An isotopic and fluid inclusion study of the Rock Canyon Creek, fluorite-REE deposit, southeastern British Columbia.

The Rock Canyon Creek fluorite-REE deposit is hosted by a Cambro-Ordovician to Devonian carbonate-dominated sedimentary sequence in southeastern British Columbia. Five types of dolomite have been identified: (1) microdolomite; (2) replacement, non-ferroan dolomite; (3) saddle dolomite I, (4) coarse, ferroan dolomite, and (5) saddle dolomite II. Some Ordovician microdolomite falls in the isotopic range of typical Ordovician marine carbonates. Non-ferroan dolomite, which predates mineralization, is more depleted in 18O and 13C than microdolomite. The precipitation of saddle dolomite I, which predates mineralization, is related to veins and vugs. Geochemical and petrographic evidence suggest that saddle dolomite I and non-ferroan dolomite were precipitated from a hot, slightly saline fluid. Pervasive coarse ferroan dolomite occurs in most host rocks to the fluorite-REE mineralization. Saddle dolomite II occurs in open space associated with fluorite and quartz, has similar isotopic compositions to ferroan dolomite and is suggested to have precipitated from the same fluid as that which precipitated ferroan dolomite. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Earth Sciences. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2000 .Z56. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0464. Advisers: I. S. Al-Aasm; I. M. Samson. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2000

A Distributed Task Management Solution for Peer-To-Peer and Cloud Environments

In this thesis we introduced the Lightweight Coordination Calculus based logic programming approach to the programming models of the Platform-as-a-Service cloud. By using this approach, PaaS based cloud systems will enable cloud application developers to have more options to implement various kinds of programming models for their distributed tasks. We built a prototype framework based on OpenKnowledge middleware because the OpenKnowledge currently is the only framework that fully supports the LCC based programming model. By adding task control and administrative features such as automated task initiation, task status querying, task termination and input/output message channel, we extended the original usage of the OpenKnowledge framework and made it capable of being used to construct PaaS cloud systems. The automation level of the transformed OpenKnowledge framework is improved and its original advantages are retained simultaneously. All of our work reveals the underlying mechanism of the next generation Platform-as-a-Service cloud system which supports logic programming

PSR J1926-0652: A Pulsar with Interesting Emission Properties Discovered at FAST

We describe PSR J1926-0652, a pulsar recently discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Using sensitive single-pulse detections from FAST and long-term timing observations from the Parkes 64-m radio telescope, we probed phenomena on both long and short time scales. The FAST observations covered a wide frequency range from 270 to 800 MHz, enabling individual pulses to be studied in detail. The pulsar exhibits at least four profile components, short-term nulling lasting from 4 to 450 pulses, complex subpulse drifting behaviours and intermittency on scales of tens of minutes. While the average band spacing P3 is relatively constant across different bursts and components, significant variations in the separation of adjacent bands are seen, especially near the beginning and end of a burst. Band shapes and slopes are quite variable, especially for the trailing components and for the shorter bursts. We show that for each burst the last detectable pulse prior to emission ceasing has different properties compared to other pulses. These complexities pose challenges for the classic carousel-type models.Comment: 13pages with 12 figure

Terlipressin May Decrease In-Hospital Mortality of Cirrhotic Patients with Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding and Renal Dysfunction: A Retrospective Multicenter Observational Study

Acute gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) rapidly reduces effective blood volume, thereby precipitating acute kidney injury (AKI). Terlipressin, which can induce splanchnic vasoconstriction and increase renal perfusion, has been recommended for acute GIB and hepatorenal syndrome in liver cirrhosis. Thus, we hypothesized that terlipressin might be beneficial for cirrhotic patients with acute GIB and renal impairment. In this Chinese multi-center study, 1644 cirrhotic patients with acute GIB were retrospectively enrolled. AKI was defined according to the International Club of Ascites (ICA) criteria. Renal dysfunction was defined as serum creatinine (sCr) > 133 μmol/L at admission and/or any time point during hospitalization. Incidence of renal impairment and in-hospital mortality were the primary end-points. The incidence of any stage ICA-AKI, ICA-AKI stages 1B, 2, and 3, and renal dysfunction in cirrhotic patients with acute GIB was 7.1%, 1.8%, and 5.0%, respectively. The in-hospital mortality was significantly increased by renal dysfunction (14.5% vs. 2.2%, P < 0.001) and ICA-AKI stages 1B, 2, and 3 (11.1% vs. 2.8%, P = 0.011), but not any stage ICA-AKI (5.7% vs. 2.7%, P = 0.083). The in-hospital mortality was significantly decreased by terlipressin in patients with renal dysfunction (3.6% vs. 20.0%, P = 0.044), but not in those with any stage ICA-AKI (4.5% vs. 6.0%, P = 0.799) or ICA-AKI stages 1B, 2, and 3 (0.0% vs. 14.3%, P = 0.326). Renal dysfunction increased the in-hospital mortality of cirrhotic patients with acute GIB. Terlipressin might decrease the in-hospital mortality of cirrhotic patients with acute GIB and renal dysfunction. NCT03846180 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov )

The anaphase promoting complex impacts repair choice by protecting ubiquitin signalling at DNA damage sites

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) are repaired through two major pathways, homology-directed recombination (HDR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). While HDR can only occur in S/G2, NHEJ can happen in all cell cycle phases (except mitosis). How then is the repair choice made in S/G2 cells? Here we provide evidence demonstrating that APCCdh1 plays a critical role in choosing the repair pathways in S/G2 cells. Our results suggest that the default for all DSBs is to recruit 53BP1 and RIF1. BRCA1 is blocked from being recruited to broken ends because its recruitment signal, K63-linked poly-ubiquitin chains on histones, is actively destroyed by the deubiquitinating enzyme USP1. We show that the removal of USP1 depends on APCCdh1 and requires Chk1 activation known to be catalysed by ssDNA-RPA-ATR signalling at the ends designated for HDR, linking the status of end processing to RIF1 or BRCA1 recruitment.We thank S.-Y. Lin (MD Anderson Cancer Center) for cell lines; J. Rosen (Baylor College of Medicine) for reagents; H. Masai (Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science) for U2OS-Fucci cell line; D. Durocher (University of Toronto) for HeLa-Fucci cell line; E. Citterio (Netherlands Cancer Institute) for GFP-USP3 construct; M.S.Y. Huen (The University of Hong Kong) for RNF168 antibody. This work was performed with facilities and instruments in the Imaging Core of National Center for Protein Science (Beijing), the Cytometry and Cell Sorting Core at Baylor College of Medicine with funding from the NIH (P30 AI036211, P30 CA125123 and S10 RR024574), the Integrated Microscopy Core at Baylor College of Medicine with funding from the NIH (HD007495, DK56338 and CA125123), and the John S. Dunn Gulf Coast Consortium for Chemical Genomics. We also thank other members of the Zhang lab for helpful discussion and support. This work was supported in part by an international collaboration grant (# 2013DFB30210) and a 973 Project grant (# 2013CB910300) from Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, in part by a Chinese National Natural Science Foundation grant (# 81171920), in part by a grant from The Committee of Science and Technology of Beijing Municipality, China (# Z141100000214015), and in part by NIH grants CA116097 and CA122623 to P.Z. J.J. is supported by grants from National Institutes of Health (R01GM102529) and the Welch Foundation (AU-1711). S.H. is supported by grants (# 81272488 and 81472795) from Chinese National Natural Science Foundation. Y.Z. is supported by grants from the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (No. 81430055), Programs for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT_15R13).S

Design and optimization of heat pump with infrared drying for Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Licorice) processing

A new dryer, integrating infrared and heat pump drying technologies, was designed to enhance licorice processing standardization, aiming at improved drying efficiency and product quality. Numerical simulation using COMSOL software validated the air distribution model through prototype data comparison. To address uneven air distribution, a spoiler was strategically placed based on CFD simulation to optimize its size and position using the velocity deviation ratio and non-uniformity coefficient as indices. Post-optimization, the average velocity deviation ratio decreased from 0.5124 to 0.2565%, and the non-uniformity coefficient dropped from 0.5913 to 0.3152, achieving a more uniform flow field in the drying chamber. Testing the optimized dryer on licorice demonstrated significant improvements in flow field uniformity, reducing licorice drying time by 23.8%. Additionally, optimized drying enhanced licorice color (higher L* value) and increased retention rates of total phenol, total flavone, and vitamin C. This research holds substantial importance for advancing licorice primary processing, fostering efficiency, and improving product quality