Slope deviatory alignment, stream network and lineament orientation of the Sabarmati river system- neotectonic activity in the Mid -to Late Quaternary

The Gujarat alluvial plain located in the semi-arid zone is bounded by the arid Thar region in the north and the coastal/estuarine zone fringing the Arabian Sea in the south. It has been built by the rivers originating in the Aravalli Hills in the northeast. The drainages, with an average length of about 300 km, generally follow the NE-SW regional slope. However, the Sabannati River shows a flow deviating from the regional slope and follows a N-S to NNE-SSW trend in the alluvial area. The slope-deviatory trend of the Sabarmati has been investigated with regard to Late Quaternary neotectonics, fluvial-aeolian interaction and sea-level change. Lineament analysis indicates an E-W to WNW-ESE trajectory of maximum principal stress, and that drainage is primarily controlled by geodynamic processes. This is obvious from the correspondence in stress trajectories obtained from the lineament and drainage orientations, respectively. Sub-surface data indicate pre-Neogene faulting in the basin. It is inferred that these faults have been reactivated in the Mid- to Late Quaternary times. The slope-deviatory drainage of the Sabarmati River is, to a large extent, the result of fluvial adjustment to neotectonic reactivation in the region

Prevalence of psychiatric co morbidities in bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in north Indian population cohort

Background: Psychiatric co morbidities tend to occur quite frequently in patients of chronic respiratory diseases mainly bronchial asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) but still it is highly under diagnosed. Aim and objective of the study was to find out the prevalence of psychiatric co morbidities in asthma and COPD and to correlate them with disease severity according to Global Initiative against Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) and Global Initiative against Asthma (GINA) guidelines.Methods: Study was conducted in Department of TB and Chest in association with Department of Psychiatry of Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, a secondary care medical college in north India. A total 204 patients, 68 of bronchial asthma, 68 0f COPD and 68 were controls included in the study. Diagnosis and severity of respiratory diseases was assessed by spirometry. Evaluation of psychiatric co morbidities was done using the MINI international neuropsychiatric interview questionnaire.Results: The frequency of psychiatric co morbidities in COPD patients was significantly higher (32.4%) compared to patients of bronchial asthma (20.6%). The most common co morbidity in both arms was generalized anxiety disorder (17.6% in COPD patients and 10.3% in patients of bronchial asthma.Conclusions: COPD patients have a higher frequency of psychiatric co morbidities compared to bronchial asthma patients and control population. These should be properly screened and treated.

Calcretes in the Thar desert: genesis, chronology and palaeoenvironment

The calcretes in the Thar desert occur in a variety of settings, including the piedmonts, sheetwash aggraded plains; and this study adds calcretes in regolith and colluvio-alluvial plains to the group of settings in which calcretes occur in the region. Field logs, morphological details and analytical data such as petrographic, cathodoluminescence and geochemical characteristics are described along with a discussion on their implications. Sand dunes and sandy plains dating to <20 ka have weakly developed calcretes. The better-developed calcrete horizons occur in piedmonts, interdunes or in areas that have sufficient groundwater. Deep sections in the region show phases of calcrete development in aeolian sand aggradation at ~150, ~100, ~60 and 27-14 ka. The extensive sheetwash plains have mature calcretes and date to mid-Pleistocene. Our studies indicate that these calcretes represent a hybrid process, where carbonate enrichment of the originally calcareous host occurred due to periodically raised groundwaters, and its differentiation into nodules occurred under subaerial environment i.e., after recession of groundwater. Deep sections also show a stack of discrete calcretes that developed in individual aggradation episodes with hiatuses as indicated by ESR dating results. Nodules display a multiplicity of carbonate precipi tation events and internal reorganization of calcitic groundmass. The process is accompanied by degradation and transformation of unstable minerals, particularly clays and with a neosynthesis of palygorskite. The ancient calcretes are dated from the beginning of the Quaternary to ~600 ka and show more evolved morphologies marked by brecciation, dissolution, laminar growth on brecciated surfaces, pisolites and several generations of re-cementation. Mica/chlorite schists and such other rocks are particularly vulnerable to replacement by carbonate. In an extreme case, replacement of quartzose sandstone was observed also. The presence of stretches of alluvio-colluvial plains in an area presently devoid of drainage bespeaks of occasional high-energy fluvial regime, under a semi-arid climate. The mid-Pleistocene period saw a shift towards more arid climate and this facilitated sheetwash aggradation. Finally, during the late Pleistocene, aggradation of aeolian sands indicated a progressively drier climate. However, this does not find its reflection in stable isotope data. The amount of carbonate in the form of calcretes is substantial. The present studies indicate that aeolian dust or rainwater are minor contributors to the carbonate budget. A more important source was provided by the pre-existing calcretes in the sheetwash aggraded plains and detrital carbonate in the aeolian sediments. The original source of carbonate in the region, however, remains unresolved and will need further investigations. Electron spin resonance protocols for the dating of calcretes were developed as a part of this study and the results accorded well with geological reasoning

Navigating implementation dilemmas in technology-forcing policies: a comparative analysis of accelerated smart meter diffusion in the Netherlands, UK, Norway, and Portugal (2000-2019)

This paper addresses the implementation of technology-forcing policies in open-ended diffusion processes that involve companies and regulators as well as consumers and civil society actors. Mobilising insights from the societal embedding of technology framework and policy steering theories, we investigate two implementation dilemmas that relate to an overarching tension between flexibility (to enable technological learning and stakeholder engagement) and coordinated push (to focus actors and drive deployment): a) early or late formulation of initial targets, and b) technocratic or emergent-adaptive implementation styles. We investigate these dilemmas with four comparative case studies of smart electricity meters between 2000 to 2019, which diffused rapidly in the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal, but decelerated in the UK. We relate these differences to policy choices, and identify two patterns for successful implementation of technology-forcing policies: a) start with early targets and a technocratic style, but make adjustments if there are substantial protests or technical problems, and b) start with an emergent-adaptive style and formulate and enforce targets later, once technical and social stabilisation has occurred

Insomnia, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Ideation in a National Representative Sample of Active Canadian Forces Members

Background Past research on the association between insomnia and suicidal ideation (SI) has produced mixed findings. The current study explored the relationship between insomnia, SI, and past-year mental health status among a large Canadian Forces (CF) sample. Method Data was obtained from the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey (CFMHS), and included a large representative sample of Canadian Regular Forces personnel (N = 6700). A series of univariate logistic regressions were conducted to test individual associations between past-year mental health status, insomnia, and potential confounds and SI. Mental health status included three groups: 0, 1, or two or more probable diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD) and alcohol abuse/dependence. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between insomnia and SI with mental health status as a moderator. Results 40.8% of respondents reported experiencing insomnia. Both insomnia and number of mental health conditions incrementally increased the risk of SI. However, past-year mental health status was a significant moderator of this relationship, such that for CF personnel with either no (AOR = 1.61, 1.37–1.89) or only one past-year mental health condition (AOR = 1.39, 1.12–1.73), an incremental increase in insomnia was associated with an increased likelihood of SI. However, in personnel with two or more past-year mental health disorders, insomnia was no longer significantly associated with SI (AOR = 1.04, 0.81–1.33). Conclusions Insomnia significantly increased the odds of SI, but only among individuals with no or one mental health condition. Findings highlight the importance of assessing insomnia among CF members in order to further suicide prevention efforts

An Automated Paradigm for Drosophila Visual Psychophysics

Background: Mutations that cause learning and memory defects in Drosophila melanogaster have been found to also compromise visual responsiveness and attention. A better understanding of attention-like defects in such Drosophila mutants therefore requires a more detailed characterization of visual responsiveness across a range of visual parameters. Methodology/Principal Findings: We designed an automated behavioral paradigm for efficiently dissecting visual responsiveness in Drosophila. Populations of flies walk through multiplexed serial choice mazes while being exposed to moving visuals displayed on computer monitors, and infra-red fly counters at the end of each maze automatically score the responsiveness of a strain. To test our new design, we performed a detailed comparison between wild-type flies and a learning and memory mutant, dunce. We first confirmed that the learning mutant dunce displays increased responsiveness to a black/green moving grating compared to wild type in this new design. We then extended this result to explore responses to a wide range of psychophysical parameters for moving gratings (e.g., luminosity, contrast, spatial frequency, velocity) as well as to a different stimulus, moving dots. Finally, we combined these visuals (gratings versus dots) in competition to investigate how dunce and wild-type flies respond to more complex and conflicting motion effects. Conclusions/Significance: We found that dunce responds more strongly than wild type to high contrast and highly structured motion. This effect was found for simple gratings, dots, and combinations of both stimuli presented in competition

Columnar cells necessary for motion responses of wide-field visual interneurons in Drosophila

Wide-field motion-sensitive neurons in the lobula plate (lobula plate tangential cells, LPTCs) of the fly have been studied for decades. However, it has never been conclusively shown which cells constitute their major presynaptic elements. LPTCs are supposed to be rendered directionally selective by integrating excitatory as well as inhibitory input from many local motion detectors. Based on their stratification in the different layers of the lobula plate, the columnar cells T4 and T5 are likely candidates to provide some of this input. To study their role in motion detection, we performed whole-cell recordings from LPTCs in Drosophila with T4 and T5 cells blocked using two different genetically encoded tools. In these flies, motion responses were abolished, while flicker responses largely remained. We thus demonstrate that T4 and T5 cells indeed represent those columnar cells that provide directionally selective motion information to LPTCs. Contrary to previous assumptions, flicker responses seem to be largely mediated by a third, independent pathway. This work thus represents a further step towards elucidating the complete motion detection circuitry of the fly

Choosing the right bar: a complex problem

Inputs to the central complex, the navigation center of Drosophila, are strongly modulated by the visual stimulus history. These history effects carry forward to bias turning behavior when flies choose between two visual stimuli

Inhibition of Apoptosis Blocks Human Motor Neuron Cell Death in a Stem Cell Model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disorder caused by a deletion of the survival motor neuron 1 gene leading to motor neuron loss, muscle atrophy, paralysis, and death. We show here that induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines generated from two Type I SMA subjects–one produced with lentiviral constructs and the second using a virus-free plasmid–based approach–recapitulate the disease phenotype and generate significantly fewer motor neurons at later developmental time periods in culture compared to two separate control subject iPSC lines. During motor neuron development, both SMA lines showed an increase in Fas ligand-mediated apoptosis and increased caspase-8 and-3 activation. Importantly, this could be mitigated by addition of either a Fas blocking antibody or a caspase-3 inhibitor. Together, these data further validate this human stem cell model of SMA, suggesting that specific inhibitors of apoptotic pathways may be beneficial for patients

Strategies of the honeybee Apis mellifera during visual search for vertical targets presented at various heights: a role for spatial attention?

When honeybees are presented with a colour discrimination task, they tend to choose swiftly and accurately when objects are presented in the ventral part of their frontal visual field. In contrast, poor performance is observed when objects appear in the dorsal part. Here we investigate if this asymmetry is caused by fixed search patterns or if bees can use alternative search mechanisms such as spatial attention, which allows flexible focusing on different areas of the visual field. We asked individual honeybees to choose an orange rewarded target among blue distractors. Target and distractors were presented in the ventral visual field, the dorsal field or both. Bees presented with targets in the ventral visual field consistently had the highest search efficiency, with rapid decisions, high accuracy and direct flight paths. In contrast, search performance for dorsally located targets was inaccurate and slow at the beginning of the test phase, but bees increased their search performance significantly after a few learning trials: they found the target faster, made fewer errors and flew in a straight line towards the target. However, bees needed thrice as long to improve the search for a dorsally located target when the target's position changed randomly between the ventral and the dorsal visual field. We propose that honeybees form expectations of the location of the target's appearance and adapt their search strategy accordingly. Different possible mechanisms of this behavioural adaptation are discussed.L.M. was recipient of a DOC-fFORTE fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Science at the Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna. L.C. is supported by an ERC Advanced Grant and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award