Re-Os geochronology and isotope systematics, and organic and sulfur geochemistry of the middle-late Paleocene Waipawa Formation, New Zealand: Insights into early Paleogene seawater Os isotope composition

In the middle–late Paleocene, a marine, organic-rich sedimentary unit (Waipawa Formation [Fm]) in which the organic matter was derived mainly from terrestrial plants was deposited in many of New Zealand's sedimentary basins. The unique organofacies of this formation has not been identified in any other time interval within the geological history of the Southwest Pacific, indicating that unusual climatic and oceanographic conditions likely prevailed during this time. It has, therefore, attracted wide scientific interest due to its significance for regional and global reconstruction of the early Paleogene transitional climate as well as potential for oil and gas production. Scarcity of age-diagnostic fossils, presence of unconformities and lack of volcanic interbeds have, however, hindered precise dating and correlations of all the known occurrences of the formation. Here, rhenium‑osmium (Re-Os) geochronology has yielded the first radiometric age for the formation (57.5 ± 3.5 Ma), which is consistent with available biostratigraphic age determinations (59.4–58.7 Ma). Further, a comparison of Re-Os, bulk pyrolysis, sulfur and palynofacies data for the Waipawa Fm with those of more typical marine sediments such as the underlying Whangai Fm supports the interpretation that the chelating precursors or fundamental binding sites responsible for uptake of Re and Os are present in all types of organic matter, and that these elements have a greater affinity for organic chelating sites than for sulfides. The results also indicate that sedimentation rate may not play a dominant role in enhanced uptake of Re and Os by organic-rich sedimentary rocks. The initial 187Os/188Os values for the Waipawa (~0.28) and Whangai (~0.36) formations are broadly similar to those reported for coeval pelagic sediments from the central Pacific Ocean, further constraining the low-resolution marine 187Os/188Os record of the Paleocene. We present a compilation of 187Os/188Os values from organic-rich sedimentary rocks spanning the period between 70 and 50 Ma which shows that seawater Os gradually became less radiogenic from the latest Cretaceous, reaching a minimum value in the earliest late Paleocene (~59 Ma) during the deposition of Waipawa Fm, and then increased through the later Paleocene and into the early Eocene. The composite Os isotope record broadly correlates with global temperature (δ18O and TEX86) and carbon isotope (δ13C) records from the middle Paleocene to early Eocene, which is inferred to reflect climate-modulated changes in continental weathering patterns

Site Percolation and Phase Transitions in Two Dimensions

The properties of the pure-site clusters of spin models, i.e. the clusters which are obtained by joining nearest-neighbour spins of the same sign, are here investigated. In the Ising model in two dimensions it is known that such clusters undergo a percolation transition exactly at the critical point. We show that this result is valid for a wide class of bidimensional systems undergoing a continuous magnetization transition. We provide numerical evidence for discrete as well as for continuous spin models, including SU(N) lattice gauge theories. The critical percolation exponents do not coincide with the ones of the thermal transition, but they are the same for models belonging to the same universality class.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Numerical part developed; figures, references and comments adde

Do Electronic Cigarettes Increase Cigarette Smoking in UK Adolescents? Evidence from a 12-month Prospective Study

Background In cross-sectional surveys, increasing numbers of adolescents report using both electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and cigarettes. This study assessed whether adolescent e-cigarette use was associated prospectively with initiation or escalation of cigarette use. Methods Data were from 2836 adolescents (aged 13–14 years at baseline) in 20 schools in England. At baseline, breath carbon monoxide levels, self-reported e-cigarette and cigarette use, sex, age, friends and family smoking, beliefs about cigarette use and percentage receiving free school meals (measure of socioeconomic status) were assessed. At 12-month follow-up, self-reported cigarette use was assessed and validated by breath carbon monoxide levels. Results At baseline, 34.2% of adolescents reported ever using e-cigarettes (16.0% used only e-cigarettes). Baseline ever use of e-cigarettes was strongly associated with subsequent initiation (n=1726; OR 5.38, 95% CI 4.02 to 7.22; controlling for covariates, OR 4.06, 95% CI 2.94 to 5.60) and escalation (n=318; OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.21; controlling for covariates, this effect became non-significant, OR 1.39, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.82) of cigarette use. Conclusions This is the first study to report prospective relationships between ever use of e-cigarettes and initiation and escalation of cigarette use among UK adolescents. Ever use of e-cigarettes was robustly associated with initiation but more modestly related to escalation of cigarette use. Further research with longer follow-up in a broader age range of adolescents is required

Caracterización de la actividad enzimática del jugo gástrico de pulpo, Octopus vulgaris y de choco, Sepia officinalis a distintos pH. Digestibilidad in vitro de distintas dietas, con jugo gástrico de pulpo

