Seismic stratigraphy and history of deep circulation and sediment drift development in Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea

Drilling results and seismic-reflection records at and across Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 645 (western Baffin Bay), 646, and 647 (Labrador Sea) provide important constraints on the history of deep-water circulation and sedimentation in response to Cenozoic climatic change, as well as the tectonic evolution of the region. Sites 646 and 647 were drilled on the flanks of two sediment drift deposits—the Eirik Ridge and Gloria Drift, respectively. Age control at Site 645 was poor because of the restricted biotas there, but the drill site provides a continuous sequence from the lower Miocene to the present. Sediment at Site 646 was deposited at high rates, providing a high resolution record of the last 8.5 Ma. At Site 647 sedimentation was variable and discontinuous, but a complete upper-lower Eocene through lower Oligocene sequence was recovered, whereas the upper Oligocene to Holocene sequence was interrupted by several hiatuses. The drift sequence at Site 646 was constructed after the middle to early Pliocene (ca. 4.5 Ma). Before that time, evidence exists for variable bottom-current activity, with events at about 7.5 Ma (a change in water-mass characteristics and decreasing velocities) and 5.6 Ma (an increase in current velocity preceding the major 4.5-Ma event; R2 regional reflector). The 7.5-Ma event produced a major regional reflector (R3/R4), which was originally thought to be Eocene/ Oligocene in age. A major water-mass change also occurred at the onset of ice-rafting at about 2.5 Ma in the late Pliocene. In seismic records no evidence exists of drift building before the early Pliocene, but a probable late-middle Miocene erosional event occurred on the south flank of Eirik Ridge and along the West Greenland margin. Sediment supply from the Imarssuak mid-ocean canyon (IMOC) increased concurrently with the advent of drift construction. Gloria Drift also was built largely after the late Miocene. A major increase in sediment supply occurred in the early Pliocene, following a major hiatus (5.6 to 2.5 Ma; equivalent to the youngest possible age for the R2 reflector underlying Gloria Drift), and most seismic records exhibit sediment waves above this horizon. This increased sediment supply is the result of hemipelagic deposition from encroaching deposits of the North Atlantic mid-ocean canyon, as well as to supply of ice-rafted detritus in the late Pliocene. A hiatus encompasses the interval from approximately 17.5 to 8,2 Ma, and the interval between the two major hiatuses is extremely condensed. A deeper reflector (R3) corresponds to a change from calcareous (below) to opal-rich hemipelagic strata in the lower Oligocene, not to a regional unconformity reflecting increased bottom-water activity, as previously thought. However, some evidence exists to support a latest Eocene-earliest Oligocene increase in bottom-current activity on Gloria Drift. In Baffin Bay, there is evidence for bottom-water activity from textural studies of cores and from apparent drift features exhibited in multichannel lines along the western margin. Probable contour-currents have been active since at least the late middle Miocene, with episodes of decreasing intensity that apparently occurred in the late Miocene and Quaternary. The record from Site 645 and in seismic lines may indicate that formation of bottom water occurred in the late Neogene in Baffin Bay in conjunction with climatic deterioration, but Baffin Bay was not an important source of deep-water masses to the Labrador Sea after the late Pliocene. Not surprisingly, many of the Labrador Sea deep-circulation events correspond closely to major North Atlantic events and to important global climatic and paleoceanographic events, but a major drift-building episode may have occurred later in the Labrador Sea than it did in either the eastern North Atlantic or the western North Atlantic

Electrical properties of basalts from Sites 768 and 770

Journal ArticleConductivity of 54 basalt samples from ODP Sites 768 and 770 was measured as a function of temperature and fluid salinity. Porosity was also measured for all samples, and cation exchange capacity was measured for 46 of the samples. Porosity measurements indicated that porosity is underestimated for basalts like these, unless one uses extensive drying at high vacuum. At salinities greater than 29 ppt, and throughout the range of salinity and temperatures likely in situ, sample conductivity (Co) is controlled by porosity () according to the Archie relation Co = 0.22-C^?13 (orFF = 4.5//1.3), where Cw is conductivity of the pore fluids and FF = CJCO is the formation factor. At lower salinity, clay-surface conduction or microcrack conduction may dominate. We are unable to distinguish reliably between the two mechanisms, but we do detect their effects subtly at high salinity and strongly at low salinity

Downhole Measurements in the AND-2A Borehole, ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project, Antarctica

Under the framework of the ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) Project successful downhole experiments were conducted in the 1138.54 metre (m)-deep AND-2A borehole. Wireline logs successfully recorded were: magnetic susceptibility, spectral gamma ray, sonic velocity, borehole televiewer, neutron porosity, density, calliper, geochemistry, temperature and dipmeter. A resistivity tool and its backup both failed to operate, thus resistivity data were not collected. Due to hole conditions, logs were collected in several passes from the total depth at ~1138 metres below sea floor (mbsf) to ~230 mbsf, except for some intervals that were either inaccessible due to bridging or were shielded by the drill string. Furthermore, a Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) was created from ~1000 mbsf up to the sea floor. The first hydraulic fracturing stress measurements in Antarctica were conducted in the interval 1000-1138 mbsf. This extensive data set will allow the SMS Science Team to reach some of the ambitious objectives of the SMS Project. Valuable contributions can be expected for the following topics: cyclicity and climate change, heat flux and fluid flow, seismic stratigraphy in the Victoria Land Basin, and structure and state of the modern crustal stress field.Published57-683.2. Tettonica attivaN/A or not JCRrestricte

