Blow Hole Cave: An Unroofed Cave on San Salvador Island, the Bahamas, and its Importance for Detection of Paleokarst Caves on Fossil Carbonate Platforms

Prispevek obravnava podobnosti v razvoju krasa kvartarne karbonatne platforme na otoku San Salvador in devonske karbonatne platforme na platoju Krásná na Moravskem. Za obe območji so značilne jame, katerih nastanek lahko razložimo s "flank margin" modelom in so nastale v območju sladkovodnih leč med obdobji relativno visoke morske gladine, v času relativno stabilne halokline, kar potrjujejo različne študije jamskih zapolnitev. V obeh primerih so jamske sedimentne zapolnitve genetsko primerljive - obalni in eolski sedimenti ter breče.The comparative study of a Quaternary carbonate platform (San Salvador Island, the Bahamas) and a Devonian Carbonate Platform (Krásná Elevation, Moravia) indicates a great similarity in karst evolution. Caves on both sites are interpreted as flank margin caves associated with a freshwater lens and halocline stabilised during sea-level highstands. The sedimentary fill of both caves is genetically comparable - beach and aeolian sediments with bodies of breccias

Pleistocene and Holocene Carbonate Environments on San Salvador Island, Bahamas: A Field Trip Guide

Although isolated and small in size, San Salvador Island is in many ways a unique place - an all carbonates setting on a small, tectonically stable platform, surrounded by deep oceanic waters, and an historical footnote as the widely accepted first landing site of Christopher Columbus in the New World in 1492. Columbus\u27 stay here was brief, and the major events of subsequent history largely have passed San Salvador by. This is not a tourist island; the natural beauty, floras, and faunas of the Bahamas are well preserved here. The overview theme of this series of field excursions on San Salvador will be interpretation of paleodepositional environments for the well-exposed Pleistocene and Holocene carbonate rocks that cap the island and recognition of modem analogues from the varied carbonate environments found on the island and its surrounding shelf. Questions of sea level history, diagenetic change, and the surficial processes operating on carbonate island terranes also will be considered. Our trip will begin with a low-attitude overflight to view features of the main Bahama platform enroute to San Salvador, which lies just beyond the eastern edge of the platform. The field trip leaders all have been working on San Salvador and elsewhere in the Bahamas for the past decade. We have experienced the good and the bad - a pleasant tropical climate, warm and alive marine waters, a generally unspoiled setting, and the friendly Bahamian people, along with sometimes fierce no-see-um attacks, sun-burnt skin, and unexpected soakings from tropical storms. Throughout, the experiences have been rewarding and the challenges of geologic interpretation great. We look forward to sharing some of our findings and experiences with you. Welcome to the Bahamas and San Salvador Island! See other Smith authored Field Trip Guides of Gerace Research Centre

Geology of New Providence Island, Bahamas: A Field Trip Guide

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Geology of Cat Island, Bahamas: A Field Trip Guide

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Geology of Rum Cay, Bahamas: A Field Trip Guide

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Towards neuro-inspired symbolic models of cognition: linking neural dynamics to behaviors through asynchronous communications

A computational architecture modeling the relation between perception and action is proposed. Basic brain processes representing synaptic plasticity are first abstracted through asynchronous communication protocols and implemented as virtual microcircuits. These are used in turn to build mesoscale circuits embodying parallel cognitive processes. Encoding these circuits into symbolic expressions gives finally rise to neuro-inspired programs that are compiled into pseudo-code to be interpreted by a virtual machine. Quantitative evaluation measures are given by the modification of synapse weights over time. This approach is illustrated by models of simple forms of behaviors exhibiting cognition up to the third level of animal awareness. As a potential benefit, symbolic models of emergent psychological mechanisms could lead to the discovery of the learning processes involved in the development of cognition. The executable specifications of an experimental platform allowing for the reproduction of simulated experiments are given in “Appendix”

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Role of biomechanics in the understanding of normal, injured, and healing ligaments and tendons

Ligaments and tendons are soft connective tissues which serve essential roles for biomechanical function of the musculoskeletal system by stabilizing and guiding the motion of diarthrodial joints. Nevertheless, these tissues are frequently injured due to repetition and overuse as well as quick cutting motions that involve acceleration and deceleration. These injuries often upset this balance between mobility and stability of the joint which causes damage to other soft tissues manifested as pain and other morbidity, such as osteoarthritis