Quantification of a distributive fluvial system; the Salt Wash DFS of the Morrison Formation, SW USA

Peer reviewedPostprin

Vertical trends within the prograding Salt Wash distributive fluvial system, SW USA

This work has been supported by the Fluvial Systems Research Group Consortium Phase 1, supported by BG, Chevron, Conoco Philips and Total. Discussions with John Howell on prograding sequences are greatly appreciated. The authors would also like to thank Anna Kulikova, Guy Prince, Kelsey McNamara and Karen Oud for assistance in the field. We thank reviewer Brian Willis, an anonymous reviewer and Editor Sebastien Castelltort for constructive comments that improved this manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprin

Quantifying Downstream, Vertical and Lateral Variation in Fluvial Deposits : Implications From the Huesca Distributive Fluvial System

Acknowledgments Author Ben Martin thanks the University of Glasgow for providing funding for this project through the ‘Stressed Environments’ scholarship fund. The SAFARI consortium (https://safaridb.com/home) are thanked for providing virtual outcrop models that have been analyzed within this paper. Two anonymous reviewers are thanked for their thorough and constructive comments on this paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Recognition and importance of amalgamated sandy meander belts in the continental rock record

Date of Acceptance: 27/05/2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported by the Fluvial Systems Research Group sponsors BG Group, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Total.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Basin-scale predictive models of alluvial architecture : Constraints from the Palaeocene–Eocene, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA

This work was supported by Phase 2 of the Fluvial Systems Research Group (BP, BG, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Total). AE thanks the University of Aberdeen for additional funding and MGMS thanks the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP 2014/13937‐3). The authors also wish to thank numerous residents of the Bighorn Basin for their kind hospitality and access to land, and Isobel Buchanan and Alistair Swan for assistance in the field. The authors also thank reviewers Luca Colombera and Sian Davies‐Vollum and AE Christopher Fielding for helpful comments on this manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprin

Quantifying the sensitivity of distributive fluvial systems to changes in sediment supply and lake level using stratigraphic forward modelling

Stratigraphic forward modelling has been used to quantify the sensitivity of sandbody connectivity in a distributive fluvial system to changes in sediment supply and lake level. Recent stratigraphic forward modelling using SedsimX from StrataMod Pty Limited of the Oligocene to Miocene Huesca distributive fluvial system in northern Spain was used as a base‐case for this sensitivity analysis. Based on literature research and initial modelling, a sediment supply sensitivity range of 0.22 to 21.85 km3/kyr and lake‐level sensitivity range of −1000 to 1000 mm/kyr were used. Results show that the stratigraphic architecture of the modelled distributive fluvial system is more sensitive to changes in sediment supply than to changes in lake level. While an increase in the rate of sediment supply results in an increase in preserved average grain size, aggradation rates and sandbody connectivity at the same distance from the apex, the average grain size, aggradation rate and sandbody connectivity all decrease with increasing distance from fan apex. The main difference in the stratigraphic architecture can be found in the proximal zones. Only oversupplied models, with much higher sediment supply than the base‐case, deposited fully amalgamated channelized deposits with laterally continuous, tabular beds with occasional scoured surfaces. Models with base‐case sediment supply contain channelized sandy deposits within a fine‐grained floodplain environment. Models with sediment supply much lower than the base‐case had no deposition in the proximal zone. Lake‐level rise leads to reduced distal erosion of sediments, concentration of silts close to the lake shore, and higher aggradation rates and thicker sandbodies in the proximal zone. The sensitivity analysis highlights that the parameters governing the formation of distributive fluvial systems have different weightings but are ultimately all interconnected and interdependent. This quantitative framework can be used as a predictive tool for subsurface exploration in distributive fluvial systems

Analysis of the fluvial stratigraphic response to the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum in the Bighorn Basin, U.S.A.

Geological deposits can reveal how environments of the past have responded to climate change, enabling important insights into how environments may respond to our current anthropogenically induced warming. The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) occurred ca. 56 Ma and was a short-lived (approximately 200,000 years) global warming event (5–8°C rise). The PETM has been investigated at several terrestrial and marine localities across the globe. However, many studies are based on single successions, with very few sites being placed within a well-defined spatial and temporal context and with comparisons limited to deposits that lie immediately above and below the event. Due to the inherent variability of sedimentary systems, it is imperative that the appropriate context is provided to fully understand the impacts of climate change on landscapes and subsequent deposits. This study examines 28 locations, totaling over 4 km of recorded stratigraphy, within a newly defined quantified sedimentary basin context (Bighorn Basin, USA) to evaluate variability of fluvial response to the PETM. We show that channel-body and story thicknesses across the PETM are not statistically significantly different from deposits outside the climate event, implying that there is not a consistent sedimentary response to the climate event across the basin. Based on our large dataset we calculate that precipitation would have had to double for statistically significant changes in deposit thickness to be generated. We discuss how climatic signals may be lost due to the self-organization, spatial–temporal varied response and preservation potential in large fluvial systems. This study gives a new quantified perspective to climate events in the geologic record

Explaining variable effects of an adaptable implementation package to promote evidence-based practice in primary care : a longitudinal process evaluation

