01-01

    The early history of crustaceans is obscured by strong biases in fossil preservation, but a previously overlooked taphonomic mode yields important complementary insights. Here we describe diverse crustacean appendages of Middle and Late Cambrian age from shallow-marine mudstones of the Deadwood Formation in western Canada. The fossils occur as flattened and fragmentary carbonaceous cuticles but provide a suite of phylogenetic and ecological data by virtue of their detailed preservation. In addition to an unprecedented range of complex, largely articulated filtering limbs, we identify at least four distinct types of mandible. Together, these fossils provide the earliest evidence for crown-group branchiopods and total-group copepods and ostracods, extending the respective ranges of these clades back from the Devonian, Pennsylvanian, and Ordovician. Detailed similarities with living forms demonstrate the early origins and subsequent conservation of various complex food-handling adaptations, including a directional mandibular asymmetry that has persisted through half a billion years of evolution. At the same time, the Deadwood fossils indicate profound secular changes in crustacean ecology in terms of body size and environmental distribution. The earliest radiation of crustaceans is largely cryptic in the fossil record, but "small carbonaceous fossils" reveal organisms of surprisingly modern aspect operating in an unfamiliar biosphere.

  18. An early Oligocene fossil demonstrates treeshrews are slowly evolving “living fossils”

    PubMed Central

    Li, Qiang; Ni, Xijun

    2016-01-01

    Treeshrews are widely considered a “living model” of an ancestral primate, and have long been called “living fossils”. Actual fossils of treeshrews, however, are extremely rare. We report a new fossil species of Ptilocercus treeshrew recovered from the early Oligocene (~34 Ma) of China that represents the oldest definitive fossil record of the crown group of treeshrews and nearly doubles the temporal length of their fossil record. The fossil species is strikingly similar to the living Ptilocercus lowii, a species generally recognized as the most plesiomorphic extant treeshrew. It demonstrates that Ptilocercus treeshrews have undergone little evolutionary change in their morphology since the early Oligocene. Morphological comparisons and phylogenetic analysis support the long-standing idea that Ptilocercus treeshrews are morphologically conservative and have probably retained many characters present in the common stock that gave rise to archontans, which include primates, flying lemurs, plesiadapiforms and treeshrews. This discovery provides an exceptional example of slow morphological evolution in a mammalian group over a period of 34 million years. The persistent and stable tropical environment in Southeast Asia through the Cenozoic likely played a critical role in the survival of such a morphologically conservative lineage. PMID:26766238

  19. May turbulence and fossil turbulence lead to life in the universe?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gibson, Carl H.

    2013-01-01

    Turbulence is defined as an eddy-like state of fluid motion where the inertial-vortex forces of the eddies are larger than all the other forces that tend to damp the eddies out. Fossil turbulence is a perturbation produced by turbulence that persists after the fluid ceases to be turbulent at the scale of the perturbation. Because vorticity is produced at small scales, turbulence cascades from small scales to large, providing a consistent physical basis for Kolmogorovian universal similarity laws. Oceanic and astrophysical mixing and diffusion are dominated by fossil turbulence and fossil turbulent waves. Observations from space telescopes show turbulence existed in the beginning of the universe and that its fossils still persist. Fossils of big bang turbulence include a preferred large-scale spin direction, large scale microwave temperature anisotropy patterns, and the dominant dark matter of all galaxies; that is, clumps of ~10^12 frozen hydrogen earth-mass planets that make stars and globular-star-clusters when gravitationally agitated. When the planets were hot gas, we can speculate that they hosted the formation of the first life in a seeded cosmic organic-chemical soup of hot- water oceans as planets merged to form and over-feed the first stars.

  20. Turbulence and fossil turbulence lead to life in the universe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gibson, Carl H.

    2013-07-01

    Turbulence is defined as an eddy-like state of fluid motion where the inertial-vortex forces of the eddies are larger than all the other forces that tend to damp the eddies out. Fossil turbulence is a perturbation produced by turbulence that persists after the fluid ceases to be turbulent at the scale of the perturbation. Because vorticity is produced at small scales, turbulence must cascade from small scales to large, providing a consistent physical basis for Kolmogorovian universal similarity laws. Oceanic and astrophysical mixing and diffusion are dominated by fossil turbulence and fossil turbulent waves. Observations from space telescopes show turbulence and vorticity existed in the beginning of the universe and that their fossils persist. Fossils of big bang turbulence include spin and the dark matter of galaxies: clumps of ∼1012 frozen hydrogen planets that make globular star clusters as seen by infrared and microwave space telescopes. When the planets were hot gas, they hosted the formation of life in a cosmic soup of hot-water oceans as they merged to form the first stars and chemicals. Because spontaneous life formation according to the standard cosmological model is virtually impossible, the existence of life falsifies the standard cosmological model.

  1. Turbulence and Fossil Turbulence lead to Life in the Universe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gibson, Carl H.

    2012-03-01

    Turbulence is defined as an eddy-like state of fluid motion where the inertial-vortex forces of the eddies are larger than all the other forces that tend to damp the eddies out. Fossil turbulence is a perturbation produced by turbulence that persists after the fluid ceases to be turbulent at the scale of the perturbation. Because vorticity is produced at small scales, turbulence must cascade from small scales to large, providing a consistent physical basis for Kolmogorovian universal similarity laws. Oceanic and astrophysical mixing and diffusion are dominated by fossil turbulence and fossil turbulent waves. Observations from space telescopes show turbulence and vorticity existed in the beginning of the universe and that their fossils persist. Fossils of big bang turbulence include spin and the dark matter of galaxies: clumps of ~ 1012 frozen hydrogen planets that make globular star clusters as seen by infrared and microwave space telescopes. When the planets were hot gas, they hosted the formation of life in a cosmic soup of hot- water oceans as they merged to form the first stars and chemicals. Because spontaneous life formation according to the standard cosmological model is virtually impossible, the existence of life falsifies the standard cosmological model.

  2. Virtual taphonomy using synchrotron tomographic microscopy reveals cryptic features and internal structure of modern and fossil plants

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Selena Y.; Collinson, Margaret E.; Rudall, Paula J.; Simpson, David A.; Marone, Federica; Stampanoni, Marco

    2009-01-01

    While more commonly applied in zoology, synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) is well-suited to nondestructive study of the morphology and anatomy of both fossil and modern plants. SRXTM uses hard X-rays and a monochromatic light source to provide high-resolution data with little beam-hardening, resulting in slice data with clear boundaries between materials. Anatomy is readily visualized, including various planes of section from a single specimen, as clear as in traditional histological sectioning at low magnifications. Thus, digital sectioning of rare or difficult material is possible. Differential X-ray attenuation allows visualization of different layers or chemistries to enable virtual 3-dimensional (3D) dissections of material. Virtual potential fossils can be visualized and digital tissue removal reveals cryptic underlying morphology. This is essential for fossil identification and for comparisons between assemblages where fossils are preserved by different means. SRXTM is a powerful approach for botanical studies using morphology and anatomy. The ability to gain search images in both 2D and 3D for potential fossils gives paleobotanists a tool—virtual taphonomy—to improve our understanding of plant evolution and paleobiogeography. PMID:19574457

  3. Upward revision of global fossil fuel methane emissions based on isotope database.

    PubMed

    Schwietzke, Stefan; Sherwood, Owen A; Bruhwiler, Lori M P; Miller, John B; Etiope, Giuseppe; Dlugokencky, Edward J; Michel, Sylvia Englund; Arling, Victoria A; Vaughn, Bruce H; White, James W C; Tans, Pieter P

