Textural variations in Neogene pelagic carbonate ooze at DSDP Site 593, southern Tasman Sea, and their paleoceanographic implications

Changes in Neogene sediment texture in pelagic carbonate-rich oozes on the Challenger Plateau, southern Tasman Sea, are used to infer changes in depositional paleocurrent velocities. The most obvious record of textural change is in the mud:sand ratio. Increases in the sand content are inferred to indicate a general up-core trend towards increasing winnowing of sediments resulting from increasing flow velocity of Southern Component Intermediate Water (SCIW), the forerunner of Antarctic Intermediate Water. In particular, the intervals c. 19-14.5 Ma, c. 9.5-8 Ma, and after 5 Ma are suggested to be times of increased SCIW velocity and strong sediment winnowing. Within the mud fraction, the fine silt to coarse clay sizes from 15.6 to 2 µm make the greatest contribution to the sediments and are composed of nannofossil plates. During extreme winnowing events it is the fine silt to very coarse clay material (13-3 µm) within this range that is preferentially removed, suggesting the 10 µm cohesive silt boundary reported for siliciclastic sediments does not apply to calcitic skeletal grains. The winnowed sediment comprises coccolithophore placoliths and spheres, represented by a mode at 4-7 µm. Further support for seafloor winnowing is gained from the presence in Hole 593 of a condensed sedimentary section from c. 18 to 14 Ma where the sand content increases to c. 20% of the bulk sample. Associated with the condensed section is a 6 m thick orange unit representing sediments subjected to particularly oxygen-rich, late early to early middle Miocene SCIW. Together these are inferred to indicate increased SCIW velocity resulting in winnowed sediment associated with faster arrival of oxygen-rich surface water subducted to form SCIW. Glacial development of Antarctica has been recorded from many deep-sea sites, with extreme glacials providing the mechanism to increase watermass flow. Miocene glacial zones Mi1b-Mi6 are identified in an associated oxygen isotope record from Hole 593, and correspond with times of particularly invigorated paleocirculation, bottom winnowing, and sediment textural changes

Bioavailability and absorption kinetics of nicotine following application of a transdermal system.

1. The absolute bioavailability and absorption kinetics of nicotine were investigated in 13 healthy adult male smokers following single and multiple applications of a nicotine transdermal system (NTS), designed to release nicotine at an approximate rate of 1.5 mg h-1 over 24 h. The absorption of nicotine from the single NTS application was calculated with reference to a simultaneous intravenous infusion (i.v.) of deuterium-labelled nicotine. 2. The mean input time (MIT) and mean absorption time (MAT) for nicotine following application of NTS for 24 h were 7.7 and 4.2 h, respectively. 3. Following NTS removal, the mean apparent nicotine elimination half-life was 2.8 h, compared with 2.0 h following i.v. nicotine, reflecting continued absorption of nicotine following NTS removal. 4. The mean amount of nicotine absorbed from the NTS after the 24 h application was 20.9 mg, which represents about 68% of the amount released from the system; the remaining 32% was lost from the system during daily activities. 5. The ratio of AUC values for the metabolite cotinine relative to nicotine was similar whether nicotine was administered transdermally or intravenously. 6. Following i.v. administration, the mean nicotine clearance was 72 l h-1 (coefficient of variation 29%). Since coefficients of variation in AUC values following NTS and i.v. treatments were similar, transdermal administration of nicotine was not associated with increased interindividual variability in plasma nicotine concentrations. 7. No significant changes were seen in the pharmacokinetics of nicotine between single and multiple applications of NTS. 8. As expected from the higher total plasma nicotine concentrations, the incidence of adverse effects was higher following simultaneous intravenous and transdermal administration of nicotine. The most frequently reported systemic side effects were nervousness and headache: mild itching was the most frequent topical effect

Counterfeit Commerce:Relations of Production, Distribution and Exchange

Study of the consumption of counterfeit products casts consumers as reflexive agents who knowingly break the law (through the consumption of illegal commodities). Because this analysis is pitched at the level of meaning rather than structural constraints, it produces a misleading view of reflexive counterfeit consumption as being motivated by resistance or the wish to escape from normative coercion. This paper contrasts with approaches that prefigure meaning in explaining counterfeit commerce by treating the trade as an unavoidable structural feature of capitalism. That is, the structural logic of capital accumulation inevitably creates a black market of counterfeit commerce. It is a parasitic form of illegal consumerism which mirrors conventional capitalist organization reproducing familiar dynamics of valued status differentiation