Tectonic variation and structural evolution of the West Greenland continental margin

Because of its geographic extent of over 2500 km (1553 mi), the West Greenland margin provides a much understudied example of a divergent continental margin, both with respect to hydrocarbon exploration and academic studies. A seismic interpretation study of representative two-dimensional reflection profiles from the Labrador Sea, Davis Strait, and Baffin Bay was undertaken to identify sedimentary and structural components to elucidate the tectonic development of the margin. Nine horizons were interpreted from six representative seismic lines in the area. Margin-scale tectono-stratigraphy was derived from isochron maps, the geometry of mappable faults and their associated stratal architecture. Rifting began in Early to Late Cretaceous at ca. 145–130 Ma, which was followed by two pulses of volcanism in Eocene and Paleocene ages. The transition to the drift stage includes a typical subsidence phase but also erosion, uplift, and deposition of Neogene postrift packages. The shift in the position of depocenters in the Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea during Paleocene and Miocene times is evidence for structural modification of the basin bounding faults. Drift stage deformation suggests a possible anticlockwise rotation in the orientation of the spreading axis in Baffin Bay culminating in an ultraslow sea-floor spreading. Sea-floor spreading on the West Greenland margin started in the south at 70 Ma in the Labrador Sea and propagated northward into the Baffin Bay by 60 Ma. Prospective petroleum systems include thick Cretaceous age strata, with structural traps provided by grabens and inversion structures. Our structural model provides insight into a margin that is highly variable in its structural configuration, further modified by other processes such as magma-assisted rifting that may result in elevated regional heat flow, which has considerable impact on hydrocarbon maturation. Further constraining the implications of heat flow associated with volcanic activities in comparison to that associated with lithospheric stretching will be critical in future exploration

On Nonlinear Nonlocal Systems of Reaction Diffusion Equations

The reaction diffusion system with anomalous diffusion and a balance law ut+-Δα/2u=-fu,v,   vt+-∆β/2v=fu,v, 0<α, β<2, is con sidered. The existence of global solutions is proved in two situations: (i) a polynomial growth condition is imposed on the reaction term f when 0<α≤β≤2; (ii) no growth condition is imposed on the reaction term f when 0<β≤α≤2

Calculation and Tabulation of Efficiencies for Tungsten Foil Positron Moderators

Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations were used to calculate the positron stopping profiles in tungsten positron moderator foils. Stopping profiles were numerically integrated with efficiency kernels derived from Green\u27s function solutions of the 3D diffusion equation to determine the moderation efficiency in both the backscattering and transmission geometries. Stopping profiles and efficiencies were calculated for positron energies from 10 keV to 10 MeV and incident angles from 0° to 75°. The resulting efficiencies agreed with other calculated and measured values in the literature, especially when similar values of the positron diffusion length and surface emission branching ratio were used. Large discrepancies with some of the values reported in the literature are mainly attributed to differences in foil manufacture and surface condition - factors which are known to greatly influence the diffusion length - as well as work function and branching ratios. This work provides tabulated efficiencies for tungsten foil moderators that can be interpolated and integrated with a positron flux having arbitrary energy and angular distributions

Reinforcement Learning for Resource Allocation in Steerable Laser-based Optical Wireless Systems

Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) have demonstrated suitability for data transmission in indoor optical wireless communication (OWC) systems due to the high modulation bandwidth and low manufacturing cost of these sources. Specifically, resource allocation is one of the major challenges that can affect the performance of multi-user optical wireless systems. In this paper, an optimisation problem is formulated to optimally assign each user to an optical access point (AP) composed of multiple VCSELs within a VCSEL array at a certain time to maximise the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR). In this context, a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is introduced to solve this optimisation problem. Despite the optimality of the MILP model, it is considered impractical due to its high complexity, high memory and full system information requirements. Therefore, reinforcement Learning (RL) is considered, which recently has been widely investigated as a practical solution for various optimization problems in cellular networks due to its ability to interact with environments with no previous experience. In particular, a Q-learning (QL) algorithm is investigated to perform resource management in a steerable VCSEL-based OWC systems. The results demonstrate the ability of the QL algorithm to achieve optimal solutions close to the MILP model. Moreover, the adoption of beam steering, using holograms implemented by exploiting liquid crystal devices, results in further enhancement in the performance of the network considered

