A geological record of the last 14 million years of Antarctic climate and tectonic history from ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf Project

During the Southern Hemisphere’s last summer, between October 29 and December 26, about 80 researchers, drillers, educators and support staff from four nations met in Antarctica to drill deeper than ever before into the Antarctic continental margin. With a recovery rate of 98 percent, the new core represents the longest and most complete geological record from the seafloor just off Antarctica. Researchers working on the project hope the core will help them understand Antarctica’s storied past

Effect of royal jelly on experimental colitis induced by acetic acid and alteration of mast cell distribution in the colon of rats

This study investigated the effects of royal jelly (RJ) on acetic acid-induced colitis in rats. Twenty adult female Wistar albino rats were divided into four treatment groups of 5 animals each, including a control group (Group I); Group II was treated orally with RJ (150 mg kg−1 body weight); Group III had acetic acid-induced colitis; and Group IV had acetic acid-induced colitis treated orally with RJ (150 mg kg−1 body weight) for 4 weeks. Colitis was induced by intracolonic instillation of 4% acetic acid; the control group received physiological saline (10 mL kg−1). Colon samples were obtained under deep anaesthesia from animals in all groups. Tissues were fixed in 10% formalin neutral buffer solution for 24 h and embedded in paraffin. Six-micrometre-thick sections were stained with Mallory’s triple stain and toluidine blue in 1% aqueous solution at pH 1.0 for 5 min (for Mast Cells). RJ was shown to protect the colonic mucosa against the injurious effect of acetic acid. Colitis (colonic damage) was confirmed histomorphometrically as significant increases in the number of mast cells (MC) and colonic erosions in rats with acetic acid-induced colitis. The RJ treatment significantly decreased the number of MC and reduced the area of colonic erosion in the colon of RJ-treated rats compared with rats with untreated colitis. The results suggest that oral treatment with RJ could be used to treat colitis

Synthesis of the Initial Scientific Results of the MIS Project (AND-1B Core), Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica

The ANDRILL Program successfully recovered a 1285 m-long succession of cyclic glacimarine sediment with interbedded volcanic deposits in its first season of drilling from the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS). The MIS AND-1B drill core represents the longest and most complete (98% recovery) geological record from the Antarctic continental margin to date, and will provide a key reference record of climate and ice-sheet variability through the Late Neogene. Here we present a synopsis of this Initial Science Report with emphasis on the potential of the record for improving our knowledge of Antarctica’s influence on global climate

Making patient centered care a reality: A survey of patient educational programs in Italian Cancer Research and Care Institutes

Background: Educational intervention represents an essential element of care for cancer patients; while several single institutions develop their own patient education (PE) programs on cancer, little information is available on the effective existence of PE programs at the level of research and care institutes. In Italy such institutes - Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico - are appointed by the Ministry of Health, and 11 (Cancer Research & Care Istitute-CRCI) of the 48 are specific for cancer on the basis of specific requirements regarding cancer care, research and education. Therefore, they represent an ideal and homogeneous model through which to investigate PE policies and activities throughout the country. The objective of this study was to assess PE activities in Italian CRCI. Methods: We carried out a survey on PE strategies and services through a questionnaire. Four key points were investigated: a) PE as a cancer care priority, b) activities that are routinely part of PE, c) real involvement of the patients, and d) involvement of healthcare workers in PE activities. Results: Most CRCI (85 %) completed the survey. All reported having ongoing PE activities, and 4 of the 11 considered PE an institutional activity. More than 90 % of CRCI organize classes and prepare PE handouts, while other PE activities (e.g., Cancer Information Services, mutual support groups) are less frequently part of institutional PE programs. Patients are frequently involved in the organization and preparation of educational activities on the basis of their own needs. Various PE activities are carried out for caregivers in 8 (73 %) out of 11 institutes. Finally, health care workers have an active role in the organization of PE programs, although nurses take part in these activities in only half of CRCI and pharmacists are seldom included. Conclusions: The information arising from our research constitutes a necessary framework to identify areas of development and to design new strategies and standards to disseminate the culture of PE. This may ultimately help and stimulate the establishment of institutional integrated PE programs, including policies and interventions that can benefit a significant proportion of cancer patients

Late Cenozoic Climate History of the Ross Embayment from the AND-1B Drill Hole: Culmination of Three Decades of Antarctic Margin Drilling

Because of the paucity of exposed rock, the direct physical record of Antarctic Cenozoic glacial history has become known only recently and then largely from offshore shelf basins through seismic surveys and drilling. The number of holes on the continental shelf has been small and largely confined to three areas (McMurdo Sound, Prydz Bay, and Antarctic Peninsula), but even in McMurdo Sound, where Oligocene and early Miocene strata are well cored, the late Cenozoic is poorly known and dated. The latest Antarctic geological drilling program, ANDRILL, successfully cored a 1285-m-long record of climate history spanning the last 13 m.y. from subsea-floor sediment beneath the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS), using drilling systems specially developed for operating through ice shelves. The cores provide the most complete Antarctic record to date of ice-sheet and climate fluctuations for this period of Earth’s history. The >60 cycles of advance and retreat of the grounded ice margin preserved in the AND-1B record the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet since a profound global cooling step in deep-sea oxygen isotope records ~14 m.y.a. A feature of particular interest is a ~90-m-thick interval of diatomite deposited during the warm Pliocene and representing an extended period (~200,000 years) of locally open water, high phytoplankton productivity, and retreat of the glaciers on land

Sedimentology and stratigraphy of the ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf (AND-1B) core

During the 2006-2007 austral summer, the ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf Project recovered a core 1285 m long (AND-1B) from Windless Bight in McMurdo Sound. This core contains a range of lithologies, including both siliciclastic and volcanic diamictites, sandstones and mudstones; diatomites; and volcanic ash/tuff and one phonolitic lava flow. This sequence has been subdivided into eight lithostratigraphic units and 25 subunits, based on lithological abundances. Eleven lithofacies have been identified, ranging from open marine diatomites and mudstones to turbidites to ice-proximal massive and stratified diamictites. More than 50 glacimarine sequences have been recognized, bounded by glacial surfaces of erosion. Three distinct stacking patterns are present, showing evidence of glacial advance/retreat/advance with varying degrees of preservation. Carbonate and pyrite are the dominant secondary phases in the core. The pyrite overprint is especially notable in volcanic sediments below ~400 mbsf, where it often obscures stratification and sediment texture

Sedimentology and stratigraphy of the ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf (AND-1B) core

During the 2006-2007 austral summer, the ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf Project recovered a core 1285 m long (AND-1B) from Windless Bight in McMurdo Sound. This core contains a range of lithologies, including both siliciclastic and volcanic diamictites, sandstones and mudstones; diatomites; and volcanic ash/tuff and one phonolitic lava flow. This sequence has been subdivided into eight lithostratigraphic units and 25 subunits, based on lithological abundances. Eleven lithofacies have been identified, ranging from open marine diatomites and mudstones to turbidites to ice-proximal massive and stratified diamictites. More than 50 glacimarine sequences have been recognized, bounded by glacial surfaces of erosion. Three distinct stacking patterns are present, showing evidence of glacial advance/retreat/advance with varying degrees of preservation. Carbonate and pyrite are the dominant secondary phases in the core. The pyrite overprint is especially notable in volcanic sediments below ~400 mbsf, where it often obscures stratification and sediment texture