Strontium and rubidium concentrations of ODP Site 104-642 (Table 1)

We have attempted to date several samples from Site 642 using a combination of Sr isotope stratigraphy and Rb-Sr dating of glauconite. A carbonate shell fragment from Sample 104-642B-22H-6, 70-73 cm gives a Sr isotope stratigraphy date of 17.3 +/- 1.0 Ma, which agrees well with available biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic data. Glauconites from a nearby sample (104-642B-23H-1, 66-69 cm) give a similar date. One carbonate shell fragment and two fish teeth samples from Core 104-642D-12X give concordant Sr isotope stratigraphy ages of about 37 Ma (latest Eocene). Rb-Sr glauconite analyses from one of the samples, while showing some substrate contamination, also support an Eocene age. Our results are in conflict with Miocene palynomorph dates from Core 104-642D-12X. As specific reworking of fish teeth and carbonate macrofossils (and also glauconite) from 37 Ma old sediments into three different samples in Core 104-642D-12X is most unlikely, we view the 37-Ma date as the depositional age of the core

Benthic foraminifera of ODP Leg 104 holes

Benthic foraminifers have been studied in about 900 samples from Sites 642, 643, and 644 (ODP Leg 104, Voring Plateau), ranging in age from Eocene to Holocene. This sequence has been subdivided into seven assemblage zones. The Eocene to middle Miocene deposits are characterized by an agglutinated fauna. This reflects an environment causing dissolution of calcareous tests rather than the original living fauna. The upper Miocene to middle Pliocene deposits contain a diverse benthic foraminiferal fauna dominated by calcareous forms. The uppermost part of the sediment record, deposited during late Pliocene to Holocene, is characterized by many barren intervals and samples containing shallow-water species as well as ice-rafted material indicating glacial periods. Interglacials are reflected in samples containing a true oceanic foraminifer assemblage and no coarse clastic material

Individual Music Therapy for Agitation in Dementia: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVES: Agitation in nursing home residents with dementia leads to increase in psychotropic medication, decrease in quality of life, and to patient distress and caregiver burden. Music therapy has previously been found effective in treatment of agitation in dementia care but studies have been methodologically insufficient. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of individual music therapy on agitation in persons with moderate/severe dementia living in nursing homes, and to explore its effect on psychotropic medication and quality of life. METHOD: In a crossover trial, 42 participants with dementia were randomized to a sequence of six weeks of individual music therapy and six weeks of standard care. Outcome measures included agitation, quality of life and medication. RESULTS: Agitation disruptiveness increased during standard care and decreased during music therapy. The difference at -6.77 (95% CI (confidence interval): -12.71, -0.83) was significant (p = 0.027), with a medium effect size (0.50). The prescription of psychotropic medication increased significantly more often during standard care than during music therapy (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: This study shows that six weeks of music therapy reduces agitation disruptiveness and prevents medication increases in people with dementia. The positive trends in relation to agitation frequency and quality of life call for further research with a larger sample