Late Ordovician (post–Sardic) rifting branches in the North Gondwanan Montagne Noire and Mouthoumet massifs of southern France

Upper Ordovician–Lower Devonian rocks of the Cabrières klippes (southern Montagne Noire) and the Mouthoumet massif in southern France rest paraconformably or with angular discordance on Cambrian–Lower Ordovician strata. Neither Middle–Ordovician volcanism nor associated metamorphism is recorded, and the subsequent Middle Ordovician stratigraphic gap is related to the Sardic phase. Upper Ordovician sedimentation started in the rifting branches of Cabrières and Mouthoumet with deposition of basaltic lava flows and lahar deposits (Roque de Bandies and Villerouge formations) of continental tholeiite signature (CT), indicative of continental fracturing. The infill of both rifting branches followed with the onset of: (1) Katian (Ka1–Ka2) conglomerates and sandstones (Glauzy and Gascagne formations), which have yielded a new brachiopod assemblage representative of the Svobodaina havliceki Community; (2) Katian (Ka2–Ka4) limestones, marlstones and shales with carbonate nodules, reflecting development of bryozoan-echinoderm meadows with elements of the Nicolella Community (Gabian and Montjoi formations); and (3) the Hirnantian Marmairane Formation in the Mouthoumet massif that has yielded a rich and diverse fossil association representative of the pandemic Hirnantia Fauna. The sealing of the subaerial palaeorelief generated during the Sardic phase is related to Silurian and Early Devonian transgressions leading to onlapping patterns and the record of high-angle discordances.Research was funded by projects CGL2010-39417, CGL2012-39471 and CGL2013-48877-P from Spanish MINECO.Peer reviewe

Does HDR pre-processing improve the accuracy of 3D models obtained by means of two conventional SfM-MVS software packages? the case of the corral del veleta rock glacier

La precisión de los diferentes flujos de trabajo usando la estructura del Movimiento y técnicas estéreo vista múltiple (SfM-MVS) está probado. Nubes de doce puntos del Corral del Veleta glaciar de roca, en España, se produjeron con dos diferentes paquetes de software (123D Catch y Agisoft Photoscan), utilizando imágenes de bajo rango dinámico y composiciones de alto rango dinámico (HDR) para tres años distintos (2011, 2012 y 2014). La exactitud de las nubes de puntos resultante se evaluó mediante modelos de referencia adquiridos cada año con un escáner láser terrestre. Tres parámetros se utilizaron para estimar la precisión de cada nube de puntos: el RMSE, la nube-a-nube distancia (C2C) y la Multiscale-Model a comparación de modelos (M3C2). El M3C2 el error promedio varió de 0,084 m (desviación estándar de 0,403 m) a 1.451 m (desviación estándar de 1.625 m). Agisoft Photoscan superar 123D Catch, produciendo más precisas y densas nubes de puntos en 11 de 12 casos, siendo este trabajo, la primera comparación entre ambos paquetes de software en la literatura. Ninguna mejora significativa fue observada a través de HDR de pre-procesamiento. A nuestro conocimiento, esta es la primera vez que la exactitud geométrica de modelos 3D obtenidos utilizando LDR y HDR composiciones son comparados. Estos hallazgos pueden ser de interés para los investigadores que deseen para estimar los cambios geomórficas con SfM-MVS enfoques.The accuracy of different workflows using Structure-from-Motion and Multi-View-Stereo techniques (SfM-MVS) is tested. Twelve point clouds of the Corral del Veleta rock glacier, in Spain, were produced with two different software packages (123D Catch and Agisoft Photoscan), using Low Dynamic Range images and High Dynamic Range compositions (HDR) for three different years (2011, 2012 and 2014). The accuracy of the resulting point clouds was assessed using benchmark models acquired every year with a Terrestrial Laser Scanner. Three parameters were used to estimate the accuracy of each point cloud: the RMSE, the Cloud-to-Cloud distance (C2C) and the Multiscale-Model-to-Model comparison (M3C2). The M3C2 mean error ranged from 0.084 m (standard deviation of 0.403 m) to 1.451 m (standard deviation of 1.625 m). Agisoft Photoscan overcome 123D Catch, producing more accurate and denser point clouds in 11 out 12 cases, being this work, the first available comparison between both software packages in the literature. No significant improvement was observed using HDR pre-processing. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the geometrical accuracy of 3D models obtained using LDR and HDR compositions are compared. These findings may be of interest for researchers who wish to estimate geomorphic changes using SfM-MVS approaches.peerReviewe

Cambrian–early Ordovician volcanism across the South Armorican and Occitan domains of the Variscan Belt in France: Continental break-up and rifting of the northern Gondwana margin

The Cambrian–lower Ordovician volcanic units of the South Armorican and Occitan domains are analysed in a tectonostratigraphic survey of the French Variscan Belt. The South Armorican lavas consist of continental tholeiites in middle Cambrian–Furongian sequences related to continental break-up. A significant volcanic activity occurred in the Tremadocian, dominated by crustal melted rhyolitic lavas and initial rifting tholeiites. The Occitan lavas are distributed into five volcanic phases: (1) basal Cambrian rhyolites, (2) upper lower Cambrian Mg-rich tholeiites close to N-MORBs but crustal contaminated, (3) upper lower–middle Cambrian continental tholeiites, (4) Tremadocian rhyolites, and (5) upper lower Ordovician initial rift tholeiites. A rifting event linked to asthenosphere upwelling took place in the late early Cambrian but did not evolve. It renewed in the Tremadocian with abundant crustal melting due to underplating of mixed asthenospheric and lithospheric magmas. This main tectono-magmatic continental rift is termed the “Tremadocian Tectonic Belt” underlined by a chain of rhyolitic volcanoes from Occitan and South Armorican domains to Central Iberia. It evolved with the setting of syn-rift coarse siliciclastic deposits overlain by post-rift deep water shales in a suite of sedimentary basins that forecasted the South Armorican–Medio-European Ocean as a part of the Palaeotethys Ocean.This research was funded by project CGL2013-48877-P from Spanish MINECO.Peer reviewe

Review of the Ediacaran-Lower Ordovician (pre-Sardic) stratigraphic framework of the Eastern Pyrenees, southwestern Europe

The Ediacaran-Lower Ordovician successions exposed in the Eastern Pyrenees are updated and revised based on recent U-Pb zircon radiometric ages, intertonguing relationships of carbonate-dominated strata, and onlapping patterns marking the top of volcano-sedimentary complexes. A stratigraphic comparison with neighbouring pre-Variscan outcrops from the Montagne Noire (southern French Massif Central) and Sardinia is related to i) the absence of Cadomian deformation close to the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary interval; ii) the presence of an episodic, Cadomian-related, acidic-dominant volcanism related to carbonate production punctuating the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, similar to that recorded in the northern Montagne Noire; and iii) the lack of Guzhangian (Late Cambrian Epoch 3) regressive shoal complexes present in the Montagne Noire and probably in Sardinia

Geosciences for a Sustainable Planet: a new collaborative network to address societal and environmental challenges in the Anthropocene

The Geosciences for a Sustainable Planet network is an initiative reinforced by the recent integration of the Spanish Geological Survey (IGME) and the Oceanographic Spanish Institute (IEO) within the Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC). The network is aimed to provide Geosciences in Spain with a collaborative framework, to maximize synergies and address sustainability and future challenges with a planetary perspective. The network shares the strategic vision for the study and care of planet Earth as the only home available for our future, as embraced by many international organizations (e. g. the European Geosciences Union (EGU), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), and the European Marine Board (EMB)). In Spain, Geosciences have played a fundamental role in properly assessing, managing, and seeking solutions for several natural and anthropogenic crises, e.g. the oil spill after the sinking of the Prestige petroleum vessel, the dumping of toxic mine sludge in Aznalcóllar, the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma island, the 2011 earthquake of Lorca, the environmental collapse of the Mar Menor oastal lagoon, or the decline in the groundwaters of Doñana National Park. Geoscientists have engaged as first responders with government agencies in emergency situations. Besides, geosciences is providing essential knowledge for public administration, as well as energy and mineral resources companies, water supply, contamination and waste elimination and reuse, and adaptation to geological and natural hazards. The network will enhance the capacity of the CSIC to respond to both, societal and public administration demands. Geosciences also provide the temporal and spatial scale to place current climate and environmental crises in the appropriate context. The network will implement outreach activities to illustrate the interactions of surface processes and biosphere with climatic fluctuations, atmospheric CO2 variations, sea-level changes, biodiversity collapses, etc, during the evolution of life on Earth over millions of years. We believe an essential aspect of science's contribution to sustainability is improving the communication of trans-disciplinary knowledge to citizens, future generations, administrations, and companies so they can take informed decisions. The Geoscience network will focus on outreach actions, training new generations of Geoscientists and technology and knowledge transfer. The Geosciences network seeks to facilitate the integration of research groups in the disciplines of Earth Sciences to improve our knowledge of the planet's geological processes across temporal scales ranging from millions of years to instrumental observation. This integration of basic and applied knowledge will enable Geosciences to provide tools to address the social challenges of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Among them, we have selected four main areas: (1) energy and ecological transition, (2) access to water and geological resources, (3) mitigation and adaptation to geological hazards and risks, and (4) tools for solving environmental and climate crises. We believe that Geosciences network will offer the spatial dimension (from local to planetary) and temporal insight (natural variability beyond the human scale) to provide a common framework with a global, integrative, transversal, and multidisciplinary vision to tackle these challenges

