3D seismic interpretation of soft-sediment deformational processes offshore Israel : implications for hydrocarbon prospectivity

This thesis uses a combination of industry seismic (2D and 3D) and well data to investigate the typologies, genetics and mechanisms of soft-sediment deformational processes on the continental margin of Israel and their impact on the exploration and production of hydrocarbons. Research has been focused on the two major types of soft-sediment deformation in the region: clastic diapirism and submarine slope instability (i.e. submarine slumping). Such processes have occurred almost continuously throughout the post-Messinian history of the Israeli margin, and have played a critical role in its overall evolution and construction. Detailed analysis of the timing of occurrence, areal distribution and 3D appearance of the resultant structures has enabled an enhanced understanding of the causes, processes and results of soft- sediment deformational events to be obtained. Clastic diapirism occurred during the first stages of refilling of the Mediterranean Sea after the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and was restricted to an area underlain by the Afiq Submarine Canyon (Oligocene in origin). The resultant bodies correspond to a series of four-way dip mounded features, and ridge-like structures that are mainly distributed along the axis and one of the flanks of the canyon, respectively. Seismicity and hydrocarbon generation have been proposed here as the main triggering mechanisms. Clastic diapirism plays a decisive role in the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the region as it largely modifies the reservoir properties and architectures of the largest accumulations of hydrocarbons discovered to date in Israel. Submarine slope instability (i.e. submarine slumping) is the second dominant typology of soft-sediment deformation in the continental margin of Israel. Submarine slumping initiated during the Late Pliocene with the Israel Slump Complex (ISC), one of the biggest submarine slump deposits in the world described to date. Since then, slope failure has occurred almost continually up to the present day. Submarine failure in the area is linked to the dynamics of subsidence and deformation of the transform margin of the eastern Mediterranean. Seismicity and presence of gas in the sediments, together with localised oversteepening, have been proposed as the main triggering mechanisms. The high spatial resolution provided by the 3D seismic data has enabled two principal types of submarine landslides to be distinguished according to their mechanism of frontal emplacement: frontally confined and emergent. In the first, the landslide undergoes a restricted downslope displacement and does not overrun the undeformed downslope strata. In the second significant downslope translation occurs since the landslide is able to abandon its original basal shear surface and translate freely over the seafloor. Such division is of critical importance as the formational mechanisms, and processes of translation and cessation are fundamentally different.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

3D seismic interpretation of soft-sediment deformational processes offshore Israel : implications for hydrocarbon prospectivity

This thesis uses a combination of industry seismic (2D and 3D) and well data to investigate the typologies, genetics and mechanisms of soft-sediment deformational processes on the continental margin of Israel and their impact on the exploration and production of hydrocarbons. Research has been focused on the two major types of soft-sediment deformation in the region: clastic diapirism and submarine slope instability (i.e. submarine slumping). Such processes have occurred almost continuously throughout the post-Messinian history of the Israeli margin, and have played a critical role in its overall evolution and construction. Detailed analysis of the timing of occurrence, areal distribution and 3D appearance of the resultant structures has enabled an enhanced understanding of the causes, processes and results of soft- sediment deformational events to be obtained. Clastic diapirism occurred during the first stages of refilling of the Mediterranean Sea after the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and was restricted to an area underlain by the Afiq Submarine Canyon (Oligocene in origin). The resultant bodies correspond to a series of four-way dip mounded features, and ridge-like structures that are mainly distributed along the axis and one of the flanks of the canyon, respectively. Seismicity and hydrocarbon generation have been proposed here as the main triggering mechanisms. Clastic diapirism plays a decisive role in the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the region as it largely modifies the reservoir properties and architectures of the largest accumulations of hydrocarbons discovered to date in Israel. Submarine slope instability (i.e. submarine slumping) is the second dominant typology of soft-sediment deformation in the continental margin of Israel. Submarine slumping initiated during the Late Pliocene with the Israel Slump Complex (ISC), one of the biggest submarine slump deposits in the world described to date. Since then, slope failure has occurred almost continually up to the present day. Submarine failure in the area is linked to the dynamics of subsidence and deformation of the transform margin of the eastern Mediterranean. Seismicity and presence of gas in the sediments, together with localised oversteepening, have been proposed as the main triggering mechanisms. The high spatial resolution provided by the 3D seismic data has enabled two principal types of submarine landslides to be distinguished according to their mechanism of frontal emplacement: frontally confined and emergent. In the first, the landslide undergoes a restricted downslope displacement and does not overrun the undeformed downslope strata. In the second significant downslope translation occurs since the landslide is able to abandon its original basal shear surface and translate freely over the seafloor. Such division is of critical importance as the formational mechanisms, and processes of translation and cessation are fundamentally different

Selection for Greater β-Glucan Content in Oat Grain

Oat (Avena sativa L.) β-glucan lowers serum cholesterol in humans. Development of oat cultivars with greater groat (caryopsis) β-glucan content would increase the nutritional and economic value of the crop. The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate the response to phenotypic selection among individual S0 plants for greater groat β-glucan content in two genetically broad-based populations; to compare selected experimental lines to standard check cultivars; and to estimate genetic variances and heritabilities and to test for nonadditive genetic variance for β-glucan content. We measured groat β-glucan contents of check cultivars and parental lines and random S0:1 lines from initial and selected generations of each population grown in field experiments in 1996 and 1997 at two Iowa locations. Mean β-glucan content increased from 53.9 to 59.9 g kg−1 in one population, and from 63.5 to 66.0 g kg−1 in the other, following selection. Genetic variance of β-glucan content decreased by 9 to 22% following selection, but heritability for β-glucan content did not change significantly. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.80 to 0.85 on a line mean basis. Additive variance was the only substantial component of genetic variance. Some experimental lines had significantly greater β-glucan content than the best check cultivars and lines. Phenotypic selection for greater groat β-glucan content will be effective for developing cultivars with elevated β-glucan contents

Refractive index spectral dependence, Raman and transmission spectra of high-purity 28^{28}Si, 29^{29}Si, 30^{30}Si, and nat^{nat}Si single crystals

Precise measurement of the refractive index of stable silicon isotopes $^{28}$Si, $^{29}$Si, $^{30}$Si single crystals with enrichments above 99.9 at.% and a silicon single crystal $^{nat}$Si of natural isotopic composition is performed with the Fourier-transform interference refractometry method from 1.06 to more than 80 mkm with 0.1 cm$^{-1}$ resolution and accuracy of $2 \times 10^{-5} ... 1 \times 10^{-4}$. The oxygen and carbon concentrations in all crystals are within $5 \times 10^{15}$ cm$^{-3}$ and the content of metal impurities is $10^{-5} ... 10^{-6}$ at.%. The peculiar changes of the refractive index in the phonon absorption region of all silicon single crystals are shown. The coefficients of generalized Cauchy dispersion function approximating the experimental refractive index values all over the measuring range are given. The transmission and Raman spectra are also studied

Responses of non-native earthworms to experimental eradication of garlic mustard and implications for native vegetation

Recent studies in invasion biology suggest that positive feedback among two or more introduced organisms facilitate establishment within a new range and drive changes in native plant communities. Here, we experimentally tested for relationships between native plants and two non‐native organisms invading forest habitats in North America: garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata, Brassicaceae) and earthworms. In two forested sites, we compared understory vegetation and earthworm biomass in plots where garlic mustard was removed for three years, plots without garlic mustard invasion, and plots invaded by garlic mustard that was not removed. Earthworm biomass was highest in the plots with garlic mustard, and long‐term eradication of garlic mustard reduced earthworm biomass to levels similar to those observed in the uninvaded control plots. Invasion treatment, and the interactions between earthworm biomass and treatment, explained most of the variation in plant community composition and diversity—suggesting that earthworms alone do not necessarily drive forest understory floristic patterns. In contrast to broader geographic patterns indicating earthworms as the main driver of vegetation change in the presence of non‐native plants, we show that garlic mustard solely, or in conjunction with earthworm biomass, drives changes in native plant composition and diversity at the scale of individual forests. From a local management perspective, our data suggest that garlic mustard eradication can directly assist in the conservation of native plant communities and simultaneously reduce earthworm biomass

Comparison of central versus peripheral delivery of pregabalin in neuropathic pain states

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although pregabalin therapy is beneficial for neuropathic pain (NeP) by targeting the CaVα₂δ-1 subunit, its site of action is uncertain. Direct targeting of the central nervous system may be beneficial for the avoidance of systemic side effects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We used intranasal, intrathecal, and near-nerve chamber forms of delivery of varying concentrations of pregabalin or saline delivered over 14 days in rat models of experimental diabetic peripheral neuropathy and spinal nerve ligation. As well, radiolabelled pregabalin was administered to determine localization with different deliveries. We evaluated tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia at multiple time points, and then analyzed harvested nervous system tissues for molecular and immunohistochemical changes in CaVα₂δ-1 protein expression. Both intrathecal and intranasal pregabalin administration at high concentrations relieved NeP behaviors, while near-nerve pregabalin delivery had no effect. NeP was associated with upregulation of CACNA2D1 mRNA and CaVα₂δ-1 protein within peripheral nerve, dorsal root ganglia (DRG), and dorsal spinal cord, but not brain. Pregabalin's effect was limited to suppression of CaVα₂δ-1 protein (but not CACNA2D1 mRNA) expression at the spinal dorsal horn in neuropathic pain states. Dorsal root ligation prevented CaVα₂δ-1 protein trafficking anterograde from the dorsal root ganglia to the dorsal horn after neuropathic pain initiation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Either intranasal or intrathecal pregabalin relieves neuropathic pain behaviours, perhaps due to pregabalin's effect upon anterograde CaVα₂δ-1 protein trafficking from the DRG to the dorsal horn. Intranasal delivery of agents such as pregabalin may be an attractive alternative to systemic therapy for management of neuropathic pain states.</p

Mass-Transport Complexes as Markers of Deep-Water Fold-and-Thrust Belt Evolution: Insights From the Southern Magdalena Fan, Offshore Colombia

Mass-wasting of tectonically active margins is an important process in the degradation of deep-water fold-and-thrust belts. However, tectono-stratigraphic links between mass-transport complexes (MTCs), the evolution of MTC basal surfaces, and the timing, and spatial progression of deformation have not been extensively studied. This study uses high-quality, 3D seismic reflection data from the southern Magdalena Fan, offshore Colombia to investigate how the growth of a deep-water fold-and-thrust belt (the southern Sinú Fold Belt) is reflected in the source, distribution and size of MTCs. At least 11 distinct, but now-coalesced MTCs, overlie this surface. Their size and source location changed through time: the oldest, ‘detached’ MTCs are relatively small (10-160 km2) and sourced from the flanks of growing anticlines; the younger, ‘shelf-attached’ MTCs are considerably larger (200-400 km2), are sourced from the shelf and post-date the main phase of active thrusting and folding. Changes in the source, distribution and size of MTCs are tied to the sequential nucleation, amplification and along-strike propagation of individual structures showing that MTCs can be used to constrain the timing and style of deformation, and seascape evolution in time and space. The basal surface of the largest MTC was created by multiple syn-tectonic and post-tectonic mass-wasting events, is highly diachronous and represents an extended period of slope instability. Thus, the geometry and extent of MTC basal surfaces can evolve through time, and the deposits that overlie them do not necessarily record the processes that led to their creation. These insights complicate assessments of the anatomy and genesis of MTC basal surfaces and could be applied at deeper burial depths where seismic resolution may be poor

Single molecule force measurements of perlecan/HSPG2: A key component of the osteocyte pericellular matrix

Perlecan/HSPG2, a large, monomeric heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), is a key component of the lacunar canalicular system (LCS) of cortical bone, where it is part of the mechanosensing pericellular matrix (PCM) surrounding the osteocytic processes and serves as a tethering element that connects the osteocyte cell body to the bone matrix. Within the pericellular space surrounding the osteocyte cell body, perlecan can experience physiological fluid flow drag force and in that capacity function as a sensor to relay external stimuli to the osteocyte cell membrane. We previously showed that a reduction in perlecan secretion alters the PCM fiber composition and interferes with bone's response to a mechanical loading in vivo. To test our hypothesis that perlecan core protein can sustain tensile forces without unfolding under physiological loading conditions, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to capture images of perlecan monomers at nanoscale resolution and to perform single molecule force measurement (SMFMs). We found that the core protein of purified full-length human perlecan is of suitable size to span the pericellular space of the LCS, with a measured end-to-end length of 170 ± 20 nm and a diameter of 2–4 nm. Force pulling revealed a strong protein core that can withstand over 100 pN of tension well over the drag forces that are estimated to be exerted on the individual osteocyte tethers. Data fitting with an extensible worm-like chain model showed that the perlecan protein core has a mean elastic constant of 890 pN and a corresponding Young's modulus of 71 MPa. We conclude that perlecan has physical properties that would allow it to act as a strong but elastic tether in the LCS

The ALFA-tag is a highly versatile tool for nanobody-based bioscience applications

Specialized epitope tags are widely used for detecting, manipulating or purifying proteins, but often their versatility is limited. Here, we introduce the ALFA-tag, a rationally designed epitope tag that serves a remarkably broad spectrum of applications in life sciences while outperforming established tags like the HA-, FLAG (R)- or myc-tag. The ALFA-tag forms a small and stable a-helix that is functional irrespective of its position on the target protein in prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. We characterize a nanobody (NbALFA) binding ALFA-tagged proteins from native or fixed specimen with low picomolar affinity. It is ideally suited for super-resolution microscopy, immunoprecipitations and Western blotting, and also allows in vivo detection of proteins. We show the crystal structure of the complex that enabled us to design a nanobody mutant (NbALFA(PE)) that permits efficient one-step purifications of native ALFA-tagged proteins, complexes and even entire living cells using peptide elution under physiological conditions