Seismogenic up-dip limit of the 2014 Mw 8.1 Iquique earthquake links subduction erosion and upper plate deformation

The 2014 Mw 8.1 Iquique earthquake ruptured the boundary between the subducting Nazca Plate and the overriding South American Plate in the North Chilean subduction zone. The broken segment of the South American subduction zone had likely accumulated elastic strain since an M~9 earthquake in 1877 and what therefore considered a mature seismic gap. The moderate magnitude of the 2014 earthquake and its compact rupture area, which only broke the central part of the seismic gap, did not result in a significant tsunami in the Pacific Ocean. To investigate the seismo-tectonic segmentation of the North Chilean subduction zone in the region of the 2014 Iquique earthquake at the shallow seismic/aseismic transition, we combine two years of local aftershock seismicity observations from ocean bottom seismometers and long- offset seismic reflection data from the rupture area. Our study links short term deformation associated with a single seismic cycle to the permanent deformation history of an erosive convergent margin over millions of years. A high density of aftershocks following the 2014 Iquique earthquake occurred in the up-dip region of the coseismic rupture, where they form a trench parallel band. The events spread from the subducting oceanic plate across the plate boundary and into the overriding continental crust. The band of aftershock seismicity separates a pervasively fractured and likely fluid-filled marine forearc farther seaward from a less deformed section of the forearc farther landward. At the transition, active subduction erosion during the postseismic and possibly coseismic phases of the 2014 Iquique earthquake leads to basal abrasion of the upper plate and associated extensional faulting of the overlying marine forearc. Landward migration of the seismogenic up-dip limit, possibly at similar rates compared to the trench and the volcanic arc, leaves behind a heavily fractured and fluid-filled outermost forearc. This most seaward part of the subduction zone might be too weak to store sufficient elastic strain to nucleate a large megathrust earthquake

Measurement of unique magnetic and superconducting phases in oxygen-doped high-temperature superconductors La_2-xSr_xCuO_4+y

We present a combined magnetic neutron scattering and muon spin rotation study of the nature of the magnetic and superconducting phases in electronically phase separated La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4+y), x = 0.04, 065, 0.09. For all samples, we find long-range modulated magnetic order below T_N ~ T_c = 39 K. In sharp contrast wit oxygen-stoichiometric La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4), we find that the magnetic propagation vector as well as the ordered magnetic moment is independent of Sr content and consistent with that of the 'striped' cuprates. Our study provides direct proof that superoxygenation in La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4+y) allows the spin stripe ordered phase to emerge and phase separate from superconducting regions with the hallmarks of optimally doped oxygen-stoichiometric La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4)

Blind Test of Methods for Obtaining 2-D Near-Surface Seismic Velocity Models from First-Arrival Traveltimes

Seismic refraction methods are used in environmental and engineering studies to image the shallow subsurface. We present a blind test of inversion and tomographic refraction analysis methods using a synthetic first-arrival-time dataset that was made available to the community in 2010. The data are realistic in terms of the near-surface velocity model, shot-receiver geometry and the data’s frequency and added noise. Fourteen estimated models were determined by ten participants using eight different inversion algorithms, with the true model unknown to the participants until it was revealed at a session at the 2011 SAGEEP meeting. The estimated models are generally consistent in terms of their large-scale features, demonstrating the robustness of refraction data inversion in general, and the eight inversion algorithms in particular. When compared to the true model, all of the estimated models contain a smooth expression of its two main features: a large offset in the bedrock and the top of a steeply dipping low-velocity fault zone. The estimated models do not contain a subtle low-velocity zone and other fine-scale features, in accord with conventional wisdom. Together, the results support confidence in the reliability and robustness of modern refraction inversion and tomographic Methods

First Reported Prairie Dog–to-Human Tularemia Transmission, Texas, 2002

A tularemia outbreak, caused by Francisella tularensis type B, occurred among wild-caught, commercially traded prairie dogs. F. tularensis microagglutination titers in one exposed person indicated recent infection. These findings represent the first evidence for prairie-dog-to-human tularemia transmission and demonstrate potential human health risks of the exotic pet trade

Laboratory Analysis of Tularemia in Wild-Trapped, Commercially Traded Prairie Dogs, Texas, 2002

Oropharyngeal tularemia was identified as the cause of a die-off in captured wild prairie dogs at a commercial exotic animal facility in Texas. From this point source, Francisella tularensis–infected prairie dogs were traced to animals distributed to the Czech Republic and to a Texas pet shop. F. tularensis culture isolates were recovered tissue specimens from 63 prairie dogs, including one each from the secondary distribution sites. Molecular and biochemical subtyping indicated that all isolates were F. tularensis subsp. holarctica (Type B). Microagglutination assays detected antibodies against F. tularensis, with titers as great as 1:4,096 in some live animals. All seropositive animals remained culture positive, suggesting that prairie dogs may act as chronic carriers of F. tularensis. These findings demonstrate the need for additional studies of tularemia in prairie dogs, given the seriousness of the resulting disease, the fact that prairie dogs are sold commercially as pets, and the risk for pet-to-human transmission

Regulation of skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and insulin signaling by the Mitochondrial Rhomboid Protease PARL

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and aging are characterized by insulin resistance and impaired mitochondrial energetics. In lower organisms, remodeling by the protease pcp1 (PARL ortholog) maintains the function and lifecycle of mitochondria. We examined whether variation in PARL protein content is associated with mitochondrial abnormalities and insulin resistance. PARL mRNA and mitochondrial mass were both reduced in elderly subjects and in subjects with T2DM. Muscle knockdown of PARL in mice resulted in malformed mitochondrial cristae, lower mitochondrial content, decreased PGC1&alpha; protein levels, and impaired insulin signaling. Suppression of PARL protein in healthy myotubes lowered mitochondrial mass and insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis and increased reactive oxygen species production. We propose that lower PARL expression may contribute to the mitochondrial abnormalities seen in aging and T2DM.<br /

A structure filter for the Eukaryotic Linear Motif Resource

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many proteins are highly modular, being assembled from globular domains and segments of natively disordered polypeptides. Linear motifs, short sequence modules functioning independently of protein tertiary structure, are most abundant in natively disordered polypeptides but are also found in accessible parts of globular domains, such as exposed loops. The prediction of novel occurrences of known linear motifs attempts the difficult task of distinguishing functional matches from stochastically occurring non-functional matches. Although functionality can only be confirmed experimentally, confidence in a putative motif is increased if a motif exhibits attributes associated with functional instances such as occurrence in the correct taxonomic range, cellular compartment, conservation in homologues and accessibility to interacting partners. Several tools now use these attributes to classify putative motifs based on confidence of functionality.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Current methods assessing motif accessibility do not consider much of the information available, either predicting accessibility from primary sequence or regarding any motif occurring in a globular region as low confidence. We present a method considering accessibility and secondary structural context derived from experimentally solved protein structures to rectify this situation. Putatively functional motif occurrences are mapped onto a representative domain, given that a high quality reference SCOP domain structure is available for the protein itself or a close relative. Candidate motifs can then be scored for solvent-accessibility and secondary structure context. The scores are calibrated on a benchmark set of experimentally verified motif instances compared with a set of random matches. A combined score yields 3-fold enrichment for functional motifs assigned to high confidence classifications and 2.5-fold enrichment for random motifs assigned to low confidence classifications. The structure filter is implemented as a pipeline with both a graphical interface via the ELM resource <url>http://elm.eu.org/</url> and through a Web Service protocol.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>New occurrences of known linear motifs require experimental validation as the bioinformatics tools currently have limited reliability. The ELM structure filter will aid users assessing candidate motifs presenting in globular structural regions. Most importantly, it will help users to decide whether to expend their valuable time and resources on experimental testing of interesting motif candidates.</p

Process Simulation and Control Optimization of a Blast Furnace Using Classical Thermodynamics Combined to a Direct Search Algorithm

Several numerical approaches have been proposed in the literature to simulate the behavior of modern blast furnaces: finite volume methods, data-mining models, heat and mass balance models, and classical thermodynamic simulations. Despite this, there is actually no efficient method for evaluating quickly optimal operating parameters of a blast furnace as a function of the iron ore composition, which takes into account all potential chemical reactions that could occur in the system. In the current study, we propose a global simulation strategy of a blast furnace, the 5-unit process simulation. It is based on classical thermodynamic calculations coupled to a direct search algorithm to optimize process parameters. These parameters include the minimum required metallurgical coke consumption as well as the optimal blast chemical composition and the total charge that simultaneously satisfy the overall heat and mass balances of the system. Moreover, a Gibbs free energy function for metallurgical coke is parameterized in the current study and used to fine-tune the simulation of the blast furnace. Optimal operating conditions and predicted output stream properties calculated by the proposed thermodynamic simulation strategy are compared with reference data found in the literature and have proven the validity and high precision of this simulation

Neural Computation via Neural Geometry: A Place Code for Inter-whisker Timing in the Barrel Cortex?

The place theory proposed by Jeffress (1948) is still the dominant model of how the brain represents the movement of sensory stimuli between sensory receptors. According to the place theory, delays in signalling between neurons, dependent on the distances between them, compensate for time differences in the stimulation of sensory receptors. Hence the location of neurons, activated by the coincident arrival of multiple signals, reports the stimulus movement velocity. Despite its generality, most evidence for the place theory has been provided by studies of the auditory system of auditory specialists like the barn owl, but in the study of mammalian auditory systems the evidence is inconclusive. We ask to what extent the somatosensory systems of tactile specialists like rats and mice use distance dependent delays between neurons to compute the motion of tactile stimuli between the facial whiskers (or ‘vibrissae’). We present a model in which synaptic inputs evoked by whisker deflections arrive at neurons in layer 2/3 (L2/3) somatosensory ‘barrel’ cortex at different times. The timing of synaptic inputs to each neuron depends on its location relative to sources of input in layer 4 (L4) that represent stimulation of each whisker. Constrained by the geometry and timing of projections from L4 to L2/3, the model can account for a range of experimentally measured responses to two-whisker stimuli. Consistent with that data, responses of model neurons located between the barrels to paired stimulation of two whiskers are greater than the sum of the responses to either whisker input alone. The model predicts that for neurons located closer to either barrel these supralinear responses are tuned for longer inter-whisker stimulation intervals, yielding a topographic map for the inter-whisker deflection interval across the surface of L2/3. This map constitutes a neural place code for the relative timing of sensory stimuli