Provenance of Austroalpine basement metasediments: tightening up Early Palaeozoic connections between peri-Gondwanan domains of central Europe and Northern Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siegesmund, S.; Oriolo, S.; Heinrichs, T.; Basei, M. A. S.; Nolte, N.; Hüttenrauch, F.; Schulz, B.

2018-03-01

New U-Pb and Lu-Hf detrital zircon data together with whole-rock geochemical and Sm-Nd data were obtained for paragneisses of the Austroalpine basement south of the Tauern Window. Geochemically immature metasediments of the Northern-Defereggen-Petzeck (Ötztal-Bundschuh nappe system) and Defereggen (Drauzug-Gurktal nappe system) groups contain zircon age populations which indicate derivation mainly from Pan-African orogens. Younger, generally mature metasediments of the Gailtal Metamorphic Basement (Drauzug-Gurktal nappe system), Thurntaler Phyllite Group (Drauzug-Gurktal nappe system) and Val Visdende Formation (South Alpine Basement) were possibly derived from more distant sources. Their significantly larger abundances of pre-Pan-African zircons record a more advanced stage of downwearing of the Pan-African belts and erosion of older basement when the Austroalpine terrane was part of the Early Palaeozoic Northern Gondwana passive margin. Most zircon age spectra are dominated by Ediacaran sources, with lesser Cryogenian, Tonian and Stenian contributions and subordinate Paleoproterozoic and Neoarchean ages. These age patterns are similar to those recorded by Cambro-Ordovician sedimentary sequences in northeastern Africa between Libya and Jordan, and in some pre-Variscan basement inliers of Europe (e.g. Dinarides-Hellenides, Alboran microplate). Therefore, the most likely sources seem to be in the northeastern Saharan Metacraton and the Northern Arabian-Nubian Shield (Sinai), further supported by whole-rock Sm-Nd and zircon Lu-Hf data.

Stable Isotope Signatures of Middle Palaeozoic Ahermatypic Rugose Corals - Deciphering Secondary Alteration, Vital Fractionation Effects, and Palaeoecological Implications.

PubMed

Jakubowicz, Michal; Berkowski, Blazej; López Correa, Matthias; Jarochowska, Emilia; Joachimski, Michael; Belka, Zdzislaw

2015-01-01

This study investigates stable isotope signatures of five species of Silurian and Devonian deep-water, ahermatypic rugose corals, providing new insights into isotopic fractionation effects exhibited by Palaeozoic rugosans, and possible role of diagenetic processes in modifying their original isotopic signals. To minimize the influence of intraskeletal cements on the observed signatures, the analysed specimens included unusual species either devoid of large intraskeletal open spaces ('button corals': Microcyclus, Palaeocyclus), or typified by particularly thick corallite walls (Calceola). The corals were collected at four localities in the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland), Mader Basin (Morocco) and on Gotland (Sweden), representing distinct diagenetic histories and different styles of diagenetic alteration. To evaluate the resistance of the corallites to diagenesis, we applied various microscopic and trace element preservation tests. Distinct differences between isotopic compositions of the least-altered and most-altered skeleton portions emphasise a critical role of material selection for geochemical studies of Palaeozoic corals. The least-altered parts of the specimens show marine or near-marine stable isotope signals and lack positive correlation between δ13C and δ18O. In terms of isotopic fractionation mechanisms, Palaeozoic rugosans must have differed considerably from modern deep-water scleractinians, typified by significant depletion in both 18O and 13C, and pronounced δ13C-δ18O co-variance. The fractionation effects exhibited by rugosans seem similar rather to the minor isotopic effects typical of modern non-scleractinian corals (octocorals and hydrocorals). The results of the present study add to growing evidence for significant differences between Scleractinia and Rugosa, and agree with recent studies indicating that calcification mechanisms developed independently in these two groups of cnidarians. Consequently, particular caution is needed in using

The Phuket Terrane: A Late Palaeozoic rift at the margin of Sibumasu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridd, Michael F.

2009-09-01

It is widely accepted that Sibumasu rifted from Gondwana in the Late Palaeozoic. But the rifts themselves have not previously been documented in Southeast Asia. This paper identifies the pre-Middle Permian Kaeng Krachan Group of Upper Peninsular Thailand as the infill of one such rift, which is given the name Phuket Terrane. Indirect evidence suggests the rift-infill is several kilometres thick and glacially-influenced diamictites are conspicuous in the succession. There are significant similarities with the >3 km thick pre-Middle Permian rift-infill of the Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia. East of the Khlong Marui Fault belt the succession is thinner and diamictites are a minor component. A tectono-stratigraphic model is proposed involving Gondwana glaciers dropping their load at the (present) western margin of the Phuket Terrane from where it was re-sedimented in the rapidly subsiding marine rift basin. It is suggested that the Khlong Marui Fault formed part of the eastern boundary of the rift system. The Three Pagodas Fault belt similarly juxtaposes different pre-Middle Permian successions. Rifting ceased in the Early Permian and a passive margin formed as the Mesotethys ocean widened, the upper part of the Kaeng Krachan Group and the overlying Ratburi Limestone representing the post-rift sequence.

Development of the sphagnoid areolation pattern in leaves of Palaeozoic protosphagnalean mosses.

PubMed

Ivanov, Oleg V; Maslova, Elena V; Ignatov, Michael S

2018-04-11

Protosphagnalean mosses constitute the largest group of extinct mosses of still uncertain affinity. Having the general morphology of the Bryopsida, some have leaves with an areolation pattern characteristic of modern Sphagna. This study describes the structure and variation of these patterns in protosphagnalean mosses and provides a comparison with those of modern Sphagna. Preparations of fossil mosses showing preserved leaf cell structure were obtained by dissolving rock, photographed, and the resulting images were transformed to graphical format and analysed with Areoana computer software. The sphagnoid areolation pattern is identical in its basic structure for both modern Sphagnum and Palaeozoic protosphagnalean mosses. However, in the former group the pattern develops through unequal oblique cell divisions, while in the latter the same pattern is a result of equal cell divisions taking place in a specific order with subsequent uneven cell growth. The protosphagnalean pathway leads to considerable variability in leaf structure. Protosphagnalean mosses had a unique ability to switch the development of leaf areolation between a pathway unique to Sphagnum and another one common to all other mosses. This developmental polyvariancy hinders attempts to classify these mosses, as characters previously considered to be of generic significance can be shown to co-occur in one individual leaf. New understanding of the ontogeny has allowed us to re-evaluate the systematic significance of such diagnostic characters in these Palaeozoic plants, showing that their similarity to Sphagnum is less substantial.

The sedimentary record of Carboniferous rivers: Continuing influence of land plant evolution on alluvial processes and Palaeozoic ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Neil S.; Gibling, Martin R.

2013-05-01

Evidence from modern rivers and the deep-time geological record attests to the fundamental importance of plant life for the construction of physical habitats within fluvial environments. Data from an extensive literature review and original fieldwork demonstrates that many landforms and geomorphic features of modern river systems appear in the Palaeozoic stratigraphic record once terrestrial vegetation had adopted certain evolutionary advances. For example, stable point bars are associated with the onset of rooted plants in the Siluro-Devonian and avulsive and anabranching fluvial systems become common at the same time as extensive arborescent vegetation in the Carboniferous. In this paper, we demonstrate a correlation between the diversification of physical fluvial environments and the expansion of terrestrial fauna and flora, with an emphasis on the culmination of these trends within Carboniferous alluvial systems. Many extrinsic factors have been considered as possible controls on the evolutionary timelines of terrestrialization for organisms. However, a fundamental prerequisite for achieving terrestrial biodiversity was the variety of physical habitats, especially riparian systems, available for newly evolved organisms. In association with abundant lowland meandering systems, the widespread appearance across Carboniferous alluvial plains of fixed-channel and anabranching reaches created further physical landforms for colonization and would have promoted increasingly complex hyporheic flow regimes. Furthermore the associated increase in arborescent vegetation and supply of large woody debris to inland and coastal rivers would have created a wealth of microhabitats for continental organisms. We argue that the expanding extent and diversity of physical alluvial niches during the Palaeozoic is an underappreciated driver of the terrestrialization of early continental life. The study of the deep-time fossil and stratigraphic record also illustrates that vegetation is

A multidisciplinary study on Palaeozoic rocks of southern Libya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meinhold, G.; Howard, J.; Le Heron, D. P.; Morton, A.; Abutarruma, Y.; Elgadry, M.; Phillips, R. J.; Strogen, D.; Thusu, B.; Whitham, A.

2009-04-01

Southern Libya is dominated by the intracratonic Murzuq and Kufra basins, separated by the Tibesti Massif. The Murzuq Basin, located in southwest Libya, extends into northwestern Chad, northern Niger and eastern Algeria and has been the focus of great interest for gas and oil exploration in recent years since the discovery of the El Sharara and the NC-174 (Elephant) fields in the western Murzuq Basin. Based on these discoveries, recent focus has shifted to the Kufra Basin, in southeast Libya, which extends into northern Chad, northwestern Sudan and straddles the border with Egypt. Although, the centre of the Murzuq Basin has been relatively well investigated by drilling and seismic profiles, the basin margins, however, lack a detailed geological investigation. In comparison, the Kufra Basin is underexplored with few boreholes drilled. Our studies focus on the eastern margin of the Murzuq Basin and the northern, eastern and western flanks of the Kufra Basin. Siliciclastic sediments of Infracambrian to Carboniferous age dominate the studied areas. Our objectives were to characterise the Infracambrian-Lower Palaeozoic stratigraphy, deduce the structural evolution of each study area, and to collect samples for follow-up analyses including provenance studies and biostratigraphy. In addition to outcrop-based fieldwork shallow boreholes up to 50 m depth were successfully drilled in the Silurian Tanezzuft Formation: a major hydrocarbon source rock unit in North Africa. The unweathered mudstones retrieved from one of the boreholes are rich in organic matter and have been used for biostratigraphical and geochemical investigations. The provenance study of the sandstone succession with heavy mineral analysis together with U-Pb zircon dating provides, for the first time, an understanding of the ancient source areas. Moreover, it is a useful test of the stratigraphic framework where biostratigraphic data are scarce. New data from this study are expected to lead to new

Evolution of insect wings and development - new details from Palaeozoic nymphs.

PubMed

Haug, Joachim T; Haug, Carolin; Garwood, Russell J

2016-02-01

The nymphal stages of Palaeozoic insects differ significantly in morphology from those of their modern counterparts. Morphological details for some previously reported species have recently been called into question. Palaeozoic insect nymphs are important, however - their study could provide key insights into the evolution of wings, and complete metamorphosis. Here we review past work on these topics and juvenile insects in the fossil record, and then present both novel and previously described nymphs, documented using new imaging methods. Our results demonstrate that some Carboniferous nymphs - those of Palaeodictyopteroidea - possessed movable wing pads and appear to have been able to perform simple flapping flight. It remains unclear whether this feature is ancestral for Pterygota or an autapomorphy of Palaeodictyopteroidea. Further characters of nymphal development which were probably in the ground pattern of Pterygota can be reconstructed. Wing development was very gradual (archimetaboly). Wing pads did not protrude from the tergum postero-laterally as in most modern nymphs, but laterally, and had well-developed venation. The modern orientation of wing pads and the delay of wing development into later developmental stages (condensation) appears to have evolved several times independently within Pterygota: in Ephemeroptera, Odonatoptera, Eumetabola, and probably several times within Polyneoptera. Selective pressure appears to have favoured a more pronounced metamorphosis between the last nymphal and adult stage, ultimately reducing exploitation competition between the two. We caution, however, that the results presented herein remain preliminary, and the reconstructed evolutionary scenario contains gaps and uncertainties. Additional comparative data need to be collected. The present study is thus seen as a starting point for this enterprise. © 2014 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Palaeozoic gas charging in the Ahnet-Timimoun basin, Algeria

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cawley, S.J.; Wilson, N.P.; Primmer, T.

1995-08-01

The Ahnet-Timimoun Basin, Southern Algeria, contains significant gas reserves expelled from originally oil prone Silurian and Frasnian shales. The gas is reservoired in Devonian and Carboniferous clastics in inversion anticlines formed, primarily, during the Hercynian orogeny. Integration of organic and inorganic geochemical techniques, such as AFTA, ZFTA, fluid inclusion analysis, vitrinite and chitinizoan reflectance, is entirely consistent with gas generation 300 +/- 30MY, immediately prior to or synchronous with the Hercynian orogeny. Data from gas fields has shown the remobilisation of gas during post Hercynian tectonics. A {open_quotes}two-event{close_quotes} heating/cooling history is proposed: (1) Maximum burial and palaeotemperature at ca. 300more » +/- 30MY prior to or synchronous with Hercynian uplift and cooling. (2) Cooling from a secondary peak (lower than maximum) palaeotemperature at ca. 30-60My following Creataceous burial. Calibrated thermal modelling indicates that Palaeozoic source rocks were heated above 200{degrees}C in the Late Carboniferous. Such high temperatures are consistent with the widespread occurrence of pyrophyllite in Silurian shales. Two end-member thermal models can account for the observed maturities. The first is a constant high Pre-Hercynian heat flow which rapidly decreases during Hercynian uplift to remain at Present day values of 50-75mW/m{sup 2}. Gas expulsion in this case commences much earlier than trap formation. The second is {open_quotes}normal{close_quotes} heat flow of ca. 50mW/m{sup 2} until ca. 310My with a rapid increase at ca. 290My followed by an equally rapid drop to constant present day values - in this model, petroleum generation and expulsion is late in relation to structuring.« less

Oxygenation as a driver of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Cole T.; Saltzman, Matthew R.; Royer, Dana L.; Fike, David A.

2017-12-01

The largest radiation of Phanerozoic marine animal life quadrupled genus-level diversity towards the end of the Ordovician Period about 450 million years ago. A leading hypothesis for this Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event is that cooling of the Ordovician climate lowered sea surface temperatures into the thermal tolerance window of many animal groups, such as corals. A complementary role for oxygenation of subsurface environments has been inferred based on the increasing abundance of skeletal carbonate, but direct constraints on atmospheric O2 levels remain elusive. Here, we use high-resolution paired bulk carbonate and organic carbon isotope records to determine the changes in isotopic fractionation between these phases throughout the Ordovician radiation. These results can be used to reconstruct atmospheric O2 levels based on the O2-dependent fractionation of carbon isotopes by photosynthesis. We find a strong temporal link between the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event and rising O2 concentrations, a pattern that is corroborated by O2 models that use traditional carbon-sulfur mass balance. We conclude that that oxygen levels probably played an important role in regulating early Palaeozoic biodiversity levels, even after the Cambrian Explosion.

Post-Palaeozoic evolution of weathered landsurfaces in Uganda by tectonically controlled deep weathering and stripping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, R. G.; Howard, K. W. F.

1998-11-01

A model for the evolution of weathered landsurfaces in Uganda is developed using available geotectonic, climatic, sedimentological and chronological data. The model demonstrates the pivotal role of tectonic uplift in inducing cycles of stripping, and tectonic quiescence for cycles of deep weathering. It is able to account for the development of key landforms, such as inselbergs and duricrust-capped plateaux, which previous hypotheses of landscape evolution that are based on climatic or eustatic controls are unable to explain. Development of the Ugandan landscape is traced back to the Permian. Following late Palaeozoic glaciation, a trend towards warmer and more humid climates through the Mesozoic enabled deep weathering of the Jurassic/mid-Cretaceous surface in Uganda during a period of prolonged tectonic quiescence. Uplift associated with the opening South Atlantic Ocean terminated this cycle and instigated a cycle of stripping between the mid-Cretaceous and early Miocene. Deep weathering on the succeeding Miocene to recent (African) surface has occurred from Miocene to present but has been interrupted in the areas adjacent to the western rift where development of a new drainage base level has prompted cycles of stripping in the Miocene and Pleistocene.

A New Observation Technique Applied to Early/Fast VLF Scattering Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotovsky, D. A.; Moore, R. C.

2012-12-01

Early/fast very low frequency (VLF, 3-30 kHz) events are understood to result from ionospheric conductivity changes associated with lightning. Early/fast amplitude and phase perturbations have been observed coincidentally with various optical observations of transient luminous events (TLEs), including elves, sprites, and sprite halos, each of which can have temporal characteristics consistent with those of early/fast VLF events. It is yet unresolved, however, whether a specific type of TLE is directly related to the ionospheric conductivity changes responsible for the typical early/fast event. In this paper, we present spread spectrum VLF scattering observations of early/fast events. The spread spectrum analysis technique determines the amplitude and phase of a subionospherically propagating VLF signal as a function of time during the early/fast event and as a function of frequency across the 200 Hz bandwidth of the VLF transmission. VLF scattering observations, each identified with causative lightning logged by the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), are compared with the predictions of the Long-Wave Propagation Capability (LWPC) code, a three-dimensional earth-ionosphere waveguide propagation and scattering model. Theoretical predictions for VLF scattering from ionization changes associated with elves are compared with those associated with sprite halos, and each are compared with experimental observations. Results indicate that the observed frequency dependence of VLF scattering during early/fast events results from the combination of scattering source properties and Earth-ionosphere waveguide propagation effects. Observations are more consistent with the modeled amplitude perturbations associated with sprite halos than those with elves.

Climate, pCO2 and terrestrial carbon cycle linkages during late Palaeozoic glacial-interglacial cycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montañez, Isabel P.; McElwain, Jennifer C.; Poulsen, Christopher J.; White, Joseph D.; Dimichele, William A.; Wilson, Jonathan P.; Griggs, Galen; Hren, Michael T.

2016-11-01

Earth's last icehouse, 300 million years ago, is considered the longest-lived and most acute of the past half-billion years, characterized by expansive continental ice sheets and possibly tropical low-elevation glaciation. This atypical climate has long been attributed to anomalous radiative forcing promoted by a 3% lower incident solar luminosity and sustained low atmospheric pCO2 (<=300 ppm). Climate models, however, indicate a CO2 sensitivity of ice-sheet distribution and sea-level response that questions this long-standing climate paradigm by revealing major discrepancy between hypothesized ice distribution, pCO2, and geologic records of glacioeustasy. Here we present a high-resolution record of atmospheric pCO2 for 16 million years of the late Palaeozoic, developed using soil carbonate-based and fossil leaf-based proxies, that resolves the climate conundrum. Palaeo-fluctuations on the 105-yr scale occur within the CO2 range predicted for anthropogenic change and co-vary with substantial change in sea level and ice volume. We further document coincidence between pCO2 changes and repeated restructuring of Euramerican tropical forests that, in conjunction with modelled vegetation shifts, indicate a more dynamic carbon sequestration history than previously considered and a major role for terrestrial vegetation-CO2 feedbacks in driving eccentricity-scale climate cycles of the late Palaeozoic icehouse.

Operational early warning platform for extreme meteorological events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mühr, Bernhard; Kunz, Michael

2015-04-01

Operational early warning platform for extreme meteorological events Most natural disasters are related to extreme weather events (e.g. typhoons); weather conditions, however, are also highly relevant for humanitarian and disaster relief operations during and after other natural disaster like earthquakes. The internet service "Wettergefahren-Frühwarnung" (WF) provides various information on extreme weather events, especially when these events are associated with a high potential for large damage. The main focus of the platform is on Central Europe, but major events are also monitored worldwide on a daily routine. WF provides high-resolution forecast maps for many weather parameters which allow detailed and reliable predictions about weather conditions during the next days in the affected areas. The WF service became operational in February 2004 and is part of the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM) since 2007. At the end of 2011, CEDIM embarked a new type of interdisciplinary disaster research termed as forensic disaster analysis (FDA) in near real time. In case of an imminent extreme weather event WF plays an important role in CEDIM's FDA group. It provides early and precise information which are always available and updated several times during a day and gives advice and assists with articles and reports on extreme events.

Metal-induced malformations in early Palaeozoic plankton are harbingers of mass extinction

PubMed Central

Vandenbroucke, Thijs R. A.; Emsbo, Poul; Munnecke, Axel; Nuns, Nicolas; Duponchel, Ludovic; Lepot, Kevin; Quijada, Melesio; Paris, Florentin; Servais, Thomas; Kiessling, Wolfgang

2015-01-01

Glacial episodes have been linked to Ordovician–Silurian extinction events, but cooling itself may not be solely responsible for these extinctions. Teratological (malformed) assemblages of fossil plankton that correlate precisely with the extinction events can help identify alternate drivers of extinction. Here we show that metal poisoning may have caused these aberrant morphologies during a late Silurian (Pridoli) event. Malformations coincide with a dramatic increase of metals (Fe, Mo, Pb, Mn and As) in the fossils and their host rocks. Metallic toxins are known to cause a teratological response in modern organisms, which is now routinely used as a proxy to assess oceanic metal contamination. Similarly, our study identifies metal-induced teratology as a deep-time, palaeobiological monitor of palaeo-ocean chemistry. The redox-sensitive character of enriched metals supports emerging ‘oceanic anoxic event' models. Our data suggest that spreading anoxia and redox cycling of harmful metals was a contributing kill mechanism during these devastating Ordovician–Silurian palaeobiological events. PMID:26305681

Metal-induced malformations in early Palaeozoic plankton are harbingers of mass extinction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vandenbroucke, Thijs R. A.; Emsbo, Poul; Munnecke, Axel; Nuns, Nicolas; Duponchel, Ludovic; Lepot, Kevin; Quijada, Melesio; Paris, Florentin; Servais, Thomas; Kiessling, Wolfgang

2015-08-01

Glacial episodes have been linked to Ordovician-Silurian extinction events, but cooling itself may not be solely responsible for these extinctions. Teratological (malformed) assemblages of fossil plankton that correlate precisely with the extinction events can help identify alternate drivers of extinction. Here we show that metal poisoning may have caused these aberrant morphologies during a late Silurian (Pridoli) event. Malformations coincide with a dramatic increase of metals (Fe, Mo, Pb, Mn and As) in the fossils and their host rocks. Metallic toxins are known to cause a teratological response in modern organisms, which is now routinely used as a proxy to assess oceanic metal contamination. Similarly, our study identifies metal-induced teratology as a deep-time, palaeobiological monitor of palaeo-ocean chemistry. The redox-sensitive character of enriched metals supports emerging `oceanic anoxic event' models. Our data suggest that spreading anoxia and redox cycling of harmful metals was a contributing kill mechanism during these devastating Ordovician-Silurian palaeobiological events.

Early Warning and Early Action during the 2015-16 El Nino Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, A. W.; Goddard, L. M.

2016-12-01

Strong El Niño events have a marked impact on regional climate worldwide through their influence on large-scale atmospheric circulation. As a result, seasonal climate forecasts show greater skill during El Niño events, which provide communities, governments and humanitarian agencies greater ability to plan and prepare. The scientific community has advanced considerably in the quality and content of information provided about El Niño and its impacts. As a result, society has become better aware of and engaged with this information. This talk will present some details on how we navigate the fine line between expectations and probabilistic forecasts, and how this information was used during the 2015-16 El Niño event. Examples are drawn from the health sector and food security community. Specific attention will be given to the importance of problem-focus and data availability in the appropriate tailoring of climate information for Early Warning/Early Action.

Late Palaeozoic-Cenozoic assembly of the Tethyan orogen in the light of evidence from Greece and Albania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, A. H. F.

2012-04-01

The objective here is to use the geology and tectonics of a critical part of the Tethyan orogen, represented by Greece and Albania, to shed light on the tectonic development of Tethys on a regional, to global scale, particularly the history of convergence during Late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic time. For Carboniferous time much evidence suggests that the Korabi-Pelagonian crustal unit as exposed in Albania and Greece formed above a northward-dipping subduction zone along the Eurasia continental margin, with Palaeotethys to the south. However, there is also some evidence of southward subduction beneath Gondwana especially from southern Greece and central southern Turkey. Palaeotethys is inferred to have closed in Europe as far to the east as the longitude of Libya, while remaining open beyond this. There is still uncertainty about the Pangea A-type reconstruction that would restore all of the present units in the area to within the E Mediterranean region, versus the Pangea B-type reconstruction that would require right-lateral displacement of exotic terranes, by up to 3,500 km eastwards. In either reconstruction, fragments of the Variscan collisional orogen are likely to have been displaced eastwards (variable distances) in the Balkan region prior to Late Permian-Early Triassic time. From ~Late Permian, the Greece-Albania crustal units were located in their present relative position within Tethys as a whole. From the mid-Permian, onwards the northern margin of Gondwana was affected by crustal extension. A Mesozoic ocean (Pindos-Mirdita ocean) then rifted during Early-Middle Triassic time, culminating in final continental break-up and seafloor spreading during the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian). Subduction-influenced volcanics of mainly Early-Middle Triassic age probably reflect the extraction of magma from sub-continental lithosphere that was enriched in subduction-related fluids and volatiles during an earlier, ?Variscan subduction event. The existence of Upper Triassic

Late Palaeozoic to Triassic evolution of the Turan and Scythian platforms: The pre-history of the Palaeo-Tethyan closure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natal'in, Boris A.; Şengör, A. M. Celâl

2005-08-01

A number of en échelon-arranged, southwest-facing arc fragments of Palaeozoic to Jurassic ages, sandwiched between two fairly straight east-northeast trending boundaries, constitute the basement of the Scythian and the Turan platforms located between the Laurasian and Tethyside units. They have until now largely escaped detection owing to extensive Jurassic and younger cover and the inaccessibility of the subsurface data to the international geological community. These units are separated from one another by linear/gently-curved faults of great length and steep dip. Those that are exposed show evidence of strike-slip motion. The arc units originally constituted parts of a single "Silk Road Arc" located somewhere south of the present-day central Asia for much of the Palaeozoic, although by the late Carboniferous they had been united into a continental margin arc south of the Tarim basin and equivalent units to the west and east. They were stacked into their present places in northern Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Caucasus and the northern Black Sea by large-scale, right-lateral strike-slip coastwise transport along arc-slicing and arc-shaving strike-slip faults in the Triassic and medial Jurassic simultaneously with the subductive elimination of Palaeo-Tethys. This gigantic dextral zone ("the Silk Road transpression") was a trans-Eurasian structure and was active simultaneously with another, similar system, the Gornostaev keirogen and greatly distorted Eurasia. The late Palaeozoic to Jurassic internal deformation of the Dniepr-Donets aulacogen was also a part of the dextral strain in southern Europe. When the emplacement of the Scythian and Turan units was completed, the elimination of Palaeo-Tethys had also ended and Neo-Tethyan arcs were constructed atop their ruins, mostly across their southern parts. The western end of the great dextral zone that emplaced the Turan and Scythian units horsetails just east of north Dobrudja and a small component goes along the

Social anxiety and negative early life events in university students.

PubMed

Binelli, Cynthia; Ortiz, Ana; Muñiz, Armando; Gelabert, Estel; Ferraz, Liliana; S Filho, Alaor; Crippa, José Alexandre S; Nardi, Antonio E; Subirà, Susana; Martín-Santos, Rocío

2012-06-01

There is substantial evidence regarding the impact of negative life events during childhood on the aetiology of psychiatric disorders. We examined the association between negative early life events and social anxiety in a sample of 571 Spanish University students. In a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2007, we collected data through a semistructured questionnaire of sociodemographic variables, personal and family psychiatric history, and substance abuse. We assessed the five early negative life events: (i) the loss of someone close, (ii) emotional abuse, (iii) physical abuse, (iv) family violence, and (v) sexual abuse. All participants completed the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. Mean (SD) age was 21 (4.5), 75% female, LSAS score was 40 (DP = 22), 14.2% had a psychiatric family history and 50.6% had negative life events during childhood. Linear regression analyses, after controlling for age, gender, and family psychiatric history, showed a positive association between family violence and social score (p = 0.03). None of the remaining stressors produced a significant increase in LSAS score (p > 0.05). University students with high levels of social anxiety presented higher prevalence of negative early life events. Thus, childhood family violence could be a risk factor for social anxiety in such a population.

The Relationship Between Early Life Events, Parental Attachment, and Psychopathic Tendencies in Adolescent Detainees.

PubMed

Christian, Erica J; Meltzer, Christine L; Thede, Linda L; Kosson, David S

2017-04-01

Despite increasing interest in understanding psychopathic traits in youth, the role of early environmental factors in the development of psychopathic traits is not well understood. No prior studies have directly examined the relationship between early life events and psychopathic traits. We examined links between life events in the first 4 years of life and indices of the core affective and interpersonal components of psychopathy. Additionally, we examined relationships between early life events, psychopathic traits, and attachment to parents among 206 adjudicated adolescents. Results indicated that the total number of early life events was positively correlated with indices of the affective component of psychopathy. Moreover, psychopathic traits moderated the relationship between the number of early life events and later reports of attachment to parents. Findings suggest that early environmental factors could have important implications for the development of psychopathic traits and may impact attachment to parents for youth with psychopathic traits.

Method for early detection of cooling-loss events

DOEpatents

Bermudez, Sergio A.; Hamann, Hendrik; Marianno, Fernando J.

2015-06-30

A method of detecting cooling-loss event early is provided. The method includes defining a relative humidity limit and change threshold for a given space, measuring relative humidity in the given space, determining, with a processing unit, whether the measured relative humidity is within the defined relative humidity limit, generating a warning in an event the measured relative humidity is outside the defined relative humidity limit and determining whether a change in the measured relative humidity is less than the defined change threshold for the given space and generating an alarm in an event the change is greater than the defined change threshold.

Method for early detection of cooling-loss events

DOEpatents

Bermudez, Sergio A.; Hamann, Hendrik F.; Marianno, Fernando J.

2015-12-22

A method of detecting cooling-loss event early is provided. The method includes defining a relative humidity limit and change threshold for a given space, measuring relative humidity in the given space, determining, with a processing unit, whether the measured relative humidity is within the defined relative humidity limit, generating a warning in an event the measured relative humidity is outside the defined relative humidity limit and determining whether a change in the measured relative humidity is less than the defined change threshold for the given space and generating an alarm in an event the change is greater than the defined change threshold.

Geomagnetic reversal rates following Palaeozoic superchrons have a fast restart mechanism.

PubMed

Hounslow, Mark W

2016-08-30

Long intervals of single geomagnetic polarity (superchrons) reflect geodynamo processes, driven by core-mantle boundary interactions; however, it is not clear what initiates the start and end of superchrons, other than superchrons probably reflect lower heat flow across the core-mantle boundary compared with adjacent intervals. Here geomagnetic polarity timescales, with confidence intervals, are constructed before and following the reverse polarity Kiaman (Carboniferous-Permian) and Moyero (Ordovician) superchrons, providing a window into the geodynamo processes. Similar to the Cretaceous, asymmetry in reversal rates is seen in the Palaeozoic superchrons, but the higher reversal rates imply higher heatflow thresholds for entering the superchron state. Similar to the Cretaceous superchron, unusually long-duration chrons characterize the ∼10 Myr interval adjacent to the superchrons, indicating a transitional reversing state to the superchrons. This may relate to a weak pattern in the clustering of chron durations superimposed on the dominant random arrangement of chron durations.

Geomagnetic reversal rates following Palaeozoic superchrons have a fast restart mechanism

PubMed Central

Hounslow, Mark W.

2016-01-01

Long intervals of single geomagnetic polarity (superchrons) reflect geodynamo processes, driven by core–mantle boundary interactions; however, it is not clear what initiates the start and end of superchrons, other than superchrons probably reflect lower heat flow across the core–mantle boundary compared with adjacent intervals. Here geomagnetic polarity timescales, with confidence intervals, are constructed before and following the reverse polarity Kiaman (Carboniferous–Permian) and Moyero (Ordovician) superchrons, providing a window into the geodynamo processes. Similar to the Cretaceous, asymmetry in reversal rates is seen in the Palaeozoic superchrons, but the higher reversal rates imply higher heatflow thresholds for entering the superchron state. Similar to the Cretaceous superchron, unusually long-duration chrons characterize the ∼10 Myr interval adjacent to the superchrons, indicating a transitional reversing state to the superchrons. This may relate to a weak pattern in the clustering of chron durations superimposed on the dominant random arrangement of chron durations. PMID:27572303

First U-Pb geochronology on detrital zircons from Early-Middle Cambrian strata of the Torgau-Doberlug Syncline (eastern Germany) and palaeogeographic implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abubaker, Atnisha; Hofmann, Mandy; Gärtner, Andreas; Linnemann, Ulf; Elicki, Olaf

2017-10-01

LA-ICP-MS U-Pb data from detrital zircons of the Ediacaran to Cambrian siliciclastic sequence of the Torgau-Doberlug Syncline (TDS, Saxo-Thuringia, Germany) are reported for the first time. The majority of 203 analysed zircon grains is Proterozoic with minor amount of Archean and Palaeozoic grains. The U-Pb ages fall into three groups: 2.8-2.4 Ga (3%), Neoarchean to earliest Palaeoproterozoic; 2.3-1.6 Ga (46%), early to late Palaeoproterozoic; 1.0-0.5 Ga (47%), Neoproterozoic to Cambrian. This age distribution is typical for the West African Craton as the source area and for Cadomian orogenic events in northwestern Gondwana. The samples show an age gap between 1.6 and 1.0 Ga, which is characteristic for West African provenance and diagnostic in distinguishing this unit from East Avalonia and Baltica. The dataset shows clusters of Palaeoproterozoic ages at 2.2-1.7 Ga, that is typical for western Gondwana, which was affected by abundant magmatic intrusions (ca. 2.2-1.8 Ga) during the Eburnean orogeny (West African craton). Neoarchean zircon ages (3%) point to recycling of magmatic rocks formed during the Liberian and Leonian orogenies. Ediacaran to earliest Cambrian rocks of the TDS originated in an active margin regime of the Gondwanan shelf. The following early Palaeozoic overstep sequence was deposited within rift settings that reflects instability of the West-Gondwanan shelf and the separation of terranes from Ordovician onward. The results of this study demonstrate distinct northwestern African provenance of the Cambrian siliciclastics of the TDS. Due to Th-U ratios from concordant zircon analysis, igneous origin from felsic melts is concluded as the source of these grains.

The last diadectomorph sheds light on Late Palaeozoic tetrapod biogeography

PubMed Central

Liu, Jun; Bever, G. S.

2015-01-01

Diadectomorpha is a clade of Late Palaeozoic vertebrates widely recognized as the sister group of crown-group Amniota and the first tetrapod lineage to evolve high-fibre herbivory. Despite their evolutionary importance, diadectomorphs are restricted stratigraphically and geographically, with all records being from the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian of North America and Germany. We describe a new diadectomorph, Alveusdectes fenestralis, based on a partial skull from the Upper Permian of China. The new species exhibits the derived mechanism for herbivory and is recovered phylogenetically as a deeply nested diadectid. Approximately 16 Myr younger than any other diadectomorph, Alveusdectes is the product of at least a 46 Myr ghost lineage. How much of this time was probably spent in Russia and/or central Asia will remain unclear until a specimen is described that subdivides this cryptic history, but the lineage assuredly crossed this region before entering the relatively isolated continent of North China. The discovery of Alveusdectes raises important questions regarding diadectomorph extinction dynamics including what, if any, ecological factors limited the diversity of this group in eastern Pangea. It also suggests that increased sampling in Asia will likely significantly affect our views of clade and faunal insularity leading up to the Permo-Triassic extinction. PMID:25948572

Stressful Life Events, ADHD Symptoms, and Brain Structure in Early Adolescence.

PubMed

Humphreys, Kathryn L; Watts, Emily L; Dennis, Emily L; King, Lucy S; Thompson, Paul M; Gotlib, Ian H

2018-05-21

Despite a growing understanding that early adversity in childhood broadly affects risk for psychopathology, the contribution of stressful life events to the development of symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not clear. In the present study, we examined the association between number of stressful life events experienced and ADHD symptoms, assessed using the Attention Problems subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist, in a sample of 214 children (43% male) ages 9.11-13.98 years (M = 11.38, SD = 1.05). In addition, we examined whether the timing of the events (i.e., onset through age 5 years or after age 6 years) was associated with ADHD symptoms. Finally, we examined variation in brain structure to determine whether stressful life events were associated with volume in brain regions that were found to vary as a function of symptoms of ADHD. We found a small to moderate association between number of stressful life events and ADHD symptoms. Although the strength of the associations between number of events and ADHD symptoms did not differ as a function of the age of occurrence of stressful experiences, different brain regions were implicated in the association between stressors and ADHD symptoms in the two age periods during which stressful life events occurred. These findings support the hypothesis that early adversity is associated with ADHD symptoms, and provide insight into possible brain-based mediators of this association.

Temporal correlation between dyke swarms and crustal extension in the middle Palaeozoic Vilyui rift basin, Siberian platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polyansky, Oleg P.; Prokopiev, Andrei V.; Koroleva, Olga V.; Tomshin, Mikhail D.; Reverdatto, Vladimir V.; Selyatitsky, Alexander Yu.; Travin, Alexei V.; Vasiliev, Dmitry A.

2017-06-01

This paper presents results from new 40Ar/39Ar isotope dating of nine mafic dykes from three large dyke swarms (Vilyui-Markha, Kontai-Dzherba, and Chara-Sinsk) of the Yakutsk-Vilyui large igneous province (LIP), in addition to a reconstruction of the subsidence history of the middle Palaeozoic Vilyui paleorift basin (eastern Siberian platform). All previously published 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb dates are summarized. Statistical analysis of the dyke ages reveals repeated magmatic events in the study area. Two major pulses of mafic magmatism are identified: one at the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, with a main peak at ca. 374.1 Ma, and another in the latest Devonian with a peak at ca. 363.4 Ma. The time of maximum intensity of dyke intrusion coincides (within uncertainty) with rapid subsidence in the Vilyui basin. The minimum total volume of middle Palaeozoic magmatism produced in the Yakutsk-Vilyui LIP is 100-215 K km3, which is much less than earlier estimates. Most of the mafic material within the Yakutsk-Vilyui LIP is related to the Vilyui basin and associated dyke swarms. Backstripping analysis of sedimentation in depressions of the Vilyui basin was carried out. Estimates were obtained for the spatial distribution of the stretching factor of the crust and mantle lithosphere, averaging 1.17 and 1.44, respectively. The amount of extension due to dyke intrusion is estimated to be 6%. Backstripping analysis of sedimentation in the Vilyui basin was used to assess the effect of both intraplate far-field forces and upwelling magma flows initiated by a mantle plume. A numerical thermomechanical model was developed to investigate the relations between two possible mechanisms by which the Vilyui rift was initiated: intraplate extension (passive rifting) and the ascent of a mantle magmatic diapir (active rifting). A model considering both of these mechanisms shows the contribution of the far-field extension forces and the effect of convective flows around the mantle plume, assuming

Abnormal early cleavage events predict early embryo demise: sperm oxidative stress and early abnormal cleavage.

PubMed

Burruel, Victoria; Klooster, Katie; Barker, Christopher M; Pera, Renee Reijo; Meyers, Stuart

2014-10-13

Human embryos resulting from abnormal early cleavage can result in aneuploidy and failure to develop normally to the blastocyst stage. The nature of paternal influence on early embryo development has not been directly demonstrated although many studies have suggested effects from spermatozoal chromatin packaging, DNA damage, centriolar and mitotic spindle integrity, and plasma membrane integrity. The goal of this study was to determine whether early developmental events were affected by oxidative damage to the fertilizing sperm. Survival analysis was used to compare patterns of blastocyst formation based on P2 duration. Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrate that relatively few embryos with short (<1 hr) P2 times reached blastocysts, and the two curves diverged beginning on day 4, with nearly all of the embryos with longer P2 times reaching blastocysts by day 6 (p < .01). We determined that duration of the 2nd to 3rd mitoses were sensitive periods in the presence of spermatozoal oxidative stress. Embryos that displayed either too long or too short cytokineses demonstrated an increased failure to reach blastocyst stage and therefore survive for further development. Although paternal-derived gene expression occurs later in development, this study suggests a specific role in early mitosis that is highly influenced by paternal factors.

The Importance of First Impressions: Early Events in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection Influence Outcome.

PubMed

Cadena, Anthony M; Flynn, JoAnne L; Fortune, Sarah M

2016-04-05

Tuberculosis remains a major health threat in much of the world. New vaccines against Mycobacterium tuberculosis are essential for preventing infection, disease, and transmission. However, the host immune responses that need to be induced by an effective vaccine remain unclear. Increasingly, it has become clear that early events in infection are of major importance in the eventual outcome of the infection. Studying such events in humans is challenging, as they occur within the lung and thoracic lymph nodes, and any clinical signs of early infection are relatively nonspecific. Nonetheless, clinical studies and animal models of tuberculosis have provided new insights into the local events that occur in the first few weeks of tuberculosis. Development of an effective vaccine requires a clear understanding of the successful (and detrimental) early host responses against M. tuberculosis, with the goal to improve upon natural immune responses and prevent infection or disease. Copyright © 2016 Cadena et al.

Functional analysis of liverworts in dual symbiosis with Glomeromycota and Mucoromycotina fungi under a simulated Palaeozoic CO2 decline

PubMed Central

Field, Katie J; Rimington, William R; Bidartondo, Martin I; Allinson, Kate E; Beerling, David J; Cameron, Duncan D; Duckett, Jeffrey G; Leake, Jonathan R; Pressel, Silvia

2016-01-01

Most land plants form mutualistic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of the Glomeromycota, but recent studies have found that ancient plant lineages form mutualisms with Mucoromycotina fungi. Simultaneous associations with both fungal lineages have now been found in some plants, necessitating studies to understand the functional and evolutionary significance of these tripartite associations for the first time. We investigate the physiology and cytology of dual fungal symbioses in the early-diverging liverworts Allisonia and Neohodgsonia at modern and Palaeozoic-like elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations under which they are thought to have evolved. We found enhanced carbon cost to liverworts with simultaneous Mucoromycotina and Glomeromycota associations, greater nutrient gain compared with those symbiotic with only one fungal group in previous experiments and contrasting responses to atmospheric CO2 among liverwort–fungal symbioses. In liverwort–Mucoromycotina symbioses, there is increased P-for-C and N-for-C exchange efficiency at 440 p.p.m. compared with 1500 p.p.m. CO2. In liverwort–Glomeromycota symbioses, P-for-C exchange is lower at ambient CO2 compared with elevated CO2. No characteristic cytologies of dual symbiosis were identified. We provide evidence of a distinct physiological niche for plant symbioses with Mucoromycotina fungi, giving novel insight into why dual symbioses with Mucoromycotina and Glomeromycota fungi persist to the present day. PMID:26613340

The last diadectomorph sheds light on Late Palaeozoic tetrapod biogeography.

PubMed

Liu, Jun; Bever, G S

2015-05-01

Diadectomorpha is a clade of Late Palaeozoic vertebrates widely recognized as the sister group of crown-group Amniota and the first tetrapod lineage to evolve high-fibre herbivory. Despite their evolutionary importance, diadectomorphs are restricted stratigraphically and geographically, with all records being from the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian of North America and Germany. We describe a new diadectomorph, Alveusdectes fenestralis, based on a partial skull from the Upper Permian of China. The new species exhibits the derived mechanism for herbivory and is recovered phylogenetically as a deeply nested diadectid. Approximately 16 Myr younger than any other diadectomorph, Alveusdectes is the product of at least a 46 Myr ghost lineage. How much of this time was probably spent in Russia and/or central Asia will remain unclear until a specimen is described that subdivides this cryptic history, but the lineage assuredly crossed this region before entering the relatively isolated continent of North China. The discovery of Alveusdectes raises important questions regarding diadectomorph extinction dynamics including what, if any, ecological factors limited the diversity of this group in eastern Pangea. It also suggests that increased sampling in Asia will likely significantly affect our views of clade and faunal insularity leading up to the Permo-Triassic extinction. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Tectonic inheritance in the development of the Kivu - north Tanganyika rift segment of the East African Rift System: role of pre-existing structures of Precambrian to early Palaeozoic origin.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delvaux, Damien; Fiama Bondo, Silvanos; Ganza Bamulezi, Gloire

2017-04-01

The present architecture of the junction between the Kivu rift basin and the north Tanganyika rift basin is that of a typical accommodation zone trough the Ruzizi depression. However, this structure appeared only late in the development of the Western branch of the East African Rift System and is the result of a strong control by pre-existing structures of Precambrian to early Palaeozoic origin. In the frame of a seismic hazard assessment of the Kivu rift region, we (Delvaux et al., 2016) constructed homogeneous geological, structural and neotectonic maps cross the five countries of this region, mapped the pre-rift, early rift and Late Quaternary faults and compiled the existing knowledge on thermal springs (assumed to be diagnostic of current tectonic activity along faults). We also produced also a new catalogue of historical and instrumental seismicity and defined the seismotectonic characteristics (stress field, depth of faulting) using published focal mechanism data. Rifting in this region started at about 11 Ma by initial doming and extensive fissural basaltic volcanism along normal faults sub-parallel to the axis of the future rift valley, as a consequence of the divergence between the Nubia and the Victoria plate. In a later stage, starting around 8-7 Ma, extension localized along a series of major border faults individualizing the subsiding tectonic basins from the uplifting rift shoulders, while lava evolved towards alkali basaltic composition until 2.6 Ma. During this stage, initial Kivu rift valley was extending linearly in a SSW direction, much further than its the actual termination at Bukavu, into the Mwenga-Kamituga graben, up to Namoya. The SW extremity of this graben was linked via a long oblique transfer zone to the central part of Lake Tanganyika, itself reactivating an older ductile-brittle shear zone. In the late Quaternary-early Holocene, volcanism migrated towards the center of the basin, with the development of the Virunga volcanic massif

Early/fast VLF events produced by the quiescent heating of the lower ionosphere by thunderstorms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabirzadeh, R.; Marshall, R. A.; Inan, U. S.

2017-06-01

Large and easily distinguishable perturbations of the VLF transmitter signals due to interactions with thundercloud-driven ionospheric modifications have been observed and studied for about three decades. These events are called "early/fast VLF" or "early VLF" events due to their immediate detection (˜20 ms) after the causative lightning flash on the ground and the fast rise time of the perturbed signal. Despite many years of study, the physical mechanisms responsible for these perturbations are still under investigation. Modifications of the sustained heating level of the ionosphere due to a lightning flash has been previously proposed as the causative mechanism of early/fast VLF events. The perturbations predicted by this mechanism, however, have been much smaller than experimental observations of 0.2-1 dB or higher. In this study, by using an improved 3-D thundercloud electrostatic upward coupling model which uses a realistic geomagnetic field, we find that the sustained heating model can predict perturbations that are consistent with reported experimental observations. Modifications in the quiescent heating of the lower ionosphere by thundercloud fields by individual lightning flashes may thus account for some observations of early/fast VLF events.

Regional and teleseismic events recorded across the TESZ during POLONAISE'97

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilde-Piórko, M.; Grad, M.; Polonaise Working Group

1999-12-01

20 Polish short-period three-component stations were continuously operating for three weeks during POLONAISE'97 in the contact zone between Palaeozoic and Precambrian platforms in Poland. The distances between seismometers were about 20 km and the digitization interval was 0.02 s. Besides the shots, a few regional events from the Lubin area and teleseismic events mainly from the SE backazimuth were also recorded. Interpretation of traveltimes for P and S waves for regional events using a simplified LT-7 model of crustal structure for theoretical calculation allowed correction of their origin time. The same model can also explain the traveltime residuals of P waves for teleseismic events. The main features of the division of Poland into two platforms by the Teisseyre-Tornquist tectonic zone (TTZ) is seen both in the shape of residuals of teleseismic phases and in the receiver function. A passive seismic experiment made during POLONAISE'97 as a reconnaissance for future teleseismic tomography experiment TOR-2 gave quite promising results; however, to make a traveltime tomography and receiver function analysis, the duration of data acquisition should be about half a year.

Persistence of carbon release events through the peak of early Eocene global warmth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirtland Turner, Sandra; Sexton, Philip F.; Charles, Christopher D.; Norris, Richard D.

2014-10-01

The Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (53-50 million years ago) was preceded by approximately six million years of progressive global warming. This warming was punctuated by a series of rapid hyperthermal warming events triggered by the release of greenhouse gases. Over these six million years, the carbon isotope record suggests that the events became more frequent but smaller in magnitude. This pattern has been suggested to reflect a thermodynamic threshold for carbon release that was more easily crossed as global temperature rose, combined with a decrease in the size of carbon reservoirs during extremely warm conditions. Here we present a continuous, 4.25-million-year-long record of the stable isotope composition of carbonate sediments from the equatorial Atlantic, spanning the peak of early Eocene global warmth. A composite of this and pre-existing records shows that the carbon isotope excursions that identify the hyperthermals exhibit continuity in magnitude and frequency throughout the approximately 10-million-year period covering the onset, peak and termination of the Early Eocene Climate Optimum. We suggest that the carbon cycle processes behind these events, excluding the largest event, the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (about 56 million years ago), were not exceptional. Instead, we argue that the hyperthermals may reflect orbital forcing of the carbon cycle analogous to the mechanisms proposed to operate in the cooler Oligocene and Miocene.

Palaeozoic and Mesozoic tectonic implications of Central Afghanistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sliaupa, Saulius; Motuza, Gediminas

2017-04-01

The field and laboratory studies were carried out in Ghor Province situated in the central part of Afghanistan. It straddles juxtaposition of the Tajik (alternatively, North Afghanistan) and Farah Rod blocks separated by Band-e-Bayan zone. The recent studies indicate that Band-e-Bayan zone represents highly tectonised margin of the Tajik block (Motuza, Sliaupa, 2016). The Band-e-Bayan zone is the most representative in terms of sedimentary record. The subsidence trends and sediment lithologies suggest the passive margin setting during (Cambrian?) Ordovician to earliest Carboniferous times. A change to the foredeep setting is implied in middle Carboniferous through Early Permian; the large-thickness flysh-type sediments were derived from continental island arc provenance, as suggested by chemical composition of mudtstones. This stage can be correlated to the amalgamation of the Gondwana supercontinent. The new passive-margin stage can be inferred in the Band-e-Bayan zone and Tajik blocks in the Late Permian throughout the early Late Triassic that is likely related to breaking apart of Gondwana continent. A collisional event is suggested in latest Triassic, as seen in high-rate subsidence associating with dramatic change in litholgies, occurrence of volcanic rocks and granidoid intrusions. The continental volcanic island arc derived (based on geochemical indices) terrigens prevail at the base of Jurassic that were gradually replaced by carbonate platform in the Middle Jurassic pointing to cessation of the tectonic activity. A new tectonic episode (no deposition; and folding?) took place in the Tajik and Band-e-Bayan zone in Late Jurassic. The geological section of the Farah Rod block, situated to the south, is represented by Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments overlain by sporadic Cenozoic volcanic-sedimentary succession. The lower part of the Mesozoic succession is composed of terrigenic sediments giving way to upper Lower Cretaceous shallow water carbonates implying

Ophthalmic Vascular Events after Primary Unilateral Intra-arterial Chemotherapy for Retinoblastoma in Early and Recent Eras.

PubMed

Dalvin, Lauren A; Ancona-Lezama, David; Lucio-Alvarez, J Antonio; Masoomian, Babak; Jabbour, Pascal; Shields, Carol L

2018-06-16

To assess risk factors for ophthalmic vascular events after intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) for retinoblastoma. Retrospective cohort study. Patients who received unilateral IAC as primary treatment for retinoblastoma from January 1, 2009, to November 30, 2017, at a single center. Records were reviewed for patient demographics, tumor features, IAC parameters, and treatment-related vascular events in the early IAC era (2009-2011) compared with the recent era (2012-2017) using the t test and Fisher exact test. Change in event rates over time was assessed using Poisson regression analysis, with Spearman's rho used to test correlation. Rate of IAC-induced ophthalmic vascular events. There were 243 chemotherapy infusions in 76 eyes of 76 patients, divided into early (22 eyes, 57 infusions) and recent (54 eyes, 186 infusions) eras. Intra-arterial chemotherapy consisted of melphalan (243 infusions), topotecan (124 infusions), and carboplatin (9 infusions). A comparison (early vs. recent era) revealed fewer mean number of infusions (2.6 vs. 3.4, P = 0.02) with similar mean patient age and presenting tumor features. Event rates decreased over time (P < 0.01), with fewer ophthalmic vascular events (early era vs. recent era) in the recent era (59% vs. 9% per eye, 23% vs. 3% per infusion, P < 0.01), including peripheral retinal nonperfusion (5% vs. 2% per eye, P = 0.50), vitreous hemorrhage (9% vs. 2%, P = 0.20), subretinal hemorrhage (0% vs. 2%, P = 0.99), branch retinal vein occlusion (5% vs. 0%, P = 0.29), choroidal ischemia (14% vs. 4%, P = 0.14), and ophthalmic artery spasm/occlusion (27% vs. 0%, P < 0.01). Events did not correlate to patient age (P = 0.75), tumor diameter (P = 0.32), tumor thickness (P = 0.59), or cumulative dosage of melphalan (P = 0.13) or topotecan (P = 0.59). There were no IAC-induced vascular events in 72 infusions of 21 consecutively treated eyes in 2016 to 2017. Ophthalmic vascular events after IAC have decreased from the early era

Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Levant domain since Late Palaeozoic: a Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrier, Eric

2015-04-01

During the last 270 my, the evolution of the African/Arabian platform and margins in Levant and surroundings is controlled by a succession of regional tectonic events, starting with a rifting period in the late Paleozoic, and ending with the ongoing Arabia-Eurasia collision. The main rifting period initiated in the mid-late Permian and lasted until the early-Jurassic, as a consequence of the Pangea break up. During this period the Anatolian blocks are still attached to southern Pangea, but some of the Palmyra-Levant and East Mediterranean basins were initiating. From the Mid-Late Permian to the Early Triassic the sedimentation is clastic-dominated in the continental platforms and basins. In the Early Mesozoic, with the initiation and development of the Levant and East Mediterranean basins, the sedimentation changed from clastic to carbonate deposition. Widespread Triassic to Liassic sediments accumulated in subsiding basins (Levant, Palmyride, Sinjar) and margins (East Mediterranean Basin). The rifting aborted in the Palmyride Trough and Levant Basin in the early Jurassic, while the East Mediterranean Basin (Mesogea) the oceanic accretion probably developed during the mid-Jurassic. Then, a 60 My-long cycle lasted from the late Jurassic to the Turonian, mainly characterized by the thermal subsidence of main the basins and margins. Only the early Cretaceous is marked by an extensional tectonic event, associated with magmatism, widespread all around the East Mediterranean Basin. This event, together with the early Cretaceous eustatic regressions, originated a major stratigraphic gap with emersions at the top-Jurassic - Neocomian period, and the deposition of thick clastic sequences in grabens. The following Cenomanian - Early Turonian interval is a major transgressive period characterized by the extension of the carbonate platforms on the African platform, and subsidence of the margins. The Senonian is characterized by an increase in water depth, mainly resulting from

Impact Constraints on Major Events in Early Mars History

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frey, H. V.

2004-01-01

MOLA data have revealed a large population of "Quasi-Circular Depressions" (QCDs) with little or no visible expression in image data. These likely buried impact basins have important implications for the age of the lowland crust, how that compares with original highland crust, and when and how the crustal dichotomy may have formed. The buried lowlands are of Early Noachian age, likely slightly younger than the buried highlands but older than the exposed (visible) highland surface. A depopulation of large visible basins at diameters 800 to 1300 km suggests some global scale event early in martian history, maybe related to the formation of the lowlands and/or the development of Tharsis. A suggested early disappearance of the global magnetic field can be placed within a temporal sequence of formation of the very largest impact basins. The global field appears to have disappeared at about the time the lowlands formed. It seems likely the topographic crustal dichotomy was produced very early in martian history by processes which operated very quickly. Thus there appears to have been a northern lowland throughout nearly all of martian history, predating the last of the really large impacts (Hellas, Argyre and Isidis) and their likely very significant environmental consequences.

Dose and Effect Thresholds for Early Key Events in a Mode of PPARa-Mediated Action

EPA Science Inventory

ABSTRACT Strategies for predicting adverse health outcomes of environmental chemicals are centered on early key events in toxicity pathways. However, quantitative relationships between early molecular changes in a given pathway and later health effects are often poorly defined. T...

Blunt splenic injury: are early adverse events related to trauma, nonoperative management, or surgery?

PubMed Central

Frandon, Julien; Rodiere, Mathieu; Arvieux, Catherine; Vendrell, Anne; Boussat, Bastien; Sengel, Christian; Broux, Christophe; Bricault, Ivan; Ferretti, Gilbert; Thony, Frédéric

2015-01-01

PURPOSE We aimed to compare clinical outcomes and early adverse events of operative management (OM), nonoperative management (NOM), and NOM with splenic artery embolization (SAE) in blunt splenic injury (BSI) and identify the prognostic factors. METHODS Medical records of 136 consecutive patients with BSI admitted to a trauma center from 2005 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were separated into three groups: OM, NOM, and SAE. We focused on associated injuries and early adverse events. Multivariate analysis was performed on 23 prognostic factors to find predictors. RESULTS The total survival rate was 97.1%, with four deaths all occurred in the OM group. The spleen salvage rate was 91% in NOM and SAE. At least one adverse event was observed in 32.8%, 62%, and 96% of patients in NOM, SAE, and OM groups, respectively (P < 0.001). We found significantly more deaths, infectious complications, pleural drainage, acute renal failures, and pancreatitis in OM and more pseudocysts in SAE. Six prognostic factors were statistically significant for one or more adverse events: simplified acute physiology score 2 ≥25 for almost all adverse events, age ≥50 years for acute respiratory syndrome, limb fracture for secondary bleeding, thoracic injury for pleural drainage, and at least one associated injury for pseudocyst. Adverse events were not related to the type of BSI management. CONCLUSION Patients with BSI present worse outcome and more adverse events in OM, but this is related to the severity of injury. The main predictor of adverse events remains the severity of injury. PMID:26081719

Blunt splenic injury: are early adverse events related to trauma, nonoperative management, or surgery?

PubMed

Frandon, Julien; Rodiere, Mathieu; Arvieux, Catherine; Vendrell, Anne; Boussat, Bastien; Sengel, Christian; Broux, Christophe; Bricault, Ivan; Ferretti, Gilbert; Thony, Frédéric

2015-01-01

We aimed to compare clinical outcomes and early adverse events of operative management (OM), nonoperative management (NOM), and NOM with splenic artery embolization (SAE) in blunt splenic injury (BSI) and identify the prognostic factors. Medical records of 136 consecutive patients with BSI admitted to a trauma center from 2005 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were separated into three groups: OM, NOM, and SAE. We focused on associated injuries and early adverse events. Multivariate analysis was performed on 23 prognostic factors to find predictors. The total survival rate was 97.1%, with four deaths all occurred in the OM group. The spleen salvage rate was 91% in NOM and SAE. At least one adverse event was observed in 32.8%, 62%, and 96% of patients in NOM, SAE, and OM groups, respectively (P < 0.001). We found significantly more deaths, infectious complications, pleural drainage, acute renal failures, and pancreatitis in OM and more pseudocysts in SAE. Six prognostic factors were statistically significant for one or more adverse events: simplified acute physiology score 2 ≥25 for almost all adverse events, age ≥50 years for acute respiratory syndrome, limb fracture for secondary bleeding, thoracic injury for pleural drainage, and at least one associated injury for pseudocyst. Adverse events were not related to the type of BSI management. Patients with BSI present worse outcome and more adverse events in OM, but this is related to the severity of injury. The main predictor of adverse events remains the severity of injury.

Fluid inclusion characteristics and hydrocarbon accumulation dating in upper Palaeozoic reservoirs in Hangjinqi region of Northern,Ordos Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, G.

2017-12-01

Hangjinqi region is one of the key exploration areas of natural gas in Ordos Basin. The main gas accumulation periods and gas charge dating can be determined through the comprehensive research on the fluid inclusions occurrence characteristics, composition and homogenization temperatures. The results show that: the fluid inclusions in upper palaeozoic sand reservoirs were mainly hosted in quartz overgrowth or cements of fissures of conglomeratic sandstone and medium-fine sandstone. According to the diagenetic stages, composion and homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in host minerals, two different phases of hydrocarbon inclusions have been identified. Gas-liquid biphase hydrocarbon inclusions and gas-liquid biphase aqueous inclusion are the main types inclusions with morphology of oval, sub-angular, rectangular, semi-circular and irregular and with gas components of CO2 and CH4. The homogenization temperature of brines inclusions associated with the hydrocarbon inclusions is characterized of continuous distribution and multiple peaks. Three regions such as Shilijiahan, Xinzhao, Shiguhao areas have significant differences in temperature distributions. The integrated analysis of burial and thermo-evolution by combining the employment of homogenization temperature of aqueous inclusions projected on a burial history diagram and hydrocarbon source rock thermal evolution history show that the hydrocarbon charging in Shilijiahan area occurred mainly from Eocene to present. The main accumulation stage in Xinzhao area is from Eocene to present and there may be charging period from late stage of early Jurassic to middle stage of middle Jurassic. The hydrocarbon charging in Shiguhao area occurred mainly from Eocene to present according to the homogenization temperature of fluid inclusions and the features of gas migration.

Neighborhood Disadvantage, Stressful Life Events, and Adjustment among Mexican American Early Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roosa, Mark W.; Burrell, Ginger L.; Nair, Rajni L.; Coxe, Stefany; Tein, Jenn-Yun; Knight, George P.

2010-01-01

This study examined a stress process model in which stressful life events and association with delinquent peers mediated the relationship of neighborhood disadvantage to Mexican American early adolescents' mental health. The authors also proposed that child gender, child generation, and neighborhood informal social control would moderate the…

Major magmatic events in Mt Meredith, Prince Charles Mountains: First evidence for early Palaeozoic syntectonic granites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gongurov, N.A.; Laiba, A.A.; Beliatsky, B.V.

2007-01-01

Precambrian rocks at Mt Meredith underwent granulite-facies metamorphism M1. Zircon isotope dating for two orthogneisses revealed the following age signatures: 1294±3 and 957±4Ma; 1105±5 and 887±2Ma. The oldest ages could reflect the time of orthogneiss protolith crystallization and the latest age determinations date Grenvillian metamorphism. The metamorphic rocks were intruded by two-mica and garnet-biotite granites. The granites and host rocks underwent amphibolite-facies metamorphism M2. Zircon isotope analysis of the two-mica granites showed age estimation within 550-510Ma and zircon dating of the garnet-biotite granites revealed the ages of 1107±5, 953±8, and 551±4Ma. As Pan-African age signatures were obtained from only the granite samples, it is possible to suggest that the granites were formed at the time of 510-550Ma and the zircons with greater age values were captured by granites from the host rocks.

Early Life Conditions, Adverse Life Events, and Chewing Ability at Middle and Later Adulthood

PubMed Central

Watt, Richard G.; Tsakos, Georgios

2014-01-01

Objectives. We sought to determine the extent to which early life conditions and adverse life events impact chewing ability in middle and later adulthood. Methods. Secondary analyses were conducted based on data from waves 2 and 3 of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), collected in the years 2006 to 2009 and encompassing information on current chewing ability and the life history of persons aged 50 years or older from 13 European countries. Logistic regression models were estimated with sequential inclusion of explanatory variables representing living conditions in childhood and adverse life events. Results. After controlling for current determinants of chewing ability at age 50 years or older, certain childhood and later life course socioeconomic, behavioral, and cognitive factors became evident as correlates of chewing ability at age 50 years or older. Specifically, childhood financial hardship was identified as an early life predictor of chewing ability at age 50 years or older (odds ratio = 1.58; 95% confidence interval = 1.22, 2.06). Conclusions. Findings suggest a potential enduring impact of early life conditions and adverse life events on oral health in middle and later adulthood and are relevant for public health decision-makers who design strategies for optimal oral health. PMID:24625140

Environmental change during the Late Berriasian - Early Valanginian: a prelude to the late Early Valanginian carbon-isotope event?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morales, Chloé; Schnyder, Johann; Spangenberg, Jorge; Adatte, Thierry; Westermann, Stephane; Föllmi, Karl

2010-05-01

The Valanginian period is well known for a positive excursion in marine and terrestrial δ13C records, which has been interpreted as the consequence of a major perturbation in the global carbon cycle (Lini et al., 1992; Erba et al., 2004). In contrast to the positive δ13C excursions of the Early Aptian and latest Cenomanian, marine organic-rich sediments have only been recognized from a few localities (van de Schootbrugge et al., 2003; Reboulet et al., 2003; Gröcke et al., 2005; Westermann et al., in press). The δ13C excursion began in the late Early Valanginian (campylotoxus ammonite zone) and gradually ended during the Late Valanginian. It is associated with a phase of widespread carbonate-platform drowning on the shelf (Föllmi et al., 1994) and a decline in calcareous nannofossils in the pelagic realm (Erba et al., 2004). As a triggering mechanism, numerous authors invoke the formation of the Parañà-Etendeka flood basalt. The correlation of this episode with the Valanginian δ13C event depends, however, on the absolute ages attributed to the Valanginian stage. The recent geological timescale by Ogg et al. (2008) shows that the major eruptional phase occurred during the Late Valanginian. This may imply that the late Early Valanginian δ13C event resulted from a combination of different factors. Important paleoenvironmental change occurred already in the latest Berriasian and earliest Valanginian, prior to the positive δ13C excursion. An increase in nutrient input near the onset of the δ13C excursion (campylotoxus ammonite zone), which may be considered as a trigger of the carbon cycle perturbation, has been identified in different studies, (Hennig, 2003; Duchamp-Alphonse et al., 2007; Bornemann & Mutterlose, 2008). Heterozoan faunal associations became dominant since the Early Valanginian on the northern Tethyan Helvetic platform and may indicate the beginning of sea-water eutrophication (Föllmi et al., 2007). Clay assemblages in the Tethys and Western

The onset of childhood amnesia in childhood: A prospective investigation of the course and determinants of forgetting of early-life events

PubMed Central

Bauer, Patricia J.; Larkina, Marina

2013-01-01

The present research was an examination of the onset of childhood amnesia and how it relates to maternal narrative style, an important determinant of autobiographical memory development. Children and their mothers discussed unique events when the children were 3 years of age. Different subgroups of children were tested for recall of the events at ages 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 years. At the later session, they were interviewed by an experimenter about the events discussed 2 to 6 years previously with their mothers (early-life events). Children ages 5, 6, and 7 remembered 60% or more of the early-life events. In contrast, children ages 8 and 9 years remembered fewer than 40% of the early-life events. Overall maternal narrative style predicted children's contributions to mother-child conversations at age 3 years; it did not have cross-lagged relations to memory for early-life events at ages 5 to 9 years. Maternal deflections of the conversational turn to the child predicted the amount of information children later reported about the early-life events. The findings have implications for our understanding of the onset of childhood amnesia and the achievement of an adult-like distribution of memories in the school years. They highlight the importance of forgetting processes in explanations of the amnesia. PMID:24236647

Changing CO2 and the evolution of terrestrial and marine photosynthetic organisms during the terrestrialization process in the Palaeozoic.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vecoli, M.; Strother, P. K.; Servais, T.

2009-04-01

sequestration of Corg in organic matter trapped in plant biomass, litter, soils, and buried in sediments, adding up to the better known effect of increased weathering due to the evolution of deep rooting systems during late Devonian time onwards. In this study, we also examined the potential perturbations to the phytoplankton of the mid-Palaeozoic marine realm as CO2(aq) declined and as POM and DOM delivery to the shallow shelf increased nutrient flux to the oceans. We used the fossil record of acritarchs as a proxy for the large phytoplankton of the Palaeozoic. Our data show that the standing diversity of acritarchs (genus-level taxon richness) is highly correlated with the decline in Palaeozoic pCO2 as modelled by Berner and Kothavala (2001); the two curves show the same trends, the acritarch diversity curve being offset, on average, by a -10 my time lag. We propose that the gradual (and not catastrophic as previously assumed) decline in acritarch diversity observed during late Silurian - late Devonian times was causally linked to the decline in dissolved CO2 in the oceans and the associated increase in oceanic pH, which were in turn caused by the falling pCO2 in the atmosphere. These observations appear to link the decline of the acritarchs to the rise of the terrestrial biota through the effect of terrestrialization on pCO2.

Deep Time Ecosystem Engineers: The Correlation between Palaeozoic Vegetation, Evolution of Physical Riverine Habitats, and Plant and Animal Terrestrialization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, N. S.; Gibling, M. R.

2012-04-01

corridors narrowed throughout the Ordovician and Silurian, the potential importance of riparian zones as a global biome would have increased as they became more extensive in continental environments. Furthermore, the move towards climatic controls on the ephemeral or perennial nature of streams would have boosted the diversity of temporally diverse hydrodynamic regimes. As single-thread meandering channels and extensive muddy floodplains, stabilised by vegetation, became significant components of the global suite of alluvial geomorphic components throughout the Siluro-Devonian, further diversification of the extent and diversity of physical habitats within the global riparian biome occurred. Into the Carboniferous, the evolution of the anabranching habit within alluvial systems created further new physical landforms for colonization and would have promoted increasingly complex hyporheic flow regimes. Furthermore the associated advent of arborescent vegetation and, specifically, the large woody debris supplied by this, would have created a wealth of new microhabitats for continental organisms. The expanding extent and diversity of physical alluvial niches during the Palaeozoic can be argued to be an underappreciated driver of the terrestrialization of early continental life. The study of the deep time fossil and stratigraphic record also illustrates that vegetation is a fundamental prerequisite for the creation of biogeomorphic alluvial landforms and physical habitats and microhabitats.

How Early Events Affect Growing Brains. An Interview with Neuroscientist Pat Levitt

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2006

2006-01-01

Recent advances in neuroscience show clearly how experience can change brain neurochemicals, and how this in turn affects the way the brain functions. As a result, early negative events actually get built into the growing brain's neurochemistry, altering the brain's architecture. Research is continuing to investigate how children with genetic…

A Further Extension of the Tahiti-Darwin SOI, Early ENSO Events and Darwin Pressure.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allan, Robert J.; Nicholls, Neville; Jones, Phil D.; Butterworth, Ian J.

1991-07-01

An extension of the Tahiti minus Darwin Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) from 1882 back to 1876 is reported following the recovery of early Darwin mean sea-level pressure data spanning the period 1865-81. As a result, we are able to compare, for the first time, the major 1877-78 and 1982-83 ENSO events on the basis of this commonly used index. Early Darwin and Jakarta data are also examined in terms of a measure of the Australian response to documented El Niño and/or ENSO events in 1866, 1868, 1871, 1873, 1874 and 1875.The SOI during the 1877-78 ENSO event has a similar temporal response to that in 1982-83, but the index is slightly weaker than in the recent event. Examination of documentary evidence confirms the severity of the drought conditions that affected the Australian continent during the 1877-78 ENSO, and shows that this response is in line with the wider Indo-Pacific impacts reported in the literature. Earlier El Niño phases in 1868 and 1873 are not resolved distinctly in either the Darwin or Jakarta pressure data. This appears to illustrate that El Niño event histories do not always indicate wider ENSO influences in the Indo-Pacific basin, particularly during weak to moderate phases.

Early event related fields during visually evoked pain anticipation.

PubMed

Gopalakrishnan, Raghavan; Burgess, Richard C; Plow, Ela B; Floden, Darlene P; Machado, Andre G

2016-03-01

Pain experience is not only a function of somatosensory inputs. Rather, it is strongly influenced by cognitive and affective pathways. Pain anticipatory phenomena, an important limitation to rehabilitative efforts in the chronic state, are processed by associative and limbic networks, along with primary sensory cortices. Characterization of neurophysiological correlates of pain anticipation, particularly during very early stages of neural processing is critical for development of therapeutic interventions. Here, we utilized magnetoencephalography to study early event-related fields (ERFs) in healthy subjects exposed to a 3 s visual countdown task that preceded a painful stimulus, a non-painful stimulus or no stimulus. We found that the first countdown cue, but not the last cue, evoked critical ERFs signaling anticipation, attention and alertness to the noxious stimuli. Further, we found that P2 and N2 components were significantly different in response to first-cues that signaled incoming painful stimuli when compared to non-painful or no stimuli. The findings indicate that early ERFs are relevant neural substrates of pain anticipatory phenomena and could be potentially serve as biomarkers. These measures could assist in the development of neurostimulation approaches aimed at curbing the negative effects of pain anticipation during rehabilitation. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Atmospheric pCO2 reconstructed across five early Eocene global warming events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Ying; Schubert, Brian A.

2017-11-01

Multiple short-lived global warming events, known as hyperthermals, occurred during the early Eocene (56-52 Ma). Five of these events - the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM or ETM1), H1 (or ETM2), H2, I1, and I2 - are marked by a carbon isotope excursion (CIE) within both marine and terrestrial sediments. The magnitude of CIE, which is a function of the amount and isotopic composition of carbon added to the ocean-atmosphere system, varies significantly between marine versus terrestrial substrates. Here we use the increase in carbon isotope fractionation by C3 land plants in response to increased pCO2 to reconcile this difference and reconstruct a range of background pCO2 and peak pCO2 for each CIE, provided two potential carbon sources: methane hydrate destabilization and permafrost-thawing/organic matter oxidation. Although the uncertainty on each pCO2 estimate using this approach is low (e.g., median uncertainty = + 23% / - 18%), this work highlights the potential for significant systematic bias in the pCO2 estimate resulting from sampling resolution, substrate type, diagenesis, and environmental change. Careful consideration of each of these factors is required especially when applying this approach to a single marine-terrestrial CIE pair. Given these limitations, we provide an upper estimate for background early Eocene pCO2 of 463 +248/-131 ppmv (methane hydrate scenario) to 806 +127/-104 ppmv (permafrost-thawing/organic matter oxidation scenario). These results, which represent the first pCO2 proxy estimates directly tied to the Eocene hyperthermals, demonstrate that early Eocene warmth was supported by background pCO2 less than ∼3.5× preindustrial levels and that pCO2 > 1000 ppmv may have occurred only briefly, during hyperthermal events.

Dose and Effect Thresholds for Early Key Events in a Mode of ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

ABSTRACT Strategies for predicting adverse health outcomes of environmental chemicals are centered on early key events in toxicity pathways. However, quantitative relationships between early molecular changes in a given pathway and later health effects are often poorly defined. The goal of this study was to evaluate short-term key event indicators using qualitative and quantitative methods in an established pathway of mouse liver tumorigenesis mediated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα). Male B6C3F1 mice were exposed for 7 days to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP), and n-butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), which vary in PPARα activity and liver tumorigenicity. Each phthalate increased expression of select PPARα target genes at 7 days, while only DEHP significantly increased liver cell proliferation labeling index (LI). Transcriptional benchmark dose (BMDT) estimates for dose-related genomic markers stratified phthalates according to hypothetical tumorigenic potencies, unlike BMDs for non-genomic endpoints (liver weights or proliferation). The 7-day BMDT values for Acot1 as a surrogate measure for PPARα activation were 29, 370, and 676 mg/kg-d for DEHP, DNOP, and BBP, respectively, distinguishing DEHP (liver tumor BMD of 35 mg/kg-d) from non-tumorigenic DNOP and BBP. Effect thresholds were generated using linear regression of DEHP effects at 7 days and 2-year tumor incidence values to anchor early response molec

Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Permian-Triassic extension event in the Zagros basin (Iran): results from analogue modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madani-kivi, M.; Zulauf, G.

2015-12-01

Since the 1970s, the largest oil and gas reservoirs have been discovered in the Permian-Early Triassic formationsin Saudi Arabia. Thus, this time period is important for the discovery of new oil reserves in Iran. The Arabian passivecontinental margin has undergone lithospheric extension during the Permian-Triassic, which led to the formation of theNeo-Tethys. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of the continental rift basin in the Zagros region basedon the tectono-sedimentological evolution. We have studied well-log data to specify the distribution of synrift depositsin the Zagros and have related this information to the modelling. Environmental changes indicated by various sedimentarysequences, from a siliciclastic basin to a carbonate platform setting, are described. The Cambrian Hormuz salt, whichoverlies the metamorphosed Precambrian basement, becomes effective as a basal detachment layer influencing the styleof overburden deformation during the Permian-Triassic extension event. We have investigated the formation of variousstructures linked to the presence or absence of the Hormuz layer by analogue modelling and relating these structures to theLate Palaeozoic sedimentation. Based on results of the analogue modelling, we argue that the basal detachment layer (Hormuzseries) has contributed to the various structural styles of the extensional basin development in the Fars domain and theLorestan domain.

Constraints on early events in Martian history as derived from the cratering record

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barlow, Nadine G.

1990-01-01

Constrains on early events in Martian history are derived using the planet's cratering record. Variations in the shapes of the crater size-frequency distribution curves are interpreted as indicative of the size-frequency distribution of the production populations, thus providing information about the age of the unit relative to the end of the heavy bombardment period. Results from the analysis of craters superposed on heavily cratered units across the Martian surface provide constraints on the hemispheric dichotomy and the early erosional conditions on Mars.

Structure sismique du socle paléozoïque du bassin des Doukkala, Môle côtier, Maroc occidental. Indication en faveur de l'existence d'une phase éo-varisqueSeismic structure of the Doukkala basin, Palaeozoic basement, western Morocco: a hint for an Eovariscan fold-and-thrust belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Echarfaoui, Hassan; Hafid, Mohamed; Salem, Abdallah Aı̈t

2002-01-01

Seismic profiles and well data from the Doukkala basin unravel the structure of the Palaeozoic basement and suggest that this coastal zone of western Morocco was affected by a compressive phase during the Frasnian. This resulted in the formation of upright, plurikilometric folds associated with reverse faults (North Doukkala), and of asymmetrical folds associated with mostly west verging ramps (South Doukkala). Folding involved all pre-Upper Frasnian formations and caused partial or total hiatus of Upper Frasnian-Strunian strata. This event can be correlated with the orogenic phase reported from more internal domains of the Morocco Hercynian belt, where it is referred to as the 'Bretonne' or 'Eovariscan' phase. To cite this article: H. Echarfaoui et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 13-20

Negative affective spillover from daily events predicts early response to cognitive therapy for depression.

PubMed

Cohen, Lawrence H; Gunthert, Kathleen C; Butler, Andrew C; Parrish, Brendt P; Wenze, Susan J; Beck, Judith S

2008-12-01

This study evaluated the predictive role of depressed outpatients' (N = 62) affective reactivity to daily stressors in their rates of improvement in cognitive therapy (CT). For 1 week before treatment, patients completed nightly electronic diaries that assessed daily stressors and negative affect (NA). The authors used multilevel modeling to compute each patient's within-day relationship between daily stressors and daily NA (within-day reactivity), as well as the relationship between daily stressors and next-day NA (next-day reactivity; affective spillover). In growth model analyses, the authors evaluated the predictive role of patients' NA reactivity in their early (Sessions 1-4) and late (Sessions 5-12) response to CT. Within-day NA reactivity did not predict early or late response to CT. However, next-day reactivity predicted early response to CT, such that patients who had greater NA spillover in response to negative events had a slower rate of symptom change during the first 4 sessions. Affective spillover did not influence later response to CT. The findings suggest that depressed patients who have difficulty bouncing back the next day from their NA reactions to a relative increase in daily negative events will respond less quickly to the early sessions of CT.

The early Toarcian anoxic event: what the beginning and the end of the story are?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattioli, Emanuela; Plancq, Julien; Raucsik, Béla

2010-05-01

The early Toarcian anoxic event: what the beginning and the end of the story are? E. Mattioli (1), J. Plancq (1), and B. Rauksik (2) (1) UMR 5125 PEPS, CNRS, France; Université Lyon 1, Campus de la DOUA, Bâtiment Géode, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France (emanuela.mattioli@univ-lyon1.fr) (2) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary The early Toarcian anoxic event (T-OAE) and the associated biotic crisis have received much attention in the last decade. However, the events forewarning the crisis as well as its aftermath are still poorly known. The T-OAE coincides with a prominent carbon isotope negative excursion (T-CIE) that is preceded by an excursion of similar intensity at the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary (Hesselbo et al., 2007). The onset of T-CIE occurred some 700 kyr later than the end of the Boundary-CIE (Suan et al., 2008a). This succession of events demonstrates that the T-OAE was a complex suite of environmental perturbations. In this work, we focused on calcareous nannofossil assemblages occurring in the Peniche section (Portugal) during the Boundary-CIE with the aim to understand if calcifying plankton reacted in a similar/different way to the two CIEs. Also, two sections and one borehole located along a W-E transect, along the NW-Tethyan shelf (in the Yorkshire coast, in the E Paris Basin, and in Mecsek Basin, respectively), were investigated to assess which way calcareous nannoplankton recovered after the crisis, and if the recovery was a synchronous event. The production by nannoplankton collapsed during the T-CIE, as demonstrated by the lowest absolute abundance of nannofossils measured in Peniche and other studied sites (Mattioli et al., 2008). Besides this nannofossil abundance decrease, also the size of the incertae sedis Schizosphaerella test was drastically reduced (Suan et al., 2008b). If a similar size decrease is also recorded during the Boundary-CIE, calcareous nannofossil abundances are

Early events governing memory CD8+ T-cell differentiation.

PubMed

Obar, Joshua J; Lefrançois, Leo

2010-08-01

Understanding the regulation of the CD8(+) T-cell response and how protective memory cells are generated has been intensely studied. It is now appreciated that a naive CD8(+) T cell requires at least three signals to mount an effective immune response: (i) TCR triggering, (ii) co-stimulation and (iii) inflammatory cytokines. Only recently have we begun to understand the molecular integration of those signals and how early events regulate the fate decisions of the responding CD8(+) T cells. This review will discuss the recent findings about both the extracellular and intracellular factors that regulate the destiny of responding CD8(+) T cells.

[Influence of early childhood stress exposure and traumatic life events on pain perception].

PubMed

Tesarz, J; Gerhardt, A; Eich, W

2018-06-05

Adult pain perception is influenced substantially by interactions between mind, body, and social environment during early life. Early stress exposure and traumatic life events induce powerful psychophysical stress reactions that exert multiple neurofunctional processes. This has significant implications for pain perception and pain processing. As part of this review, the complex relationships between traumatic stress experiences and associated psychobiological mechanisms of chronic pain will be discussed. Based on selected studies, psychophysiological findings are presented and possible underlying mechanisms are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of potential implications for treatment.

Early changes in physical tree characteristics during an oak decline event in the Ozark highlands

Treesearch

Martin A. Spetich

2006-01-01

An oak decline event is severely affecting up to 120 000 ha in the Ozark National Forest of Arkansas. Results of early changes in physical tree characteristics during that event are presented. In the fall and winter of 1999 and 2000, we established research plots on a site that would become a center of severe oak decline. In August 2000, standing trees > 14 cm in...

Marine ecosystem resilience during extreme deoxygenation: the Early Jurassic oceanic anoxic event.

PubMed

Caswell, Bryony A; Frid, Christopher L J

2017-01-01

Global warming during the Early Jurassic, and associated widespread ocean deoxygenation, was comparable in scale with the changes projected for the next century. This study quantifies the impact of severe global environmental change on the biological traits of marine communities that define the ecological roles and functions they deliver. We document centennial-millennial variability in the biological trait composition of Early Jurassic (Toarcian) seafloor communities and examine how this changed during the event using biological traits analysis. Environmental changes preceding the global oceanic anoxic event (OAE) produced an ecological shift leading to stressed benthic palaeocommunities with reduced resilience to the subsequent OAE. Changes in traits and ecological succession coincided with major environmental changes; and were of similar nature and magnitude to those in severely deoxygenated benthic communities today despite the very different timescales. Changes in community composition were linked to local redox conditions whereas changes in populations of opportunists were driven by primary productivity. Throughout most of the OAE substitutions by tolerant taxa conserved the trait composition and hence functioning, but periods of severe deoxygenation caused benthic defaunation that would have resulted in functional collapse. Following the OAE recovery was slow probably because the global nature of the event restricted opportunities for recruitment from outside the basin. Our findings suggest that future systems undergoing deoxygenation may initially show functional resilience, but severe global deoxygenation will impact traits and ecosystem functioning and, by limiting the species pool, will slow recovery rates.

Early events in copper-ion catalyzed oxidation of α-synuclein.

PubMed

Tiwari, Manish K; Leinisch, Fabian; Sahin, Cagla; Møller, Ian Max; Otzen, Daniel E; Davies, Michael J; Bjerrum, Morten J

2018-04-22

Previous studies on metal-ion catalyzed oxidation of α-synuclein oxidation have mostly used conditions that result in extensive modification precluding an understanding of the early events in this process. In this study, we have examined time-dependent oxidative events related to α-synuclein modification using six different molar ratios of Cu 2+ /H 2 O 2 /protein and Cu 2+ /H 2 O 2 /ascorbate/protein resulting in mild to moderate extents of oxidation. For a Cu 2+ /H 2 O 2 /protein molar ratio of 2.3:7.8:1 only low levels of carbonyls were detected (0.078 carbonyls per protein), whereas a molar ratio of 4.7:15.6:1 gave 0.22 carbonyls per α-synuclein within 15 min. With the latter conditions, rapid conversion of 3 out of 4 methionines (Met) to methionine sulfoxide, and 2 out of 4 tyrosines (Tyr) were converted to products including inter- and intra-molecular dityrosine cross-links and protein oligomers, as determined by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Limited histidine (His) modification was observed. The rapid formation of dityrosine cross-links was confirmed by fluorescence and mass-spectrometry. These data indicate that Met and Tyr oxidation are early events in Cu 2+ /H 2 O 2 -mediated damage, with carbonyl formation being a minor process. With the Cu 2+ /H 2 O 2 /ascorbate system, rapid protein carbonyl formation was detected with the first 5 min, but after this time point, little additional carbonyl formation was detected. With this system, lower levels of Met and Tyr oxidation were detected (2 Met and 1 Tyr modified with a Cu 2+ /H 2 O 2 /ascorbate/protein ratio of 2.3:7.8:7.8:1), but greater His oxidation. Only low levels of intra- dityrosine cross-links and no inter- dityrosine oligomers were detected under these conditions, suggesting that ascorbate limits Cu 2+ /H 2 O 2 -induced α-synuclein modification. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Detection of rain events in radiological early warning networks with spectro-dosimetric systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dąbrowski, R.; Dombrowski, H.; Kessler, P.; Röttger, A.; Neumaier, S.

2017-10-01

Short-term pronounced increases of the ambient dose equivalent rate, due to rainfall are a well-known phenomenon. Increases in the same order of magnitude or even below may also be caused by a nuclear or radiological event, i.e. by artificial radiation. Hence, it is important to be able to identify natural rain events in dosimetric early warning networks and to distinguish them from radiological events. Novel spectrometric systems based on scintillators may be used to differentiate between the two scenarios, because the measured gamma spectra provide significant nuclide-specific information. This paper describes three simple, automatic methods to check whether an dot H*(10) increase is caused by a rain event or by artificial radiation. These methods were applied to measurements of three spectrometric systems based on CeBr3, LaBr3 and SrI2 scintillation crystals, investigated and tested for their practicability at a free-field reference site of PTB.

Geothermal potential of Caledonian granites underlying Upper Palaeozoic sedimentary basins astride the Iapetus Suture Zone in Ireland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritschle, Tobias; Daly, J. Stephen; Whitehouse, Martin J.; McConnell, Brian; Buhre, Stephan

2014-05-01

Upper Palaeozoic sedimentary basins in Ireland overlie crystalline rocks within the Caledonian Iapetus Suture Zone. Beneath these basins, Lower Palaeozoic rocks, formed and deformed during the Caledonian orogenic cycle, were intruded by c. 420-390 Ma late-tectonic granites at various tectonic levels. These include the subsurface Kentstown and Glenamaddy granites discovered by mineral exploration drilling. While these granites comprise actual targets for Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) exploration, several others likely exist based on geophysical considerations. In order to test the regional geothermal potential, the buried granites as well as analogue exposed rocks are being investigated geochemically. The geothermal potential of the intrusives depends on their heat production rate (HPR), which is calculated using rock density and concentrations of the heat producing elements (HPE) uranium, thorium and potassium. In spite of their close spacing and similar ages, the whole-rock geochemistry of the granites varies significantly, but with no obvious geographical control (Fritschle et al., 2013; 2014). The granite HPR values range from 1.4 μW/m3 for the Dhoon Granite (Isle of Man) to 4.9 μW/m3 for the Drogheda Granite (Ireland). This compares with the average HPR for a 'typical' granite of 2.7 μW/m3 (Goldstein et al., 2009). It is demonstrated that an elevated HPR of a granite can be related to enrichment in one of the HPE alone (e.g., uranium-enrichment in the Foxdale Granite (Isle of Man), or thorium-enrichment in the Drogheda Granite). Enrichment in HPE in a granite may occur due to different reasons including hydrothermal (re-) distribution of uranium, or the assimilation of thorium-rich wall-rocks. Hence, the distribution of the HPE in particular minerals, veins and source lithologies, along with the petrophysical characteristics of the sedimentary basins and the granites' petrogenesis, are currently being investigated as possible mechanisms controlling their

Recovery and diversification of marine communities following the late Permian mass extinction event in the western Palaeotethys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, William J.; Sebe, Krisztina

2017-08-01

The recovery of benthic invertebrates following the late Permian mass extinction event is often described as occurring in the Middle Triassic associated with the return of Early Triassic Lazarus taxa, increased body sizes, platform margin metazoan reefs, and increased tiering. Most quantitative palaeoecological studies, however, are limited to the Early Triassic and the timing of the final phase of recovery is rarely quantified. Here, quantitative abundance data of benthic invertebrates were collected from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) succession of the Mecsek Mountains (Hungary), and analysed with univariate and multivariate statistics to investigate the timing of recovery following the late Permian mass extinction. These communities lived in a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate ramp setting on the western margin of the Palaeotethys Ocean. The new data presented here is combined with the previously studied Lower Triassic succession of the Aggtelek Karst (Hungary), which records deposition of comparable facies and in the same region of the Palaeotethys Ocean. The Middle Triassic benthic fauna can be characterised by three distinct ecological states. The first state is recorded in the Viganvár Limestone Formation representing mollusc-dominated communities restricted to above wave base, which are comparable to the lower and mid-Spathian Szin Marl Formation faunas. The second state is recorded in the Lapis Limestone Formation and records extensive bioturbation that is not limited to wave base and is comparable to the upper Spathian Szinpetri Limestone Formation. The third ecological state occurs in the Zuhánya Limestone Formation which was deposited in the Pelsonian Binodosus Zone, and has a more 'Palaeozoic' structure with sessile brachiopods dominating assemblages for the first time in the Mesozoic. The return of community-level characteristics to pre-extinction levels and the diversification of invertebrates suggests that the final stages of recovery and the radiation

Occurrence of early adverse events after vaccination against influenza at a Brazilian reference center.

PubMed

Lopes, Marta Heloísa; Mascheretti, Melissa; Franco, Marilia Miranda; Vasconcelos, Ricardo; Gutierrez, Eliana Battaggia

2008-02-01

Since 1999, the Ministry of Health in Brazil has conducted campaigns of vaccination against influenza targeted towards the elderly, chronically-diseased people and health care workers. The vaccine against influenza is associated with adverse events of minor importance. To investigate the early adverse events related to the vaccine against influenza. CASUISTICS AND METHODS: One hundred and ninety seven elderly individuals and health care workers vaccinated against influenza were included. An inquiry regarding adverse events related to the vaccine was applied seven days after the vaccination. Local adverse events were reported by 32.5% and systemic effects by 26.4% of the vaccinated subjects. Pain in the region of the injection, headache, myalgia, malaise, and coryza were more frequent in the workers than in the elderly (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of fever. The belief of part of the population that credits frequent and uncomfortable adverse events to the vaccine was not confirmed. The subjective adverse events were more frequent in the health care workers, which can influence, in a negative way, the disclosure of the benefits of this vaccine due to their role as opinion makers.

Not Just the 8.2 event: Dynamic Early Holocene Climate in Arctic Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Axford, Y.; Briner, J. P.; Miller, G. H.; Francis, D. R.

2006-12-01

Temperature reconstructions from a lake in the eastern Canadian Arctic indicate that peak warmth in the early Holocene was interrupted by two abrupt, short-lived temperature reversals at ~9.l and ~8.5 ka. Summer temperatures at Lake CF8, Baffin Island (~500 km west of Greenland) are inferred from subfossil midge (Chironomidae) assemblages. Our results indicate that the site, like others on Baffin Island, experienced exceptionally warm summers (almost 5°C warmer than present) through much of the early Holocene, presumably in response to enhanced summer insolation. After 1000 years of very warm, stable climate, warmth was interrupted by two discrete cold reversals at ~9.1 and ~8.5 ka, during which multiple cold-stenothermous midge taxa appeared in the lake and summer temperatures dropped more than 3°C. These two clearly-defined reversals, well beyond the range of background variability, were of similar amplitude and duration, and were separated by several centuries of near-peak warmth. The only Holocene events of comparable amplitude at this site are the rapid onset of Holocene warmth, and the more gradual Neoglacial cooling after 8 ka. Abrupt cooling events over the Baffin region are consistent with model simulations of the impacts of freshwater outbursts into the Labrador Sea, such as the Lake Agassiz outburst flood that occurred ~8.4 ka. That there are two discrete events recorded at this site indicates that the "8.2 event" was not uniquely significant in this region; rather, the period between approximately ~9.2 and 8 ka was characterized by repeated climate fluctuations forced by multiple outburst floods or other mechanisms. Thus global correlations among paleoclimate records need not assume that climate perturbations during this time period necessarily correlate with the draining of Lake Agassiz or the 8.2 ka cooling in central Greenland.

The role of parent, teacher, and peer events in maintaining depressive symptoms during early adolescence.

PubMed

Herres, Joanna; Kobak, Roger

2015-02-01

Negative interpersonal events have been consistently identified as both antecedents and sequalae of adolescent depressive symptoms. However, little is known about the relative contributions of specific domains of interpersonal events (parents, peers or teachers) to the maintenance of depressive symptoms during early adolescence or whether a lack of positive interpersonal interactions plays a direct role in maintaining depressive symptoms. Further, few studies have examined whether positive interpersonal events moderate associations between negative events and adolescents' depressive symptoms. This study combined stress generation and exposure models to evaluate the contribution of daily events to the maintenance of depressive symptoms in a sample of 132 adolescents (53 % female) followed from ages 13 to 15. Daily phone diaries collected at age 14 assessed adolescents' negative and positive interactions with parents, teachers, and peers in a sample of adolescents from economically disadvantaged families. Negative peer events uniquely accounted for the maintenance of depressive symptoms over the 2 years period. Results did not differ by gender; however, positive parent events buffered the effects of negative parent events for females but not for males. Findings highlight the significance of peer relationships during a period of vulnerability for depressive symptoms.

New Early Jurassic Tetrapod Assemblages Constrain Triassic-Jurassic Tetrapod Extinction Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsen, P. E.; Shubin, N. H.; Anders, M. H.

1987-08-01

The discovery of the first definitively correlated earliest Jurassic (200 million years before present) tetrapod assemblage (Fundy basin, Newark Supergroup, Nova Scotia) allows reevaluation of the duration of the Triassic-Jurassic tetrapod extinction event. Present are tritheledont and mammal-like reptiles, prosauropod, theropod, and ornithischian dinosaurs, protosuchian and sphenosuchian crocodylomorphs, sphenodontids, and hybodont, semionotid, and palaeonisciform fishes. All of the families are known from Late Triassic and Jurassic strata from elsewhere; however, pollen and spore, radiometric, and geochemical correlation indicate an early Hettangian age for these assemblages. Because all ``typical Triassic'' forms are absent from these assemblages, most Triassic-Jurassic tetrapod extinctions occurred before this time and without the introduction of new families. As was previously suggested by studies of marine invertebrates, this pattern is consistent with a global extinction event at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. The Manicouagan impact structure of Quebec provides dates broadly compatible with the Triassic-Jurassic boundary and, following the impact theory of mass extinctions, may be implicated in the cause.

Collapse of proteostasis represents an early molecular event in Caenorhabditis elegans aging.

PubMed

Ben-Zvi, Anat; Miller, Elizabeth A; Morimoto, Richard I

2009-09-01

Protein damage contributes prominently to cellular aging. To address whether this occurs at a specific period during aging or accumulates gradually, we monitored the biochemical, cellular, and physiological properties of folding sensors expressed in different tissues of C. elegans. We observed the age-dependent misfolding and loss of function of diverse proteins harboring temperature-sensitive missense mutations in all somatic tissues at the permissive condition. This widespread failure in proteostasis occurs rapidly at an early stage of adulthood, and coincides with a severely reduced activation of the cytoprotective heat shock response and the unfolded protein response. Enhancing stress responsive factors HSF-1 or DAF-16 suppresses misfolding of these metastable folding sensors and restores the ability of the cell to maintain a functional proteome. This suggests that a compromise in the regulation of proteostatic stress responses occurs early in adulthood and tips the balance between the load of damaged proteins and the proteostasis machinery. We propose that the collapse of proteostasis represents an early molecular event of aging that amplifies protein damage in age-associated diseases of protein conformation.

Early Intravascular Events are Associated with Development of ARDS.

PubMed

Abdulnour, Raja-Elie E; Gunderson, Tina; Barkas, Ioanna; Timmons, Jack Y; Barnig, Cindy; Gong, Michelle; Kor, Daryl J; Gajic, Ognjen; Talmor, Daniel; Carter, Rickey E; Levy, Bruce D

2018-05-21

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a devastating illness with limited therapeutic options. A better understanding of early biochemical and immunological events in ARDS could inform the development of new preventive and treatment strategies. To determine select peripheral blood lipid mediator and leukocyte responses in patients at-risk for ARDS. Patients at risk for ARDS were randomized as part of a multicenter, double-blind clinical trial of aspirin versus placebo (LIPS-A; NCT01504867). Plasma thromboxane B2 (TxB2), 15-epi-LXA4 (aspirin-triggered lipoxin A4, ATL), and peripheral blood leukocyte number and activation were determined upon enrollment and after treatment with either aspirin or placebo. Thirty-three of 367 subjects (9.0%) developed ARDS after randomization. Baseline ATL levels, total monocyte counts, intermediate monocyte (IntMo) counts, and Mo-PA were associated with the development of ARDS. Peripheral blood neutrophil count and monocyte-platelet aggregates significantly decreased over time. Of note, 9 subjects developed ARDS after randomization yet prior to study drug initiation, including 7 subjects assigned to aspirin treatment. Subjects without ARDS at the time of first dose demonstrated a lower incidence of ARDS with aspirin treatment. Compared with placebo, aspirin significantly decreased TxB2 and increased the ATL/TxB2 ratio. Biomarkers of intravascular monocyte activation in at-risk patients were associated with development of ARDS. The potential clinical benefit of early aspirin for prevention of ARDS remains uncertain. Together, results of the biochemical and immunological analyses provide a window into the early pathogenesis of human ARDS, and represent potential vascular biomarkers of ARDS risk.

A supertree of early tetrapods.

PubMed Central

Ruta, Marcello; Jeffery, Jonathan E; Coates, Michael I

2003-01-01

A genus-level supertree for early tetrapods is built using a matrix representation of 50 source trees. The analysis of all combined trees delivers a long-stemmed topology in which most taxonomic groups are assigned to the tetrapod stem. A second analysis, which excludes source trees superseded by more comprehensive studies, supports a deep phylogenetic split between lissamphibian and amniote total groups. Instances of spurious groups are rare in both analyses. The results of the pruned second analysis are mostly comparable with those of a recent, character-based and large-scale phylogeny of Palaeozoic tetrapods. Outstanding areas of disagreement include the branching sequence of lepospondyls and the content of the amniote crown group, in particular the placement of diadectomorphs as stem diapsids. Supertrees are unsurpassed in their ability to summarize relationship patterns from multiple independent topologies. Therefore, they might be used as a simple test of the degree of corroboration of nodes in the contributory analyses. However, we urge caution in using them as a replacement for character-based cladograms and for inferring macroevolutionary patterns. PMID:14667343

Early events of citrus greening (Huanglongbing) disease development at the ultrastructural level.

PubMed

Folimonova, Svetlana Y; Achor, Diann S

2010-09-01

Citrus greening (Huanglongbing [HLB]) is one of the most destructive diseases of citrus worldwide. The causal agent of HLB in Florida is thought to be 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus'. Understanding of the early events in HLB infection is critical for the development of effective measures to control the disease. In this work, we conducted cytopathological studies by following the development of the disease in citrus trees graft inoculated with 'Ca. L. asiaticus'-containing material under greenhouse conditions to examine the correlation between ultrastructural changes and symptom production, with the main objective of characterizing the early events of infection. Based on our observations, one of the first degenerative changes induced upon invasion of the pathogen appears to be swelling of middle lamella between cell walls surrounding sieve elements. This anatomical aberration was often observed in samples from newly growing flushes in inoculated sweet orange and grapefruit trees at the early "presymptomatic" stage of HLB infection. Development of symptoms and their progression correlated with an increasing degree of microscopic aberrations. Remarkably, the ability to observe the bacterium in the infected tissue also correlated with the degree of the disease progression. Large numbers of bacterial cells were found in phloem sieve tubes in tissue samples from presymptomatic young flushes. In contrast, we did not observe the bacteria in highly symptomatic leaf samples, suggesting a possibility that, at more advanced stages of the disease, a major proportion of 'Ca. L. asiaticus' is present in a nonviable state. We trust that observations reported here advance our understanding of how 'Ca. L. asiaticus' causes disease. Furthermore, they may be an important aid in answering a question: when and where within an infected tree the tissue serves as a better inoculum source for acquisition and transmission of the bacterium by its psyllid vector.

Early maritime economy and El Nino events at Quebrada Tacahuay, Peru

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keefer, D.K.; DeFrance, Susan D.; Moseley, M.E.; Richardson, J. B.; Satterlee, D.R.; Day-Lewis, A.

1998-01-01

The archaeological site of Quebrada Tacahuay, Peru, dates to 12,700 to 12,500 calibrated years before the present (10,770 to 10,530 carbon-14 years before the present). It contains some of the oldest evidence of maritime- based economic activity in the New World. Recovered materials include a hearth, lithic cutting tools and flakes, and abundant processed marine fauna, primarily seabirds and fish. Sediments below and above the occupation layer were probably generated by El Nino events, indicating that El Nino was active during the Pleistocene as well as during the early and middle Holocene.

Structural analysis and tectonic evolution of the eastern Binalud Mountains, NE Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheikholeslami, M. R.; Kouhpeyma, M.

2012-10-01

The Binalud Mountains are situated in the south of the Kopeh Dagh as a transitional zone between the Alborz and Central Iran zones. The Palaeotethys suture of the north Iran is located in this area. The Binalud Mountains consists of relatively thick successions of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. The earliest deformation, a polyphase synmetamorphic deformation which occurred entirely in ductile conditions, is distinguished in the metamorphic rocks of the eastern part. D1, D2 and D3 deformation phases are related to this deformation. The D4 deformation affected the area after a period of sedimentation and erosion. The thrust faults of the central and southern part of the eastern Binalud were classified as structures related to the D5 tectonic event. From the geodynamic point of view, in Late Palaeozoic times the studied area formed an oceanic trench generated by the subduction of the Palaeotethys oceanic lithosphere beneath the Turan Plate. In the Late Triassic, the Early Cimmerian Event resulted in a collisional type orogeny generating a transpression polyphase deformation and the metamorphism of Permian and older sediments. Following this collision, granite intrusions were emplaced in the area and caused contact metamorphism. The exhumation and erosion of the rocks deformed and metamorphosed during Early Cimmerian Event caused the formation of molassic type sediments in a Rhaetian-Lias back arc basin. The continuation of convergence between the Turan and Iran Plates caused the metamorphism of these sediments and their transformation to phyllite and meta-sandstone. During Late Mesozoic and Early Cenozoic times, the convergence between Central Iran and Turan Plates continued and a NE compression caused folding of the Cretaceous and older rocks in the Kopeh Dagh area. In the Binalud area this deformation caused the generation of several thrust fault systems with S to SW vergence, resulting in a thrusting of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic successions on each other

A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian.

PubMed

Vinther, Jakob; Stein, Martin; Longrich, Nicholas R; Harper, David A T

2014-03-27

Large, actively swimming suspension feeders evolved several times in Earth's history, arising independently from groups as diverse as sharks, rays and stem teleost fishes, and in mysticete whales. However, animals occupying this niche have not been identified from the early Palaeozoic era. Anomalocarids, a group of stem arthropods that were the largest nektonic animals of the Cambrian and Ordovician periods, are generally thought to have been apex predators. Here we describe new material from Tamisiocaris borealis, an anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian (Series 2) Sirius Passet Fauna of North Greenland, and propose that its frontal appendage is specialized for suspension feeding. The appendage bears long, slender and equally spaced ventral spines furnished with dense rows of long and fine auxiliary spines. This suggests that T. borealis was a microphagous suspension feeder, using its appendages for sweep-net capture of food items down to 0.5 mm, within the size range of mesozooplankton such as copepods. Our observations demonstrate that large, nektonic suspension feeders first evolved during the Cambrian explosion, as part of an adaptive radiation of anomalocarids. The presence of nektonic suspension feeders in the Early Cambrian, together with evidence for a diverse pelagic community containing phytoplankton and mesozooplankton, indicate the existence of a complex pelagic ecosystem supported by high primary productivity and nutrient flux. Cambrian pelagic ecosystems seem to have been more modern than previously believed.

Which early life events or current environmental and lifestyle factors influence lung function in adolescents? - results from the GINIplus & LISAplus studies.

PubMed

Luzak, Agnes; Fuertes, Elaine; Flexeder, Claudia; Standl, Marie; von Berg, Andrea; Berdel, Dietrich; Koletzko, Sibylle; Heinrich, Joachim; Nowak, Dennis; Schulz, Holger

2017-07-12

Various factors may affect lung function at different stages in life. Since investigations that simultaneously consider several factors are rare, we examined the relative importance of early life, current environmental/lifestyle factors and allergic diseases on lung function in 15-year-olds. Best subset selection was performed for linear regression models to investigate associations between 21 diverse early life events and current factors with spirometric parameters (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s and maximal mid-expiratory flow (FEF 25-75 )) in 1326 participants of the German GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts. To reduce model complexity, one model for each spirometric parameter was replicated 1000 times in random subpopulations (N = 884). Only those factors that were included in >70% of the replication models were retained in the final analysis. A higher peak weight velocity and early lung infections were the early life events prevalently associated with airflow limitation and FEF 25-75 . Current environmental/lifestyle factors at age 15 years and allergic diseases that were associated with lung function were: indoor second-hand smoke exposure, vitamin D concentration, body mass index (BMI) and asthma status. Sex and height captured the majority of the explained variance (>75%), followed by BMI (≤23.7%). The variance explained by early life events was comparatively low (median: 4.8%; range: 0.2-22.4%), but these events were consistently negatively associated with airway function. Although the explained variance was mainly captured by well-known factors included in lung function prediction equations, our findings indicate early life and current factors that should be considered in studies on lung health among adolescents.

Sexual Abuse Exposure Alters Early Processing of Emotional Words: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials

PubMed Central

Grégoire, Laurent; Caparos, Serge; Leblanc, Carole-Anne; Brisson, Benoit; Blanchette, Isabelle

2018-01-01

This study aimed to compare the time course of emotional information processing between trauma-exposed and control participants, using electrophysiological measures. We conceived an emotional Stroop task with two types of words: trauma-related emotional words and neutral words. We assessed the evoked cerebral responses of sexual abuse victims without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and no abuse participants. We focused particularly on an early wave (C1/P1), the N2pc, and the P3b. Our main result indicated an early effect (55–165 ms) of emotionality, which varied between non-exposed participants and sexual abuse victims. This suggests that potentially traumatic experiences modulate early processing of emotional information. Our findings showing neurobiological alterations in sexual abuse victims (without PTSD) suggest that exposure to highly emotional events has an important impact on neurocognitive function even in the absence of psychopathology. PMID:29379428

Divergent response of the neritic carbonate factory to environmental changes during the Early Bajocian Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodin, Stephane; Hönig, Martin; Krencker, Francois-Nicolas; Danisch, Jan; Kabiri, Lahcen

2017-04-01

The Early Bajocian witnessed a global environmental perturbation, characterized by faunal and floral turnovers and a positive carbon isotope excursion. In Italy, this environmental perturbation coincided with an eutrophication event and a carbonate crisis, but this has so far not been adequately reported from other settings, leaving doubt about the extent and nature of these phenomena. Here, we are reporting on an extensive neritic carbonate factory demise that occurs in the upper Lower Bajocian of the Central High Atlas of Morocco, more precisely in the upper Propinquans - lower Humphriesianum Zones. This demise coincided with the acme of the global carbon isotope perturbation, recorded by a 3‰ positive carbon isotope excursion in the bulk organic matter of Morocco. Recovery of the neritic carbonate system occurs during the Early to Late Bajocian transition. The duration of the neritic carbonate factory demise was therefore in the order of 1 Myr. Furthermore, we observe that the Lower Bajocian of Morocco is relatively enriched in arenitic siliciclastic deposits, suggesting increased weathering and nutrient levels along the northwestern margin of Africa during the Early Bajocian. However, comparison with neighboring European basins highlights the non-uniqueness and different timing of the response of shallow-water carbonates to the Early Bajocian environmental perturbations, as some regions present no sign of carbonate factory crisis. Hence, we postulate that local factors were important in mediating the response of neritic carbonate factories to this global environmental perturbation. We notably highlight the role of large Early Bajocian sea-level fluctuation as a trigger for carbonate factory change and demise in Morocco. Indeed, in the Central High Atlas Basin, transgressive intervals are seeing the development of a mud-dominated carbonate factory whereas regressive intervals are associated with grain-dominated carbonate factory. We speculate that the

Modeling Tool for Decision Support during Early Days of an Anthrax Event.

PubMed

Rainisch, Gabriel; Meltzer, Martin I; Shadomy, Sean; Bower, William A; Hupert, Nathaniel

2017-01-01

Health officials lack field-implementable tools for forecasting the effects that a large-scale release of Bacillus anthracis spores would have on public health and hospitals. We created a modeling tool (combining inhalational anthrax caseload projections based on initial case reports, effects of variable postexposure prophylaxis campaigns, and healthcare facility surge capacity requirements) to project hospitalizations and casualties from a newly detected inhalation anthrax event, and we examined the consequences of intervention choices. With only 3 days of case counts, the model can predict final attack sizes for simulated Sverdlovsk-like events (1979 USSR) with sufficient accuracy for decision making and confirms the value of early postexposure prophylaxis initiation. According to a baseline scenario, hospital treatment volume peaks 15 days after exposure, deaths peak earlier (day 5), and recovery peaks later (day 23). This tool gives public health, hospital, and emergency planners scenario-specific information for developing quantitative response plans for this threat.

The role of impact events play in redistributing and sequestering water on Early Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osinski, G.; Tornabene, L. L.

2017-12-01

Impact cratering is one of the most fundamental geological process in the Solar System. Several workers have considered the effect that impact events may have had on the climate of Early Mars. The proposed effects range from impact-induced precipitation to the production of runaway stable climates to the impact delivery of climatically active gases. The role of impact events in forming hydrated minerals has been touched upon but remains debated. In this contribution, we focus on the role that impact events may have played in redistributing and sequestering water on Early Mars; a record that may still be preserved in the Noachian crust. It has been previously proposed that the sequestration of significant quantities of water may have occurred within various hydrated minerals, in particular clays, in the martian crust. There is undoubtedly no single origin for clay-bearing rocks on Mars and the purpose of this contribution is not to review all the possible formation mechanisms. What we do propose, however, is that it is theoretically possible for impact events to create all known occurrences of clays on Mars. We show that clays can form within and around impact craters in two main ways: through the solid-state devitrification of hydrous impact melts and/or impact-generated hydrothermal alteration. Neither of these mechanisms requires a warmer or wetter climate scenario on Early Mars. Notwithstanding the original origin of clays, any clays may be widely redistributed over the Martian surface in the ejecta deposits of large impact craters. However, ejecta deposits are much more complex than commonly thought, with evidence in many instances for two different types of ejecta deposits around martian craters. The first is a ballistic ejecta layer that is low-shock, melt-poor and low-temperature; it will likely not induce the formation of new clays through the mechanisms described above, but could redistribute pre-impact clays over 100's and 1000's of km over the martian

Impact of COX2 genotype, ER status and body constitution on risk of early events in different treatment groups of breast cancer patients.

PubMed

Markkula, Andrea; Simonsson, Maria; Rosendahl, Ann H; Gaber, Alexander; Ingvar, Christian; Rose, Carsten; Jernström, Helena

2014-10-15

The COX2 rs5277 (306G>C) polymorphism has been associated with inflammation-associated cancers. In breast cancer, tumor COX-2 expression has been associated with increased estrogen levels in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and activated Akt-pathway in ER-negative tumors. Our study investigated the impact of COX2 genotypes on early breast cancer events and treatment response in relation to tumor ER status and body constitution. In Sweden, between 2002 and 2008, 634 primary breast cancer patients, aged 25-99 years, were included. Disease-free survival was assessed for 570 rs5277-genotyped patients. Body measurements and questionnaires were obtained preoperatively. Clinical data, patient- and tumor-characteristics were obtained from questionnaires, patients' charts, population registries and pathology reports. Minor allele(C) frequency was 16.1%. Genotype was not linked to COX-2 tumor expression. Median follow-up was 5.1 years. G/G genotype was not associated with early events in patients with ER-positive tumors, adjusted HR 0.77 (0.46-1.29), but conferred an over 4-fold increased risk in patients with ER-negative tumors, adjusted HR 4.41 (1.21-16.02)(p(interaction) = 0.015). Chemotherapy-treated G/G-carriers with a breast volume ≥ 850 ml had an increased risk of early events irrespective of ER status, adjusted HR 8.99 (1.14-70.89). Endocrine-treated C-allele carriers with ER-positive tumors and a breast volume ≥ 850 ml had increased risk of early events, adjusted HR 2.30 (1.12-4.75). COX2 genotype, body constitution and ER status had a combined effect on the risk of early events and treatment response. The high risk for early events in certain subgroups of patients suggests that COX2 genotype in combination with body measurements may identify patients in need of more personalized treatment. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of UICC.

Irregularities in Early Seismic Rupture Propagation for Large Events in a Crustal Earthquake Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapusta, N.; Rice, J. R.; Rice, J. R.

2001-12-01

We study early seismic propagation of model earthquakes in a 2-D model of a vertical strike-slip fault with depth-variable rate and state friction properties. Our model earthquakes are obtained in fully dynamic simulations of sequences of instabilities on a fault subjected to realistically slow tectonic loading (Lapusta et al., JGR, 2000). This work is motivated by results of Ellsworth and Beroza (Science, 1995), who observe that for many earthquakes, far-field velocity seismograms during initial stages of dynamic rupture propagation have irregular fluctuations which constitute a "seismic nucleation phase". In our simulations, we find that such irregularities in velocity seismograms can be caused by two factors: (1) rupture propagation over regions of stress concentrations and (2) partial arrest of rupture in neighboring creeping regions. As rupture approaches a region of stress concentration, it sees increasing background stress and its moment acceleration (to which velocity seismographs in the far field are proportional) increases. After the peak in stress concentration, the rupture sees decreasing background stress and moment acceleration decreases. Hence a fluctuation in moment acceleration is created. If rupture starts sufficiently far from a creeping region, then partial arrest of rupture in the creeping region causes a decrease in moment acceleration. As the other parts of rupture continue to develop, moment acceleration then starts to grow again, and a fluctuation again results. Other factors may cause the irregularities in moment acceleration, e.g., phenomena such as branching and/or intermittent rupture propagation (Poliakov et al., submitted to JGR, 2001) which we have not studied here. Regions of stress concentration are created in our model by arrest of previous smaller events as well as by interactions with creeping regions. One such region is deep in the fault zone, and is caused by the temperature-induced transition from seismogenic to creeping

Pan-Africa/Pan-Brazilian detrital zircons in Lower Palaeozoic schists of SW Norway - enigmatic detrital zircon U-Pb ages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimmermann, Udo; Bjørheim, Maren; Clark, Chris

2013-04-01

the black schists are an equivalent of the Alum shale successions, which is exposed in the Oslo region, southern Sweden and Bornholm (Denmark) and would be then belong to the margin of Baltica. However, detrital zircons with Ediacaran to Lower Palaeozoic ages are exotic to Baltica, and especially unexpected for the proposed passive margin. Magmatic events in SW Baltica of such an age are yet unknown, besides the intrusion of mafic dykes which cannot account for this large number of detrital zircons in the schists. Hence, there are several possibilities to explain this population: 1. The source area was not in Baltica and this sliver of schists is exotic to Baltica and was accreted during the Caledonian orogeny as the rocks show Caledonian deformation and metamorphism. 2. The depositional area had been in Baltica but the source area has drifted away and the schists are younger than Middle Cambrian, possibly Caledonian. 3. The schists are one of the few relicts which reflect magmatic events of Ediacaran and Lower Paleozoic ages (pre-Caledonian) in Baltica, which we have not been aware of so far and for which we have no geodynamic explanation (as the current opinion interprets a passive margin at the western boundary of Baltica) and might indicate unexpectedly young rift magmatism. If possibility (1) is taken into account then the candidates for the origin are somewhat restricted to Gondwana as on the eastern margin of Laurentia massive magmatism of Ediacaran to Lower Paleozoic ages is as well not well constrained.

Preserving the Past: An Early Interview Improves Delayed Event Memory in Children With Intellectual Disabilities

PubMed Central

Brown, Deirdre A; Lewis, Charlie N; Lamb, Michael E

2015-01-01

The influence of an early interview on children's (N = 194) later recall of an experienced event was examined in children with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (CWID; 7–12 years) and typically developing (TD) children matched for chronological (7–12 years) or mental (4–9 years) age. Children previously interviewed were more informative, more accurate, and less suggestible. CWID (mild) recalled as much information as TD mental age matches, and were as accurate as TD chronological age matches. CWID (moderate) recalled less than TD mental age matches but were as accurate. Interviewers should elicit CWID's recall as early as possible and consider developmental level and severity of impairments when evaluating eyewitness testimony. PMID:25876042

Tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor treatment and the risk of incident cardiovascular events in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: a nested case-control study.

PubMed

Desai, Rishi J; Rao, Jaya K; Hansen, Richard A; Fang, Gang; Maciejewski, Matthew; Farley, Joel

2014-11-01

To compare the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events between use of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (TNFi) and nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A nested case-control study was conducted using data from Truven's MarketScan commercial and Medicare claims database for patients with early RA who started treatment with either a TNFi or a nonbiologic DMARD between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2010. Date of CV event diagnosis for cases was defined as the event date, and 12 age-matched and sex-matched controls were sampled using incidence density sampling. Drug exposure was defined into the following mutually exclusive categories hierarchically: (1) current use of TNFi (with or without nonbiologics), (2) past use of TNFi (with or without nonbiologics), (3) current use of nonbiologics only, and (4) past use of nonbiologics only. Current use was defined as any use in the period 90 days prior to the event date. Conditional logistic regression models were used to derive incidence rate ratios (IRR). From the cohort of patients with early RA, 279 cases of incident CV events and 3348 matched controls were identified. The adjusted risk of CV events was not significantly different between current TNFi users and current nonbiologic users (IRR 0.92, 95% CI 0.59-1.44). However, past users of nonbiologics showed significantly higher risk compared to current nonbiologic users (IRR 1.47, 95% CI 1.04-2.08). No differences in the CV risk were found between current TNFi and current nonbiologic DMARD treatment in patients with early RA.

Multi-model data fusion to improve an early warning system for hypo-/hyperglycemic events.

PubMed

Botwey, Ransford Henry; Daskalaki, Elena; Diem, Peter; Mougiakakou, Stavroula G

2014-01-01

Correct predictions of future blood glucose levels in individuals with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) can be used to provide early warning of upcoming hypo-/hyperglycemic events and thus to improve the patient's safety. To increase prediction accuracy and efficiency, various approaches have been proposed which combine multiple predictors to produce superior results compared to single predictors. Three methods for model fusion are presented and comparatively assessed. Data from 23 T1D subjects under sensor-augmented pump (SAP) therapy were used in two adaptive data-driven models (an autoregressive model with output correction - cARX, and a recurrent neural network - RNN). Data fusion techniques based on i) Dempster-Shafer Evidential Theory (DST), ii) Genetic Algorithms (GA), and iii) Genetic Programming (GP) were used to merge the complimentary performances of the prediction models. The fused output is used in a warning algorithm to issue alarms of upcoming hypo-/hyperglycemic events. The fusion schemes showed improved performance with lower root mean square errors, lower time lags, and higher correlation. In the warning algorithm, median daily false alarms (DFA) of 0.25%, and 100% correct alarms (CA) were obtained for both event types. The detection times (DT) before occurrence of events were 13.0 and 12.1 min respectively for hypo-/hyperglycemic events. Compared to the cARX and RNN models, and a linear fusion of the two, the proposed fusion schemes represents a significant improvement.

Potential of Breastmilk Analysis to Inform Early Events in Breast Carcinogenesis: Rationale and Considerations

PubMed Central

Murphy, Jeanne; Sherman, Mark E.; Browne, Eva P.; Caballero, Ana I.; Punska, Elizabeth C.; Pfeiffer, Ruth M.; Yang, Hannah P.; Lee, Maxwell; Yang, Howard; Gierach, Gretchen L.; Arcaro, Kathleen F.

2016-01-01

This review summarizes methods related to the study of human breastmilk in etiologic and biomarkers research. Despite the importance of reproductive factors in breast carcinogenesis, factors that act early in life are difficult to study because young women rarely require breast imaging or biopsy, and analysis of critical circulating factors (e.g. hormones) is often complicated by the requirement to accurately account for menstrual cycle date. Accordingly, novel approaches are needed to understand how events such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, weaning, and post-weaning breast remodeling influence breast cancer risk. Analysis of breastmilk offers opportunities to understand mechanisms related to carcinogenesis in the breast, and to identify risk markers that may inform efforts to identify high-risk women early in the carcinogenic process. In addition, analysis of breastmilk could have value in early detection or diagnosis of breast cancer. In this article we describe the potential for using breastmilk to characterize the microenvironment of the lactating breast with the goal of advancing research on risk assessment, prevention, and detection of breast cancer. PMID:27107568

Relation of Cardiac Complications in the Early Phase of Community-Acquired Pneumonia to Long-Term Mortality and Cardiovascular Events.

PubMed

Cangemi, Roberto; Calvieri, Camilla; Falcone, Marco; Bucci, Tommaso; Bertazzoni, Giuliano; Scarpellini, Maria G; Barillà, Francesco; Taliani, Gloria; Violi, Francesco

2015-08-15

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is complicated by cardiac events in the early phase of the disease. Aim of this study was to assess if these intrahospital cardiac complications may account for overall mortality and cardiovascular events occurring during a long-term follow-up. Three hundred one consecutive patients admitted to the University-Hospital, Policlinico Umberto I, with community-acquired pneumonia were prospectively recruited and followed up for a median of 17.4 months. Primary end point was the occurrence of death for any cause, and secondary end point was the occurrence of cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction [MI], and stroke). During the intrahospital stay, 55 patients (18%) experienced a cardiac complication. Of these, 32 had an MI (29 non-ST-elevation MI and 3 ST-elevation MI) and 30 had a new episode of atrial fibrillation (7 nonmutually exclusive events). During the follow-up, 89 patients died (51% of patients with an intrahospital cardiac complication and 26% of patients without, p <0.001) and 73 experienced a cardiovascular event (47% of patients with and 19% of patients without an intrahospital cardiac complication, p <0.001). A Cox regression analysis showed that intrahospital cardiac complications, age, and Pneumonia Severity Index were significantly associated with overall mortality, whereas intrahospital cardiac complications, age, hypertension, and diabetes were significantly associated with cardiovascular events during the follow-up. In conclusion, this prospective study shows that intrahospital cardiac complications in the early phase of pneumonia are associated with an enhanced risk of death and cardiovascular events during long-term follow-up. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using SHRIMP zircon dating to unravel tectonothermal events in arc environments. The early Palaeozoic arc of NW Iberia revisited

USGS Publications Warehouse

Abati, J.; Castineiras, P.G.; Arenas, R.; Fernandez-Suarez, J.; Barreiro, J.G.; Wooden, J.L.

2007-01-01

Dating of zircon cores and rims from granulites developed in a shear zone provides insights into the complex relationship between magmatism and metamorphism in the deep roots of arc environments. The granulites belong to the uppermost allochthonous terrane of the NW Iberian Massif, which forms part of a Cambro-Ordovician magmatic arc developed in the peri-Gondwanan realm. The obtained zircon ages confirm that voluminous calc-alkaline magmatism peaked around 500Ma and was shortly followed by granulite facies metamorphism accompanied by deformation at c. 480Ma, giving a time framework for crustal heating, regional metamorphism, deformation and partial melting, the main processes that control the tectonothermal evolution of arc systems. Traces of this arc can be discontinuously followed in different massifs throughout the European Variscan Belt, and we propose that the uppermost allochthonous units of the NW Iberian Massif, together with the related terranes in Europe, constitute an independent and coherent terrane that drifted away from northern Gondwana prior to the Variscan collisional orogenesis. ?? 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Approximate entropy analysis of event-related potentials in patients with early vascular dementia.

PubMed

Xu, Jin; Sheng, Hengsong; Lou, Wutao; Zhao, Songzhen

2012-06-01

This study investigated differences in event-related potential (ERP) parameters among early vascular dementia (VD) patients, healthy elder controls (ECs), and young controls (YCs). A visual "oddball" color identification task was performed while individuals' electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded. Approximate entropy (ApEn), a nonlinear measure, along with P300 latencies and amplitudes were used to analyze ERP data and compare these three groups. The patients with VD showed more complex ERP waveforms and higher ApEn values than did ECs while performing the visual task. It was further found that patients with VD showed reduced P300 amplitudes and increased latencies. The results indicate that patients with VD have fewer attention resources to devote to processing stimuli, lower speed of stimulus classification, and lower synchrony in their cortical activity during the response period. We suggest that ApEn, as a measure of ERP complexity, is a promising marker for early diagnosis of VD.

Performance of Earthquake Early Warning Systems during the Major Events of the 2016-2017 Central Italy Seismic Sequence.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Festa, G.; Picozzi, M.; Alessandro, C.; Colombelli, S.; Cattaneo, M.; Chiaraluce, L.; Elia, L.; Martino, C.; Marzorati, S.; Supino, M.; Zollo, A.

2017-12-01

Earthquake early warning systems (EEWS) are systems nowadays contributing to the seismic risk mitigation actions, both in terms of losses and societal resilience, by issuing an alert promptly after the earthquake origin and before the ground shaking impacts the targets to be protected. EEWS systems can be grouped in two main classes: network based and stand-alone systems. Network based EEWS make use of dense seismic networks surrounding the fault (e.g. Near Fault Observatory; NFO) generating the event. The rapid processing of the P-wave early portion allows for the location and magnitude estimation of the event then used to predict the shaking through ground motion prediction equations. Stand-alone systems instead analyze the early P-wave signal to predict the ground shaking carried by the late S or surface waves, through empirically calibrated scaling relationships, at the recording site itself. We compared the network-based (PRESTo, PRobabilistic and Evolutionary early warning SysTem, www.prestoews.org, Satriano et al., 2011) and the stand-alone (SAVE, on-Site-Alert-leVEl, Caruso et al., 2017) systems, by analyzing their performance during the 2016-2017 Central Italy sequence. We analyzed 9 earthquakes having magnitude 5.0 < M < 6.5 at about 200 stations located within 200 km from the epicentral area, including stations of The Altotiberina NFO (TABOO). Performances are evaluated in terms of rate of success of ground shaking intensity prediction and available lead-time, i.e. the time available for security actions. PRESTo also evaluated the accuracy of location and magnitude. Both systems well predict the ground shaking nearby the event source, with a success rate around 90% within the potential damage zone. The lead-time is significantly larger for the network based system, increasing to more than 10s at 40 km from the event epicentre. The stand-alone system better performs in the near-source region showing a positive albeit small lead-time (<3s). Far away from

Predicting adverse obstetric outcome after early pregnancy events and complications: a review.

PubMed

van Oppenraaij, R H F; Jauniaux, E; Christiansen, O B; Horcajadas, J A; Farquharson, R G; Exalto, N

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND The aim was to evaluate the impact of early pregnancy events and complications as predictors of adverse obstetric outcome. METHODS We conducted a literature review on the impact of first trimester complications in previous and index pregnancies using Medline and Cochrane databases covering the period 1980-2008. RESULTS Clinically relevant associations of adverse outcome in the subsequent pregnancy with an odds ratio (OR) > 2.0 after complications in a previous pregnancy are the risk of perinatal death after a single previous miscarriage, the risk of very preterm delivery (VPTD) after two or more miscarriages, the risk of placenta praevia, premature preterm rupture of membranes, VPTD and low birthweight (LBW) after recurrent miscarriage and the risk of VPTD after two or more termination of pregnancy. Clinically relevant associations of adverse obstetric outcome in the ongoing pregnancy with an OR > 2.0 after complications in the index pregnancy are the risk of LBW and very low birthweight (VLBW) after a threatened miscarriage, the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia, placental abruption, preterm delivery (PTD), small for gestational age and low 5-min Apgar score after detection of an intrauterine haematoma, the risk of VPTD and intrauterine growth restriction after a crown-rump length discrepancy, the risk of VPTD, LBW and VLBW after a vanishing twin phenomenon and the risk of PTD, LBW and low 5-min Apgar score in a pregnancy complicated by severe hyperemesis gravidarum. CONCLUSIONS Data from our literature review indicate, by finding significant associations, that specific early pregnancy events and complications are predictors for subsequent adverse obstetric and perinatal outcome. Though, some of these associations are based on limited or small uncontrolled studies. Larger population-based controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings. Nevertheless, identification of these risks will improve obstetric care.

The characters of Palaeozoic jawed vertebrates

PubMed Central

Brazeau, Martin D; Friedman, Matt

2014-01-01

Newly discovered fossils from the Silurian and Devonian periods are beginning to challenge embedded perceptions about the origin and early diversification of jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes). Nevertheless, an explicit cladistic framework for the relationships of these fossils relative to the principal crown lineages of the jawed vertebrates (osteichthyans: bony fishes and tetrapods; chondrichthyans: sharks, batoids, and chimaeras) remains elusive. We critically review the systematics and character distributions of early gnathostomes and provide a clearly stated hierarchy of synapomorphies covering the jaw-bearing stem gnathostomes and osteichthyan and chondrichthyan stem groups. We show that character lists, designed to support the monophyly of putative groups, tend to overstate their strength and lack cladistic corroboration. By contrast, synapomorphic hierarchies are more open to refutation and must explicitly confront conflicting evidence. Our proposed synapomorphy scheme is used to evaluate the status of the problematic fossil groups Acanthodii and Placodermi, and suggest profitable avenues for future research. We interpret placoderms as a paraphyletic array of stem-group gnathostomes, and suggest what we regard as two equally plausible placements of acanthodians: exclusively on the chondrichthyan stem, or distributed on both the chondrichthyan and osteichthyan stems. PMID:25750460

Characteristics of long recovery early VLF events observed by the North African AWESOME Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naitamor, S.; Cohen, M. B.; Cotts, B. R. T.; Ghalila, H.; Alabdoadaim, M. A.; Graf, K.

2013-08-01

Lightning strokes are capable of initiating disturbances in the lower ionosphere, whose recoveries persist for many minutes. These events are remotely sensed via monitoring subionospherically propagating very low frequency (VLF) transmitter signals, which are perturbed as they pass through the region above the lightning stroke. In this paper we describe the properties and characteristics of the early VLF signal perturbations, which exhibit long recovery times using subionospheric VLF transmitter data from three identical receivers located at Algiers (Algeria), Tunis (Tunisia), and Sebha (Libya). The results indicate that the observation of long recovery events depends strongly on the modal structure of the signal electromagnetic field and the distance from the disturbed region and the receiver or transmitter locations. Comparison of simultaneously collected data at the three sites indicates that the role of the causative lightning stroke properties (e.g., peak current and polarity), or that of transient luminous events may be much less important. The dominant parameter which determines the duration of the recovery time and amplitude appears to be the modal structure of the subionospheric VLF probe signal at the ionospheric disturbance, where scattering occurs, and the subsequent modal structure that propagates to the receiver location.

EFFECT OF ARSENICALS ON THE EXPRESSION OF CELL CYCLE PROTEINS AND EARLY SIGNALING EVENTS IN PRIMARY HUMAN KERATINOCYTES.

EPA Science Inventory

Effect of Arsenicals on the Expression of Cell Cycle Proteins and Early Signaling Events in Primary Human Keratinocytes.

Mudipalli, A, Owen R. D. and R. J. Preston, Environmental Carcinogenesis Division, USEPA, RTP, NC 27711.

Environmental exposure to arsenic is a m...

Types and origin of dolostones in the Lower Palaeozoic of the North China Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zengzhao, Feng; Zhenkui, Jin

1994-11-01

Dolostones are very common in the Lower Palaeozoic of the North China Platform. They can be divided into two large groups: mud-silt-sized crystalline dolostones and saccharoid dolostones. The former can be further divided into gypsiferous and nongypsiferous mud-silt-sized crystalline dolostones and the latter into equal-sized and unequal-sized saccharoid dolostones. Gypsiferous, mud-silt-sized, crystalline dolostones are well laminated, show bird's-eyes and mudcracks, and contain gypsum crystals or nodules. Their δ 13C is +0.42‰ to +2.21‰, and δ 18O is -6.01‰ to -4.77‰ (PDB standard). These dolostones are similar sedimentologically to the sabkha penecontemporaneous dolostones in the Persian Gulf and were formed in supratidal flats by hypersaline sea water in arid conditions. Nongypsiferous, mud-silt-sized, crystalline dolostones are similar to the gypsiferous ones in texture and structure but do not contain gypsum. Their δ 13C is -3.69‰ to +3.41‰, and δ 18O is -8.17‰ to -4.04‰. They are similar to the supratidal penecontemporaneous dolostones on the Bahamian Platform and were formed in supratidal flats by hypersaline sea water in humid conditions. Equal-sized saccharoid dolostones are composed of dolomites of approximately the same size. Their δ 13C is -2.11‰ to +2.10‰, and δ 18O is -9.33‰ to -4.09‰. These dolostones mainly resulted from dorag dolomitization. Unequal-sized saccharoid dolostones are composed of dolomites of greatly different sizes. Their δ 13C is -4.72 to -1.08, and δ 18O is -9.27‰ to -7.32‰ . These dolostones resulted from the recrystallization of earlier dolostones. The reservoir characteristics of dolostones are affected by many factors. Production practice shows that non-clayey silt-sized crystalline dolostones are the best dolostone reservoir rocks.

Effects of atorvastatin on early recurrent ischemic events in acute coronary syndromes: the MIRACL study: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Schwartz, G G; Olsson, A G; Ezekowitz, M D; Ganz, P; Oliver, M F; Waters, D; Zeiher, A; Chaitman, B R; Leslie, S; Stern, T

2001-04-04

Patients experience the highest rate of death and recurrent ischemic events during the early period after an acute coronary syndrome, but it is not known whether early initiation of treatment with a statin can reduce the occurrence of these early events. To determine whether treatment with atorvastatin, 80 mg/d, initiated 24 to 96 hours after an acute coronary syndrome, reduces death and nonfatal ischemic events. A randomized, double-blind trial conducted from May 1997 to September 1999, with follow-up through 16 weeks at 122 clinical centers in Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australasia. A total of 3086 adults aged 18 years or older with unstable angina or non-Q-wave acute myocardial infarction. Patients were stratified by center and randomly assigned to receive treatment with atorvastatin (80 mg/d) or matching placebo between 24 and 96 hours after hospital admission. Primary end point event defined as death, nonfatal acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest with resuscitation, or recurrent symptomatic myocardial ischemia with objective evidence and requiring emergency rehospitalization. A primary end point event occurred in 228 patients (14.8%) in the atorvastatin group and 269 patients (17.4%) in the placebo group (relative risk [RR], 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70-1.00; P =.048). There were no significant differences in risk of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or cardiac arrest between the atorvastatin group and the placebo group, although the atorvastatin group had a lower risk of symptomatic ischemia with objective evidence and requiring emergency rehospitalization (6.2% vs 8.4%; RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57-0.95; P =.02). Likewise, there were no significant differences between the atorvastatin group and the placebo group in the incidence of secondary outcomes of coronary revascularization procedures, worsening heart failure, or worsening angina, although there were fewer strokes in the atorvastatin group than in the placebo group (12

Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous event stratigraphy of Devils Gate and Northern Antelope Range sections, Nevada, U.S.A

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sandberg, C.A.; Morrow, J.R.; Poole, F.G.; Ziegler, W.

2003-01-01

The classic type section of the Devils Gate Limestone at Devils Gate Pass is situated on the eastern slope of a proto-Antler forebulge that resulted from convergence of the west side of the North American continent with an ocean plate. The original Late Devonian forebulge, the site of which is now located between Devils Gate Pass and the Northern Antelope Range, separated the continental-rise to deep-slope Woodruff basin on the west from the backbulge Pilot basin on the east. Two connections between these basins are recorded by deeper water siltstone beds at Devils Gate; the older one is the lower tongue of the Woodruff Formation, which forms the basal unit of the upper member of the type Devils Gate, and the upper one is the overlying, thin lower member of the Pilot Shale. The forebulge and the backbulge Pilot basin originated during the middle Frasnian (early Late Devonian) Early hassi Zone, shortly following the Alamo Impact within the punctata Zone in southern Nevada. Evidence of this impact is recorded by coeval and reworked shocked quartz grains in the Northern Antelope Range and possibly by a unique bypass-channel or megatsunami-uprush sandy diamictite within carbonate-platform rocks of the lower member of the type Devils Gate Limestone. Besides the Alamo Impact and three regional events, two other important global events are recorded in the Devils Gate section. The semichatovae eustatic rise, the maximum Late Devonian flooding event, coincides with the sharp lithogenetic change at the discordant boundary above the lower member of the Devils Gate Limestone. Most significantly, the Devils Gate section contains the thickest and most complete rock record in North America across the late Frasnian linguiformis Zone mass extinction event. Excellent exposures include not only the extinction shale, but also a younger. Early triangularis Zone tsunamite breccia, produced by global collapse of carbonate platforms during a shallowing event that continued into the next

Age-related differences in event-related potentials for early visual processing of emotional faces.

PubMed

Hilimire, Matthew R; Mienaltowski, Andrew; Blanchard-Fields, Fredda; Corballis, Paul M

2014-07-01

With advancing age, processing resources are shifted away from negative emotional stimuli and toward positive ones. Here, we explored this 'positivity effect' using event-related potentials (ERPs). Participants identified the presence or absence of a visual probe that appeared over photographs of emotional faces. The ERPs elicited by the onsets of angry, sad, happy and neutral faces were recorded. We examined the frontocentral emotional positivity (FcEP), which is defined as a positive deflection in the waveforms elicited by emotional expressions relative to neutral faces early on in the time course of the ERP. The FcEP is thought to reflect enhanced early processing of emotional expressions. The results show that within the first 130 ms young adults show an FcEP to negative emotional expressions, whereas older adults show an FcEP to positive emotional expressions. These findings provide additional evidence that the age-related positivity effect in emotion processing can be traced to automatic processes that are evident very early in the processing of emotional facial expressions. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Early Events Leading to the Host Protective Th2 Immune Response to an Intestinal Nematode Parasite

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

expansion, eosinophilia , and IL-4 production (51;52). Similar down regulations of Th2 associated cytokines were observed using monoclonal antibodies...1. Kightlinger,L.K., Seed,J.R., and Kightlinger,M.B., The epidemiology of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm in children in...Copyright Statement The author hereby certifies that the use of any copyrighted material in the thesis manuscript entitled: “Early Events

Early Decrease in Respiration and Uncoupling Event Independent of Cytochrome c Release in PC12 Cells Undergoing Apoptosis

PubMed Central

Berghella, Libera; Ferraro, Elisabetta

2012-01-01

Cytochrome c is a key molecule in mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. It also plays a pivotal role in cell respiration. The switch between these two functions occurs at the moment of its release from mitochondria. This process is therefore extremely relevant for the fate of the cell. Since cytochrome c mediates respiration, we studied the changes in respiratory chain activity during the early stages of apoptosis in order to contribute to unravel the mechanisms of cytochrome c release. We found that, during staurosporine (STS)- induced apoptosis in PC12 cells, respiration is affected before the release of cytochrome c, as shown by a decrease in the endogenous uncoupled respiration and an uncoupling event, both occurring independently of cytochrome c release. The decline in the uncoupled respiration occurs also upon Bcl-2 overexpression (which inhibits cytochrome c release), while the uncoupling event is inhibited by Bcl-2. We also observed that the first stage of nuclear condensation during STS-induced apoptosis does not depend on the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol and is a reversibile event. These findings may contribute to understand the mechanisms affecting mitochondria during the early stages of apoptosis and priming them for the release of apoptogenic factors. PMID:22666257

Evidence of resilience to past climate change in Southwest Asia: Early farming communities and the 9.2 and 8.2 ka events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flohr, Pascal; Fleitmann, Dominik; Matthews, Roger; Matthews, Wendy; Black, Stuart

2016-03-01

Climate change is often cited as a major factor in social change. The so-called 8.2 ka event was one of the most pronounced and abrupt Holocene cold and arid events. The 9.2 ka event was similar, albeit of a smaller magnitude. Both events affected the Northern Hemisphere climate and caused cooling and aridification in Southwest Asia. Yet, the impacts of the 8.2 and 9.2 ka events on early farming communities in this region are not well understood. Current hypotheses for an effect of the 8.2 ka event vary from large-scale site abandonment and migration (including the Neolithisation of Europe) to continuation of occupation and local adaptation, while impacts of the 9.2 ka have not previously been systematically studied. In this paper, we present a thorough assessment of available, quality-checked radiocarbon (14C) dates for sites from Southwest Asia covering the time interval between 9500 and 7500 cal BP, which we interpret in combination with archaeological evidence. In this way, the synchronicity between changes observed in the archaeological record and the rapid climate events is tested. It is shown that there is no evidence for a simultaneous and widespread collapse, large-scale site abandonment, or migration at the time of the events. However, there are indications for local adaptation. We conclude that early farming communities were resilient to the abrupt, severe climate changes at 9250 and 8200 cal BP.

A catastrophic event in Lake Geneva region during the Early Bronze Age?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kremer, Katrina; Yrro, Blé; Marillier, François; Hilbe, Michael; Corboud, Pierre; Rachoud-Schneider, Anne-Marie; Girardclos, Stéphanie

2013-04-01

Similarly to steep oceanic continental margins, lake slopes can collapse, producing large sublacustrine landslides and tsunamis. Lake sediments are excellent natural archives of such mass movements and their study allows the reconstructions of these prehistoric events, such as the 563 AD large tsunami over Lake Geneva (Kremer et al, 2012). In Lake Geneva, more than 100 km of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles reveal the late Holocene sedimentation history. The seismic record shows a succession of five large lens-shaped seismic units (A to I), characterized by transparent/chaotic seismic facies with irregular lower boundaries, and interpreted as mass-movement deposits. These units are interbedded with parallel, continuous and strong amplitude reflections, interpreted as the 'background' lake sediments. The oldest dated mass movement (Unit D) covers a surface of 22 km2 in the deep basin, near the city of Lausanne. This deposit has an estimated minimum volume of 0.18 km3 and thus was very likely tsunamigenic (Kremer et al, 2012). A 12-m-long sediment core confirms the seismic interpretation of the mass movement unit and shows that the uppermost 3 m of Unit D are characterized by deformed hemipelagic sediments topped by a 5 cm thick turbidite. This deposit can be classified as a slump whose scar can be interpreted in the seismic data and visualized by multibeam bathymetry. This slump of Lausanne was likely triggered by an earthquake but a spontaneous slope collapse cannot be excluded (Girardclos et al, 2007). Radiocarbon dating of plant macro-remains reveals that the unit D happened during Early Bronze Age. Three other mass wasting deposits occurred during the same time period and may have been triggered during the same event, either by a single earthquake or by a tsunami generated by the slump of Lausanne. Although the exact trigger mechanism of the all these mass-wasting deposits remains unknown, a tsunami likely generated by this event may have affected the

Membrane remodeling, an early event in benzo[alpha]pyrene-induced apoptosis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tekpli, Xavier; Rissel, Mary; Huc, Laurence

2010-02-15

Benzo[alpha]pyrene (B[alpha]P) often serves as a model for mutagenic and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Our previous work suggested a role of membrane fluidity in B[alpha]P-induced apoptotic process. In this study, we report that B[alpha]P modifies the composition of cholesterol-rich microdomains (lipid rafts) in rat liver F258 epithelial cells. The cellular distribution of the ganglioside-GM1 was markedly changed following B[alpha]P exposure. B[alpha]P also modified fatty acid composition and decreased the cholesterol content of cholesterol-rich microdomains. B[alpha]P-induced depletion of cholesterol in lipid rafts was linked to a reduced expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase). Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and B[alpha]P-related H{submore » 2}O{sub 2} formation were involved in the reduced expression of HMG-CoA reductase and in the remodeling of membrane microdomains. The B[alpha]P-induced membrane remodeling resulted in an intracellular alkalinization observed during the early phase of apoptosis. In conclusion, B[alpha]P altered the composition of plasma membrane microstructures through AhR and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} dependent-regulation of lipid biosynthesis. In F258 cells, the B[alpha]P-induced membrane remodeling was identified as an early apoptotic event leading to an intracellular alkalinization.« less

Coping with a life event in bipolar disorder: ambulatory measurement, signalling and early treatment.

PubMed

Knapen, Stefan E; Riemersma-van der Lek, Rixt F; Haarman, Bartholomeus C M; Schoevers, Robert A

2016-10-13

Disruption of the biological rhythm in patients with bipolar disorder is a known risk factor for a switch in mood. This case study describes how modern techniques using ambulatory assessment of sleep parameters can help in signalling a mood switch and start early treatment. We studied a 40-year-old woman with bipolar disorder experiencing a life event while wearing an actigraph to measure sleep-wake parameters. The night after the life event the woman had sleep later and shorter sleep duration. Adequate response of both the woman and the treating psychiatrist resulted in two normal nights with the use of 1 mg lorazepam, possibly preventing further mood disturbances. Ambulatory assessment of the biological rhythm can function as an add-on to regular signalling plans for prevention of episodes in patients with bipolar disorder. More research should be conducted to validate clinical applicability, proper protocols and to understand underlying mechanisms. 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Breast cancer and psychosocial factors: early stressful life events, social support, and well-being.

PubMed

Ginzburg, Karni; Wrensch, Margaret; Rice, Terri; Farren, Georgianna; Spiegel, David

2008-01-01

The allostasis theory postulates that stress causes the body to activate physiologic systems in order to maintain stability. The authors sought to examine the relationship between earlier stress and later development of breast cancer (BC). Authors correlated discrete and interactive relationships of stressful life events, social support, and well-being during childhood and adolescence with the occurrence of BC in adulthood among 300 women with primary BC and 305 matched control subjects. BC patients and control subjects reported similar childhood experiences. Yet, although childhood stressful life events were associated with reports of less family support and well being among the controls, those in the BC group who experienced high stress in early childhood actually expressed higher levels of family support and well-being than did those who had experienced lower levels of stress. These findings may reflect a tendency toward a repressive coping style among the BC group, which may be either a risk factor for the disease or a result of having it.

Multiple Polyploidization Events across Asteraceae with Two Nested Events in the Early History Revealed by Nuclear Phylogenomics

PubMed Central

Huang, Chien-Hsun; Zhang, Caifei; Liu, Mian; Hu, Yi; Gao, Tiangang; Qi, Ji; Ma, Hong

2016-01-01

Biodiversity results from multiple evolutionary mechanisms, including genetic variation and natural selection. Whole-genome duplications (WGDs), or polyploidizations, provide opportunities for large-scale genetic modifications. Many evolutionarily successful lineages, including angiosperms and vertebrates, are ancient polyploids, suggesting that WGDs are a driving force in evolution. However, this hypothesis is challenged by the observed lower speciation and higher extinction rates of recently formed polyploids than diploids. Asteraceae includes about 10% of angiosperm species, is thus undoubtedly one of the most successful lineages and paleopolyploidization was suggested early in this family using a small number of datasets. Here, we used genes from 64 new transcriptome datasets and others to reconstruct a robust Asteraceae phylogeny, covering 73 species from 18 tribes in six subfamilies. We estimated their divergence times and further identified multiple potential ancient WGDs within several tribes and shared by the Heliantheae alliance, core Asteraceae (Asteroideae–Mutisioideae), and also with the sister family Calyceraceae. For two of the WGD events, there were subsequent great increases in biodiversity; the older one proceeded the divergence of at least 10 subfamilies within 10 My, with great variation in morphology and physiology, whereas the other was followed by extremely high species richness in the Heliantheae alliance clade. Our results provide different evidence for several WGDs in Asteraceae and reveal distinct association among WGD events, dramatic changes in environment and species radiations, providing a possible scenario for polyploids to overcome the disadvantages of WGDs and to evolve into lineages with high biodiversity. PMID:27604225

Early pulmonary events of nose-only water pipe (shisha) smoking exposure in mice

PubMed Central

Nemmar, Abderrahim; Hemeiri, Ahmed Al; Hammadi, Naser Al; Yuvaraju, Priya; Beegam, Sumaya; Yasin, Javed; Elwasila, Mohamed; Ali, Badreldin H; Adeghate, Ernest

2015-01-01

Water pipe smoking (WPS) is increasing in popularity and prevalence worldwide. Convincing data suggest that the toxicants in WPS are similar to that of cigarette smoke. However, the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms related to the early pulmonary events of WPS exposure are not understood. Here, we evaluated the early pulmonary events of nose-only exposure to mainstream WPS generated by commercially available honey flavored “moasel” tobacco. BALB/c mice were exposed to WPS 30 min/day for 5 days. Control mice were exposed using the same protocol to atmospheric air only. We measured airway resistance using forced oscillation technique, and pulmonary inflammation was evaluated histopathologically and by biochemical analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue. Lung oxidative stress was evaluated biochemically by measuring the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase, and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Mice exposed to WPS showed a significant increase in the number of neutrophils (P < 0.05) and lymphocytes (P < 0.001). Moreover, total protein (P < 0.05), lactate dehydrogenase (P < 0.005), and endothelin (P < 0.05) levels were augmented in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Tumor necrosis factor α (P < 0.005) and interleukin 6 (P < 0.05) concentrations were significantly increased in lung following the exposure to WPS. Both ROS (P < 0.05) and LPO (P < 0.005) in lung tissue were significantly increased, whereas the level and activity of antioxidants including GSH (P < 0.0001), catalase (P < 0.005), and SOD (P < 0.0001) were significantly decreased after WPS exposure, indicating the occurrence of oxidative stress. In contrast, airway resistance was not increased in WPS exposure. We conclude that subacute, nose-only exposure to WPS causes lung inflammation and oxidative stress without affecting pulmonary function suggesting that inflammation and oxidative stress are

Early pulmonary events of nose-only water pipe (shisha) smoking exposure in mice.

PubMed

Nemmar, Abderrahim; Al Hemeiri, Ahmed; Al Hammadi, Naser; Yuvaraju, Priya; Beegam, Sumaya; Yasin, Javed; Elwasila, Mohamed; Ali, Badreldin H; Adeghate, Ernest

2015-03-01

Water pipe smoking (WPS) is increasing in popularity and prevalence worldwide. Convincing data suggest that the toxicants in WPS are similar to that of cigarette smoke. However, the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms related to the early pulmonary events of WPS exposure are not understood. Here, we evaluated the early pulmonary events of nose-only exposure to mainstream WPS generated by commercially available honey flavored "moasel" tobacco. BALB/c mice were exposed to WPS 30 min/day for 5 days. Control mice were exposed using the same protocol to atmospheric air only. We measured airway resistance using forced oscillation technique, and pulmonary inflammation was evaluated histopathologically and by biochemical analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue. Lung oxidative stress was evaluated biochemically by measuring the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase, and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Mice exposed to WPS showed a significant increase in the number of neutrophils (P < 0.05) and lymphocytes (P < 0.001). Moreover, total protein (P < 0.05), lactate dehydrogenase (P < 0.005), and endothelin (P < 0.05) levels were augmented in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Tumor necrosis factor α (P < 0.005) and interleukin 6 (P < 0.05) concentrations were significantly increased in lung following the exposure to WPS. Both ROS (P < 0.05) and LPO (P < 0.005) in lung tissue were significantly increased, whereas the level and activity of antioxidants including GSH (P < 0.0001), catalase (P < 0.005), and SOD (P < 0.0001) were significantly decreased after WPS exposure, indicating the occurrence of oxidative stress. In contrast, airway resistance was not increased in WPS exposure. We conclude that subacute, nose-only exposure to WPS causes lung inflammation and oxidative stress without affecting pulmonary function suggesting that inflammation and oxidative stress are early

Early Holocene hydroclimate of Baffin Bay: Understanding the interplay between abrupt climate change events and ice sheet fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corcoran, M. C.; Thomas, E. K.; Castañeda, I. S.; Briner, J. P.

2017-12-01

Understanding the causes of ice sheet fluctuations resulting in sea level rise is essential in today's warming climate. In high-latitude ice-sheet-proximal environments such as Baffin Bay, studying both the cause and the rate of ice sheet variability during past abrupt climate change events aids in predictions. Past climate reconstructions are used to understand ice sheet responses to changes in temperature and precipitation. The 9,300 and 8,200 yr BP events are examples of abrupt climate change events in the Baffin Bay region during which there were multiple re-advances of the Greenland and Laurentide ice sheets. High-resolution (decadal-scale) hydroclimate variability near the ice sheet margins during these abrupt climate change events is still unknown. We will generate a decadal-scale record of early Holocene temperature and precipitation using leaf wax hydrogen isotopes, δ2Hwax, from a lake sediment archive on Baffin Island, western Baffin Bay, to better understand abrupt climate change in this region. Shifts in temperature and moisture source result in changes in environmental water δ2H, which in turn is reflected in δ2Hwax, allowing for past hydroclimate to be determined from these compound-specific isotopes. The combination of terrestrial and aquatic δ2Hwax is used to determine soil evaporation and is ultimately used to reconstruct moisture variability. We will compare our results with a previous analysis of δ2Hwax and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers, a temperature and pH proxy, in lake sediment from western Greenland, eastern Baffin Bay, which indicates that cool and dry climate occurred in response to freshwater forcing events in the Labrador Sea. Reconstructing and comparing records on both the western and eastern sides of Baffin Bay during the early Holocene will allow for a spatial understanding of temperature and moisture balance changes during abrupt climate events, aiding in ice sheet modeling and predictions of future sea level

A Systematic Review of Early Warning Systems' Effects on Nurses' Clinical Performance and Adverse Events Among Deteriorating Ward Patients.

PubMed

Lee, Ju-Ry; Kim, Eun-Mi; Kim, Sun-Aee; Oh, Eui Geum

2018-04-25

Early warning systems (EWSs) are an integral part of processes that aim to improve the early identification and management of deteriorating patients in general wards. However, the widespread implementation of these systems has not generated robust data regarding nurses' clinical performance and patients' adverse events. This review aimed to determine the ability of EWSs to improve nurses' clinical performance and prevent adverse events among deteriorating ward patients. The PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant publications (January 1, 1997, to April 12, 2017). In addition, a grey literature search evaluated several guideline Web sites. The main outcome measures were nurses' clinical performance (vital sign monitoring and rapid response team notification) and patients' adverse events (in-hospital mortality, cardiac arrest, and unplanned intensive care unit [ICU] admission). The search identified 888 reports, although only five studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The findings of these studies revealed that EWSs implementation had a positive effect on nurses' clinical performance, based on their frequency of documenting vital signs that were related to the patient's clinical deterioration. In addition, postimplementation reductions were identified for cardiac arrest, unplanned ICU admission, and unexpected death. It seems that EWSs can improve nurses' clinical performance and prevent adverse events (e.g., in-hospital mortality, unplanned ICU admission, and cardiac arrest) among deteriorating ward patients. However, additional high-quality evidence is needed to more comprehensively evaluate the effects of EWSs on these outcomes.

Parental Substance Abuse As an Early Traumatic Event. Preliminary Findings on Neuropsychological and Personality Functioning in Young Drug Addicts Exposed to Drugs Early

PubMed Central

Parolin, Micol; Simonelli, Alessandra; Mapelli, Daniela; Sacco, Marianna; Cristofalo, Patrizia

2016-01-01

Parental substance use is a major risk factor for child development, heightening the risk of drug problems in adolescence and young adulthood, and exposing offspring to several types of traumatic events. First, prenatal drug exposure can be considered a form of trauma itself, with subtle but long-lasting sequelae at the neuro-behavioral level. Second, parents' addiction often entails a childrearing environment characterized by poor parenting skills, disadvantaged contexts and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), leading to dysfunctional outcomes. Young adults born from/raised by parents with drug problems and diagnosed with a Substance Used Disorder (SUD) themselves might display a particularly severe condition in terms of cognitive deficits and impaired personality function. This preliminary study aims to investigate the role of early exposure to drugs as a traumatic event, capable of affecting the psychological status of young drug addicts. In particular, it intends to examine the neuropsychological functioning and personality profile of young adults with severe SUDs who were exposed to drugs early in their family context. The research involved three groups, each consisting of 15 young adults (aged 18–24): a group of inpatients diagnosed with SUDs and exposed to drugs early, a comparison group of non-exposed inpatients and a group of non-exposed youth without SUDs. A neuropsychological battery (Esame Neuropsicologico Breve-2), an assessment procedure for personality disorders (Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200) and the Symptom CheckList-90-Revised were administered. According to present preliminary results, young drug addicts exposed to drugs during their developmental age were characterized by elevated rates of neuropsychological impairments, especially at the expense of attentive and executive functions (EF); personality disorders were also common but did not differentiate them from non-exposed youth with SUDs. Alternative multi-focused prevention and

An Alternative Explanation for "Step-Like" Early VLF Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, R. C.

2016-12-01

A newly-deployed array of VLF receivers along the East Coast of the United States is ideally suited for detecting VLF scattering from lightning-induced disturbances to the lower ionosphere. The array was deployed in May 2016, and one VLF receiver was deployed only 20 km from the NAA transmitter (24.0 kHz) in Cutler, Maine. The phase of the NAA signal at this closest site varies significantly with time, due simply to the impedance match of the transmitter varying with time. Additionally, both the amplitude and phase exhibit periods of rapid shifts that could possibly explain at least some "step-like" VLF scattering events. Here, we distinguish between "step-like" VLF scattering events and other events in that "step-like" events are typically not closely associated with a detected causative lightning flash and also tend to exhibit little or no recovery to ambient conditions after the event onset. We present an analysis of VLF observations from the East Coast array that demonstrates interesting examples of step-like VLF events far from the transmitter that are associated with step-like events very close to the transmitter. We conclude that step-like VLF events should be treated with caution, unless definitively associated with a causative lightning flash and/or detected using observations of multiple transmitter signals.

Multiple Polyploidization Events across Asteraceae with Two Nested Events in the Early History Revealed by Nuclear Phylogenomics.

PubMed

Huang, Chien-Hsun; Zhang, Caifei; Liu, Mian; Hu, Yi; Gao, Tiangang; Qi, Ji; Ma, Hong

2016-11-01

Biodiversity results from multiple evolutionary mechanisms, including genetic variation and natural selection. Whole-genome duplications (WGDs), or polyploidizations, provide opportunities for large-scale genetic modifications. Many evolutionarily successful lineages, including angiosperms and vertebrates, are ancient polyploids, suggesting that WGDs are a driving force in evolution. However, this hypothesis is challenged by the observed lower speciation and higher extinction rates of recently formed polyploids than diploids. Asteraceae includes about 10% of angiosperm species, is thus undoubtedly one of the most successful lineages and paleopolyploidization was suggested early in this family using a small number of datasets. Here, we used genes from 64 new transcriptome datasets and others to reconstruct a robust Asteraceae phylogeny, covering 73 species from 18 tribes in six subfamilies. We estimated their divergence times and further identified multiple potential ancient WGDs within several tribes and shared by the Heliantheae alliance, core Asteraceae (Asteroideae-Mutisioideae), and also with the sister family Calyceraceae. For two of the WGD events, there were subsequent great increases in biodiversity; the older one proceeded the divergence of at least 10 subfamilies within 10 My, with great variation in morphology and physiology, whereas the other was followed by extremely high species richness in the Heliantheae alliance clade. Our results provide different evidence for several WGDs in Asteraceae and reveal distinct association among WGD events, dramatic changes in environment and species radiations, providing a possible scenario for polyploids to overcome the disadvantages of WGDs and to evolve into lineages with high biodiversity. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Modeling Temporal Processes in Early Spacecraft Design: Application of Discrete-Event Simulations for Darpa's F6 Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dubos, Gregory F.; Cornford, Steven

2012-01-01

While the ability to model the state of a space system over time is essential during spacecraft operations, the use of time-based simulations remains rare in preliminary design. The absence of the time dimension in most traditional early design tools can however become a hurdle when designing complex systems whose development and operations can be disrupted by various events, such as delays or failures. As the value delivered by a space system is highly affected by such events, exploring the trade space for designs that yield the maximum value calls for the explicit modeling of time.This paper discusses the use of discrete-event models to simulate spacecraft development schedule as well as operational scenarios and on-orbit resources in the presence of uncertainty. It illustrates how such simulations can be utilized to support trade studies, through the example of a tool developed for DARPA's F6 program to assist the design of "fractionated spacecraft".

A Time Scale for Major Events in Early Mars Crustal Evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frey, Herbert V.

2004-01-01

The population of visible and buried impact basins > 200 km diameter revealed by high resolution gridded MOLA data and the cumulative frequency curves derived for these pvide a basis for a chronology of major events in early martian history. The relative chronology can be given in terms of N(200) crater retention ages; 'absolute ages' can be assigued using the Hartmann-Neukum (H&N) model chronology. In terms of billions of H&N years, the crustal dichotomy formed by large impact basins at 4.12 +/- 0.08 BYA (N(200) = 3.0-3.2) and the global magnetic field died at about or slightly before the same time (4.15 +/- 0.08 BYA (N(200) = 3.5). In this chronology, the buried lowlands are approx. 120 my younger than the buried highlands, approx. 160 my younger than the highlands overall and approx. 340 my younger than the oldest crater retention surface we see, defined by the largest impact basins.

Early Molecular Events in Murine Gastric Epithelial Cells Mediated by Helicobacter pylori CagA.

PubMed

Banerjee, Aditi; Basu, Malini; Blanchard, Thomas G; Chintalacharuvu, Subba R; Guang, Wei; Lillehoj, Erik P; Czinn, Steven J

2016-10-01

Murine models of Helicobacter pylori infection are used to study host-pathogen interactions, but lack of severe gastritis in this model has limited its usefulness in studying pathogenesis. We compared the murine gastric epithelial cell line GSM06 to the human gastric epithelial AGS cell line to determine whether similar events occur when cultured with H. pylori. The lysates of cells infected with H. pylori isolates or an isogenic cagA-deficient mutant were assessed for translocation and phosphorylation of CagA and for activation of stress pathway kinases by immunoblot. Phosphorylated CagA was detected in both cell lines within 60 minutes. Phospho-ERK 1/2 was present within several minutes and distinctly present in GSM06 cells at 60 minutes. Similar results were obtained for phospho-JNK, although the 54 kDa phosphoprotein signal was dominant in AGS, whereas the lower molecular weight band was dominant in GSM06 cells. These results demonstrate that early events in H. pylori pathogenesis occur within mouse epithelial cells similar to human cells and therefore support the use of the mouse model for the study of acute CagA-associated host cell responses. These results also indicate that reduced disease in H. pylori-infected mice may be due to lack of the Cag PAI, or by differences in the mouse response downstream of the initial activation events. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Early event-related brain potentials that reflect interest for content information in the media.

PubMed

Adachi, Shinobu; Morikawa, Koji; Nittono, Hiroshi

2012-03-28

This study investigated the relationship between event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to abridged content information in the media and the subsequent decisions to view the full content. Student volunteers participated in a task that simulated information selection on the basis of the content information. Screenshots of television clips and headlines of news articles on the Web were used as content information for the image condition and the headline condition, respectively. Following presentation of a stimulus containing content information, participants decided whether or not they would view the full content by pressing a select or a reject button. When the select button was pressed, participants were presented with a television clip or a news article. When the reject button was pressed, participants continued on to the next trial, without viewing further. In comparison with rejected stimuli, selected stimuli elicited a larger negative component, with a peak latency of ∼250 ms. The increase in the negative component was independent of the type of visual stimulus. These results suggest that interest toward content information is reflected in early-stage event-related brain potential responses.

Early events in geotropism of seedling shoots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pickard, B. G.

1985-01-01

Developments during the first ten minutes of geotropic stimulation in plant seedling shoots are reviewed. Topics include induction and curvature; early processes; the relationship between auxin, electric field, calcium, and differential growth; gravity reception leading to Went-Cholodny transport; and comparison of root and shoot. Early processes reviewed are sedimentation of amyloplasts, release of ethylene, rise of electrical and auxin asymmetry, redistribution of calcium, asymmetric vascular transport, increase in tendency to deposit callose, and simulation of putative exocytotic voltage transients.

Stressful Life Events and Predictors of Post-traumatic Growth among High-Risk Early Emerging Adults.

PubMed

Arpawong, Thalida E; Rohrbach, Louise A; Milam, Joel E; Unger, Jennifer B; Land, Helen; Sun, Ping; Spruijt-Metz, Donna; Sussman, Steve

2016-01-01

Stressful life events (SLEs) may elicit positive psychosocial change among youth, referred to as Post-traumatic Growth (PTG). We assessed types of SLEs experienced, degree to which participants reported PTG, and variables predicting PTG across 24 months among a sample of high risk, ethnically diverse early emerging adults. Participants were recruited from alternative high schools ( n = 564; mean age=16.8; 65% Hispanic). Multi-level regression models were constructed to examine the impact of environmental (SLE quantity, severity) and personal factors (hedonic ability, perceived stress, developmental stage, future time orientation) on a composite score of PTG. The majority of participants reported positive changes resulted from their most life-altering SLE of the past two years. Predictors of PTG included fewer SLEs, less general stress, having a future time perspective, and greater identification with the developmental stage of Emerging Adulthood. Findings suggest intervention targets to foster positive adaptation among early emerging adults who experience frequent SLEs.

Event-by-Event Simulations of Early Gluon Fields in High Energy Nuclear Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nickel, Matthew; Rose, Steven; Fries, Rainer

2017-09-01

Collisions of heavy ions are carried out at ultra relativistic speeds at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the Large Hadron Collider to create Quark Gluon Plasma. The earliest stages of such collisions are dominated by the dynamics of classical gluon fields. The McLerran-Venugopalan (MV) model of color glass condensate provides a model for this process. Previous research has provided an analytic solution for event averaged observables in the MV model. Using the High Performance Research Computing Center (HPRC) at Texas A&M, we have developed a C++ code to explicitly calculate the initial gluon fields and energy momentum tensor event by event using the analytic recursive solution. The code has been tested against previously known analytic results up to fourth order. We have also have been able to test the convergence of the recursive solution at high orders in time and studied the time evolution of color glass condensate.

High-resolution carbonate isotopic study of the Mural Formation (Cerro Pimas section), Sonora, México: Implications for early Albian oceanic anoxic events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madhavaraju, J.; Lee, Yong Il; Scott, R. W.; González-León, C. M.; Jenkyns, H. C.; Saucedo-Samaniego, J. C.; Ramasamy, S.

2018-03-01

The 420-m thick stratigraphic section of the Mural Formation that is exposed in the Cerro Pimas area of northern Sonora, Mexico, is composed of limestone lithofacies ranging from bioclastic wackestone to boundstone, whose biota is characterized by low diversity. Prominent age-diagnostic fossils are benthic foraminifera and long-ranging calcareous algae that indicate the Aptian/Albian boundary is close to the base of the Los Coyotes Member. The carbonates of this formation have negative to positive δ13C values (-4.63 to +2.6‰) and highly depleted δ18O values that range from -12.74 to -8.34‰. The absence of correlation between δ13C and δ18O values supports a primary marine origin for the δ13C values of these limestones. The carbon-isotopic curve of the Cerro Pimas stratigraphic section has well-defined δ13C segments (C8 - C15) that compare with published curves of similar age. In the lower part of the early Albian Los Coyotes Member, the presence of OAE 1b is indicated by an increase followed by a decrease in δ13C values, suggesting correlation with the Kilian Event. The middle part of the Los Coyotes Member has a significant negative carbon-isotope excursion correlated with the globally recognizable early Albian Paquier event. Moreover, another significant negative carbon-isotope shift is observed in the upper part of the Los Coyotes Member, which can be correlated with the Leenhardt Event. The occurrence of the Kilian, Paquier and Leenhardt Events (OAE 1b cluster) in the Cerro Pimas stratigraphy confirms the global nature of these early Albian disturbances of the carbon cycle.

Enhanced tocopherol levels during early germination events in Chamaerops humilis var. humilis seeds.

PubMed

Siles, Laura; Alegre, Leonor; Tijero, Verónica; Munné-Bosch, Sergi

2015-10-01

Most angiosperms accumulate vitamin E in the form of tocopherols in seeds, exerting a protective antioxidant role. However, several palm trees principally accumulate tocotrienols, rather than tocopherols, in seeds, as it occurs in other monocots. To unravel the protective role of either tocopherols or tocotrienols against lipid peroxidation during seed germination in Chamaerops humilis var. humilis; seed viability, natural and induced germination capacity, seed water content, malondialdehyde levels (as an indicator of the extent of lipid peroxidation) and vitamin E levels (including both tocopherols and tocotrienols) were examined at various germination phases in a simulated, natural seed bank. At the very early stages of germination (operculum removal), malondialdehyde levels increased 2.8-fold, to decrease later up to 74%, thus indicating a transient lipid peroxidation at early stages of germination. Tocopherol levels were absent in quiescent seeds and did not increase during operculum removal, but increased later presumably dampening malondialdehyde accumulation. Thereafter, tocopherols continued increasing, while lipid peroxidation levels decreased. By contrast, tocotrienols levels remained constant or even decreased as germination progressed, showing no correlation with lipid peroxidation levels. We hypothesize that despite their high tocotrienol content, seeds synthesize tocopherols during germination to protect lipids from peroxidation events. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early life events and motor development in childhood and adolescence: a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Grace, Tegan; Bulsara, Max; Robinson, Monique; Hands, Beth

2016-05-01

Few studies have reported on early life risk factors for motor development outcomes past childhood. Antenatal, perinatal and neonatal factors affecting motor development from late childhood to adolescence were explored. As sex differences in motor development have been previously reported, males and females were examined separately. Participants (n = 2868) were from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort Study. Obstetric and neonatal data were examined to determine factors related to motor development at 10 (n = 1622), 14 (n = 1584) and 17 (n = 1221) years. The Neuromuscular Development Index (NDI) of the McCarron Assessment of Motor Development determined offspring motor proficiency. Linear mixed models were developed to allow for changes in motor development over time. Maternal pre-eclampsia, Caesarean section and low income were negatively related to male and female motor outcomes. Lower percentage of optimal birthweight was related to a lower male NDI. Younger maternal age, smoking during early pregnancy and stress during later pregnancy were related to lower female NDIs. Events experienced during pregnancy were related to motor development into late adolescence. Males and females were influenced differently by antenatal and perinatal risk factors; this may be due to sex-specific developmental pathways. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Indirect Effects of Attributional Style for Positive Events on Depressive Symptoms Through Self-Esteem During Early Adolescence.

PubMed

Rueger, Sandra Yu; George, Rachel

2017-04-01

Research on adolescent depression has overwhelmingly focused on risk factors, such as stressful negative events and cognitive vulnerabilities, but much important information can be gained by focusing on protective factors. Thus, the current study aimed to broaden understanding on adolescent depression by considering the role of two positive elements as protective factors, attributional style for positive events and self-esteem, in a model of depression. The sample included 491 middle school students (52 % female; n = 249) with an age range from 12 to 15 years (M = 13.2, SD = .70). The sample was ethnically/racially diverse, with 55 % White, 22 % Hispanic, 10 % Asian American, 3 % African American, and 10 % Biracial/Other. Correlational analyses indicated significant cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between an enhancing attributional style (internal, stable, global attributions for positive events), self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Further, prospective analyses using bootstrapping methodology demonstrated significant indirect effects of an enhancing attributional style on decreases in depressive symptoms through its effects on self-esteem. These findings highlight the importance of considering attributional style for positive events as a protective factor in the developmental course of depressive symptoms during early adolescence.

Early Jurassic diversification of pycnodontiform fishes (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) after the end-Triassic extinction event: evidence from a new genus and species, Grimmenodon aureum

PubMed Central

Stumpf, Sebastian; Ansorge, Jörg; Pfaff, Cathrin; Kriwet, Jürgen

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT A new genus and species of pycnodontiform fishes, Grimmenodon aureum, from marginal marine, marine-brackish lower Toarcian (Harpoceras exaratum ammonite subzone) clay deposits of Grimmen in northeastern Germany is described. The single specimen represents a diagnostic left prearticular dentition characterized by unique tooth arrangement and ornamentation patterns. Grimmenodon aureum, gen. et sp. nov., is the second unambiguously identified pycnodontiform species from the Early Jurassic, in addition to Eomesodon liassicus from the early Lower Jurassic of western Europe. We also report an indeterminate pycnodontiform tooth crown from the upper Pliensbachian (Pleuroceras apyrenum ammonite subzone) of the same site. The material expands the Early Jurassic range of pycnodontiforms significantly northwards and confirms their presence before and immediately following the onset of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) in the marginal marine ecosystems south of the Fennoscandian Shield. Moreover, the new records indicate that the Early Jurassic diversity of pycnodontiform fishes was greater than previously assumed and probably equaled that of the Late Triassic. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction event did not affect pycnodontiform fishes significantly. Micro-computed tomography was used to study the internal anatomy of the prearticular of Grimmenodon aureum, gen. et sp. nov. Our results show that no replacement teeth were formed within the tooth-bearing bone but rather were added posteriorly to functional teeth. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A56BDE9C-40C4-4CFA-9C2E-F5FA35A66F2 Citation for this article: Stumpf, S., J. Ansorge, C. Pfaff, and J. Kriwet. 2017. Early Jurassic diversification of pycnodontiform fishes (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) after the end-Triassic extinction event: Evidence from a new genus and species, Grimmenodon aureum. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10

Early Jurassic diversification of pycnodontiform fishes (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) after the end-Triassic extinction event: evidence from a new genus and species, Grimmenodon aureum.

PubMed

Stumpf, Sebastian; Ansorge, Jörg; Pfaff, Cathrin; Kriwet, Jürgen

2017-07-04

A new genus and species of pycnodontiform fishes, Grimmenodon aureum , from marginal marine, marine-brackish lower Toarcian ( Harpoceras exaratum ammonite subzone) clay deposits of Grimmen in northeastern Germany is described. The single specimen represents a diagnostic left prearticular dentition characterized by unique tooth arrangement and ornamentation patterns. Grimmenodon aureum , gen. et sp. nov., is the second unambiguously identified pycnodontiform species from the Early Jurassic, in addition to Eomesodon liassicus from the early Lower Jurassic of western Europe. We also report an indeterminate pycnodontiform tooth crown from the upper Pliensbachian ( Pleuroceras apyrenum ammonite subzone) of the same site. The material expands the Early Jurassic range of pycnodontiforms significantly northwards and confirms their presence before and immediately following the onset of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) in the marginal marine ecosystems south of the Fennoscandian Shield. Moreover, the new records indicate that the Early Jurassic diversity of pycnodontiform fishes was greater than previously assumed and probably equaled that of the Late Triassic. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction event did not affect pycnodontiform fishes significantly. Micro-computed tomography was used to study the internal anatomy of the prearticular of Grimmenodon aureum , gen. et sp. nov. Our results show that no replacement teeth were formed within the tooth-bearing bone but rather were added posteriorly to functional teeth. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A56BDE9C-40C4-4CFA-9C2E-F5FA35A66F2 Citation for this article: Stumpf, S., J. Ansorge, C. Pfaff, and J. Kriwet. 2017. Early Jurassic diversification of pycnodontiform fishes (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) after the end-Triassic extinction event: Evidence from a new genus and species, Grimmenodon aureum . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2017.1344679.

Safety evaluation of laninamivir octanoate hydrate through analysis of adverse events reported during early post-marketing phase vigilance.

PubMed

Nakano, Takashi; Okumura, Akihisa; Tanabe, Takuya; Niwa, Shimpei; Fukushima, Masato; Yonemochi, Rie; Eda, Hisano; Tsutsumi, Hiroyuki

2013-06-01

Abnormal behavior and delirium are common in children with influenza. While abnormal behavior and delirium are considered to be associated with influenza encephalopathy, an increased risk of such neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients receiving neuraminidase inhibitor treatment is suspected. Laninamivir octanoate hydrate, recently approved in Japan, is a long-acting neuraminidase inhibitor. It is important to establish a safety profile for laninamivir early, based on post-marketing experiences. Spontaneous safety reports collected in the early post-marketing phase vigilance were analyzed. Adverse events of interest such as abnormal behavior/delirium, dizziness/vertigo, respiratory disorders, shock/syncope, and any other serious events were intensively reviewed by the Safety Evaluation Committee. Abnormal behavior/delirium was a frequently reported event. Almost all the reported cases were considered to be due to influenza and not laninamivir. There were 32 cases of abnormal behavior/delirium that could lead to dangerous accidents, and these were observed more frequently in males and teenagers. Syncope probably related to the act of inhalation per se of laninamivir was reported during this survey. This safety review revealed that the safety profile of laninamivir for abnormal behavior/delirium and syncope was similar to that of other neuraminidase inhibitors. As stated in the labeling, teenage patients inhaling laninamivir should remain under constant parental supervision for at least 2 days and should be closely monitored for behavioral changes to prevent serious accidents associated with abnormal behavior/delirium. Furthermore, to avoid syncope because of inhalation, patients should be instructed to inhale in a relaxed sitting position.

An alternative plate tectonic model for the Palaeozoic Early Mesozoic Palaeotethyan evolution of Southeast Asia (Northern Thailand Burma)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrari, O. M.; Hochard, C.; Stampfli, G. M.

2008-04-01

An alternative model for the geodynamic evolution of Southeast Asia is proposed and inserted in a modern plate tectonic model. The reconstruction methodology is based on dynamic plate boundaries, constrained by data such as spreading rates and subduction velocities; in this way it differs from classical continental drift models proposed so far. The different interpretations about the location of the Palaeotethys suture in Thailand are revised, the Tertiary Mae Yuam fault is seen as the emplacement of the suture. East of the suture we identify an Indochina derived terrane for which we keep the name Shan-Thai, formerly used to identify the Cimmerian block present in Southeast Asia, now called Sibumasu. This nomenclatural choice was made on the basis of the geographic location of the terrane (Eastern Shan States in Burma and Central Thailand) and in order not to introduce new confusing terminology. The closure of the Eastern Palaeotethys is related to a southward subduction of the ocean, that triggered the Eastern Neotethys to open as a back-arc, due to the presence of Late Carboniferous-Early Permian arc magmatism in Mergui (Burma) and in the Lhasa block (South Tibet), and to the absence of arc magmatism of the same age East of the suture. In order to explain the presence of Carboniferous-Early Permian and Permo-Triassic volcanic arcs in Cambodia, Upper Triassic magmatism in Eastern Vietnam and Lower Permian-Middle Permian arc volcanites in Western Sumatra, we introduce the Orang Laut terranes concept. These terranes were detached from Indochina and South China during back-arc opening of the Poko-Song Ma system, due to the westward subduction of the Palaeopacific. This also explains the location of the Cathaysian West Sumatra block to the West of the Cimmerian Sibumasu block.

Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity predicts decline in renal function and cardiovascular events in early stages of chronic kidney disease.

PubMed

Yoon, Hye Eun; Shin, Dong Il; Kim, Sung Jun; Koh, Eun Sil; Hwang, Hyeon Seok; Chung, Sungjin; Shin, Seok Joon

2013-01-01

In this study, we investigated the predictive capacity of the brachial-ankle aortic pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, for the decline in renal function and for cardiovascular events in the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Two hundred forty-one patients who underwent a comprehensive check-up were included and were divided into two groups according to their estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR): patients with CKD categories G2, G3a and G3b (30 ≤ eGFR < 90 ml/min/1.73m(2), eGFR < 90 group; n=117) and those with eGFR ≥ 90 ml/min/1.73 m(2) (eGFR ≥ 90 group; n=124). The change in renal function, the eGFR change, was determined by the slope of eGFR against time. We analysed whether baPWV was associated with eGFR change or predicted cardiovascular events. baPWV was independently associated with eGFR change in a multivariate analysis of the total patients (β=-0.011, p=0.011) and remained significantly associated with eGFR change in a subgroup analysis of the eGFR < 90 group (β=-0.015, p=0.035). baPWV was independently associated with cardiovascular events (odds ratio=1.002, p=0.048) in the eGFR < 90 group, but not in the eGFR ≥ 90 group. The receiver operative characteristic curve analysis showed that 1,568 cm/sec was the cut-off value of baPWV for predicting CV events in the eGFR < 90 group (area under curve=0.691, p=0.03) CONCLUSIONS: In patients with early stages of CKD, baPWV was independently associated with the decline in renal function and short-term cardiovascular events.

Early Spatial and Temporal Events of Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 Spread following Blood-Borne Transmission in a Rabbit Model of Infection ▿

PubMed Central

Haynes, Rashade A. H.; Zimmerman, Bevin; Millward, Laurie; Ware, Evan; Premanandan, Christopher; Yu, Lianbo; Phipps, Andrew J.; Lairmore, Michael D.

2010-01-01

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection causes adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and is associated with a variety of lymphocyte-mediated disorders. HTLV-1 transmission occurs by transmission of infected cells via breast-feeding by infected mothers, sexual intercourse, and contaminated blood products. The route of exposure and early virus replication events are believed to be key determinants of virus-associated spread, antiviral immune responses, and ultimately disease outcomes. The lack of knowledge of early events of HTLV-1 spread following blood-borne transmission of the virus in vivo hinders a more complete understanding of the immunopathogenesis of HTLV-1 infections. Herein, we have used an established animal model of HTLV-1 infection to study early spatial and temporal events of the viral infection. Twelve-week-old rabbits were injected intravenously with cell-associated HTLV-1 (ACH-transformed R49). Blood and tissues were collected at defined intervals throughout the study to test the early spread of the infection. Antibody and hematologic responses were monitored throughout the infection. HTLV-1 intracellular Tax and soluble p19 matrix were tested from ex vivo cultured lymphocytes. Proviral copy numbers were measured by real-time PCR from blood and tissue mononuclear leukocytes. Our data indicate that intravenous infection with cell-associated HTLV-1 targets lymphocytes located in both primary lymphoid and gut-associated lymphoid compartments. A transient lymphocytosis that correlated with peak virus detection parameters was observed by 1 week postinfection before returning to baseline levels. Our data support emerging evidence that HTLV-1 promotes lymphocyte proliferation preceding early viral spread in lymphoid compartments to establish and maintain persistent infection. PMID:20219918

Impaired Early Attentional Processes in Parkinson’s Disease: A High-Resolution Event-Related Potentials Study

PubMed Central

Bocquillon, Perrine; Bourriez, Jean-Louis; Palmero-Soler, Ernesto; Defebvre, Luc; Derambure, Philippe; Dujardin, Kathy

2015-01-01

Introduction The selection of task-relevant information requires both the focalization of attention on the task and resistance to interference from irrelevant stimuli. A previous study using the P3 component of the event-related potentials suggested that a reduced ability to resist interference could be responsible for attention disorders at early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD), with a possible role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Methods Our objective was to better determine the origin of this impairment, by studying an earlier ERP component, the N2, and its subcomponents, as they reflect early inhibition processes and as they are known to have sources in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is involved together with the DLPFC in inhibition processes. Fifteen early-stage PD patients and 15 healthy controls (HCs) performed a three-stimulus visual oddball paradigm, consisting in detecting target inputs amongst standard stimuli, while resisting interference from distracter ones. A 128-channel electroencephalogram was recorded during this task and the generators of the N2 subcomponents were identified using standardized weighted low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (swLORETA). Results PD patients displayed fewer N2 generators than HCs in both the DLPFC and the ACC, for all types of stimuli. In contrast to controls, PD patients did not show any differences between their generators for different N2 subcomponents. Conclusion Our data suggest that impaired inhibition in PD results from dysfunction of the DLPFC and the ACC during the early stages of attentional processes. PMID:26135906

The instrumental seismicity of the Barents and Kara sea region: relocated event catalog from early twentieth century to 1989

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozov, Alexey Nikolaevich; Vaganova, Natalya V.; Asming, Vladimir E.; Konechnaya, Yana V.; Evtyugina, Zinaida A.

2018-05-01

We have relocated seismic events registered within the Barents and Kara sea region from early twentieth century to 1989 with a view to creating a relocated catalog. For the relocation, we collected all available seismic bulletins from the global network using data from the ISC Bulletin (International Seismological Centre), ISC-GEM project (International Seismological Centre-Global Earthquake Model), EuroSeismos project, and by Soviet seismic stations from Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The location was performed by applying a modified method of generalized beamforming. We have considered several travel time models and selected one with the best location accuracy for ground truth events. Verification of the modified method and selection of the travel time model were performed using data on four nuclear explosions that occurred in the area of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago and in the north of the European part of Russia. The modified method and the Barents travel time model provide sufficient accuracy for event location in the region. The relocation procedure was applied to 31 of 36 seismic events registered within the Barents and Kara sea region.

An EAS event observed in the early stage of development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barroso, S. L. C.; Beggio, P. C.; de Carvalho, A. O.; Chinellato, J. A.; Mariano, A.; de Oliveira, R.; Shibuya, E. H.; Brazil-Japan Collaboration of Chacaltaya Emulsion Chamber Experiment

2008-01-01

Since 1969 the experiments of Brazil-Japan Collaboration showed the occurrence of a series of events, showing a region with a high concentration of electromagnetic particles, surrounded by isolated and/or groups of showers. These events were named "halo events" or "super-families". Currently, we have more than a dozen of such events. The first of them, due to its aspect, was named "Andromeda". We present here the main characteristics of a similar halo event, named C21S087I075. It has a halo region with many high energy showers in its border. Other small energy showers spread over the central and surrounding blocks (S088, S100, S101, I074). These isolated showers, classified as of hadronic or electromagnetic origin, present a fractional energy distribution compatible with that of a Centauro candidate event (C16S087I037), reported at this symposium [S.L.C. Barroso, P.C. Beggio, J.A. Chinellato, A.O. Carvalho, A. Mariano, R. Oliveira, E.H. Shibuya, in this issue of XIV ISVHECRI]. Moreover, the lateral distribution in the halo region is similar to that observed in other 3 halo events.

Biostratigraphy, taxonomic diversity and patterns of morphological evolution of Ordovician acritarchs (organic-walled microphytoplankton) from the northern Gondwana margin in relation to palaeoclimatic and palaeogeographic changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vecoli, Marco; Le Hérissé, Alain

2004-10-01

Acritarchs, the fossilizable, resting cysts of phytoplanktonic algal protists, are the dominant component of marine organic-walled microfossils in the Palaeozoic. The majority of acritarchs show strong similarities with dinoflagellate cysts in morphological and biogeochemical features, as well as distributional patterns in the sediments. The production of these organic-walled microfossils and their distribution and survivorship in the sediments were controlled by differences in ecological tolerances and life cycle (autecology) of the planktonic parent organisms. Calculation of evolutionary rates and development of a detailed diversity curve at specific level, form the basis for discussing the influence of global palaeoenvironmental perturbations on the evolution of organic-walled microphytoplankton in northern Gondwana during latest Cambrian through Ordovician times. The potential of acritarchs for biostratigraphic correlation at the regional scale (northern Gondwana domain) is much improved by our detailed revision of distributional patterns of 245 acritarch taxa. The most important Cambro-Ordovician acritarch bio-events are short periods of diversification, which also correspond to introduction of morphological innovations, observed in latest Cambrian and earliest Tremadoc, late Tremadoc, early Arenig, basal Llanvirn, and latest Ashgill, and an important extinction phase in the early Caradoc. Overall, acritarch diversity increased from the basal Ordovician up to the middle Llanvirn, then declined in the early and middle Caradoc. During Ashgill times, the assemblages are poorly diversified at the generic level as a result of a combined effect of sea level drawdown and onset of glacial conditions, but no major extinction event is observed in connection with the end-Ordovician biotic crisis. The peak in acritarch diversity during Middle Ordovician times appears to be correlated to maximum spread of palaeogeographical assembly. Acritarch dynamics appear largely

Finding the signal in the noise: Could social media be utilized for early hospital notification of multiple casualty events?

PubMed Central

Moore, Sara; Wakam, Glenn; Hubbard, Alan E.; Cohen, Mitchell J.

2017-01-01

Introduction Delayed notification and lack of early information hinder timely hospital based activations in large scale multiple casualty events. We hypothesized that Twitter real-time data would produce a unique and reproducible signal within minutes of multiple casualty events and we investigated the timing of the signal compared with other hospital disaster notification mechanisms. Methods Using disaster specific search terms, all relevant tweets from the event to 7 days post-event were analyzed for 5 recent US based multiple casualty events (Boston Bombing [BB], SF Plane Crash [SF], Napa Earthquake [NE], Sandy Hook [SH], and Marysville Shooting [MV]). Quantitative and qualitative analysis of tweet utilization were compared across events. Results Over 3.8 million tweets were analyzed (SH 1.8 m, BB 1.1m, SF 430k, MV 250k, NE 205k). Peak tweets per min ranged from 209–3326. The mean followers per tweeter ranged from 3382–9992 across events. Retweets were tweeted a mean of 82–564 times per event. Tweets occurred very rapidly for all events (<2 mins) and represented 1% of the total event specific tweets in a median of 13 minutes of the first 911 calls. A 200 tweets/min threshold was reached fastest with NE (2 min), BB (7 min), and SF (18 mins). If this threshold was utilized as a signaling mechanism to place local hospitals on standby for possible large scale events, in all case studies, this signal would have preceded patient arrival. Importantly, this threshold for signaling would also have preceded traditional disaster notification mechanisms in SF, NE, and simultaneous with BB and MV. Conclusions Social media data has demonstrated that this mechanism is a powerful, predictable, and potentially important resource for optimizing disaster response. Further investigated is warranted to assess the utility of prospective signally thresholds for hospital based activation. PMID:28982201

Survival Outcomes and Effect of Early vs. Deferred cART Among HIV-Infected Patients Diagnosed at the Time of an AIDS-Defining Event: A Cohort Analysis

PubMed Central

Mussini, Cristina; Johnson, Margaret; d'Arminio Monforte, Antonella; Antinori, Andrea; Gill, M. John; Sighinolfi, Laura; Uberti-Foppa, Caterina; Borghi, Vanni; Sabin, Caroline

2011-01-01

Objectives We analyzed clinical progression among persons diagnosed with HIV at the time of an AIDS-defining event, and assessed the impact on outcome of timing of combined antiretroviral treatment (cART). Methods Retrospective, European and Canadian multicohort study.. Patients were diagnosed with HIV from 1997–2004 and had clinical AIDS from 30 days before to 14 days after diagnosis. Clinical progression (new AIDS event, death) was described using Kaplan-Meier analysis stratifying by type of AIDS event. Factors associated with progression were identified with multivariable Cox regression. Progression rates were compared between those starting early (<30 days after AIDS event) or deferred (30–270 days after AIDS event) cART. Results The median (interquartile range) CD4 count and viral load (VL) at diagnosis of the 584 patients were 42 (16, 119) cells/µL and 5.2 (4.5, 5.7) log10 copies/mL. Clinical progression was observed in 165 (28.3%) patients. Older age, a higher VL at diagnosis, and a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (vs. other AIDS events) were independently associated with disease progression. Of 366 patients with an opportunistic infection, 178 (48.6%) received early cART. There was no significant difference in clinical progression between those initiating cART early and those deferring treatment (adjusted hazard ratio 1.32 [95% confidence interval 0.87, 2.00], p = 0.20). Conclusions Older patients and patients with high VL or NHL at diagnosis had a worse outcome. Our data suggest that earlier initiation of cART may be beneficial among HIV-infected patients diagnosed with clinical AIDS in our setting. PMID:22043301

Paleomagnetic and Geochronologic Data from Central Asia: Inferences for Early Paleozoic Tectonic Evolution and Timing of Worldwide Glacial Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregory, L. C.; Meert, J. G.; Levashova, N.; Grice, W. C.; Gibsher, A.; Rybanin, A.

2007-12-01

The Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic Ural-Mongol belt that runs through Central Asia is crucial for determining the enigmatic amalgamation of microcontinents that make up the Eurasian subcontinent. Two unique models have been proposed for the evolution of Ural-Mongol belt. One involves a complex assemblage of cratonic blocks that have collided and rifted apart during diachronous opening and closing of Neoproterozoic to Devonian aged ocean basins. The opposing model of Sengor and Natal"in proposes a long-standing volcanic arc system that connected Central Asian blocks with the Baltica continent. The Aktau-Mointy and Dzabkhan microcontinents in Kazakhstan and Central Mongolia make up the central section of the Ural-Mongol belt, and both contain glacial sequences characteristic of the hypothesized snowball earth event. These worldwide glaciations are currently under considerable debate, and paleomagnetic data from these microcontients are a useful contribution to the snowball controversy. We have sampled volcanic and sedimentary sequences in Central Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for paleomagnetic and geochronologic study. U-Pb data, 13C curves and abundant fossil records place age constraints on sequences that contain glacial deposits of the hypothesized snowball earth events. Carbonates in the Zavkhan Basin in Mongolia are likely remagnetized, but fossil evidence within the sequence suggests a readjusted age control on two glacial events that were previously labeled as Sturtian and Marinoan. U-Pb ages from both Kazakhstan and Mongolian volcanic sequences imply a similar evolution history of the areas as part of the Ural-Mongol fold belt, and these ages paired with paleomagnetic and 13C records have important tectonic implications. We will present these data in order to place better constraints on the Precambrian to early Paleozoic tectonic evolution of Central Asia and the timing of glacial events recorded in the area.

Excessive Heat Events and National Security: Building Resilience based on Early Warning Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vintzileos, A.

2017-12-01

Excessive heat events (EHE) affect security of Nations in multiple direct and indirect ways. EHE are the top cause for morbidity/mortality associated to any atmospheric extremes. Higher energy consumption used for cooling can lead to black-outs and social disorder. EHE affect the food supply chain reducing crop yield and increasing the probability of food contamination during delivery and storage. Distribution of goods during EHE can be severely disrupted due to mechanical failure of transportation equipment. EHE during athletic events e.g., marathons, may result to a high number of casualties. Finally, EHE may also affect military planning by e.g. reducing hours of exercise and by altering combat gear. Early warning systems for EHE allow for building resilience. In this paper we first define EHE as at least two consecutive heat days; a heat day is defined as a day with a maximum heat index with probability of occurrence that exceeds a certain threshold. We then use retrospective forecasts performed with a multitude of operational models and show that it is feasible to forecast EHE at forecast lead of week-2 and week-3 over the contiguous United States. We finally introduce an improved definition of EHE based on an intensity index and investigate forecast skill of the predictive system in the tropics and subtropics.

Modeling long recovery early events (LOREs) produced by lightning-induced ionization of the nighttime upper mesosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotovsky, D. A.; Moore, R. C.

2017-07-01

We present results of a cylindrically symmetric, coupled electrodynamic, and photochemical model which simulates diffuse ionization of the middle atmosphere induced by strong lightning discharges (peak currents >150 kA). Scattering of subionospherically propagating, very low frequency radio waves is then evaluated using the Long-Wave Propagation Capability code. Some modeled sprite halos exhibit continued electron density growth up to timescales of seconds due to O- detachment, though it is not yet clear how this might relate to the slower onset durations (>20 ms) of some early VLF events. Modeled electron density enhancements in sprite halos, capable of strong VLF scattering, can persist for long periods of time (greater than hundreds of seconds) even at lower altitudes where their recovery is initially controlled by fast attachment processes. Consequently, our modeling results indicate that both typical recovery (20 to 240 s) and long recovery (LOREs, >300 s) VLF scattering events can be explained by scattering from conductivity changes associated with sprite halos. In contrast, modeled scattered fields resulting from elve-associated conductivity changes, though exhibiting long recovery times, are too weak to sufficiently explain typical LORE observations. Theoretical scattering from structured ionization events (e.g., sprites columns and gigantic jets) is not considered in this work.

Early Verb Learning: How Do Children Learn How to Compare Events?

PubMed Central

Childers, Jane B.; Parrish, Rebecca; Olson, Christina V.; Burch, Clare; Fung, Gavin; McIntyre, Kevin

2015-01-01

An important problem verb learners must solve is how to extend verbs. Children could use cross-situational information to guide their extensions, however comparing events is difficult. Two studies test whether children benefit from initially seeing a pair of similar events (‘progressive alignment’) while learning new verbs, and whether this influence changes with age. In Study 1, 2 ½- and 3 ½-year-old children participated in an interactive task. Children who saw a pair of similar events and then varied events were able to extend verbs at test, differing from a control group; children who saw two pairs of varied events did not differ from the control group. In Study 2, events were presented on a monitor. Following the initial pair of events that varied by condition, a Tobii x120 eye tracker recorded 2 ½-, 3 ½- and 4 ½-year-olds’ fixations to specific elements of events (AOIs) during the second pair of events, which were the same across conditions. After seeing the pair of events that were highly similar, 2 ½-year-olds showed significantly longer fixation durations to agents and to affected objects as compared to the all varied condition. At test, 3 ½-year-olds were able to extend the verb, but only in the progressive alignment condition. These results are important because they show children’s visual attention to relevant elements in dynamic events is influenced by their prior comparison experience, and they show that young children benefit from seeing similar events as they learn to compare events to each other. PMID:27092030

Return to Black Mountain: Palaeomagnetic Reassessment of the Chatsworth and Ninmaroo Formations, Western Queensland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, K.; Lackie, M.; Clark, D.; Schmidt, P.

2003-04-01

Palaeomagnetic results from Cambrian-Ordovician carbonate sequences sampled at Black Mountain, Mt Datson, and near Chatsworth Station are presented. A palaeomagnetic reassessment of these carbonates was designed in an effort to constrain regional magnetisation. Remanent magnetisations within these carbonates were found to be variably developed with most specimens displaying two of the five isolated components. PF, for which goethite is the identified remanence carrier, is thought to reflect a viscous remanent magnetisation of Recent origin. Component TR, held by haematite, has a palaeomagnetic pole consistent with other Tertiary Australian palaeopoles and most probably was acquired as a consequence of prolonged weathering during this period. The A component has a palaeomagnetic pole at 54.7°S, 262.3°E (dp=2.3°, dm=4.5°) after unfolding. This direction, constrained by positive fold and reversal test statistics, falls near the Early Devonian segment of the Australian APWP, perhaps reflecting a remagnetisation event associated with the intracratonic Alice Springs Orogeny. A Late Ordovician or Early Silurian remanence, component B, is also described. At 100% unfolding, the associated palaeopole lies at 8.0°S, 216.8°E (dp=2.6°, dm=5.1°). A third Palaeozoic, and presumed primary or early diagenetic, component, C, also passes applied fold and reversal tests and has a palaeomagnetic pole at 48.6°N, 186.0°E (dp=2.1°S, dm=4.0°). This palaeopole is consistent with Cambrian poles from other parts of cratonic Australia. Components A, B, and C are comparable to palaeomagnetic results reported in the earlier investigation of this region (Ripperdan and Kirschvink, 1992). A comparison of results between this and an earlier study are presented. Discrepancies in interpretation between the two palaeomagnetic surveys stem from choices in polarity for pre-Silurian palaeomagnetic poles as invoking alternate polarities for pre-Silurian palaeopoles makes the OVP1 direction of

Discriminating signal from noise in the fossil record of early vertebrates reveals cryptic evolutionary history

PubMed Central

Sansom, Robert S.; Randle, Emma; Donoghue, Philip C. J.

2015-01-01

The fossil record of early vertebrates has been influential in elucidating the evolutionary assembly of the gnathostome bodyplan. Understanding of the timing and tempo of vertebrate innovations remains, however, mired in a literal reading of the fossil record. Early jawless vertebrates (ostracoderms) exhibit restriction to shallow-water environments. The distribution of their stratigraphic occurrences therefore reflects not only flux in diversity, but also secular variation in facies representation of the rock record. Using stratigraphic, phylogenetic and palaeoenvironmental data, we assessed the veracity of the fossil records of the jawless relatives of jawed vertebrates (Osteostraci, Galeaspida, Thelodonti, Heterostraci). Non-random models of fossil recovery potential using Palaeozoic sea-level changes were used to calculate confidence intervals of clade origins. These intervals extend the timescale for possible origins into the Upper Ordovician; these estimates ameliorate the long ghost lineages inferred for Osteostraci, Galeaspida and Heterostraci, given their known stratigraphic occurrences and stem–gnathostome phylogeny. Diversity changes through the Silurian and Devonian were found to lie within the expected limits predicted from estimates of fossil record quality indicating that it is geological, rather than biological factors, that are responsible for shifts in diversity. Environmental restriction also appears to belie ostracoderm extinction and demise rather than competition with jawed vertebrates. PMID:25520359

Reflections on some early events related to behavior analysis of child development

PubMed Central

Bijou, Sidney W.

1996-01-01

A series of events related to the early application of behavioral principles to child behavior and development is described. The events began in the 1930s at Columbia University with a solicited letter from John B. Watson suggesting a master's degree thesis problem, and continued through the 1950s and 1960s at the University of Washington. Specifically, these happenings resulted in (a) research demonstrating that Skinner's laboratory method for studying nonhuman organisms could be profitably applied to the laboratory study of young normal children; (b) a demonstration that by successive approximations, a normal child can be operantly conditioned to respond to an arbitrary situation; (c) research showing that the effects of simple schedules of reinforcement obtained with nonhuman organisms could be duplicated in young normal and retarded children; (d) the demonstration that Skinner's operant laboratory method could be adapted to study young children in field situations; (e) research showing that operant principles can be successfully applied to the treatment of a young autistic boy with a serious visual handicap; (f) laboratory studies showing that mothers can be trained to treat their own young children who have behavior problems; (g) an in-home study demonstrating that a mother can treat her own child who has behavior problems; (h) a demonstration that operant principles can be applied effectively to teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic to children with retardation; and (i) publication of a book, Child Development: A Systematic and Empirical Theory, in collaboration with Donald M. Baer, by Prentice Hall in their Century Psychological Series. PMID:22478239

Inflammation-induced microvascular insulin resistance is an early event in diet-induced obesity.

PubMed

Zhao, Lina; Fu, Zhuo; Wu, Jing; Aylor, Kevin W; Barrett, Eugene J; Cao, Wenhong; Liu, Zhenqi

2015-12-01

Endothelial dysfunction and vascular insulin resistance usually coexist and chronic inflammation engenders both. In the present study, we investigate the temporal relationship between vascular insulin resistance and metabolic insulin resistance. We assessed insulin responses in all arterial segments, including aorta, distal saphenous artery and the microvasculature, as well as the metabolic insulin responses in muscle in rats fed on a high-fat diet (HFD) for various durations ranging from 3 days to 4 weeks with or without sodium salicylate treatment. Compared with controls, HFD feeding significantly blunted insulin-mediated Akt (protein kinase B) and eNOS [endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase] phosphorylation in aorta in 1 week, blunted vasodilatory response in small resistance vessel in 4 weeks and microvascular recruitment in as early as 3 days. Insulin-stimulated whole body glucose disposal did not begin to progressively decrease until after 1 week. Salicylate treatment fully inhibited vascular inflammation, prevented microvascular insulin resistance and significantly improved muscle metabolic responses to insulin. We conclude that microvascular insulin resistance is an early event in diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance and inflammation plays an essential role in this process. Our data suggest microvascular insulin resistance contributes to the development of metabolic insulin resistance in muscle and muscle microvasculature is a potential therapeutic target in the prevention and treatment of diabetes and its related complications. © 2015 Authors; published by Portland Press Limited.

Inflammation-induced microvascular insulin resistance is an early event in diet-induced obesity

PubMed Central

Zhao, Lina; Fu, Zhuo; Wu, Jing; Aylor, Kevin W.; Barrett, Eugene J.; Cao, Wenhong

2015-01-01

Endothelial dysfunction and vascular insulin resistance usually coexist and chronic inflammation engenders both. In the present study, we investigate the temporal relationship between vascular insulin resistance and metabolic insulin resistance. We assessed insulin responses in all arterial segments, including aorta, distal saphenous artery and the microvasculature, as well as the metabolic insulin responses in muscle in rats fed on a high-fat diet (HFD) for various durations ranging from 3 days to 4 weeks with or without sodium salicylate treatment. Compared with controls, HFD feeding significantly blunted insulin-mediated Akt (protein kinase B) and eNOS [endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase] phosphorylation in aorta in 1 week, blunted vasodilatory response in small resistance vessel in 4 weeks and microvascular recruitment in as early as 3 days. Insulin-stimulated whole body glucose disposal did not begin to progressively decrease until after 1 week. Salicylate treatment fully inhibited vascular inflammation, prevented microvascular insulin resistance and significantly improved muscle metabolic responses to insulin. We conclude that microvascular insulin resistance is an early event in diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance and inflammation plays an essential role in this process. Our data suggest microvascular insulin resistance contributes to the development of metabolic insulin resistance in muscle and muscle microvasculature is a potential therapeutic target in the prevention and treatment of diabetes and its related complications. PMID:26265791

Peronosporomycetes (Oomycota) from a Middle Permian Permineralised Peat within the Bainmedart Coal Measures, Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica

PubMed Central

Slater, Ben J.; McLoughlin, Stephen; Hilton, Jason

2013-01-01

The fossil record of Peronosporomycetes (water moulds) is rather sparse, though their distinctive ornamentation means they are probably better reported than some true fungal groups. Here we describe a rare Palaeozoic occurrence of this group from a Guadalupian (Middle Permian) silicified peat deposit in the Bainmedart Coal Measures, Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica. Specimens are numerous and comprise two morphologically distinct kinds of ornamented oogonia, of which some are attached to hyphae by a septum. Combresomyces caespitosus sp. nov. consists of spherical oogonia bearing densely spaced, long, hollow, slender, conical papillae with multiple sharply pointed, strongly divergent, apical branches that commonly form a pseudoreticulate pattern under optical microscopy. The oogonia are attached to a parental hypha by a short truncated stalk with a single septum. Combresomyces rarus sp. nov. consists of spherical oogonia bearing widely spaced, hollow, broad, conical papillae that terminate in a single bifurcation producing a pair of acutely divergent sharply pointed branches. The oogonium bears a short truncate extension where it attaches to the parental hypha. We propose that similarities in oogonium shape, size, spine morphology and hyphal attachment between the Permian forms from the Prince Charles Mountains and other reported Peronosporomycetes from Devonian to Triassic strata at widely separated localities elsewhere in the world delimit an extinct but once cosmopolitan Palaeozoic to early Mesozoic branch of the peronosporomycete clade. We name this order Combresomycetales and note that it played an important role in late Palaeozoic and early Mesozoic peatland ecosystems worldwide. PMID:23936465

Transcriptomic dose-and-time-course indicators of early key events in a cytotoxicity-mediated mode of action for rodent urinary bladder tumorigenesis

EPA Science Inventory

TRANSCRIPTOMIC DOSE- AND TIME-COURSE INDICATORS OF EARLY KEY EVENTS IN A CYTOTOXICITY-MEDIATED MODE OF ACTION FOR RODENT URINARY BLADDER TUMORIGENESISDiuron is a substituted urea compound used globally as an herbicide. Urinary bladder tumors were induced in rats after chronic die...

A qualitative study evaluating causality attribution for serious adverse events during early phase oncology clinical trials.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Som D; Coombes, Megan E; Levine, Mitch; Cosby, Jarold; Kowaleski, Brenda; Arnold, Andrew

2011-10-01

In early phase oncology trials, novel targeted therapies are increasingly being tested in combination with traditional agents creating greater potential for enhanced and new toxicities. When a patient experiences a serious adverse event (SAE), investigators must determine whether the event is attributable to the investigational drug or not. This study seeks to understand the clinical reasoning, tools used and challenges faced by the researchers who assign causality to SAE's. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with medical oncologists and trial coordinators at six Canadian academic cancer centres. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Individual interview content analysis was followed by thematic analysis across the interview set. Our study found that causality assessment tends to be a rather complex process, often without complete clinical and investigational data at hand. Researchers described using a common processing strategy whereby they gather pertinent information, eliminate alternative explanations, and consider whether or not the study drug resulted in the SAE. Many of the interviewed participants voiced concern that causality assessments are often conducted quickly and tend to be highly subjective. Many participants were unable to identify any useful tools to help in assigning causality and welcomed more objectivity in the overall process. Attributing causality to SAE's is a complex process. Clinical trial researchers apply a logical system of reasoning, but feel that the current method of assigning causality could be improved. Based on these findings, future research involving the development of a new causality assessment tool specifically for use in early phase oncology clinical trials may be useful.

Multiple-Threshold Event Detection and Other Enhancements to the Virtual Seismologist (VS) Earthquake Early Warning Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, M.; Caprio, M.; Cua, G. B.; Heaton, T. H.; Clinton, J. F.; Wiemer, S.

2009-12-01

The Virtual Seismologist (VS) algorithm is a Bayesian approach to earthquake early warning (EEW) being implemented by the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zurich. The application of Bayes’ theorem in earthquake early warning states that the most probable source estimate at any given time is a combination of contributions from a likelihood function that evolves in response to incoming data from the on-going earthquake, and selected prior information, which can include factors such as network topology, the Gutenberg-Richter relationship or previously observed seismicity. The VS algorithm was one of three EEW algorithms involved in the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) real-time EEW testing and performance evaluation effort. Its compelling real-time performance in California over the last three years has led to its inclusion in the new USGS-funded effort to develop key components of CISN ShakeAlert, a prototype EEW system that could potentially be implemented in California. A significant portion of VS code development was supported by the SAFER EEW project in Europe. We discuss recent enhancements to the VS EEW algorithm. We developed and continue to test a multiple-threshold event detection scheme, which uses different association / location approaches depending on the peak amplitudes associated with an incoming P pick. With this scheme, an event with sufficiently high initial amplitudes can be declared on the basis of a single station, maximizing warning times for damaging events for which EEW is most relevant. Smaller, non-damaging events, which will have lower initial amplitudes, will require more picks to be declared an event to reduce false alarms. This transforms the VS codes from a regional EEW approach reliant on traditional location estimation (and it requirement of at least 4 picks as implemented by the Binder Earthworm phase associator) to a hybrid on-site/regional approach capable of providing a continuously evolving stream of EEW

Early events in xenograft development from the human embryonic stem cell line HS181--resemblance with an initial multiple epiblast formation.

PubMed

Gertow, Karin; Cedervall, Jessica; Jamil, Seema; Ali, Rouknuddin; Imreh, Marta P; Gulyas, Miklos; Sandstedt, Bengt; Ahrlund-Richter, Lars

2011-01-01

Xenografting is widely used for assessing in vivo pluripotency of human stem cell populations. Here, we report on early to late events in the development of mature experimental teratoma from a well-characterized human embryonic stem cell (HESC) line, HS181. The results show an embryonic process, increasingly chaotic. Active proliferation of the stem cell derived cellular progeny was detected already at day 5, and characterized by the appearance of multiple sites of engraftment, with structures of single or pseudostratified columnar epithelium surrounding small cavities. The striking histological resemblance to developing embryonic ectoderm, and the formation of epiblast-like structures was supported by the expression of the markers OCT4, NANOG, SSEA-4 and KLF4, but a lack of REX1. The early neural marker NESTIN was uniformly expressed, while markers linked to gastrulation, such as BMP-4, NODAL or BRACHYURY were not detected. Thus, observations on day 5 indicated differentiation comparable to the most early transient cell populations in human post implantation development. Confirming and expanding on previous findings from HS181 xenografts, these early events were followed by an increasingly chaotic development, incorporated in the formation of a benign teratoma with complex embryonic components. In the mature HS181 teratomas not all types of organs/tissues were detected, indicating a restricted differentiation, and a lack of adequate spatial developmental cues during the further teratoma formation. Uniquely, a kinetic alignment of rare complex structures was made to human embryos at diagnosed gestation stages, showing minor kinetic deviations between HS181 teratoma and the human counterpart.

Cytokine Signatures Associated With Early Onset, Active Lesions and Late Cicatricial Events of Retinochoroidal Commitment in Infants With Congenital Toxoplasmosis.

PubMed

Carneiro, Ana Carolina Aguiar Vasconcelos; Machado, Anderson Silva; Béla, Samantha Ribeiro; Costa, Julia Gatti Ladeia; Andrade, Gláucia Manzan Queiroz; Vasconcelos-Santos, Daniel Vitor; Januário, José Nélio; Coelho-Dos-Reis, Jordana Grazziela; Ferro, Eloisa Amália Vieira; Teixeira-Carvalho, Andréa; Vitor, Ricardo Wagner Almeida; Martins-Filho, Olindo Assis

2016-06-15

Ocular toxoplasmosis is a prominent and severe condition of high incidence in Brazil. The current study provides new insights into the immunological events that can be associated with retinochoroiditis in the setting of congenital toxoplasmosis in human infants. Flow cytometry of intracytoplasmic cytokines in leukocyte subsets following in vitro short-term antigenic recall in infants with congenital T. gondii infection. Our data demonstrates that whereas neutrophils and monocytes from T. gondii-infected infants display a combination of proinflammatory and regulatory cytokine profiles, natural killer cells showed a predominantly proinflammatory profile upon in vitro T. gondii stimulation. The proinflammatory response of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, characterized by the production of interferon γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin 17 in patients with an active retinochoroidal lesion, revealed the presence of IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor α during early and late immunological events. This specific proinflammatory pattern is associated with early events and active retinochoroidal lesion, whereas a robust monocyte-derived interleukin 10-mediated profile is observed in children with cicatricial ocular lesions. These findings support the existence of a progressive immunological environment concomitant with the initial, apical, and cicatricial phases in the process of retinochoroidal lesion formation in infants with congenital toxoplasmosis that may be relevant in the establishment of stage-specific clinical management. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Technical Performance Scores are strongly associated with early mortality, postoperative adverse events, and intensive care unit length of stay-analysis of consecutive discharges for 2 years.

PubMed

Nathan, Meena; Karamichalis, John; Liu, Hua; Gauvreau, Kimberley; Colan, Steven; Saia, Matthew; Pigula, Frank; Fynn-Thompson, Francis; Emani, Sitaram; Baird, Christopher; Mayer, John E; del Nido, Pedro J

2014-01-01

Previous work in our institution has indicated that the Technical Performance Score (TPS) is highly associated with early outcomes in select subsets of procedures and age groups. We hypothesized that the TPS could predict early outcomes in a wide range of diagnoses and age groups. Consecutive patients discharged from January 2011 to March 2013 were prospectively evaluated. The TPS was assigned according to the discharge echocardiographic findings and the need for reinterventions in the anatomic area of interest. Case complexity was determined using Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS-1) categories. Early mortality and postoperative adverse events were recorded. Relationships between the TPS and outcomes were assessed after adjusting for the baseline patient characteristics. The median age of the 1926 patients was 1.8 years (range, 0 days to 68 years). Bypass was used in 1740 (90%); 322 (17%) were neonates, 520 (27%) infants, 873 (45%) children, 211 (11%) adults. TPS was class 1 (optimal) in 956 (50%), class 2 (adequate) in 584 (30%), and class 3 (inadequate) in 226 (12%); 160 patients (8%) could not be scored. A total of 51 early deaths (2.6%) and 111 adverse events (5.7%) occurred. On univariate analysis, age, RACHS-1 category, and TPS were significantly associated with mortality and the occurrence of adverse events. On multivariate modeling, class 3 (inadequate) TPS was strongly associated with mortality (odds ratio, 16.9; 95% confidence interval, 6.7-42.9; P < .001), adverse events (odds ratio, 6.9; 95% confidence interval, 4.1-11.6; P < .001), and postoperative intensive care unit length of stay (coefficient, 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.0-2.6; P < .001) after adjusting for other covariates. The TPS is strongly associated with early outcomes across a wide range of ages and disease complexity and can serve as important tool for self-assessment and quality improvement. Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Episodes of subsidence and uplift of the conjugate margins of Greenland and Norway after opening of the NE Atlantic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Japsen, Peter; Green, Paul F.; Bonow, Johan M.; Chalmers, James A.

2015-04-01

We have undertaken a regional study of the thermo-­tectonic development of East Greenland (68-75°N) and of southern Norway (58-64°N). We take advantage of the general observation that that the effects of uplift often are reflected more clearly onshore than offshore, and of the specific condition that the mountains of southern East Greenland expose thick basalts that were extruded onto a largely horizontal lava plain near sea level during breakup of the NE Atlantic at the Paleocene-Eocene transition. It is thus clear that the present-­day elevation of these basalts up to 3.7 km a.s.l. were reached after breakup. Our results based on apatite fission-­track analysis (AFTA) data from East Greenland reveal a long history of post-­Palaeozoic burial and exhumation across the region and show that the terrains of Palaeozoic and older rocks were buried below a 2-3 km­-thick cover prior to a series of Mesozoic events of uplift and exhumation. The AFTA results from southern Norway reveal events of Mesozoic uplift and exhumation that are broadly simultaneous with those in Greenland. Volcanic and sedimentary rocks accumulated on the subsiding, East Greenland margin during and following breakup and then began to be exhumed during late Eocene uplift that preceded a major, early Oligocene plate reorganization in the NE Atlantic. The Norwegian margin also experienced Eocene subsidence and burial. Our AFTA data from southern Norway show evidence of an event of mid­Cenozoic uplift and exhumation that overlap with the early Oligocene onset of progradation of clastic wedges towards the south and with the formation of a major, late Eocene unconformity along the NW European margin. The uplift event at the Eocene-Oligocene transition that affected wide areas in the NE Atlantic domain was followed by two regional events of uplift and incision of the East Greenland margin in the late Miocene and Pliocene whereas the Neogene uplift of southern Norway began in the early Miocene and was

High resolution chronology of late Cretaceous-early Tertiary events determined from 21,000 yr orbital-climatic cycles in marine sediments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herbert, Timothy D.; Dhondt, Steven

1988-01-01

A number of South Atlantic sites cored by the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) recovered late Cretaceous and early Tertiary sediments with alternating light-dark, high-low carbonate content. The sedimentary oscillations were turned into time series by digitizing color photographs of core segments at a resolution of about 5 points/cm. Spectral analysis of these records indicates prominent periodicity at 25 to 35 cm in the Cretaceous intervals, and about 15 cm in the early Tertiary sediments. The absolute period of the cycles that is determined from paleomagnetic calibration at two sites is 20,000 to 25,000 yr, and almost certainly corresponds to the period of the earth's precessional cycle. These sequences therefore contain an internal chronometer to measure events across the K/T extinction boundary at this scale of resolution. The orbital metronome was used to address several related questions: the position of the K/T boundary within magnetic chron 29R, the fluxes of biogenic and detrital material to the deep sea immediately before and after the K/T event, the duration of the Sr anomaly, and the level of background climatic variability in the latest Cretaceous time. The carbonate/color cycles that were analyzed contain primary records of ocean carbonate productivity and chemistry, as evidenced by bioturbational mixing of adjacent beds and the weak lithification of the rhythmic sequences. It was concluded that sedimentary sequences that contain orbital cyclicity are capable of providing resolution of dramatic events in earth history with much greater precision than obtainable through radiometric methods. The data show no evidence for a gradual climatic deterioration prior to the K/T extinction event, and argue for a geologically rapid revolution at this horizon.

