Environmental consequences of oil production from oil sands

Crude oil from oil sands will constitute a substantial share of future global oil demand. Oil sands deposits account for a third of globally proven oil reserves, underlie large natural forested areas, and have extraction methods requiring large volumes of freshwater. Yet little work has been done to quantify some of the main environmental impacts of oil sands operations. Here we examine forest loss and water use for the world's major oil sands deposits. We calculate actual and potential rates of water use and forest loss both in Canadian deposits, where oil sands extraction is already taking place, and in other major deposits worldwide. We estimated that their exploitation, given projected production trends, could result in 1.31 km3 yr−1 of freshwater demand and 8700 km2 of forest loss. The expected escalation in oil sands extraction thus portends extensive environmental impacts

Concert recording 2018-11-12

[Track 1]. Quatour en forme de sonatine. I. Allegro grazioso [Track 2]. II. Andantino tranquilo [Track 3]. III. Scherzando quasi presto [Track 4]. IV. Allegro moderato (a la Russe) / Antoine Simon -- [Track 5]. 4 miniatures. I. Salutations [Track 6]. II. Toccata [Track 7]. III. Lament [Track 8]. IV. Jubilation / Michael Forbes -- [Track 9]. Dance suite. I. Dancisca, for Anthony (Anthony Tudor) [Track 10]. II. Waltz, for Agnes (Agnes de Mille) [Track 11]. III. Bi-tango, for Mischa (Mikhail Baryshnikov) [Track 12]. IV. Two-step, for Mr. B (George Balanchine) [Track 13]. V. Mtv, for Jerry (Jerome Robbins) / Leonard Bernstein -- [Track 14]. Colchester fantasy. I. The rose and the crown [Track 15]. II. The marquis of Granby [Track 16]. III. The dragoon [Track 17]. IV. The red lion / Eric Ewazen

Concert recording 2015-10-26

[Track 01]. Sonata for piano no. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 74. Andante, appassionato ; [Track 02]. Albumblatt for trumpet and piano ; [Track 03]. Chant du ménestrel, op. 71 for violoncello and piano ; [Track 04]. Elegy, op. 44 for viola and piano ; [Track 05]. Méditation, op. 32 for violin and piano ; [Track 06]. Mazurka-oberek for violin and piano ; [Track 07]. Rêverie, op. 24 for horn and piano ; [Track 08]. Fantasy, op. 104 for two pianos. Moderato tranquillo, allegro ; [Track 09]. Scherzo ; [Track 10]. Moderato, andante mosso, allegro ; [Track 11]. Grand adagio from Raymonda / Aleksandr Glazunov

Biological Characteristics and Medical Treatment of Breast Cancer in Young Women—A Featured Population: Results from the NORA Study

Background. The present paper described the biological characteristics and clinical behavior of young women in the cohort NORA study Patients and Methods. From 2000–2002, patients (N > 3500) were enrolled at 77 Italian hospitals. Women aged ≤50 years (N = 1013) were stratified into age groups (≤35, 36–40, 41–45, and 46–50 years). The relationship between age and patient characteristics, cancer presentation, and treatment was analyzed. Results. Younger women more frequently had tumors with ER/PgR-negative(χ2 = 7.07; P = .008), HER2 amplification (χ2 = 5.76; P = .01), and high (≥10%) Ki67 labelling index (χ2 = 9.53; P = .002). Positive nodal status, large tumors, and elevated Ki67 all associated with the choice for chemotherapy followed by endocrine therapy in hormone receptor-positive patients (P < .0001). At univariate analysis, ER-ve status, chemotherapy and age resulted as the only statistically significant variables (HR = 2.02, P = .004, and >40 versus ≤40, P < .0001, resp.). At multivariate analysis, after adjustment for significant clinical and pathological factors, age remains a significant prognostic variable (HR = 0.93, P = .0021). Conclusion. This cohort study suggests that age per sè is an important prognostic factor. The restricted role of early diagnosis and the aggressive behavior of cancer in this population make necessary the application of targeted medical strategies crucial

Concert recording 2017-04-04

[Track 1]. HoopLA / Jim Self -- [Track 2]. 3 Madrigaux slaves. I. Allegro vivo (attacca) II. Lento e dolce III. Con moto / Ivan Jevtic -- [Track 3]. Divertimento. I. Overture [Track 4]. II. Scherzo [Track 5]. III. Song / Karel Husa -- [Track 6]. In The Zone. I. Introitus [Track 7]. II. Canons / Andrew Rindfleisch -- [Track 8]. Spain / Chick Corea

barocco a randomized phase ii study of weekly paclitaxel vs cediranib olaparib with continuous schedule vs cediranib olaparib with intermittent schedule in advanced platinum resistant ovarian cancer

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Transnational agricultural land acquisitions threaten biodiversity in the Global South

Agricultural large-scale land acquisitions have been linked with enhanced deforestation and land use change. Yet the extent to which transnational agricultural large-scale land acquisitions (TALSLAs) contribute to—or merely correlate with—deforestation, and the expected biodiversity impacts of the intended land use changes across ecosystems, remains unclear. We examine 178 georeferenced TALSLA locations in 40 countries to address this gap. While forest cover within TALSLAs decreased by 17% between 2000 and 2018 and became more fragmented, the spatio-temporal patterns of deforestation varied substantially across regions. While deforestation rates within initially forested TALSLAs were 1.5 (Asia) to 2 times (Africa) higher than immediately surrounding areas, we detected no such difference in Europe and Latin America. Our findings suggest that, whereas TALSLAs may have accelerated forest loss in Asia, a different mechanism might emerge in Africa where TALSLAs target areas already experiencing elevated deforestation. Regarding biodiversity (here focused on vertebrate species), we find that nearly all (91%) studied deals will likely experience substantial losses in relative species richness (−14.1% on average within each deal)—with mixed outcomes for relative abundance—due to the intended land use transitions. We also find that 39% of TALSLAs fall at least partially within biodiversity hotspots, placing these areas at heightened risk of biodiversity loss. Taken together, these findings suggest distinct regional differences in the nature of the association between TALSLAs and forest loss and provide new evidence of TALSLAs as an emerging threat to biodiversity in the Globa

Quantum Correlations in Multipartite Quantum Systems

We review some concepts and properties of quantum correlations, in particular multipartite measures, geometric measures and monogamy relations. We also discuss the relation between classical and total correlationsComment: to be published as a chapter of the book "Lectures on general quantum correlations and their applications" edited by F. Fanchini, D. Soares-Pinto, and G. Adesso (Springer, 2017

PD-L1 up-regulation in melanoma increases disease aggressiveness and is mediated through miR-17-5p

PD-L1 is expressed by a subset of patients with metastatic melanoma (MM) with an unfavorable outcome. Its expression is increased in cells resistant to BRAF or MEK inhibitors (BRAFi or MEKi). However, the function and regulation of expression of PD-L1 remain incompletely understood. After generating BRAFi- and MEKi-resistant cell lines, we observed marked up-regulation of PD-L1 expression. These cells were characterized by a common gene expression profile with up-regulation of genes involved in cell movement. Consistently, in vitro they showed significantly increased invasive properties. This phenotype was controlled in part by PD-L1, as determined after silencing the molecule. Up-regulation of PD-L1 was due to post-transcriptional events controlled by miR-17-5p, which showed an inverse correlation with PD-L1 mRNA. Direct binding between miR-17-5p and the 3’-UTR of PD-L1 mRNA was demonstrated using luciferase reporter assays. In a cohort of 80 BRAF-mutated MM patients treated with BRAFi or MEKi, constitutive expression of PD-L1 in the absence of immune infiltrate, defined the patient subset with the worst prognosis. Furthermore, PD-L1 expression increased in tissue biopsies after the metastatic lesions became resistant to BRAFi or MEKi. Lastly, plasmatic miR-17-5p levels were higher in patients with PD-L1(+) than PD-L1(-) lesions. In conclusion, our findings indicate that PD-L1 expression induces a more aggressive behavior in melanoma cells. We also show that PD-L1 up-regulation in BRAFi or MEKi-resistant cells is partly due to post-transcriptional mechanisms that involve miR-17-5p, suggesting that miR-17-5p may be used as a marker of PD-L1 expression by metastatic lesions and ultimately a predictor of responses to BRAFi or MEKi