Crustal deformation in great California earthquake cycles

Periodic crustal deformation associated with repeated strike slip earthquakes is computed for the following model: A depth L (less than or similiar to H) extending downward from the Earth's surface at a transform boundary between uniform elastic lithospheric plates of thickness H is locked between earthquakes. It slips an amount consistent with remote plate velocity V sub pl after each lapse of earthquake cycle time T sub cy. Lower portions of the fault zone at the boundary slip continuously so as to maintain constant resistive shear stress. The plates are coupled at their base to a Maxwellian viscoelastic asthenosphere through which steady deep seated mantle motions, compatible with plate velocity, are transmitted to the surface plates. The coupling is described approximately through a generalized Elsasser model. It is argued that the model gives a more realistic physical description of tectonic loading, including the time dependence of deep slip and crustal stress build up throughout the earthquake cycle, than do simpler kinematic models in which loading is represented as imposed uniform dislocation slip on the fault below the locked zone

Paleolakes and lacustrine basins on Mars

The problems of how warm and wet Mars once was and when climate transitions may have occurred are not well understood. Mars may have had an early environment similar to Earth's that was conducive to the emergence of life. In addition, increasing geologic evidence indicates that water, upon which terrestrial life depends, has been present on Mars throughout its history. This evidence does not detract from the possibility that life may have originated on early Mars, but rather suggests that life could have developed over longer periods of time in longer lasting, more clement local environments than previously envisioned. It is suggested herein that such environments may have been provided by paleolakes, located mostly in the northern lowlands and probably ice covered. Such lakes probably would have had diverse origins. Glacial lakes may have occupied ice eroded hollows or formed in valleys obstructed by moraines or ice barriers. Unlike Earth, the Martian record of the origin and evolution of possible life may have not been erased by extensive deformation of the surface. Thus the basins that may have contained the paleolakes are potential sites for future biological, geological, and climatological study

International courts : are they working?

This paper will address some of these questions by first tracing the establishment of international courts from the end of the Second World War to the most recent developments such as the establishment of the ad hoc Balkan and Cambodian Tribunals and the (permanent) International Criminal Court. Here, I will also seek to highlight both the successes and challenges to these diverse international judicial bodies. In the context of this examination, it is hoped that some new light may be shed on the inherent difficulties that international judicial bodies have faced, and on a viable path forward that in some way might contribute to the greater project of realizing a better human destiny

Keynote: Going from cold to hot with John Rudnicki

In his earliest scientific work, John W. Rudnicki began studies on shear localization, which helped clarify widely observed process in rock and soil mechanics (and metals and polymers too) and which he ultimately generalized to a novel and highly informative approach to understanding compaction bands in porous rocks. His early studies did consider possible interactions of the deforming solid, when porous, with infiltrating pore fluids, but they made no particular reference to the effects of temperature changes during deformation. That changed most significantly in a pair of recent articles (slated for publication in J. Geophys. Res. – Solid Earth in mid-2014) which the present author had the pleasure of working on with Professor Rudnicki, together with Harvard graduate student, soon to be Ph.D., John D. Platt. Those works are summarized in this presentation. They address the thermo-hydro-mechanical basis for the stability and localization of rapid shear in fluid-saturated fault gouge, and provide a basis for understanding the incredible localization of the zone of highest shear along faults during earthquakes, often to regions \u3c100 microns width. In addition, the new perspectives on faulting allow us to understand the physics of dynamic weakening during earthquakes and help resolve old paradoxes concerning how frictionally strong materials can exhibit transiently low strength and produce little heat outflow during rupture

Cataract and diabetic retinopathy

When managing the cataract of a patient with diabetes, you should remember that cataract surgery may make diabetic retinopathy worse. Eyes with mild to moderate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy at the time of surgery are considered less at risk. Those with severe non-proliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy have a higher risk of progressive disease. Clinically significant macular oedema (CSMO) present at the time of surgery is likely to progress and eyes with previously treated CSMO are at increased risk of recurrence. The risk of progression is increased if the operation is complicated by excessive manipulation, vitreous loss, or severe post-operative inflammation

MODERATE FETAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE, THE NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS, AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN ADULTHOOD

Recent findings using a moderate prenatal alcohol consumption model in rats found that male offspring had reduced dendritic fields in medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens (NAc). These results suggest that moderate fetal alcohol exposure (FAE) leads to long-lasting alterations in brain regions involved in reward processing that could lead to abnormal behavior related to ethanol (EtOH) in adulthood. Here, five experiments were carried out to establish the extent to which moderate FAE leads to increased EtOH consumption in adulthood, how functional and structural alterations in the NAc are related to EtOH consumption, and whether moderate FAE has any effect on EtOH metabolism and general reward learning. Rats exposed to moderate FAE had increased consumption and preference for both a 10% and 20% EtOH solution across several weeks of exposure, and FAE animals also had significant reductions in measures of NAc core and shell dendritic morphology, as well as reductions in core Homer1a immediate-early gene expression. In control animals, measures of shell dendritic morphology and core Arc expression served as significant predictors of ethanol consumption while core dendritic morphology predicted EtOH consumption in FAE rats. No significant differences were found between FAE animals and controls for measures of general reward processing in an intra cranial self-stimulation task or for EtOH metabolism. These results suggest that moderate FAE results in structural and functional alterations in the NAc, and that these effects have important implications for reward processing and EtOH consumption in adulthood

EVIDENCE FOR COOPERATIVE, SEQUENTIAL INTERACTION BETWEEN HIPPOCAMPAL- AND DORSOLATERAL STRIATAL-DEPENDENT NAVIGATION STRATEGIES IN THE MORRIS WATER TASK

The hippocampus and dorsolateral striatum have been found to be critical for spatial navigation based on distal and local cues, respectively. Previous reports from our laboratory have indicated that behavior in the Morris water task may be guided by both cue types, and that rats appear to switch from distal to local cues in a sequential manner within a given trial. In two experiments rats with hippocampal or dorsolateral striatal lesions were trained and tested in water task paradigms that involved translations or removal of the cued platform within the pool or translations of the pool itself with respect to the distal reference frame. Results show that the hippocampus is critical for orienting to distal cues at the beginning of the trial, while the dorsolateral striatum is critical for terminal swim segments based on the location of the cued platform. In addition, results also support the theory that the hippocampus, but not the dorsolateral striatum, is critical for directional responding. These results are important for understanding the cooperative interactions between these brain regions involved in learning and memory

The Economic Benefit of Transitioning Healthcare Systems: A Study of Private and Single Payer Systems

American healthcare consumers pay the highest cost for healthcare out of any other country in the industrialized world. Consumers pay on average $9255 per capita a year for healthcare and related expenses (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2014, P. 5). Such high prices are a result of a combination of rapidly increasing billing, bureaucratic expenses, and profit maximization by for-profit healthcare providers and related producers. Consumers see very little positive gain for the increase in price, ranking highest in metrics such as infant mortality rate and obesity related issues (Masters, et al. 2009, P. 2). Consumers are also hampered long term by increasingly expensive medical bills, which constitutes the largest portion of citizen-based bankruptcies in America. By transitioning to a single payer-based insurance system consumer will see a significant drop in administrative expenses, lower costs for operations, medications, and wellness exams, and an increased availability in access to physician care