Comparative Geochemical Analysis of Ordovician and Mississippian Cherts in Relation to the Northern Arkansas and the Tri-State Mississippi Valley-type Ore Districts

It has been hypothesized that Ordovician, Mississippian, and younger carbonate and clastic formations found within the Ouachita Basin of west-central Arkansas and northward onto the Ozark Dome have experienced interaction with hydrothermal fluids due to tectonic forces produced by the Ouachita Orogeny. Lead (Pb) isotope analyses and resulting values produced through previous and concurrent geochemical studies of several formations indicate that the Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) ores were produced from a mixing and cooling of these sedimentary basinal brines by meteoric or connate waters. Reduction of sulfate to sulfide is one of the possible mechanisms by which MVT ore precipitation may be recognized. Organics sequestered in shales result in general enrichment of uranium (U) through their decay, as evidenced by the U-enriched Devonian Chattanooga Shale. The Chattanooga Shale and early Pennsylvanian Jackfork Sandstone of the Ouachitas have been shown to be prominent source rocks through metal source evaluations (Bottoms et al., 2019 and Simbo et al., 2019). The linear trend defined by the Pb isotope ratios of the MVT ores suggests that two end-members were involved in the formation of the MVT ores. Of particular interest is the identity of source rocks that contributed the enriched radiogenic Pb component to the MVT ores. A highly radiogenic end-member appears to exist, as evidenced by the Pb isotope values of the Cotter Dolomite analyzed in this study. The Bigfork Chert, Boone tripolitic chert, and Hatton Tuff appear to be related through elemental concentration analyses, confirming volcanic ash contributions. Other studies cited herein suggest that metasomatic fluid pulses produced by Reelfoot Rift tectonics may have contributed genetically related, metalliferous fluids to these brines. Meteoric waters originally confined to the Ozark Aquifer may have also interacted with initial and subsequent pulses through fracturing and faulting following the uplift produced by the Ouachita Orogeny. Close stratigraphic position to Pre-Cambrian basement rocks may have also resulted in Pb enrichment by fluid-rock interactions. In addition, the briny Western Interior Plains Aquifer is in close proximity to the Tri-State MVT ore district and may have also supplied elemental additions to the fluids that resulted in deposition of these MVT ore deposits. Other chert formations, such as the Grand Falls, Penters, and Short Creek, or cherty dolomites, including the Jefferson City, Roubidoux, Gasconade, Eminence, and Potosi of southern Missouri could be sampled for Pb isotope values in future studies in order to further constrain the linear two end-member components that contributed Pb to the ores. Clastic formations, including the Blaylock and Hartshorne Sandstones within the Ouachita Mountains and Arkoma Basin of Arkansas may also have enriched radiogenic Pb signatures. The Upper Cambrian Davis Formation, as well as the Lamotte, Mt, Simon, and Reagan Sandstones, in southern Missouri may have also contributed elemental Pb to the MVT ore fluids through dissolution of potassium feldspars, exclusive of any primary U and Th or accumulation of lead through radiogenic decay

The detection and treatment of alcohol dependence

The cohesiveness of the proposed syndrome of alcohol dependence, and the evolution of symptoms over time, was validated in a clinical sample. In healthy individuals and in clinical samples, biological markers showed early signs of the syndrome in healthy men. A comparison of Lothian general population data with Edinburgh hospital admission data showed that heavier alcohol consumption predicted admission to a general hospital bed. Analysis of national centrally collected data showed that the burden on Scottish hospitals due to alcohol problems rose in the last 40 years.A randomized controlled trial showed the value of intervening at an early stage in the career of a problem drinker.To treat more severe alcohol dependence, withdrawal symptoms must be controlled. When randomly allocated to either a longer-acting or a shorter-acting benzodiazepine, the former showed an advantage.To help prevent relapse, 'extended' treatment emerged as only very marginally more effective than one session of firm advice to the patient to abstain. The medications disulfiram and naltrexone, if compliance was enhanced, were found to reduce relapse. Acamprosate appeared to be effective too, when results from many studies were pooled. A selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI), fluvoxamine, was associated with increased likelihood ofrelapse in early-onset alcohol dependence, a surprising finding, which speculatively might be mediated through increased impulsivity in some patients. Analysis of data on treatment of depression in the General Practice Research Database confirmed other emerging concerns regarding the safety of the SSRI group of drugs in young people.Abstinence was accompanied by improvement in brain magnetic resonance parameters and cognitive testing.Analysis of outcomes in placebo-controlled treatment studies for alcohol dependence, set alongside the costs to the Health Service of treating the complications of alcohol dependence, showed that the costs of failure to help patients attain abstinence are much greater than the costs of providing effective treatments

Strong cider sold in Scotland appears to be almost exclusively for dependent drinkers.

Strong cider sold in Scotland appears to be almost exclusively for dependent drinkers

An exploration of the lived experiences of people with alcohol-related harm in Scotland

Background: Alcohol consumption has posed well-documented problems for Scottish society in terms of morbidity, mortality, and wider societal costs. Objectives: To investigate the lived experiences and drinking behaviors of people with alcohol-related harm in Scotland against a backdrop of recent economic downturn, falling incomes, welfare reform, and changes to state benefits. Methods: As part of a larger Scottish study (2012–2014) of 639 individuals attending hospital or admitted, relating to an alcohol problem, 20 participants completed semistructured interviews about their drinking and purchasing habits that were subjected to thematic analysis. Conclusions: Key themes elucidated participants’ everyday drink-related behaviors within their local environment including drinking triggers, sourcing alcohol, resourcing alcohol purchase, and views relating to substitution. The majority of participants had experienced reduced income and adapted their alcohol-purchasing behaviors accordingly, including “trading down” to cheaper alcohol. A reduction in food purchasing and heating was a common outcome, as was falling into, or increasing current, debt. More attention should be paid to the prevalence and accessibility of alcohol within local communities. Ultimately, as long as there is highly visible and easily accessible cheap alcohol, heavy drinkers may struggle to undertake positive steps to reduce their damaging consumption levels

The total margin of exposure of ethanol and acetaldehyde for heavy drinkers consuming cider or vodka

Heavy drinkers in Scotland may consume 1600 g ethanol per week. Due to its low price, cider may bepreferred over other beverages. Anecdotal evidence has linked cider to specific health hazards beyondother alcoholic beverages. To examine this hypothesis, nine apple and pear cider samples were chemicallyanalysed for constituents and contaminants. None of the products exceeded regulatory or toxicologicalthresholds, but the regular occurrence of acetaldehyde in cider was detected. To provide aquantitative risk assessment, two collectives of exclusive drinkers of cider and vodka were compared andthe intake of acetaldehyde was estimated using probabilistic MonteeCarlo type analysis. The ciderconsumers were found to ingest more than 200-times the amount of acetaldehyde consumed by vodkaconsumers. The margins of exposure (MOE) of acetaldehyde were 224 for the cider and over 220,000 forvodka consumers. However, if the effects of ethanol were considered in a cumulative assessment of thecombined MOE, the effect of acetaldehyde was minor and the combined MOE for both groups was 0.3.We suggest that alcohol policy priority should be given on reducing ethanol intake by measures such asminimum pricing, rather than to focus on acetaldehyde

Roll24

The problem for bed-bound patients is that nurses and caretakers may not be able to help the patients 24/7. Our solution fills the gap throughout the day and night and would allow for patients to be repositioned consistently during short-staffed shifts. This product is currently designed for patients in care homes and indivicaredual homes but may be subject to change. There are other similar products in the market but are very expensive [1]. Our goal is to create an affordable, adaptable option that can work for many bedbound patients

Fibrillar collagen injection for organ protection during thermal ablation of hepatic malignancies

Percutaneous image-guided ablation is performed throughout many areas of the body for various pathologies including hepatic malignancies. Heat and cold-based ablative technologies are effective and well-tolerated with an acceptable safety profile. However, ablative therapies may be technically more challenging and cause collateral thermal injury if the targeted lesion is adjacent to critical organs. Previously, techniques including artificial ascites and pneumoperitoneum have been utilized to displace or insulate critical structures from the ablation zone. This technical innovation describes (10–30 mL) fibrillar collagen dissolved in fluid as a focal thermal insulation technique. Small volume fibrillar collagen instillation, and thermal ablation were technically successful in three cases without complication. Clinical follow-up and 3-month imaging confirmed complete ablation of all hepatic malignancies without collateral injury