Earliest Triassic microbialites in the South China Block and other areas; controls on their growth and distribution

Earliest Triassic microbialites (ETMs) and inorganic carbonate crystal fans formed after the end-Permian mass extinction (ca. 251.4 Ma) within the basal Triassic Hindeodus parvus conodont zone. ETMs are distinguished from rarer, and more regional, subsequent Triassic microbialites. Large differences in ETMs between northern and southern areas of the South China block suggest geographic provinces, and ETMs are most abundant throughout the equatorial Tethys Ocean with further geographic variation. ETMs occur in shallow-marine shelves in a superanoxic stratified ocean and form the only widespread Phanerozoic microbialites with structures similar to those of the Cambro-Ordovician, and briefly after the latest Ordovician, Late Silurian and Late Devonian extinctions. ETMs disappeared long before the mid-Triassic biotic recovery, but it is not clear why, if they are interpreted as disaster taxa. In general, ETM occurrence suggests that microbially mediated calcification occurred where upwelled carbonate-rich anoxic waters mixed with warm aerated surface waters, forming regional dysoxia, so that extreme carbonate supersaturation and dysoxic conditions were both required for their growth. Long-term oceanic and atmospheric changes may have contributed to a trigger for ETM formation. In equatorial western Pangea, the earliest microbialites are late Early Triassic, but it is possible that ETMs could exist in western Pangea, if well-preserved earliest Triassic facies are discovered in future work

Current understanding of hypospadias: relevance of animal models

Hypospadias is a congenital abnormality of the penile urethra with an incidence of approximately 1:200-1:300 male births, which has doubled over the past three decades. The aetiology of the overwhelming majority of hypospadias remains unknown but appears to be a combination of genetic susceptibility and prenatal exposure to endocrine disruptors. Reliable animal models of hypospadias are required for better understanding of the mechanisms of normal penile urethral formation and hence hypospadias. Mice and/or rats are generally used for experimental modelling of hypospadias, however these do not fully reflect the human condition. To use these models successfully, researchers must understand the similarities and differences between mouse, rat and human penile anatomy as well as the normal morphogenetic mechanisms of penile development in these species. Despite some important differences, numerous features of animal and human hypospadias are shared: the prevalence of distal penile malformations; disruption of the urethral meatus; disruption of urethra-associated erectile bodies; and a common mechanism of impaired epithelial fusion events. Rat and mouse models of hypospadias are crucial to our understanding of hypospadias to ultimately reduce its incidence through better preventive strategies

Melhoria da qualidade da informação no controle da produção: estudo exploratório utilizando Data Warehouse Information quality improve on production control: an exploratory study using Data Warehouse

As necessidades de informações para tomadas de decisão ocorrem em qualquer tipo de empresa. Informações de baixa qualidade podem prejudicar estas decisões. Empresas de manufatura baseiam muitas decisões nas informações sobre a produção realizada, que é gerada pelo processo de controle da produção. Os sistemas de informação normalmente utilizados para suporte a este processo são limitados para a geração de informações abrangentes e integradas. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar a proposta de um Data Warehouse (DW) para geração de informações de suporte ao processo de controle da produção, com a garantia de melhoria na qualidade da informação disponibilizada aos usuários. Para isto, serão analisadas quais informações devem ser disponibilizadas, com base no alinhamento entre o desenvolvimento do DW e a estratégia de manufatura da empresa. O projeto do DW será baseado em algumas atividades que garantem a qualidade da informação. Como resultado, será apresentada uma proposta de melhoria da qualidade da informação no controle da produção como uma seqüência de etapas para o desenvolvimento do DW.<br>Every kind of enterprise needs information to support decision making. Low quality information can damage these decisions. Manufacturing enterprises take some decisions using past production information generated in production control process. Information systems that support this process are usually limited in generating integrated and long range information. The main goal of this article is to present a Data Warehouse (DW) development proposal. This DW will generate required production control information and assure that this information will have high quality. The first step of this research is to analyze what information should be available regarding the enterprise manufacturing strategy. DW design will contain some activities to assure information quality. A proposal to improve production control information quality using a DW is expected as a result

Compositional variations in calciturbidites and calcidebrites in response to sea-level fluctuations (Exuma Sound, Bahamas)

compositional variation of Pleistocene carbonate gravity deposits from the Exuma Sound Basin, Bahamas, was determined. Two types of gravity deposit were present in the cores of ODP Leg 101, Site 632A, i.e., calciturbidites and calcidebrites. In analogy with earlier studies, the compositional variations in the calciturbidites could be linked to different sources on the carbonate margin, i.e., platform interior, platform edge, and platform slope. Calciturbidites deposited during interglacial, sea-level highstands show a dominance of non-skeletal grains, largely derived from the platform interior, while calciturbidites of glacial, sea-level lowstands, show a dominance of skeletal platform-edge to platform-slope-derived grains. Thus, the calciturbidite composition can be used to reconstruct the position of absolute sea level. In addition, the mud content of the calciturbidites increased after Marine Isotope Stage 11. In contrast, the composition of the calcidebrites remained unaltered through time and showed a clear dominance of platform-edge-derived sediments during varying sea-level positions. The Bahamian carbonate platform is located in a tectonically stable passive-margin setting and the gravity-flow deposits were laid down in an environment exclusively controlled by eustatic sea-level fluctuations. This study shows that all types of gravity-induced carbonate deposits, calciturbidites, and calcidebrites, were deposited in response to global eustatic sea-level variations. The sediment composition could be linked directly to sediment input from specific facies realms along the carbonate platform margin. Hence, sediment composition analysis is a strong tool that may be used to discriminate between gravity-induced deposition triggered by eustatic sea-level changes and that related to tectonic events, when analyzing resedimentation processes in sedimentary basins.Geoscience & EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience