Erosion Surface and Granitic Morphology in the Sierra de Lihuel Calel, Province of La Pampa, Argentina

Fil: Aguilera, Emilia Yolanda. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Sato, Ana María. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas (CIG). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Llambías, Eduardo Jorge. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas (CIG). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Tickyj, Hugo. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; Argentin

Paleo-landscapes of the Northern Patagonian Massif, Argentina

Fil: Aguilera, Emilia Yolanda. Instituto de Geomorfología y Suelos (IGS). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Rabassa, Jorge. Laboratorio de Geomorfología y Cuaternario. CADIC. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; ArgentinaFil: Aragón, Eugenio. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas (CIG). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Reference range of liver corrected T1 values in a population at low risk for fatty liver disease-a UK Biobank sub-study, with an appendix of interesting cases

Purpose: Corrected T1 (cT1) value is a novel MRI-based quantitative metric for assessing a composite of liver inflammation and fibrosis. It has been shown to distinguish between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFL) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. However, these studies were conducted in patients at high risk for liver disease. This study establishes the normal reference range of cT1 values for a large UK population, and assesses interactions of age and gender. Methods: MR data were acquired on a 1.5T system as part of the UK Biobank Imaging Enhancement study. Measures for Proton Density Fat Fraction and cT1 were calculated from the MRI data using a multi-parametric MRI software application. Data that did not meet quality criteria were excluded from further analysis. Inter and intra-reader variability was estimated in a set of data. A cohort at low risk for NAFL was identified by excluding individuals with BMI ≥ 25kg/m2 and PDFF ≥ 5%. Of the 2816 participants with data of suitable quality, 1037 (37%) were classified as at low risk. Results: The cT1 values in the low risk population ranged from 573 to 852 ms with a median of 666 ms and interquartile range from 643-694 ms. Iron correction of T1 was necessary in 36.5% of this reference population. Age and gender had minimal effect on cT1 values. Conclusion: The majority of cT1 values are tightly clustered in a population at low risk for NAFL; suggesting it has the potential to serve as a new quantitative imaging biomarker for studies of liver health and disease

A new model for health care delivery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The health care delivery system in the United States is facing cost and quality pressures that will require fundamental changes to remain viable. The optimal structures of the relationships between the hospital, medical school, and physicians have not been determined but are likely to have a large impact on the future of healthcare delivery. Because it is generally agreed that academic medical centers will play a role in the sustainability of this future system, a fundamental understanding of the relative contributions of the stakeholders is important as well as creativity in developing novel strategies to achieve a shared vision.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Core competencies of each of the stakeholders (the hospital, the medical school and the physicians) must complement the others and should act synergistically. At the same time, the stakeholders should determine the common core values and should be able to make a meaningful contribution to the delivery of health care.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Health care needs to achieve higher quality and lower cost. Therefore, in order for physicians, medical schools, and hospitals to serve the needs of society in a gratifying way, there will need to be change. There needs to be more scientific and social advances. It is obvious that there is a real and urgent need for relationship building among the professionals whose duty it is to provide these services.</p

A simple dynamic model explains the diversity of island birds worldwide

International audienc

Managing planet Earth to make future development more sustainable: climate change and Hong Kong

Selected recent findings related to climate change in Hong Kong include: (1)The Hong Kong seafloor has yielded a ca.0.5-million year record of climate and sea-level changes.(2)Greenhouse gases produced naturally from subaerially exposed continental shelves and oceanic islands were a probable forcing mechanism in triggering the abrupt termination of past ice ages. (3)An analysis of annual mean temperature records has revealed that the urban heat island effect has contributed ca.75% of the warming. (4)Past volcanic eruptions are found to lower Hong Kong's temperature and to cause extremely dry and wet years. (5)No evidence can be found for an increase in frequency and intensity of typhoons based on the instrumental record since the end of the Second World War. (6)The observed rate of sea-level rise in the South China Sea is much slower than the predictions of the IPCC Fourth Assessment. For the Earth's management, population growth and the depletion of non-renewable resources must be recognized as unsustainable. The human impact on the natural hydrological cycle is an important forcing mechanism in climate change. In order to delay the demise of the human race, management must include curbing population growth and much more waste recycling than at present

Managing earth to make future development more sustainable: learning from a megacity like Hong Kong

Abstract no. PA13C-1356Selected recent findings related to climate change in Hong Kong include: (1) The Hong Kong seafloor has yielded a 0.5-million year record of climate and sea-level changes. (2) Greenhouse gases produced naturally from sub-aerially exposed continental shelves were a probable forcing mechanism in triggering the termination of past ice ages. (3) An analysis of annual mean temperature records has revealed that the urban heat island effect has contributed 75 % of the warming. (4) Past volcanic eruptions are found to lower Hong Kong's temperature and to cause extremely dry and wet years. (5) No evidence can be found for an increase in frequency and intensity of typhoons based on the analysis of an 8,000-year record in the Pearl River Estuary. (6) The observed rate of sea-level rise in the South China Sea is much slower than the predictions of the IPCC Fourth Assessment. For the Earth's management, population growth and the depletion of non-renewable resources must be recognized as unsustainable. The human impact on the natural hydrological cycle is an important forcing mechanism in climate change. In order to delay the demise of the human race, management must include curbing population growth and much more waste recycling than at present.link_to_OA_fulltex

The "seven-coloured earth" of Chamarel, Mauritius

The "seven-coloured earth" of Chamarel is a geological curiosity and a major tourist attraction of Mauritius. This is a small (similar to 7500 m(2)) area of strikingly bare landscape showing well-developed rills and various shades of red, brown, grey, and purple. Curiously, it is located within a large, dense forest. Prevalent misconceptions are that the landscape formed due to a volcanic eruption, or from volcanic ash. Whereas the bedrock is undoubtedly an old volcanic rock (basalt), the colours are due to weathering of the basalt and the formation of secondary iron oxides and hydroxides in it, and the rilling is a result of deforestation and sheet erosion, i.e., human modification of the landscape. Such features, inadequately described in the literature so far, also occur in Papua New Guinea, and may be common in tropical, high-rainfall regions with volcanic bedrock. (C) 200