Differential Network Analyses of Alzheimer’s Disease Identify Early Events in Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xia, Jing; Rocke, David M.; Perry, George

In late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple brain regions are not affected simultaneously. Comparing the gene expression of the affected regions to identify the differences in the biological processes perturbed can lead to greater insight into AD pathogenesis and early characteristics. We identified differentially expressed (DE) genes from single cell microarray data of four AD affected brain regions: entorhinal cortex (EC), hippocampus (HIP), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). We organized the DE genes in the four brain regions into region-specific gene coexpression networks. Differential neighborhood analyses in the coexpression networks were performed to identify genes with lowmore » topological overlap (TO) of their direct neighbors. The low TO genes were used to characterize the biological differences between two regions. Our analyses show that increased oxidative stress, along with alterations in lipid metabolism in neurons, may be some of the very early events occurring in AD pathology. Cellular defense mechanisms try to intervene but fail, finally resulting in AD pathology as the disease progresses. Furthermore, disease annotation of the low TO genes in two independent protein interaction networks has resulted in association between cancer, diabetes, renal diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.« less

Differential Network Analyses of Alzheimer’s Disease Identify Early Events in Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology

DOE PAGES

Xia, Jing; Rocke, David M.; Perry, George; ...

2014-01-01

In late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple brain regions are not affected simultaneously. Comparing the gene expression of the affected regions to identify the differences in the biological processes perturbed can lead to greater insight into AD pathogenesis and early characteristics. We identified differentially expressed (DE) genes from single cell microarray data of four AD affected brain regions: entorhinal cortex (EC), hippocampus (HIP), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). We organized the DE genes in the four brain regions into region-specific gene coexpression networks. Differential neighborhood analyses in the coexpression networks were performed to identify genes with lowmore » topological overlap (TO) of their direct neighbors. The low TO genes were used to characterize the biological differences between two regions. Our analyses show that increased oxidative stress, along with alterations in lipid metabolism in neurons, may be some of the very early events occurring in AD pathology. Cellular defense mechanisms try to intervene but fail, finally resulting in AD pathology as the disease progresses. Furthermore, disease annotation of the low TO genes in two independent protein interaction networks has resulted in association between cancer, diabetes, renal diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.« less

Sprites and Early ionospheric VLF perturbations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haldoupis, Christos; Amvrosiadi, Nino; Cotts, Ben; van der Velde, Oscar; Chanrion, Olivier; Neubert, Torsten

2010-05-01

Past studies have shown a correlation between sprites and early VLF perturbations, but the reported correlation varies widely from ~ 50% to 100%. The present study resolves these large discrepancies by analyzing several case studies of sprite and narrowband VLF observations, in which multiple transmitter-receiver VLF links with great circle paths (GCPs) passing near a sprite-producing thunderstorm were available. In this setup, the multiple links act in a complementary way that makes the detection of early VLF perturbations much more probable compared to a single VLF link that can miss several of them, a fact that was overlooked in past studies. The evidence shows that sprites are accompanied by early VLF perturbations in a one-to-one correspondence. This implies that the sprite generation mechanism may cause also sub-ionospheric conductivity disturbances that produce early VLF events. However, the one-to-one "sprite to early" event relationship, if viewed conversely as "early to sprite", appears not to be always reciprocal. This is because the number of early events detected in some cases was considerably larger than the number of sprites. Since the great majority of the early events not accompanied by sprites was caused by positive cloud to ground (+CG) lightning discharges, it is possible that sprites or sprite halos were concurrently present in these events as well but were missed by the sprite-watch detection system. In order for this option to be resolved we need more studies using highly sensitive optical systems capable of detecting weaker sprites, sprite halos and elves.

Viral FGARAT ORF75A promotes early events in lytic infection and gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis in mice

PubMed Central

Hogan, Chad H.; Oldenburg, Darby G.; Kara, Mehmet

2018-01-01

Gammaherpesviruses encode proteins with homology to the cellular purine metabolic enzyme formyl-glycinamide-phosphoribosyl-amidotransferase (FGARAT), but the role of these viral FGARATs (vFGARATs) in the pathogenesis of a natural host has not been investigated. We report a novel role for the ORF75A vFGARAT of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68) in infectious virion production and colonization of mice. MHV68 mutants with premature stop codons in orf75A exhibited a log reduction in acute replication in the lungs after intranasal infection, which preceded a defect in colonization of multiple host reservoirs including the mediastinal lymph nodes, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and the spleen. Intraperitoneal infection rescued splenic latency, but not reactivation. The 75A.stop virus also exhibited defective replication in primary fibroblast and macrophage cells. Viruses produced in the absence of ORF75A were characterized by an increase in the ratio of particles to PFU. In the next round of infection this led to the alteration of early events in lytic replication including the deposition of the ORF75C tegument protein, the accelerated kinetics of viral gene expression, and induction of TNFα release and cell death. Infecting cells to deliver equivalent genomes revealed that ORF75A was required for initiating early events in infection. In contrast with the numerous phenotypes observed in the absence of ORF75A, ORF75B was dispensable for replication and pathogenesis. These studies reveal that murine rhadinovirus vFGARAT family members ORF75A and ORF75C have evolved to perform divergent functions that promote replication and colonization of the host. PMID:29390024

Viral FGARAT ORF75A promotes early events in lytic infection and gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis in mice.

PubMed

Van Skike, Nick D; Minkah, Nana K; Hogan, Chad H; Wu, Gary; Benziger, Peter T; Oldenburg, Darby G; Kara, Mehmet; Kim-Holzapfel, Deborah M; White, Douglas W; Tibbetts, Scott A; French, Jarrod B; Krug, Laurie T

2018-02-01

Gammaherpesviruses encode proteins with homology to the cellular purine metabolic enzyme formyl-glycinamide-phosphoribosyl-amidotransferase (FGARAT), but the role of these viral FGARATs (vFGARATs) in the pathogenesis of a natural host has not been investigated. We report a novel role for the ORF75A vFGARAT of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68) in infectious virion production and colonization of mice. MHV68 mutants with premature stop codons in orf75A exhibited a log reduction in acute replication in the lungs after intranasal infection, which preceded a defect in colonization of multiple host reservoirs including the mediastinal lymph nodes, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and the spleen. Intraperitoneal infection rescued splenic latency, but not reactivation. The 75A.stop virus also exhibited defective replication in primary fibroblast and macrophage cells. Viruses produced in the absence of ORF75A were characterized by an increase in the ratio of particles to PFU. In the next round of infection this led to the alteration of early events in lytic replication including the deposition of the ORF75C tegument protein, the accelerated kinetics of viral gene expression, and induction of TNFα release and cell death. Infecting cells to deliver equivalent genomes revealed that ORF75A was required for initiating early events in infection. In contrast with the numerous phenotypes observed in the absence of ORF75A, ORF75B was dispensable for replication and pathogenesis. These studies reveal that murine rhadinovirus vFGARAT family members ORF75A and ORF75C have evolved to perform divergent functions that promote replication and colonization of the host.

Event-by-event gluon multiplicity, energy density, and eccentricities in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schenke, Björn; Tribedy, Prithwish; Venugopalan, Raju

2012-09-01

The event-by-event multiplicity distribution, the energy densities and energy density weighted eccentricity moments ɛn (up to n=6) at early times in heavy-ion collisions at both the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) (s=200GeV) and the CERN Large Hardron Collider (LHC) (s=2.76TeV) are computed in the IP-Glasma model. This framework combines the impact parameter dependent saturation model (IP-Sat) for nucleon parton distributions (constrained by HERA deeply inelastic scattering data) with an event-by-event classical Yang-Mills description of early-time gluon fields in heavy-ion collisions. The model produces multiplicity distributions that are convolutions of negative binomial distributions without further assumptions or parameters. In the limit of large dense systems, the n-particle gluon distribution predicted by the Glasma-flux tube model is demonstrated to be nonperturbatively robust. In the general case, the effect of additional geometrical fluctuations is quantified. The eccentricity moments are compared to the MC-KLN model; a noteworthy feature is that fluctuation dominated odd moments are consistently larger than in the MC-KLN model.

Seismology-based early identification of dam-formation landquake events.

PubMed

Chao, Wei-An; Zhao, Li; Chen, Su-Chin; Wu, Yih-Min; Chen, Chi-Hsuan; Huang, Hsin-Hua

2016-01-12

Flooding resulting from the bursting of dams formed by landquake events such as rock avalanches, landslides and debris flows can lead to serious bank erosion and inundation of populated areas near rivers. Seismic waves can be generated by landquake events which can be described as time-dependent forces (unloading/reloading cycles) acting on the Earth. In this study, we conduct inversions of long-period (LP, period ≥20 s) waveforms for the landquake force histories (LFHs) of ten events, which provide quantitative characterization of the initiation, propagation and termination stages of the slope failures. When the results obtained from LP waveforms are analyzed together with high-frequency (HF, 1-3 Hz) seismic signals, we find a relatively strong late-arriving seismic phase (dubbed Dam-forming phase or D-phase) recorded clearly in the HF waveforms at the closest stations, which potentially marks the time when the collapsed masses sliding into river and perhaps even impacting the topographic barrier on the opposite bank. Consequently, our approach to analyzing the LP and HF waveforms developed in this study has a high potential for identifying five dam-forming landquake events (DFLEs) in near real-time using broadband seismic records, which can provide timely warnings of the impending floods to downstream residents.

Microgravity Effects on the Early Events of Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago Truncatula: Results from the SyNRGE Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stutte, Gary W.; Roberts, Michael

2012-01-01

SyNRGE (Symbiotic Nodulation in a Reduced Gravity Environment) was a sortie mission on STS-135 in the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) hardware to study the effect of microgravity on a plant-microbe symbiosis resulting in biological nitrogen fixation. Medicago truncatula, a model species for th legume family, was inoculated with its bacterial symbiont, Sinorhizobium meliloti, to observe early biomolecular events associated with infection and nodulation in Petri Dish Fixation Units (PDFU's).

Silurian to Early Carboniferous plate tectonic model of Central Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golonka, Jan; Barmuta, Jan; Barmuta, Maria

2014-05-01

The presented plate tectonic model focuses on Silurian to Early Carboniferous evolution of Central Europe with special attention given to the Sudetes region (north and north-east part of the Bohemian Massif). During our studies, we tested alternative models focused on the position of the Armorican terranes, known as the Armorican Terrane Assembly (ATA) (e.g.: Matte, 2001) and tried to refine the existing reconstructions, which describe Armorica as an individual continent during the Late Silurian and Devonian (e.g. Lewandowski, 2003, Winchester, 2002). Our plate tectonic model depict that these small blocks were scattered along the northern margin of Gondwana, where they formed the "Armorican Spour" as suggested by Kroner and Romer (2013). The seaways were present between blocks. Because of the north dipping subduction zone along the southern margin of the Laurussia continent the back-arc basin and island arc were formed. The narrowing of the Rheic ocean led to the complicated collision of Gondwana and Laurussia. Three main stages of this event can be distinguished: (1) collision of the Armorican Spour with the Laurussian island arc, (2) back-arc basin closure, (3) final Gondwana and Laurussian collision. Those stages correlate well with Variscan Subduction Zone System proposed by Kroner and Romer (2013). Interactive modeling performed in GPlates, shows that the presented model is valid from kinematic and geometrical point of view. Kroner U., Romer R., L., 2013, Two plates - many subduction zones: the Variscan orogeny reconsidered. Gondwana Research, 24: 298-329. Lewandowski M., 2003, Assembly of Pangea: Combined paleomagnetic and paleoclimatic approach, Advances in Geophysics, 46: 199-236 Matte P., 2001, The Variscan collage and orogeny (480 290 Ma) and the tectonic definition of the Armorica microplate: a review. Terra Nova, 13: 122¨C128. Winchester J., A., The Pace TMR Network Team, 2002, Palaeozoic amalgamation of Central Europe: new results from recent

The association between high on-treatment platelet reactivity and early recurrence of ischemic events after minor stroke or TIA.

PubMed

Rao, Zilong; Zheng, Huaguang; Wang, Fei; Wang, Anxin; Liu, Liping; Dong, Kehui; Zhao, Xingquan; Wang, Yilong; Cao, Yibin

2017-08-01

To evaluate the role of HTPR in predicting early recurrence of ischemic events in patients with minor ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA. From January 2014 to September 2014, a single center continuously enrolled patients with minor ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA and gave them antiplatelet therapy consisting of aspirin with clopidogrel. HTPR was assessed by TEG after 7 days of antiplatelet therapy and detected CYP2C19 genotype. The incidence of recurrent ischemic events was assessed 3 months after onset. The incidence of recurrent ischemic events was compared between the HTPR and NTPR groups with the Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the risk factors associated with recurrent ischemic events. We enrolled 278 eligible patients with minor ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA. Through TEG testing, patients with HTPR were 22.7%, and carriers were not associated with HTPR to ADP by TEG-ADP(%) (p = 0.193). A total of 265 patients completed 3 months of follow-up, and Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with HTPR had a higher percentage of recurrent ischemic events compared with patients with NTPR (p = 0.002). In multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, history of ischemic stroke or TIA (HR 4.45, 95% CI 1.77-11.16, p = 0.001) and HTPR (HR 3.34, 95% CI 1.41-7.91, p = 0.006) was independently associated with recurrent ischemic events. In patients with minor stroke or TIA, the prevalence of HTPR was 22.7%, and HTPR was independently associated with recurrent ischemic events.

Risk of Cerebrovascular Events in Elderly Patients After Radiation Therapy Versus Surgery for Early-Stage Glottic Cancer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hong, Julian C.; Kruser, Tim J.; Gondi, Vinai

Purpose: Comprehensive neck radiation therapy (RT) has been shown to increase cerebrovascular disease (CVD) risk in advanced-stage head-and-neck cancer. We assessed whether more limited neck RT used for early-stage (T1-T2 N0) glottic cancer is associated with increased CVD risk, using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database. Methods and Materials: We identified patients ≥66 years of age with early-stage glottic laryngeal cancer from SEER diagnosed from 1992 to 2007. Patients treated with combined surgery and RT were excluded. Medicare CPT codes for carotid interventions, Medicare ICD-9 codes for cerebrovascular events, and SEER data for stroke as the causemore » of death were collected. Similarly, Medicare CPT and ICD-9 codes for peripheral vascular disease (PVD) were assessed to serve as an internal control between treatment groups. Results: A total of 1413 assessable patients (RT, n=1055; surgery, n=358) were analyzed. The actuarial 10-year risk of CVD was 56.5% (95% confidence interval 51.5%-61.5%) for the RT cohort versus 48.7% (41.1%-56.3%) in the surgery cohort (P=.27). The actuarial 10-year risk of PVD did not differ between the RT (52.7% [48.1%-57.3%]) and surgery cohorts (52.6% [45.2%-60.0%]) (P=.89). Univariate analysis showed an increased association of CVD with more recent diagnosis (P=.001) and increasing age (P=.001). On multivariate Cox analysis, increasing age (P<.001) and recent diagnosis (P=.002) remained significantly associated with a higher CVD risk, whereas the association of RT and CVD remained not statistically significant (HR=1.11 [0.91-1.37,] P=.31). Conclusions: Elderly patients with early-stage laryngeal cancer have a high burden of cerebrovascular events after surgical management or RT. RT and surgery are associated with comparable risk for subsequent CVD development after treatment in elderly patients.« less

The Incidence and Predictors of Early- and Mid-Term Clinically Relevant Neurological Events After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Real-World Patients.

PubMed

Bosmans, Johan; Bleiziffer, Sabine; Gerckens, Ulrich; Wenaweser, Peter; Brecker, Stephen; Tamburino, Corrado; Linke, Axel

2015-07-21

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) enables treatment of high-risk patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis without open-heart surgery; however, the benefits are mitigated by the potential for neurological events. This study sought to determine the timing and causes of clinically relevant neurological events after self-expandable TAVR. We enrolled 1,015 patients, of whom 996 underwent TAVR with a self-expandable system at 44 TAVR-experienced centers in Europe, Colombia, and Israel. Neurological events were evaluated for 3 distinct time periods: periprocedural (0 to 1 days post TAVR); early (2 to 30 days); and late (31 to 730 days). In this real-world study, neurological events were first referred to the site neurologist and then reviewed by an independent neurologist. The overall stroke rate was 1.4% through the first day post-procedure, 3.0% at 30 days, and 5.6% at 2 years. There were no significant predictors of periprocedural stroke or stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) combined. Significant predictors of early stroke were acute kidney injury (p = 0.03), major vascular complication (p = 0.04), and female sex (p = 0.04). For stroke/TIA combined, prior atrial fibrillation (p = 0.03) and major vascular complication (p = 0.009) were predictive. Coronary artery bypass graft surgery was the only significant predictor of late stroke (p = 0.007) or late stroke/TIA (p = 0.06). Treatment of high-risk patients with aortic stenosis using a self-expandable system was associated with a low stroke rate at short- and long-term follow-up. Multivariable predictors of clinically relevant neurological events differed on the basis of the timing after TAVR. (CoreValve Advance International Post Market Study; NCT01074658). Copyright © 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The spectral absorption coefficient at 254 nm as a real-time early warning proxy for detecting faecal pollution events at alpine karst water resources.

PubMed

Stadler, H; Klock, E; Skritek, P; Mach, R L; Zerobin, W; Farnleitner, A H

2010-01-01

Because spring water quality from alpine karst aquifers can change very rapidly during event situations, water abstraction management has to be performed in near real-time. Four summer events (2005-2008) at alpine karst springs were investigated in detail in order to evaluate the spectral absorption coefficient at 254 nm (SAC254) as a real-time early warning proxy for faecal pollution. For the investigation Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) Satellite-based data communication between portable hydrometeorological measuring stations and an automated microbiological sampling device was used. The method for event triggered microbial sampling and analyzing was already established and described in a previous paper. Data analysis including on-line event characterisation (i.e. precipitation, discharge, turbidity, SAC254) and comprehensive E. coli determination (n>800) indicated that SAC254 is a useful early warning proxy. Irrespective of the studied event situations SAC254 always increased 3 to 6 hours earlier than the onset of faecal pollution, featuring different correlation phases. Furthermore, it seems also possible to use SAC254 as a real-time proxy parameter for estimating the extent of faecal pollution after establishing specific spring and event-type calibrations that take into consideration the variability of the occurrence and the transferability of faecal material It should be highlighted that diffuse faecal pollution from wildlife and live stock sources was responsible for spring water contamination at the investigated catchments. In this respect, the SAC254 can also provide useful information to support microbial source tracking efforts where different situations of infiltration have to be investigated.

Relationship between early and late stages of information processing: an event-related potential study

PubMed Central

Portella, Claudio; Machado, Sergio; Arias-Carrión, Oscar; Sack, Alexander T.; Silva, Julio Guilherme; Orsini, Marco; Leite, Marco Antonio Araujo; Silva, Adriana Cardoso; Nardi, Antonio E.; Cagy, Mauricio; Piedade, Roberto; Ribeiro, Pedro

2012-01-01

The brain is capable of elaborating and executing different stages of information processing. However, exactly how these stages are processed in the brain remains largely unknown. This study aimed to analyze the possible correlation between early and late stages of information processing by assessing the latency to, and amplitude of, early and late event-related potential (ERP) components, including P200, N200, premotor potential (PMP) and P300, in healthy participants in the context of a visual oddball paradigm. We found a moderate positive correlation among the latency of P200 (electrode O2), N200 (electrode O2), PMP (electrode C3), P300 (electrode PZ) and the reaction time (RT). In addition, moderate negative correlation between the amplitude of P200 and the latencies of N200 (electrode O2), PMP (electrode C3), P300 (electrode PZ) was found. Therefore, we propose that if the secondary processing of visual input (P200 latency) occurs faster, the following will also happen sooner: discrimination and classification process of this input (N200 latency), motor response processing (PMP latency), reorganization of attention and working memory update (P300 latency), and RT. N200, PMP, and P300 latencies are also anticipated when higher activation level of occipital areas involved in the secondary processing of visual input rise (P200 amplitude). PMID:23355929

Does silent reading speed in normal adult readers depend on early visual processes? evidence from event-related brain potentials.

PubMed

Korinth, Sebastian Peter; Sommer, Werner; Breznitz, Zvia

2012-01-01

Little is known about the relationship of reading speed and early visual processes in normal readers. Here we examined the association of the early P1, N170 and late N1 component in visual event-related potentials (ERPs) with silent reading speed and a number of additional cognitive skills in a sample of 52 adult German readers utilizing a Lexical Decision Task (LDT) and a Face Decision Task (FDT). Amplitudes of the N170 component in the LDT but, interestingly, also in the FDT correlated with behavioral tests measuring silent reading speed. We suggest that reading speed performance can be at least partially accounted for by the extraction of essential structural information from visual stimuli, consisting of a domain-general and a domain-specific expertise-based portion. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Realizing Aspects by Transforming for Events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Filman, Robert E.; Havelund, Klaus; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We explore the extent to which concerns can be separated in programs by program transformation with respect to the events required by these concerns. We describe our early work on developing a system to perform event-driven transformation and discuss possible applications of this approach.

Using Paleomagnetic, Geochemical and Structural Data to Recognize Post-metamorphic Tectonic Events in the Caledonide Terranes of Western Svalbard.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michalski, K.; Manby, G.; Nejbert, K.; Domańska Siuda, J.; Burzyński, M.

2015-12-01

A total of 170 oriented palaeomagnetic samples of Proterozoic-Lower Palaeozoic metacarbonates and metabasites from 28 sites in Hornsund and Oscar II Land, Western Spitsbergen (Fig. 1A) were investigated at the Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Geophysics . Petrographic and rock-magnetic analyses revealed that the ferromagnetic carriers are dominated by metamorphic pyrrhotite and Low-Ti magnetite. Simultaneous in situ laser ablation 40Ar/39Ar age determination of the samples indicate that a 426-380 Ma Caledonian sensu lato thermal overprint was followed by younger events in the 377-326 Ma and ca. 300 Ma intervals (Fig. 1B). The latter two ages appear to coincide with recently published seismic data indicating that Late Devonian - Carboniferous rifting was followed by similar crustal extension in the SW Barents shelf area in Late Carboniferous time. Published in situ palaeomagnetic directions from Hornsund area in SW Svalbard fit the Silurian sector of the Baltica reference path suggesting that the geometry of the sampled Caledonian Sofekammen Syncline was not modified during following Svalbardian or Eurekan deformation events (Fig. 1C). In contrast, palaeomagnetic directions obtained from Oscar II Land are distant from Caledonian sector of Baltica reference path (Fig. 1C). It is suggested here, that the most significant mechanism responsible for the rotation of the palaeomagnetic directions and modification of geometry of Caledonian tectonic structures of Oscar II Land was listric normal faulting related to the opening of the North Atlantic -Arctic Ocean Basins. Late Cretaceous- Early Tertiary Eurekan folding and thrust faulting appear to have had minor influence on the palaeomagnetic directions obtained. This study is part of the Polish National Science Centre - DEC 2011/03/D/ST10/05193 PALMAG 2012-2016 funded project . Fig. 1. A. Geological sketch map of Western Spitsbergen. B. Probability diagrams derived from insitu 40Ar/39Ar laser ablation age

Depositional environments during the Late Palaeozoic ice age (LPIA) in northern Ethiopia, NE Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bussert, Robert

2014-11-01

The Late Palaeozoic sediments in northern Ethiopia record a series of depositional environments during and after the Late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA). These sediments are up to 200 m thick and exceptionally heterogeneous in lithofacies composition. A differentiation of numerous types of lithofacies associations forms the basis for the interpretation of a large range of depositional processes. Major glacigenic lithofacies associations include: (1) sheets of diamictite, either overlying glacially eroded basement surfaces or intercalated into the sediment successions, and representing subglacial tillites, (2) thick massive to weakly stratified muddy clast-poor diamictites to lonestone-bearing laminated mudstones originating from a combination of suspension settling of fines and iceberg rainout, (3) lensoidal or thin-bedded diamictites deposited from debris flows, (4) wedges of traction and gravity transported coarse-grained sediments deposited in outwash fans, (5) irregular wedges or sheets of mudstones deformed primarily by extension and incorporating deformed beds or rafts of other lithofacies formed by slumping, and (6) irregular bodies of sandstone, conglomerate and diamictite deformed by glacial pushing. The dominance of laminated or massive clast-bearing mudstones in most successions indicates ice-contact water bodies as the major depositional environment. Into this environment, coarse-grained sediments were transported by various gravity driven transport processes, including dropstone activity of ice-bergs, slumping, cohesive debris flow, hyperconcentrated to concentrated flow, hyperpycnal flow, and by turbidity flow. Close to glacier termini, wedge-shaped bodies of conglomerate, sandstone, diamictite and mudstone were deposited primarily in subaqueous outwash-fans. Soft-sediment deformation of these sediments either records ice push during glacier advance or re-sedimentation by slumping. Apart from an initial glacier advance when thick ice of temperate or

The influence of deficient retro-aortic rim on technical success and early adverse events following device closure of secundum atrial septal defects: An Analysis of the IMPACT Registry®.

PubMed

O'Byrne, Michael L; Gillespie, Matthew J; Kennedy, Kevin F; Dori, Yoav; Rome, Jonathan J; Glatz, Andrew C

2017-01-01

Concern regarding aortic erosion has focused attention on the retro-aortic rim in patients undergoing device closure of atrial septal defects (ASD), but its effect on early outcomes is not well studied. A multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing device occlusion of ASD between 1/2011-10/2014 was performed, using data from the IMproving Pediatric and Adult Congenital Treatment Registry. Subjects were divided between those with retro-aortic rim <5 and ≥5 mm. Primary outcomes were technical failure and major early adverse events. Case times were measured as surrogates of technical complexity. The effect of deficient retro-aortic rim on primary outcomes was assessed using hierarchical logistic regression, adjusting for other suspected covariates and assessing whether they represent independent risk factors RESULTS: 1,564 subjects (from 77 centers) were included, with deficient retro-aortic rim present in 40%. Technical failure occurred in 91 subjects (5.8%) and a major early adverse event in 64 subjects (4.1%). Adjusting for known covariates, the presence of a deficient retro-aortic rim was not significantly associated with technical failure (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 0.9-2.1) or major early adverse event (OR: 0.7, 95% CI: 0.4-1. 2). Total case (P = 0.01) and fluoroscopy time (P = 0.02) were greater in subjects with deficient rim, but sheath time was not significantly different (P = 0.07). Additional covariates independently associated with these outcomes were identified. Deficient retro-aortic rim was highly prevalent but not associated with increased risk of technical failure or early adverse events. Studies with longer follow-up are necessary to assess other outcomes, including device erosion. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Treatment decisions and the impact of adverse events before and during extended endocrine therapy in postmenopausal early breast cancer.

PubMed

Blok, Erik J; Kroep, Judith R; Meershoek-Klein Kranenbarg, Elma; Duijm-de Carpentier, Marjolijn; Putter, Hein; Liefers, Gerrit-Jan; Nortier, Johan W R; Rutgers, Emiel J Th; Seynaeve, Caroline M; van de Velde, Cornelis J H

2018-05-01

Extended endocrine therapy beyond 5 years for postmenopausal breast cancer has been studied within multiple phase III trials. Treatment compliance in these trials is generally poor. In this analysis, we aimed to determine factors that were associated with participation in the phase III Investigation on the Duration of Extended Adjuvant Letrozole (IDEAL) trial and with early treatment discontinuation, and how this influenced survival outcome. In the IDEAL trial, postmenopausal patients were randomised between 2.5 or 5 years of extended letrozole, after completing 5 years of endocrine therapy for hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer. A subgroup of this population participated earlier in the Tamoxifen Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational trial (5 years of exemestane or 2.5 years of tamoxifen followed by exemestane as primary adjuvant therapy) in which we explored which factors were determinative for enrolment in the IDEAL study. In the IDEAL cohort, we evaluated which factors predicted for early treatment discontinuation and the effect of early treatment discontinuation on disease-free survival (DFS). Nodal status, younger age and adjuvant chemotherapy were significantly associated with higher enrolment in the IDEAL trial. In the IDEAL cohort, adverse events (AEs), the type of primary endocrine therapy and the interval between primary and extended therapy were associated with early treatment discontinuation. Among the reported AEs, depressive feelings (56%) were most frequently associated with early treatment discontinuation. Early treatment discontinuation was not associated with worse DFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.02, 95% confidence interval = 0.76-1.37). In this analysis, we found that risk factors were most strongly associated enrolment in the IDEAL trial. In contrast, patient experiences were the most significant factors leading to early treatment discontinuation, with no effect on DFS. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Slow slip events in the early part of the earthquake cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voss, Nicholas K.; Malservisi, Rocco; Dixon, Timothy H.; Protti, Marino

2017-08-01

In February 2014 a Mw = 7.0 slow slip event (SSE) took place beneath the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. This event occurred 17 months after the 5 September 2012, Mw = 7.6, earthquake and along the same subduction zone segment, during a period when significant postseismic deformation was ongoing. A second SSE occurred in the middle of 2015, 21 months after the 2014 SSE and 38 months after the earthquake. The recurrence interval for Nicoya SSEs was unchanged by the earthquake. However, the spatial distribution of slip for the 2014 event differed significantly from previous events, having only deep ( 40 km) slip, compared to previous events, which had both deep and shallow slip. The 2015 SSE marked a return to the combination of deep plus shallow slip of preearthquake SSEs. However, slip magnitude in 2015 was nearly twice as large (Mw = 7.2) as preearthquake SSEs. We employ Coulomb Failure Stress change modeling in order to explain these changes. Stress changes associated with the earthquake and afterslip were highest near the shallow portion of the megathrust, where preearthquake SSEs had significant slip. Lower stress change occurred on the deeper parts of the plate interface, perhaps explaining why the deep ( 40 km) region for SSEs remained unchanged. The large amount of shallow slip in the 2015 SSE may reflect lack of shallow slip in the prior SSE. These observations highlight the variability of aseismic strain release rates throughout the earthquake cycle.