Recycled gabbro signature in hotspot magmas unveiled by plume–ridge interactions

Lavas erupted within plate interiors above upwelling mantle plumes have chemical signatures that are distinct from midocean ridge lavas. When a plume interacts with a mid-ocean ridge, the compositions of both their lavas changes, but there is no consensus as to how this interaction occurs1–3. For the past 15 Myr, the Pacific–Antarctic mid-ocean ridge has been approaching the Foundation hotspot4 and erupted lavas have formed seamounts. Here we analyse the noble gas isotope and trace element signature of lava samples collected from the seamounts. We find that both intraplate and on-axis lavas have noble gas isotope signatures consistent with the contribution from a primitive plume source. In contrast, nearaxis lavas show no primitive noble gas isotope signatures, but are enriched in strontium and lead, indicative of subducted former oceanic lower crust melting within the plume source5–7. We propose that, in a near-ridge setting, primitive, plumesourced magmas formed deep in the plume are preferentially channelled to and erupted at the ridge-axis. The remaining residue continues to rise and melt, forming the near-axis seamounts. With the deep melts removed, the geochemical signature of subduction contained within the residue becomes apparent. Lavas with strontium and lead enrichments are found worldwide where plumes meet mid-ocean ridges6–8, suggesting that subducted lower crust is an important but previously unrecognised plume component

An international survey of patients with thalassemia major and their views about sustaining life-long desferrioxamine use

BACKGROUND: Management of thalassemia major requires patients to have life-long access to a treatment regimen of regular blood transfusions coupled with iron chelation therapy. The objective of this study was to investigate patients' reasons for missing iron chelation therapy with desferrioxamine, and the support to sustain life-long adherence to treatment. METHODS: From October 1999 to May 2000 a survey of patients with thalassemia major was conducted in ten countries: Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Taiwan, and the United States. RESULTS: 1,888 questionnaires (65%) were returned. Most patients (1,573) used desferrioxamine, and 79% administered a dose at least 4 days a week. Inaccessibility of the drug was a common reason for missing a dose in India (51%), and in Iran (25%), whereas, in any other country, it was a reason for less than 17% of patients. Overall, 58% reported reasons for missing a dose related to their beliefs or feelings about the medication, and 42% drug-related side effects. CONCLUSION: Many patients miss doses of desferrioxamine and an opportunity remains to develop interventions that provide more support to sustain use of desferrioxamine

Satisfaction with web-based training in an integrated healthcare delivery network: do age, education, computer skills and attitudes matter?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Healthcare institutions spend enormous time and effort to train their workforce. Web-based training can potentially streamline this process. However the deployment of web-based training in a large-scale setting with a diverse healthcare workforce has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction of healthcare professionals with web-based training and to determine the predictors of such satisfaction including age, education status and computer proficiency.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Observational, cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals from six hospital systems in an integrated delivery network. We measured overall satisfaction to web-based training and response to survey items measuring Website Usability, Course Usefulness, Instructional Design Effectiveness, Computer Proficiency and Self-learning Attitude.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 17,891 healthcare professionals completed the web-based training on HIPAA Privacy Rule; and of these, 13,537 completed the survey (response rate 75.6%). Overall course satisfaction was good (median, 4; scale, 1 to 5) with more than 75% of the respondents satisfied with the training (rating 4 or 5) and 65% preferring web-based training over traditional instructor-led training (rating 4 or 5). Multivariable ordinal regression revealed 3 key predictors of satisfaction with web-based training: Instructional Design Effectiveness, Website Usability and Course Usefulness. Demographic predictors such as gender, age and education did not have an effect on satisfaction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study shows that web-based training when tailored to learners' background, is perceived as a satisfactory mode of learning by an interdisciplinary group of healthcare professionals, irrespective of age, education level or prior computer experience. Future studies should aim to measure the long-term outcomes of web-based training.</p

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Effects of isoflavones (soy phyto-estrogens) on serum lipids: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of isoflavones (soy phyto-estrogens) on serum total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and triglyceride (TG). METHODS: We searched electronic databases and included randomized trials with isoflavones interventions in the forms of tablets, isolated soy protein or soy diets. Review Manager 4.2 was used to calculate the pooled risk differences with fixed effects model. RESULTS: Seventeen studies (21 comparisons) with 853 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. Isoflavones tablets had insignificant effects on serum TC, 0.01 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.17 to 0.18, heterogeneity p = 1.0); LDL, 0.00 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.14 to 0.15, heterogeneity p = 0.9); HDL, 0.01 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.05 to 0.06, heterogeneity p = 1.0); and triglyceride, 0.03 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.06 to 0.12, heterogeneity p = 0.9). Isoflavones interventions in the forms of isolated soy protein (ISP), soy diets or soy protein capsule were heterogeneous to combine. CONCLUSIONS: Isoflavones tablets, isolated or mixtures with up to 150 mg per day, seemed to have no overall statistical and clinical benefits on serum lipids. Isoflavones interventions in the forms of soy proteins may need further investigations to resolve whether synergistic effects are necessary with other soy components

Gendered performances in sport: an embodied approach

Despite significant advances in recent years, gender inequalities remain apparent within the context of sport participation and engagement. One of the problems, however, when addressing gender issues in sport is the continued assumption by many sport practitioners that the experiences of women and men will always be different because of perceived physiological characteristics. Adopting a focus based solely upon perceived gendered differences often overlooks the importance of recognising individual experience and the prevailing social influences that impact upon participation, such as age, class, race and ability. An embodied approach, as well as seeking to move beyond mind/body dualisms, incorporates the physiological with the social and psychological. Therefore, it is suggested that while considerations of gender remain important, they need to be interpreted alongside other interconnecting and influential (at varying times and occasions) social and physical factors. It is argued that taking the body as a starting point opens up more possibilities to manoeuvre through the mine field that is gender and sport participation. The appeal of an embodied approach to the study of gender and sport is in its accommodation of a wider multi-disciplinary lens. Particularly, by acknowledging the subjective, corporeal, lived experiences of sport engagement, an embodied approach offers a more flexible starting point to negotiate the theoretical and methodological challenges created by restrictive discourses of difference

How and when plume zonation appeared during the 132 Myr evolution of the Tristan Hotspot

Increasingly, spatial geochemical zonation, present as geographically distinct, subparallel trends, is observed along hotspot tracks, such as Hawaii and the Galapagos. The origin of this zonation is currently unclear. Recently zonation was found along the last B70 Myr of the Tristan-Gough hotspot track. Here we present new Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope data from the older parts of this hotspot track (Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise) and re-evaluate published data from the Etendeka and Parana flood basalts erupted at the initiation of the hotspot track. We show that only the enriched Gough, but not the less-enriched Tristan, component is present in the earlier (70–132 Ma) history of the hotspot. Here we present a model that can explain the temporal evolution and origin of plume zonation for both the Tristan-Gough and Hawaiian hotspots, two end member types of zoned plumes, through processes taking place in the plume sources at the base of the lower mantle

Mammalian Stem Cells Reprogramming in Response to Terahertz Radiation

We report that extended exposure to broad-spectrum terahertz radiation results in specific changes in cellular functions that are closely related to DNA-directed gene transcription. Our gene chip survey of gene expression shows that whereas 89% of the protein coding genes in mouse stem cells do not respond to the applied terahertz radiation, certain genes are activated, while other are repressed. RT-PCR experiments with selected gene probes corresponding to transcripts in the three groups of genes detail the gene specific effect. The response was not only gene specific but also irradiation conditions dependent. Our findings suggest that the applied terahertz irradiation accelerates cell differentiation toward adipose phenotype by activating the transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG). Finally, our molecular dynamics computer simulations indicate that the local breathing dynamics of the PPARG promoter DNA coincides with the gene specific response to the THz radiation. We propose that THz radiation is a potential tool for cellular reprogramming