Petrogenesis of diachronous mixed siliciclastic-carbonate megafacies in the cool-water Oligocene Tikorangi Formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

The Oligocene (Whaingaroan-Waitakian) Tikorangi Formation is a totally subsurface, lithostratigraphically complex, mixed siliciclastic-limestone-rich sequence forming an important fracture reservoir within Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. Petrographically the formation comprises a spectrum of interbedded rock types ranging from calcareous mudstone to wackestone to packstone to clean sparry grainstone. Skeletal and textural varieties within these rock types have aided in the identification of three environmentally distinctive megafacies for the Tikorangi Formation rocks-shelfal, foredeep, and basinal. Data from these megafacies have been used to detail previous conclusions on the petrogenesis and to further refine depositional paleoenvironmental models for the Tikorangi Formation in the central eastern Taranaki Basin margin.Shelfal Megafacies 1 rocks (reference well Hu Road-1A) are latest Oligocene (early Waitakian) in age and formed on or proximal to the Patea-Tongaporutu-Herangi basement high. They are characterised by coarse, skeletal-rich, pure sparry grainstone comprising shallow water, high energy taxa (bryozoans, barnacles, red algae) and admixtures of coarse well-rounded lithic sand derived from Mesozoic basement greywacke. This facies type has previously gone unrecorded in the Tikorangi Formation. Megafacies 2 is a latest Oligocene (early Waitakian) foredeep megafacies (formerly named shelfal facies) formed immediately basinward and west of the shelfal basement platform. It accumulated relatively rapidly (>20 cm/ka) from redeposition of shelfal megafacies biota that became intermixed with bathyal taxa to produce a spectrum of typically mudstone through to sparry grainstone. The resulting skeletal mix (bivalve, echinoderm, planktic and benthic foraminiferal, red algal, bryozoan, nannofossil) is unlike that in any of the age-equivalent limestone units in neighbouring onland King Country Basin. Megafacies 3 is an Oligocene (Whaingaroan-Waitakian) offshore basinal megafacies (formerly termed bathyal facies) of planktic foraminiferal-nannofossil-siliciclastic wackestone and mudstone formed away from redepositional influences. The siliciclastic input in this distal basinal setting (sedimentation rates <7 mm/ka) was probably sourced mainly from oceanic currents carrying suspended sediment from South Island provenances exposed at this time.Tikorangi Formation rocks record the Taranaki Basin’s only period of carbonate-dominated sedimentation across a full range of shelfal, foredeep, and basinal settings. Depositional controls on the three contrasting megafacies were fundamentally the interplay of an evolving and complex plate tectonic setting, including development of a carbonate foredeep, changes in relative sea level within an overall transgressive regime, and changing availability, sources, and modes of deposition of both bioclastic and siliciclastic sediments. The mixed siliciclastic-carbonate nature of the formation, and its skeletal assemblages, low-Mg calcite mineralogy, and delayed deep burial diagenetic history, are features consistent with formation in temperate-latitude cool waters

A framework for qualitative communications using big packet protocol

In the current Internet architecture, a packet is a minimal or fundamental unit upon which different actions such as classification, forwarding, or discarding are performed by the network nodes. When faced with constrained or poor network conditions, a packet is subjected to undesirable drops and re-transmissions, resulting in unpredictable delays and subsequent traffic overheads in the network. Alternately, we introduce qualitative communication services which allow partial, yet timely, delivery of a packet instead of dropping it entirely. These services allow breaking down packet payloads into smaller units (called chunks), enabling much finer granularity of bandwidth utilization. We propose Packet Wash as anew operation in forwarding nodes to support qualitative services. Upon packet error or network congestion, the forwarding node selectively removes some chunk(s) from the payload based on the relationship among the chunks or the individual signiicance level of each chunk. We also present a qualitative communication framework as well as a Packet Wash directive implemented in a newly evolved data plane technology, called Big Packet Protocol (BPP)

Target DNA-dependent activation mechanism of the prokaryotic immune system SPARTA

In both prokaryotic and eukaryotic innate immune systems, TIR domains function as NADases that degrade the key metabolite NAD+ or generate signaling molecules. Catalytic activation of TIR domains requires oligomerization, but how this is achieved varies in distinct immune systems. In the Short prokaryotic Argonaute (pAgo)/TIR-APAZ (SPARTA) immune system, TIR NADase activity is triggered upon guide RNA-mediated recognition of invading DNA by an unknown mechanism. Here, we describe cryo-EM structures of SPARTA in the inactive monomeric and target DNA-activated tetrameric states. The monomeric SPARTA structure reveals that in the absence of target DNA, a C-terminal tail of TIR-APAZ occupies the nucleic acid binding cleft formed by the pAgo and TIR-APAZ subunits, inhibiting SPARTA activation. In the active tetrameric SPARTA complex, guide RNA-mediated target DNA binding displaces the C-terminal tail and induces conformational changes in pAgo that facilitate SPARTA-SPARTA dimerization. Concurrent release and rotation of one TIR domain allow it to form a composite NADase catalytic site with the other TIR domain within the dimer, and generate a self-complementary interface that mediates cooperative tetramerization. Combined, this study provides critical insights into the structural architecture of SPARTA and the molecular mechanism underlying target DNA-dependent oligomerization and catalytic activation

Effects of short-term simultaneous infusion of dobutamine and terlipressin in patients with septic shock: the DOBUPRESS study

Background Terlipressin bolus infusion may reduce cardiac output and global oxygen supply. The present study was designed to determine whether dobutamine may counterbalance the terlipressin-induced depression in mixed-venous oxygen saturation (Svo2) in patients with catecholamine-dependent septic shock. Methods Prospective, randomized, controlled study performed in a university hospital intensive care unit. Septic shock patients requiring a continuous infusion of norepinephrine (0.9 µg kg−1 min−1) to maintain mean arterial pressure (MAP) at 70 (sd 5) mm Hg were randomly allocated to be treated either with (i) sole norepinephrine infusion (control, n=20), (ii) a single dose of terlipressin 1 mg (n=19), or (iii) a single dose of terlipressin 1 mg followed by dobutamine infusion titrated to reverse the anticipated reduction in Svo2 (n=20). Systemic, pulmonary, and regional haemodynamic variables were obtained at baseline and after 2 and 4 h. Laboratory surrogate markers of organ (dys)function were tested at baseline and after 12 and 24 h. Results Terlipressin (with and without dobutamine) infusion preserved MAP at 70 (5) mm Hg, while allowing to reduce norepinephrine requirements to 0.17 (0.2) and 0.2 (0.2) µg kg−1 min−1, respectively [vs1.4 (0.3) µg kg−1 min−1 in controls at 4 h; each P<0.001]. The terlipressin-linked decrease in Svo2 was reversed by dobutamine at a mean dose of 20 (8) µg kg−1 min−1 [Svo2 at 4 h: 59 (11)% vs 69 (12)%, P=0.028]. Conclusions In human catecholamine-dependent septic shock, terlipressin (with and without concomitant dobutamine infusion) increases MAP and markedly reduces norepinephrine requirements. Although no adverse events were noticed in the present study, potential benefits of increasing Svo2 after terlipressin bolus infusion need to be weighted against the risk of cardiovascular complications resulting from high-dose dobutamin

CPDW Project. Assessment of Cytotoxicological Potential of Products in Contact with Drinking Water.

The investigations described in this report were conducted as part of the European Project "Development of Harmonised tests to be used in the European Approval Scheme (EAS) concerning Construction Products in contact with Drinking Water (CPDW)", under Contract no. EVK1-CT2000-00052. This project is financially supported by the European Commission, the national authorities of Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom and the material suppliers in these countries and Europe, respectively. Work Package 2 concerned the cytotoxicity properties of materials of this project. The institutes participating in the investigations and discussions in this work package are listed below.JRC.DDG.H-Institute for environment and sustainability (Ispra