Quantitative bedrock geology of Brazil

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 8 (2007): Q05014, doi:10.1029/2006GC001505.We quantitatively analyze the area-age distribution of sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic, and ultramafic bedrock on the basis of data from the digital geologic map of Brazil, published as a GIS map by the Brazilian Geological Survey. Bedrock units exclusively encompassing sedimentary rocks, igneous rocks, or metamorphic rocks cover 40.4%, 31.5%, and 17.7%, respectively, of the total bedrock area. These numbers have to be considered minimum estimates of the areal abundance of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic bedrock because polygons defined by mixed lithologies cover ~8.5–9.5% of the total bedrock area. These mixed units are sedimentary rocks with igneous and/or metamorphic contributions (1.4%), metamorphic rocks with sedimentary contributions (1.2%), metamorphic rocks with igneous contributions (1.5%), igneous rocks with sedimentary and/or metamorphic contributions (4.4%), and ultramafic units with sedimentary, igneous, and/or metamorphic contributions (~1–2%). The average ages of major lithologic units, weighted according to bedrock area, are as follows: sedimentary rocks (average stratigraphic age of 248 ± 5 [1σ] Myr; median stratigraphic age of 87.5 Myr), igneous rocks (1153 ± 13 [1σ] Myr), metamorphic rocks (1678 ± 30 [1σ] Myr), and ultramafic rocks (~1227 ± 25 [1σ] Myr). The average bedrock age of Brazil is 946 ± 7 [1σ] Myr. The range in lithologic composition and age structure of the various bedrock units reflects the complex tectonic makeup of Brazil that ranges from Neogene sedimentary cover in the Amazon Basin to Precambrian cratons (Guyana and Brazilian shields) and Transamazonian greenstone belts. The average spatial resolution of the data is 232 km2 polygon−1 and is sufficient to perform area-age analyses of individual river drainage basins larger than ~5,000 km2.B.P.E. acknowledges financial support from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF-EAR-0125873) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Amelioration of epidermal hyperplasia by TNF inhibition is associated with reduced Th17 responses

Biological agents have dramatically improved treatment options for patients with severe psoriasis. Etanercept (tumor necrosis factor [TNF] receptor–immunoglobulin fusion protein) is an effective treatment for many psoriasis patients, and blockade of TNF is considered to be its primary action. However, in this clinical trial, we show that etanercept has early inhibitory effects on a newly appreciated type of T cells: T helper type 17 (Th17) cells. Etanercept reduced the inflammatory dendritic cell products that drive Th17 cell proliferation (interleukin [IL] 23), as well as Th17 cell products and downstream effector molecules (IL-17, IL-22, CC chemokine ligand 20, and β-defensin 4). In contrast, Th1 cellular products and effector molecules (interferon γ, lymphotoxin α, and myxovirus resistance 1) were reduced late in disease resolution. This study suggests a role for Th17 in addition to Th1 cells in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Th17 cells may be particularly important in driving epidermal activation in psoriatic plaques, whereas Th1 cells must also be eliminated for final disease resolution

Continental bedrock and riverine fluxes of strontium and neodymium isotopes to the oceans

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2010. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 11 (2010): Q03016, doi:10.1029/2009GC002869.Realistic models of past climate and ocean chemistry depend on reconstructions of the Earth's surface environments in the geologic past. Among the critical parameters is the geologic makeup of continental drainage. Here we show, for the present, that the isotope composition of dissolved strontium in rivers increases linearly with the age of bedrock in drainage basins, with the notable exception of the drainage area of Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia that is affected by unusually radiogenic dissolved Sr from the Himalaya. We also demonstrate that the neodymium isotope compositions of suspended matter in rivers as well as clastic sediments deposited along the ocean margins decrease linearly with the bedrock ages of river drainage basins and large-scale continental drainage regions, as determined from digital geologic maps. These correlations are used to calculate the present-day input of dissolved Sr (4.7 × 1010 mol yr−1, 87Sr/86Sr of ∼0.7111) and particulate Nd isotopes (ɛNd of approximately −7.3 ± 2.2) to the oceans. The fact that the regionally averaged ɛNd of the global detrital input to the global coastal ocean is identical to globally averaged seawater (ɛNd of −7.2 ± 0.5) lends credence to the importance of “boundary exchange” for the Nd isotope composition of water masses. Regional biases in source areas of detrital matter and runoff are reflected by the observation that the average age of global bedrock, weighted according to the riverine suspended sediment flux, is significantly younger (∼336 Myr) than the age of global bedrock weighted according to water discharge (394 Myr), which is younger than the average bedrock age of the nonglaciated, exorheic portions of the continents (453 Myr). The observation that the bedrock age weighted according to Sr flux is younger (339 Myr) than that weighted according to water flux reflects the disproportionate contribution from young sedimentary and volcanic rocks to the dissolved Sr load. Neither the isotope composition of the dissolved nor the particulate continental inputs to the ocean provide unbiased perspectives of the lithologic makeup of the Earth's surface. Temporal changes in bedrock geology as well as the shifting focal points of physical erosion and water discharge will undoubtedly have exerted strong controls on temporal and spatial changes in the isotope chemistry of past global runoff and thus seawater.NSF grants EAR‐ 0125873, EAR‐0519387, and OCE‐0851015 to B.P.‐E. and a CNRS‐funded “poste rouge” position for B.P.‐E. at the Observatoire Midi‐Pyrénées in Toulouse supported this work

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Optical Telescope Element Design, Development, and Performance

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared space telescope that has recently started its science program which will enable breakthroughs in astrophysics and planetary science. Notably, JWST will provide the very first observations of the earliest luminous objects in the Universe and start a new era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. This transformative science is enabled by a 6.6 m telescope that is passively cooled with a 5-layer sunshield. The primary mirror is comprised of 18 controllable, low areal density hexagonal segments, that were aligned and phased relative to each other in orbit using innovative image-based wavefront sensing and control algorithms. This revolutionary telescope took more than two decades to develop with a widely distributed team across engineering disciplines. We present an overview of the telescope requirements, architecture, development, superb on-orbit performance, and lessons learned. JWST successfully demonstrates a segmented aperture space telescope and establishes a path to building even larger space telescopes.Comment: accepted by PASP for JWST Overview Special Issue; 34 pages, 25 figure

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P < 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P < 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

Protective intraoperative ventilation with higher versus lower levels of positive end-expiratory pressure in obese patients (PROBESE): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) increase the morbidity and mortality of surgery in obese patients. High levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) with lung recruitment maneuvers may improve intraoperative respiratory function, but they can also compromise hemodynamics, and the effects on PPCs are uncertain. We hypothesized that intraoperative mechanical ventilation using high PEEP with periodic recruitment maneuvers, as compared with low PEEP without recruitment maneuvers, prevents PPCs in obese patients. Methods/design The PRotective Ventilation with Higher versus Lower PEEP during General Anesthesia for Surgery in OBESE Patients (PROBESE) study is a multicenter, two-arm, international randomized controlled trial. In total, 2013 obese patients with body mass index ≥35 kg/m2 scheduled for at least 2 h of surgery under general anesthesia and at intermediate to high risk for PPCs will be included. Patients are ventilated intraoperatively with a low tidal volume of 7 ml/kg (predicted body weight) and randomly assigned to PEEP of 12 cmH2O with lung recruitment maneuvers (high PEEP) or PEEP of 4 cmH2O without recruitment maneuvers (low PEEP). The occurrence of PPCs will be recorded as collapsed composite of single adverse pulmonary events and represents the primary endpoint. Discussion To our knowledge, the PROBESE trial is the first multicenter, international randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of two different levels of intraoperative PEEP during protective low tidal volume ventilation on PPCs in obese patients. The results of the PROBESE trial will support anesthesiologists in their decision to choose a certain PEEP level during general anesthesia for surgery in obese patients in an attempt to prevent PPCs. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02148692. Registered on 23 May 2014; last updated 7 June 2016. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-1929-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users