The origin of aubrites: Evidence from lithophile trace element abundances and oxygen isotope compositions

We report the abundances of a selected set of “lithophile” trace elements (including lanthanides, actinides and high field strength elements) and high-precision oxygen isotope analyses of a comprehensive suite of aubrites. Two distinct groups of aubrites can be distinguished: (a) the main-group aubrites display flat or light-REE depleted REE patterns with variable Eu and Y anomalies; their pyroxenes are light-REE depleted and show marked negative Eu anomalies; (b) the Mount Egerton enstatites and the silicate fraction from Larned display distinctive light-REE enrichments, and high Th/Sm ratios; Mount Egerton pyroxenes have much less pronounced negative Eu anomalies than pyroxenes from the main-group aubrites. Leaching experiments were undertaken to investigate the contribution of sulfides to the whole rock budget of the main-group aubrites. Sulfides contain in most cases at least 50% of the REEs and of the actinides. Among the elements we have analyzed, those displaying the strongest lithophile behaviors are Rb, Ba, Sr and Sc. The homogeneity of the Δ17O values obtained for main-group aubrite falls [Δ17O = +0.009 ± 0.010‰ (2σ)] suggests that they originated from a single parent body whose differentiation involved an early phase of large-scale melting that may have led to the development of a magma ocean. This interpretation is at first glance in agreement with the limited variability of the shapes of the REE patterns of these aubrites. However, the trace element concentrations of their phases cannot be used to discuss this hypothesis, because their igneous trace-element signatures have been modified by subsolidus exchange. Finally, despite similar O isotopic compositions, the marked light-REE enrichments displayed by Mount Egerton and Larned suggest that they are unrelated to the main-group aubrites and probably originated from a distinct parent body

Adverse social determinats and risk for congenital anomalies

INTRODUCCIÓN: Diferentes trabajos han relacionando condiciones sociales adversas a nivel familiar y regional con resultados perinatales (mortalidad neonatal, bajo peso y prematuridad); sin embargo, pocos estudiaron el efecto de la pobreza sobre anomalías congénitas. Objetivo. Evaluar el riesgo de ocurrencia de 25 anomalías congénitas y determinantes sociales adversos según el nivel socioeconómico de la familia y de la región. POBLACIÓN Y MÉTODOS. Estudio caso-control exploratorio, en el que se utilizaron datos del Estudio Colaborativo Latinoamericano de Malformaciones Congénitas (ECLAMC). La muestra consistió en 3786 recién nacidos vivos con una única malformación y 13 344 controles, seleccionados entre 546 129 nacimientos, ocurridos en 39 hospitales de Argentina durante el período 1992-2001. Se estimaron los riesgos (OR) directos, indirectos (a través de la región de residencia) y la interacción entre el nivel socioeconómico individual y residencial para cada uno de los 25 defectos congénitos. RESULTADOS: Los defectos labio leporino con/sin paladar hendido (OR= 1,43) y comunicación interventricular (OR= 1,38) mostraron un riesgo significativamente mayor en el nivel socioeconómico más bajo. Los niveles socioeconómicos bajos se asociaron de manera significativa con una mayor frecuencia de consanguinidad parental, ancestros nativos, edad materna menor de 19 años, más de 4 embarazos, bajo número de visitas prenatales y residencia en regiones desfavorables. CONCLUSIÓN: La fisura labial con o sin paladar hendido y los defectos del tabique interventricular estuvieron asociados significativamente con un nivel socioeconómico más bajo. La falta de planificación familiar, de control prenatal y la exposición a agentes ambientales o teratógenos pueden explicar estos hallazgos.INTRODUCTION: Different studies have related familiar and regional adverse social conditions to perinatal outcome (neonatal mortality, low birth weight and prematurity); however, few studies have studied the effect of poverty on congenital anomalies. OBJECTIVE: To assess the hazard ratio of 25 congenital anomalies and adverse social determinants as per the socioeconomic level of families and regions. POPULATION AND METHODS: Exploratory, case-control study using data from the Latin-American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (Estudio Colaborativo Latinoamericano de Malformaciones Congenitas, ECLAMC). The sample consisted of 3786 live newborn infants with a single malformation and 13,344 controls selected among 546,129 births occurred in 39 hospitals from Argentina in the 1992-2001 period. Both direct and indirect (residence) risks (OR) were estimated, together with the interaction between the individual and residential socioeconomic levels for each of the 25 congenital anomalies. RESULTS: Cleft lip with/without cleft palate (OR= 1.43) and ventricular septal defect (OR= 1.38) showed a significantly higher risk in the lower socioeconomic level. Low socioeconomic levels were significantly associated with a higher frequency of parental sibship (blood relationship); native descent; maternal age younger than 19 years old; more than four pregnancies; a low number of antenatal care visits; and residence in deprived regions. CONCLUSION: Cleft lip with/without cleft palate and ventricular septal defects were significantly associated with a lower socioeconomic level. Lack of family planning and antenatal care; and exposure to environmental or teratogenic agents may account for these findings.Fil: Pawluk, Mariela Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Campaña, Hebe. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; ArgentinaFil: Gili, Juan Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; ArgentinaFil: Comas, Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; ArgentinaFil: Gimenez, Lucas Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; ArgentinaFil: Villalba, María Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Scala, Sandra C.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Poletta, Fernando Adrián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Genética Médica Poblacional; BrasilFil: López Camelo, Jorge Santiago. Instituto Nacional de Genética Médica Poblacional; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; Argentin

Termination of Pregnancy After NonInvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT): Ethical Considerations

This article explores the Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ recent report about non-invasive prenatal testing. Given that such testing is likely to become the norm, it is important to question whether there should be some ethical parameters regarding its use. The article engages with the viewpoints of Jeff McMahan, Julian Savulescu, Stephen Wilkinson and other commentators on prenatal ethics. The authors argue that there are a variety of moral considerations that legitimately play a significant role with regard to (prospective) parental decision-making in the context of NIPT, for example, views on the morality of abortion and understandings of the impact of disability on quality of life. The variable nature of such considerations, both singularly and combined, suggests that any approach to NIPT should be sensitive to and understanding of similarly variable parental assessments and decisions. The implications of the approach developed for current and future policies in this area are explored, along with the impact of such arguments on ideas about procreative beneficence

Extremely cold and hot temperatures increase the risk of ischaemic heart disease mortality: epidemiological evidence from China.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of extremely cold and hot temperatures on ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in five cities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou) in China; and to examine the time relationships between cold and hot temperatures and IHD mortality for each city. DESIGN: A negative binomial regression model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model was used to examine city-specific temperature effects on IHD mortality up to 20 lag days. A meta-analysis was used to pool the cold effects and hot effects across the five cities. PATIENTS: 16 559 IHD deaths were monitored by a sentinel surveillance system in five cities during 2004-2008. RESULTS: The relationships between temperature and IHD mortality were non-linear in all five cities. The minimum-mortality temperatures in northern cities were lower than in southern cities. In Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou, the effects of extremely cold temperatures were delayed, while Shanghai and Wuhan had immediate cold effects. The effects of extremely hot temperatures appeared immediately in all the cities except Wuhan. Meta-analysis showed that IHD mortality increased 48% at the 1st percentile of temperature (extremely cold temperature) compared with the 10th percentile, while IHD mortality increased 18% at the 99th percentile of temperature (extremely hot temperature) compared with the 90th percentile. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that both extremely cold and hot temperatures increase IHD mortality in China. Each city has its characteristics of heat effects on IHD mortality. The policy for response to climate change should consider local climate-IHD mortality relationships

Rifting and Mafic Magmatism in the Hebridean Basins

Acknowledgements and Funding Research in the BPIP was supported by NERC grant GR9/1581, and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. H. Rollinson and E. Gazel are thanked for helpful and constructive criticisms, particularly of the modelling aspects of the paper, and T. Rooney is thanked for invaluable scientific and editorial assistance.Peer reviewedPostprin

Children’s Sport Participation in Canada: Is it a Level Playing Field?

In this article a study of children’s sport participation in Canada is presented, examining both children’s participation in organized sport (with a coach or instructor) and informal sport (without a coach or instructor). This was done using a national sample survey. The results indicate that, for participation in organized sport, household income was the strongest predictor variable, followed by parent’s education, gender, regional differences, and age of the child. In informal sport, gender was the strongest predictor variable, followed by regional differences, household income, age of the child, and parent’s education. The findings are discussed in terms of the implications these factors may have on the development and reproduction of social division between children who are able to access sporting activities and those who cannot

Vision and Reading Difficulties Part 1: Specific learning difficulties and vision

This article is the first in a series of five about vision and reading difficulties, and provides an introduction and an overview of learning disabilities and specific learning difficulties. It outlines the role of the optometrist in helping people with such problems; it describes the symptoms that optometrists should look for and it provides an introduction of the evidence-based approach. The second article in this series will cover the optometric and orthoptic correlates of reading difficulties. Articles three and four will describe the use of coloured filters, including background, techniques, evidence, and mechanism. The final article will draw together the themes in the series of articles and discuss the clinical protocol and the role of the eye care practitioner in managing visual factors associated with reading difficulties

Wolf outside, dog inside? The genomic make-up of the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog

Background Genomic methods can provide extraordinary tools to explore the genetic background of wild species and domestic breeds, optimize breeding practices, monitor and limit the spread of recessive diseases, and discourage illegal crossings. In this study we analysed a panel of 170k Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms with a combination of multivariate, Bayesian and outlier gene approaches to examine the genome-wide diversity and inbreeding levels in a recent wolf x dog cross-breed, the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, which is becoming increasingly popular across Europe. Results Pairwise FST values, multivariate and assignment procedures indicated that the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog was significantly differentiated from all the other analysed breeds and also well-distinguished from both parental populations (Carpathian wolves and German Shepherds). Coherently with the low number of founders involved in the breed selection, the individual inbreeding levels calculated from homozygosity regions were relatively high and comparable with those derived from the pedigree data. In contrast, the coefficient of relatedness between individuals estimated from the pedigrees often underestimated the identity-by-descent scores determined using genetic profiles. The timing of the admixture and the effective population size trends estimated from the LD patterns reflected the documented history of the breed. Ancestry reconstruction methods identified more than 300 genes with excess of wolf ancestry compared to random expectations, mainly related to key morphological features, and more than 2000 genes with excess of dog ancestry, playing important roles in lipid metabolism, in the regulation of circadian rhythms, in learning and memory processes, and in sociability, such as the COMT gene, which has been described as a candidate gene for the latter trait in dogs. Conclusions In this study we successfully applied genome-wide procedures to reconstruct the history of the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, assess individual wolf ancestry proportions and, thanks to the availability of a well-annotated reference genome, identify possible candidate genes for wolf-like and dog-like phenotypic traits typical of this breed, including commonly inherited disorders. Moreover, through the identification of ancestry-informative markers, these genomic approaches could provide tools for forensic applications to unmask illegal crossings with wolves and uncontrolled trades of recent and undeclared wolfdog hybrids