The structure of sediments in the Scotia Sea is used as a basis for reconstructing the geological history of its bottom in the Late Quaternary. The Scan Basin is one of the main elements of the ...topography of the southern Scotia Sea. Its formation played a considerable role in the fragmentation of the continent, which included the Bruce and Discovery banks. The main parameters of the sediment layer in the Scan Basin have been reconstructed by the present time, but its top part has not been studied. In this work, we analyze the first data obtained on the R/V
Gesperidas
with the use of a TOPAS PS 18/40 high-resolution seismic profilograph in 2012. Three layers in the subsurface sediments on the bottom of the Scan Basin were specified for the first time. The mean periods of their deposition in the Late Quaternary were determined as 115000 years for the first, 76000 years for the second, and 59 000 years for the third layer from the surface of the bottom. The duration of the total accumulation period of the three layers is about 250000 years.
The structure of the sediment sequence of the Scotia Sea is the basis for reconstructing the geological history of the development of its floor in the late Quaternary. One of the most important ...elements of the floor of the southern Scotia Sea is the Scan Basin, the formation of which played a substantial role in the breakup of the American–Antarctic continental bridge that connected the Bruce and Discovery banks. By now, the main parameters of the sediment sequence in the Scan Basin have been reconstructed, but the literature reflects the lack of data on the upper part of the section. On an observation profile, the Spanish R/V
Hesperides
, using a TOPAS PS 18/40 high-resolution seismic profiler, distinguished three beds in the central part of the basin. The total mean thickness of the first reflector is 3.7 ms; the second, 2.3 ms; and the third, 1.8 ms. The beds have a relatively consistent thickness and are distinctly traced along the profile. The literature data on the sedimentation parameters make it possible to estimate the total mean deposition time for the first bed of 133 ka; the second, 84 ka; and the third, 64 ka; the total mean sediment accumulation time for all three beds is 281 ka.
The first map illustrating the position of anomaly C12 extending in the NE-SW direction (25°) in the eastern peripheral part of the West Scotia Ridge is presented. Calculations of the paleomagnetic ...anomalies show that the spreading initiated in the period corresponding to Chron C12r (31.116–33.266 Ma ago). Chron C11r (30.217–30.627 Ma ago) was marked by a 200 km northwestward jump of the spreading axis. The calculation of the Euler poles and the rotation angles made it possible to reconstruct the zone of the initial breakup between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula along the western periphery of the continental Terror Rise.
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is the most common neurocutaneous disease, nevertheless the number of publications providing clinical and genetic data from a significant number of children is limited.
...The available clinical, epidemiological, radiological and genetic data from 239 children with NF1, who attended at a specialist NF1 clinic between January 2011 and December 2013 were recorded.
All the 239 patients had a clinical and/or genetic diagnosis of NF1. The mean age at diagnosis was 2.65±2.85 years. In our series 99.6% met the diagnostic criteria of café au lait spots, 93.7% those of axillary and inguinal freckling, 7.1% showed typical bone lesion, 38.1% neurofibromas, 23% plexiform neurofibromas, 31.4% optic pathway glioma, Lisch nodules were present in 43.1%, and 28% patients had a first degree relative affected with NF1. The NF1 genetic study was performed in 86 patients, and a description of the gene mutations found in 72 of them is presented. Furthermore, other clinical data previously associated with NF1, either because of their frequency or their severity, are detailed.
The difficulty for clinical diagnosis of NF1 early ages is still evident. Although, the need for further studies in asymptomatic patients is discussed, cranial MRI in children with NF1 may be helpful in the clinical diagnosis, given the high frequency of optic glioma observed in this cohort.
Background Patients with cancer have been shown to have a higher risk of clinical severity and mortality compared to non-cancer patients with COVID-19. Patients with hematologic malignancies ...typically are known to have higher levels of immunosuppression and may develop more severe respiratory viral infections than patients with solid tumors. Data on COVID-19 in patients with hematologic malignancies are limited. Here we characterize disease severity and mortality and evaluate potential prognostic factors for mortality. Methods In this population-based registry study, we collected de-identified data on clinical characteristics, treatment and outcomes in adult patients with hematologic malignancies and confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection within the Madrid region of Spain. Our case series included all patients admitted to 22 regional health service hospitals and 5 private healthcare centers between February 28 and May 25, 2020. The primary study outcome was all-cause mortality. We assessed the association between mortality and potential prognostic factors using Cox regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, hematologic malignancy and recent active cancer therapy. Results Of 833 patients reported, 697 were included in the analyses. Median age was 72 years (IQR 60-79), 413 (60%) patients were male and 479 (69%) and 218 (31%) had lymphoid and myeloid malignancies, respectively. Clinical severity of COVID-19 was severe/critical in 429 (62%) patients. At data cutoff, 230 (33%) patients had died. Age greater than or equai to 60 years (hazard ratios 3.17-10.1 vs < 50 years), > 2 comorbidities (1.41 vs less than or equai to 2), acute myeloid leukemia (2.22 vs non-Hodgkin lymphoma) and active antineoplastic treatment with monoclonal antibodies (2*02) were associated with increased mortality; conventional chemotherapy showed borderline significance (1.50 vs no active therapy). Conversely, Ph-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (0.33) and active treatment with hypomethylating agents (0.47) were associated with lower mortality. Overall, 574 (82%) patients received antiviral therapy. Mortality with severe/critical COVID-19 was higher with no therapy vs any antiviral combination therapy (2.20). Conclusions In this series of patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19, mortality was associated with higher age, more comorbidities, type of hematological malignancy and type of antineoplastic therapy. Further studies and long-term follow-up are required to validate these criteria for risk stratification. Keywords: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19, Hematologic neoplasms
There is widespread, but often indirect, evidence that a significant fraction of the bed beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet is thawed (at or above the pressure melting point for ice). This includes the ...beds of major outlet glaciers and their tributaries and a large area around the NorthGRIP borehole in the ice-sheet interior. The ice-sheet-scale distribution of basal water is, however, poorly constrained by existing observations. In principle, airborne radio-echo sounding (RES) enables the detection of basal water from bed-echo reflectivity, but unambiguous mapping is limited by uncertainty in signal attenuation within the ice. Here we introduce a new, RES diagnostic for basal water that is associated with wet-dry transitions in bed material: bed-echo reflectivity variability. This technique acts as a form of edge detector and is a sufficient, but not necessary, criteria for basal water. However, the technique has the advantage of being attenuation insensitive and suited to combined analysis of over a decade of Operation IceBridge survey data.
Resumen Introducción La neurofibromatosis tipo 1 (NF1) es la enfermedad neurocutánea más frecuente, pero el número de trabajos en que se recogen los datos clínicos y genéticos de un número amplio de ...niños es escaso. Material y métodos Se recogen los datos clínicos, epidemiológicos, radiológicos y genéticos disponibles de 239 niños con NF1, atendidos en la consulta monográfica de NF1 entre enero del 2011 y diciembre del 2013. Resultados Doscientos treinta y nueve pacientes tenían un diagnóstico clínico y/o genético de NF1. La edad media al diagnóstico fue de 2,65 ± 2,85 años. Cumplían los siguientes criterios diagnósticos: 99,6% manchas café con leche; 93,7% efélides axilares e inguinales; 7,1% lesión ósea característica; 38,1% neurofibromas, un 23% presentaron neurofibromas plexiformes; 31,4% glioma de vía óptica; 43,1% nódulos de Lisch, y un 28% tenían un familiar de primer grado afecto de NF1. En 86 pacientes se realizó el estudio genético de NF1 . Se describen las mutaciones encontradas en 72 pacientes. Además, se detallan otros datos clínicos, que, ya por su frecuencia, ya por su gravedad, han sido asociados a NF1. Conclusiones La dificultad del diagnóstico clínico de la NF1 en edades precoces sigue siendo patente. A pesar de que se discute la necesidad o no de estudios complementarios en pacientes asintomáticos, la resonancia magnética craneal en niños con NF1 puede ser de gran ayuda en el diagnóstico clínico dada la alta incidencia del glioma de vía óptica que observamos en nuestra serie.
We have evaluated a matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS) method for the identification of carbapenemases and for distinguishing ...metallo‐β‐lactamases (MBLs). A total of 49 noncarbapenemase‐producing and 14 carbapenemase‐producing Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical strains, previously characterized by PCR, were included in the study. With MALDI‐TOF MS, the presence of carbapenemases was confirmed by the detection of ertapenem hydrolysis (lost of molecular peaks: 476·5 Da, 498·5 Da, 520·5 Da and presence of degradation products) in the mixture of the bacteria with the antibiotic, and classification was achieved by selective inhibition of carbapenemase activity (the ertapenem molecular peak was maintained) with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). We obtained a good concordance among the results of PCR and MALDI‐TOF MS. This method appears to be simple, fast and reliable for distinguishing in few hours different classes of carbapenemases, which can be very useful for epidemiological studies or to establish a specific antimicrobial therapy. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry is increasingly present in microbiology laboratories due to its increasing use for bacterial identification. This study describes a method for detection of carbapenemase activity using MALDI‐TOF, which is similar to the reference method: the detection of imipenem hydrolysis using UV spectrometry.
Underweight, overweight, and obesity in childhood and adolescence are associated with adverse health consequences throughout the life-course. Our aim was to estimate worldwide trends in mean ...body-mass index (BMI) and a comprehensive set of BMI categories that cover underweight to obesity in children and adolescents, and to compare trends with those of adults.
We pooled 2416 population-based studies with measurements of height and weight on 128·9 million participants aged 5 years and older, including 31·5 million aged 5–19 years. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1975 to 2016 in 200 countries for mean BMI and for prevalence of BMI in the following categories for children and adolescents aged 5–19 years: more than 2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference for children and adolescents (referred to as moderate and severe underweight hereafter), 2 SD to more than 1 SD below the median (mild underweight), 1 SD below the median to 1 SD above the median (healthy weight), more than 1 SD to 2 SD above the median (overweight but not obese), and more than 2 SD above the median (obesity).
Regional change in age-standardised mean BMI in girls from 1975 to 2016 ranged from virtually no change (−0·01 kg/m2 per decade; 95% credible interval −0·42 to 0·39, posterior probability PP of the observed decrease being a true decrease=0·5098) in eastern Europe to an increase of 1·00 kg/m2 per decade (0·69–1·35, PP>0·9999) in central Latin America and an increase of 0·95 kg/m2 per decade (0·64–1·25, PP>0·9999) in Polynesia and Micronesia. The range for boys was from a non-significant increase of 0·09 kg/m2 per decade (−0·33 to 0·49, PP=0·6926) in eastern Europe to an increase of 0·77 kg/m2 per decade (0·50–1·06, PP>0·9999) in Polynesia and Micronesia. Trends in mean BMI have recently flattened in northwestern Europe and the high-income English-speaking and Asia-Pacific regions for both sexes, southwestern Europe for boys, and central and Andean Latin America for girls. By contrast, the rise in BMI has accelerated in east and south Asia for both sexes, and southeast Asia for boys. Global age-standardised prevalence of obesity increased from 0·7% (0·4–1·2) in 1975 to 5·6% (4·8–6·5) in 2016 in girls, and from 0·9% (0·5–1·3) in 1975 to 7·8% (6·7–9·1) in 2016 in boys; the prevalence of moderate and severe underweight decreased from 9·2% (6·0–12·9) in 1975 to 8·4% (6·8–10·1) in 2016 in girls and from 14·8% (10·4–19·5) in 1975 to 12·4% (10·3–14·5) in 2016 in boys. Prevalence of moderate and severe underweight was highest in India, at 22·7% (16·7–29·6) among girls and 30·7% (23·5–38·0) among boys. Prevalence of obesity was more than 30% in girls in Nauru, the Cook Islands, and Palau; and boys in the Cook Islands, Nauru, Palau, Niue, and American Samoa in 2016. Prevalence of obesity was about 20% or more in several countries in Polynesia and Micronesia, the Middle East and north Africa, the Caribbean, and the USA. In 2016, 75 (44–117) million girls and 117 (70–178) million boys worldwide were moderately or severely underweight. In the same year, 50 (24–89) million girls and 74 (39–125) million boys worldwide were obese.
The rising trends in children's and adolescents' BMI have plateaued in many high-income countries, albeit at high levels, but have accelerated in parts of Asia, with trends no longer correlated with those of adults.
Wellcome Trust, AstraZeneca Young Health Programme.
► Pomegranate co-products can be an important ingredient for food industry. ► Extracts obtained from fruits and vegetables can be used as functional ingredients because they provide numerous health ...benefits. ► Pomegranate bagasse powder co-products have potential applications in products requiring hydration, viscosity development, and freshness preservation.
The aim of this work was to determine the chemical, physico-chemical and functional properties of pomegranate juice extraction bagasses, which were obtained in two different ways: (i) direct extraction that involved arils and peel (WFB) and (ii) only from arils (AB). The proximate composition analysis showed higher protein, fat and ash content in AB samples (p<0.05) than WFB. However total dietary fibre, insoluble dietary fibre and soluble dietary fibre content is higher in WFB samples (50.3, 30.4 and 19.9g/100gd.w. respectively) than AB samples (45.6, 29.0 and 16.6g/100gd.w.). AB showed a pH of 4.40 while WFB showed a pH of 4.5. AB and WFB exhibited a water holding capacity of 4.5 and 4.9gwater/gd.w. respectively while the oil holding capacity was 5.9goil/gd.w. for AB sample and 5.9goil/gd.w. for WFB. Pomegranate bagasses powder co-products may be considered a potential functional ingredient in food products.
PDF
