A Psychotic Reaction in a Sex-Chromatin Negative Female

Neuropsychiatric disorders found in association with Turner's syndrome (gonadal agenesis) are unusual. The case report describes a patient with Turner's syndrome who suffered an acute psychotic reaction. A brief review of the literature concerning this association is surveyed.S. Afr. Med. J., 47, 146 (1973

Resolving MISS conceptions and misconceptions: A geological approach to sedimentary surface textures generated by microbial and abiotic processes

The rock record contains a rich variety of sedimentary surface textures on siliciclastic sandstone, siltstone and mudstone bedding planes. In recent years, an increasing number of these textures have been attributed to surficial microbial mats at the time of deposition, resulting in their classification as microbially induced sedimentary structures, or MISS. Research into MISS has developed at a rapid rate, resulting in a number of misconceptions in the literature. Here, we attempt to rectify these MISS misunderstandings. The first part of this paper surveys the stratigraphic and environmental range of reported MISS, revealing that contrary to popular belief there are more reported MISS-bearing rock units of Phanerozoic than Precambrian age. Furthermore, MISS exhibit a pan-environmental and almost continuous record since the Archean. Claims for the stratigraphic restriction of MISS to intervals prior to the evolution of grazing organisms or after mass extinction events, as well as claims for the environmental restriction of MISS, appear to result from sampling bias. In the second part of the paper we suggest that raised awareness of MISS has come at the cost of a decreasing appreciation of abiotic processes that may create morphologically similar features. By introducing the umbrella term ‘sedimentary surface textures’, of which MISS are one subset, we suggest a practical methodology for classifying such structures in the geological record. We illustrate how elucidating the formative mechanisms of ancient sedimentary surface textures usually requires consideration of a suite of sedimentological evidence from surrounding strata. Resultant interpretations, microbial or non-microbial, should be couched within a reasonable degree of uncertainty. This approach recognizes that morphological similarity alone does not constitute scientific proof of a common origin, and reinstates a passive descriptive terminology for sedimentary surface textures that cannot be achieved with the current MISS lexicon. It is hoped that this new terminology will reduce the number of overly sensational and misleading claims of MISS occurrence, and permit the means to practically separate initial observation from interpretation. Furthermore, this methodology offers a scientific approach that appreciates the low likelihood of conclusively identifying microbial structures from visual appearance alone, informing the search for true MISS in Earth's geological record and potentially on other planetary bodies such as Mars.Instances of sedimentary surface textures in the field were identified coincidentally during multiple seasons of varied field investigations primarily funded for NSD by a variety of organisations including a George Frederic Matthew Research Grant from the New Brunswick Museum for 2012, and a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to MRG. AGL is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council [grant number NE/L011409/1].This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.01.00

New Insights into the Photophysics of DNA Nucleobases

We report the results of an extended time-resolved study of DNA nucleobases in aqueous solutions conducted in the deep UV using broad-band femtosecond transient absorption and electronic two-dimensional spectroscopies. We found that the photodeactivation in all DNA nucleobases occurs in two steps: fast relaxation (500-700 fs) from the excited state ππ* to a "dark" state and its depopulation to the ground state within 1-2 ps. Our experimental observations and performed theoretical modeling allow us to conclude that this dark state can be associated with the nπ* electronic state, which is connected to the excited and ground states via conical intersections

Whither Capitalism? Financial externalities and crisis

As with global warming, so with financial crises – externalities have a lot to answer for. We look at three of them. First the financial accelerator due to ‘fire sales’ of collateral assets -- a form of pecuniary externality that leads to liquidity being undervalued. Second the ‘risk- shifting’ behaviour of highly-levered financial institutions who keep the upside of risky investment while passing the downside to others thanks to limited liability. Finally, the network externality where the structure of the financial industry helps propagate shocks around the system unless this is checked by some form of circuit breaker, or ‘ring-fence’. The contrast between crisis-induced Great Recession and its aftermath of slow growth in the West and the rapid - and (so far) sustained - growth in the East suggests that successful economic progress may depend on how well these externalities are managed

Considering the Case for Biodiversity Cycles: Reexamining the Evidence for Periodicity in the Fossil Record

Medvedev and Melott (2007) have suggested that periodicity in fossil biodiversity may be induced by cosmic rays which vary as the Solar System oscillates normal to the galactic disk. We re-examine the evidence for a 62 million year (Myr) periodicity in biodiversity throughout the Phanerozoic history of animal life reported by Rohde & Mueller (2005), as well as related questions of periodicity in origination and extinction. We find that the signal is robust against variations in methods of analysis, and is based on fluctuations in the Paleozoic and a substantial part of the Mesozoic. Examination of origination and extinction is somewhat ambiguous, with results depending upon procedure. Origination and extinction intensity as defined by RM may be affected by an artifact at 27 Myr in the duration of stratigraphic intervals. Nevertheless, when a procedure free of this artifact is implemented, the 27 Myr periodicity appears in origination, suggesting that the artifact may ultimately be based on a signal in the data. A 62 Myr feature appears in extinction, when this same procedure is used. We conclude that evidence for a periodicity at 62 Myr is robust, and evidence for periodicity at approximately 27 Myr is also present, albeit more ambiguous.Comment: Minor modifications to reflect final published versio

Accounting, Soci(et)al Risks, and Public Reason: Governmental Risk Discourses About the ILVA Steel Plant in Taranto (Italy)

The case of the ILVA steel plant in Taranto represents an example of con- trasting, incommensurable sustainability issues, explored in terms of “social” and “societal” risks (Asenova et al. in Managing the risks of public spending cuts in Scotland, 2013; Redistribution of social and societal risk: the impact on individuals, their networks and communities, 2015) [Asenova et al. (2015) refer to social risks as the risks of unemployment, and to societal risks as environmental and health risks.]. The case of ILVA has received significant attention for the great amount of dangerous pollutants spread in the environment, as well as the evidence of higher illness and mortality rates in the districts nearest to the plant. In July 2012, the Italian Judiciary halted activity in the steel plant. Four months after, the Italian Government declared the steel plant site as a “Strategic National Interest Site”, and allowed the company to restart its activity. Drawing on governmentality (Foucault in Questions of method, 1991), the paper aims to explore the role of accounting—here broadly intended as calculative practices (Miller in Soc Res 68:379–396, 2001)—in moulding ministerial discourse to support decisions when the governance of contrasting risks is needed to safeguard public interest. Supported by discourse analysis of governmental speech, the research shows that the Italian Government based its decision on various experts’ risk appraisals: accounting shaped governmental discourse by giving more visibility and relevance to “social” risks (i.e. unemployment, economic development, produc- tivity and competitiveness risks), while silencing “societal” ones (i.e. environmental and health risks). Focusing on a case of incommensurable contrasting issues, the findings contribute to show that accounting concurrently plays a significant role in government decisions legitimizing the business continuity through the creation of a specific risk discourse