A frotarsius chatrathi, first tarsiiform primate (? Tarsiidae) from Africa

Tarsiiform primates have long been regarded as a Laurasian group, with an extensive fossil record in the Eocene of North America and EuropeI and two important but less well-known records from Asia

Nitrogen transactions along the digestive tract of lambs concurrently infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Ostertagia circumcincta

Twelve lambs, paired on the basis of live weight, were cannulated in the abomasum, in the proximal jejunum approximately 4 m distal to the pylorus and in the terminal ileum. Six were infected with 3000 Trichostrongylus colubriformis and 3000 Ostertagia circumcincta larvae each day for 18 weeks and the remainder were pair-fed to individual infected lambs. All animals were offered ryegrass (Lolium perenne)–white clover (Trifolium repens) pasture, cut daily. Dry matter (DM) intake, live weight, faecal egg concentration, plasma pepsinogen and plasma protein concentrations were measured weekly. During weeks 7 and 17 after commencement of infection, the flow of digesta along the gastrointestinal tract was measured together with enteric plasma loss and true digestion and absorption of ¹²⁵I-labelled albumin in the small intestine. DM intake was depressed by parasitism, being 1331, (se 70), 423 (se 32) and 529 (se 52) g/d during weeks 3, 7 and 17 respectively. The flow of nitrogen at the proximal jejunum and in faeces was increased by parasitism during week 7 and at the abomasum and ileum during week 17. Plasma protein-N loss (g/d) into the gastrointestinal tract was 0.68 (se 0.091) and 1.97 (se 0.139) during week 7, and 0.85 (se0.158) and 1.96 (se 0.396) during week 17, in control and infected sheep respectively. True digestion and absorption of albumin in the proximal small intestine, the site of infection, was very low (mean 0.08) and was not affected by parasitism. Between the abomasum and terminal ileum absorption of albumin was high (mean 0.87) and again was not affected by parasitism. It was calculated that of the total increase in endogenous protein passing from the ileum tract as a result of infection, plasma protein comprised only a small percentage (10–36%). The major proportion of digestion and absorption of protein occurred in the distal small intestine beyond the site of infection and was not affected by infection

Nannofossil imprints across the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

The Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM; ca. 56 Ma) geological interval records a marked decline in calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in seafloor sediments, potentially reflecting an episode of deep- and possibly shallow-water ocean acidification. However, because CaCO3 is susceptible to postburial dissolution, the extent to which this process has influenced the PETM geological record remains uncertain. Here, we tested for evidence of postburial dissolution by searching for imprint fossils of nannoplankton preserved on organic matter. We studied a PETM succession from the South Dover Bridge (SDB) core, Maryland, eastern United States, and compared our imprint record with previously published data from traditionally sampled CaCO3-preserved nannoplankton body fossils. Abundant imprints through intervals devoid of CaCO3 would signify that postburial dissolution removed much of the CaCO3 from the rock record. Imprints were recorded from most samples but were rare and of low diversity. Body fossils were substantially more numerous and diverse, capturing a more complete record of the living nannoplankton communities through the PETM. The SDB succession records a dissolution zone/low-carbonate interval at the onset of the PETM, through which nannoplankton body fossils are rare. No nannoplankton imprints were found from this interval, suggesting that the rarity of body fossils is unlikely to have been the result of postburial dissolution. Instead, our findings suggest that declines in CaCO3 through the PETM at the SDB location were the result of: (1) biotic responses to changes that were happening during this event, and/or (2) CaCO3 dissolution that occurred before lithification (i.e., in the water column or at the seafloor)

Self-Enforcing Trade Agreements: Evidence from Time-Varying Trade Policy

The Bagwell and Staiger (1990) theory of cooperative trade agreements predicts new tariffs (i) increase with imports, (ii) increase with the inverse of the sum of the import demand and export supply elasticities, and (iii) decrease with the variance of imports. We find US import policy during 1997-2006 to be consistent with this theory. A one standard deviation increase in import growth, the inverse of the sum of the import demand and export supply elasticity, and the standard deviation of import growth changes the probability that the US imposes an antidumping tariff by 35%, by 88%, and by -76%, respectively

Management and Outcome of Prosthetic Patch Infection after Carotid Endarterectomy: A Single-centre Series and Systematic Review of the Literature