    2016-10-06

    Methane has the second-largest global radiative forcing impact of anthropogenic greenhouse gases after carbon dioxide, but our understanding of the global atmospheric methane budget is incomplete. The global fossil fuel industry (production and usage of natural gas, oil and coal) is thought to contribute 15 to 22 per cent of methane emissions to the total atmospheric methane budget. However, questions remain regarding methane emission trends as a result of fossil fuel industrial activity and the contribution to total methane emissions of sources from the fossil fuel industry and from natural geological seepage, which are often co-located. Here we re-evaluate the global methane budget and the contribution of the fossil fuel industry to methane emissions based on long-term global methane and methane carbon isotope records. We compile the largest isotopic methane source signature database so far, including fossil fuel, microbial and biomass-burning methane emission sources. We find that total fossil fuel methane emissions (fossil fuel industry plus natural geological seepage) are not increasing over time, but are 60 to 110 per cent greater than current estimates owing to large revisions in isotope source signatures. We show that this is consistent with the observed global latitudinal methane gradient. After accounting for natural geological methane seepage, we find that methane emissions from natural gas, oil and coal production and their usage are 20 to 60 per cent greater than inventories. Our findings imply a greater potential for the fossil fuel industry to mitigate anthropogenic climate forcing, but we also find that methane emissions from natural gas as a fraction of production have declined from approximately 8 per cent to approximately 2 per cent over the past three decades.

  4. Variations and asymmetries in regional brain surface in the genus Homo.

    PubMed

    Balzeau, Antoine; Holloway, Ralph L; Grimaud-Hervé, Dominique

    2012-06-01

    Paleoneurology is an important field of research within human evolution studies. Variations in size and shape of an endocast help to differentiate among fossil hominin species whereas endocranial asymmetries are related to behavior and cognitive function. Here we analyse variations of the surface of the frontal, parieto-temporal and occipital lobes among different species of Homo, including 39 fossil hominins, ten fossil anatomically modern Homo sapiens and 100 endocasts of extant modern humans. We also test for the possible asymmetries of these features in a large sample of modern humans and observe individual particularities in the fossil specimens. This study contributes important new information about the brain evolution in the genus Homo. Our results show that the general pattern of surface asymmetry for the different regional brain surfaces in fossil species of Homo does not seem to be different from the pattern described in a large sample of anatomically modern H. sapiens, i.e., the right hemisphere has a larger surface than the left, as do the right frontal, the right parieto-temporal and the left occipital lobes compared with the contra-lateral side. It also appears that Asian Homo erectus specimens are discriminated from all other samples of Homo, including African and Georgian specimens that are also sometimes included in that taxon. The Asian fossils show a significantly smaller relative size of the parietal and temporal lobes. Neandertals and anatomically modern H. sapiens, who share the largest endocranial volume of all hominins, show differences when considering the relative contribution of the frontal, parieto-temporal and occipital lobes. These results illustrate an original variation in the pattern of brain organization in hominins independent of variations in total size. The globularization of the brain and the enlargement of the parietal lobes could be considered derived features observed uniquely in anatomically modern H. sapiens. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. New postcranial fossils of Australopithecus afarensis from Hadar, Ethiopia (1990-2007).

    PubMed

    Ward, Carol V; Kimbel, William H; Harmon, Elizabeth H; Johanson, Donald C

    2012-07-01

    Renewed fieldwork at Hadar, Ethiopia, from 1990 to 2007, by a team based at the Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, resulted in the recovery of 49 new postcranial fossils attributed to Australopithecus afarensis. These fossils include elements from both the upper and lower limbs as well as the axial skeleton, and increase the sample size of previously known elements for A. afarensis. The expanded Hadar sample provides evidence of multiple new individuals that are intermediate in size between the smallest and largest individuals previously documented, and so support the hypothesis that a single dimorphic species is represented. Consideration of the functional anatomy of the new fossils supports the hypothesis that no functional or behavioral differences need to be invoked to explain the morphological variation between large and small A. afarensis individuals. Several specimens provide important new data about this species, including new vertebrae supporting the hypothesis that A. afarensis may have had a more human-like thoracic form than previously appreciated, with an invaginated thoracic vertebral column. A distal pollical phalanx confirms the presence of a human-like flexor pollicis longus muscle in A. afarensis. The new fossils include the first complete fourth metatarsal known for A. afarensis. This specimen exhibits the dorsoplantarly expanded base, axial torsion and domed head typical of humans, revealing the presence of human-like permanent longitudinal and transverse arches and extension of the metatarsophalangeal joints as in human-like heel-off during gait. The new Hadar postcranial fossils provide a more complete picture of postcranial functional anatomy, and individual and temporal variation within this sample. They provide the basis for further in-depth analyses of the behavioral and evolutionary significance of A. afarensis anatomy, and greater insight into the biology and evolution of these early hominins. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Antarctotrechus balli sp. n. (Carabidae, Trechini): the first ground beetle from Antarctica

    PubMed Central

    Ashworth, Allan C; Erwin, Terry L.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Fossil elytra of a small trechine carabid are reported from the Oliver Bluffs on the Beardmore Glacier at lat. 85°S. They were compared with counterparts from the extant genera Trechisibus, Tasmanorites, Oxytrechus and Pseudocnides. The fossils share some characters but are sufficiently different to be described as a new genus and species. We named the new species Antarctotrechus balli in honour of George E. Ball who made major contributions to the study of carabids through his own research and the training of students while at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The closest extant relatives to the extinct Antarctotrechus balli are species of Trechisibus, which inhabit South America, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and Tasmanorites, which inhabit Tasmania, Australia. Plant fossils associated with Antarctotrechus balli included Nothofagus (southern beech), Ranunculus (buttercup), moss mats and cushion plants that were part of a tundra biome. Collectively, the stratigraphic relationships and the growth characteristics of the fossil plants indicate that Antarctotrechus balli inhabited the sparsely-vegetated banks of a stream that was part of an outwash plain at the head of a fjord in the Transantarctic Mountains. Other insects represented by fossils in the tundra biome include a listroderine weevil and a cyclorrhaphan fly. The age of the fossils, based on comparison of associated pollen with 40Ar/39Ar dated pollen assemblages from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, is probably Early to Mid-Miocene in the range 14–20 Ma. The tundra biome, including Antarctotrechus balli, became extinct in the interior of Antarctica about 14 Ma and on the margins of the continent by 10–13 Ma. Antarctotrechus balli confirms that trechines were once widely distributed in Gondwana. For Antarctotrechus balli and other elements of the tundra biome it appears they continued to inhabit a warmer Antarctica for many millions of years after rifting of Tasmania (45 Ma) and southern South America (31 Ma). PMID:27917060

  7. Resources for Teaching About Evolution from the U.S. Geological Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gordon, L. C.

    2001-12-01

    As a scientific research agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is in an ideal position to provide scientific information and resources to educators. The USGS is not a curriculum developer, nor an expert in pedagogy, yet the USGS does have a wealth of scientific information on subjects such as fossils, geologic time, biological resources and plate tectonics that naturally come in to play in the teaching of evolution. Among USGS resources are the general interest pamphlets Geologic Time, Dinosaurs: Facts And Fiction, Our Changing Continent, and Fossils Rocks, and Time, and its accompanying poster, Fossils Through Time. In addition to printed versions, the pamphlets are available at no cost on the Internet at http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/. The popular booklet, This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/dynamic.html, touches on evolution-related subjects such as Alfred Wegener's use of fossils to develop his theory of continental drift, "polar" dinosaur fossils found in Australia, marine fossils in the rocks of the Himalayas, and the use of fossil ages to determine rates of plate motions. Paleontological research at the USGS is highlighted on the Internet at http://geology.er.usgs.gov/paleo/. The web site includes links to technical publications, profiles of scientists, a geologic time scale, a glossary, information on important fossil groups, and a list of non-USGS references on fossils: all very useful to educators. A wealth of biological information and data can be found in the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), a multi-agency collaborative program led by the USGS. In addition to data on the Nation's biological resources, the NBII web site http://www.nbii.gov/ includes a section on systematics and scientific names (helpful for illustrating the evolutionary relationships among living organisms), and links to non-USGS curriculum materials. A fact sheet, Unveiling the NBII as a Teaching Resource, is available at http://www.nbii.gov/about/pubs/factsheet/pdf/education.pdf. Evolution is a key theme in the scope of many USGS research activities. From the evolution of living organisms, to the evolution of geological materials and landforms, the USGS is a rich source of current, accurate, and relevant scientific information for teachers in today's classroom.

  8. 17 CFR 270.2a51-1 - Definition of investments for purposes of section 2(a)(51) (definition of “qualified purchaser...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ...)(1) through 3(c)(9)] or the exemptions provided by §§ 270.3a-6 or 270.3a-7, or a commodity pool. (4... section 3(c)(1) of the Act [15 U.S.C. 80a-3(c)(1)], or a commodity pool, any amounts payable to such... Investments. In determining whether a natural person is a qualified purchaser, there may be included in the...

  9. Case for Deploying Complex Systems Utilizing Commodity Components

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bryant, Barry S.; Pitts, R. Lee; Ritter, George

    2003-01-01

    This viewgraph representation presents a study of the transition of computer networks and software engineering at the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) from a client/server UNIX based system to a client/server system based on commodity priced and open system components. Topics covered include: an overview of HOSC ground support systems, an analysis for changes to the existing ground support system, an analysis of options considered for the transition to a new system, and a consideration of goals for a new system.

  10. The erethizontid fossil from the Uquía formation of Argentina should not be referred to the genus Erethizon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sussman, David R.

    2011-04-01

    In 2007, Reguero et al. described a 2.5 Ma erethizontid dentary from the Uquía Formation in Argentina (MACN5376) and referred it to the genus Erethizon, a genus found at present only in North America. They based their generic identification on the presence in the fossil of a markedly inflected angular process. I argue in this commentary that this single trait (the angular process) in a single incomplete fossil is insufficient evidence for the Erethizon attribution, for the following reasons: 1. The trait (the inflected angular process) is variable in modern South and North American porcupines and observer bias and/or allometry may be responsible for observed differences; 2. Among fossil South American porcupines, the inflected angular process is not unique to the Uquían fossil; 3. The fossil possesses other traits (including one trait newly described in this paper) associated with modern South American ( Coendou) porcupines and not modern Erethizon; and 4. The traits by which we recognize modern Erethizon, primarily related to the genus's ability to survive severe winters, are most readily explained by evolution driven by the South American porcupine immigrants' exposure in North America to that severe weather. The Uquían fossil is not Erethizon and should be attributed for the present to the genus Coendou.

  11. Early evolution and historical biogeography of fishflies (Megaloptera: Chauliodinae): implications from a phylogeny combining fossil and extant taxa.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xingyue; Wang, Yongjie; Shih, Chungkun; Ren, Dong; Yang, Ding

    2012-01-01

    Fishflies (Corydalidae: Chauliodinae) are one of the main groups of the basal holometabolous insect order Megaloptera, with ca. 130 species distributed worldwide. A number of genera from the Southern Hemisphere show remarkably disjunctive distributions and are considered to be the austral remnants or "living fossils" of Gondwana. Hitherto, the evolutionary history of fishflies remains largely unexplored due to limited fossil record and incomplete knowledge of phylogenetic relationships. Here we describe two significant fossil species of fishflies, namely Eochauliodes striolatus gen. et sp. nov. and Jurochauliodes ponomarenkoi Wang & Zhang, 2010 (original designation for fossil larvae only), from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. These fossils represent the earliest fishfly adults. Furthermore, we reconstruct the first phylogenetic hypothesis including all fossil and extant genera worldwide. Three main clades within Chauliodinae are recognized, i.e. the Dysmicohermes clade, the Protochauliodes clade, and the Archichauliodes clade. The phylogenetic and dispersal-vicariance (DIVA) analyses suggest Pangaean origin and global distribution of fishflies before the Middle Jurassic. The generic diversification of fishflies might have happened before the initial split of Pangaea, while some Gondwanan-originated clades were likely to be affected by the sequential breakup of Pangaea. The modern fauna of Asian fishflies were probably derived from their Gondwanan ancestor but not the direct descendents of the Mesozoic genera in Asia.

  12. Economic impacts of bio-refinery and resource cascading systems: an applied general equilibrium analysis for Poland.

    PubMed

    Ignaciuk, Adriana M; Sanders, Johan

    2007-12-01

    Due to more stringent energy and climate policies, it is expected that many traditional chemicals will be replaced by their biomass-based substitutes, bio-chemicals. These innovations, however, can influence land allocation since the demand for land dedicated to specific crops might increase. Moreover, it can have an influence on traditional agricultural production. In this paper, we use an applied general equilibrium framework, in which we include two different bio-refinery processes and incorporate so-called cascading mechanisms. The bio-refinery processes use grass, as one of the major inputs, to produce bio-nylon and propane-diol (1,3PDO) to substitute currently produced fossil fuel-based nylon and ethane-diol. We examine the impact of specific climate policies on the bioelectricity share in total electricity production, land allocation, and production quantities and prices of selected commodities. The novel technologies become competitive, with an increased stringency of climate policies. This switch, however, does not induce a higher share of bioelectricity. The cascade does stimulate the production of bioelectricity, but it induces more of a shift in inputs in the bioelectricity sector (from biomass to the cascaded bio-nylon and 1, 3PDO) than an increase in production level of bioelectricity. We conclude that dedicated biomass crops will remain the main option for bioelectricity production: the contribution of the biomass systems remains limited. Moreover, the bioelectricity sector looses a competition for land for biomass production with bio-refineries.

  13. 17 CFR 32.5 - Disclosure.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... effect of any foreign currency fluctuations with respect to commodity option transactions which are to be... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Disclosure. 32.5 Section 32.5 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION...

  14. 17 CFR 31.6 - Registration of leverage commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... commodities. 31.6 Section 31.6 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION... applied to the National Futures Association for registration as a leverage transaction merchant; (2... the spot, forward, and futures markets for the generic commodity; (3) Specify a commercial or retail...

  15. 7 CFR 250.57 - Commodity schools.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Commodity schools. 250.57 Section 250.57 Agriculture... TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND AREAS UNDER ITS JURISDICTION National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Other Child Nutrition Programs § 250.57 Commodity schools. (a) Categorization of commodity schools. Commodity...

  16. 7 CFR 250.57 - Commodity schools.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Commodity schools. 250.57 Section 250.57 Agriculture... TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND AREAS UNDER ITS JURISDICTION National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Other Child Nutrition Programs § 250.57 Commodity schools. (a) Categorization of commodity schools. Commodity...

  17. Earth observations taken during STS-83 mission

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-08-12

    STS083-747-033 (4-8 April 1997) --- Center Pivot Irrigation, in Saudi Arabia. This irrigation project in Saudi Arabia is typical of many isolated irrigation projects scattered throughout the arid and hyper-arid regions of the Earth. Fossil water is mined from depths as great as 3,000 feet, pumped to the surface, and distributed via large center pivot irrigation feeds. The circles of green irrigated vegetation may comprise a variety of agricultural commodities from alfalfa to wheat. Diameters of the normally circular fields range from a few hundred meters to as much as 2 miles. The projects often trace out a narrow, sinuous, and seemingly random path. Actually, engineers generally seek ancient river channels now buried by the sand seas. The fossil waters mined in these projects accumulated during periods of wetter climate in the Pleistocene glacial epochs, between 10,000 to 2 million years ago, and are not being replenished under current climatic conditions. The projects, therefore, will have limited production as the reservoirs are drained. Water, of course, is the key to agriculture in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has implemented a multifaceted program to provide the vast supplies of water necessary to achieve the spectacular growth of the agricultural sector. A network of dams has been built to trap and utilize precious seasonal floods. Vast underground water reservoirs have been tapped through deep wells. Desalination plants have been built to produce fresh water from the sea for urban and industrial use, thereby freeing other sources for agriculture. Facilities have also been put into place to treat urban and industrial run-off for agricultural irrigation. These efforts collectively have helped transform vast tracts of the desert into fertile farmland. Land under cultivation has grown from under 400,000 acres in 1976 to more than 8 million acres in 1993.

  18. Policy Considerations for Commercializing Natural Gas and Biomass CCUS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abrahams, L.; Clavin, C.

    2017-12-01

    Captured CO2 from power generation has been discussed as an opportunity to improve the environmental sustainability of fossil fuel-based electricity generation and likely necessary technological solution necessary for meeting long-term climate change mitigation goals. In our presentation, we review the findings of a study of natural gas CCUS technology research and development and discuss their applications to biomass CCUS technology potential. Based on interviews conducted with key stakeholders in CCUS technology development and operations, this presentation will discuss these technical and economic challenges and potential policy opportunities to support commercial scale CCUS deployment. In current domestic and electricity and oil markets, CCUS faces economic challenges for commercial deployment. In particular, the economic viability of CCUS has been impacted by the sustained low oil prices that have limited the potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to serve as a near-term utilization opportunity for the captured CO2. In addition, large scale commercial adoption of CCUS is constrained by regulatory inconsistencies and uncertainties across the United States, high initial capital costs, achieving familiarity with new technology applications to existing markets, developing a successful performance track record to acquire financing agreements, and competing against well-established incumbent technologies. CCUS also has additional technical hurdles for measurement, verification, and reporting within states that have existing policy and regulatory frameworks for climate change mitigation. In addition to fossil-fuel based CCUS, we will discuss emerging opportunities to utilize CCUS fueled by gasified biomass resulting in carbon negative power generation with expanded economic opportunities associated with the enhanced carbon sequestration. Successful technology development of CCUS technology requires a portfolio of research leading to technical advances, advances in financial instruments to leverage the benefits of multiple commodity markets (e.g. natural gas, oil, biomass), and policy instruments that address regulatory hurdles posed CCUS technology deployment.

  19. History and geography of virtual water trade

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carr, J. A.; D'Odorico, P.; Laio, F.; Ridolfi, L.

    2012-12-01

    The global trade of goods is associated with a virtual transfer of the water required for their production. The way changes in trade affect the virtual redistribution of freshwater resources has been recently documented through the analysis of the virtual water network. It is, however, unclear how these changes are contributed by different types of products and regions of the world. Here we show how the global patterns of virtual water transport are contributed by the trade of different commodity types, including plant, animal, luxury (e.g., coffee, tea, and alcohol), and other products (non-edible plant and animal products typically used for manufacturing). Major contributors to the virtual water network exhibit different trade patterns with regard to these commodity types with the net importers of virtual water relying on the supply of virtual water from a small percentage of the global population. Discrepancies exist among the different commodity networks. Surprisingly, while the total virtual water flux through the network has increased between 1986 and 2008, the global proportions associated with the four commodity groups have remained relatively stable. Here we discuss some major changes in the global patterns of virtual water trade with a focus on the increase in regional dependencies on foreign virtual water. The increase in virtual water trade and the percentage of the total virtual water flux in the network corresponding to plant, animals, luxury, and other commodities.

  20. 7 CFR 247.25 - Allowable uses of administrative funds and other funds.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... equipment include automated information systems, automated data processing equipment, and other computer... sale of packing containers or pallets, and the salvage of commodities. Program income does not include...

  1. 7 CFR 247.25 - Allowable uses of administrative funds and other funds.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... equipment include automated information systems, automated data processing equipment, and other computer... sale of packing containers or pallets, and the salvage of commodities. Program income does not include...

  2. 7 CFR 247.25 - Allowable uses of administrative funds and other funds.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... equipment include automated information systems, automated data processing equipment, and other computer... sale of packing containers or pallets, and the salvage of commodities. Program income does not include...

  3. 7 CFR 247.25 - Allowable uses of administrative funds and other funds.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... equipment include automated information systems, automated data processing equipment, and other computer... sale of packing containers or pallets, and the salvage of commodities. Program income does not include...

  4. Bayesian phylogenetic estimation of fossil ages.

    PubMed

    Drummond, Alexei J; Stadler, Tanja

    2016-07-19

    Recent advances have allowed for both morphological fossil evidence and molecular sequences to be integrated into a single combined inference of divergence dates under the rule of Bayesian probability. In particular, the fossilized birth-death tree prior and the Lewis-Mk model of discrete morphological evolution allow for the estimation of both divergence times and phylogenetic relationships between fossil and extant taxa. We exploit this statistical framework to investigate the internal consistency of these models by producing phylogenetic estimates of the age of each fossil in turn, within two rich and well-characterized datasets of fossil and extant species (penguins and canids). We find that the estimation accuracy of fossil ages is generally high with credible intervals seldom excluding the true age and median relative error in the two datasets of 5.7% and 13.2%, respectively. The median relative standard error (RSD) was 9.2% and 7.2%, respectively, suggesting good precision, although with some outliers. In fact, in the two datasets we analyse, the phylogenetic estimate of fossil age is on average less than 2 Myr from the mid-point age of the geological strata from which it was excavated. The high level of internal consistency found in our analyses suggests that the Bayesian statistical model employed is an adequate fit for both the geological and morphological data, and provides evidence from real data that the framework used can accurately model the evolution of discrete morphological traits coded from fossil and extant taxa. We anticipate that this approach will have diverse applications beyond divergence time dating, including dating fossils that are temporally unconstrained, testing of the 'morphological clock', and for uncovering potential model misspecification and/or data errors when controversial phylogenetic hypotheses are obtained based on combined divergence dating analyses.This article is part of the themed issue 'Dating species divergences using rocks and clocks'. © 2016 The Authors.

  5. Bayesian phylogenetic estimation of fossil ages

    PubMed Central

    Drummond, Alexei J.; Stadler, Tanja

    2016-01-01

    Recent advances have allowed for both morphological fossil evidence and molecular sequences to be integrated into a single combined inference of divergence dates under the rule of Bayesian probability. In particular, the fossilized birth–death tree prior and the Lewis-Mk model of discrete morphological evolution allow for the estimation of both divergence times and phylogenetic relationships between fossil and extant taxa. We exploit this statistical framework to investigate the internal consistency of these models by producing phylogenetic estimates of the age of each fossil in turn, within two rich and well-characterized datasets of fossil and extant species (penguins and canids). We find that the estimation accuracy of fossil ages is generally high with credible intervals seldom excluding the true age and median relative error in the two datasets of 5.7% and 13.2%, respectively. The median relative standard error (RSD) was 9.2% and 7.2%, respectively, suggesting good precision, although with some outliers. In fact, in the two datasets we analyse, the phylogenetic estimate of fossil age is on average less than 2 Myr from the mid-point age of the geological strata from which it was excavated. The high level of internal consistency found in our analyses suggests that the Bayesian statistical model employed is an adequate fit for both the geological and morphological data, and provides evidence from real data that the framework used can accurately model the evolution of discrete morphological traits coded from fossil and extant taxa. We anticipate that this approach will have diverse applications beyond divergence time dating, including dating fossils that are temporally unconstrained, testing of the ‘morphological clock', and for uncovering potential model misspecification and/or data errors when controversial phylogenetic hypotheses are obtained based on combined divergence dating analyses. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Dating species divergences using rocks and clocks’. PMID:27325827

  6. A review and phylogeny of Scarabaeine dung beetle fossils (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), with the description of two Canthochilum species from Dominican amber

    PubMed Central

    Krell, Frank-Thorsten; Dimitrov, Dimitar

    2016-01-01

    Despite the increasing rate of systematic research on scarabaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), their fossil record has remained largely unrevised. In this paper, we review all 33 named scarabaeine fossils and describe two new species from Dominican amber (Canthochilum alleni sp.n., Canthochilum philipsivieorum sp.n.). We provide a catalogue of all fossil Scarabaeinae and evaluate their assignment to this subfamily, based primarily on the original descriptions but also, where possible, by examining the type specimens. We suggest that only 21 fossil taxa can be reliably assigned to the Scarabaeinae, while the remaining 14 should be treated as doubtful Scarabaeinae. The doubtful scarabaeines include the two oldest dung beetle fossils known from the Cretaceous and we suggest excluding them from any assessments of the minimum age of scarabaeine dung beetles. The earliest reliably described scarabaeine fossil appears to be Lobateuchus parisii, known from Oise amber (France), which shifts the minimum age of the Scarabaeinae to the Eocene (53 Ma). We scored the best-preserved fossils, namely Lobateuchus and the two Canthochilum species described herein, into the character matrix used in a recent morphology-based study of dung beetles, and then inferred their phylogenetic relationships with Bayesian and parsimony methods. All analyses yielded consistent phylogenies where the two fossil Canthochilum are placed in a clade with the extant species of Canthochilum, and Lobateuchus is recovered in a clade with the extant genera Ateuchus and Aphengium. Additionally, we evaluated the distribution of dung beetle fossils in the light of current global dung beetle phylogenetic hypotheses, geological time and biogeography. The presence of only extant genera in the late Oligocene and all later records suggests that the main present-day dung beetle lineages had already been established by the late Oligocene–mid Miocene. PMID:27547512

  7. 17 CFR 14.4 - Violation of Commodity Exchange Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Violation of Commodity Exchange Act. 14.4 Section 14.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION... Exchange Act. The Commission may deny, temporarily or permanently, the privilege of appearing or practicing...

  8. 17 CFR 3.10 - Registration of futures commission merchants, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ..., commodity pool operators and leverage transaction merchants. 3.10 Section 3.10 Commodity and Securities..., commodity pool operators and leverage transaction merchants. (a) Application for registration. (1)(i) Except... merchant, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool...

  9. 75 FR 3755 - Notice of Availability of Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Las...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-01-22

    ... most of the fossil formation, the sensitive cultural and rare plant resources, and the active wash. Alternative E, at 3,314 acres, includes some of the fossil formation, the sensitive cultural and rare plant..., cultural resources, the natural functioning of the wash, and endemic plants on public lands available for...

  10. Cretaceous Small Scavengers: Feeding Traces in Tetrapod Bones from Patagonia, Argentina

    PubMed Central

    de Valais, Silvina; Apesteguía, Sebastián; Garrido, Alberto C.

    2012-01-01

    Ecological relationships among fossil vertebrate groups are interpreted based on evidence of modification features and paleopathologies on fossil bones. Here we describe an ichnological assemblage composed of trace fossils on reptile bones, mainly sphenodontids, crocodyliforms and maniraptoran theropods. They all come from La Buitrera, an early Late Cretaceous locality in the Candeleros Formation of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. This locality is significant because of the abundance of small to medium-sized vertebrates. The abundant ichnological record includes traces on bones, most of them attributable to tetrapods. These latter traces include tooth marks that provde evidence of feeding activities made during the sub-aerial exposure of tetrapod carcasses. Other traces are attributable to arthropods or roots. The totality of evidence provides an uncommon insight into paleoecological aspects of a Late Cretaceous southern ecosystem. PMID:22253800

  11. Extending the fossil record of Polytrichaceae: Early Cretaceous Meantoinea alophosioides gen. et sp. nov., permineralized gametophytes with gemma cups from Vancouver Island.

    PubMed

    Bippus, Alexander C; Stockey, Ruth A; Rothwell, Gar W; Tomescu, Alexandru M F

    2017-04-01

    Diverse in modern ecosystems, mosses are dramatically underrepresented in the fossil record. Furthermore, most pre-Cenozoic mosses are known only from compression fossils, lacking detailed anatomical information. When preserved, anatomy vastly improves resolution in the systematic placement of fossils. Lower Cretaceous deposits at Apple Bay (Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada) contain a diverse anatomically preserved flora that includes numerous bryophytes, many of which have yet to be characterized. Among them is a polytrichaceous moss that is described here. Fossil moss gametophytes preserved in four carbonate concretions were studied in serial sections prepared using the cellulose acetate peel technique. We describe Meantoinea alophosioides gen. et sp. nov., a polytrichaceous moss with terminal gemma cups containing stalked, lenticular gemmae. Leaves with characteristic costal anatomy, differentiated into sheathing base and free lamina and bearing photosynthetic lamellae, along with a conducting strand in the stem, place Meantoinea in family Polytrichaceae. The bistratose leaf lamina with an adaxial layer of mamillose cells, short photosynthetic lamellae restricted to the costa, and presence of gemma cups indicate affinities with basal members of the Polytrichaceae, such as Lyellia , Bartramiopsis , and Alophosia . Meantoinea alophosioides enriches the documented moss diversity of an already-diverse Early Cretaceous plant fossil assemblage. This is the third moss described from the Apple Bay plant fossil assemblage and represents the first occurrence of gemma cups in a fossil moss. It is also the oldest unequivocal record of Polytrichaceae, providing a hard minimum age for the group of 136 million years. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

  12. Phylogeny, paleontology, and primates: do incomplete fossils bias the tree of life?

    PubMed

    Pattinson, David J; Thompson, Richard S; Piotrowski, Aleks K; Asher, Robert J

    2015-03-01

    Paleontological systematics relies heavily on morphological data that have undergone decay and fossilization. Here, we apply a heuristic means to assess how a fossil's incompleteness detracts from inferring its phylogenetic relationships. We compiled a phylogenetic matrix for primates and simulated the extinction of living species by deleting an extant taxon's molecular data and keeping only those morphological characters present in actual fossils. The choice of characters present in a given living taxon (the subject) was defined by those present in a given fossil (the template). By measuring congruence between a well-corroborated phylogeny to those incorporating artificial fossils, and by comparing real vs. random character distributions and states, we tested the information content of paleontological datasets and determined if extinction of a living species leads to bias in phylogeny reconstruction. We found a positive correlation between fossil completeness and topological congruence. Real fossil templates sampled for 36 or more of the 360 available morphological characters (including dental) performed significantly better than similarly complete templates with random states. Templates dominated by only one partition performed worse than templates with randomly sampled characters across partitions. The template based on the Eocene primate Darwinius masillae performs better than most other templates with a similar number of sampled characters, likely due to preservation of data across multiple partitions. Our results support the interpretation that Darwinius is strepsirhine, not haplorhine, and suggest that paleontological datasets are reliable in primate phylogeny reconstruction. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Comparing primate crania: The importance of fossils.

    PubMed

    Fleagle, John G; Gilbert, Christopher C; Baden, Andrea L

    2016-10-01

    Extant primate crania represent a small subset of primate crania that have existed. The main objective here is to examine how the inclusion of fossil crania changes our understanding of primate cranial diversity relative to analyses of extant primates. We hypothesize that fossil taxa will change the major axes of cranial shape, occupy new areas of morphospace, change the relative diversity of major primate clades, and fill in notable gaps separating major primate taxa/clades. Eighteen 3D landmarks were collected on 157 extant and fossil crania representing 90 genera. Data were subjected to a Generalized Procrustes Analysis then principal components analysis. Relative diversity between clades was assessed using an F-statistic. Fossil taxa do not significantly alter major axes of cranial shape, but they do occupy unique areas of morphospace, change the relative diversity between clades, and fill in notable gaps in primate cranial evolution. Strepsirrhines remain significantly less diverse than anthropoids. Fossil hominins fill the gap in cranial morphospace between extant great apes and modern humans. The morphospace outlined by living primates largely includes that occupied by fossil taxa, suggesting that the cranial diversity of living primates generally encompasses the total diversity that has evolved in this Order. The evolution of the anthropoid cranium was a significant event allowing anthropoids to achieve significantly greater cranial diversity compared to strepsirrhines. Fossil taxa fill in notable gaps within and between clades, highlighting their transitional nature and eliminating the appearance of large morphological distances between extant taxa, particularly in the case of extant hominids. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Biogeographic Dating of Speciation Times Using Paleogeographically Informed Processes.

    PubMed

    Landis, Michael J

    2017-03-01

    Standard models of molecular evolution cannot estimate absolute speciation times alone, and require external calibrations to do so, such as fossils. Because fossil calibration methods rely on the incomplete fossil record, a great number of nodes in the tree of life cannot be dated precisely. However, many major paleogeographical events are dated, and since biogeographic processes depend on paleogeographical conditions, biogeographic dating may be used as an alternative or complementary method to fossil dating. I demonstrate how a time-stratified biogeographic stochastic process may be used to estimate absolute divergence times by conditioning on dated paleogeographical events. Informed by the current paleogeographical literature, I construct an empirical dispersal graph using 25 areas and 26 epochs for the past 540 Ma of Earth's history. Simulations indicate biogeographic dating performs well so long as paleogeography imposes constraint on biogeographic character evolution. To gauge whether biogeographic dating may be of practical use, I analyzed the well-studied turtle clade (Testudines) to assess how well biogeographic dating fares when compared to fossil-calibrated dating estimates reported in the literature. Fossil-free biogeographic dating estimated the age of the most recent common ancestor of extant turtles to be from the Late Triassic, which is consistent with fossil-based estimates. Dating precision improves further when including a root node fossil calibration. The described model, paleogeographical dispersal graph, and analysis scripts are available for use with RevBayes. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. 29 CFR 780.114 - Wild commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... Agricultural Or Horticultural Commodities § 780.114 Wild commodities. Employees engaged in the gathering or harvesting of wild commodities such as mosses, wild rice, burls and laurel plants, the trapping of wild... 29 Labor 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Wild commodities. 780.114 Section 780.114 Labor Regulations...

  16. 29 CFR 780.114 - Wild commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Agricultural Or Horticultural Commodities § 780.114 Wild commodities. Employees engaged in the gathering or harvesting of wild commodities such as mosses, wild rice, burls and laurel plants, the trapping of wild... 29 Labor 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Wild commodities. 780.114 Section 780.114 Labor Regulations...

  17. 29 CFR 780.114 - Wild commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... Agricultural Or Horticultural Commodities § 780.114 Wild commodities. Employees engaged in the gathering or harvesting of wild commodities such as mosses, wild rice, burls and laurel plants, the trapping of wild... 29 Labor 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Wild commodities. 780.114 Section 780.114 Labor Regulations...

  18. 29 CFR 780.114 - Wild commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Agricultural Or Horticultural Commodities § 780.114 Wild commodities. Employees engaged in the gathering or harvesting of wild commodities such as mosses, wild rice, burls and laurel plants, the trapping of wild... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Wild commodities. 780.114 Section 780.114 Labor Regulations...

  19. 29 CFR 780.114 - Wild commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... Agricultural Or Horticultural Commodities § 780.114 Wild commodities. Employees engaged in the gathering or harvesting of wild commodities such as mosses, wild rice, burls and laurel plants, the trapping of wild... 29 Labor 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Wild commodities. 780.114 Section 780.114 Labor Regulations...

  20. 17 CFR 37.3 - Requirements for underlying commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 5a(b)(3) of the Act, may trade any contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or option on... that are a security futures product, and the registered derivatives transaction execution facility is a... commodities. 37.3 Section 37.3 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION...

  1. 17 CFR 4.32 - Trading on a Registered Derivatives Transaction Execution Facility for Non-Institutional Customers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Trading on a Registered... Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS Commodity Trading Advisors § 4.32 Trading on a Registered Derivatives Transaction Execution...

  2. 17 CFR 32.3 - Unlawful commodity option transactions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Unlawful commodity option... REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.3 Unlawful commodity option transactions. (a) On and after... extend credit in lieu thereof) from an option customer as payment of the purchase price in connection...

  3. 17 CFR 37.4 - Election to trade excluded and exempt commodities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Election to trade excluded and exempt commodities. 37.4 Section 37.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION DERIVATIVES TRANSACTION EXECUTION FACILITIES § 37.4 Election to trade excluded and exempt...

  4. 17 CFR 4.32 - Trading on a Registered Derivatives Transaction Execution Facility for Non-Institutional Customers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Trading on a Registered... Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS Commodity Trading Advisors § 4.32 Trading on a Registered Derivatives Transaction Execution...

  5. 49 CFR 1248.100 - Commodity classification designated.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... STATISTICS Commodity Code § 1248.100 Commodity classification designated. Commencing with reports for the..., reports of commodity statistics required to be made to the Board, shall be based on the commodity codes... Statistics, 1963, issued by the Bureau of the Budget, and on additional codes 411 through 462 shown in § 1248...

  6. The Influence Of Highway Transportation Infrastructure Condition Toward Commodity Production Generation for The Resilience Needs at Regional Internal Zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akbardin, Juang; Parikesit, Danang; Riyanto, Bambang; Mulyono, Agus Taufik

    2018-02-01

    The poultry commodity consumption and requirement is one of the main commodities that must be fulfilled in a region to maintain the availability of meat from poultry. Poultry commodity production is one of the production sectors that have a clean environment resistance. An increasing of poultry commodity generation production requires a smooth distribution to arrive at the processing. The livestock location as a commodity production is placed at a considerable far distance from residential and market locations. Zones that have poultry commodity production have an excess potential to supply other zones that are lacking in production to the consumption of these commodities. The condition of highway transportation infrastructure that is very diverse with the damage level availability in a zone has an influence in the supply and demand of poultry commodity requirement in the regional internal of Central Java province. In order to know the effect of highway transportation infrastructure condition toward the poultry commodity movement, demography factor and availability of freight vehicles will be reviewed to estimate the amount of poultry commodity movement generation production. Thus the poultry commodity consumption requirement that located in the internal - regional zone of central java province can be adequated from the zone. So it can be minimized the negative impacts that affect the environment at the zone in terms of comparison of the movement attraction and generation production at poultry commodity in Central Java.

  7. Annual Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emissions: Uncertainty of Emissions Gridded by On Degree Latitude by One Degree Longitude (1950-2013) (V. 2016)

    DOE Data Explorer

    Andres, R. J. [CDIAC; Boden, T. A. [CDIAC

    2016-01-01

    The annual, gridded fossil-fuel CO2 emissions uncertainty estimates from 1950-2013 provided in this database are derived from time series of global, regional, and national fossil-fuel CO2 emissions (Boden et al. 2016). Andres et al. (2016) describes the basic methodology in estimating the uncertainty in the (gridded fossil fuel data product ). This uncertainty is gridded at the same spatial and temporal scales as the mass magnitude maps. This gridded uncertainty includes uncertainty contributions from the spatial, temporal, proxy, and magnitude components used to create the magnitude map of FFCO2 emissions. Throughout this process, when assumptions had to be made or expert judgment employed, the general tendency in most cases was toward overestimating or increasing the magnitude of uncertainty.

  8. Monthly Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emissions: Uncertainty of Emissions Gridded by On Degree Latitude by One Degree Longitude (Uncertainties, V.2016)

    DOE Data Explorer

    Andres, J.A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Boden, T.A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2016-01-01

    The monthly, gridded fossil-fuel CO2 emissions uncertainty estimates from 1950-2013 provided in this database are derived from time series of global, regional, and national fossil-fuel CO2 emissions (Boden et al. 2016). Andres et al. (2016) describes the basic methodology in estimating the uncertainty in the (gridded fossil fuel data product ). This uncertainty is gridded at the same spatial and temporal scales as the mass magnitude maps. This gridded uncertainty includes uncertainty contributions from the spatial, temporal, proxy, and magnitude components used to create the magnitude map of FFCO2 emissions. Throughout this process, when assumptions had to be made or expert judgment employed, the general tendency in most cases was toward overestimating or increasing the magnitude of uncertainty.

  9. AgRISTARS: Foreign commodity production forecasting. Minutes of the annual formal project manager's review, including preliminary technical review reports of FY80 experiments. [wheat/barley and corn/soybean experiments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1980-01-01

    The U.S./Canada wheat/barley exploratory experiment is discussed with emphasis on labeling, machine processing using P1A, and the crop calendar. Classification and the simulated aggregation test used in the U.S. corn/soybean exploratory experiment are also considered. Topics covered regarding the foreign commodity production forecasting project include: (1) the acquisition, handling, and processing of both U.S. and foreign agricultural data, as well as meteorological data. The accuracy assessment methodology, multicrop sampling and aggregation technology development, frame development, the yield project interface, and classification for area estimation are also examined.

  10. Body mass estimates of hominin fossils and the evolution of human body size.

    PubMed

    Grabowski, Mark; Hatala, Kevin G; Jungers, William L; Richmond, Brian G

    2015-08-01

    Body size directly influences an animal's place in the natural world, including its energy requirements, home range size, relative brain size, locomotion, diet, life history, and behavior. Thus, an understanding of the biology of extinct organisms, including species in our own lineage, requires accurate estimates of body size. Since the last major review of hominin body size based on postcranial morphology over 20 years ago, new fossils have been discovered, species attributions have been clarified, and methods improved. Here, we present the most comprehensive and thoroughly vetted set of individual fossil hominin body mass predictions to date, and estimation equations based on a large (n = 220) sample of modern humans of known body masses. We also present species averages based exclusively on fossils with reliable taxonomic attributions, estimates of species averages by sex, and a metric for levels of sexual dimorphism. Finally, we identify individual traits that appear to be the most reliable for mass estimation for each fossil species, for use when only one measurement is available for a fossil. Our results show that many early hominins were generally smaller-bodied than previously thought, an outcome likely due to larger estimates in previous studies resulting from the use of large-bodied modern human reference samples. Current evidence indicates that modern human-like large size first appeared by at least 3-3.5 Ma in some Australopithecus afarensis individuals. Our results challenge an evolutionary model arguing that body size increased from Australopithecus to early Homo. Instead, we show that there is no reliable evidence that the body size of non-erectus early Homo differed from that of australopiths, and confirm that Homo erectus evolved larger average body size than earlier hominins. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Microscopical and elemental FESEM and Phenom ProX-SEM-EDS analysis of osteocyte- and blood vessel-like microstructures obtained from fossil vertebrates of the Eocene Messel Pit, Germany.

    PubMed

    Cadena, Edwin

    2016-01-01

    The Eocene (∾48 Ma) Messel Pit in Germany is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its exceptionally preserved fossils, including vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Messel fossil vertebrates are typically characterized by their articulated state, and in some cases the skin, hair, feathers, scales and stomach contents are also preserved. Despite the exceptional macroscopic preservation of Messel fossil vertebrates, the microstructural aspect of these fossils has been poorly explored. In particular, soft tissue structures such as hair or feathers have not been chemically analyzed, nor have bone microstructures. I report here the preservation and recovery of osteocyte-like and blood vessel-like microstructures from the bone of Messel Pit specimens, including the turtles Allaeochelys crassesculpta and Neochelys franzeni, the crocodile Diplocynodon darwini, and the pangolin Eomanis krebsi. I used a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and a Phenom ProX desktop scanning electron microscope (LOT-QuantumDesign) equipped with a thermionic CeB6 source and a high sensitivity multi-mode backscatter electron (BSE) for microscopical and elemental characterization of these bone microstructures. Osteocyte-like and blood vessel-like microstructures are constituted by a thin layer (∾50 nm thickness), external and internal mottled texture with slightly marked striations. Circular to linear marks are common on the external surface of the osteocyte-like microstructures and are interpreted as microbial troughs. Iron (Fe) is the most abundant element found in the osteocyte-like and blood vessel-like microstructures, but not in the bone matrix or collagen fibril-like microstructures. The occurrence of well-preserved soft-tissue elements (at least their physical form) establishes a promising background for future studies on preservation of biomolecules (proteins or DNA) in Messel Pit fossils.

  12. Mechanisms Controlling Annual, Interannual, and Decadal Changes in California's Carbon Budget

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goulden, M. L.; Jin, Y.; Randerson, J. T.; Trumbore, S.; Hsueh, D.; Fellows, A.; Anderson, R.; McMillan, A.; Roberts, D.; Riley, W.; Dennison, P.

    2006-12-01

    We used remote sensing-based measurements of land-surface properties, in-situ measurements of land- atmosphere exchange, mechanistic models of biogeochemistry and atmospheric transport, and previously compiled data sets of fossil fuel use, agricultural yield, land use, and biomass to better understand California's Carbon budget. Key findings include: (1) California's NPP in the early 2000s (190 x 1012 gC y-1) was roughly double its fossil fuel emission (95 x 1012 gC y-1). Since ecosystem carbon storage is typically less than half NPP, California's net C budget was dominated by fossil fuel emissions. (2) Fluctuations in ecosystem NEP caused by climate variability (18 x 1012 gC y-1) were the dominant cause of interannual carbon cycle variability. Fluctuations in fossil fuel consumption caused by the business cycle (8 x 1012 gC y-1) and fluctuations associated with wildland fire (3 x 1012 gC y-1) were smaller. (3) Approximately 50% of California's fossil fuel emissions are advected to the south or west; only 50% of California's fossil fuel emissions are transported east, creating a challenge for efforts to use longitudinal CO2 gradients to constrain North America's carbon budget. (4) Alternative spectral indices based on visible greenness (VARI or VIG) or that include information on short-wave IR absorption (NDWI, NDII7 or RSR) were more tightly correlated with LAI, live fuel moisture, and whole ecosystem CO2 flux than more commonly used near-IR-based indices (NDVI, EVI). (5) Unmanaged forests, especially in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, have lost carbon over the last 70 years as a result of the selective mortality of large trees. This mortality was likely caused by episodic insect outbreaks, which may have been exacerbated by stand thickening associated with fire suppression.

  13. Susceptibility of juvenile European lobster Homarus gammarus to shrimp products infected with high and low doses of white spot syndrome virus.

    PubMed

    Bateman, K S; Munro, J; Uglow, B; Small, H J; Stentiford, G D

    2012-08-27

    White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is the most important pathogen known to affect the sustainability and growth of the global penaeid shrimp farming industry. Although most commonly associated with penaeid shrimp farmed in warm waters, WSSV is also able to infect, cause disease in and kill a wide range of other decapod crustaceans, including lobsters, from temperate regions. In 2005, the European Union imported US$500 million worth of raw frozen or cooked frozen commodity products, much of which originated in regions positive for white spot disease (WSD). The presence of WSSV within the UK food market was verified by means of nested PCR performed on samples collected from a small-scale survey of supermarket commodity shrimp. Passage trials using inoculum derived from commodity shrimp from supermarkets and delivered by injection to specific pathogen-free Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei led to rapid mortality and pathognomonic signs of WSD in the shrimp, demonstrating that WSSV present within commodity shrimp was viable. We exposed a representative European decapod crustacean, the European lobster Homarus gammarus, to a single feeding of WSSV-positive, supermarket-derived commodity shrimp, and to positive control material (L. vannamei infected with a high dose of WSSV). These trials demonstrated that lobsters fed positive control (high dose) frozen raw products succumbed to WSD and displayed pathognomonic signs associated with the disease as determined by means of histology and transmission electron microscopy. Lobsters fed WSSV-positive, supermarket-derived commodity shrimp (low dose) did not succumb to WSD (no mortality or pathognomonic signs of WSD) but demonstrated a low level or latent infection via PCR. This study confirms susceptibility of H. gammarus to WSSV via single feedings of previously frozen raw shrimp products obtained directly from supermarkets.

  14. Recent history and geography of virtual water trade.

    PubMed

    Carr, Joel A; D'Odorico, Paolo; Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca

    2013-01-01

    The global trade of goods is associated with a virtual transfer of the water required for their production. The way changes in trade affect the virtual redistribution of freshwater resources has been recently documented through the analysis of the virtual water network. It is, however, unclear how these changes are contributed by different types of products and regions of the world. Here we show how the global patterns of virtual water transport are contributed by the trade of different commodity types, including plant, animal, luxury (e.g., coffee, tea, and alcohol), and other products. Major contributors to the virtual water network exhibit different trade patterns with regard to these commodity types. The net importers rely on the supply of virtual water from a small percentage of the global population. However, discrepancies exist among the different commodity networks. While the total virtual water flux through the network has increased between 1986 and 2010, the proportions associated with the four commodity groups have remained relatively stable. However, some of the major players have shown significant changes in the virtual water imports and exports associated with those commodity groups. For instance, China has switched from being a net exporter of virtual water associated with other products (non-edible plant and animal products typically used for manufacturing) to being the largest importer, accounting for 31% of the total water virtually transported with these products. Conversely, in the case of The United states of America, the commodity proportions have remained overall unchanged throughout the study period: the virtual water exports from The United States of America are dominated by plant products, whereas the imports are comprised mainly of animal and luxury products.

  15. Recent History and Geography of Virtual Water Trade

    PubMed Central

    Carr, Joel A.; D’Odorico, Paolo; Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca

    2013-01-01

    The global trade of goods is associated with a virtual transfer of the water required for their production. The way changes in trade affect the virtual redistribution of freshwater resources has been recently documented through the analysis of the virtual water network. It is, however, unclear how these changes are contributed by different types of products and regions of the world. Here we show how the global patterns of virtual water transport are contributed by the trade of different commodity types, including plant, animal, luxury (e.g., coffee, tea, and alcohol), and other products. Major contributors to the virtual water network exhibit different trade patterns with regard to these commodity types. The net importers rely on the supply of virtual water from a small percentage of the global population. However, discrepancies exist among the different commodity networks. While the total virtual water flux through the network has increased between 1986 and 2010, the proportions associated with the four commodity groups have remained relatively stable. However, some of the major players have shown significant changes in the virtual water imports and exports associated with those commodity groups. For instance, China has switched from being a net exporter of virtual water associated with other products (non-edible plant and animal products typically used for manufacturing) to being the largest importer, accounting for 31% of the total water virtually transported with these products. Conversely, in the case of The United states of America, the commodity proportions have remained overall unchanged throughout the study period: the virtual water exports from The United States of America are dominated by plant products, whereas the imports are comprised mainly of animal and luxury products. PMID:23457481

  16. Commodes: inconvenient conveniences.

    PubMed

    Naylor, J R; Mulley, G P

    1993-11-13

    To investigate use of commodes and attitudes of users and carers to them. Interview with semi-structured questionnaire of subjects supplied with commodes from Leeds community appliance centre. 140 users of a commode and 105 of their carers. Main reasons for being supplied with a commode were impaired mobility (130 subjects), difficulty in climbing stairs (128), and urinary incontinence (127). Main concerns of users and carers were lack of privacy (120 subjects felt embarrassed about using their commode, and 96 would not use it if someone was present); unpleasant smells (especially for 20 subjects who were confined to one room); physical appearance of commode chair (101 users said it had an unfavourable appearance, and 44 had tried to disguise it); and lack of follow up after commode was supplied (only 15 users and carers knew who to contact if there were problems). Users generally either had very positive or very negative attitudes to their commodes but most carers viewed them very negatively, especially with regard to cleaning them. Health professionals should be aware of people's need for privacy when advising them where to keep their commode. A standard commode is inappropriate for people confined to one room, and alternatives such as a chemical toilet should be considered. Regular follow up is needed to identify any problems such as uncomfortable or unsafe chairs. More thought should be given to the appearance of commodes in their design.

  17. 29 CFR 780.155 - Delivery “to carriers for transportation to market.”

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... market” includes taking agricultural or horticultural commodities, dairy products, livestock, bees or their honey, fur-bearing animals or their pelts, and poultry to any carrier (including carriers by truck...

  18. 29 CFR 780.155 - Delivery “to carriers for transportation to market.”

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... market” includes taking agricultural or horticultural commodities, dairy products, livestock, bees or their honey, fur-bearing animals or their pelts, and poultry to any carrier (including carriers by truck...

  19. 29 CFR 780.155 - Delivery “to carriers for transportation to market.”

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... market” includes taking agricultural or horticultural commodities, dairy products, livestock, bees or their honey, fur-bearing animals or their pelts, and poultry to any carrier (including carriers by truck...

  20. 29 CFR 780.155 - Delivery “to carriers for transportation to market.”

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... market” includes taking agricultural or horticultural commodities, dairy products, livestock, bees or their honey, fur-bearing animals or their pelts, and poultry to any carrier (including carriers by truck...

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