A "critical" climatic evaluation of last interglacial (MIS 5e) records from the Norwegian Sea

Sediment cores from the Norwegian Sea were studied to evaluate interglacial climate conditions of the marine isotope stage 5e (MIS 5e). Using planktic forminiferal assemblages as the core method, a detailed picture of the evolution of surface water conditions was derived. According to our age model, a step-like deglaciation of the Saalian ice sheets is noted between ca. 135 and 124.5 Kya, but the deglaciation shows little response with regard to surface ocean warming. From then on, the rapidly increasing abundance of subpolar forminifers, concomitant with decreasing iceberg indicators, provides evidence for the development of interglacial conditions sensu stricto (5e-ss), a period that lasted for about 9 Ky. As interpreted from the foraminiferal records, and supported by the other proxies, this interval of 5e-ss was in two parts: showing an early warm phase, but with a fresher, i.e., lower salinity, water mass, and a subsequent cooling phase that lasted until ca. 118.5 Kya. After this time, the climatic optimum with the most intense advection of Atlantic surface water masses occurred until ca. 116 Kya. A rapid transition with two notable climatic perturbations is observed subsequently during the glacial inception. Overall, the peak warmth of the last interglacial period occurred relatively late after deglaciation, and at no time did it reach the high warmth level of the early Holocene. This finding must be considered when using the last interglacial situation as an analogue model for enhanced meridional transfer of ocean heat to the Arctic, with the prospect of a future warmer climate

Metal enrichment processes

There are many processes that can transport gas from the galaxies to their environment and enrich the environment in this way with metals. These metal enrichment processes have a large influence on the evolution of both the galaxies and their environment. Various processes can contribute to the gas transfer: ram-pressure stripping, galactic winds, AGN outflows, galaxy-galaxy interactions and others. We review their observational evidence, corresponding simulations, their efficiencies, and their time scales as far as they are known to date. It seems that all processes can contribute to the enrichment. There is not a single process that always dominates the enrichment, because the efficiencies of the processes vary strongly with galaxy and environmental properties.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 17; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeke

Association between T2-related co-morbidities and effectiveness of biologics in severe asthma

Acknowledgments The authors thank Mr. Joash Tan (BSc, Hons), of the Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute (OPRI), and Ms Andrea Lim (BSc, Hons) of the Observational Pragmatic Research Institute (OPRI) for their editorial and formatting assistance that supported the development of this publication. Funding statement: This study was conducted by the Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute (OPRI) Pte Ltd and was partially funded by Optimum Patient Care Global and AstraZeneca Ltd. AstraZeneca UK LimitedPeer reviewe

Genetic Influences on the Developing Young Brain and Risk for Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Imaging genetics provides an opportunity to discern associations between genetic variants and brain imaging phenotypes. Historically, the field has focused on adults and adolescents; very few imaging genetics studies have focused on brain development in infancy and early childhood (from birth to age 6 years). This is an important knowledge gap because developmental changes in the brain during the prenatal and early postnatal period are regulated by dynamic gene expression patterns that likely play an important role in establishing an individual's risk for later psychiatric illness and neurodevelopmental disabilities. In this review, we summarize findings from imaging genetics studies spanning from early infancy to early childhood, with a focus on studies examining genetic risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. We also introduce the Organization for Imaging Genomics in Infancy (ORIGINs), a working group of the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) consortium, which was established to facilitate large-scale imaging genetics studies in infancy and early childhood

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

A century of trends in adult human height

Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5-22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3-19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8-144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries