Locked and loading megathrust linked to active subduction beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges

The Indo-Burman mountain rangesmarkthe boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates, north of the Sumatra–Andaman subduction zone. Whether subduction still occurs along this subaerial section of the plate boundary, with 46mm/yr of highly oblique motion, is contentious. About 21mm/yr of shear motion is taken up along the Sagaing Fault, on the eastern margin of the deformation zone. It has been suggested that the remainder of the relative motion is taken up largely or entirely by horizontal strike-slip faulting and that subduction has stopped. Here we present GPS measurements of plate motions in Bangladesh, combined with measurements from Myanmar and northeast India, taking advantage of a more than 300 km subaerial accretionary prism spanning the Indo-Burman Ranges to the Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta. They reveal 13–17mm/yr of plate convergence on an active, shallowly dipping and locked megathrust fault. Most of the strike-slip motion occurs on a few steep faults, consistent with patterns of strain partitioning in subduction zones. Our results strongly suggest that subduction in this region is active, despite the highly oblique plate motion and thick sediments. We suggest that the presence of a locked megathrust plate boundary represents an underappreciated hazard in one of the most densely populated regions of the world

Prolactinomas, Cushing's disease and acromegaly: debating the role of medical therapy for secretory pituitary adenomas

Pituitary adenomas are associated with a variety of clinical manifestations resulting from excessive hormone secretion and tumor mass effects, and require a multidisciplinary management approach. This article discusses the treatment modalities for the management of patients with a prolactinoma, Cushing's disease and acromegaly, and summarizes the options for medical therapy in these patients

Systematic and Evolutionary Insights Derived from mtDNA COI Barcode Diversity in the Decapoda (Crustacea: Malacostraca)

Background: Decapods are the most recognizable of all crustaceans and comprise a dominant group of benthic invertebrates of the continental shelf and slope, including many species of economic importance. Of the 17635 morphologically described Decapoda species, only 5.4% are represented by COI barcode region sequences. It therefore remains a challenge to compile regional databases that identify and analyse the extent and patterns of decapod diversity throughout the world. Methodology/Principal Findings: We contributed 101 decapod species from the North East Atlantic, the Gulf of Cadiz and the Mediterranean Sea, of which 81 species represent novel COI records. Within the newly-generated dataset, 3.6% of the species barcodes conflicted with the assigned morphological taxonomic identification, highlighting both the apparent taxonomic ambiguity among certain groups, and the need for an accelerated and independent taxonomic approach. Using the combined COI barcode projects from the Barcode of Life Database, we provide the most comprehensive COI data set so far examined for the Order (1572 sequences of 528 species, 213 genera, and 67 families). Patterns within families show a general predicted molecular hierarchy, but the scale of divergence at each taxonomic level appears to vary extensively between families. The range values of mean K2P distance observed were: within species 0.285% to 1.375%, within genus 6.376% to 20.924% and within family 11.392% to 25.617%. Nucleotide composition varied greatly across decapods, ranging from 30.8 % to 49.4 % GC content. Conclusions/Significance: Decapod biological diversity was quantified by identifying putative cryptic species allowing a rapid assessment of taxon diversity in groups that have until now received limited morphological and systematic examination. We highlight taxonomic groups or species with unusual nucleotide composition or evolutionary rates. Such data are relevant to strategies for conservation of existing decapod biodiversity, as well as elucidating the mechanisms and constraints shaping the patterns observed.FCT - SFRH/BD/25568/ 2006EC FP6 - GOCE-CT-2005-511234 HERMESFCT - PTDC/MAR/69892/2006 LusomarBo

Drug dosing during pregnancy—opportunities for physiologically based pharmacokinetic models

Drugs can have harmful effects on the embryo or the fetus at any point during pregnancy. Not all the damaging effects of intrauterine exposure to drugs are obvious at birth, some may only manifest later in life. Thus, drugs should be prescribed in pregnancy only if the expected benefit to the mother is thought to be greater than the risk to the fetus. Dosing of drugs during pregnancy is often empirically determined and based upon evidence from studies of non-pregnant subjects, which may lead to suboptimal dosing, particularly during the third trimester. This review collates examples of drugs with known recommendations for dose adjustment during pregnancy, in addition to providing an example of the potential use of PBPK models in dose adjustment recommendation during pregnancy within the context of drug-drug interactions. For many drugs, such as antidepressants and antiretroviral drugs, dose adjustment has been recommended based on pharmacokinetic studies demonstrating a reduction in drug concentrations. However, there is relatively limited (and sometimes inconsistent) information regarding the clinical impact of these pharmacokinetic changes during pregnancy and the effect of subsequent dose adjustments. Examples of using pregnancy PBPK models to predict feto-maternal drug exposures and their applications to facilitate and guide dose assessment throughout gestation are discussed

Comparing 24 h physical activity profiles: Office workers, women with a history of gestational diabetes and people with chronic disease condition(s)

This study demonstrates a novel data-driven method of summarising accelerometer data to profile physical activity in three diverse groups, compared with cut-point determined moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). GGIR was used to generate average daily acceleration, intensity gradient, time in MVPA and MX metrics (acceleration above which the most active X-minutes accumulate) from wrist-worn accelerometer data from three datasets: office-workers (OW, N = 697), women with a history of post-gestational diabetes (PGD, N = 267) and adults with ≥1 chronic disease (CD, N = 1,325). Average acceleration and MVPA were lower in CD, but not PGD, relative to OW (−5.2 mg and −30.7 minutes, respectively, P < 0.001). Both PGD and CD had poorer intensity distributions than OW (P < 0.001). Application of a cut-point to the M30 showed 7%, 17% and 28%, of OW, PGD and CD, respectively, accumulated 30 minutes of brisk walking per day. Radar plots showed OW had higher overall activity than CD. The relatively poor intensity distribution of PGD, despite similar overall activity to OW, was due to accumulation of more light and less higher intensity activity. These data-driven methods identify aspects of activity that differ between groups, which may be missed by cut-point methods alone

Triple pelvic osteotomy in the treatment of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease

This article presents the results of Legg-Calve-Perthes (LCP) disease treatment using triple pelvic osteotomy. Thirty patients were analysed. The conditions for inclusion in the study were complete medical documentation and follow-up until the disease was resolved. Postoperatively, no patients were immobilised. Rehabilitation was initiated early in all patients, and full weight bearing was allowed after ten weeks. With this method, an increase of the CE angle of 17.43 ± 4.020° was achieved. Containment was increased from an initial 6.67% to 53.33% of patients at the final check-up. Similar improvement was achieved by using Herring classification of the damage; preoperatively most hips belonged to group C, and postoperatively to group A. Postoperatively, functional results were also considerably improved. The authors recommend triple pelvic osteotomy as the method of choice in the treatment of severe cases of LCP disease