High efficacy of Sofosbuvir plus Simeprevir in a large cohort of Spanish cirrhotic patients infected with genotypes 1 and 4

[Abstract] Background and Aims. Hepatitis C (HCV) therapy with Sofosbuvir (SOF)/Simeprevir (SMV) in clinical trials and real‐world clinical practice, showed high rates of sustained virological response (SVR) in non‐cirrhotic genotype (GT)‐1 and GT‐4 patients. These results were slightly lower in cirrhotic patients. We investigated real‐life effectiveness and safety of SOF/SMV with or without ribavirin (RBV) in a large cohort of cirrhotic patients. Methods. This collaborative multicentre study included data from 968 patients with cirrhosis infected with HCV‐GT1 or 4, treated with SOF/SMV±RBV in 30 centres across Spain between January‐2014 and December‐2015. Demographic, clinical, virological and safety data were analysed. Results. Overall SVR was 92.3%; the majority of patients were treated with RBV (62%) for 12 weeks (92.4%). No significant differences in SVR were observed between genotypes (GT1a:94.3%; GT1b:91.7%; GT4:91.1%). Those patients with more advanced liver disease (Child B/C, MELD≥10) or portal hypertension (platelet count≤100×109/L, transient elastography≥21 Kpa) showed significantly lower SVR rates (84.4%‐91.9%) than patients with less advanced liver disease (93.8%‐95.9%, P<.01 in all cases). In the multivariate analysis, the use of RBV, female gender, baseline albumin≥35 g/L, MELD<10 and lack of exposure to a triple therapy regimen were independent predictors of SVR (P<.05). Serious adverse events (SAEs) and SAE‐associated discontinuation events occurred in 5.9% and 2.6%. Conclusions. In this large cohort of cirrhotic patients managed in the real‐world setting in Spain, SOF/SMV±RBV yielded to excellent SVR rates, especially in patients with compensated liver cirrhosis. In addition, this combination showed to be safe, with low rates of SAEs and early discontinuations.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI15/0015

A clinically compatible drug-screening platform based on organotypic cultures identifies vulnerabilities to prevent and treat brain metastasis

We report a medium‐throughput drug‐screening platform (METPlatform) based on organotypic cultures that allows to evaluate inhibitors against metastases growing in situ. By applying this approach to the unmet clinical need of brain metastasis, we identified several vulnerabilities. Among them, a blood–brain barrier permeable HSP90 inhibitor showed high potency against mouse and human brain metastases at clinically relevant stages of the disease, including a novel model of local relapse after neurosurgery. Furthermore, in situ proteomic analysis applied to metastases treated with the chaperone inhibitor uncovered a novel molecular program in brain metastasis, which includes biomarkers of poor prognosis and actionable mechanisms of resistance. Our work validates METPlatform as a potent resource for metastasis research integrating drug‐screening and unbiased omic approaches that is compatible with human samples. Thus, this clinically relevant strategy is aimed to personalize the management of metastatic disease in the brain and elsewhere

Stratification of radiosensitive brain metastases based on an actionable S100A9/RAGE resistance mechanism

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is the treatment backbone for many patients with brain metastasis; however, its efficacy in preventing disease progression and the associated toxicity have questioned the clinical impact of this approach and emphasized the need for alternative treatments. Given the limited therapeutic options available for these patients and the poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the resistance of metastatic lesions to WBRT, we sought to uncover actionable targets and biomarkers that could help to refine patient selection. Through an unbiased analysis of experimental in vivo models of brain metastasis resistant to WBRT, we identified activation of the S100A9-RAGE-NF-κB-JunB pathway in brain metastases as a potential mediator of resistance in this organ. Targeting this pathway genetically or pharmacologically was sufficient to revert the WBRT resistance and increase therapeutic benefits in vivo at lower doses of radiation. In patients with primary melanoma, lung or breast adenocarcinoma developing brain metastasis, endogenous S100A9 levels in brain lesions correlated with clinical response to WBRT and underscored the potential of S100A9 levels in the blood as a noninvasive biomarker. Collectively, we provide a molecular framework to personalize WBRT and improve its efficacy through combination with a radiosensitizer that balances therapeutic benefit and toxicity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio