The photodecomposition product μ-oxalato-1κ^2O,O′:2κ^2O″,O‴-bis{bis[2-(2-pyridyl)phenyl-κ^2C,N]iridium(III)}–acetone (1/1.974)

An attempt to grow crystals of [Ir(ppy)_2(vacac)], (I), from an acetone-d_6 solution formed instead crystals of [{Ir(ppy)_2}_2(μ-oxalato)] acetone solvate, (II), [Ir_2(C_(11)H_8N)_4(C_2O_4)]·1.974C_3H_6O, where ppy is the phenyl­pyridine anion and vacac is vin­ylacetyl­acetonate. Each Ir^(III) ion in (II) is in a pseudo-octa­hedral coordination environment, where the pyridine N atoms are trans to each other and the phen­yl C atoms are trans to the O atoms of the oxalate bridging ligand. There are two crystallographically independent dimer molecules, each lying on an inversion centre. It is suggested that the oxalate ligand is formed in a series of steps initiated by the aldol condensation of acetone with vacac

Seismogenic faults, landslides, and associated tsunamis off southern Italy - Cruise No. M86/2, December 27, 2011 - January 17, 2012, Cartagena (Spain) - Brindisi (Italy)

Summary The continental margins of southern Italy are located along converging plate boundaries, which are affected by intense seismicity and volcanic activity. Most of the coastal areas experienced severe earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis in historical and/or modern times. The most prominent example is the Messina earthquake of Dec. 28, 1908 (Ms=7.3; 80,000 casualties), which was characterized by the worst tsunami Italy experienced in the historical time (~2000 casualties). It is, however, still unclear, whether this tsunami was triggered by a sudden vertical movement along a major fault during the earthquake or as a result of a giant marine slide initiated by the earthquake. The recurrence rates of major landslides and therefore the risk associated with landslides is also unknown. Based on detailed bathymetric data sets collected by Italian colleagues in the frame of the MaGIC Project (Marine Geohazards along the Italian Coast), we collected seismic data (2D and 3D) and gravity cores in three working areas (The Messina Straits, off Eastern Sicily, the Gioia Basin). A dense grid of new 2D-seismic data in the Messina Straits will allow to map fault patterns in great detail. One interesting outcome in this context is the identification of a set of normal faults striking in an EW-direction, which is almost perpendicular to the previously postulated faults. This EW-striking faults seem to be active. The area off eastern Sicily is characterized by numerous landslides and a complex deformation pattern. A 3D-seismic data set has been collected during the cruise using the so called P-cable in order to investigate these deformation patterns in detail. The new data will be the basis for a risk assessment in the working areas

Submarine record of volcanic island construction and collapse in the Lesser Antilles arc: First scientific drilling of submarine volcanic island landslides by IODP Expedition 340

IODP Expedition 340 successfully drilled a series of sites offshore Montserrat, Martinique and Dominica in the Lesser Antilles from March to April 2012. These are among the few drill sites gathered around volcanic islands, and the first scientific drilling of large and likely tsunamigenic volcanic island-arc landslide deposits. These cores provide evidence and tests of previous hypotheses for the composition and origin of those deposits. Sites U1394, U1399, and U1400 that penetrated landslide deposits recovered exclusively seafloor-sediment, comprising mainly turbidites and hemipelagic deposits, and lacked debris avalanche deposits. This supports the concepts that i/ volcanic debris avalanches tend to stop at the slope break, and ii/ widespread and voluminous failures of pre-existing low-gradient seafloor sediment can be triggered by initial emplacement of material from the volcano. Offshore Martinique (U1399 and 1400), the landslide deposits comprised blocks of parallel strata that were tilted or micro-faulted, sometimes separated by intervals of homogenized sediment (intense shearing), while Site U1394 offshore Montserrat penetrated a flat-lying block of intact strata. The most likely mechanism for generating these large-scale seafloor-sediment failures appears to be propagation of a decollement from proximal areas loaded and incised by a volcanic debris avalanche. These results have implications for the magnitude of tsunami generation. Under some conditions, volcanic island landslide deposits comprised of mainly seafloor sediment will tend to form smaller magnitude tsunamis than equivalent volumes of subaerial block-rich mass flows rapidly entering water. Expedition 340 also successfully drilled sites to access the undisturbed record of eruption fallout layers intercalated with marine sediment which provide an outstanding high-resolution dataset to analyze eruption and landslides cycles, improve understanding of magmatic evolution as well as offshore sedimentation processes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Chromosome conformation signatures define predictive markers of inadequate response to methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis

The authors would like to thank members of OBD Reference Facility Benjamin Foulkes, Chloe Bird, Emily Corfeld and Matthew Salter for expedient processing of clinical samples on the EpiSwitch™ platform and Magdalena Jeznach and Willem Westra for help with preparation of the manuscript. The study employed samples from the SERA Biobank used with permission and approval of the SERA Approval Group. We gratefully acknowledge the invaluable contribution of the clinicians and operating team in SERA. We would also like to thank Prof. Raju Kucherlapati (Harvard Medical School), and Prof. Jane Mellor (Oxford Univ.), Prof. John O’Shea (National Institute of Health) and Prof. John Isaacs (New Castle Univ.) for their independent and critical review of our study. A list of Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (SERA) inception cohort investigators is provided in Additional fle 1: Additional Note. Funding This work was funded by Oxford BioDynamics.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Methane-derived authigenic carbonates on accretionary ridges: Miocene case studies in the northern Apennines (Italy) compared with modern submarine counterparts

We present new field data from three outcrops of Miocene methane-derived authigenic carbonates in the foredeep of the northern Apennines that contain chemosynthetic fauna and record a long history (∼1 Ma) of shallow fluid seepage linked to seafloor anaerobic oxidation of methane. The studied outcrops show similar features in terms of carbonate morphology, facies, spatial distribution and lateral and vertical contacts with the enclosing sediments. Methane-derived carbonates occur in two structural positions: 1) on the slope of the accretionary wedge in hemipelagites draping buried thrust-related anticlines, and 2) at the leading edge of the deformation front in the inner foredeep, within fault-related anticlines standing above the adjacent deep seafloor as intrabasinal ridges. We compare fossil seeps with two extensively investigated modern analogues: the Hikurangi Margin, offshore New Zealand and Hydrate Ridge, on the Cascadia margin, offshore the U.S.A. These analogues share a similar compressive structural setting and are marked by the presence of variably extensive and voluminous methane-derived carbonate bodies and chemosynthetic fauna on the present-day seafloor. The comparison allows us to propose a model for the evolution of fluid seeps on thrust-related ridges. At the deformation front, uplift and geometry of the anticlinal ridges are controlled by the growth of splay faults, mostly blind, connected to the basal detachment, favoring the migration of fluids toward the incipient anticline. Fold development generates extensional stresses in the hinge zone of the anticline, promoting the development of normal faults; fluid migration pathways and seafloor seeps shift from the forelimb toward the crest of the ridge as the structures evolve. In the slope setting, far from the deformation front, thrust faults and extensional faults in buried anticlines remain the main fluid migration pathways to sustain seepage at the seafloor. After reaching a mature stage within the wedge, the structure is less active and buried in the slope environment of the evolve