The Ashern Formation (Middle Devonian) in the Williston Basin, North Dakota

The Ashern Formation (Middle Devonian) is the basal unit of the Kaskaskia Sequence in North Dakota. It unconformably overlies the Interlake Formation (Silurian) and underlies, probably paraconformably, the Winnipegosis Formation (Middle Devonian). The Ashern is present in the northwestern one-half of the state, and attains a maximum thickness of 180 feet (55 meters) The Ashern Formation may be subdivided into a lower red member and an upper gray member. The latter directly overlies the Interlake Formation where the red member is absent. Both members are argillaceous, microcrystalline dolostones containing minor quartz silt. Anhydrite, present in both members, is much more abundant in the red member, frequently forming beds or layers of nodules. The red member is present in a north-south trending, linear band in western North Dakota. This area probably was weakly positive and remained emergent during the initial Ashern transgression. Coastal sabkhas developed on this peninsula, or large island, in the early Ashern sea, which was located between 10 and 20 degrees south latitude. These sabkhas are represented by the red microcrystalline dolostones and nodular anhydrite of the red member. As the transgression continued, the sabkhas were inundated by rising sea level and the entire area became a restricted embayment These subtidal sediments became the microcrystalline dolostones of the gray member. Continued transgression produced the normal-marine, biogenic sediments of the Winnipegosis Formation Except for calcispheresin the gray member, no fossils have been found. However, stratigraphic relationships and datable faunas in central and northern Saskatchewan and Alberta and southern Northwest Territories strongly suggest an Eifelian (early Middle Devonian) age for the Ashern

Macropaleontology of the Gunn Member, Stony Mountain Formation (Upper Ordovician), Manitoba and North Dakota

The Gunn Member of the Stony Mountain Formation has long been known to contain an abundant and diverse fauna. This study was undertaken to identify and describe the macrofauna of the Gunn Member in the subsurface of North Dakota, previously neglected. As a necessary first step, collections of fossils from outcrop were examined and identified. With the outcrop fauna serving as a reference collection, twenty cores from the North Dakota subsurface were examined, described, and their fossils sampled. Fossil and sediment samples were washed and sieved and the residues were picked for microscopic representatives of phyla usually considered to be macroscopic. One hundred sixteen species-level taxa were identified from the Gunn Member. Thirty-five of these were found only in the subsurface, 40 only in outcrop, and 41 were found in both outcrop and the subsurface. There are 42 species of mollusks, 40 bryozoans, 15 brachiopods, ten corals, eight arthropods, and one stromatoporoid. A microscopic molluscan fauna was found in core from four wells in North Dakota. Five new genera and 19 new species were described; one species is a coral and the remaining new taxa are bryozoans. Outcrop assemblages are dominated by brachiopods and solitary corals, subsurface assemblages by bryozoans and brachiopods. Most of the preserved fauna is inferred to have been of epifaunal suspension feeders. Most of the fauna seems to have little biostratigraphic utility, although a Richmondian age for the Gunn Member is confirmed by the presence of several Richmondian index fossils. The sediments of the Gunn Member were deposited on a gentle northwest-sloping ramp. The decreasing thickness and decreasing proportion of terrigenous material toward the northwest indicates a southeastern source for the Gunn siliciclastics; the Transcontinental Arch is inferred to have been that source. The term Gunn Member is used throughout this study to avoid confusion. However, it is suggested that the term Stony Mountain Formation might be restricted to what is now the Gunn and Penitentiary Members, and that the Gunton and Williams Members might be incorporated into an expanded Stonewall Formation

Qualitative Environmental Health Research: An Analysis of the Literature, 1991-2008

BACKGROUND. Recent articles have advocated for the use of qualitative methods in environmental health research. Qualitative research uses nonnumeric data to understand people's opinions, motives, understanding, and beliefs about events or phenomena. OBJECTIVE. In this analysis of the literature, I report the use of qualitative methods and data in the study of the relationship between environmental exposures and human health. DATA SOURCES. A primary search on ISI Web of Knowledge/Web of Science for peer-reviewed journal articles dated from 1991 through 2008 included the following three terms: qualitative, environ*, and health. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are described. DATA EXTRACTION. Searches resulted in 3,155 records. Data were extracted and findings of articles analyzed to determine where and by whom qualitative environmental health research is conducted and published, the types of methods and analyses used in qualitative studies of environmental health, and the types of information qualitative data contribute to environmental health. DATA SYNTHESIS. Ninety-one articles met inclusion criteria. These articles were published in 58 different journals, with a maximum of eight for a single journal. The results highlight a diversity of disciplines and techniques among researchers who used qualitative methods to study environmental health, with most studies relying on one-on-one interviews. Details of the analyses were absent from a large number of studies. Nearly all of the studies identified increased scientific understanding of lay perceptions of environmental health exposures. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Qualitative data are published in traditionally quantitative environmental health studies to a limited extent. However, this analysis demonstrates the potential of qualitative data to improve understanding of complex exposure pathways, including the influence of social factors on environmental health, and health outcomes.National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R25 ES012084, P42ES007381

Quality improvement program decreases mortality after cardiac surgery

ObjectiveThis study investigated the effects of a quality improvement program and goal-oriented, multidisciplinary protocols on mortality after cardiac surgery.MethodsPatients were divided into two groups: those undergoing surgery (coronary artery bypass grafting, isolated valve surgery, or coronary artery bypass grafting and valve surgery) after establishment of the multidisciplinary quality improvement program (January 2005–December 2006, n = 922) and those undergoing surgery before institution of the program (January 2002–December 2003, n = 1289). Logistic regression and propensity score analysis were used to adjust for imbalances in patients' preoperative characteristics.ResultsOperative mortality was lower in the quality improvement group (2.6% vs 5.0%, P < .01). Unadjusted odds ratio was 0.5 (95% confidence interval 0.3–0.8, P < .01); propensity score–adjusted odds ratio was 0.6 (95% confidence interval 0.4–0.99, P = .04). In multivariable analysis, diabetes (P < .01), chronic renal insufficiency (P = .05), previous cardiovascular operation (P = .04), congestive heart failure (P < .01), unstable angina (P < .01), age older than 75 years (P < .01), prolonged pump time (P < .01), and prolonged operation (P = .05) emerged as independent predictors of higher mortality after cardiac surgery, whereas quality improvement program (P < .01) and male sex (P = .03) were associated with lower mortality. Mortality decline was less pronounced in patients with than without diabetes (P = .04).ConclusionApplication of goal-directed, multidisciplinary protocols and a quality improvement program were associated with lower mortality after cardiac surgery. This decline was less prominent in patients with diabetes, and focused quality improvement protocols may be required for this subset of patients

Chronic Kidney Disease and Coronary Artery Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). As well as their high prevalence of traditional CAD risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension, persons with CKD are also exposed to other nontraditional, uremia-related cardiovascular disease risk factors, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and abnormal calcium-phosphorus metabolism. CKD and end-stage kidney disease not only increase the risk of CAD, but they also modify its clinical presentation and cardinal symptoms. Management of CAD is complicated in CKD patients, due to their\ua0likelihood of comorbid conditions and potential for side effects during interventions. This summary of the Kidney\ua0Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Controversies Conference on CAD and CKD (including end-stage\ua0kidney disease and\ua0transplant recipients) seeks to improve understanding of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and\ua0treatment of CAD in CKD and to identify knowledge gaps, areas of controversy, and\ua0priorities for research

Chronic kidney disease and valvular heart disease: conclusions from a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Controversies Conference

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for valvular heart disease (VHD). Mitral annular and aortic valve calcifications are highly prevalent in CKD patients and commonly lead to valvular stenosis and regurgitation, as well as complications including conduction system abnormalities and endocarditis. VHD, especially mitral regurgitation and aortic stenosis, is associated with significantly reduced survival among CKD patients. Knowledge related to VHD in the general population is not always applicable to CKD patients because the pathophysiology may be different, and CKD patients have a high prevalence of comorbid conditions and elevated risk for periprocedural complications and mortality. This Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) review of CKD and VHD seeks to improve understanding of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of VHD in CKD by summarizing knowledge gaps, areas of controversy, and priorities for research

ROLE OF SOD AND CATHEPSIN-D IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE Aβ CASCADE MODELS

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is initiated by the formation of extracellular amyloid-B (AB) neurotoxin. Our laboratory uses neurotrophic factor (NTF) mimetics to increase neuronal survival in the presence of AB. This project investigated the potential role of cathepsin-D in AB-induced cell death, and found through fluorescence substrate assay that cathepsin-D activity increases in AB-treated human neuronal cells. We also found that NTF treatment can increase the cellular levels of therapeutic anti-oxidative superoxide dismutase in the brains of AD mice