Magma Ascent along a Major Terrane Boundary: Crustal Contamination and Magma Mixing at the Drumadoon Intrusive Complex, Isle of Arran, Scotland

The composite intrusions of Drumadoon and An Cumhann crop out on the SE coast of the Isle of Arran, Scotland and form part of the larger British and Irish Palaeogene Igneous Province, a subset of the North Atlantic Igneous Province. The intrusions (shallow-level dykes and sills) comprise a central quartz-feldspar-phyric rhyolite flanked by xenocryst-bearing basaltic andesite, with an intermediate zone of dark quartz-feldspar-phyric dacite. New geochemical data provide information on the evolution of the component magmas and their relationships with each other, as well as their interaction with the crust through which they travelled. During shallow-crustal emplacement, the end-member magmas mixed. Isotopic evidence shows that both magmas were contaminated by the crust prior to mixing; the basaltic andesite magma preserves some evidence of contamination within the lower crust, whereas the rhyolite mainly records upper-crustal contamination. The Highland Boundary Fault divides Arran into two distinct terranes, the Neoproterozoic to Early Palaeozoic Grampian Terrane to the north and the Palaeozoic Midland Valley Terrane to the south. The Drumadoon Complex lies within the Midland Valley Terrane but its isotopic signatures indicate almost exclusive involvement of Grampian Terrane crust. Therefore, although the magmas originated at depth on the northern side of the Highland Boundary Fault, they have crossed this boundary during their evolution, probably just prior to emplacemen

The Last Post: British Press Representations of Veterans of the Great War

Harry Patch (1898–2009) was the last surviving soldier to have fought in the trenches of the Western Front, entering the media spotlight in 1998 when he was approached to contribute to the BBC documentary Veterans. Media coverage of Patch and the cultivation of his totemic status were particularly prodigious in anticipating and marking his death, producing a range of reflections on its historical, social and cultural significance. Focusing on the British popular press, this article examines media coverage of the last decade of Patch’s life. It considers the way in which the Great War is memorialised in the space of public history of the media in terms of the personalisation and sentimentalisation of Patch, exploring how he serves as a synecdoche for the millions of others who fought, how he embodies ideas of generational and social change, and how the iconography of the Great War’s contemporaneous representation works in the space of its memorialisation

Extremely high He isotope ratios in MORB-source mantle from the proto-Iceland plume

The high <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He ratio of volcanic rocks thought to be derived from mantle plumes is taken as evidence for the existence of a mantle reservoir that has remained largely undegassed since the Earth's accretion. The helium isotope composition of this reservoir places constraints on the origin of volatiles within the Earth and on the evolution and structure of the Earth's mantle. Here we show that olivine phenocrysts in picritic basalts presumably derived from the proto-Iceland plume at Baffin Island, Canada, have the highest magmatic <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He ratios yet recorded. A strong correlation between <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He and <sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr, <sup>143</sup>Nd/<sup>144</sup>Nd and trace element ratios demonstrate that the <sup>3</sup>He-rich end-member is present in basalts that are derived from large-volume melts of depleted upper-mantle rocks. This reservoir is consistent with the recharging of depleted upper-mantle rocks by small volumes of primordial volatile-rich lower-mantle material at a thermal boundary layer between convectively isolated reservoirs. The highest <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He basalts from Hawaii and Iceland plot on the observed mixing trend. This indicates that a <sup>3</sup>He-recharged depleted mantle (HRDM) reservoir may be the principal source of high <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He in mantle plumes, and may explain why the helium concentration of the 'plume' component in ocean island basalts is lower than that predicted for a two-layer, steady-state model of mantle structure

Gondwana break-up related magmatism in the Falkland Islands

Jurassic dykes (c. 182 Ma) are widespread across the Falkland Islands and exhibit considerable geochemical variability. Orthopyroxene-bearing NW–SE-oriented quartz-tholeiite dykes underwent fractional crystallization at >1 GPa, and major element constraints suggest that they were derived by melting of a pyroxenite-rich source. They have εNd182 in the range –6 to –11 and 87Sr/86Sr182 >0.710 and therefore require an old lithospheric component in their source. A suite of basaltic andesites and andesites exhibit geochemical compositions transitional between Ferrar and Karoo magma types, and are similar to those seen in the KwaZulu-Natal region of southern Africa and the Theron Mountains of Antarctica. Olivine-phyric intrusions equilibrated at 182 1.6–3.6 and 87Sr/86Sr182 0.7036–0.7058) that require limited interaction with old continental lithosphere. A suite of plagioclase-phyric intrusions with 87Sr/86Sr182 c. 0.7035 and εNd182 c. +4, and low Th/Ta and La/Ta ratios (c. 1 and c. 15, respectively) also largely escaped interaction with the lithosphere. These isotopically depleted intrusions were probably emplaced synchronously with Gondwana fragmentation and the formation of new oceanic lithosphere. Estimates of mantle potential temperature from olivine equilibration temperatures do not provide unequivocal evidence for the presence of a plume thermal anomaly beneath the Falkland Islands at 182 Ma

