Pockets of Proterozoic hydrocarbons and implications for the Archaean

Precambrian biomarkers convey invaluable information about the early evolution of life, ancient ecosystems, redox conditions, climate and depositional environment and prospective petroleum systems. They are however thermally unstable, easily obliterated by contamination and thus extremely difficult to find. This is particularly true if conditions favourable for biomarker preservation had to prevail for more than 2.5 billion years – the prerequisite for finding Archaean biomarkers. Many organic geochemists abandoned this hope after original discoveries of Archaean biomarkers proved to be of younger origin [1,2] but our study of ca. 550-825 Ma old sediments from the Centralian Superbasin now shows that biomarkers can be preserved in distinctive pockets in seemingly barren areas, even if sections are metamorphosed in parts. Most Centralian sections seem empty. Yet, eventually we identified intervals with preserved biomarkers in three drill cores. A detailed investigation of 825 Ma sediments in drill core Mt Charlotte-1 revealed maturity variations that are most likely due to hydrothermal influence and in turn control the hydrocarbon preservation. Sediments might appear metamorphosed after localized, subtle alteration by hydrothermal fluids but protected intervals can still contain biomarkers. The same might be true for Archaean sediments and we might still find those protected intervals with indigenous biomarkers that allow us to glimpse the early life on earth

"Better Safe than Sorry" - Individual Risk-free Pension Schemes in the European Union - Macroeconomic Benefits, the Mobile Working Citizen's Perspective and Why Nots

Variations between the diverse pension systems in the member states of the European Union hamper labour market mobility, across country borders but also within the countries of the European Union. From a macroeconomic perspective, and in the light of demographic pressure, this paper argues that allowing individual instead of collective pension building would greatly improve labour market flexibility and thus enhance the functioning of the monetary union. I argue that working citizens would benefit, for three reasons, from pension saving in a risk-free savings account. First, citizens would have a clear picture of the accumulation of their own pension savings throughout their working life. Second, they would pay hardly any extra costs and, third, once retired they would not be subject to the whims of government or other pension fund managers. This paper investigates the feasibility of individual pension building under various parameter settings by calculating the pension saved during a working life and the pension dis-saved after retirement. The findings show that there are no reasons why the European Union and individual member states should not allow individual risk-free pension savings accounts. This would have macroeconomic benefits and provide a solid pension provision that can enhance mobility, instead of engaging workers in different mandatory collective pension schemes that exist around in the European Union

Dilute gas of ultracold two-level atoms inside a cavity; generalized Dicke model

We consider a gas of ultracold two-level atoms confined in a cavity, taking into account for atomic center-of-mass motion and cavity mode variations. We use the generalized Dicke model, and analyze separately the cases of a Gaussian, and a standing wave mode shape. Owing to the interplay between external motional energies of the atoms and internal atomic and field energies, the phase-diagrams exhibit novel features not encountered in the standard Dicke model, such as the existence of first and second order phase transitions between normal and superradiant phases. Due to the quantum description of atomic motion, internal and external atomic degrees of freedom are highly correlated leading to modified normal and superradiant phases.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Quantitative and Qualitative Findings and Implications of an Intercultural Sensitivity Assessment Among Employees at a Large Health System

Tuesday, November 10, 2009: 2:45 PM Jarret R. Patton, MD , Department of Pediatrics, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA Jay Baglia, PhD , Department of Family Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA Lynn M. Deitrick, RN, PhD , Department of Community Health, Health Studies and Education, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA Anthony Nerino, MA , Department of Community Health, Health Studies and Education, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA Eric J. Gertner, MD, MPH , Department of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA Judith N. Sabino, MPH , Cultural Awareness, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA MaryKay Grim, BS , Human Resources, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, MPH , Department of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PABackground: As our nation welcomes people from many cultures, it is essential that healthcare providers understand the cultural background of their patients. In response to this diversity, community hospitals are systematically strengthening and improving services to address the cultural needs of their multi-cultural patient populations. As part of a multi-faceted, system-wide cultural awareness initiative, our health network conducted a baseline intercultural sensitivity assessment of its employees. Research Objectives: To establish measures of intercultural sensitivity among employees through the use of a validated instrument. Population: 9,000+ physicians, nurses, technicians and non-clinical employees of a large health network in mid-Eastern Pennsylvania. Methods: All employees were invited to complete the IRB-reviewed, web-based Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Chen and Starosta 2000). The ICS scale measures attitudes about interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds. The five sub-scales include: 1) interaction engagement, 2) respect for cultural differences, 3) interaction confidence, 4) interaction enjoyment, and 5) interaction attentiveness. Three open-ended questions asked how the network could enhance cultural sensitivity. Two other questions asked for learning preferences (i.e., e-learning, Grand Rounds) and topic information (i.e. diet, religious practices). Demographic information (i.e., age, position, years of service hospital) was also acquired. Results and Conclusions: A 35% (n=3446) response rate was achieved. Characteristics of the respondent sample were highly similar across age, length of employment, racial and ethnic status, gender and proportions of staff positions. With regard to two of the five sub-scales, the survey revealed relative strength in interaction enjoyment while respect for cultural differences exposed an interesting bi-modal distribution – with many staff achieving perfect scores in this area and another large contingent scoring well below the mean. Baseline measures informed educational interventions, assessed training needs, enabled evaluation of interventions, and revealed individual and/or institutional factors that impeded or enhanced responses to patient experiences of healthcare disparities. Initial findings suggest general staff preferences for diversity workshops and cultural fact sheets as the preferred mode of instruction. Employees requested information about religion, attitudes about death and dying, and attitudes about health care institutions relevant to cultures represented in our local community. Practice Implications: Baseline results are used to direct network initiatives (i.e. creating health information repository, ensuring language-appropriate services, and strengthening educational programs) and to measure intervention outcomes. Along with obtaining uniform racial/ethnic patient data, this information is essential in comprehensive organizational change regarding culturally-appropriate service delivery and will ensure the delivery of equitable health care. Learning Objectives: 1. Explain how quantitative and qualitative results inform system-wide planning related to cultural competency. 2. List the key findings from this assessment 3. Describe a research methodology to measure the intercultural sensitivity of a health care organization employee population. Keywords:Cultural Competency, Hospitals Presenting author\u27s disclosure statement: Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am co-chair of Lehigh Valley Health Network\u27s Cultural Awareness Initiative. The abstract describes a baseline assessment that was part of this initiative. Any relevant financial relationships? No I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation

Laparoscopic pyeloplasty for ureteropelvic junction obstruction of the lower moiety in a completely duplicated collecting system: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>There are only a few reports on laparoscopic pyeloplasty in kidney abnormalities and only one case for laparoscopic pyeloplasty in a duplicated system. Increasing experience in laparoscopic techniques allows proper treatment of such anomalies. However, its feasibility in difficult cases with altered kidney anatomy such as that of duplicated renal pelvis still needs to be addressed.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present a case of a 22-year-old white Caucasian female patient with ureteropelvic junction obstruction of the lower ureter of a completely duplicated system that was managed with laparoscopic pyeloplasty. Crossing vessels were identified and transposed. The procedure was carried out successfully and the patient's symptoms subsided. Follow-up studies demonstrated complete resolution of the obstruction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Since laparoscopic pyeloplasty is still an evolving procedure, its feasibility in complex cases of kidney anatomic abnormalities is herein further justified.</p

Dissecting the impact of environment, season and genotype on blackcurrant fruit quality traits.

This work aims to determine the effect of genotype x environment (GxE) interaction that influence blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) fruit quality. We applied metabolomics-driven analysis on fruits from four cultivars grown in contrasting European-locations over two seasons. By integrating metabolomics and sensory analysis, we also defined specific metabolic signatures associated with consumer acceptance. Our results showed that rainfall is a crucial factor associated with accumulation of delphinidin- and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, the two mayor blackcurrant pigments meanwhile temperature affects the main organic acid levels which can be decisive for fruit taste. Sensorial analysis showed that increases in terpenoid and acetate ester volatiles were strongly associated with higher appreciation score, while proacacipetalin, a cyanogenic-glycoside, was positively associated to bitter taste. Our results pave the way for the selection of high-quality cultivars and suitable production sites for blackcurrant cultivation.publishedVersio

The Tully-Fisher relation for S0 galaxies

We present a study of the local B and K-band Tully-Fisher Relation (TFR) between absolute magnitude and maximum circular speed in S0 galaxies. To make this study, we have combined kinematic data, including a new high-quality spectral data set from the Fornax Cluster, with homogeneous photometry from the RC3 and 2MASS catalogues, to construct the largest sample of S0 galaxies ever used in a study of the TFR. Independent of environment, S0 galaxies are found to lie systematically below the TFR for nearby spirals in both optical and infrared bands. This offset can be crudely interpreted as arising from the luminosity evolution of spiral galaxies that have faded since ceasing star formation. However, we also find a large scatter in the TFR. We show that most of this scatter is intrinsic, not due to the observational uncertainties. The presence of such a large scatter means that the population of S0 galaxies cannot have formed exclusively by the above simple fading mechanism after all transforming at a single epoch. To better understand the complexity of the transformation mechanism, we have searched for correlations between the offset from the TFR and other properties of the galaxies such as their structural properties, central velocity dispersions and ages (as estimated from line indices). For the Fornax Cluster data, the offset from the TFR relates with the estimated age of the stars in the individual galaxies, in the sense and of the magnitude expected if S0 galaxies had passively faded since being converted from spirals. This correlation implies that a significant part of the scatter in the TFR arises from the different times at which galaxies began their transformation.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Author Correction: A consensus-based transparency checklist.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

StarRunner: A Single-Stage-to-Orbit, Airbreathing, Hypersonic Propulsion System

40th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference And Exhibit Fort Lauderdale, FL, July 11-14, 2004.In response to the request for proposal (RFP) for the 2003 AIAA Undergraduate Team Engine Design Competition, the FAS Propulsion Design team from the Georgia Institute of Technology presents StarRunner: A Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO), Airbreathing, Hypersonic Propulsion System. Low-cost, highly reliable access to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and the International Space Station (ISS) is an area of continuing research and debate. StarRunner is proposed to supplement a notional Crew Transfer Vehicle through the ability to deliver a 25,000 lb payload to the ISS. The horizontal takeoff/horizontal landing (HTHL) vehicle makes use of a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system consisting of 14 low-bypass-ratio turbofan engines and a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system for high-speed flight. The vehicle also takes advantage of ultra-high-temperature ceramic thermal protection materials and uses hydrogen fuel for regenerative cooling of engine components. StarRunner is compatible with standard runways, with a gross takeoff weight of approximately 1,000,000 lbs, and has a cost per pound to orbit of approximately $825/lb. This advanced, fully reusable space transport vehicle and integrated propulsion system design demonstrates student efforts to understand issues facing the space launch community. Future enabling and enhancing technologies for TBCC SSTO launch vehicles are explored and analyzed. The final StarRunner design addresses and proposes several innovative solutions to traditional problems