Tectono‐Stratigraphic Evolution of the Kerguelen Large Igneous Province: The Conjugate William’s Ridge‐Broken Ridge Rifted Margins

AbstractExtensive investigation of continental rift systems has been fundamental for advancing the understanding of extensional tectonics and modes of formation of new ocean basins. However, current rift classification schemes do not account for conjugate end members formed by Large Igneous Province crust, referring to thick mafic crust, sometimes including continental fragments. Here, we investigate the rifting of William's Ridge (Kerguelen Plateau) and Broken Ridge, components of the Kerguelen Large Igneous Province now situated in the Southeast Indian Ocean, and incorporate these end members into the deformation migration concept for rifted margins. We use multichannel seismic reflection profiles and data from scientific drill cores acquired on both conjugate margins to propose, for the first time, a combined tectono‐stratigraphic framework. We interpret seismic patterns, tectonic features, and magnetic anomaly picks to determine an across‐strike structural domain classification. This interpretation considers the rift system overall to be “magma‐poor” despite being located proximal to the Kerguelen plume but suggests that syn‐rift interaction between the Kerguelen mantle plume and the lithospheric structure of William's Ridge and Broken Ridge has controlled the along‐strike segmentation of both conjugates. We integrate seismic reflection and bathymetric data to test the hypothesis of predominantly transform motion, between the Australian and Antarctic plates, in Late Cretaceous and Paleogene time.</jats:p

In Vitro Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of \u3b1-synuclein Prion-Like Properties

Aggregation of \u3b1-synuclein plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The common feature of these diseases is a pathological deposition of protein aggregates, known as Lewy bodies (LBs) in the central nervous system. The major component of these aggregates is \u3b1-synuclein, a natively unfolded protein, which may undergo dramatic structural changes resulting in the formation of \u3b2-sheet rich assemblies. In vitro studies have shown that recombinant \u3b1-synuclein protein may polymerize into amyloidogenic fibrils resembling those found in LBs. These aggregates may be uptaken and propagated between cells in a prion-like manner. Here we present the mechanisms and kinetics of \u3b1-synuclein aggregation in vitro, as well as crucial factors affecting this process. We also describe how PD-linked \u3b1-synuclein mutations and some exogenous factors modulate in vitro aggregation. Furthermore, we present a current knowledge on the mechanisms by which extracellular aggregates may be internalized and propagated between cells, as well as the mechanisms of their toxicity. \ua9 2014 Landes Bioscience

3D-electrical resistivity tomography monitoring of salt transport in homogeneous and layered soil samples

Monitoring transport of dissolved substances in soil deposits is particularly relevant where safety is concerned, as in the case of geo-environmental barriers. Geophysical methods are very appealing, since they cover a wide domain, localising possible preferential flow paths and providing reliable links between geophysical quantities and hydrological variables. This paper describes a 3D laboratory application of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) used to monitor solute transport processes. Dissolution and transport tests on both homogeneous and heterogeneous samples were conducted in an instrumented oedometer cell. ERT was used to create maps of electrical conductivity of the monitored domain at different time intervals and to estimate concentration variations within the interstitial fluid. Comparisons with finite element simulations of the transport processes were performed to check the consistency of the results. Tests confirmed that the technique can monitor salt transport, infer the hydro-chemical behaviour of heterogeneous geomaterials and evaluate the performances of clay barrier

Form Factors in N=4 Super Yang-Mills and Periodic Wilson Loops

We calculate form factors of half-BPS operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory at tree level and one loop using novel applications of recursion relations and unitarity. In particular, we determine the expression of the one-loop form factors with two scalars and an arbitrary number of positive-helicity gluons. These quantities resemble closely the MHV scattering amplitudes, including holomorphicity of the tree-level form factor, and the expansion in terms of two-mass easy box functions of the one-loop result. Next, we compare our result for these form factors to the calculation of a particular periodic Wilson loop at one loop, finding agreement. This suggests a novel duality relating form factors to periodic Wilson loops.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures. v2: typos fixed, comments adde

On super form factors of half-BPS operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills

Open Access, (c) The Authors. Article funded by SCOAP3. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited

Use of partial least squares regression to impute SNP genotypes in Italian Cattle breeds

Background The objective of the present study was to test the ability of the partial least squares regression technique to impute genotypes from low density single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) panels i.e. 3K or 7K to a high density panel with 50K SNP. No pedigree information was used. Methods Data consisted of 2093 Holstein, 749 Brown Swiss and 479 Simmental bulls genotyped with the Illumina 50K Beadchip. First, a single-breed approach was applied by using only data from Holstein animals. Then, to enlarge the training population, data from the three breeds were combined and a multi-breed analysis was performed. Accuracies of genotypes imputed using the partial least squares regression method were compared with those obtained by using the Beagle software. The impact of genotype imputation on breeding value prediction was evaluated for milk yield, fat content and protein content. Results In the single-breed approach, the accuracy of imputation using partial least squares regression was around 90 and 94% for the 3K and 7K platforms, respectively; corresponding accuracies obtained with Beagle were around 85% and 90%. Moreover, computing time required by the partial least squares regression method was on average around 10 times lower than computing time required by Beagle. Using the partial least squares regression method in the multi-breed resulted in lower imputation accuracies than using single-breed data. The impact of the SNP-genotype imputation on the accuracy of direct genomic breeding values was small. The correlation between estimates of genetic merit obtained by using imputed versus actual genotypes was around 0.96 for the 7K chip. Conclusions Results of the present work suggested that the partial least squares regression imputation method could be useful to impute SNP genotypes when pedigree information is not available

The last of the simple remainders

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited

The generalized cusp in ABJ(M) N = 6 Super Chern-Simons theories

We construct a generalized cusped Wilson loop operator in N = 6 super Chern-Simons-matter theories which is locally invariant under half of the supercharges. It depends on two parameters and interpolates smoothly between the 1/2 BPS line or circle and a pair of antiparallel lines, representing a natural generalization of the quark-antiquark potential in ABJ(M) theories. For particular choices of the parameters we obtain 1/6 BPS configurations that, mapped on S^2 by a conformal transformation, realize a three-dimensional analogue of the wedge DGRT Wilson loop of N = 4. The cusp couples, in addition to the gauge and scalar fields of the theory, also to the fermions in the bifundamental representation of the U(N)xU(M) gauge group and its expectation value is expressed as the holonomy of a suitable superconnection. We discuss the definition of these observables in terms of traces and the role of the boundary conditions of fermions along the loop. We perform a complete two-loop analysis, obtaining an explicit result for the generalized cusp at the second non-trivial order, from which we read off the interaction potential between heavy 1/2 BPS particles in the ABJ(M) model. Our results open the possibility to explore in the three-dimensional case the connection between localization properties and integrability, recently advocated in D = 4.Comment: 53 pages, 10 figures, added references, this is the version appeared on JHE

Genetic, serological and biochemical characterization of Leishmania tropica from foci in northern Palestine and discovery of zymodeme MON-307

Background Many cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) have been recorded in the Jenin District based on their clinical appearance. Here, their parasites have been characterized in depth. Methods Leishmanial parasites isolated from 12 human cases of CL from the Jenin District were cultured as promastigotes, whose DNA was extracted. The ITS1 sequence and the 7SL RNA gene were analysed as was the kinetoplast minicircle DNA (kDNA) sequence. Excreted factor (EF) serotyping and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) were also applied. Results This extensive characterization identified the strains as Leishmania tropica of two very distinct sub-types that parallel the two sub-groups discerned by multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) done previously. A high degree of congruity was displayed among the results generated by the different analytical methods that had examined various cellular components and exposed intra-specific heterogeneity among the 12 strains. Three of the ten strains subjected to MLEE constituted a new zymodeme, zymodeme MON-307, and seven belonged to the known zymodeme MON-137. Ten of the 15 enzymes in the profile of zymodeme MON-307 displayed different electrophoretic mobilities compared with the enzyme profile of the zymodeme MON-137. The closest profile to that of zymodeme MON-307 was that of the zymodeme MON-76 known from Syria. Strains of the zymodeme MON-307 were EF sub-serotype A2 and those of the zymodeme MON-137 were either A9 or A9B4. The sub-serotype B4 component appears, so far, to be unique to some strains of L. tropica of zymodeme MON-137. Strains of the zymodeme MON-137 displayed a distinctive fragment of 417 bp that was absent in those of zymodeme MON-307 when their kDNA was digested with the endonuclease RsaI. kDNA-RFLP after digestion with the endonuclease MboI facilitated a further level of differentiation that partially coincided with the geographical distribution of the human cases from which the strains came. Conclusions The Palestinian strains that were assigned to different genetic groups differed in their MLEE profiles and their EF types. A new zymodeme, zymodeme MON-307 was discovered that seems to be unique to the northern part of the Palestinian West Bank. What seemed to be a straight forward classical situation of L. tropica causing anthroponotic CL in the Jenin District might be a more complex situation, owing to the presence of two separate sub-types of L. tropica that, possibly, indicates two separate transmission cycles involving two separate types of phlebotomine sand fly vector

Adhesions due to peritoneal carcinomatosis caused by a renal carcinoma leading to mechanical gastric outlet obstruction: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Gastric outlet obstruction is a clinical syndrome caused by a variety of mechanical obstructions. Peptic ulcer disease used to be responsible for most gastric outlet obstruction, but in the last 40 years the prevalence of malignant tumors has risen significantly. Adhesive disease is an infrequent and insidious cause of mechanical gastric outlet obstruction.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 78-year-old Caucasian man who had a clinical history of a right nephrectomy for malignancy three years earlier and who was admitted for a severe gastric outlet obstruction (score of 1) confirmed both by an upper endoscopy and by a fluoroscopic view after contrast injection. A computed tomography scan and a laparotomy, with omental biopsies, showed a peritoneal carcinomatosis with the development of abdominal adhesions that prompted an abnormal gastric rotation around the perpendicular axis of his antrum with a dislocation in the empty space of his right kidney. Symptoms disappeared after surgical bypass through a gastrojejunostomy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our patient experienced a very rare complication characterized by the development of adhesions due to peritoneal carcinomatosis caused by a renal carcinoma treated with nephrectomy. These adhesions prompted an abnormal dislocation of his antrum, as an internal hernia, in the empty space of his right kidney.</p