Intensive culture of marine species has been increasing in many countries, such as Japan, Norway, Spain, France, and Greece. Recent research to improve the quality and quantity of aquatic animals production by understanding the process of feeding (ingestion, digestion, and absorption), with emphasis on the digestive enzymatic capabilities is important in order to understand metabolic processes and reduce costs and time on the development of such diets. The impetus to increase knowledge about suitable inert diets to partially or totally replace live feed would reduce this expensive part of the operation, particularly in new potential species, such as the octopus, Octopus vulgaris, and the cuttlefi sh, Sepia offi cinalis, which are two of the most promising cephalopods for large-scale culture. This work is divided into two parts: (1) Enzymatic characterization, by determination of protease activity of the gastric juice at pH ranges from 2 to 12, since this is the major responsible of digestion processes, and (2) In vitro evaluation of several prepared diets, as well as a selection of several natural animal protein sources, by means of a pH-Stat system The results of Part 1 showed that the digestive enzyme activity in total proteases from the gastric juice was higher at pH 7 and 9, therefore being a more alkaline digestion for these species. Total proteases activity was higher at pH 8, while the tripsin activity was higher at pH 7, for both species. For Part 2, the natural diets (natural or liophylized squid, blue whiting and mussel) promoted the highest digestibility, with the highest value being attained with liophylized squid (49%). From the prepared diets, based on raw blue whiting paste, those diets agglutinated with gelatine delivered the highest digestibility. The use of soy protein, as well as heating gelatine as agglutinants, promoted poor digestibility

Dragon-kings: mechanisms, statistical methods and empirical evidence

This introductory article presents the special Discussion and Debate volume "From black swans to dragon-kings, is there life beyond power laws?" published in Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics in May 2012. We summarize and put in perspective the contributions into three main themes: (i) mechanisms for dragon-kings, (ii) detection of dragon-kings and statistical tests and (iii) empirical evidence in a large variety of natural and social systems. Overall, we are pleased to witness significant advances both in the introduction and clarification of underlying mechanisms and in the development of novel efficient tests that demonstrate clear evidence for the presence of dragon-kings in many systems. However, this positive view should be balanced by the fact that this remains a very delicate and difficult field, if only due to the scarcity of data as well as the extraordinary important implications with respect to hazard assessment, risk control and predictability.Comment: 20 page

Body weight-length relationships in giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) (Carnivora, Mustelidae)

Few giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) have been measured and weighed and its actual size is controversial in the literature. This study presents the weight-length relationship of Amazonian giant otters using 15 captive individuals. The maximum length and weight were 163cm and 22.5kg, and 162cm and 28.8kg, for the males and females, respectively. The weight-length relationships were not significantly different between the sexes (t = 0.658, d.f.=11, P>0.05) and can be expressed by the equation: W=1.48×10-5 L2.81. Considering that some of the giant otters used in this study were old individuals (more than 10 years old), and that all the animals analyzed were healthy, it is possible to assume that the weight-length relationships obtained are probably a close approximation of the relationship of giant otters of the Amazon region and can be used by institutions that keep this species in captivity as a base to quickly assess the animal's nutritive status. © 2009 Tecpar

Distinctive expansion of potential virulence genes in the genome of the oomycete fish pathogen Saprolegnia parasitica.

Oomycetes in the class Saprolegniomycetidae of the Eukaryotic kingdom Stramenopila have evolved as severe pathogens of amphibians, crustaceans, fish and insects, resulting in major losses in aquaculture and damage to aquatic ecosystems. We have sequenced the 63 Mb genome of the fresh water fish pathogen, Saprolegnia parasitica. Approximately 1/3 of the assembled genome exhibits loss of heterozygosity, indicating an efficient mechanism for revealing new variation. Comparison of S. parasitica with plant pathogenic oomycetes suggests that during evolution the host cellular environment has driven distinct patterns of gene expansion and loss in the genomes of plant and animal pathogens. S. parasitica possesses one of the largest repertoires of proteases (270) among eukaryotes that are deployed in waves at different points during infection as determined from RNA-Seq data. In contrast, despite being capable of living saprotrophically, parasitism has led to loss of inorganic nitrogen and sulfur assimilation pathways, strikingly similar to losses in obligate plant pathogenic oomycetes and fungi. The large gene families that are hallmarks of plant pathogenic oomycetes such as Phytophthora appear to be lacking in S. parasitica, including those encoding RXLR effectors, Crinkler's, and Necrosis Inducing-Like Proteins (NLP). S. parasitica also has a very large kinome of 543 kinases, 10% of which is induced upon infection. Moreover, S. parasitica encodes several genes typical of animals or animal-pathogens and lacking from other oomycetes, including disintegrins and galactose-binding lectins, whose expression and evolutionary origins implicate horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of animal pathogenesis in S. parasitica

Is American Public Administration Detached From Historical Context?: On the Nature of Time and the Need to Understand It in Government and Its Study

The study of public administration pays little attention to history. Most publications are focused on current problems (the present) and desired solutions (the future) and are concerned mainly with organizational structure (a substantive issue) and output targets (an aggregative issue that involves measures of both individual performance and organizational productivity/services). There is much less consideration of how public administration (i.e., organization, policy, the study, etc.) unfolds over time. History, and so administrative history, is regarded as a “past” that can be recorded for its own sake but has little relevance to contemporary challenges. This view of history is the product of a diminished and anemic sense of time, resulting from organizing the past as a series of events that inexorably lead up to the present in a linear fashion. To improve the understanding of government’s role and position in society, public administration scholarship needs to reacquaint itself with the nature of time.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

