Cenozoic Global Sea Level, Sequences, and the New Jersey Transect: Results from Coastal Plain and Continental Slope Drilling

The New Jersey Sea Level Transect was designed to evaluate the relationships among global sea level (eustatic) change, unconformity-bounded sequences, and variations in subsidence, sediment supply, and climate on a passive continental margin. By sampling and dating Cenozoic strata from coastal plain and continental slope locations, we show that sequence boundaries correlate (within ±0.5 myr) regionally (onshore-offshore) and interregionally (New Jersey-Alabama-Bahamas), implicating a global cause. Sequence boundaries correlate with δ18O increases for at least the past 42 myr, consistent with an ice volume (glacioeustatic) control, although a causal relationship is not required because of uncertainties in ages and correlations. Evidence for a causal connection is provided by preliminary Miocene data from slope Site 904 that directly link δ18O increases with sequence boundaries. We conclude that variation in the size of ice sheets has been a primary control on the formation of sequence boundaries since ∼42 Ma. We speculate that prior to this, the growth and decay of small ice sheets caused small-amplitude sea level changes (less than 20 m) in this supposedly ice-free world because Eocene sequence boundaries also appear to correlate with minor δ18O increases. Subsidence estimates (backstripping) indicate amplitudes of short-term (million-year scale) lowerings that are consistent with estimates derived from δ18O studies (25–50 m in the Oligocene-middle Miocene and 10–20 m in the Eocene) and a long-term lowering of 150–200 m over the past 65 myr, consistent with estimates derived from volume changes on mid-ocean ridges. Although our results are consistent with the general number and timing of Paleocene to middle Miocene sequences published by workers at Exxon Production Research Company, our estimates of sea level amplitudes are substantially lower than theirs. Lithofacies patterns within sequences follow repetitive, predictable patterns: (1) coastal plain sequences consist of basal transgressive sands overlain by regressive highstand silts and quartz sands; and (2) although slope lithofacies variations are subdued, reworked sediments constitute lowstand deposits, causing the strongest, most extensive seismic reflections. Despite a primary eustatic control on sequence boundaries, New Jersey sequences were also influenced by changes in tectonics, sediment supply, and climate. During the early to middle Eocene, low siliciclastic and high pelagic input associated with warm climates resulted in widespread carbonate deposition and thin sequences. Late middle Eocene and earliest Oligocene cooling events curtailed carbonate deposition in the coastal plain and slope, respectively, resulting in a switch to siliciclastic sedimentation. In onshore areas, Oligocene sequences are thin owing to low siliciclastic and pelagic input, and their distribution is patchy, reflecting migration or progradation of depocenters; in contrast, Miocene onshore sequences are thicker, reflecting increased sediment supply, and they are more complete downdip owing to simple tectonics. We conclude that the New Jersey margin provides a natural laboratory for unraveling complex interactions of eustasy, tectonics, changes in sediment supply, and climate change

Pass-through core measurements of magnetic susceptibility and natural gamma ray, New Jersey Coastal Plain

We measured magnetic susceptibility (MS) and core gamma radiation (CGR) on 3162 ft (963.9 m) of core recovered by the New Jersey Coastal Plain Drilling Project (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 150X) at Island Beach, Atlantic City, and Cape May, New Jersey. Integration of core lithology, core/log (MS and CGR), and downhole gamma-ray (DGR) log studies have (1) documented the core/log expression of previously determined unconformities; (2) shown that MS is a proxy for glauconite percent in the New Jersey Coastal Plain; (3) illustrated a major change in sedimentation from shelfal glauconite evidenced by very high MS values to deltaic deposition with low MS values in the earliest Miocene (ca. 22 Ma); (4) shown that comparison of MS and CGR with DGR can be used to resolve discrepancies in depth between downhole logs and cores; and (5) shown that the CGR detects some zones noted in the lithology (e.g., phosphate rich zones) that are not resolved in the DGR

The Phanerozoic Record of Global Sea-Level Change

We review Phanerozoic sea-level changes [543 million years ago (Ma) to the present] on various time scales and present a new sea-level record for the past 100 million years (My). Long-term sea level peaked at 100 ± 50 meters during the Cretaceous, implying that ocean-crust production rates were much lower than previously inferred. Sea level mirrors oxygen isotope variations, reflecting ice-volume change on the 104- to 106-year scale, but a link between oxygen isotope and sea level on the 107-year scale must be due to temperature changes that we attribute to tectonically controlled carbon dioxide variations. Sea-level change has influenced phytoplankton evolution, ocean chemistry, and the loci of carbonate, organic carbon, and siliciclastic sediment burial. Over the past 100 My, sea-level changes reflect global climate evolution from a time of ephemeral Antarctic ice sheets (100 to 33 Ma), through a time of large ice sheets primarily in Antarctica (33 to 2.5 Ma), to a world with large Antarctic and large, variable Northern Hemisphere ice sheets (2.5 Ma to the present)

Ferromagnetism in laser deposited anatase Ti1−x_{1-x}Cox_{x}O_{2-\delta} films

Pulsed laser deposited films of Co doped anatase TiO2 are examined for Co substitutionality, ferromagnetism, transport, magnetotransport and optical properties. Our results show limited solubility (up to ~ 2 %) of Co in the as-grown films and formation of Co clusters thereafter. For Ti0.93Co0.07O2-d sample, which exhibits a Curie temperature (Tc) over 1180 K, we find the presence of 20-50 nm Co clusters as well as a small concentration of Co incorporated into the remaining matrix. After being subjected to the high temperature anneal during the first magnetization measurement, the very same sample shows a Tc ~ 650 K and almost full matrix incorporation of Co. This Tc is close to that of as-grown Ti0.99Co0.01O2-d sample (~ 700 K). The transport, magnetotransport and optical studies also reveal interesting effects of the matrix incorporation of Co. These results are indicative of an intrinsic Ti1-xCoxO2-d diluted magnetic semiconductor with Tc of about 650-700 K.Comment: 14 pages + 9 figure

Early life exposures and the risk of adult glioma

Abstract Exposure to common infections in early life may stimulate immune development and reduce the risk for developing cancer. Birth order and family size are proxies for the timing of exposure to childhood infections with several studies showing a reduced risk of glioma associated with a higher order of birth (and presumed younger age at infection). The aim of this study was to examine whether birth order, family size, and other early life exposures are associated with the risk of glioma in adults using data collected in a large clinic-based US case-control study including 889 glioma cases and 903 community controls. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on family structure, childhood exposures and other potential risk factors. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the association between early life factors and glioma risk. Persons having any siblings were at significantly lower risk for glioma when compared to those reporting no siblings (OR = 0.64; 95 % CI 0.44-0.93; p = 0.020). Compared to first-borns, individuals with older siblings had a significantly lower risk (OR = 0.75; 95 % CI 0.61-0.91; p = 0.004). Birth weight, having been breast fed in infancy, and season of birth were not associated with glioma risk. The current findings lend further support to a growing body of evidence that early exposure to childhood infections reduces the risk of glioma onset in children and adults

Flexibility but no coordination of visits in provisioning riflemen

Parental care strategies occupy a continuum from fixed investments that are consistent across contexts to flexible behaviour that largely depends on external social and environmental cues. Determining the flexibility of care behaviour is important, as it influences the outcome of investment games between multiple individuals caring for the same brood. We investigated the repeatability of provisioning behaviour and the potential for turn taking among breeders and helpers in a cooperatively breeding bird, the rifleman, Acanthisitta chloris. First, we examined whether nest visit rate is an accurate measure of investment by assessing whether carers consistently bring the same size of food, and whether food size is related to nest visit rate. Our results support the use of visit rate as a valid indicator of parental investment. Next, we calculated the repeatability of visit rate and food size to determine whether these behaviours are fixed individual traits or flexible responses to particular contexts. We found that riflemen were flexible in visit rate, supporting responsive models of care over ‘sealed bids’. Finally, we used runs tests to assess whether individual riflemen alternated visits with other carers, indicative of turn taking. We found little evidence of any such coordination of parental provisioning. We conclude that individual flexibility in parental care appears to arise through factors such as breeding status and brood demand, rather than as a real-time response to social partners

A Transcription Factor Map as Revealed by a Genome-Wide Gene Expression Analysis of Whole-Blood mRNA Transcriptome in Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that transcription factors are involved in the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) but complete mapping of the whole network has been elusive. One of the reasons is that there are several clinical subtypes of MS and transcription factors that may be involved in one subtype may not be in others. We investigate the possibility that this network could be mapped using microarray technologies and contemporary bioinformatics methods on a dataset derived from whole blood in 99 untreated MS patients (36 Relapse Remitting MS, 43 Primary Progressive MS, and 20 Secondary Progressive MS) and 45 age-matched healthy controls. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have used two different analytical methodologies: a non-standard differential expression analysis and a differential co-expression analysis, which have converged on a significant number of regulatory motifs that are statistically overrepresented in genes that are either differentially expressed (or differentially co-expressed) in cases and controls (e.g., V$KROX_Q6, p-value ,3.31E-6; V$CREBP1_Q2, p-value ,9.93E-6, V$YY1_02, p-value ,1.65E-5). Conclusions/Significance: Our analysis uncovered a network of transcription factors that potentially dysregulate several genes in MS or one or more of its disease subtypes. The most significant transcription factor motifs were for the Early Growth Response EGR/KROX family, ATF2, YY1 (Yin and Yang 1), E2F-1/DP-1 and E2F-4/DP-2 heterodimers, SOX5, and CREB and ATF families. These transcription factors are involved in early T-lymphocyte specification and commitment as well as in oligodendrocyte dedifferentiation and development, both pathways that have significant biological plausibility in MS causation

A Polymorphism in the HLA-DPB1 Gene Is Associated with Susceptibility to Multiple Sclerosis

We conducted an association study across the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex to identify loci associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). Comparing 1927 SNPs in 1618 MS cases and 3413 controls of European ancestry, we identified seven SNPs that were independently associated with MS conditional on the others (each ). All associations were significant in an independent replication cohort of 2212 cases and 2251 controls () and were highly significant in the combined dataset (). The associated SNPs included proxies for HLA-DRB1*15:01 and HLA-DRB1*03:01, and SNPs in moderate linkage disequilibrium (LD) with HLA-A*02:01, HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*13:03. We also found a strong association with rs9277535 in the class II gene HLA-DPB1 (discovery set , replication set , combined ). HLA-DPB1 is located centromeric of the more commonly typed class II genes HLA-DRB1, -DQA1 and -DQB1. It is separated from these genes by a recombination hotspot, and the association is not affected by conditioning on genotypes at DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1. Hence rs9277535 represents an independent MS-susceptibility locus of genome-wide significance. It is correlated with the HLA-DPB1*03:01 allele, which has been implicated previously in MS in smaller studies. Further genotyping in large datasets is required to confirm and resolve this association

Genome-wide Association Study of Platelet Count Identifies Ancestry-Specific Loci in Hispanic/Latino Americans

Platelets play an essential role in hemostasis and thrombosis. We performed a genome-wide association study of platelet count in 12,491 participants of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos by using a mixed-model method that accounts for admixture and family relationships. We discovered and replicated associations with five genes (ACTN1, ETV7, GABBR1-MOG, MEF2C, and ZBTB9-BAK1). Our strongest association was with Amerindian-specific variant rs117672662 (p value = 1.16 × 10−28) in ACTN1, a gene implicated in congenital macrothrombocytopenia. rs117672662 exhibited allelic differences in transcriptional activity and protein binding in hematopoietic cells. Our results underscore the value of diverse populations to extend insights into the allelic architecture of complex traits

Structural changes in commercial agriculture

The basic idea of the conference on Structural Changes in Commercial Agriculture was planted in the spring of 1964 by Earl 0. Heady. He outlined for the North Central Farm Management Research Committee his concern about the kind and amount of response to both current and prospective structural changes in the commercial farm firm. Many changes represent adjustments to technological and other innovations originating in marketing, research, and educational agencies serving farmers.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_reports/1025/thumbnail.jp