The Volcanic Development and Petroleum System Evolution of the Faroe-Shetland Basin.

The large volume of intrusive igneous material associated with volcanic rift margins introduces significant uncertainty to both hydrocarbon exploration and subsequent prospectivity. Understanding the habit, emplacement and distribution of such material in the context of rift evolution is essential to understanding the evolution of volcanic rift margins. The recent availability of high-quality 3D seismic data from the rift basins of the NE Atlantic Margin has enhanced our understanding of the 3D geometry and emplacement mechanisms of sill intrusions. Although how these intrusions fit within the wider margin context is often overlooked. The West of Shetland area provides an insight into the process of volcanic rift interaction in a petroleum prospective area. Using multi-client 2D and 3D seismic data this study places reservoir scale observations of sill morphology, distribution and sill-fault interactions within a wider basin context. The study demonstrates that the style and volume of sill intrusion is heavily influenced by the large scale basin structure, the position along the volcanic margin and small scale structural heterogeneities. Given the variations in sill size and frequency there are also implications for the bulk intrusive magma distribution across the margin. Predicting hydrocarbon prospectivity in frontier, or under-explored basins, is inherently uncertain. In order to reduce this uncertainty, sensitivity analysis is performed on key modeling input parameters to define a best practice workflow for undertaking basin modeling in the Faroe-Shetland Basin and similar passive continental margin settings. As the emplacement of igneous intrusions into sedimentary successions has been shown to locally elevate heat flow, the sill complex is incorporated into the regional 2D modeling to investigate the effect sill emplacement has on hydrocarbon prospectivity. The results highlight the importance of determining the timing of emplacement and the volume of igneous material when assessing the potential impact on maturation and generation of hydrocarbons. The modelling suggests that through an appraisal of sensitivity in areas of poor, limited or even absent data, such as frontier basins we can derive a more constrained basin modeling approach that reduces exploration uncertainty

Modeling Maritime Radar Scattering

The focus of this project was the design and implementation of a maritime radar simulation developed in MATLAB to aid in the understanding of the effects of ocean waves on radar. The purpose of this simulation is to be used as a toolbox for the future development of detection algorithms for small boats on or near the ocean surface. The team delivered three simulations to the MIT Lincoln Laboratory staff. The first simulation focused on the integration of a one-dimensional ocean model and a chirp radar model. The second deliverable extended the first simulation to include a two-dimensional ocean model and a boat wake model. The third simulation introduced a phased array radar model. These simulations were verified against publicly available data and models

Effect of pre-, pro- and synbiotics on biomarkers of systemic inflammation in children: a scoping review.

Systemic inflammation plays a central role in many diseases and is, therefore, an important therapeutic target. In a scoping review, we assessed the evidence base for anti-inflammatory effects of pre-, pro- and synbiotics in children. Of 1254 clinical trials published in English in Ovid Medline and Cochrane Library PubMed from January 2003 through September 2022, 29 were included in the review. In 6 studies of healthy children (n=1552), one reported that fructo-oligosaccharides added to infant formula significantly reduced pro-inflammatory biomarkers and one study of a single strain probiotic reported both anti- and pro-inflammatory effects. No effects were seen in the remaining two single-strain and one multi-strain probiotic and one synbiotic study. In 23 studies of children with diseases (n=1550), prebiotics were tested in 3, single-strain in 16 and multi-strain probiotics in 6 and synbiotics in 2 studies. Significantly reduced inflammatory biomarkers were reported in 7/10 studies of atopic/allergic conditions, 3/5 studies of auto-immune diseases, 1/2 studies of preterm infants, 1 study of overweight/obesity, 2/2 studies of severe illness and 2/3 studies of other diseases. However, often only one or two of several biomarkers were improved, increased pro-inflammatory biomarkers occurred in 5 of these studies and a probiotic increased inflammatory biomarkers in a study of newborns with congenital heart disease. The evidence base for the effects of pre-, pro- and synbiotics on systemic inflammation in children is weak. Further research is needed to determine if anti-inflammatory effects depend on the specific pre-, pro- and synbiotic preparations, health status and biomarkers studied

A roadmap to meaningful dingo conservation

Many top-predators are declining and/or threatened, risking the loss of them and their important ecological roles. For these reasons, conservation efforts are a management priority for many species, but this is not presently the case for dingoes – the most closely related canid to grey wolves. There is strong support for dingo conservation from some sectors, but dingo conservation progress is slow, and is actively opposed by other sectors. Here, we evaluate the conservation status of Australian dingoes in accordance with the current Australian Government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee Guidelines for assessing the conservation status of native species according to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000. We also use the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) species translocation guidelines to assess the value of translocation or reintroduction as suitable conservation action for dingoes. We further describe six socio-ecological facts about dingoes seldom considered in discourses advocating dingo conservation, and show that consideration of these guidelines and facts raises several substantial barriers to dingo conservation. Perhaps the most important barrier to dingo conservation is the lack of an accepted taxonomic definition for dingoes which, we show, ultimately determines the threatened status (or not) of dingoes and the acceptability (or not) of reintroduction as a suitable action for advancing dingo conservation objectives. We describe the actions required to overcome this barrier in an attempt to advance dingo conservation efforts from just ‘talking about it’ to actually ‘doing something about it’

New methods for digital modeling of historic sites

We discuss new methods for building 3D models of historic sites. Our algorithm automatically computes pairwise registrations between individual scans, builds a topological graph, and places the scans in the same frame of reference

Harold Rosenberg diante da Morte da arte

: http://filosofiacienciaevida.uol.com.br/ESFI/edicoes/34/sumario.aspRevista filosofiaRevista filosofia Edição 34 – 200

Direct measurement of single-molecule dynamics and reaction kinetics in confinement using time-resolved transmission electron microscopy

We report experimental methodologies utilising transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as an imaging tool for reaction kinetics at the single molecule level, in direct space and with spatiotemporal continuity. Using reactions of perchlorocoronene (PCC) in nanotubes of different diameters and at different temperatures, we found a period of molecular movement to precede the intermolecular addition of PCC, with a stronger dependence of the reaction rate on the nanotube diameter, controlling the local environments around molecules, than on the reaction temperature (−175, 23 or 400 °C). Once initiated, polymerisation of PCC follows zero-order reaction kinetics with the observed reaction cross section σobs of 1.13 × 10−9 nm2 (11.3 ± 0.6 barn), determined directly from time-resolved TEM image series acquired with a rate of 100 frames per second. Polymerisation was shown to proceed from a single point, with molecules reacting sequentially, as in a domino effect, due to the strict conformational requirement of the Diels–Alder cycloaddition creating the bottleneck for the reaction. The reaction mechanism was corroborated by correlating structures of reaction intermediates observed in TEM images, with molecular weights measured by using mass spectrometry (MS) when the same reaction was triggered by UV irradiation. The approaches developed in this study bring the imaging of chemical reactions at the single-molecule level closer to traditional concepts of chemistry

Hypoallergenic and anti-inflammatory feeds in children with complicated severe acute malnutrition: an open randomised controlled 3-arm intervention trial in Malawi

Intestinal pathology in children with complicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) persists despite standard management. Given the similarity with intestinal pathology in non-IgE mediated gastrointestinal food allergy and Crohn’s disease, we tested whether therapeutic feeds effective in treating these conditions may benefit children with complicated SAM. After initial clinical stabilisation, 95 children aged 6–23 months admitted at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi between January 1 st and December 31 st , 2016 were allocated randomly to either standard feeds, an elemental feed or a polymeric feed for 14 days. Change in faecal calprotectin as a marker of intestinal inflammation and the primary outcome was similar in each arm: elemental vs. standard 4.1 μg/mg stool/day (95% CI, −29.9, 38.15; P = 0.81) and polymeric vs. standard 10 (−23.96, 43.91; P = 0.56). Biomarkers of intestinal and systemic inflammation and mucosal integrity were highly abnormal in most children at baseline and abnormal values persisted in all three arms. The enteropathy in complicated SAM did not respond to either standard feeds or alternative therapeutic feeds administered for up to 14 days. A better understanding of the pathogenesis of the gut pathology in complicated SAM is an urgent priority to inform the development of improved therapeutic interventions

Modulating the early-life gut microbiota using pro-, pre-, and synbiotics to improve gut health, child development, and growth

In children exposed to poor hygiene and sanitation, invasion of the gut by pathogenic microbes can result in a subclinical enteropathy termed “environmental enteric dysfunction” (EED) that contributes to undernutrition, growth faltering, and impaired organ development. EED may already be present by age 6–12 weeks; therefore, interventions that can be started early in life, and used alongside breastfeeding, are needed to prevent or ameliorate EED. A healthy gut microbiota is critical for intestinal development and repair, nutrient digestion and absorption, and resisting colonization or overgrowth by pathogens. However, its development can be impaired by several environmental factors. Dietary supplementation with pro-, pre-, or synbiotics may be a pragmatic and safe means of building the resilience of the developing gut microbiota against adverse environmental factors, thereby preventing EED