33 research outputs found

    Carbonate Assimilation at Merapi Volcano, Java, Indonesia: Insights from Crystal Isotope Stratigraphy

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    Recent basaltic andesite lavas from Merapi volcano contain abundant, complexly zoned, plagioclase phenocrysts, analysed here for their petrographic textures, major element composition and Sr isotope composition. Anorthite (An) content in individual crystals can vary by as much as 55 mol% (An40-95) across internal resorption surfaces with a negative correlation between high An mol% (>70), MgO wt% and FeO wt%. In situ Sr isotope analyses of zoned plagioclase phenocrysts show that the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of individual zones range from 0·70568 to 0·70627. The upper end of this range is notably more radiogenic than the host basaltic andesite whole-rocks (< 0·70574). Crystal zones with the highest An content have the highest 87Sr/86Sr values, requiring a source or melt with elevated radiogenic Sr, rich in Ca and with lower Mg and Fe. Recent Merapi eruptive rocks contain abundant xenoliths, including metamorphosed volcanoclastic sediment and carbonate country rock (calc-silicate skarns) analysed here for petrographic textures, mineralogy, major element composition and Sr isotope composition. The xenoliths contain extremely calcic plagioclase (up to An100) and have whole-rock 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0·70584 to 0·70786. The presence of these xenoliths and their mineralogy and geochemistry, coupled with the 87Sr/86Sr ratios observed in different zones of individual phenocrysts, indicate that magma-crust interaction at Merapi is potentially more significant than previously thought, as numerous crystal cores in the phenocrysts appear to be inherited from a metamorphosed sedimentary crustal source. This has potentially significant consequences for geochemical mass-balance calculations, volatile saturation and flux and eruptive behaviour at Merapi and similar island arc volcanic systems elsewher

    Association between COVID-19 Vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Household Contacts of Infected Individuals: A Prospective Household Study in England.

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    BACKGROUND: We investigated whether COVID-19 vaccination reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among adult household contacts of COVID-19 index cases during the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron waves in England. METHODS: Between February 2021 and February 2022, SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR nasal swabs were collected from COVID-19-confirmed index cases aged ≥20 years and their household contacts at enrolment and three and seven days thereafter. Generalized Estimating Equations models were fitted with SARS-CoV-2 positivity as the outcome and household contacts' vaccination status as the main exposure while adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in 238/472 household contacts (50.4%) aged ≥20 years. The adjusted relative risk (95% confidence interval) of infection in vaccinated versus unvaccinated household contacts was 0.50 (0.35-0.72) and 0.69 (0.53-0.90) for receipt of two doses 8-90 and >90 days ago, respectively, and 0.34 (0.23-0.50) for vaccination with three doses 8-151 days ago. Primary vaccination protected household contacts against infection during the Alpha and Delta waves, but only three doses protected during the Omicron wave. Vaccination with three doses in the index case independently reduced contacts' infection risk: 0.45 (0.23-0.89). CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination of household contacts reduces their risk of infection under conditions of household exposure though, for Omicron, only after a booster dose

    A Cage Not A Hammer: Why Disunified Media Control Works in Contemporary China

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    Over the past thirty years the partial commercialization and diversification of news media in China has forced the propaganda apparatus into a puzzle: how to ensure propaganda campaigns reach an increasingly fragmented audience while still maintaining narrative control. To meet this challenge the propaganda apparatus has developed an elaborate bureaucracy to oversee and control media organizations. This bureaucracy coordinates propaganda campaigns through a system of oversight, legislation and rules, and the regular issuance of event-specific instructions. The exercise of these control mechanisms is not uniform, however. This thesis documents substantial heterogeneity in the way the Chinese state coordinates propaganda campaigns, from strict issuance of scripts to ambiguous instructions and guidelines. Contrary to the expectation that propaganda only works when it is uniform in its messaging, I show how the success of state propaganda in China today lies in discordance and discretion: when propaganda is a cage, not a hammer. Drawing on case studies, experimental evidence, and computational analysis of large social media and print media data sets, this thesis demonstrates three mechanisms by which the disunified approach of the Chinese propaganda apparatus works: by making propaganda less visible, less identifiable, and more engaging

    Posttraumatic growth in post-surgical coronary artery bypass graft patients

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    Recent research in posttraumatic growth has been applied to people with life-threatening illnesses to optimise recovery. There is a lack of research exploring posttraumatic growth in coronary artery bypass graft patients. This article describes the recovery experience of 14 coronary artery bypass graft patients (13 males and 1 female) at their first outpatient review post-surgery. Grounded theory analysis was used to develop a model of distinct and shared pathways to growth depending on whether patients were symptomatic or asymptomatic pre-coronary artery bypass graft. Outcomes of posttraumatic growth in this sample included action-based healthy lifestyle growth and two forms of cognitive growth: appreciation of life and new possibilities. The model of posttraumatic growth developed in this study may be helpful in guiding future research into promoting posttraumatic growth and behaviour change in coronary artery bypass graft patients

