Crustal processes sustain Arctic abiotic gas hydrate and fluid flow systems

The Svyatogor Ridge and surroundings, located on the sediment-covered western flank of the Northern Knipovich Ridge, host extensive gas hydrate and related fluid flow systems. The fluid flow system here manifests in the upper sedimentary sequence as gas hydrates and free gas, indicated by bottom simulating reflections (BSRs) and amplitude anomalies. Using 2D seismic lines and bathymetric data, we map tectonic features such as faults, crustal highs, and indicators of fluid flow processes. Results indicate a strong correlation between crustal faults, crustal highs and fluid accumulations in the overlying sediments, as well as an increase in geothermal gradient over crustal faults. We conclude here that gas generated during the serpentinization of exhumed mantle rocks drive the extensive occurrence of gas hydrate and fluid flow systems in the region and transform faults act as an additional major pathway for fluid circulation

Failure to increase insulin secretory capacity during pregnancy-induced insulin resistance is associated with ethnicity and gestational diabetes

Objective To assess changes in insulin resistance and β-cell function in a multiethnic cohort of women in Oslo, Norway, from early to 28 weeks' gestation and 3 months post partum and relate the findings to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Method Population-based cohort study of 695 healthy pregnant women from Western Europe (41%), South Asia (25%), Middle East (15%), East Asia (6%) and elsewhere (13%). Blood samples and demographics were recorded at mean 15 (V1) and 28 (V2) weeks' gestation and 3 months post partum (V3). Universal screening was by 75 g oral glucose tolerance test at V2, GDM with modified IADPSG criteria (no 1-h measurement): fasting plasma glucose (PG) ≥5.1 or 2-h PG ≥8.5 mmol/l. Homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-β (β-cell function) and HOMA-IR (insulin resistance) were calculated from fasting glucose and C-peptide. Result Characteristics were comparable across ethnic groups, except age (South Asians: younger, P<0.001) and prepregnant BMI (East Asians: lower, P=0.040). East and South Asians were more insulin resistant than Western Europeans at V1. From V1 to V2, the increase in insulin resistance was similar across the ethnic groups, but the increase in β-cell function was significantly lower for the East and South Asians compared with Western Europeans. GDM women compared with non-GDM women were more insulin resistant at V1; from V1 to V2, their β-cell function increased significantly less and the percentage increase in β-cell function did not match the change in insulin resistance. Conclusion Pregnant women from East Asia and South Asia were more insulin resistant and showed poorer HOMA-β-cell function than Western Europeans

Public-private partnerships for biosecurity: an opportunity for risk sharing

Private efforts to prevent and control biological pests and infectious diseases can be a public good, and so incentivising private biosecurity management actions is both desirable and problematic. Compensation contracts can encourage biosecurity efforts, provide support against the collapse of economic sectors, and create an insurance network. We conceptualise a novel biosecurity instrument relying on formal compensation private–public partnerships using contract theory. Our framework explains how the public sector can harness increased private biosecurity measures by making payments to agents which depend both on their performance and that of the other stakeholders. Doing so allows the government to spread the risk across signatory agents. The framework also improves our understanding of government involvement due to public effects of biosecurity, influenced by the private agents’ capacity to derive private benefit from their own efforts on monitoring and control. Lastly, these theoretical results provide a foundation for further study of contractual responsibility sharing for pest management

Essays on Western History in Honor of Elwyn B. Robinson

This book was published on the occasion of the retirement of Dr. Elwyn B. Robinson from the Department of History at the University of North Dakota. It features articles by several different historians regarding various subjects in the history of the American West.https://commons.und.edu/und-books/1021/thumbnail.jp