AbstractObjectivesOutcomes following prosthetic patch infection after carotid endarterectomy (CEA).MethodsRetrospective audit and systematic review.Results22 patients were treated between January 1992 and April 2012, 5 having undergone their original CEA at another institution. The commonest infecting organism was Staphylococcus. One patient was treated by antibiotic irrigation, one was stented, while 20 underwent debridement and patch excision plus; carotid ligation (n = 3), vein patching (n = 3) or vein bypass (n = 14). There was one peri-operative stroke, but no peri-operative deaths. There were no reinfections at a median follow-up of 54 months.A systematic review identified 123 patients with prosthetic patch infection in the world literature. Thirty-six (29%) presented <2 months, 78 (63%) presented >6 months after the original CEA. Seventy-nine of/87 patients (91%) with a positive culture yielded Staphylococci or Streptococci. Seventy-four patients were treated by patch excision and autologous reconstruction. Four (5%) developed reinfection <30 days, but later reinfections have been reported. Seven of nine patients (78%) undergoing prosthetic reconstruction either died or suffered reinfection. Five patients were treated with a covered stent, none developing reinfection (median followup 12 months).ConclusionPatch infection following CEA is rare. Few have undergone stenting and long term data are awaited. For now, patch excision and autologous reconstruction remains the ‘gold standard’

Imprint of a dissolved cobalt basaltic source on the Kerguelen Plateau

International audienceProcesses of cobalt (Co) entrainment from shelf sediments over the Kerguelen Plateau were studied during the KEOPS (Kerguelen Ocean Plateau compared Study) in order to explain the exceptionally high dissolved cobalt concentrations that have been measured in the surface waters above the Kerguelen Plateau, and in intermediate and deep waters above its eastern slope. Lateral advection and dissolution of Co contained in basalt sediments around Heard Island, a main source of lithogenic Co in the study area, were shown to imprint the process of surface enrichment over the plateau. Dissolved Co enrichment was strongest at the intercept of the eastern slope with intermediate and deep waters, probably due to more efficient mobilisation of the sediments in the slope current, in addition to advection of Co-enriched and low-oxygenated ocean water masses. In surface waters, the strong sedimentary Co inputs were estimated to be much higher than biological Co uptake in phytoplankton blooms, underlining the potential use of dissolved cobalt as tracer of the natural iron fertilization above the Kerguelen Plateau. Based on a simple steady-state balance equation of the external input of dissolved iron over the plateau, the fertilization of iron inferred by using dissolved Co as a tracer of basalt sources is estimated to be 28 × 102 ± 21 × 102 t yr−1 in surface waters of the Kerguelen Plateau. This estimate is consistent with preceding ones (Zhang et al., 2008; Chever et al., 2010), and the calculated iron supply matches with the phytoplankton demand (Sarthou et al., 2008)

Sonogashira diversification of unprotected halotryptophans, halotryptophan containing tripeptides; and generation of a new to nature bromo-natural product and its diversification in water

The blending together of synthetic chemistry with natural product biosynthesis represents a potentially powerful approach to synthesis; to enable this, further synthetic tools and methodologies are needed. To this end, we have explored the first Sonogashira cross-coupling to halotryptophans in water. Broad reaction scope is demonstrated and we have explored the limits of the scope of the reaction. We have demonstrated this methodology to work excellently in the modification of model tripeptides. Furthermore, through precursor directed biosynthesis, we have generated for the first time a new to nature brominated natural product bromo-cystargamide, and demonstrated the applicability of our reaction conditions to modify this novel metabolite

Cardiovascular Risk Reduction is Important for Improving Patient and Graft Survival After Ligation and Bypass Surgery for Popliteal Artery Aneurysm

OBJECTIVES: To report outcomes following ligation and bypass (LGB) surgery for popliteal artery aneurysm (PAA) and study factors influencing patient and graft survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of patients undergoing LGB surgery for PAA between September 1999 and August 2012 at a tertiary referral vascular unit was performed. Primary graft patency (PGP), primary-assisted graft patency (PAGP), and secondary graft patency (SGP) rates were calculated using survival analyses. Patient, graft aneurysm-free survival (GAFS), aneurysm reperfusion-free survival (ARFS), and amputation-free survival (AFS) rates were also calculated. Log-rank testing and Cox proportional hazards modeling were used to perform univariate and multivariate analysis of influencing factors, respectively. RESULTS: Eighty-four LGB repairs in 69 patients (mean age 71.3 years, 68 males) were available for study. The 5-year PGP, PAGP, SGP, and patient survival rates were 58.1%, 84.4%, 85.2%, and 81.1%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, the principal determinants of PGP were urgency of operation ( P = .009) and smoking status ( P = .019). The principal determinants of PAGP were hyperlipidemia status ( P = .048) and of SGP were hyperlipidemia ( P = .042) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) status ( P = .045). The principal determinants of patient survival were previous myocardial infarction ( P = .004) and CVD ( P = .001). The 5-year GAFS, ARFS, and AFS rates were 87.9%, 91.6%, and 96.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as a smoking and ischemic heart disease, are the most important predictors of early graft failure and patient death following LGB surgery for PAA