The Gulf: Facies Belts, Physical, Chemical, and Biological Parameters of Sedimentation on a Carbonate Ramp

The Holocene of The Gulf, also referred to as the Arabian or Persian Gulf, is frequently cited as a classic example of a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ramp system for an arid climate. This notion of a ramp is supported by the recognition that The Gulf area has a dominant shallow water carbonate/evaporite basin fill from the Permian to today despite a complex tectonic history (Alsharhan and Kendall 2003). The current depositional setting is that of a proximal foreland ramp (Burchette and Wright 1992; Evans 1995; Kirkham 1998). Walkden and Williams (1998), however, argue that since The Gulf has been above sea level for over much of the past 2.5 Ma, and since it is in tectonic, eustatic and depositional disequilibrium it should not be considered a ramp. Despite this controversy, the Holocene sedimentary fill of the current Gulf has been and will continue to be used as a model for a carbonate ramp. This interest in the area is hightened by the fact that is one of the few places in which Holocene dolomite and evaporites form.https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facbooks/1039/thumbnail.jp

Impacts of smoking on endocrine treatment response in a prospective breast cancer cohort

Background:The association between smoking and breast cancer prognosis remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preoperative smoking was associated with prognosis in different treatment groups.Methods:This population-based cohort consisted of 1065 breast cancer patients without preoperative treatment included between 2002 and 2012 in Lund, Sweden. Smoking status was examined in relation to patient and tumour characteristics, and prognosis in different treatment groups.Results:At the preoperative visit, 21.0% smoked. Median follow-up time was 5.1 years. Overall, in the 1016 patients included in the survival analyses, there was no significant association between smoking and risk of breast cancer events (adjusted hazard ratio (adjHR): 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.95–2.20). For the 309 aromatase inhibitor (AI)-treated patients ⩾50 years with oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) tumours, smoking was associated with risk of breast cancer events (adjHR: 2.97; 95% CI: 1.44–6.13), distant metastasis (adjHR: 4.19; 95% CI: 1.81–9.72), and death (adjHR: 3.52; 95% CI: 1.59–7.81). Smoking was not associated with breast cancer events or distant metastasis in other treatment groups.Conclusions:Preoperative smoking was only associated with an increased risk for breast cancer events and distant metastasis in AI-treated patients. If confirmed, smoking status should be taken into consideration when selecting an endocrine therapy.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 9 June 2016; doi:10.1038/bjc.2016.174 www.bjcancer.com