Refining trace metal temperature proxies in cold-water scleractinian and stylasterid corals

The Li/Mg, Sr/Ca and oxygen isotopic (O) compositions of many marine biogenic carbonates are sensitive to seawater temperature. Corals, as cosmopolitan marine taxa with carbonate skeletons that can be precisely dated, represent ideal hosts for these geochemical proxies. However, efforts to calibrate and refine temperature proxies in cold-water corals (<20 °C) remain limited. Here we present skeletal Li/Mg, Sr/Ca, O and carbon isotope (C) data from live-collected specimens of aragonitic scleractinian corals (Balanophyllia, Caryophyllia, Desmophyllum, Enallopsammia, Flabellum, Lophelia, and Vaughanella), both aragonitic and high-Mg calcitic stylasterid genera (Stylaster and Errina), and shallow-water high-Mg calcite crustose coralline algae (Lithophyllum, Hydrolithon, and Neogoniolithon). We interpret these data in conjunction with results from previously explored taxa including aragonitic zooxanthellate scleractinia and foraminifera, and high-Mg calcite octocorals. We show that Li/Mg ratios covary most strongly with seawater temperature, both for aragonitic and high-Mg calcitic taxa, making for reliable and universal seawater temperature proxies. Combining all of our biogenic aragonitic Li/Mg data with previous calibration efforts we report a refined relationship to temperature: Li/MgAll Aragonite = (). This calibration now permits paleo-temperature reconstruction to better than ±3.4 °C (95% prediction intervals) across biogenic aragonites, regardless of taxon, from 0 to 30 °C. For taxa in this study, aragonitic stylasterid Li/Mg offers the most robust temperature proxy (Li/MgStylasterid (Arag) = ()) with a reproducibility of ±2.3 °C. For the first time, we show that high-Mg calcites have a similar exponential relationship with temperature, but with a lower intercept value (Li/Mg = ()). This calibration opens the possibility of temperature reconstruction using high-Mg calcite corals and coralline algae. The commonality in the relationship between Li/Mg and temperature transcends phylogeny and suggests abiogenic trace metal incorporation mechanism

Geology of the Al Wathba 1:100 000 map sheet, 100-12, United Arab Emirates

This Sheet Description describes the Quaternary and bedrock geology of the Al Wathba 1:100 000 scale geological map. The district covers 2780 km2 southeast of Abu Dhabi island, and includes many of the suburbs of Abu Dhabi city, including the proposed Capital District, Madinat Khalifa A and B, Mussafah, Mohammed bin Zayed City, Mafraq, Bani Yas, Al Wathba, Al Falah, Al Shamka and Abu Dhabi International Airport. The sheet extends east as far as Al Khatim. The pre-Quaternary bedrock comprises Miocene evaporitic mudstone and siltstone of the Gachsaran Formation (Fars Group) overlain by the dolomitic conglomerates, sandstones and siltstones of the Barzaman Formation in the north. In the south and west, the Gachsaran Formation is overlain by the dolomites and limestones of the Dam Formation which forms an escarpment around the Al Dhafra Air Base. These are overlain by the sandstones of the Shuwaihat and Baynunah Formations. Borehole evidence suggests there is a gradation from interbedded siltstones and sandstones of the Baynunah Formation in the west of the district to coarse dolomitic conglomerates of the Barzaman Formation in the north. The Miocene rocks are locally overlain by fluvial sandstones and channel gravels of the Hili Formation which represent Quaternary outwash from the Hajar Mountains to the east. Much of the region is partially covered by pale carbonate aeolianites of the Ghayathi Formation, themselves often covered in a veneer of more recent aeolian sand. These are well exposed near the coast in spectacular zeugen and inland, they form a series of east-northeast trending linear ridges. Modern pale carbonate-dominated low dunes occur particularly in the west of the district. The coastal zone is dominated by a range of Late Pleistocene to Holocene littoral and marine deposits, which comprise the Abu Dhabi Formation. These include coastal spits and bars, algal mats, mangrove swamps and intertidal sediments. Sabkha is developed on the surface of these deposits. The region has seen major development over the past 30 years, which has radically changed the surface geology. Much of the coastal strip has been reclaimed or developed, with a variable amount of made ground, often composed of carbonate sand dredged from the neighbouring lagoons. Further inland, many areas have been extensively landscaped, with large areas of dunes levelled flat or quarried for fill. Much of the north-western part of the sheet is either developed or scheduled for development. Extensive areas of forestry occur along the line of the main Abu Dhabi – Al Ain highway and north of Abu Dhabi International Airport

