An extended ice-Age sea-level equation: Incorporating water flux across sills

Summary We present a generalized theory governing gravitationally self-consistent, spatio-temporal sea-level changes within an ocean-plus-lake system that is intermittently connected by water mass flux across a sill. Our expressions for the change in sea level (defined as the difference in height of the sea surface equipotential relative to the solid surface) hold for any Earth model, and easily incorporate effects of viscoelastic deformation of the solid Earth and perturbations in both the gravitational field and rotation vector (as is now standard in ice-age sea-level calculations). In its most general form, the theory also includes an exact treatment of the evolving shoreline position in both water bodies. Our formalism involves three cases: (1) one global ocean, in which mass transfer may occur between ice sheets and the global ocean; (2) an ocean and lake separated by an exposed sill, in which mass transfer may occur between ice sheets and the global ocean, and between the ocean and lake via evaporative flux; and (3) transitional phases between these two states, when the ocean surface reaches the height of the sill from below (i.e., the sill is breached) or above (the sill is exposed). We illustrate the new theory using examples from the Black Sea flooding during the last deglacial phase (∼10 ka) and sea-level fall in the Mediterranean Sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.96-5.33 Ma). These examples demonstrate the importance of including the geophysical feedbacks associated with sea-level change in an isolated basin in the dynamics of flooding and desiccation.</jats:p

An extended ice-age sea-level equation: incorporating water flux across sills

We present a generalized theory governing gravitationally self-consistent, spatio-temporal sea-level changes within an ocean-plus-lake system that is intermittently connected by water mass flux across a sill. Our expressions for the change in sea level (defined as the difference in height of the sea-surface equipotential relative to the solid surface) hold for any Earth model, and easily incorporate effects of viscoelastic deformation of the solid Earth and perturbations in both the gravitational field and rotation vector (as is now standard in ice-age sea-level calculations). In its most general form, the theory also includes an exact treatment of the evolving shoreline position in both water bodies. Our formalism involves three cases: (1) one global ocean, in which mass transfer may occur between ice sheets and the global ocean; (2) an ocean and lake separated by an exposed sill, in which mass transfer may occur between ice sheets and the global ocean, and between the ocean and lake via evaporative flux and (3) transitional phases between these two states, when the ocean surface reaches the height of the sill from below (i.e. the sill is breached) or above (the sill is exposed). We illustrate the new theory using examples from the Black Sea flooding during the last deglacial phase (∼10 ka) and sea-level fall in the Mediterranean Sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.96–5.33 Ma). These examples demonstrate the importance of including the geophysical feedbacks associated with sea-level change in an isolated basin in the dynamics of flooding and desiccation

Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on ALS Care in the UK

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare. Our aim was to identify how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) care in the UK has been affected by the pandemic by exploring the experiences of people living with ALS (plwALS), healthcare professionals (HCPs) working with plwALS, and ALS care centers. Three surveys were carried out to explore the experiences of plwALS, HCPs and ALS care centers during the pandemic. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and triangulated with the qualitative data which were analyzed thematically. Responses from 53 plwALS, 73 HCPs and 23 ALS care centers were analyzed. Five main themes were identified: keeping safe, losses, negative emotions, delivering care and alternative care delivery in a pandemic. PlwALS and HCPs felt that care was sub-optimal as a result of the pandemic. Changes to care included longer waiting times and face-to-face appointments being canceled or replaced by virtual consultations. While benefits of virtual consultations were reported, concerns were raised about incomplete clinical assessments and the disruption of provision of testing and interventions. ALS care has changed as a result of the pandemic. Patients have had a lack of face-to-face contact with HCPs and have experienced delays to investigations and treatments. PlwALS and HCPs were concerned about the impact of this change, but the long-term implications remain unclear. We propose recommendations for HCPs caring for plwALS, that will promote continuity of evidenced based care in the context of a pandemic

Intrathoracic fire during preparation of the left internal thoracic artery for coronary artery bypass grafting

A surgical fire is a serious complication not previously described in the literature with regard to the thoracic cavity. We report a case in which an intrathoracic fire developed following an air leak combined with high pressure oxygen ventilation in a patient with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The patient presented to our institution with diffuse coronary artery disease and angina pectoris. He was treated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery, including left internal thoracic artery harvesting. Additionally to this rare presentation of an intrathoracic fire, a brief review of surgical fires is included to this paper

Reply to editorial and commentaries on Steele, Al-Mufti, Augustyn, Chandrajith, Coghlan, Coulson et al. (2018) "Cause of Cambrian explosion - Terrestrial or cosmic?"

No abstract availabl

Reply to commentary by R Duggleby (2019)

Duggleby (2018) has made a numerical analysis of some aspects of the wide range of phenomena we reviewed in Steele et al. (2018) and asserted " .that panspermia as proposed by Steele et al. (2018) is extremely implausible.” It seems to us that Duggleby has based his viewpoint on a quite narrow and specific model of Panspermia which he supposes to be active in the cosmos. Here we address both his conclusions and his numerical analysis. Our response therefore will be at two levels, his specific analysis and his general conclusions. In the specific section below we show that while Duggleby's numerical analysis appears in part correct it is, in the final analysis, quite irrelevant to Cosmic Panspermia. In the general response which follows we address his unsupported conclusion throughout his critique, namely that … " none of the examples mentioned by Steele et al. (2018) is decisive enough to allow no other explanation.

Immune Events Associated with High Level Protection against Schistosoma japonicum Infection in Pigs Immunized with UV-Attenuated Cercariae

BACKGROUND: The vaccination of radiation-attenuated Schistosoma japonicum cercariae can induce effective protection in artiodactyl, but the immune events related to protective immunity are not fully understood. To provide a paradigm for a human recombinant antigen vaccine, we have undertaken a vaccination and challenge experiment in pigs, which was recognized as an appropriate animal model in this type of study because of their similarity to human in immunology, and investigated the relative immune events induced by the radiation-attenuated S. japonicum cercariae. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We found that pigs immunized once with 400 µw UV-irradiated cercariae exhibited 63.84% and 71.82% reductions in worm burden and hepatic eggs respectively. Protective immunity in vaccinated pigs was associated with high level productions of IgM, total IgG, IgG1 and IgG2; IgG2 was significantly increased in the acute infection. IFN-γ levels could be elicited by immunization. At week 6 post-infection, IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10 levels also showed a dramatic rise synchronously in vaccinated pigs. Moreover, the granzyme b, nk-lysin, ifnγ, il4 and il10 mRNA levels in early skin-draining lymph nodes of immunized pigs were higher than those in pigs with non-irradiated cercariae infection. In addition, cytotoxicity-related genes in the mesenteric lymph nodes were significantly upregulated in vaccinated pigs in the acute infection. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrated that IFN-γ and IgG2 antibody production, as well as genes related to cytotoxicity are associated with the high level protection induced by UV-irradiated Schistosoma japonicum vaccine. These findings indicated that optimal vaccination against S. japonicum required the induction of IFN-γ, IgG2 antibody related to Th1 responses and cytotoxicity effect

Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis care in the UK

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare. Our aim was to identify how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) care in the UK has been affected by the pandemic by exploring the experiences of people living with ALS (plwALS), healthcare professionals (HCPs) working with plwALS, and ALS care centers. Three surveys were carried out to explore the experiences of plwALS, HCPs and ALS care centers during the pandemic. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and triangulated with the qualitative data which were analyzed thematically. Responses from 53 plwALS, 73 HCPs and 23 ALS care centers were analyzed. Five main themes were identified: keeping safe, losses, negative emotions, delivering care and alternative care delivery in a pandemic. PlwALS and HCPs felt that care was sub-optimal as a result of the pandemic. Changes to care included longer waiting times and face-to-face appointments being canceled or replaced by virtual consultations. While benefits of virtual consultations were reported, concerns were raised about incomplete clinical assessments and the disruption of provision of testing and interventions. ALS care has changed as a result of the pandemic. Patients have had a lack of face-to-face contact with HCPs and have experienced delays to investigations and treatments. PlwALS and HCPs were concerned about the impact of this change, but the long-term implications remain unclear. We propose recommendations for HCPs caring for plwALS, that will promote continuity of evidenced based care in the context of a pandemic