Green salad intake is associated with improved oral cancer survival and lower soluble CD44 levels

Deficiencies in fruit and vegetable intake have been associated with oral cancer (oral cavity and oropharyngeal). Salivary rinses contain measurable biomarkers including soluble CD44 (solCD44) and total protein, which are known markers of oral cancer risk. This study investigates the effect of nutritional factors on solCD44 and protein levels to evaluate oral cancer risk and survival. We evaluated solCD44 and protein levels from 150 patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and 150 frequency-matched controls. We subsequently characterized the effect of food group consumption and these biomarkers on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients reported eating fewer servings of salad (p = 0.015), while controls reported eating fewer servings of potatoes (p \u3c 0.001). Oral cancer patients who consumed at least one serving per week of green salad were found to have significantly lower CD44 levels than those who ate salad less frequently (mean of log2[solCD44]1.73 versus 2.25, p = 0.014). Patients who consumed at least one serving per week of “salad or other vegetables” had significantly longer PFS (median 43.5 versus 9.1 months, p = 0.003, adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.39 p = 0.014) and OS (median 83.6 versus 10 months, p = 0.008, adjusted HR = 0.04 p = 0.029). These findings suggest that dietary factors, namely greater green salad and vegetable intake, may be associated with lower CD44 levels and better prognosis in oral cancer patients

Bowman Birk Inhibitor Concentrate and Oral Leukoplakia: A Randomized Phase IIb Trial

Oral premalignancy serves as an ideal model for study of chemopreventive agents. Although 13-cis-retinoic acid showed reversal of oral premalignancy, toxicity, and reversal of clinical response after cessation of therapy obviated its widespread use. A search for nontoxic agents with cancer preventive activity led us to evaluate Bowman Birk Inhibitor (BBI) formulated as BBI Concentrate (BBIC). We previously reported encouraging results in a phase IIa trial of BBIC in patients with oral leukoplakia with measurable clinical responses and favorable biomarker changes. On the basis of these results, we undertook a randomized, placebo controlled phase IIb trial with patients receiving BBIC or placebo for 6 months, with assessment of clinical response and change in lesion area as primary end point and an intent-to-treat analysis. One hundred and thirty two subjects were randomized; and 89 subjects completed six months on study drug or placebo. Both placebo and BBIC showed a statistically significant decrease in mean lesion area of 17.1% and 20.6%, respectively, and partial or greater clinical responses of 30% and 28% respectively. No significant difference between placebo and study drug arms was observed. Histologic review, review of photographs of lesions, and comparison of serum neu protein and oral mucosal cell protease activity also did not show significant differences between study arms. Probable reasons for these negative results were considered, are discussed, and include a placebo with non-BBIC clinical activity and reduced pharmacokinetic availability of the second batch of BBIC. This experience should be a strong cautionary note to those considering Green chemoprevention. © 2013 AACR

Quality of Life During Treatment With Chemohormonal Therapy: Analysis of E3805 Chemohormonal Androgen Ablation Randomized Trial in Prostate Cancer

Purpose Chemohormonal therapy with docetaxel and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT+D) for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer improves overall survival as compared with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) alone. We compared the quality of life (QOL) between patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer who were treated with ADT+D and those who were treated with ADT alone. Methods Men were randomly assigned to ADT+ D (six cycles) or to ADT alone. QOL was assessed by Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P), FACT-Taxane, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue, and the Brief Pain Inventory at baseline and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to examine changes over time. Mixed-effect models compared the QOL between arms at each time point. Results Seven hundred ninety men were randomly assigned (ADT+D [n = 397] and ADT[ n = 393]) and completed FACT-P (90% at baseline, 86% at 3 months, 83% at 6 months, 78% at 9 months, and 77% at 12 months). ADT+D patients reported a statistically significant decline in FACT-P at 3 months (P \u3c .001) but FACT-P did not differ significantly between baseline and 12 months (P = .38). ADT+D FACT-P scores were significantly lower at 3 months (P = .02) but significantly higher at 12 months (P = .04) when compared with ADT FACT-P scores. Differences did not exceed the minimal clinically important difference at any time point. ADT+D patients reported significantly lower Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scores at 3 months than did ADT patients (P \u3c .001). Over time, both arms reported significantly poorer FACT-Taxane scores (P \u3c .001) when compared with baseline. Brief Pain Inventory scores were similar between arms. Conclusion Although ADT+D was associated with statistically worse QOL at 3 months, QOL was better at 12 months for ADT+D patients than for ADT patients. Both arms reported a similar minimally changed QOL over time, suggesting that ADT+D is not associated with a greater long-term negative impact on QOL