    Liking for high fat foods in patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

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    Excess weight and obesity are factors that are strongly associated with risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).Weight loss has been associated with improvements in clinical indicators of OSA severity; however, patients’ beliefs about diet change have not been investigated. This study utilized a validated behaviour change model to estimate the relationship between food liking, food intake and indices of OSA severity. Two-hundred and six OSA patients recruited from a Sleep Disorders Clinic completed standardized questionnaires of: a) fat and fibre food intake, food liking, and food knowledge and; b) attitudes and intentions towards fat reduction. OSA severity and body mass index (BMI) were objectively measured using standard clinical guidelines. The relationship between liking for high fat food and OSA severity was tested with hierarchical regression. Gender and BMI explained a significant 20% of the variance in OSA severity, Fibre Liking accounted for an additional 6% (a negative relationship), and Fat Liking accounted for a further 3.6% of variance. Although the majority of individuals (47%) were currently “active” in reducing fat intake, overall the patients’ dietary beliefs and behaviours did not correspond. The independent relationship between OSA severity and liking for high fat foods (and disliking of high fibre foods) may be consistent with a two-way interaction between sleep disruption and food choice. Whilst the majority of OSA patients were intentionally active in changing to a healthy diet, further emphasis on improving healthy eating practices and beliefs in this population is necessary

    Association between COVID-19 Vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Household Contacts of Infected Individuals: A Prospective Household Study in England

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    Background: We investigated whether COVID-19 vaccination reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among adult household contacts of COVID-19 index cases during the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron waves in England. Methods: Between February 2021 and February 2022, SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR nasal swabs were collected from COVID-19-confirmed index cases aged ≥20 years and their household contacts at enrolment and three and seven days thereafter. Generalized Estimating Equations models were fitted with SARS-CoV-2 positivity as the outcome and household contacts’ vaccination status as the main exposure while adjusting for confounders. Results: SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in 238/472 household contacts (50.4%) aged ≥20 years. The adjusted relative risk (95% confidence interval) of infection in vaccinated versus unvaccinated household contacts was 0.50 (0.35–0.72) and 0.69 (0.53–0.90) for receipt of two doses 8–90 and >90 days ago, respectively, and 0.34 (0.23–0.50) for vaccination with three doses 8–151 days ago. Primary vaccination protected household contacts against infection during the Alpha and Delta waves, but only three doses protected during the Omicron wave. Vaccination with three doses in the index case independently reduced contacts’ infection risk: 0.45 (0.23–0.89). Conclusions: Vaccination of household contacts reduces their risk of infection under conditions of household exposure though, for Omicron, only after a booster dose

    Activating Inducible T-cell Costimulator Yields Antitumor Activity Alone and in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade

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    Unlabelled: In recent years, there has been considerable interest in mAb-based induction of costimulatory receptor signaling as an approach to combat cancer. However, promising nonclinical data have yet to translate to a meaningful clinical benefit. Inducible T-cell costimulator (ICOS) is a costimulatory receptor important for immune responses. Using a novel clinical-stage anti-ICOS immunoglobulin G4 mAb (feladilimab), which induces but does not deplete ICOS+ T cells and their rodent analogs, we provide an end-to-end evaluation of the antitumor potential of antibody-mediated ICOS costimulation alone and in combination with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade. We demonstrate, consistently, that ICOS is expressed in a range of cancers, and its induction can stimulate growth of antitumor reactive T cells. Furthermore, feladilimab, alone and with a PD-1 inhibitor, induced antitumor activity in mouse and humanized tumor models. In addition to nonclinical evaluation, we present three patient case studies from a first-time-in-human, phase I, open-label, dose-escalation and dose-expansion clinical trial (INDUCE-1; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02723955), evaluating feladilimab alone and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors. Preliminary data showing clinical benefit in patients with cancer treated with feladilimab alone or in combination with pembrolizumab was reported previously; with example cases described here. Additional work is needed to further validate the translation to the clinic, which includes identifying select patient populations that will benefit from this therapeutic approach, and randomized data with survival endpoints to illustrate its potential, similar to that shown with CTLA-4 and PD-1 blocking antibodies. Significance: Stimulation of the T-cell activation marker ICOS with the anti-ICOS agonist mAb feladilimab, alone and in combination with PD-1 inhibition, induces antitumor activity across nonclinical models as well as select patients with advanced solid tumors
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