Timing of retreat of the Reuss Glacier (Switzerland) at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum

We used cosmogenic 10Be and 36Cl to establish the timing of the onset of deglaciation after the Last Glacial Maximum of the Reuss Glacier, one of the piedmont lobes of the Alpine ice cap that reached the northern Alpine foreland in Switzerland. In this study, we sampled erratic boulders both at the frontal position in the foreland (Lenzburg and Wohlen, canton Aargau) and at the lateral Alpine border position (Seeboden moraine, Rigi, canton Schwyz). The minimum age for the beginning of retreat is 22.2 ± 1.0 ka at the frontal (terminal) position and 20.4 ± 1.0 ka at the lateral position. These ages are directly comparable with exposure ages from the other piedmont lobes in the northern Alpine foreland. Our data from the mountain called Rigi, do not support the hypothesis that boulders located external to the Seeboden moraine were deposited prior to the last glacial cycle. We present a first exposure age from an erratic boulder in a retreat position in the Alpine foreland. The Reuss Glacier was approximately 12 km behind the maximal extent no later than at 18.6 ± 0.9 ka

Multichannel intraluminal impedance 7 and pH monitoring (pH-MII) in infants and children

The application of combined pH and multichannel intraluminal impedance (pH-MII) monitoring has enhanced the recognition and characterization of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). Its main advantages over traditional pH monitoring lie in the additional ability to detect non-acid gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR), to discern between liquid and gas GOR and to determine the proximal extent of a GOR episode. When conducted in combination with manometry, it reveals information on the relationship between oesophageal pressures and oesophageal bolus flow, enhancing the evaluation of oesophageal function testing in terms of assessment of mechanisms of oesophageal bolus clearance. The measurement of mean impedance baseline has also provided novel insights into oesophageal mucosal integrity changes as an indicator of oesophageal inflammation. However, a few clinical and technical shortcomings, of which some are specific to the paediatric population, must be considered when interpreting study results and limit the diagnostic value of pH-MII monitoring in children. In this chapter, the technical aspects of pH-MII monitoring will therefore first be addressed, and, second, the current clinical benefits and limitations of oesophageal pH-MII in children will be highlighted