Vitamin D Deficiency and Exogenous Vitamin D Excess Similarly Increase Diffuse Atherosclerotic Calcification in Apolipoprotein E Knockout Mice

Background: Observational data associate lower levels of serum vitamin D with coronary artery calcification, cardiovascular events and mortality. However, there is little interventional evidence demonstrating that moderate vitamin D deficiency plays a causative role in cardiovascular disease. This study examined the cardiovascular effects of dietary vitamin D deficiency and of vitamin D receptor agonist (paricalcitol) administration in apolipoprotein E knockout mice. Methods: Mice were fed atherogenic diets with normal vitamin D content (1.5IU/kg) or without vitamin D. Paricalcitol, or matched vehicle, was administered 3× weekly by intraperitoneal injection. Following 20 weeks of these interventions cardiovascular phenotype was characterized by histological assessment of aortic sinus atheroma, soluble markers, blood pressure and echocardiography. To place the cardiovascular assessments in the context of intervention effects on bone, structural changes at the tibia were assessed by microtomography. Results: Vitamin D deficient diet induced significant reductions in plasma vitamin D (p<0.001), trabecular bone volume (p<0.01) and bone mineral density (p<0.005). These changes were accompanied by an increase in calcification density (number of calcifications per mm2) of von Kossa-stained aortic sinus atheroma (461 versus 200, p<0.01). Paricalcitol administration suppressed parathyroid hormone (p<0.001), elevated plasma calcium phosphate product (p<0.005) and induced an increase in calcification density (472 versus 200, p<0.005) similar to that seen with vitamin D deficiency. Atheroma burden, blood pressure, metabolic profile and measures of left ventricular hypertrophy were unaffected by the interventions. Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency, as well as excess, increases atherosclerotic calcification. This phenotype is induced before other measures of cardiovascular pathology associated clinically with vitamin D deficiency. Thus, maintenance of an optimal range of vitamin D signalling may be important for prevention of atherosclerotic calcification

Enhanced carbon pump inferred from relaxation of nutrient limitation in the glacial ocean

The modern Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP) Ocean is a large oceanic source of carbon to the atmosphere. Primary productivity over large areas of the EEP is limited by silicic acid and iron availability, and because of this constraint the organic carbon export to the deep ocean is unable to compensate for the outgassing of carbon dioxide that occurs through upwelling of deep waters. It has been suggested that the delivery of dust-borne iron to the glacial ocean, could have increased primary productivity and enhanced deep-sea carbon export in this region, lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during glacial periods. Such a role for the EEP is supported by higher organic carbon burial rates documented in underlying glacial sediments but lower opal accumulation rates cast doubts on the importance of the EEP as an oceanic region for significant glacial carbon dioxide drawdown. Here we present a new silicon isotope record that suggests the paradoxical decline in opal accumulation rate in the glacial EEP results from a decrease in the silicon to carbon uptake ratio of diatoms under conditions of increased iron availability from enhanced dust input. Consequently, our study supports the idea of an invigorated biological pump in this region during the last glacial period that could have contributed to glacial carbon dioxide drawdown. Additionally, using evidence from silicon and nitrogen isotope changes, we infer that, in contrast to the modern situation, the biological productivity in this region is not constrained by the availability of iron, silicon and nitrogen during the glacial period. We hypothesize that an invigorated biological carbon dioxide pump constrained perhaps only by phosphorus limitation was a more common occurrence in low-latitude areas of the glacial ocean

Seismic and geochemical evidence for large-scale mantle upwelling beneath the eastern Atlantic and western and central Europe

Seismic tomography and the isotope geochemistry of Cenozoic volcanic rocks suggest the existence of a large, sheet-like region of upwelling in the upper mantle which extends from the eastern Atlantic Ocean to central Europe and the western Mediterranean. A belt of extension and rifting in the latter two areas appears to lie above the intersection of the centre of the upwelling region with the base of the lithosphere. Lead, strontium and neodymium isotope data for all three regions converge on a restricted composition, inferred to be that of the upwelling mantle

Evolving east Asian river systems reconstructed by trace element and Pb and Nd isotope variations in modern and ancient Red River-Song Hong sediments

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 9 (2008): Q04039, doi:10.1029/2007GC001867.Rivers in east Asia have been recognized as having unusual geometries, suggestive of drainage reorganization linked to Tibetan Plateau surface uplift. In this study we applied a series of major and trace element proxies, together with bulk Nd and single K-feldspar grain Pb isotope ion probe isotope analyses, to understand the sediment budget of the modern Red River. We also investigate how this may have evolved during the Cenozoic. We show that while most of the modern sediment is generated by physical erosion in the upper reaches in Yunnan there is significant additional flux from the Song Lo, draining Cathaysia and the SW Yangtze Block. Nd isotope data suggest that 40% of the modern delta sediment comes from the Song Lo. Carbonates in the Song Lo basin make this a major control on the Red River Sr budget. Erosion is not a simple function of monsoon precipitation. Active rock uplift is also required to drive strong erosion. Single grain Pb data show a connection in the Eocene between the middle Yangtze and the Red River, and probably with rivers draining the Songpan Garze terrane. However, the isotope data do not support a former connection with the upper Yangtze, Mekong, or Salween rivers. Drainage capture appears to have occurred throughout the Cenozoic, consistent with surface uplift propagating gradually to the southeast. The middle Yangtze was lost from the Red River prior to 24 Ma, while the connection to the Songpan Garze was cut prior to 12 Ma. The Song Lo joined the Red River after 9 Ma. Bulk sample Pb analyses have limited provenance use compared to single grain data, and detailed provenance is only possible with a matrix of different proxies

Impact of primary kidney disease on the effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease: secondary analyses of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial

Background: The EMPA KIDNEY trial showed that empagliflozin reduced the risk of the primary composite outcome of kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease mainly through slowing progression. We aimed to assess how effects of empagliflozin might differ by primary kidney disease across its broad population. Methods: EMPA-KIDNEY, a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial, was conducted at 241 centres in eight countries (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and the USA). Patients were eligible if their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 20 to less than 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or 45 to less than 90 mL/min per 1·73 m2 with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 200 mg/g or higher at screening. They were randomly assigned (1:1) to 10 mg oral empagliflozin once daily or matching placebo. Effects on kidney disease progression (defined as a sustained ≥40% eGFR decline from randomisation, end-stage kidney disease, a sustained eGFR below 10 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or death from kidney failure) were assessed using prespecified Cox models, and eGFR slope analyses used shared parameter models. Subgroup comparisons were performed by including relevant interaction terms in models. EMPA-KIDNEY is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03594110. Findings: Between May 15, 2019, and April 16, 2021, 6609 participants were randomly assigned and followed up for a median of 2·0 years (IQR 1·5–2·4). Prespecified subgroupings by primary kidney disease included 2057 (31·1%) participants with diabetic kidney disease, 1669 (25·3%) with glomerular disease, 1445 (21·9%) with hypertensive or renovascular disease, and 1438 (21·8%) with other or unknown causes. Kidney disease progression occurred in 384 (11·6%) of 3304 patients in the empagliflozin group and 504 (15·2%) of 3305 patients in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·71 [95% CI 0·62–0·81]), with no evidence that the relative effect size varied significantly by primary kidney disease (pheterogeneity=0·62). The between-group difference in chronic eGFR slopes (ie, from 2 months to final follow-up) was 1·37 mL/min per 1·73 m2 per year (95% CI 1·16–1·59), representing a 50% (42–58) reduction in the rate of chronic eGFR decline. This relative effect of empagliflozin on chronic eGFR slope was similar in analyses by different primary kidney diseases, including in explorations by type of glomerular disease and diabetes (p values for heterogeneity all &gt;0·1). Interpretation: In a broad range of patients with chronic kidney disease at risk of progression, including a wide range of non-diabetic causes of chronic kidney disease, empagliflozin reduced risk of kidney disease progression. Relative effect sizes were broadly similar irrespective of the cause of primary kidney disease, suggesting that SGLT2 inhibitors should be part of a standard of care to minimise risk of kidney failure in chronic kidney disease. Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, and UK Medical Research Council

Effects of fluoxetine on functional outcomes after acute stroke (FOCUS): a pragmatic, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial

Background Results of small trials indicate that fluoxetine might improve functional outcomes after stroke. The FOCUS trial aimed to provide a precise estimate of these effects. Methods FOCUS was a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel group, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial done at 103 hospitals in the UK. Patients were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had a clinical stroke diagnosis, were enrolled and randomly assigned between 2 days and 15 days after onset, and had focal neurological deficits. Patients were randomly allocated fluoxetine 20 mg or matching placebo orally once daily for 6 months via a web-based system by use of a minimisation algorithm. The primary outcome was functional status, measured with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), at 6 months. Patients, carers, health-care staff, and the trial team were masked to treatment allocation. Functional status was assessed at 6 months and 12 months after randomisation. Patients were analysed according to their treatment allocation. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN83290762. Findings Between Sept 10, 2012, and March 31, 2017, 3127 patients were recruited. 1564 patients were allocated fluoxetine and 1563 allocated placebo. mRS data at 6 months were available for 1553 (99·3%) patients in each treatment group. The distribution across mRS categories at 6 months was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (common odds ratio adjusted for minimisation variables 0·951 [95% CI 0·839–1·079]; p=0·439). Patients allocated fluoxetine were less likely than those allocated placebo to develop new depression by 6 months (210 [13·43%] patients vs 269 [17·21%]; difference 3·78% [95% CI 1·26–6·30]; p=0·0033), but they had more bone fractures (45 [2·88%] vs 23 [1·47%]; difference 1·41% [95% CI 0·38–2·43]; p=0·0070). There were no significant differences in any other event at 6 or 12 months. Interpretation Fluoxetine 20 mg given daily for 6 months after acute stroke does not seem to improve functional outcomes. Although the treatment reduced the occurrence of depression, it increased the frequency of bone fractures. These results do not support the routine use of fluoxetine either for the prevention of post-stroke depression or to promote recovery of function. Funding UK Stroke Association and NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme