Trace Elements in Soils of the South Texas Uranium District: Concentrations, Origin, and Environmental Significance

UT Librarie

The rapid response of ovarian and uterine veins of mice to sex hormones.

Subcutaneous injections in sesame oil of testosterone and estradiol-17 beta into ovariectomized and ovariectomized-hysterectomized young adult mice were followed in six hours or less by significant increases in the diameters of the ovarian and uterine veins as compared to the same vessels in sesame oil-injected controls. The circumflex iliac, femoral, and superior mesenteric veins and inferior vena cava failed to respond. The results demonstrate the specificity and speed of response of ovarian and uterine veins of mice and the control of the response by sex hormones

News and narratives in financial systems: Exploiting big data for systemic risk assessment

This paper applies algorithmic analysis to financial market text-based data to assess how narratives and sentiment might drive financial system developments. We find changes in emotional content in narratives are highly correlated across data sources and show the formation (and subsequent collapse) of exuberance prior to the global financial crisis. Our metrics also have predictive power for other commonly used indicators of sentiment and appear to influence economic variables. A novel machine learning application also points towards increasing consensus around the strongly positive narrative prior to the crisis. Together, our metrics might help to warn about impending financial system distress

Maternal mortality: a tertiary centre panic

Background: Maternal death has a serious implication on the family, society and nation. The preventable and avoidable factors have been noted in most of the maternal deaths and these can be reduced by effective and affordable actions. The objective of present study was to evaluate the causes of maternal mortality in a tertiary care hospital, assess its epidemiological aspects and suggest remedial measures to reduce the same.Methods: A retrospective study of all hospital records and death summaries of all maternal deaths over a period of 16 months from April 2015 to July 2016 was carried out and epidemiological factors and causes affecting maternal mortality were assessed.Results: A total of 100 maternal deaths occurred over a period of 15 months out of which unbooked and late referrals constituted 75.55 % of maternal deaths. Most maternal deaths occurred in the age group of 20–30 years, multiparous women (73%) and women from rural areas (71.%). Direct obstetric causes were responsible for 91 maternal deaths whereas 50 maternal deaths were due to indirect causes. Most common cause of death (41) was hemorrhage, followed by pregnancy-induced hypertension including eclampsia (15) and sepsis (21).Conclusions: Hemorrhage, sepsis and hypertension including eclampsia were seen as the direct major causes of death. There is a wide scope of improvement because a large proportion of the observed deaths are preventable

Trace and Potentially Toxic Elements Associated With Uranium Deposits in South Texas

The environmentally sensitive trace elements molybdenum, arsenic, and selenium are concentrated with uranium in ore deposits inSouth Texas. Cattle grazing in some pastures in mining areas have contracted molybdenosis, a cattle disease resulting from an imbalance of molybdenum and copper. To determine natural concentrations of the elements in soils in the South Texas area and to evaluate possible effects of mining on adjacent agricultural land, two sets of soil samples were collected and analyzed for molybdenum, arsenic, selenium, and copper. Two hundred and fifty-six samples were collected in a statistically random design from soils developed on the Whitsett Formation, Catahoula Formation, or Oakville Sandstone, the major uranium hosts of the area, and 182 samples were collected nonrandomly from areas of mining or mineralization to test specific hypotheses concerning the presence and origin of anomalously high concentrations of the elements. Results of the random sampling show that the different geologic formations have different characteristic trace element concentrations. The Whitsett Formation has higher molybdenum (resulting from minor near-surface mineralization) and lower copper concentrations than the other two formations. With the exception of molybdenum in the Whitsett Formation and copper in all three formations, the trace element concentrations are similar to published average concentrations in soils worldwide. Sampling in areas of mining and mineralization indicates that high concentrations of molybdenum, arsenic, or selenium occur dominantly in two situations: (1) in areas of shallow mineralization, resulting from natural processes and (2) in drainages adjacent to older abandoned mines, resulting from runoff from the mines. Moderately high concentrations also occur in a few reclaimed areas. Windblown dust from mining areas has not measurably affected trace element concentrations in adjacent areas. Comparison of molybdenum and copper concentrations in soils and grasses and theoretical considerations of the availability to plants of molybdenum and copper in soils suggest that forage in much of the area studied could have anomalously low copper/molybdenum ratios—low enough to induce molybdenosis in cattle. This report was submitted in fulfillment of Grant No. R804616-01-0 by the Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, under the sponsorship of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This report covers the period April 1977 to April 1979, and work was completed as of August 31, 1978.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Development of a Compact Neutron Source based on Field Ionization Processes

The authors report on the use of carbon nanofiber nanoemitters to ionize deuterium atoms for the generation of neutrons in a deuterium-deuterium reaction in a preloaded target. Acceleration voltages in the range of 50-80 kV are used. Field emission of electrons is investigated to characterize the emitters. The experimental setup and sample preparation are described and first data of neutron production are presented. Ongoing experiments to increase neutron production yields by optimizing the field emitter geometry and surface conditions are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures; IVNC 201

A prospective study of fetomaternal outcome in cases of placenta previa

Background: The incidence of placenta previa ranges from 0.5-1% amongst hospital deliveries. Placenta previa is major cause of antepartum haemorrhage and is potentially devastating complication. Obstetric haemorrhage is most common cause for maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in India. This study aimed to determine frequency, type of placenta previa, risk factors and adverse fetomaternal outcomes of placenta previa.Methods: This was a prospective study carried out in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government Medical College and Sir-T hospital, Bhavnagar from July 2007 to July 2009 to analyze fetomaternal outcome in cases of placenta previa. All patients of placenta previa with gestational age > 28 weeks up to full term were included in the study. All cases were confirmed by Ultrasound examination. All cases were carefully analyzed to find out the incidence, type of placenta previa, its clinical presentation and its outcome in relation to mode of delivery, birth weight, maternal and perinatal morbidity.Results: There was total 50 cases of placenta previa out of 5636 deliveries. The prevalence of placenta previa was 0.88% and was more commonly present among multiparous women (82%). Most common type was type IV placenta previa in 23 (46%) cases followed by type III in 11 (22%) cases. Out of 50 cases, 06 (12%) cases had atonic PPH and 02 (04%) cases underwent peripartum hysterectomy. Most common predisposing factors were age >35 years (04%), multiparity (50%), previous cesarean section (16%) and previous history of abortion (12%). All cases of perinatal mortality were between 28 to 30 weeks weighing between 1-1.5 kg. There was no maternal mortality in this study.Conclusions: Managing a case of placenta previa during pregnancy poses a great challenge to every obstetrician in present day obstetrics due to its increased risk of maternal and perinatal complications

WikiRate.org - leveraging collective awareness to understand companies' environmental, social and governance performance

Abstract. WikiRate is a Collective Awareness Platform for Sustainability and Social Innovation (CAPS) project with the aim of \crowdsourcing better companies" through analysis of their Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) performance. Research to inform the design of the platform involved surveying the current corporate ESG information landscape, and identifying ways in which an open approach and peer production ethos could be e ffectively mobilised to improve this landscape's fertility. The key requirement identi ed is for an open public repository of data tracking companies' ESG performance. Corporate Social Responsibility reporting is conducted in public, but there are barriers to accessing the information in a standardised analysable format. Analyses of and ratings built upon this data can exert power over companies' behaviour in certain circumstances, but the public at large have no access to the data or the most infuential ratings that utilise it. WikiRate aims to build an open repository for this data along with tools for analysis, to increase public demand for the data, allow a broader range of stakeholders to participate in its interpretation, and in turn drive companies to behave in a more ethical manner. This paper describes the quantitative Metrics system that has been designed to meet those objectives and some early examples of its use

Synthesis of Novel Aporphine-Inspired Neuroreceptor Ligands

Aporphines are a group of tetracyclic alkaloids that belong to the ubiquitous tetrahydroisoquinoline family. The aporphine template is known to be associated with a range of biological activities. Aporphines have been explored as antioxidants, anti-tuberculosis, antimicrobial and anticancer agents. Within the Central Nervous Systems (CNS), aporphine alkaloids are known to possess high affinity for several clinically valuable targets including dopamine receptors (predominantly D1 and D2), serotonin receptors (5-HT1A and 5-HT7) and α adrenergic receptors. Aporphines are also inhibitors of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme – a clinical target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Considering the diverse profile of aporphine alkaloids at CNS receptors they can be considered as “privileged scaffold” for the design of CNS drugs. The aporphine alkaloid nantenine is a 5-HT2A receptor antagonist and has moderate affinity for the 5-HT2A receptor. Selective 5-HT2A antagonists have therapeutic potential for the treatment of a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including depression, schizophrenia and sleep disorders. The aporphine core of nantenine serves as a valuable lead for the identification of selective 5-HT2A antagonists. In order to understand the structural tolerance of the aporphine core required for 5-HT2A antagonism an exhaustive Structure Activity Relationship (SAR) study was designed.Accordingly, a diverse library of nantenine analogues was synthesized and evaluated for affinity at the 5-HT2A receptor. Results from the SAR studies demonstrate that the nitrogen atom of nantenine is required for affinity and that introduction of a phenyl ring at the C4 position is detrimental for 5-HT2A receptor affinity. At the C3 position, introduction of halogen atoms is beneficial for 5-HT2A antagonistic activity. Furthermore, a library of C3 analogues having hydrophobic substituents as well as ring D indole analogues is currently being evaluated for affinity at the 5-HT2A receptors. These compounds will further expand our understanding of the tolerance of the aporphine core required for 5-HT2A antagonism. In order to rationalize the affinity of certain high affinity ligands, molecular docking studies were conducted. Selected compounds were docked into a homology model of the 5-HT2A receptor to extract information about possible binding modes. Based on results of these studies, it is concluded that the interaction of C3 halogenated aporphine analogues with Phe339/Phe340 residues might be responsible for their enhanced affinity. Information obtained from molecular docking studies is being utilized for design of advanced generations of analogues. Finally, a novel series of flexible tris-(phenylalkyl)amines were synthesized and evaluated to test the importance of a rigid aporphine core as well as incorporation of N-phenylalkyl substituents. These compounds featuring a halogen substituent in ring C, were found to have high affinity and selectivity for the 5-HT2B receptor, with some of the compounds being more potent than the selective 5-HT2B antagonist SB200646. Results from this study indicate that ring C of these compounds is generally tolerant for halogen substitution. The synthetic feasibility of this newly identified template ( 4 high-yielding synthetic steps from commercially available materials) makes this scaffold attractive for the synthesis of larger libraries of analogs and promise for optimization of 5-HT2B affinity and selectivity