Quantitative analysis of the stratigraphic architecture of incised-valley fills: a global comparison of Quaternary systems

Facies models of the internal fills of incised valleys developed in shelf and coastal settings during cycles of relative sea-level change are largely conceptual, descriptive and qualitative in form; moreover, they are commonly bespoke to individual examples. Here, a database-driven quantitative statistical analysis of 87 late-Quaternary incised-valley fills (IVFs) has been undertaken to assess the general validity and predictive value of classical facies models for IVFs, and to investigate the relative importance of possible controls on their stratigraphic organization. Based on datasets from the published literature stored in a sedimentological database, the geometry and proportion of systems tracts, and of architectural elements of different hierarchies within IVFs are quantified. These variables were analysed to assess how they vary in relation to parameters that represent potential controlling factors: relative sea-level stage, continental-margin type, drainage-basin area, valley geometry, basin physiography and shoreline hydrodynamics. The stratigraphic organization of the studied coastal-plain IVFs is generally consistent with that represented in facies models, the primary control being the rate and magnitude of relative sea-level change. However, results from this study demonstrate significant variability in the stratigraphic architectures of IVFs, which is not accounted for by existing models. Variations in the facies architecture of coastal-plain and cross-shelf valley fills can be attributed to controls other than sea level, and expressed in relationships with continental-margin type, basin physiography, catchment area, river-system size and shoreline hydrodynamics. The following primary findings arise from this research. (i) Compared to their counterparts on passive margins, coastal-plain IVFs hosted on active margins contain, on average, a higher proportion of fluvial deposits and a lower proportion of central-basin estuarine deposits; estuarine deposits tend however to be thicker. This suggests a control on IVF stratigraphic architecture exerted by distinct characteristics of the tectonic setting of the host continental margins, notably basin physiography, rates and mode of sediment supply, and nature of sediment load. (ii) The thickness and proportion of lowstand systems tract are positively correlated with coastal-plain IVF dimensions, likely reflecting the role of drainage-basin area in dictating the scale of the fluvial systems that carved and infilled the valleys. (iii) Positive correlations are observed between the thickness of fluvial deposits, bayhead-delta deposits and central-basin estuarine deposits, versus coastal-plain IVF dimensions and valley catchment area. This suggests a control exerted by the river-system scale on sediment-supply rates and on the accommodation determined by valley size. (iv) Positive correlations between the thickness and proportion of barrier-complex deposits within cross-shelf IVFs versus mean shelf gradient indicate that the geometry of the shelf might control the establishment and preservation of barrier-island environments in incised valleys located on the shelf. (v) Correlations between the width of coastal-plain IVFs and present-day mean tidal range at the shoreline indicate that tidal dynamics may contribute to the widening of the incised valleys. Positive correlation is observed between the proportion of tide-dominated elements in highstand IVF deposits and IVF width, suggesting possible effects of interplays between hydrodynamic conditions and the geometry of incised valleys on their infills. This study highlights the complexity of the internal fills of incised valleys, which must be considered when attempting the application of facies models of IVFs to rock-record interpretations or as predictive tools in subsurface studies

Bottom-Up versus Top-Down Induction of Sleep by Zolpidem Acting on Histaminergic and Neocortex Neurons

Zolpidem, a GABAA receptor-positive modulator, is the gold-standard drug for treating insomnia. Zolpidem prolongs IPSCs to decrease sleep latency and increase sleep time, effects that depend on α2 and/or α3 subunit-containing receptors. Compared with natural NREM sleep, zolpidem also decreases the EEG power, an effect that depends on α1 subunit-containing receptors, and which may make zolpidem-induced sleep less optimal. In this paper, we investigate whether zolpidem needs to potentiate only particular GABAergic pathways to induce sleep without reducing EEG power. Mice with a knock-in F77I mutation in the GABAA receptor γ2 subunit gene are zolpidem-insensitive. Using these mice, GABAA receptors in the frontal motor neocortex and hypothalamic (tuberomammillary nucleus) histaminergic-neurons of γ2I77 mice were made selectively sensitive to zolpidem by genetically swapping the γ2I77 subunits with γ2F77 subunits. When histamine neurons were made selectively zolpidem-sensitive, systemic administration of zolpidem shortened sleep latency and increased sleep time. But in contrast to the effect of zolpidem on wild-type mice, the power in the EEG spectra of NREM sleep was not decreased, suggesting that these EEG power-reducing effects of zolpidem do not depend on reduced histamine release. Selective potentiation of GABAA receptors in the frontal cortex by systemic zolpidem administration also reduced sleep latency, but less so than for histamine neurons. These results could help with the design of new sedatives that induce a more natural sleep

Does the Presence of a Measurable Blood Alcohol Level in a Potential Organ Donor Affect the Outcome of Liver Transplantation?

