Table of Contents and Prologue

Editorial board, Table of contents, and Prologue, an introduction to volume

New observations of Meddy Movement south of the Tejo Plateau

Mediterranean salt lenses (meddies) are a dominant factor in the salt budget of the Atlantic at middepth. In spite of their important role, their juvenile migration has not yet been directly observed. For the first time, two RAFOS float trajectories show strong evidence of a meddy along the Iberian continental slope off Lisbon. Over six weeks we obtained drift observations from two levels (629, 847 dbar). Both instruments recorded a series of loops with an azimuthal speed O (30 cm s−1) at a radius of about 25 km. Relatively high propagation speeds of several centimeters per second indicate the meddy was probably carried along with the undercurrent of Mediterranean Water. The Tejo Plateau, a prominent feature of the continental slope and a natural obstacle for the spreading Mediterranean Water tongue, appears to act as a deflector for advected meddies possibly formed by interaction of the undercurrent with the canyon-rich topography farther south

Refraction of Sound by Islands and Seamounts

We consider the propagation into shallow water of low-frequency and low-order acoustic modes trapped in the sound channel. The phase velocity slightly decreases and then increases with decreasing depth. This leads to an unusual pattern of wave refraction. Waves are “attracted” by islands and seamounts (rays turn toward shore) in “almost deep” water, and then are strongly “repelled” in shallow water. We examine the relative intensity of scattered arrivals in very long-range ocean transmissions. Forward scatter by islands and seamounts can give significant (order −10 dB) scattered arrivals, as can large-angle scatter (including backscatter) by large islands and by islands near the source or receiver. However, transmission of acoustic energy into the sea floor leads to loss of the scattered energy in the sound channel. Total reflection (no loss) is favored by glancing incidence on steep slopes of islands and seamounts with large compressional seismic velocities. We suggest a complementary relation between the intensities from an underwater explosion as recorded on axial hydrophones versus nearby land seismometers, with conditions favorable to reflection favoring hydrophones and vice versa. A preliminary attempt is made to compare measured and computed scattered intensities in the sound channel for operation WIGWAM (a deep-water nuclear explosion in 1955), operation CHASE, and the Perth to Bermuda transmission of 1960. Computed intensities are too low

Assessment of a salt reduction intervention on adult population salt intake in Fiji

Reducing population salt intake is a global public health priority due to the potential to save lives and reduce the burden on the healthcare system through decreased blood pressure. This implementation science research project set out to measure salt consumption patterns and to assess the impact of a complex, multi-faceted intervention to reduce population salt intake in Fiji between 2012 and 2016. The intervention combined initiatives to engage food businesses to reduce salt in foods and meals with targeted consumer behavior change programs. There were 169 participants at baseline (response rate 28.2%) and 272 at 20 months (response rate 22.4%). The mean salt intake from 24-h urine samples was estimated to be 11.7 grams per day (g/d) at baseline and 10.3 g/d after 20 months (difference: -1.4 g/day, 95% CI -3.1 to 0.3, p = 0.115). Sub-analysis showed a statistically significant reduction in female salt intake in the Central Division but no differential impact in relation to age or ethnicity. Whilst the low response rate means it is not possible to draw firm conclusions about these changes, the population salt intake in Fiji, at 10.3 g/day, is still twice the World Health Organization\u27s (WHO) recommended maximum intake. This project also assessed iodine intake levels in women of child-bearing age and found that they were within recommended guidelines. Existing policies and programs to reduce salt intake and prevent iodine deficiency need to be maintained or strengthened. Monitoring to assess changes in salt intake and to ensure that iodine levels remain adequate should be built into future surveys

Process evaluation and costing of a multifaceted population-wide intervention to reduce salt consumption in Fiji

This paper reports the process evaluation and costing of a national salt reduction intervention in Fiji. The population-wide intervention included engaging food industry to reduce salt in foods, strategic health communication and a hospital program. The evaluation showed a 1.4 g/day drop in salt intake from the 11.7 g/day at baseline; however, this was not statistically significant. To better understand intervention implementation, we collated data to assess intervention fidelity, reach, context and costs. Government and management changes affected intervention implementation, meaning fidelity was relatively low. There was no active mechanism for ensuring food companies adhered to the voluntary salt reduction targets. Communication activities had wide reach but most activities were one-off, meaning the overall dose was low and impact on behavior limited. Intervention costs were moderate (FJD $277,410 or$0.31 per person) but the strategy relied on multi-sector action which was not fully operationalised. The cyclone also delayed monitoring and likely impacted the results. However, 73% of people surveyed had heard about the campaign and salt reduction policies have been mainstreamed into government programs. Longer-term monitoring of salt intake is planned through future surveys and lessons from this process evaluation will be used to inform future strategies in the Pacific Islands and globally. <br /

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN