The sand and gravel resources of the country around Eynsham, Oxfordshire : description of 1:25,000 resource sheet SP 40 and parts of SP 41

The geological maps of the Institute of Geological Sciences, pre-existing borehole information, and 78 boreholes drilled for the Mineral Assessment Unit form the basis of the assessment of sand and gravel resources in the Eynsham area, Oxfordshire. All deposits in the area which might be potentially workable for sand and gravel have been investigated and a simple statistical method has been used to estimate the volume. The reliability of the volume estimates is given at the symmetrical 95 per cent probability level. The 1 :25 000 map is divided into eight resource blocks containing between 3.8 and 11.2 km2 of potentially workable sand and gravel. For the blocks assessed statistically the geology of the deposits is described and the mineral-bearing area, the mean thickness of overburden and mineral, and the mean grading of the mineral are stated. Detailed borehole data are given. The geology, the position of the boreholes and the outlines of the resource blocks are shown on the accompanying map

Thorax

BackgroundTraditional metrics of lung disease such as those derived from spirometry and static single-volume CT images are used to explain respiratory morbidity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but are insufficient. We hypothesized that the mean Jacobian determinant, a measure of local lung expansion and contraction with respiration, would contribute independently to clinically relevant functional outcomes.MethodsWe applied image registration techniques to paired inspiratory-expiratory CT scans and derived the Jacobian determinant of the deformation field between the two lung volumes to map local volume change with respiration. We analyzed 490 participants with COPD with multivariable regression models to assess strengths of association between traditional CT metrics of disease and the Jacobian determinant with respiratory morbidity including dyspnea (mMRC), St Georges Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score, six-minute walk distance (6MWD), and the BODE index, as well as all-cause mortality.ResultsThe Jacobian determinant was significantly associated with SGRQ (adjusted regression co-efficient \u3b2 = 1211.75,95%CI 1221.6 to 121.7;p=0.020), and with 6MWD (\u3b2=321.15, 95%CI 134.1 to 508.1;p<0.001), independent of age, sex, race, body-mass-index, FEV1, smoking pack-years, CT emphysema, CT gas trapping, airway wall thickness, and CT scanner protocol. The mean Jacobian determinant was also independently associated with the BODE index (\u3b2= 120.41, 95%CI 120.80 to 120.02; p = 0.039), and mortality on follow-up (adjusted hazards ratio = 4.26, 95%CI = 0.93 to 19.23; p = 0.064).ConclusionBiomechanical metrics representing local lung expansion and contraction improve prediction of respiratory morbidity and mortality and offer additional prognostic information beyond traditional measures of lung function and static single-volume CT metrics.R01 HL079406/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesT32 HL007749/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesR01 HL089897/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesS10 OD018526/ODCDC CDC HHS/Office of the Director/United StatesR01 HL112986/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesP30 ES005605/NIEHS NIH HHS/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/United StatesK23 HL128936/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesU01 HL089897/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesK23 HL133438/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesR01 HL089856/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesU01 HL089856/NHLBI NIH HHS/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/United StatesP30 DK054759/NIDDK NIH HHS/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases/United States2018-05-01T00:00:00Z28044005PMC5526353654

The sand and gravel resources of the country around Terling, Essex : description of 1:25,000 resource sheet TL 71

Geological maps prepared by the Institute of Geological Sciences, data from 121 boreholes drilled during a feasibility study in 1966-67 and for the Mineral Assessment Unit in 1968- 69, and other pre-existing borehole information form the basis for the assessment of sand and gravel resources in the Terling area, Essex (1:25 000 sheet TL 71). The sheet is divided into resource blocks, each ideally containing 10 km2 of mineral (potentially workable sand and gravel). A simple statistical method has been applied to estimate the mineral volume in each block where at least five sample points are available. The reliability of the volume estimates is given at the 95 per cent confidence level. For each block the inferred area of mineral, the estimated average thickness of overburden and of mineral and the calculated mean grading of mineral samples are also given. The geology of the various deposits occurring in the sheet and details of each resource block are described. Borehole positions, the geology and topography, and mineral resource information are shown on the accompanying 1:25 000 map TL 71. Detailed borehole data are given

Prognostic factors for esophageal squamous cell Carcinoma-A Population-Based study in Golestan province, Iran, a high incidence area

Golestan Province in northern Iran is an area with a high incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We aimed to investigate prognostic factors for ESCC and survival of cases in Golestan, on which little data were available. We followed-up 426 ESCC cases participating in a population-based case-control study. Data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard models. Median survival was 7 months. Age at diagnosis was inversely associated with survival, but the association was disappeared with adjustment for treatment. Residing in urban areas (hazard ratio, HR = 0.70; 95 CI 0.54-0.90) and being of non-Turkmen ethnic groups (HR = 0.76; 95 CI 0.61-0.96) were associated with better prognosis. In contrast to other types of tobacco use, nass (a smokeless tobacco product) chewing was associated with a slightly poorer prognosis even in models adjusted for other factors including stage of disease and treatment (HR = 1.38; 95 CI 0.99-1.92). Opium use was associated with poorer prognosis in crude analyses but not in adjusted models. Almost all of potentially curative treatments were associated with longer survival. Prognosis of ESCC in Golestan is very poor. Easier access to treatment facilities may improve the prognosis of ESCC in Golestan. The observed association between nass chewing and poorer prognosis needs further investigations; this association may suggest a possible role for ingestion of nass constituents in prognosis of ESCC. © 2011 Aghcheli et al

Maternal haemoglobin concentrations before and during pregnancy and stillbirth risk: A population-based case-control study

Background: Results of previous studies on the association between maternal haemoglobin concentration during pregnancy and stillbirth risk are inconclusive. It is not clear if haemoglobin concentration before pregnancy has a role. Using prospectively collected information from pre-pregnancy and antenatal visits, we investigated associations of maternal haemoglobin concentrations before and during pregnancy and haemoglobin dilution with stillbirth risk. Methods: In a population-based case-control study from rural Golestan, a province in northern Iran, we identified 495 stillbirths (cases) and randomly selected 2,888 control live births among antenatal health-care visits between 2007 and 2009. Using logistic regression, we estimated associations of maternal haemoglobin concentrations, haemoglobin dilution at different stages of pregnancy, with stillbirth risk. Results: Compared with normal maternal haemoglobin concentration (110-120g/l) at the end of the second trimester, high maternal haemoglobin concentration (≥140g/l) was associated with a more than two-fold increased stillbirth risk (OR = 2.31, 95% CI [1.30-4.10]), while low maternal haemoglobin concentration (<110g/l) was associated with a 37% reduction in stillbirth risk. Haemoglobin concentration before pregnancy was not associated with stillbirth risk. Decreased haemoglobin concentration, as measured during pregnancy (OR = 0.61, 95% CI [0.46, 0.80]), or only during the second trimester (OR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.62, 0.90]), were associated with reduced stillbirth risk. The associations were essentially similar for preterm and term stillbirths. Conclusions: Haemoglobin concentration before pregnancy is not associated with stillbirth risk. High haemoglobin level and absence of haemoglobin dilution during pregnancy could be considered as indicators of a high-risk pregnancy. © 2016 The Author(s)

Performance of PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG urinary biomarkers in prediction of biopsy outcome in the Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS).

BackgroundFor men on active surveillance for prostate cancer, biomarkers may improve prediction of reclassification to higher grade or volume cancer. This study examined the association of urinary PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG (T2:ERG) with biopsy-based reclassification.MethodsUrine was collected at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months in the multi-institutional Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS), and PCA3 and T2:ERG levels were quantitated. Reclassification was an increase in Gleason score or ratio of biopsy cores with cancer to ≥34%. The association of biomarker scores, adjusted for common clinical variables, with short- and long-term reclassification was evaluated. Discriminatory capacity of models with clinical variables alone or with biomarkers was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and decision curve analysis (DCA).ResultsSeven hundred and eighty-two men contributed 2069 urine specimens. After adjusting for PSA, prostate size, and ratio of biopsy cores with cancer, PCA3 but not T2:ERG was associated with short-term reclassification at the first surveillance biopsy (OR = 1.3; 95% CI 1.0-1.7, p = 0.02). The addition of PCA3 to a model with clinical variables improved area under the curve from 0.743 to 0.753 and increased net benefit minimally. After adjusting for clinical variables, neither marker nor marker kinetics was associated with time to reclassification in subsequent biopsies.ConclusionsPCA3 but not T2:ERG was associated with cancer reclassification in the first surveillance biopsy but has negligible improvement over clinical variables alone in ROC or DCA analyses. Neither marker was associated with reclassification in subsequent biopsies

Visual working memory contents bias ambiguous structure from motion perception

The way we perceive the visual world depends crucially on the state of the observer. In the present study we show that what we are holding in working memory (WM) can bias the way we perceive ambiguous structure from motion stimuli. Holding in memory the percept of an unambiguously rotating sphere influenced the perceived direction of motion of an ambiguously rotating sphere presented shortly thereafter. In particular, we found a systematic difference between congruent dominance periods where the perceived direction of the ambiguous stimulus corresponded to the direction of the unambiguous one and incongruent dominance periods. Congruent dominance periods were more frequent when participants memorized the speed of the unambiguous sphere for delayed discrimination than when they performed an immediate judgment on a change in its speed. The analysis of dominance time-course showed that a sustained tendency to perceive the same direction of motion as the prior stimulus emerged only in the WM condition, whereas in the attention condition perceptual dominance dropped to chance levels at the end of the trial. The results are explained in terms of a direct involvement of early visual areas in the active representation of visual motion in WM

Postpartum Visit Attendance Increases the Use of Modern Contraceptives

Background. Delays in postpartum contraceptive use may increase risk for unintended or rapid repeat pregnancies. The postpartum care visit (PPCV) is a good opportunity for women to discuss family planning options with their health care providers. This study examined the association between PPCV attendance and modern contraceptive use using data from a managed care organization. Methods. Claims and demographic and administrative data came from a nonprofit managed care organization in Virginia (2008–2012). Information on the most recent delivery for mothers with singleton births was analyzed (N = 24,619). Routine PPCV (yes, no) and modern contraceptive use were both dichotomized. Descriptive analyses provided percentages, frequencies, and means. Multiple logistic regression was conducted and ORs and 95% CIs were calculated. Results. More than half of the women did not attend their PPCV (50.8%) and 86.9% had no modern contraceptive use. After controlling for the effects of confounders, women with PPCV were 50% more likely to use modern contraceptive methods than women with no PPCV (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.31, 1.72). Conclusions. These findings highlight the importance of PPCV in improving modern contraceptive use and guide health care policy in the effort of reducing unintended pregnancy rates