The fossil insect assemblage associated with the Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) oceanic anoxic event from Alderton Hill, Gloucestershire, UK

Extreme global warming and environmental changes associated with the Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ∼183 Mya) profoundly impacted marine organisms and terrestrial plants. Despite the exceptionally elevated abundances of fossil insects from strata of this age, only assemblages from Germany and Luxembourg have been studied in detail. Here, we focus on the insect assemblage found in strata recording the T-OAE at Alderton Hill, Gloucestershire, UK, where <15% of specimens have previously been described. We located all known fossil insects (n = 370) from Alderton Hill, and used these to create the first comprehensive taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of the entire assemblage. We show that a diverse palaeoentomofaunal assemblage is preserved, comprising 12 orders, 21 families, 23 genera and 21 species. Fossil disarticulation is consistent with insect decay studies. The number of orders is comparable with present-day assemblages from similar latitudes (30°-40°N), including the Azores, and suggests that the palaeoentomofauna reflects a life assemblage. At Alderton, Hemiptera, Coleoptera and Orthoptera are the commonest (56.1%) orders. The high abundance of Hemiptera (22.1%) and Orthoptera (13.4%) indicates well-vegetated islands, while floral changes related to the T-OAE may be responsible for hemipteran diversification. Predatory insects are relatively abundant (∼10% of the total assemblage) and we hypothesise that the co-occurrence of fish and insects within the T-OAE represents a jubilee-like event. The marginally higher proportion of sclerotised taxa compared to present-day insect assemblages possibly indicates adaptation to environmental conditions or taphonomic bias. The coeval palaeoentomofauna from Strawberry Bank, Somerset is less diverse (9 orders, 12 families, 6 genera, 3 species) and is taphonomically biased. The Alderton Hill palaeoentomofauna is interpreted to be the bestpreserved and most representative insect assemblage from Toarcian strata in the UK. This study provides an essential first step towards understanding the likely influence of the TOAE on insects

Exile Vol. XLIII No. 1

41st Year Title Page 1 Epigraph by Ezra Pound 2 Table of Contents 3 Shame(d) by alex e. blazer 4 enter play by alex e. blazer 5 sunday\u27s sex ed fundamentals by alex e. blazer 6 Dancing, Dedicated to Shannon by Paul Genesius Durica 7-8 On the Rocks by Katie Keller 9-10 In Heritage Station, Huntington, WV by Trish Klei 11 Untitled by Tyler Smith 12-14 Untitled by Camille Gammon-Hittelman 15 Untitled by erika laine hansen 16 Androgynous Implications by Elizabeth Nutting 17 Patterns of the Clouds by Angela Rae Bliss 18 Sister, Sister, Aspirations by Elizabeth Nutting 19 Sick Girl by Helena Jasna Oroz 20-21 The Television Era by Trish Klei 22 I\u27m Mistaken; He\u27s Alive by Bekah Taylor 23 Crucifixion on the Corner of State and Bruening by Paul Genesius Durica 24-25 reLiAnce: CorKscrews by Bekah Taylor 26 Colors of the Beast by Helena Jasna Oroz 27 Development by Brian P. Voroselo 28-31 Untitled by Peter Rees 32 Public Bathhouse by Paul Genesius Durica 33 The Sound of Silence Upon the Onyx Wall of Memories by Angela Rae Bliss 34 Untitled by Peter Rees 35 Empress by Paul Genesius Durica 36-37 Life is what you make it by Cathy Graham 38-42 Untitled by Peter Rees 43 Competition by Bekah Taylor 44 changeling by Casey McArdle 45 A Kiss is Just a Kiss, A Lick is Just a Lick by Helena Jasna Oroz 46 the-r-apist by alex e. blazer 47 Gone by Latisha Newton 48 Sonnet by Touch by Trish Klei 49 Contributors\u27 Notes 49-51 Staff Page & Editorial Policy 52 Editorial decisions are shared equally among the editorial board. Submissions are judged on a name-blind basis. Members of boards whose own work is under consideration must abstain from discussion regarding that work. -5

The Effect of Water Immersion during Exercise on Cerebral Blood Flow

Introduction: Regular exercise induces recurrent increases in cerebrovascular perfusion. In peripheral arteries, such episodic increases in perfusion are responsible for improvement in arterial function and health. We examined the hypothesis that exercise during immersion augments cerebral blood flow velocity compared with intensity-matched land-based exercise. Methods: Fifteen normotensive participants were recruited (26 ± 4 yr, 24.3 ± 1.9 kg·m−2). We continuously assessed mean arterial blood pressure, HR, stroke volume, oxygen consumption, and blood flow velocities through the middle and posterior cerebral arteries before, during, and after 20-min bouts of water- and land-based stepping exercise of matched intensity. The order in which the exercise conditions were performed was randomized between subjects. Water-based exercise was performed in 30°C water to the level of the right atrium. Results: The water- and land-based exercise bouts were closely matched for oxygen consumption (13.3 mL·kg−1·min−1 (95% confidence interval (CI), 12.2–14.6) vs 13.5 mL·kg−1·min−1 (95% CI, 12.1–14.8), P = 0.89) and HR (95 bpm (95% CI, 90–101) vs 96 bpm (95% CI, 91–102), P = 0.65). Compared with land-based exercise, water-based exercise induced an increase in middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (74 cm·s−1 (95% CI, 66–81) vs 67 cm·s−1 (95% CI, 60–74) P < 0.001), posterior cerebral artery blood flow velocity (47 cm·s−1 (95% CI, 40–53) vs 43 cm·s−1 (95% CI, 37–49), P < 0.001), mean arterial blood pressure (106 mm Hg (95% CI, 100–111) vs 101 mm Hg (95% CI, 95–106), P < 0.001), and partial pressure of expired CO2 (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that water-based exercise augments cerebral blood flow, relative to land-based exercise of similar intensity, in healthy humans

Parent-of-origin-specific allelic associations among 106 genomic loci for age at menarche.

Age at menarche is a marker of timing of puberty in females. It varies widely between individuals, is a heritable trait and is associated with risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and all-cause mortality. Studies of rare human disorders of puberty and animal models point to a complex hypothalamic-pituitary-hormonal regulation, but the mechanisms that determine pubertal timing and underlie its links to disease risk remain unclear. Here, using genome-wide and custom-genotyping arrays in up to 182,416 women of European descent from 57 studies, we found robust evidence (P < 5 × 10(-8)) for 123 signals at 106 genomic loci associated with age at menarche. Many loci were associated with other pubertal traits in both sexes, and there was substantial overlap with genes implicated in body mass index and various diseases, including rare disorders of puberty. Menarche signals were enriched in imprinted regions, with three loci (DLK1-WDR25, MKRN3-MAGEL2 and KCNK9) demonstrating parent-of-origin-specific associations concordant with known parental expression patterns. Pathway analyses implicated nuclear hormone receptors, particularly retinoic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid-B2 receptor signalling, among novel mechanisms that regulate pubertal timing in humans. Our findings suggest a genetic architecture involving at least hundreds of common variants in the coordinated timing of the pubertal transition

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Effects of a peer-led Walking In ScHools intervention (the WISH study) on physical activity levels of adolescent girls: a cluster randomised pilot study.

School-based interventions may be effective at increasing levels of physical activity (PA) among adolescents; however, there is a paucity of evidence on whether walking can be successfully promoted to increase PA in this age group. This pilot study aimed to assess the effects of a 12-week school-based peer-led brisk walking programme on levels of school-time PA post intervention

Phasic-to-tonic shift in trunk muscle activity relative to walking during low-impact weight bearing exercise

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of an exercise device, designed to improve the function of lumbopelvic muscles via low-impact weight-bearing exercise, on electromyographic (EMG) activity of lumbopelvic, including abdominal muscles. Surface EMG activity was collected from lumbar multifidus (LM), erector spinae (ES), internal oblique (IO), external oblique (EO) and rectus abdominis (RA) during overground walking (OW) and exercise device (EX) conditions. During walking, most muscles showed peaks in activity which were not seen during EX. Spinal extensors (LM, ES) were more active in EX. Internal oblique and RA were less active in EX. In EX, LM and ES were active for longer than during OW. Conversely, EO and RA were active for a shorter duration in EX than OW. The exercise device showed a phasic-to-tonic shift in activation of both local and global lumbopelvic muscles and promoted increased activation of spinal extensors in relation to walking. These features could make the exercise device a useful rehabilitative tool for populations with lumbopelvic muscle atrophy and dysfunction, including those recovering from deconditioning due to long-term bed rest and microgravity in astronauts

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of 21,000 cases and 95,000 controls identifies new risk loci for atopic dermatitis

Genetic association studies have identified 21 loci associated with atopic dermatitis risk predominantly in populations of European ancestry. To identify further susceptibility loci for this common, complex skin disease, we performed a meta-analysis of >15 million genetic variants in 21,399 cases and 95,464 controls from populations of European, African, Japanese and Latino ancestry, followed by replication in 32,059 cases and 228,628 controls from 18 studies. We identified ten new risk loci, bringing the total number of known atopic dermatitis risk loci to 31 (with new secondary signals at four of these loci). Notably, the new loci include candidate genes with roles in the regulation of innate host defenses and T cell function, underscoring the important contribution of (auto)immune mechanisms to atopic dermatitis pathogenesis

Effects of antiplatelet therapy after stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage (RESTART): a randomised, open-label trial

Background: Antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of major vascular events for people with occlusive vascular disease, although it might increase the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. Patients surviving the commonest subtype of intracranial haemorrhage, intracerebral haemorrhage, are at risk of both haemorrhagic and occlusive vascular events, but whether antiplatelet therapy can be used safely is unclear. We aimed to estimate the relative and absolute effects of antiplatelet therapy on recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage and whether this risk might exceed any reduction of occlusive vascular events. Methods: The REstart or STop Antithrombotics Randomised Trial (RESTART) was a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint, parallel-group trial at 122 hospitals in the UK. We recruited adults (≥18 years) who were taking antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant) therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage, discontinued antithrombotic therapy, and survived for 24 h. Computerised randomisation incorporating minimisation allocated participants (1:1) to start or avoid antiplatelet therapy. We followed participants for the primary outcome (recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage) for up to 5 years. We analysed data from all randomised participants using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for minimisation covariates. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (number ISRCTN71907627). Findings: Between May 22, 2013, and May 31, 2018, 537 participants were recruited a median of 76 days (IQR 29–146) after intracerebral haemorrhage onset: 268 were assigned to start and 269 (one withdrew) to avoid antiplatelet therapy. Participants were followed for a median of 2·0 years (IQR [1·0– 3·0]; completeness 99·3%). 12 (4%) of 268 participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had recurrence of intracerebral haemorrhage compared with 23 (9%) of 268 participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0·51 [95% CI 0·25–1·03]; p=0·060). 18 (7%) participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy experienced major haemorrhagic events compared with 25 (9%) participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (0·71 [0·39–1·30]; p=0·27), and 39 [15%] participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had major occlusive vascular events compared with 38 [14%] allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (1·02 [0·65–1·60]; p=0·92). Interpretation: These results exclude all but a very modest increase in the risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage with antiplatelet therapy for patients on antithrombotic therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage. The risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage is probably too small to exceed the established benefits of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention