SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY OF QUARTZ SAND SURFACE FEATURES, ASH HOLLOW FORMATION, OGALLALA GROUP, WESTERN NEBRASKA

In field studies of the late Tertiary Ash Hollow Formation of the Ogallala Group in western Nebraska the alluvial deposits are composed of large volumes of sand and gravel up to large cobbles. Because the current understanding of the climate of the region at the time of deposition does not provide for a source for deposits of this character, a scanning electron microscopic study of the surface features on the quartz sand grains from these sediments was undertaken. Nine samples, collected from locations in Banner, Morrill and Keith Counties, were examined to see if they had one or more of 22 surface features. The results were compared with models for glacial, glacio-fluvial and fluvial sand compiled from the work of others. Preliminary results indicate that two of the samples correspond well with the glacial model, five others correspond with the glacio-fluvial model and none corresponds well with the fluvial model. These results indicate the need to look further for corroborating evidence of a glacial source for at least part of the Ash Hollow Formation and to consider the implications for a partial glacial history of the mountain sediment source regions in the late Tertiary

Scanning Electron Microscopic Study of Quartz Sand Surface Features, Ash Hollow Formation, Ogallala Group, Western Nebraska

In field studies of the late Tertiary Ash Hollow Formation of the Ogallala Group in western Nebraska the alluvial deposits are composed of large volumes of sand and gravel up to large cobbles. Because the current understanding of the climate of the region at the time of deposition does not provide for a source for deposits of this character, a scanning electron microscopic study of the surface features on the quartz sand grains from these sediments was undertaken. Nine samples, collected from locations in Banner, Morrill and Keith Counties, were examined to see if they had one or more of 22 surface features. The results were compared with models for glacial, glacio-fluvial and fluvial sand compiled from the work of others. Preliminary results indicate that two of the samples correspond well with the glacial model, five others correspond with the glacio-fluvial model and none corresponds well with the fluvial model. These results indicate the need to look further for corroborating evidence of a glacial source for at least part of the Ash Hollow Formation and to consider the implications for a partial glacial history of the mountain sediment source regions in the late Tertiary

The Developmental Effect of State Alcohol Prohibitions at the Turn of the 20th Century

We examine the quasi-randomization of alcohol consumption created by state-level alcohol prohibition laws passed in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century. Using a large dataset of World War II enlistees, we exploit the differential timing of these laws to examine their effects on adult educational attainment, obesity, and height. We find statistically significant effects for education and obesity that do not appear to be the result of pre-existing trends. Our findings add to the growing body of economic studies that examine the long-run impacts of in utero and childhood environmental conditions

Kvantifisering av kilder til PAH-forurensning i indre del av Ranfjorden

Årsliste 2006NIVA har på oppdrag for Fylkesmannen i Nordland og Rana kommune utført undersøkelser for å kvantifisere tilførslene av PAH fra ulike kilder til indre del av Ranfjorden, og videre vurdere hvorvidt tilførslene kan forklare kostholdsrådet i fjorden. Prosjektet er et ledd i SFTs pålegg om utarbeidelse av fylkesvise tiltaksplaner (fase 2) for forurensede bunnsedimenter. Av de undersøkte kildene sørger MIP-hovedkloakk, Koksverkkanalen og Mobekken for de største tilførslene av PAH til fjorden, hhv. 65, 27 og 9 kg/år. Bidraget fra sedimentene i grunnområdene (vanndyp 250 µg/kg v.v) hvor Mattilsynet vurderer om tiltak er nødvendig. Kildene som synes å ha størst betydning for kostholdsrådet i fjorden er MIP-hovedkloakk, Koksverkkanalen og sedimentene lokalt utenfor kaianleggene.Fylkesmannen i Nordland

Packing and Hausdorff measures of stable trees

In this paper we discuss Hausdorff and packing measures of random continuous trees called stable trees. Stable trees form a specific class of L\'evy trees (introduced by Le Gall and Le Jan in 1998) that contains Aldous's continuum random tree (1991) which corresponds to the Brownian case. We provide results for the whole stable trees and for their level sets that are the sets of points situated at a given distance from the root. We first show that there is no exact packing measure for levels sets. We also prove that non-Brownian stable trees and their level sets have no exact Hausdorff measure with regularly varying gauge function, which continues previous results from a joint work with J-F Le Gall (2006).Comment: 40 page

First-in-human pharmacokinetics of tamoxifen and its metabolites in the milk of a lactating mother. A case study

Background Breast cancer represents the most frequent neoplasm diagnosed in women of childbearing age. When the tumour is oestrogen receptor-positive, tamoxifen is among the recommended endocrine treatments. Lactating women are advised not to breastfeed while receiving tamoxifen. However, information about tamoxifen transfer into breast milk is lacking. Methods We measured the concentration of tamoxifen and its metabolites by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in the milk of a nursing mother that was treated for pregnancy-associated breast cancer diagnosed a few months after delivery. She was advised not to breastfeed her child and she collected milk samples for 23 days while the baby was fed with formula. Results Tamoxifen concentrations in milk increased reaching a maximum of 214 nM. The two active metabolitesZ-4-hydroxy-tamoxifen and Z-endoxifen, could not be quantified in milk the first days after tamoxifen intake, but increased over time and reached clinically significant levels after day 18. Conclusion This study demonstrates for the first time in human that tamoxifen and its metabolites transfer into milk. Since tamoxifen has a complete oral bioavailability, a long half-life (>7 days) and may interfere with the normal development of the infant, mothers should not breastfeed during tamoxifen treatment

On p-saturable groups

AbstractA pro-p group G is a PF-group if it has central series of closed subgroups {Ni}i∈N with trivial intersection satisfying N1=G and [Ni,G,…p−1,G]⩽Ni+1p. In this paper, we prove that a finitely generated pro-p group G is a p-saturable group, in the sense of Lazard, if and only if it is a torsion free PF-group. Using this characterization, we study certain families of subgroups of p-saturable groups. For example, we prove that any normal subgroup of a p-saturable group contained in the Frattini is again p-saturable

Does prenatal micronutrient supplementation improve children's mental development? A systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although maternal nutrient status influences all aspects of fetal development including the brain, the impact of micronutrient supplementation on the baby's mental function is a topic of debate. This systematic review assesses the effect of single and multiple micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy on offspring mental development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eleven electronic literature databases were searched using key terms of various combinations and filter string terms. Reference lists of articles selected for review were scanned for citations fitting the same inclusion criteria. Each stage of the literature retrieval and review process was conducted independently by two reviewers. The CONSORT checklist was used to assess study quality.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 1316 articles were retrieved from the electronic database search, of which 18 met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated. The selected studies were randomized controlled trials published from 1983 to 2010, with high variance in sample size, intervention type, and outcome measures. The median CONSORT score was 15 (range 12 - 19). Due to inconsistent interventions and outcome measures among the studies, no conclusive evidence was found that enhancing the intrauterine environment through micronutrient supplementation was associated with child mental development in a number of dimensions. There was some evidence to support n-3 fatty acids or multi-micronutrients having some positive effect on mental development, but the evidence for single nutrients was much weaker.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study of children's mental outcomes as a function of prenatal supplementation is still relatively new, but the results of this systematic review suggest that further work with multiple micronutrients and/or n-3 fatty acids should be conducted.</p

A brain-infecting parasite impacts host metabolism both during exposure and after infection is established

Metabolic costs associated with parasites should not be limited to established infections. Even during initial exposure to questing and attacking parasites, hosts can enact behavioural and physiological responses that could also incur metabolic costs. However, few studies have measured these costs directly. Hence, little is known about metabolic costs arising from parasite exposure. Furthermore, no one has yet measured whether and how previous infection history modulates metabolic responses to parasite exposure. Here, using the California killifish Fundulus parvipinnis and its brain‐infecting parasite Euhaplorchis californiensis, we quantified how killifish metabolism, behaviour and osmoregulatory phenotype changed upon acute exposure to parasite infectious stages (i.e. cercariae), and with long‐term infection. Exposure to cercariae caused both naïve and long‐term infected killifish to acutely increase their metabolic rate and activity, indicating detection and response to parasite infectious stages. Additionally, these metabolic and behavioural effects were moderately stronger in long‐term infected hosts than naïve killifish, suggesting that hosts may develop learned behavioural responses, nociceptor sensitization and/or acute immune mechanisms to limit new infections. Although established infection altered the metabolic response to parasite exposure, established infection did not alter standard metabolic rate, routine metabolic rate, maximum metabolic rate, aerobic scope or citrate synthase enzyme activity. Unexpectedly, established infection reduced lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activity in killifish brains and relative Na+/K+‐ATPase abundance in gills, suggesting novel mechanisms by which E. californiensis may alter its hosts\u27 behaviour and osmoregulation. Thus, we provide empirical evidence that parasites can disrupt the metabolism of their host both during parasite exposure and after infection is established. This response may be modulated by previous infection history, with probable knock‐on effects for host performance, brain energy metabolism, osmoregulation and ecology. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article

A quasi-synoptic survey of the thermocline circulation and water mass distribution within the Canary Basin

Shipboard hydrographic measurements and moored current meters are used to infer both the large-scale and mesoscale water mass distribution and features of the general circulation in the Canary Basin. We found a convoluted current system dominated by the time-dependent meandering of the eastward flowing Azores Current and the formation of mesoscale eddies. At middepths, several distinctly different water masses are identified: Subpolar Mode and Labrador Sea Water are centered in the northwest, Subantarctic Intermediate Water is centered in the southeast, and the saltier, warmer Mediterranean tongue lies between them. Mesoscale structures of these water masses suggest the presence of middepth meanders and detached eddies which may be caused by fluctuations of the Azores Current