Comparing Internalization of Appearance Ideals and Appearance-Related Pressures Among Women from the United States, Italy, England, and Australia

Researchers have observed variation in levels of body image disturbance and eating pathology among women from different Western countries. Examination of cross-cultural differences in the established risk factors (i.e., thin-ideal internalization, muscular-ideal internalization, and appearance pressures from family, peers, and media) for negative outcomes may help to elucidate the prominence of specific risk factors within a given Western society and guide associated interventions. Women from the United States (US), Italy, England, and Australia completed the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4). Analysis of covariance controlling for age and BMI indicated significant cross-country differences for all SATAQ-4 subscales. Results typically indicated higher levels of appearance-ideal internalization and appearance pressures in the US and lower levels in Italy; however, associated effect sizes were generally small. A medium effect of country was observed for peer-appearance pressures, which were highest in the US compared with all other countries. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and paired samples t tests conducted within each country identified thin-ideal internalization and media appearance pressures as the predominant risk factors for all four countries. Overall, findings suggest more cross-country similarities than differences, and highlight the importance of delivering interventions to address thin-ideal internalization and media appearance pressures among women from Western backgrounds

Temsirolimus with or without megestrol acetate and tamoxifen for endometrial cancer: A gynecologic oncology group study

Preclinical evidence suggested that blockade of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway might overcome resistance to hormonal therapy

Integrated safety analysis of umbralisib, a dual PI3Kd/CK1« inhibitor, in relapsed/refractory lymphoid malignancies

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase-d (PI3Kd) inhibitors are active in lymphoid malignancies, although associated toxicities can limit their use. Umbralisib is a dual inhibitor of PI3Kd and casein kinase-1« (CK1«). This study analyzed integrated comprehensive toxicity data from 4 open-label, phase 1 and 2 studies that included 371 adult patients (median age, 67 years) with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (follicular lymphoma [n 5 147]; marginal zone lymphoma [n 5 82]; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma/mantle cell lymphoma [n 5 74]; chronic lymphocytic leukemia [n 5 43]; and other tumor types [n 5 25]) who were treated with the recommended phase 2 dose of umbralisib 800 mg or higher once daily. At data cutoff, median duration of umbralisib treatment was 5.9 months (range, 0.1-75.1 months), and 107 patients (28.8%) received umbralisib for $12 months. Any-grade treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) occurred in 366 (98.7%) of 371 patients, with the most frequent being diarrhea (52.3%), nausea (41.5%), and fatigue (31.8%). Grade 3 or higher treatment-emergent AEs occurred in 189 (50.9%) of 371 patients and included neutropenia (11.3%), diarrhea (7.3%), and increased aminotransferase levels (5.7%). Treatment-emergent serious AEs occurred in 95 (25.6%) of 371 patients. AEs of special interest were limited and included pneumonia (29 of 371 [7.8%]), noninfectious colitis (9 of 371 [2.4%]), and pneumonitis (4 of 371 [1.1%]). AEs led to discontinuation of umbralisib in 51 patients (13.7%). Four patients (1.1%) died of AEs, none of which was deemed related to umbralisib. No cumulative toxicities were reported. The favorable long-term tolerability profile and low rates of immune-mediated toxicities support the potential use of umbralisib for the benefit of a broad population of patients with lymphoid malignancies

Masses, radii, and orbits of small Kepler planets : The transition from gaseous to rocky planets

We report on the masses, sizes, and orbits of the planets orbiting 22 Kepler stars. There are 49 planet candidates around these stars, including 42 detected through transits and 7 revealed by precise Doppler measurements of the host stars. Based on an analysis of the Kepler brightness measurements, along with high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy, Doppler spectroscopy, and (for 11 stars) asteroseismology, we establish low false-positive probabilities (FPPs) for all of the transiting planets (41 of 42 have an FPP under 1%), and we constrain their sizes and masses. Most of the transiting planets are smaller than three times the size of Earth. For 16 planets, the Doppler signal was securely detected, providing a direct measurement of the planet's mass. For the other 26 planets we provide either marginal mass measurements or upper limits to their masses and densities; in many cases we can rule out a rocky composition. We identify six planets with densities above 5 g cm-3, suggesting a mostly rocky interior for them. Indeed, the only planets that are compatible with a purely rocky composition are smaller than 2 R ⊕. Larger planets evidently contain a larger fraction of low-density material (H, He, and H2O).Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

