Middle Miocene limestone from Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, Bass Strait

In 1935 Mr. F. Blake of the Geological Survey of Tasmania visited Cape Barren Island in connexion with the underground water supply at Franklin Village, which is situated on Sandford Bay in the north-west part of the Island. He collected a small sample of fossiliferous limestone which he forwarded to the late Mr. F. Chapman, who was then Commonwealth Palaeontologist. No examination of the material was made at the time. Recently it came under the notice of the writer, who has made a detailed microscopic examination of it, with the following results:- The rock is a hard to friable, cream coloured, bryozoal limestone. The residue after washing contains numerous foraminifera and bryozoa, but the majority of the specimens are poorly preserved

Improved circulating microparticle analysis in acid-citrate dextrose (ACD) anticoagulant tube.

INTRODUCTION: Recently extracellular vesicles (exosomes, microparticles also referred to as microvesicles and apoptotic bodies) have attracted substantial interest as potential biomarkers and therapeutic vehicles. However, analysis of microparticles in biological fluids is confounded by many factors such as the activation of cells in the blood collection tube that leads to in vitro vesiculation. In this study we aimed at identifying an anticoagulant that prevents in vitro vesiculation in blood plasma samples. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared the levels of platelet microparticles and non-platelet-derived microparticles in platelet-free plasma samples of healthy donors. Platelet-free plasma samples were isolated using different anticoagulant tubes, and were analyzed by flow cytometry and Zymuphen assay. The extent of in vitro vesiculation was compared in citrate and acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD) tubes. RESULTS: Agitation and storage of blood samples at 37 degrees C for 1hour induced a strong release of both platelet microparticles and non-platelet-derived microparticles. Strikingly, in vitro vesiculation related to blood sample handling and storage was prevented in samples in ACD tubes. Importantly, microparticle levels elevated in vivo remained detectable in ACD tubes. CONCLUSIONS: We propose the general use of the ACD tube instead of other conventional anticoagulant tubes for the assessment of plasma microparticles since it gives a more realistic picture of the in vivo levels of circulating microparticles and does not interfere with downstream protein or RNA analyses

Spallation Neutron Production by 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6 GeV Protons on various Targets

Spallation neutron production in proton induced reactions on Al, Fe, Zr, W, Pb and Th targets at 1.2 GeV and on Fe and Pb at 0.8, and 1.6 GeV measured at the SATURNE accelerator in Saclay is reported. The experimental double-differential cross-sections are compared with calculations performed with different intra-nuclear cascade models implemented in high energy transport codes. The broad angular coverage also allowed the determination of average neutron multiplicities above 2 MeV. Deficiencies in some of the models commonly used for applications are pointed out.Comment: 20 pages, 32 figures, revised version, accepted fpr publication in Phys. Rev.

CONSTRUCTION ON EXPANSIVE SOILS: CASE OF ROAD SECTION SÉHOUÈ-MASSI

The expansive soils are some soils able to move after loading or water movement; thus, precocious degradations are observed on the structures that are built on them. The present study based on the Sèhouè-Massi section of the Akassato-Bohicon road that is a part of the RNIE N°2 in Benin. The previous work done on the soil of this road section showed that it is on aexpansive clay formation. After had analyzed the auscultation and the geotechnical study results, a road inverse structure appropriate to the traffic was propose

Using Drugs to Probe the Variability of Trans-Epithelial Airway Resistance

BACKGROUND:Precision medicine aims to combat the variability of the therapeutic response to a given medicine by delivering the right medicine to the right patient. However, the application of precision medicine is predicated on a prior quantitation of the variance of the reference range of normality. Airway pathophysiology provides a good example due to a very variable first line of defence against airborne assault. Humans differ in their susceptibility to inhaled pollutants and pathogens in part due to the magnitude of trans-epithelial resistance that determines the degree of epithelial penetration to the submucosal space. This initial 'set-point' may drive a sentinel event in airway disease pathogenesis. Epithelia differentiated in vitro from airway biopsies are commonly used to model trans-epithelial resistance but the 'reference range of normality' remains problematic. We investigated the range of electrophysiological characteristics of human airway epithelia grown at air-liquid interface in vitro from healthy volunteers focusing on the inter- and intra-subject variability both at baseline and after sequential exposure to drugs modulating ion transport. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Brushed nasal airway epithelial cells were differentiated at air-liquid interface generating 137 pseudostratified ciliated epithelia from 18 donors. A positively-skewed baseline range exists for trans-epithelial resistance (Min/Max: 309/2963 Ω·cm2), trans-epithelial voltage (-62.3/-1.8 mV) and calculated equivalent current (-125.0/-3.2 μA/cm2; all non-normal, P<0.001). A minority of healthy humans manifest a dramatic amiloride sensitivity to voltage and trans-epithelial resistance that is further discriminated by prior modulation of cAMP-stimulated chloride transport. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Healthy epithelia show log-order differences in their ion transport characteristics, likely reflective of their initial set-points of basal trans-epithelial resistance and sodium transport. Our data may guide the choice of the background set point in subjects with airway diseases and frame the reference range for the future delivery of precision airway medicine

No association between fear of hypoglycemia and blood glucose variability in type 1 diabetes: The cross-sectional VARDIA study

AIMS: In type 1 diabetes (T1D), treatment efficacy is limited by the unpredictability of blood glucose results and glycemic variability (GV). Fear of Hypoglycemia (FOH) remains a major brake for insulin treatment optimization. We aimed to assess the association of GV with FOH in participants with T1D in an observational cross-sectional study performed in 9 French Diabetes Centres (NCT02790060). METHODS: Participants were T1D for ≥5 years, aged 18-75 years, on stable insulin therapy for ≥3 months. The coefficient of variation (CV) of blood glucose and mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE) were used to assess GV from 7-point self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). FOH was assessed using the validated French version of the Hypoglycemia Fear Survey-II (HFS-II) questionnaire. RESULTS: Among a total of 570 recruited participants, 298 were suitable for analysis: 46% women, 58% on continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion [CSII], mean age 49 ± 16 years, HbA1c 7.5 ± 0.9%, HFS-II score 67 ± 18 and 12% with recent history of severe hypoglycemia during the previous 6 months, mean CV 39.8 ± 9.7% and MAGE 119 ± 42 mg/dL. CV and MAGE did not significantly correlate with HFS-II score (R = -0.05;P = 0.457 and R = 0.08;P = 0.170). Participants with severe hypoglycemia in the previous 6 months had higher HFS scores. Participants with higher HFS scores presented more hypoglycemias during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: FOH as determined using the HFS-II questionnaire was not associated with 7-point SMBG variability in participants with T1D, but was associated with a positive history of severe hypoglycemia. Higher FOH was associated with higher frequency of hypoglycemia during follow-up

Milder winters in northern Scandinavia may contribute to larger outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever virus

The spread of zoonotic infectious diseases may increase due to climate factors such as temperature, humidity and precipitation. This is also true for hantaviruses, which are globally spread haemorrhagic fever viruses carried by rodents. Hantaviruses are frequently transmitted to humans all over the world and regarded as emerging viral diseases. Climate variations affect the rodent reservoir populations and rodent population peaks coincide with increased number of human cases of hantavirus infections. In northern Sweden, a form of haemorrhagic fever called nephropathia epidemica (NE), caused by the Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is endemic and during 2006–2007 an unexpected, sudden and large outbreak of NE occurred in this region. The incidence was 313 cases/100,000 inhabitants in the most endemic areas, and from January through March 2007 the outbreak had a dramatic and sudden start with 474 cases in the endemic region alone. The PUUV rodent reservoir is bank voles and immediately before and during the peak of disease outbreak the affected regions experienced extreme climate conditions with a record-breaking warm winter, registering temperatures 6–9°C above normal. No protective snow cover was present before the outbreak and more bank voles than normal came in contact with humans inside or in close to human dwellings. These extreme climate conditions most probably affected the rodent reservoir and are important factors for the severity of the outbreak

Long-term climate change commitment and reversibility: an EMIC intercomparison

This paper summarizes the results of an intercomparison project with Earth System Models of Intermediate Complexity (EMICs) undertaken in support of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). The focus is on long-term climate projections designed to: (i) quantify the climate change commitment of different radiative forcing trajectories, and (ii) explore the extent to which climate change is reversible on human timescales. All commitment simulations follow the four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and their extensions to 2300. Most EMICs simulate substantial surface air temperature and thermosteric sea level rise commitment following stabilization of the atmospheric composition at year-2300 levels. The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is weakened temporarily and recovers to near pre-industrial values in most models for RCPs 2.6–6.0. The MOC weakening is more persistent for RCP 8.5. Elimination of anthropogenic CO2 emissions after 2300 results in slowly decreasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. At year 3000 atmospheric CO2 is still at more than half its year-2300 level in all EMICs for RCPs 4.5–8.5. Surface air temperature remains constant or decreases slightly and thermosteric sea level rise continues for centuries after elimination of CO2 emissions in all EMICs. Restoration of atmospheric CO2 from RCP to pre-industrial levels over 100–1000 years requires large artificial removal of CO2 from the atmosphere and does not result in the simultaneous return to pre-industrial climate conditions, as surface air temperature and sea level response exhibit a substantial time lag relative to atmospheric CO2