Impact of CaSO4-rich soil on Miocene surface preservation and Quaternary sinuous to meandering channel forms in the hyperarid Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert is the driest and oldest desert on Earth. Despite the abundance evidence for long-term landscape stability, there are subtle signs of localised fluvial erosion and deposition since the onset of hyperaridity in the rock record. In the dry core of the Atacama Desert, pluvial episodes allowed antecedent drainage to incise into uplifting fault scarps, which in turn generated sinuous to meandering channels. Incision of ancient alluvial fan surfaces occurred during intermittent fluvial periods, albeit without signs of surface erosion. Fluvial incision during predominantly hyperarid climate periods is evident from these channels in unconsolidated alluvium. The absence of dense vegetation to provide bank stability and strength led us to investigate the potential role of regionally ubiquitous CaSO4-rich surface cover. This has enabled the preservation of Miocene surfaces and we hypothesize that it provided the required bank stability by adding strength to the upper decimetre to meter of incised alluvium to allow high sinuosity of stream channels to form during pluvial episodes in the Quaternary

A 68 ka precipitation record from the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile

[Abstract] The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of the driest deserts on Earth. Hyperaridity persists at least since the Miocene and was punctuated by pluvial phases. However, very little is known about the timing, regional spread and intensities of precipitation changes. Here, we present a new precipitation record from a sedimentary sequence recovered in a tectonically blocked endorheic basin that is located in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert. The chronostratigraphic framework of the record is given by a multi-disciplinary dating approach, suggesting an age of ca. 68 ka BP for the core base. The sequence consists of three sediment types, whose sedimentological and geochemical characteristics suggest different depositional processes that reflect different degrees in humidity. First, particularly fine-grained sediments with high clastic but low calcium sulfate and carbonate contents reflect a particularly dry climate with only sporadic precipitation events and fluvial supply via channel systems. Second, more coarse-grained sediments with lower clastic and higher calcium sulfate and carbonate contents reflect more moist conditions with stronger precipitation events that lead to fluvial activity not restricted to the channels but involving the slopes and plains in the catchment. Third, normally graded layers with an equally high proportion of calcium sulfate and carbonate reflect occasional high-precipitation events that caused sediment supply also from most distant parts of the catchment via severe flash floods. The sedimentary succession suggests that precipitation changes took place on orbital but also on millennial time scales. Rather moist periods occurred during most of MIS 2, several shorter periods within MIS 3 and parts of MIS 4. Comparison of the findings from the Huara record with selected climate records from continental and marine sites in South America suggests a strong precipitation heterogeneity across the Atacama. This heterogeneity is caused by pronounced differences in the dominating climate patterns and a shift from predominant summer rain in the north to winter rain in the south. Precipitation supply to the Huara clay plan is controlled by the atmospheric circulation rather than the surface temperature of the adjacent ocean

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Blending Scales of Governance: Land Use Policies and Practices in the Small State of Luxembourg

Blending scales of governance: land-use policies and practices in the small state of Luxembourg, Regional Studies. While multilevel governance is helpful in understanding the logics behind integrated sustainable development policies, this paper argues that relational multi-scalar approaches more accurately explain actual land-use transformations in the small state of Luxembourg. These conclusions are based on surveys of planning policies and observations of land-use patterns related to housing and retail. Additionally, over 60 interviews were performed with local actors. The results reveal how actors blend scales of governance to override national directives to exert changes in land use. Blending scales is not always strategic or advantageous, but is an unavoidable process that characterizes interactions in a small state

Experimental treatment with Favipiravir for Ebola Virus Disease (the JIKI Trial) : a historically controlled, single-arm proof-of-concept trial in Guinea

BACKGROUND:Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a highly lethal condition for which no specific treatment has proven efficacy. In September 2014, while the Ebola outbreak was at its peak, the World Health Organization released a short list of drugs suitable for EVD research. Favipiravir, an antiviral developed for the treatment of severe influenza, was one of these. In late 2014, the conditions for starting a randomized Ebola trial were not fulfilled for two reasons. One was the perception that, given the high number of patients presenting simultaneously and the very high mortality rate of the disease, it was ethically unacceptable to allocate patients from within the same family or village to receive or not receive an experimental drug, using a randomization process impossible to understand by very sick patients. The other was that, in the context of rumors and distrust of Ebola treatment centers, using a randomized design at the outset might lead even more patients to refuse to seek care. Therefore, we chose to conduct a multicenter non-randomized trial, in which all patients would receive favipiravir along with standardized care. The objectives of the trial were to test the feasibility and acceptability of an emergency trial in the context of a large Ebola outbreak, and to collect data on the safety and effectiveness of favipiravir in reducing mortality and viral load in patients with EVD. The trial was not aimed at directly informing future guidelines on Ebola treatment but at quickly gathering standardized preliminary data to optimize the design of future studies.METHODS AND FINDINGS:Inclusion criteria were positive Ebola virus reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) test, age ≥ 1 y, weight ≥ 10 kg, ability to take oral drugs, and informed consent. All participants received oral favipiravir (day 0: 6,000 mg; day 1 to day 9: 2,400 mg/d). Semi-quantitative Ebola virus RT-PCR (results expressed in "cycle threshold" [Ct]) and biochemistry tests were performed at day 0, day 2, day 4, end of symptoms, day 14, and day 30. Frozen samples were shipped to a reference biosafety level 4 laboratory for RNA viral load measurement using a quantitative reference technique (genome copies/milliliter). Outcomes were mortality, viral load evolution, and adverse events. The analysis was stratified by age and Ct value. A "target value" of mortality was defined a priori for each stratum, to guide the interpretation of interim and final analysis. Between 17 December 2014 and 8 April 2015, 126 patients were included, of whom 111 were analyzed (adults and adolescents, ≥13 y, n = 99; young children, ≤6 y, n = 12). Here we present the results obtained in the 99 adults and adolescents. Of these, 55 had a baseline Ct value ≥ 20 (Group A Ct ≥ 20), and 44 had a baseline Ct value < 20 (Group A Ct < 20). Ct values and RNA viral loads were well correlated, with Ct = 20 corresponding to RNA viral load = 7.7 log10 genome copies/ml. Mortality was 20% (95% CI 11.6%-32.4%) in Group A Ct ≥ 20 and 91% (95% CI 78.8%-91.1%) in Group A Ct < 20. Both mortality 95% CIs included the predefined target value (30% and 85%, respectively). Baseline serum creatinine was ≥110 μmol/l in 48% of patients in Group A Ct ≥ 20 (≥300 μmol/l in 14%) and in 90% of patients in Group A Ct < 20 (≥300 μmol/l in 44%). In Group A Ct ≥ 20, 17% of patients with baseline creatinine ≥110 μmol/l died, versus 97% in Group A Ct < 20. In patients who survived, the mean decrease in viral load was 0.33 log10 copies/ml per day of follow-up. RNA viral load values and mortality were not significantly different between adults starting favipiravir within <72 h of symptoms compared to others. Favipiravir was well tolerated.CONCLUSIONS:In the context of an outbreak at its peak, with crowded care centers, randomizing patients to receive either standard care or standard care plus an experimental drug was not felt to be appropriate. We did a non-randomized trial. This trial reaches nuanced conclusions. On the one hand, we do not conclude on the efficacy of the drug, and our conclusions on tolerance, although encouraging, are not as firm as they could have been if we had used randomization. On the other hand, we learned about how to quickly set up and run an Ebola trial, in close relationship with the community and non-governmental organizations; we integrated research into care so that it improved care; and we generated knowledge on EVD that is useful to further research. Our data illustrate the frequency of renal dysfunction and the powerful prognostic value of low Ct values. They suggest that drug trials in EVD should systematically stratify analyses by baseline Ct value, as a surrogate of viral load. They also suggest that favipiravir monotherapy merits further study in patients with medium to high viremia, but not in those with very high viremia.TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02329054.Evaluation of the efficacy and of the antiviral activity of T-705 (favipiravir) duringEbola virus infection in non-human primates humansEbola Virus Disease - correlates of protection, determinants of outcome, and clinical managemen