LSST Science Book, Version 2.0

A survey that can cover the sky in optical bands over wide fields to faint magnitudes with a fast cadence will enable many of the exciting science opportunities of the next decade. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will have an effective aperture of 6.7 meters and an imaging camera with field of view of 9.6 deg^2, and will be devoted to a ten-year imaging survey over 20,000 deg^2 south of +15 deg. Each pointing will be imaged 2000 times with fifteen second exposures in six broad bands from 0.35 to 1.1 microns, to a total point-source depth of r~27.5. The LSST Science Book describes the basic parameters of the LSST hardware, software, and observing plans. The book discusses educational and outreach opportunities, then goes on to describe a broad range of science that LSST will revolutionize: mapping the inner and outer Solar System, stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, the structure of the Milky Way disk and halo and other objects in the Local Volume, transient and variable objects both at low and high redshift, and the properties of normal and active galaxies at low and high redshift. It then turns to far-field cosmological topics, exploring properties of supernovae to z~1, strong and weak lensing, the large-scale distribution of galaxies and baryon oscillations, and how these different probes may be combined to constrain cosmological models and the physics of dark energy.Comment: 596 pages. Also available at full resolution at http://www.lsst.org/lsst/sciboo

3DKL v1.0: creating the first 3D geological model of Kuala Lumpur

The objective of UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Geoscience can play a significant role in achieving targets within this goal by developing a better understanding of geological properties and processes within urban environments, and by ensuring that this understanding is integrated into urban development. A key step in this process will be enhancing awareness of urban geology among non-geoscience decision-makers, so that inherent subsurface risks and benefits are understood and accounted for during all phases of development. Three-dimensional geological models are an effective tool for geologists to communicate with stakeholders in government and industry during that process. They can also provide a framework to enable geological data and information to be integrated into Building and City Information Models, and thus facilitate more effective infrastructure and utility asset management. This paper describes the modelling workflow adopted by a consortium of geoscientists from government, industry and academia to deliver the first 3D geological model of Kuala Lumpur – 3DKL v1.0. The modelling workflow involved: digitising borehole logs from site investigation reports and storing them in a dedicated geospatially-enabled SQLite borehole database; viewing and interpreting that borehole data using QGIS software; generating multiple orthogonally oriented cross-section profiles across the modelled area using Groundhog Desktop software; and integrating the information derived from the interpreted boreholes, surface data and cross-section profiles to generate a 3D geological model in Leapfrog Geo software. 3DKL v1.0 has demonstrated proof-of-concept: we have developed a workflow, based largely on freely-available software, for transforming borehole information, previously captured in paper records, into a conceptual 3D model. The modelling process has also identified areas where geological knowledge and data need to be enhanced if 3DKL is to fulfil its potential to support more sustainable and resilient urban development in Kuala Lumpur

BRCA1 and BRCA2 5′ noncoding region variants identified in breast cancer patients alter promoter activity and protein binding

© 2018 The Authors. Human Mutation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The widespread use of next generation sequencing for clinical testing is detecting an escalating number of variants in noncoding regions of the genome. The clinical significance of the majority of these variants is currently unknown, which presents a significant clinical challenge. We have screened over 6,000 early-onset and/or familial breast cancer (BC) cases collected by the ENIGMA consortium for sequence variants in the 5′ noncoding regions of BC susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, and identified 141 rare variants with global minor allele frequency \u3c 0.01, 76 of which have not been reported previously. Bioinformatic analysis identified a set of 21 variants most likely to impact transcriptional regulation, and luciferase reporter assays detected altered promoter activity for four of these variants. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that three of these altered the binding of proteins to the respective BRCA1 or BRCA2 promoter regions, including NFYA binding to BRCA1:c.-287C\u3eT and PAX5 binding to BRCA2:c.-296C\u3eT. Clinical classification of variants affecting promoter activity, using existing prediction models, found no evidence to suggest that these variants confer a high risk of disease. Further studies are required to determine if such variation may be associated with a moderate or low risk of BC