Using Geomagnetics to Identify a Previously unrecognized Fault within the Olympic Penninsula

The most prominent geologic feature in the Olympic Peninsula is the Crescent Formation. The Crescent Formation (CF) is a massive unit of basalt up to 18 km thick which was accreted 52-48Ma. The Blue Mountain Unit (BMU) is a unit of continentally derived sediments which has previously been believed to be the sedimentary basement upon which the Crescent Formation (CF) was deposited ~50 Ma.(Fig.1) Recent research conducted by Prof. Ken Clark, Michael Eddy, Michael Polenz and multiple UPS grads found discontinuities which suggest that the BMU and CF are not part to the same coherent unit. Previous work suggests that a chemical and temporal discontinuity indicative of a major fault exists between the CF and the BMU. This study aimed to discover geophysical and geochemical evidence of this fault between the CF and BMU in the eastern Olympics. (Fig.1) This previously unidentified thrust fault is herein referred to as the Dusk Point Fault (DPF

Early indicators of exposure to biological threat agents using host gene profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Effective prophylaxis and treatment for infections caused by biological threat agents (BTA) rely upon early diagnosis and rapid initiation of therapy. Most methods for identifying pathogens in body fluids and tissues require that the pathogen proliferate to detectable and dangerous levels, thereby delaying diagnosis and treatment, especially during the prelatent stages when symptoms for most BTA are indistinguishable flu-like signs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To detect exposures to the various pathogens more rapidly, especially during these early stages, we evaluated a suite of host responses to biological threat agents using global gene expression profiling on complementary DNA arrays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that certain gene expression patterns were unique to each pathogen and that other gene changes occurred in response to multiple agents, perhaps relating to the eventual course of illness. Nonhuman primates were exposed to some pathogens and the <it>in vitro</it> and <it>in vivo</it> findings were compared. We found major gene expression changes at the earliest times tested post exposure to aerosolized <it>B. anthracis </it>spores and 30 min post exposure to a bacterial toxin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Host gene expression patterns have the potential to serve as diagnostic markers or predict the course of impending illness and may lead to new stage-appropriate therapeutic strategies to ameliorate the devastating effects of exposure to biothreat agents.</p

Association of missense and 5'-splice-site mutations in tau with the inherited dementia FTDP-17

Thirteen families have been described with an autosomal dominantly inherited dementia named frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17)(1-9), historically termed Pick's disease(10). Most FTDP-17 cases show neuronal and/or glial inclusions that stain positively with antibodies raised against the microtubule-associated protein Tau, although the Tau pathology varies considerably in both its quantity (or severity) and characteristics(1-8,12). Previous studies have mapped the FTDP-17 locus to a 2-centimorgan region on chromosome 17q21.11; the tau gene also lies within this region. We have now sequenced tau in FTDP-17 families and identified three missense mutations (G272V, P301L and R406W) and three mutations in the 5' splice site of exon in. The splice-site mutations all destabilize a potential stem-loop structure which is probably involved in regulating the alternative splicing of exon10 (ref. 13). This causes more frequent usage of the 5' splice site and an increased proportion of tan transcripts that include exon 10. The increase in exon 10(+) messenger RNA will increase the proportion of Tau containing four microtubule-binding repeats, which is consistent with the neuropathology described in several families with FTDP-17 (refs 12, 14)