Fragments of the earliest land plants

The earliest fossil evidence for land plants comes from microscopic dispersed spores. These microfossils are abundant and widely distributed in sediments, and the earliest generally accepted reports are from rocks of mid-Ordovician age (Llanvirn, 475 million years ago). Although distribution, morphology and ultrastructure of the spores indicate that they are derived from terrestrial plants, possibly early relatives of the bryophytes, this interpretation remains controversial as there is little in the way of direct evidence for the parent plants. An additional complicating factor is that there is a significant hiatus between the appearance of the first dispersed spores and fossils of relatively complete land plants (megafossils): spores predate the earliest megafossils (Late Silurian, 425 million year ago) by some 50 million years. Here we report the description of spore-containing plant fragments from Ordovician rocks of Oman. These fossils provide direct evidence for the nature of the spore-producing plants. They confirm that the earliest spores developed in large numbers within sporangia, providing strong evidence that they are the fossilized remains of bona fide land plants. Furthermore, analysis of spore wall ultrastructure supports liverwort affinities

Observation of a decoupled band in 123 Cs

The methods of in-beam γ -ray spectroscopy have been used to study 123 Cs produced by the 115 In( 12 C, 4 n ) reaction. Five coincident stretched E 2 transitions, previously assigned in the literature to 123 Ba, have been identified as members of a decoupled band in 123 Cs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45822/1/10050_2005_Article_BF01422105.pd

Canagliflozin and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and Nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to 300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m 2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Odd-odd nuclei as the core-particle-hole systems and chirality

Odd-odd nuclei treated as core-particle-hole systems with various collective cores and various particle-hole configurations are investigated within the Core-Particle-Hole Coupling (CPHC) model. A new symmetry, called the S-symmetry, is identified as a combination of the α-parity of the collective core and the proton-neutron symmetry of the valence proton and neutron in particle-hole configurations involving single-particle states with the same quantum numbers. It is found that the S-symmetric odd-odd nuclei show signatures which are usually considered as fingerprints of nuclear chirality, namely doublet band structure with a particular pattern of electromagnetic transitions. Reported results imply that the rigid rotor with a symmetric valence proton-neutron configuration is only a special case of the system with the novel S-symmetry. Therefore, it is an open question whether the chiral fingerprints discussed so far identify uniquely the orthogonal coupling of angular momentum in the intrinsic system

Chiral bands in odd-odd nuclei with rigid or soft cores

Properties of chiral bands in an odd-odd nucleus, which is treated as a system of an even-even core and a pair of particles in the πh 11/2 ⊗ υh 11/2 -1 configuration, are calculated in the frame of the Core-Particle-Hole Coupling (CPHC) model with either a rigid triaxial or a soft core. The results of calculations for the two different cores are compared. The properties of the nucleus with the rigid, maximally triaxial ( γ = 30°and with the entirely soft core are qualitatively very similar

Stability of aluminium reduction cells with mean flow

We report results of the linear stability analysis undertaken to investigate the effect of the mean flow of liquid metal on the stability of aluminum reduction cells. A simplified model of the cell is considered that consists of thin layers of aluminum and cryolite superimposed in an infinite horizontal channel with electrically non-conducting walls. A vertical uniform magnetic field and an electric current are applied in the opposite directions. In the basic steady state, a uniform flow of aluminum is assumed, while cryolite is at rest. The onset of the instability is caused by the action of two different mechanisms. The first is the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability of the mean flow. The second, essentially the MHD mechanism, is a consequence of destabilizing electromagnetic (Lorentz) forces produced by nonuniformities of the electric current due to interface deflections. We use the shallow water approximation and solve the problem for the cases of pure Kelvin-Helmholtz (zero magnetic field) and pure MHD (zero mean flow) instabilities and for the general case. We compute the stability chart and derive the parameters that determine the stability threshold. It is found that, while both playing a destabilizing role, the instability mechanisms do not affect each other. In particular, a uniform mean flow changes the direction of propagation of interfacial waves but leaves the MHD stability threshold unaltered. Figs 4, Refs 12