Matrix deformation of marls in a foreland fold-and-thrust belt: The example of the eastern Jaca basin, southern Pyrenees

In this study, we used the Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) to investigate the matrix strain record of two calcareous shale formations, the Eocene Larrès and Pamplona Marls, along the eastern Jaca foreland fold-and-thrust belt (Southern Pyrenees). More than 1000 unoriented fragments, collected from 62 sites along 4 sub-parallel sections in the footwall of the regional Oturia thrust and through local Yebra anticline, were measured. The analysis of the degree of anisotropy (P’) and shape parameter (T) allowed to identify four types of magnetic fabrics. Type II fabrics associated with poorly deformed rocks are characterized by a relatively high anisotropy and an oblate shape. In contrast, type III fabrics, associated with strongly fractured rocks are characterized by the lowest anisotropy and a triaxial shape. Type IV and type V fabrics are characterized by increasing anisotropy and shape parameters, and are associated with the development of a weak to a slaty cleavage in rocks. The distribution of the magnetic fabric is roughly similar along the four studied sections. In the footwall of the Oturia thrust, magnetic fabrics evolve from the type V to type II over a 1000 m-long interval. By contrast, the distribution of magnetic fabric is roughly symmetric across the Yebra anticline, evolving from a dominating type II fabric in both limbs to mixed type III-type V fabrics within the 1 km-large hinge zone. The succession of the magnetic fabrics is interpreted as recording various degrees of matrix strain in response to thrusting and folding. The correlation of magnetic fabrics between the four sections highlights some along-strike variations in the extension of fabric domains that are interpreted as reflecting the local influence of 2nd-order factors, such as the syn-tectonic sedimentation. Results are integrated within the tectono-sedimentary framework of the studied area to propose a model of matrix strain related to the tectonic and sedimentary evolution of a foreland fold and thrust belt

Obtaining Binaural Room Impulse Responses from B-Format Impulse Responses Using Frequency-Dependent Coherence Matching

Measuring binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs) for different rooms and different persons is a costly and time-consuming task. In this paper, we propose a method that allows to compute BRIRs from a B-format room impulse response (B-format RIR) and a set of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs). This enables to measure the room-related properties and head-related properties of BRIRs separately, reducing the amount of measurements necessary for obtaining BRIRs for different rooms and different persons to one B-format RIR measurement per room and one HRTF set per person. The BRIRs are modeled by applying an HRTF to the direct sound part of the B-format RIR and using a linear combination of the reflections part of the B-format RIR. The linear combination is determined such that the spectral and frequency-dependent interaural coherence cues match those of corresponding directly measured BRIRs. A subjective test indicates that the computed BRIRs are perceptually very similar to corresponding directly measured BRIRs

Cognitive loading affects motor awareness and movement kinematics but not locomotor trajectories during goal-directed walking in a virtual reality environment.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cognitive loading on movement kinematics and trajectory formation during goal-directed walking in a virtual reality (VR) environment. The secondary objective was to measure how participants corrected their trajectories for perturbed feedback and how participants' awareness of such perturbations changed under cognitive loading. We asked 14 healthy young adults to walk towards four different target locations in a VR environment while their movements were tracked and played back in real-time on a large projection screen. In 75% of all trials we introduced angular deviations of ±5° to ±30° between the veridical walking trajectory and the visual feedback. Participants performed a second experimental block under cognitive load (serial-7 subtraction, counter-balanced across participants). We measured walking kinematics (joint-angles, velocity profiles) and motor performance (end-point-compensation, trajectory-deviations). Motor awareness was determined by asking participants to rate the veracity of the feedback after every trial. In-line with previous findings in natural settings, participants displayed stereotypical walking trajectories in a VR environment. Our results extend these findings as they demonstrate that taxing cognitive resources did not affect trajectory formation and deviations although it interfered with the participants' movement kinematics, in particular walking velocity. Additionally, we report that motor awareness was selectively impaired by the secondary task in trials with high perceptual uncertainty. Compared with data on eye and arm movements our findings lend support to the hypothesis that the central nervous system (CNS) uses common mechanisms to govern goal-directed movements, including locomotion. We discuss our results with respect to the use of VR methods in gait control and rehabilitation

Why Tenth Graders Fail to Finish High School: A Dropout Typology Latent Class Analysis

A large percentage of the students who drop out of K-12 schools in the United States do so at the end of high school, at some point after grade 10. Yet we know little about the differences between different types of students who drop out of the end of high school. The purpose of this study is to examine a typology of high school dropouts from a large nationally representative dataset (ELS:2002) using latent class analysis (LCA). We found three significantly different types of dropouts; Quiet, Jaded, and Involved. Based on this typology of three subgroups, we discuss implications for future dropout intervention research, policy, and practice

Owning the problem: Media portrayals of overweight dogs and the shared determinants of the health of human and companion animal populations

Weight-related health problems have become a common topic in Western mass media. News-coverage has also extended to overweight pets, particularly since 2003 when the U.S. National Academy of Sciences announced that obesity was also afflicting co-habiting companion animals in record numbers. To characterize and track views in popular circulation on causes, consequences and responsibilities vis-à-vis weight gain and obesity, in pets as well as in people, this study examines portrayals of overweight dogs that appeared from 2000 through 2009 in British, American and Australian mass media. The ethnographic content analysis drew inspiration from the literature in population health, animal-human relationships, communication framing and the active nature of texts in cosmopolitan societies. Three main types of media articles about overweight dogs appeared during this period: 1) reports emphasizing facts and figures; 2) stories emphasizing personal prescriptions for dog owners, and 3) societal critiques. To help ordinary people make sense of canine obesity, media articles often highlight that dogs share the lifestyle of their human companion or owner, yet the implications of shared social and physical environments is rarely considered when it comes to solutions. Instead, media coverage exhorts people who share their lives with overweight dogs to ‘own the problem’ and, with resolve, to normalize their dog’s physical condition by imposing dietary, exercise and relationship changes, thereby individualizing culpability rather than linking it to broader systemic issues. Keywords: Companion animals; Media; Narrative analysis; Obesity; Public understandin

Evaluation of radio-immunotherapy sequence on immunological responses and clinical outcomes in patients with melanoma brain metastases (ELEKTRA)

In patients with melanoma brain metastases (MBM), a combination of radiotherapy (RT) with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) is routinely used. However, the best sequence of radio-immunotherapy (RIT) remains unclear. In an exploratory phase 2 trial, MBM patients received RT (stereotactic or whole-brain radiotherapy depending on the number of MBM) combined with ipilimumab (ipi) ± nivolumab (nivo) in different sequencing (Rad-ICI or ICI-Rad). Comparators arms included patients treated with ipi-free systemic treatment or without RT (in MBM-free patients). The primary endpoints were radiological and immunological responses in the peripheral blood. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Of 106 screened, 92 patients were included in the study. Multivariate analysis revealed an advantage for patients starting with RT (Rad-ICI) for overall response rate (RR: p = .007; HR: 7.88 (95%CI: 1.76-35.27)) and disease control rate (DCR: p = .036; HR: 6.26 (95%CI: 1.13-34.71)) with a trend for a better PFS (p = .162; HR: 1.64 (95%CI: 0.8-3.3)). After RT plus two cycles of ipi-based ICI in both RIT sequences, increased frequencies of activated CD4, CD8 T cells and an increase in melanoma-specific T cell responses were observed in the peripheral blood. Lasso regression analysis revealed a significant clinical benefit for patients treated with Rad-ICI sequence and immunological features, including high frequencies of memory T cells and activated CD8 T cells in the blood. This study supports increasing evidence that sequencing RT followed by ICI treatment may have better effects on the immunological responses and clinical outcomes in MBM patients

Common Sense Recommendations for the Application of Tax Law to Digital Assets

In response to the Joint Committee on Taxation’s July 2023 request for comments on application of various Internal Revenue Code sections on digital assets, we propose a consistent set of rules to apply current law to digital assets. We highlight that the underlying economics and characteristics of transactions should be the primary concern for the application of rules and the valuation of digital assets. We believe any digital asset rules should (1) treat classes of digital assets with unique characteristics differently based on their economics, (2) minimize incentives for users to engage in tax-motivated structuring of transactions, and (3) allow the Internal Revenue Service authority to react to and regulate new classes of digital assets as they are created. We do not believe that the unique features of digital assets are a challenge to applying current law or warrant special tax preferred treatment