This study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) [Programme Grants for Applied Research (Grant Reference Number RP-PG-1209-10040)] (https://www.nihr.ac.uk/).Background Implementing evidence-based recommendations is challenging in UK primary care, especially given system pressures and multiple guideline recommendations competing for attention. Implementation packages that can be adapted and hence applied to target multiple guideline recommendations could offer efficiencies for recommendations with common barriers to achievement. We developed and evaluated a package of evidence-based interventions (audit and feedback, educational outreach and reminders) incorporating behaviour change techniques to target common barriers, in two pragmatic trials for four “high impact” indicators: risky prescribing; diabetes control; blood pressure control; and anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation. We observed a significant, cost-effective reduction in risky prescribing but there was insufficient evidence of effect on the other outcomes. We explored the impact of the implementation package on both social processes (Normalisation Process Theory; NPT) and hypothesised determinants of behaviour (Theoretical Domains Framework; TDF). Methods We conducted a prospective multi-method process evaluation. Observational, administrative and interview data collection and analyses in eight primary care practices were guided by NPT and TDF. Survey data from trial and process evaluation practices explored fidelity. Results We observed three main patterns of variation in how practices responded to the implementation package. First, in integration and achievement, the package “worked” when it was considered distinctive and feasible. Timely feedback directed at specific behaviours enabled continuous goal setting, action and review, which reinforced motivation and collective action. Second, impacts on team-based determinants were limited, particularly when the complexity of clinical actions impeded progress. Third, there were delivery delays and unintended consequences. Delays in scheduling outreach further reduced ownership and time for improvement. Repeated stagnant or declining feedback that did not reflect effort undermined engagement. Conclusions Variable integration within practice routines and organisation of care, variable impacts on behavioural determinants, and delays in delivery and unintended consequences help explain the partial success of an adaptable package in primary care.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Identification and manipulation of the pleuromutilin gene cluster from Clitopilus passeckerianus for increased rapid antibiotic production

Semi-synthetic derivatives of the tricyclic diterpene antibiotic pleuromutilin from the basidiomycete Clitopilus passeckerianus are important in combatting bacterial infections in human and veterinary medicine. These compounds belong to the only new class of antibiotics for human applications, with novel mode of action and lack of cross-resistance, representing a class with great potential. Basidiomycete fungi, being dikaryotic, are not generally amenable to strain improvement. We report identification of the seven-gene pleuromutilin gene cluster and verify that using various targeted approaches aimed at increasing antibiotic production in C. passeckerianus, no improvement in yield was achieved. The seven-gene pleuromutilin cluster was reconstructed within Aspergillus oryzae giving production of pleuromutilin in an ascomycete, with a significant increase (2106%) in production. This is the first gene cluster from a basidiomycete to be successfully expressed in an ascomycete, and paves the way for the exploitation of a metabolically rich but traditionally overlooked group of fungi

Efficacy and safety of co-careldopa as an add-on therapy to occupational and physical therapy in patients after stroke (DARS): a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled trial

Background Dopamine is a key modulator of striatal function and learning and might improve motor recovery after stroke. Previous small trials of dopamine agonists after stroke provide equivocal evidence of effectiveness on improving motor recovery. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of co-careldopa plus routine occupational and physical therapy during early rehabilitation after stroke. Methods This double-blind, multicentre, randomised controlled trial of co-careldopa versus placebo in addition to routine NHS occupational and physical therapy was done at 51 UK NHS acute inpatient stroke rehabilitation services. We recruited patients with new or recurrent clinically diagnosed ischaemic or haemorrhagic (excluding subarachnoid haemorrhage) stroke 5–42 days before randomisation, who were unable to walk 10 m or more, had a score of less than 7 points on the Rivermead Mobility Index, were expected to need rehabilitation, and were able to access rehabilitation after discharge from hospital. Participants were assigned (1:1) using stratified random blocks to receive 6 weeks of oral co-careldopa or matched placebo in addition to routine NHS physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The initial two doses of co-careldopa were 62·5 mg (50 mg of levodopa and 12·5 mg of carbidopa) and the remaining doses were 125 mg (100 mg of levodopa and 25 mg of carbidopa). Participants were required to take a single oral tablet 45–60 min before physiotherapy or occupational therapy session. The primary outcome was ability to walk independently, defined as a Rivermead Mobility Index score of 7 or more, at 8 weeks. Primary and safety analyses were done in the intention-to-treat population. The trial is registered on the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN99643613.Findings Between May 30, 2011, and March 28, 2014, of 1574 patients found eligible, 593 (mean age 68·5 years) were randomly assigned to either the co-careldopa group (n=308) or to the placebo group (n=285), on an average 18 days after stroke onset. Primary outcome data were available for all 593 patients. We found no evidence that the ability to walk independently improved with co-careldopa (125 [41%] of 308 patients) compared with placebo (127 [45%] of 285 patients; odds ratio 0·78 [95% CI 0·53–1·15]) at 8 weeks. Mortality at 12 months did not differ between the two groups (22 [7%] vs 17 [6%]). Serious adverse events were largely similar between groups. Vomiting during therapy sessions, after taking the study drug, was the most frequent adverse event and was more frequent in the co-careldopa group than the placebo group (19 [6·2%] vs 9 [3·2%]).Interpretation Co-careldopa in addition to routine occupational and physical therapy does not seem to improve walking after stroke. Further research might identify subgroups of patients with stroke who could benefit from dopaminergic therapy at different doses or times after stroke with more intensive motor therap