The widespread application of hepatic transplantation has created a tremendous demand for donor organs. An assessment of donor parameters is thought to be important in selecting good donors; however, the criteria utilized have not been standardized. This study was performed to determine the effect of a measurable donor blood alcohol level on graft survival. Fifty‐two patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh were included in the study. Twenty‐five patients received liver grafts from donors having a blood alcohol level between 0.04 and 0.4 g/I with a mean of 0.17 g/I. Twenty‐seven patients received a liver graft from a donor who had no measurable blood alcohol. There were no differences between these two groups of donors regarding the time of initial hospitalization until the time of donation. Graft failure within the first 30 days was 24% for those receiving an organ from an alcohol‐positive donor as compared with 22.2% in those receiving an organ from an alcohol negative donor. The recipient mortality rate was 16% and 11%, respectively. No relationships between the donor blood alcohol level and organ performance, frequency of primary graft nonfunction, or number of episodes of acute cellular rejection were evident. Based upon these data, the presence of a measurable blood alcohol level in a donor should not mitigate against organ donation. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

Synthesis and Spectroscopic, Thermal and Crystal Structure Studies of Hydrazinium Hydrogensuccinate

The mono-hydrazinium salt of succinic acid (hydrazinium hydrogensuccinate salt) was prepared by reacting hydrazine hydrate and succinic acid. Its spectral, thermal and structural properties have been determined. The salt, N2H5+.C4H5O4–, is a molecular salt containing discrete hydrazinium cations and hydrogen  succinate anions. The crystal packing consists of infinite chains of anions and cations that are alternatively linked throughO–H···N and bifurcatedN–H···O bonds and this chain is connected to adjacent antiparallel chains by N–H···O hydrogen bonding. The adjacent chains are cross linked by N–H···O bonds from the donor N2H5+ ions, thus forming a three-dimensional network. The salt undergoes melting followed by decomposition to give gaseous products.KEYWORDS: Hydrazine, succinic acid, hydrazinium hydrogensuccinate, crystal structure, thermal studies

Spores of Clostridium engineered for clinical efficacy and safety cause regression and cure of tumors in vivo.

Spores of some species of the strictly anaerobic bacteria Clostridium naturally target and partially lyse the hypoxic cores of tumors, which tend to be refractory to conventional therapies. The anti-tumor effect can be augmented by engineering strains to convert a non-toxic prodrug into a cytotoxic drug specifically at the tumor site by expressing a prodrug-converting enzyme (PCE). Safe doses of the favored prodrug CB1954 lead to peak concentrations of 6.3 μM in patient sera, but at these concentration(s) known nitroreductase (NTR) PCEs for this prodrug show low activity. Furthermore, efficacious and safe Clostridium strains that stably express a PCE have not been reported. Here we identify a novel nitroreductase from Neisseria meningitidis, NmeNTR, which is able to activate CB1954 at clinically-achievable serum concentrations. An NmeNTR expression cassette, which does not contain an antibiotic resistance marker, was stably localized to the chromosome of Clostridium sporogenes using a new integration method, and the strain was disabled for safety and containment by making it a uracil auxotroph. The efficacy of Clostridium-Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy (CDEPT) using this system was demonstrated in a mouse xenograft model of human colon carcinoma. Substantial tumor suppression was achieved, and several animals were cured. These encouraging data suggest that the novel enzyme and strain engineering approach represent a promising platform for the clinical development of CDEPT

Certainty in ascending sensory signals - The unexplored driver of analgesic placebo response.

Previous frameworks have failed to adequately explain the observed correlation between within-subject variability in pain reporting and analgesic placebo response. These relationships have been observed in both clinical and experimental setups. Within-subject variability of clinical pain scores is traditionally assessed based on daily pain diaries collected during the pre-intervention stage. Experimental variability can be assessed by the Focused Analgesia Selection Test (FAST), which calculates the relationship between noxious stimuli administrated at various intensities and pain reports. The variability, either clinical or experimental, has been shown to predict the placebo response. In explaining the placebo response, Bayesian Brain Hypothesis (BBH) posits that pain perception (posterior), is composed of certainty (precision) of expectations (priors due to belief or conditioning) and incoming sensory information (likelihood), with the bulk of research focused on the precision of priors. Virtually all placebo analgesia research has focused on the priors and their certainty, rather than on the certainty of the likelihood, mainly because it cannot be assessed directly. We propose that the within-subject variability, as encapsulated by the FAST, is a proxy for certainty in (or, precision of) ascending sensory signals, and our results suggest that it could not only be assessed, but also manipulated. If true, our hypothesis will facilitate new lines of research and could potentially promote precision analgesic medicine by use of variability of pain scores as a diagnostic method to identify pain patients who will benefit from specific treatments

Effect of residual stress on high temperature deformation in a weld stainless steel

This paper considers the measurement of residual stresses induced by mechanical loading in a weld Type 347 stainless steel. The work is based in part on an ongoing Round Robin collaborative effort by the Versailles Agreement on Materials and Standards, Technical Working Area 31, VAMAS TWA 31 working on Crack Growth of Components Containing Residual Stresses . The specific objective of the work at Imperial College London and HMI, Berlin is to examine how residual stresses and prior straining and subsequent relaxation at high temperature contribute to creep crack initiation and growth for steels relevant to power plant applications. Tensile residual stresses have been introduced in the weld by pre compression and neutron diffraction measurements have been carried out before and after stress relaxation at 650 oC. Significant relaxation of the residual stresses has been observed, in agreement with earlier work on a stainless steel. Preliminary results suggest that the strains local to the crack drop by over 60 after 1000 h relaxation at 650 oC for the weld steel. The results have been compared with finite element studies of elastic plastic pre compression and stress relaxation due to cree

Analisis Tingkat Kesehatan Bank Umum Berdasarkan Risk Profile, Good Corporate Governance, Earning, Dan Capital (Studi Pada Bank Umum Yang Terdaftar Di Bursa Efek Indonesia Periode 2013-2015)

This study aims to determine the level of commercial bank\u27s health by using four factors, risk profile, good corporate governance, earning, and capital. Risk profile factor in this study using two risks that consist of credit risk measured by NPL and liquidity risk measured by LDR, GCG achieved from self assessment publication from banks, earning measured by ROA and NIM, and capital factor measured by CAR. This type of research is descriptive research with quantitative approach. Sampling techniques is purposive sampling. 14 commercial banks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange was selected as sample. The results shows risk profile factor with NPL ratio all commercial banks in health condition, while based on LDR there are 2 commercial banks get bad predicate. GCG factors shows all the commercial banks are in a health condition. Earning measured by ROA shows that there are 2 commercial bank get the bad predicate and very bad predicate, while NIM ratio shows that generally banks get the very health predicate. The assessment using CAR shows that all the commercial banks are in very health condition

A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of hydrotherapy and land exercises on overall well being and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis

Background \ud Hydrotherapy is highly valued by people with rheumatoid arthritis yet few studies have compared the benefits of exercises in heated water against exercises on land. In particular, data on quality of life is rarely reported. This is especially important because patients treated with hydrotherapy often report an enhanced sense of well-being. We report a randomised controlled trial in which we compared the effects of hydrotherapy with exercises on land on overall response to treatment, physical function and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. \ud \ud Methods \ud One hundred and fifteen patients with RA were randomised to receive a weekly 30-minute session of hydrotherapy or similar exercises on land for 6 weeks. Our primary outcome was a self-rated global impression of change – a measure of treatment effect on a 7-point scale ranging from 1(very much worse) to 7 (very much better) assessed immediately on completion of treatment. Secondary outcomes including EuroQol health related quality of life, EuroQol health status valuation, HAQ, 10 metre walk time and pain scores were collected at baseline, after treatment and 3 months later. Binary outcomes were analysed by Fisher's exact test and continuous variables by Wilcoxon or Mann-Whitney tests. \ud \ud Results \ud Baseline characteristics of the two groups were comparable. Significantly more patients treated with hydrotherapy (40/46, 87%) were much better or very much better than the patients treated with land exercise (19/40, 47.5%), p < 0.001 Fisher's exact test. Eleven patients allocated land exercise failed to complete treatment compared with 4 patients allocated hydrotherapy (p = 0.09). Sensitivity analyses confirmed an advantage for hydrotherapy if we assumed non-completers would all not have responded (response rates 70% versus 38%; p < 0.001) or if we assumed that non-completers would have had the same response as completers (response rates 82% versus 55% p = 0.002). Ten metre walk time improved after treatment in both cases (median pre-treatment time for both groups combined 10.9 seconds, post-treatment 9.1 s, and 3 months later 9.6 s). There was however no difference between treatment groups. Similarly there were no significant differences between groups in terms of changes to HAQ, EQ-5D utility score, EQ VAS and pain VAS. \ud \ud Conclusion \ud Patients with RA treated with hydrotherapy are more likely to report feeling much better or very much better than those treated with land exercises immediately on completion of the treatment programme. This perceived benefit was not reflected by differences between groups in 10-metre walk times, functional scores, quality of life measures and pain scores