Orbital Variations of Biogenic CaCO3 and Opal Abundance in the Western and Central Equatorial Pacific Ocean During the Late Quaternary

Biogenic CaCO3 and opal abundances were measured in two piston cores (PC313 and PC5101) collected, respectively, along the equator in the western and central Pacific Ocean. The age model for core PC313, which extends to about 750 ka, was developed by comparing the oxygen isotope stratigraphy of planktonic foraminifera (N. dutetrei) to the SPECMAP stack. The age model for core PC5101, which extends to about 600 ka, was developed by stratigraphic correlation of CaCO3 contents to those in the well-dated core RC11-210 (Chuey et al. 1987). Both cores distinctly exhibited a series of CaCO3 and opal variations, which are mainly controlled by the orbital eccentricity cycle of about 100-kyr. The orbital-scale cyclic variations of CaCO3 and opal contents appear to be contrasting in both cores such that high CaCO3 and low opal contents occurred during the glacial periods. In contrast, during the interglacial periods, low CaCO3 and high opal contents occurred. Mostly remarkable is the distinct occurrence of a mid-Bruhnes event (MBE) at around 350 ka. The CaCO3 content was higher in core PC5101 than in core PC313 before the MBE, whereas biogenic opal abundance became higher in core PC5101 after the MBE. Such a characteristic discrepancy of biogenic (CaCO3 and opal) production, i.e., a succession of primary producers from coccolithophore to diatom, between cores PC313 and PC5101 may be attributed to the prevailing dominant hydrographic conditions (i.e., the South Equatorial Current), in the path of which both cores are located. The intensity of westward propagation might have been an important factor in contrasting biogenic production centering around the MBE

Biogenic CaCO3 and Opal Depositions and Their Latitudinal Comparison During the Past 600 ka in the Central Equatorial Pacific

The orbital-scale variations in biogenic CaCO3 and opal abundance in two piston cores collected in the central equatorial Pacific (core PC5101 from a southern site at _ and core PC5103 from a northern site at _ were compared to assess latitudinal differences. The correlation between the oxygen isotope stratigraphy of planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides sacculifer) of PC5103 with the LR04 stacks provides the age of PC5103 to be approximately 950 ka. The age of PC5103 was further refined by correlating the CaCO3 content with the well-dated core RC11-210. The age of PC5101 was also constrained by the same CaCO3 chronostratigraphic correlation with RC11-210, resulting in an age of approximately 650 ka. Distinct orbital-scale series of CaCO3 and opal variations appear to be parallel between the two cores during the past 600 ka, which are controlled mainly by eccentricity with an approximate periodicity of 100 ka. It is worth noting that the biogenic CaCO3 and opal deposition patterns in the two cores differ between interglacial and glacial periods. During interglacial periods the biogenic opal content is higher in the southern core than in the northern core, which corresponds with the present-day condition. In contrast the CaCO3 content is higher in the northern core, which is contradictory to the present-day northward decreasing CaCO3 deposition pattern from the Equator. The collection site of PC5101 is approximately 350 m deeper than that of PC5103, which significantly promotes CaCO3 dissolution and causes unexpectedly high CaCO3 content at the northern site in contrast to the biogenic opal content

Clinical significance of hypoalbuminemia in outcome of patients with scrub typhus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study was designed to investigate the clinical significance of hypoalbuminemia as a marker of severity and mortality in patients with Scrub typhus.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The patients with scrub typhus were divided into two groups based on the serum albumin levels; Group I (serum albumin <3.0 g/dL) and Group II (serum albumin ≥3.0 g/dL). The outcome of patients with hypoalbuminemia was compared with that of normoalbuminemia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the total 246 patients who underwent the study, 84 patients (34.1%) were categorized as Group I and 162 patients were (65.9%) as Group II. Group I showed significantly higher incidence of confusion (24.6% vs. 5.3%, <it>p </it>< 0.001), pulmonary edema (15.8% vs. 3.2%, <it>p </it>= 0.002), pleural effusion (22.8% vs. 11.1%, <it>p </it>= 0.03), arrhythmia (12.3% vs. 2.6%, <it>p </it>= 0.008) and non-oliguric acute renal failure (40.4% vs. 11.1%, <it>p </it>< 0.001) compared to group II. Hypoalbuminemic group had a higher APACHE II score (11.37 ± 5.0 vs. 6.94 ± 4.2, <it>p </it>< 0.001), longer hospital stay (19.9 ± 42.1 days vs 7.5 ± 13.8 days, <it>p </it>= 0.012), and higher hospital cost compared to Group II.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study showed hypoalbuminemia in scrub typhus was closely related to the frequency of various complication, longer hospital stay, consequently the higher medical cost, necessitating more efficient management of patients, including medical resources.</p

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Accumulation rates and grain sizes of eolian dust in sediments of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the northeast Pacific

A 328 cm-long piston core (KODOS 02-01-02) collected from the northeast equatorial Pacific at 16°12'N, 125°59'W was investigated for eolian mass fluxes and grain sizes to test these proxies as a tool for the paleo-position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The eolian mass fluxes of the lower interval below 250 cm (15.5-7.6 Ma) are very uniform at 5 +/- 1 mg/cm**2/kyr, while those of the upper interval above 250 cm (from 7.6 Ma) are over 2 times higher than the lower interval at 12 +/- 1 mg/cm**2/kyr. The median grain size of the eolian dusts in the lower interval increases from 8.4 Phi to 8.0 Phi downward, while that of the upper interval varies in a narrow range from 8.8 Phi to 8.6 Phi. The determined values compare well in magnitude to those of central Pacific sediments for the upper interval and equatorial and southeast Pacific sediments for the lower interval. This result suggests a possibility that the study site had been under the influence of southeast trade winds at its earlier depositional period due to the northerly position of the ITCZ, and subsequently of the northeast trade winds for a later period when the upper sediments were deposited. This interpretation is consistent with a mineralogical and geochemical study published elsewhere that assigned the provenance of the study core dust to Central/South America for the lower interval and to Asia for the upper interval. This study suggests that the distinct differences in eolian mass flux and grain size observed across the ITCZ can be used to trace the paleo-latitude of the ITCZ

Improved survival rates in patients with H1N1 acute respiratory failure in Korea between 2009 and 2016.

There was a pandemic of influenza A (H1N1) in 2009; in Korea, there was also an H1N1 epidemic in 2016. We aim to investigate whether survival had improved in the setting of recent advances in intensive care unit (ICU) management. We conducted a retrospective analysis of acute respiratory failure patients with H1N1 influenza pneumonia in 2016 and 2009 respectively at two tertiary referral hospitals in Korea. A total of 28 patients were treated in 2016, and 34 in 2009. There was no significant difference in SOFA scores on ICU admission day. In-hospital mortality was significantly lower in patients of 2016 compared to those of 2009 (18% vs. 44% P = 0.028). By multivariable analyses, the treatment year 2016 was associated with a greater likelihood of survival. Compared to the patients treated in 2009, those treated in 2016 were one seventh as likely to die after adjusting for other clinical variables (hazard ratio for mortality, 0.15; 95% confidence interval. 0.03-0.63, P = 0.010). Improved survival in patients who underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment (in-hospital mortality, 17% vs. 60%, P = 0.242) and decreased tidal volumes during mechanical ventilation (median 5.4 mL/kg vs. median 9.2 mL/kg, P = 0.018) were observed in 2016 compared to 2009. Treatment outcomes for patients with H1N1 acute respiratory failure improved from 2009 to 2016 in two tertiary referral centers in South Korea