A novel formulation of inhaled sodium cromoglicate (PA101) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic cough: a randomised, double-blind, proof-of-concept, phase 2 trial

Background Cough can be a debilitating symptom of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and is difficult to treat. PA101 is a novel formulation of sodium cromoglicate delivered via a high-efficiency eFlow nebuliser that achieves significantly higher drug deposition in the lung compared with the existing formulations. We aimed to test the efficacy and safety of inhaled PA101 in patients with IPF and chronic cough and, to explore the antitussive mechanism of PA101, patients with chronic idiopathic cough (CIC) were also studied. Methods This pilot, proof-of-concept study consisted of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with IPF and chronic cough and a parallel study of similar design in patients with CIC. Participants with IPF and chronic cough recruited from seven centres in the UK and the Netherlands were randomly assigned (1:1, using a computer-generated randomisation schedule) by site staff to receive PA101 (40 mg) or matching placebo three times a day via oral inhalation for 2 weeks, followed by a 2 week washout, and then crossed over to the other arm. Study participants, investigators, study staff, and the sponsor were masked to group assignment until all participants had completed the study. The primary efficacy endpoint was change from baseline in objective daytime cough frequency (from 24 h acoustic recording, Leicester Cough Monitor). The primary efficacy analysis included all participants who received at least one dose of study drug and had at least one post-baseline efficacy measurement. Safety analysis included all those who took at least one dose of study drug. In the second cohort, participants with CIC were randomly assigned in a study across four centres with similar design and endpoints. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02412020) and the EU Clinical Trials Register (EudraCT Number 2014-004025-40) and both cohorts are closed to new participants. Findings Between Feb 13, 2015, and Feb 2, 2016, 24 participants with IPF were randomly assigned to treatment groups. 28 participants with CIC were enrolled during the same period and 27 received study treatment. In patients with IPF, PA101 reduced daytime cough frequency by 31·1% at day 14 compared with placebo; daytime cough frequency decreased from a mean 55 (SD 55) coughs per h at baseline to 39 (29) coughs per h at day 14 following treatment with PA101, versus 51 (37) coughs per h at baseline to 52 (40) cough per h following placebo treatment (ratio of least-squares [LS] means 0·67, 95% CI 0·48–0·94, p=0·0241). By contrast, no treatment benefit for PA101 was observed in the CIC cohort; mean reduction of daytime cough frequency at day 14 for PA101 adjusted for placebo was 6·2% (ratio of LS means 1·27, 0·78–2·06, p=0·31). PA101 was well tolerated in both cohorts. The incidence of adverse events was similar between PA101 and placebo treatments, most adverse events were mild in severity, and no severe adverse events or serious adverse events were reported. Interpretation This study suggests that the mechanism of cough in IPF might be disease specific. Inhaled PA101 could be a treatment option for chronic cough in patients with IPF and warrants further investigation

Mapping geographical inequalities in childhood diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000–17 : analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background Across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), one in ten deaths in children younger than 5 years is attributable to diarrhoea. The substantial between-country variation in both diarrhoea incidence and mortality is attributable to interventions that protect children, prevent infection, and treat disease. Identifying subnational regions with the highest burden and mapping associated risk factors can aid in reducing preventable childhood diarrhoea. Methods We used Bayesian model-based geostatistics and a geolocated dataset comprising 15 072 746 children younger than 5 years from 466 surveys in 94 LMICs, in combination with findings of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, to estimate posterior distributions of diarrhoea prevalence, incidence, and mortality from 2000 to 2017. From these data, we estimated the burden of diarrhoea at varying subnational levels (termed units) by spatially aggregating draws, and we investigated the drivers of subnational patterns by creating aggregated risk factor estimates. Findings The greatest declines in diarrhoeal mortality were seen in south and southeast Asia and South America, where 54·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 38·1–65·8), 17·4% (7·7–28·4), and 59·5% (34·2–86·9) of units, respectively, recorded decreases in deaths from diarrhoea greater than 10%. Although children in much of Africa remain at high risk of death due to diarrhoea, regions with the most deaths were outside Africa, with the highest mortality units located in Pakistan. Indonesia showed the greatest within-country geographical inequality; some regions had mortality rates nearly four times the average country rate. Reductions in mortality were correlated to improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) or reductions in child growth failure (CGF). Similarly, most high-risk areas had poor WASH, high CGF, or low oral rehydration therapy coverage. Interpretation By co-analysing geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden and its key risk factors, we could assess candidate drivers of subnational death reduction. Further, by doing a counterfactual analysis of the remaining disease burden using key risk factors, we identified potential intervention strategies for vulnerable populations. In view of the demands for limited resources in LMICs, accurately quantifying the burden of diarrhoea and its drivers is important for precision public health