Landscapes and Geology of Patagonia: An Introduction to the Land of Reptiles

The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the geological-geomorphologicalregions of Patagonia with a general characterization of the maingeomorphological units. A review of studies on geology, stratigraphic, main geologiclandmarks, geological history, and geological resources will be brieflydescribed. This review was performed on the base of geological province concept,including a stratigraphic-morphostructural criteria and a description of majorendogenous and exogenous processes responsible for the formation of landscapeunits. In this chapter these geological-geomorphological regions include Chile andArgentina and were grouped as: (1) Coastal Cordillera and Central Valley (Chile),(2) Southern Andes Cordillera, (3) Mountain Sector of the Neuquén Embayment,(4) Northern Patagonian Tablelands, (5) The North Patagonian Broken Foreland andSomún Curá Massif, (6) Central Patagonian Tablelands, (7) Deseado Massif, (8)Southern Patagonian Tableland, and (9) Islas Malvinas Plateau.Fil: Bouza, Pablo Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; ArgentinaFil: Bilmes, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; Argentin

Force, stress, and decision-making within the Belgian police : the impact of stressful situations on police decision-making

Stress and fear are inevitable aspects of the police job, and may have a large impact on police officers’ decision making process. Many studies have explored how stress and fear may influence assessments of police officers, especially with regard to the use of force. This article aims to contribute to this research domain by reporting the findings from two empirical studies amongst Belgian police officers: a quantitative study of police officers’ attitudes towards and experiences with the use of force; and a qualitative study on the influence of stress and emotions on officers’ decision making and assessment abilities and accuracy of shooting. Both studies confirmed that stress and fear are often present in Belgian police practice. One of the main findings is that Belgian police officers are anxious about the consequences of their actions because they know they will be held accountable for them. The pressure that results from this accountability can make it even more difficult for police officers to react to stressful situations. Therefore, we need to look for the right balance in this difficult position, by providing tools that support police officers in making daily decisions and help them do their job as effectively as possible

Ageing and osteoarthritis: a circadian rhythm connection.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease, affecting articular cartilage of the joints, with currently no cure. Age is a major risk factor for OA, but despite significant advances made in the OA research field, how ageing contributes to OA is still not well understood. In this review, we will focus on one particular aspect of chondrocyte biology, i.e., circadian rhythms. Disruptions to circadian clocks have been linked to various diseases. Our recent work demonstrates autonomous clocks in chondrocytes which regulate key pathways implicated in OA. The cartilage rhythm dampens with age and clock gene expression changes during the initiation stage of OA development in an experimental mouse OA model. Research into the molecular links between ageing, circadian clocks and OA may identify novel therapeutic routes for the prevention and management of OA, such as chronotherapy, or direct targeting of clock components/circadian rhythm