A 2000 yr paleoearthquake record along the Conway segment of the Hope fault : implications for patterns of earthquake occurrence in northern South Island and southern North Island, New Zealand

Paleoseismic trenches excavated at two sites reveal ages of late Holocene earthquakes along the Conway segment of the Hope fault, the fastest‐slipping fault within the Marlborough fault system in northern South Island, New Zealand. At the Green Burn East (GBE) site, a fault‐perpendicular trench exposed gravel colluvial wedges, fissure fills, and upward fault terminations associated with five paleo‐surface ruptures. Radiocarbon age constraints indicate that these five earthquakes occurred after 36 B.C.E., with the four most recent surface ruptures occurring during a relatively brief period (550 yr) between about 1290 C.E. and the beginning of the historical earthquake record about 1840 C.E. Additional trenches at the Green Burn West (GBW) site 1.4 km west of GBE reveal four likely coseismically generated landslides that occurred at approximately the same times as the four most recent GBE paleoearthquakes, independently overlapping with age ranges of events GB1, GB2, and GB3 from GBE. Combining age constraints from both trench sites indicates that the most recent event (GB1) occurred between 1731 and 1840 C.E., the penultimate event GB2 occurred between 1657 and 1797 C.E., GB3 occurred between 1495 and 1611 C.E., GB4 occurred between 1290 and 1420 C.E., and GB5 occurred between 36 B.C.E. and 1275 C.E. These new data facilitate comparisons with similar paleoearthquake records from other faults within the Alpine–Hope–Jordan–Kekerengu–Needles–Wairarapa (Al‐Hp‐JKN‐Wr) fault system of throughgoing, fast‐slip‐rate (⁠≥10  mm/yr⁠) reverse‐dextral faults that accommodate a majority of Pacific–Australia relative plate boundary motion. These comparisons indicate that combinations of the faults of the Al‐Hp‐JKN‐Wr system may commonly rupture within relatively brief, ≤100‐year‐long sequences, but that full “wall‐to‐wall” rupture sequences involving all faults in the system are rare over the span of our paleoearthquake data. Rather, the data suggest that the Al‐Hp‐JKN‐Wr system may commonly rupture in subsequences that do not involve the entire system, and potentially, at least sometimes, in isolated events

Evolution and progressive geomorphic manifestation of surface faulting: A comparison of the Wairau and Awatere faults, South Island, New Zealand

Field mapping and lidar analysis of surface faulting patterns expressed in flights of geologically similar fluvial terraces at the well-known Branch River and Saxton River sites along the Wairau (Alpine) and Awatere strike-slip faults, South Island, New Zealand, reveal that fault-related deformation patterns expressed in the topography at these sites are markedly less structurally complex along the higher-displacement (hundreds of kilometers), structurally mature Wairau fault than along the Awatere fault (∼13–20 km total slip). These differences, which are generally representative of the surface traces of these faults, provide direct evidence that surface faulting becomes structurally simpler with increasing cumulative fault offset. We also examine the degree to which off-fault deformation (OFD) is expressed in the landscape at the Saxton River site along the less structurally mature Awatere fault. Significantly greater amounts of OFD are discernible as a wide damage zone (∼460 m fault-perpendicular width) in older (ca. 15 ka), more-displaced (64–74 m) fluvial terraces than in younger (ca. 1–7 ka), less-displaced (<55 m) terraces; no OFD is discernible in the lidar data on the least-displaced (<35 m) terraces. From this, we infer that OFD becomes progressively more geomorphically apparent with accumulating displacement. These observations imply that (1) the processes that accommodate OFD are active during each earthquake, but may not be evident in deposits that have experienced relatively small displacements; (2) structures accommodating OFD will become progressively geomorphically clearer with increasing displacement; (3) geomorphic measurements of overall fault zone width taken in deposits that have experienced small displacements will be underestimates; and (4) fault slip rates based on geomorphic surface offsets will be underestimates for immature faults if based solely on measurements along the high-strain fault core

How musical selection impacts the performance of the interaction with the computer

In this busy society of ours people push their limits to work better and more in order to remain competitive with their peers. Nonetheless, working longer hours does not necessarily improves productivity nor performance. In order to prevent the negative consequences of this increasing trend, the evolution of performance throughout the day of work should be more closely monitored. This could avoid undesirable states or even breakdowns, which have social and economical implications. In this work we measure user performance through their interaction with the computer. We monitor its evolution during a day of work and how di erent types of music may increase or decrease its natural daily degradation. We conclude that the relationship between types of music and its e ects is not universal and depends, among other things, on the musical pro le of the individual. A prototype for a distributed music recommendation service is presented that suggests musics at an individual and group level, based on user musical pro les and objectives.This work is part-funded by ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028980 (PTDC/EEI-SII/1386/2012)

Holocene to latest Pleistocene incremental slip rates from the east-central Hope fault (Conway segment) at Hossack Station, Marlborough fault system, South Island, New Zealand: Towards a dated path of earthquake slip along a plate boundary fault

Geomorphic field and aerial lidar mapping, coupled with fault-parallel trenching, reveals four progressive offsets of a stream channel and an older offset of the channel headwaters and associ­ated fill terrace–bedrock contact at Hossack Station along the Conway segment of the Hope fault, the fastest-slipping fault within the Marlborough fault system in northern South Island, New Zealand. Radiocarbon and luminescence dating of aggra­dational surface deposition and channel initiation and abandonment event horizons yields not only an average dextral rate of ~15 mm/yr since ca. 14 ka, but also incremental slip rates for five different time periods (spanning hundreds to thousands of years) during Holocene to latest Pleistocene time. These incremental rates vary through time and are, from youngest to oldest: 8.2 +2.7/−1.5 mm/yr averaged since 1.1 ka; 32.7 +~124.9/−10.1 mm/yr averaged over 1.61–1.0 ka; 19.1 ± 0.8 mm/yr between 5.4 and 1.6 ka; 12.0 ± 0.9 mm/yr between 9.4 and 5.4 ka, and 13.7 +4.0/−3.4 mm/yr from 13.8 to 9.4 ka, with generally faster rates in the mid- to late Holocene relative to slower rates prior to ca. 5.4 ka. The most pronounced variation in rates occurs between the two youngest intervals, which are averaged over shorter time spans (≤1700 yr) than the three older incremental rates (3700–4500 yr). This suggests that the factor of ~1.5× variations in Hope fault slip rate observed in the three older, longer- duration incremental rates may mask even greater temporal variations in rate over shorter time scales

Multimillennial incremental slip rate variability of the Clarence fault at the Tophouse Road site, Marlborough Fault System, New Zealand

Incremental slip rates of the Clarence fault, a dextral fault in the Marlborough fault system of South Island, New Zealand, varied by a factor of 4–5 during Holocene–latest Pleistocene time, as revealed by geomorphic mapping and luminescence dating of faulted fluvial landforms at the Tophouse Road site. We used high-resolution lidar microtopographic data and field surveys to map the fine-scale geomorphology and precisely restore the offset features. We dated the offsets using a stratigraphically informed protocol for infrared stimulated luminescence dating. These data show that incremental slip rates varied from ~2.0 to 9.6 mm/year, averaged over multiple earthquakes and millennial timescales. Comparison to incremental slip rates of the nearby Awatere fault suggests that these faults may behave in coordinated (and anticorrelated) fashion. This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that incremental slip rate variation spanning multiple earthquake cycles may be more common than previously recognized

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Comparative prevalence and features of the course of ulcerative colitis in countries of the same geographical meridian: Ukraine-Tunisia. Testing the North-South hypothesis

Background. Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease) are severe, incu­rable illnesses accompanied by loss of work ability and early death due to their complications in most cases. The real prevalence of these diseases remains poorly understood because of statistical reporting built on patients’ access to medical care. The purpose of the work was to carry out a comparative analysis of the prevalence and features of UC course in Ukraine and Tunisia located on the same geographic meridian at a distance of 1,626 km. Results. When comparing the features of UC course in the inhabitants of two countries — Ukraine and Tunisia located on the same geographical meridian at a distance of more than 1,600 km, the gradient factor within the European continent can be traced. This is manifested in the fact that UC is more often affect the younger population of Tunisia (the average age is 37 years, compared to 45 years for Ukrainians); in addition, among Tunisians patients with UC, there are 1.5 times more men than women. There is the predominance of pancolitis and severe course of the disease in Ukrainian patients with UC. Conclusions. Thus, when analyzing the population of UC patients in Ukraine and Tunisia, the incidence of UC in the Ukrainian population appeared to be increased. Ulcerative colitis in Ukrainian patients has more common forms and severe course than in patients from Tunisia. This is due to the peculiarities of environmental factors, genetic predisposition, changes in immunity and intestinal microbiome and confirms the North-South hypothesis

One tune, many tempos: faults trade off slip in time and space to accommodate relative plate motions

Analysis of incremental slip rates from the four major strike-slip faults of the Marlborough fault system (MFS) of northern South Island, New Zealand, provides a first-ever record at the scale of an entire plate-boundary fault system of how relative plate motions are accommodated in time and space. This record, which spans the past 350–450 m of relative plate motion and ca. 12–14 ky, demonstrates that the fault system as a whole accommodates a steady plate-boundary slip rate, with the MFS faults “keeping up” with the overall rate of relative Pacific-Australia plate motion at relatively short displacement (10 s of meters) and time (102–103 yr) scales. These results affirm the often-assumed but until now unproven assumption that the relative plate-motion rate provides a robust basic constraint on both geodynamical models and analyses of system-level seismic hazard at these scales. In marked contrast, the incremental slip rates of each of the four main Marlborough faults are highly variable through time, marked by coordinated accelerations and decelerations spanning 4–6 earthquakes and several millennia as the faults trade off slip to accommodate a steady relative plate motion rate. These results suggest that (a) the weakest fault in the system will slip faster than average while adjacent mechanically complementary faults slip more slowly, and (b) that these patterns switch back and forth through time, likely reflecting reversible changes in the strength (i.e., resistance to shear) of the individual faults as they collectively accommodate relative plate motion. Interestingly, the periods of fast slip on the MFS faults exhibit ∼20–25 m of displacement, suggesting that these may record periods of fast slip on a weakened fault/ductile shear zone that continues until it uses up all locally stored elastic strain energy, thus potentially approaching local complete stress drop, albeit during a few tens of meters of rapid fault slip during multiple earthquakes, rather than during a single event. This hypothesis is consistent with typical earthquake stress drops of ∼1–10 MPa and estimates of depth-averaged crustal shear stress of a few 10 s of MPa, such as might be released in clusters of 4–6 earthquakes. These results emphasize the need to analyze the collective behavior of the entire fault systems, rather than just individual faults, to understand the mechanics of the system. Moreover, these patterns suggest a potential path forward for more accurate estimation of time-dependent seismic hazard, with the possible incorporation of current position of a fault within a fast- or slow/no-slip period into the probability analysis, as well as a means of potentially estimating crustal shear stress

Benzo[g]quinazolines as antifungal against candidiasis: Screening, molecular docking, and QSAR investigations

Candida albicans, an opportunistic pathogen, is the most common type of fungus and represents a substantial source of human invasive disease (nosocomial infection). This category of fungi are part of our microbiota, and given the appropriate environmental conditions, it has the potential to cause both superficial and systemic infections. There is a soaring resistance against the available anticandidal agents. The purpose of this research is to investigate the activity of certain previously synthesized benzo[g]quinazolines against C. albicans in vitro by using the cup-plate diffusion method. There was a marked difference in the effectiveness of the target compounds 1–6 against the sample of C. albicans that was tested. Benzo[g]quinazolines 1 (inhibition zone = 20 mm) and 2 (inhibition zone = 22 mm) had good effects in comparison to fluconazole (inhibition zone = 26 mm). A docking study was conducted between benzo[g]quinazolines 1–6 and Candida spp. CYP51 to establish the binding mode compared with fluconazole and VT-1161 (oteseconazole) as reference medicines, and it was determined that binding at the active site of Candida spp. CYP51 occurred in the same manner. Quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) investigation was performed to further characterize the identified anticandidal agents and recognize the major regulatory components governing such activity. In future studies, the benzo[g]quinazoline scaffold could serve as a model for the design and development of novel derivatives with antifungal potential