Report and preliminary results of SONNE cruise SO175, Miami - Bremerhaven, 12.11 - 30.12.2003 : (GAP, Gibraltar Arc Processes)

Expedition SO175 using FS Sonne aimed for a multidisciplinerary geoscientific approach with an international group of researchers. Methods covered the entire span from geophysical data acquisition (seafloor mapping, echography, seismic reflection), sediment coring at sites of active fluid venting, in situ heat flow measurements across the entire length of the Gibraltar thrust wedge, the deformation front, landslide bodies, and mud volcanoes, and finally the deployment of a long-term pore pressure probe. Video-supported operations helped to identify fluid vent sites, regions with tectonic activity, and other attractive high priority targets. Qualitative and quantitative examinations took place on board and are continued on land with respect to pore pressure variation, geomicrobiology, sediment- and fluid mobilization, geochemical processes, faunal assemblages (e.g. cold water corals), and gas hydrates (flammable methane-ice-crystals). Main focus of the expedition has been a better understanding of interaction between dynamic processes in a seismically active region region with slow plate convergence. In the context of earthquake nucleation and subduction zone processes, the SO175 research programme had a variety of goals, such as: • To test the frictional behaviour of the abyssal plain sediments. • To explore the temperature field of the 1755 thrust earthquake event via heat flow measurements. • To assess the role of fluid venting and gas hydrate processes control slope stability and mud volcanic activity along the Iberian continental margin. • To measure isotope geochemistry of pore waters and carbonates of deep fluids. • To quantify microbial activity in Gibraltar wedge sediments. • To test whether microseismicity in the area corresponds to in situ pore pressure changes. • To find out if enhanced heat flow max be indicative of active subduction. Initial tentative results during the cruise suggest that there is a component of active thrusting at the base of the wedge, as attested by heat flow data. Based on mostly geochemical evidence, mud volcanism was found less active than previously assumed. Highlights from post-cruise research include the successful deployment of the long-term station and high frictional resistance of all incoming sediment on the three abyssal plains

CORTICO-STRIATAL COORDINATION DISRUPTED IN BEHAVIORALLY INFLEXIBLE MODERATE PRENATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSED MICE

Up to 61% of adolescent school aged children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have been suspended or expelled. Executive function deficits, like dis-inhibition and cognitive inflexibility, have been proposed to be better predictors of behavioral problems then IQ score, which qualifies these individuals for developmental disability and special school programs. Reversal learning, a widely used behavioral paradigm for assessing cognitive flexibility across species, has been shown to be impaired in rodent models of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). Here we show that a mouse model with daily maternal drinking, resulting in a BAC of 85 mg/dl throughout gestation, results in maladaptive perseveration, or repetitive incorrect errors, on a visual touch-screen reversal paradigm. Reversal of visual touch screen learning has been shown to be mediated by the orbital frontal cortex (OFC), while associative learning is mediated by the dorsal striatum (DS). However, no studies have addressed the in vivo changes in neural signaling that occur after PAE that result in maladaptive perseveration. Pairing PAE with in vivo electrophysiology we have shown that spike firing changes in the OFC and DS may explain prolonged perseveration, however the magnitude of change suggests they are not the sole underlying mechanism of impaired reversal learning. Our data suggest that during early reversal, decreases in functional connectivity and over coordination of spikes with low frequency oscillations may be driving perseveration in PAE treated mice. Therefore, future treatments should be targeted to increase coordinated activity during executive function tasks to help correct negative repetitive behaviors in FASD individuals

Health and Care Dependency of Older Adults in Dresden, Germany: Results from the LAB60+ Study

As the population in Europe ages, an increased focus on the health of older adults is necessary. The purpose of the population-based LAB60+ study was to examine the current health and care situation of the population of older adults in Dresden, Germany, and to assess the effect of age, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) on health outcomes. In the first half of 2021, 2399 out of 6004 randomly sampled residents of Dresden aged 60 years or older answered questions on their chronic conditions, care dependency, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and well-being, among others. Of the participants, 91.6% were afflicted with at least one chronic condition, and 73.1% had multimorbidities. More than one-tenth (11.3%) of participants were care dependent. Lower levels of HRQoL and well-being were observed compared to a published German reference population, perhaps because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Gender differences were observed for some chronic health conditions, and women had a higher risk for lower HRQoL, well-being, and depressivity compared to men. A low SES was associated with a higher risk of the vast majority of health outcomes. Particularly, socioeconomic factors and gender-related inequalities should be considered for the development of prevention and health-promoting measures during late life

Transition-metal incorporation and Co-Sr/Mn-Sr mixed-modifier effect in metaphosphate glasses

Modifier-mixing provides a well-established tool for generating non-linear trends in physical properties of multi-component glasses. While typically, mixtures of alkali or alkaline earth ions are considered, here, we report on the structural incorporation of Co$^{2+}$ and Mn$^{2+}$, respectively, in strontium metaphosphate glasses, and on the associated Co-Sr/Mn-Sr mixed-modifier effect. Structural variations in the short and intermediate range were investigated with vibrational spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, elucidating the coordination states of the two transition metals as a function of mixing ratio. For the join of Co-Sr, we find that the octahedral coordination dominates for lower contents of cobalt, whereas the tetrahedral state is predominantly found at higher cobalt concentration. The analogue decrease in the coordination number is weaker when mixing manganese and strontium ions. Coordination numbers are shown to correlate clearly with vibrational spectroscopic data and macroscopic physical properties

Direct Evidence for the Importance of Small Animals to Prehistoric Diets: A Review of Coprolite Studies

Researchers tend to underestimate or ignore the importance of small animals to the prehistoric diet due to the difficulty of separating cultural from noncultural faunal debris excavated from sites. Human coprolite analyses (dessicated human feces) indicate prehistoric dietary consumption of small animals. The large number of coprolites analyzed from North America reveals direct ingestion of small animals and indicates that small animal remains from sites indeed reflect human dietary patterns. The coprolites reveal that reptiles, birds, bats, and a large variety of rodents were an important and prevalent component of the prehistoric diet