Poly (γ) glutamic acid: a unique microbial biopolymer with diverse commercial applicability

Microbial biopolymers have emerged as promising solutions for environmental pollution-related human health issues. Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA), a natural anionic polymeric compound, is composed of highly viscous homo-polyamide of D and L-glutamic acid units. The extracellular water solubility of PGA biopolymer facilitates its complete biodegradation and makes it safe for humans. The unique properties have enabled its applications in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, water treatment, foods, and other domains. It is applied as a thickener, taste-masking agent, stabilizer, texture modifier, moisturizer, bitterness-reducing agent, probiotics cryoprotectant, and protein crystallization agent in food industries. γ-PGA is employed as a biological adhesive, drug carrier, and non-viral vector for safe gene delivery in tissue engineering, pharmaceuticals, and medicine. It is also used as a moisturizer to improve the quality of hair care and skincare cosmetic products. In agriculture, it serves as an ideal stabilizer, environment-friendly fertilizer synergist, plant-growth promoter, metal biosorbent in soil washing, and animal feed additive to reduce body fat and enhance egg-shell strength

Antibiotics and over the counter medication use and its correlates among Arab pregnant women visiting a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background and Objective: The use of over the counter medications (OTCMs) is a common practice globally. OTCMs are of special concern among pregnant women as they pose risk to the mother and fetus. The objective was to assess the use of OTCMs by pregnant woman, and factors associated with it. Methods: A cross-sectional study, using a structured self-administrated questionnaire was conducted at the obstetric and antenatal clinics at King Khalid University hospital, Riyadh. 354 pregnant women were surveyed. Result: About 32% of the study participants used OTCMs without prescription at least once during their last pregnancy. The most commonly used OTCM was Paracetamol (22%). Pharmacists were the main source of knowledge (53%) for the participants. Correct knowledge regarding the drugs was associated with the usage of OTCM drug. Conclusion: Use of OTCMs and antibiotics during pregnancy is a common practice among Saudi pregnant women. General awareness regarding OTCMs use during pregnancy without prescription needs to be raised in the community. Pharmacists and media can help in providing accurate knowledge.Hafsa Raheel, Sulaiman Alsakran, Abdulkhaliq Alghamdi, Majed Ajarem, Salman Alsulami, Afzal Mahmoo

Interaction between metabolic genetic risk score and dietary fatty acid intake on central obesity in a Ghanaian population

Obesity is a multifactorial condition arising from the interaction between genetic and lifestyle factors. We aimed to assess the impact of lifestyle and genetic factors on obesity-related traits in 302 healthy Ghanaian adults. Dietary intake and physical activity were assessed using a 3 day repeated 24 h dietary recall and global physical activity questionnaire, respectively. Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to construct 4-SNP, 8-SNP and 12-SNP genetic risk scores (GRSs). The 4-SNP GRS showed significant interactions with dietary fat intakes on waist circumference (WC) (Total fat, Pinteraction = 0.01; saturated fatty acids (SFA), Pinteraction = 0.02; polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), Pinteraction = 0.01 and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), Pinteraction = 0.01). Among individuals with higher intakes of total fat (>47 g/d), SFA (>14 g/d), PUFA (>16 g/d) and MUFA (>16 g/d), individuals with ≥3 risk alleles had a significantly higher WC compared to those with <3 risk alleles. This is the first study of its kind in this population, suggesting that a higher consumption of dietary fatty acid may have the potential to increase the genetic susceptibility of becoming centrally obese. These results support the general dietary recommendations to decrease the intakes of total fat and SFA, to reduce the risk of obesity, particularly in individuals with a higher genetic predisposition to central obesity