Author Correction: SciPy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

SciPy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python.

SciPy is an open-source scientific computing library for the Python programming language. Since its initial release in 2001, SciPy has become a de facto standard for leveraging scientific algorithms in Python, with over 600 unique code contributors, thousands of dependent packages, over 100,000 dependent repositories and millions of downloads per year. In this work, we provide an overview of the capabilities and development practices of SciPy 1.0 and highlight some recent technical developments.

A Fully Customized Baseline Removal Framework for Spectroscopic Applications.

The task of proper baseline or continuum removal is common to nearly all types of spectroscopy. Its goal is to remove any portion of a signal that is irrelevant to features of interest while preserving any predictive information. Despite the importance of baseline removal, median or guessed default parameters are commonly employed, often using commercially available software supplied with instruments. Several published baseline removal algorithms have been shown to be useful for particular spectroscopic applications but their generalizability is ambiguous. The new Custom Baseline Removal (Custom BLR) method presented here generalizes the problem of baseline removal by combining operations from previously proposed methods to synthesize new correction algorithms. It creates novel methods for each technique, application, and training set, discovering new algorithms that maximize the predictive accuracy of the resulting spectroscopic models. In most cases, these learned methods either match or improve on the performance of the best alternative. Examples of these advantages are shown for three different scenarios: quantification of components in near-infrared spectra of corn and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy data of rocks, and classification/matching of minerals using Raman spectroscopy. Software to implement this optimization is available from the authors. By removing subjectivity from this commonly encountered task, Custom BLR is a significant step toward completely automatic and general baseline removal in spectroscopic and other applications.

Dust outpaces bedrock in nutrient supply to montane forest ecosystems.

Dust provides ecosystem-sustaining nutrients to landscapes underlain by intensively weathered soils. Here we show that dust may also be crucial in montane forest ecosystems, dominating nutrient budgets despite continuous replacement of depleted soils with fresh bedrock via erosion. Strontium and neodymium isotopes in modern dust show that Asian sources contribute 18-45% of dust deposition across our Sierra Nevada, California study sites. The remaining dust originates regionally from the nearby Central Valley. Measured dust fluxes are greater than or equal to modern erosional outputs from hillslopes to channels, and account for 10-20% of estimated millennial-average inputs of bedrock P. Our results demonstrate that exogenic dust can drive the evolution of nutrient budgets in montane ecosystems, with implications for predicting forest response to changes in climate and land use.

Biotin deficiency in the cat and the effect on hepatic propionyl CoA carboxylase.

Biotin deficiency was produced in growing kittens by feeding a diet containing dried, raw egg white. After receiving either an 18.5% egg white diet for 25 weeks, or a 32% egg white diet for 12 weeks, they exhibited dermal lesions characterized by alopecia, scaly dermatitis and achromotrichia, which increased in severity with the deficiency. Females developed accumulations of dried salivary, nasal and lacrymal secretions in the facial region although a male did not. There was a loss of body weight in all cats as the deficiency progressed. Hepatic propionyl CoA carboxylase activities were measured on biopsy samples of liver during biotin deficiency and after biotin supplementation. In the deficient state, activities were 4% and 24% of that following biotin supplementation. Propionyl carboxylase activity in the liver of the cat was comparable to that reported in the rat and chick in the deficient and normal states. Subcutaneous injection of 0.25 mg biotin every other day while continuing to receive the egg white diet caused remission of clinical signs, a body weight gain and increased food intake.

Potassium loss from skeletal muscle during exercise in man: a radioisotope study.

Muscle potassium (K+) content decreases during exercise. Previous studies, in humans, have used measurements of arteriovenous plasma potassium concentration differences (AV delta[K+]) and/or muscle biopsy to measure the loss of muscle K+ during exercise. In the current study a non-invasive method was developed to measure skeletal muscle K+ before and after exercise, using an isotope of K+, potassium-43 (43K+). Twelve subjects performed single-leg extension exercise for 2 h at 50% of their maximum predicted heart rate. The level of radioactivity from the quadriceps femoris was determined before exercise and during two periods post-exercise. After correction for counts arising outside the exercised muscle, we estimate a decrease in muscle K+ content of 3.2 +/- 1.55% (mean +/- S.E.M.) following exercise. The muscle K+ was not restored following 75 min of recovery. The decrease in muscle K+ following exercise in our study is considerably less than that suggested by previous studies using AV delta[K+] measurements but not so dissimilar from results obtained using muscle biopsy. We conclude that a small but significant loss of K+ occurs following prolonged dynamic exercise, and that complete recovery of muscle K+ is slow.