Corg, CaCO3, bulk densities, accumulation rates and ages of ODP Leg 167 sites and three piston cores, California margin

Sediments from five Leg 167 drill sites and three piston cores were analyzed for Corg and CaCO3. Oxygen isotope stratigraphy on benthic foraminifers was used to assign age models to these sedimentary records. We find that the northern and central California margin is characterized by k.y.-scale events that can be found in both the CaCO3 and Corg time series. We show that the CaCO3 events are caused by changes in CaCO3 production by plankton, not by dissolution. We also show that these CaCO3 events occur in marine isotope Stages (MIS) 2, 3, and 4 during Dansgaard/Oeschger interstadials. They occur most strongly, however, on the MIS 5/4 glaciation and MIS 2/1 deglaciation. We believe that the link between the northeastern Pacific Ocean and North Atlantic is primarily transmitted by the atmosphere, not the ocean. Highest CaCO3 production and burial occurs when the surface ocean is somewhat cooler than the modern ocean, and the surface mixed layer is somewhat more stable.

Complete assignments of (1)H and (13)C NMR spectral data for 7,7 `-dihydroarylnaphthalene lignan lactones

In this article we present a complete (1)H and (13)C NMR spectral analysis of three 7,7`-dihydroarylnaphthalene lignan lactones using modern NMR techniques such as COSY, HSQC, HMBC and NOE experiments. Complete assignment and homonuclear hydrogen coupling constant measurements were performed. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Technical note: Implementation of a geodatabase of published and unpublished data on the catastrophic Vaiont landslide

On 9 October 1963 a catastrophic landslide suddenly occurred on the southern slope of the Vaiont dam reservoir. A mass of approximately 270 million m3 collapsed into the reservoir generating a wave that overtopped the dam and hit the town of Longarone and other villages nearby. Several investigations and interpretations of the slope collapse have been carried out during the last 45 years, however, a comprehensive explanation of both the triggering and the dynamics of the phenomenon has yet to be provided. In order to re-evaluate the currently existing information on the slide, an electronic bibliographic database and an ESRI-geodatabase have been developed. The chronology of the collected documentation showed that most of the studies for re-evaluating the failure mechanisms were conducted in the last decade, as a consequence of knowledge, methods and techniques recently acquired. The current contents of the geodatabase will improve definition of the structural setting that influenced the slide and led to the the propagation of the displaced rock mass. The objectives, structure and contents of the e-bibliography and Geodatabase are indicated, together with a brief description on the possible use of the alphanumeric and spatial contents of the databases.

Effects of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents on fatigue- and anaemia-related symptoms in cancer patients: systematic review and meta-analyses of published and unpublished data.

Background:Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) reduce the need for red blood cell transfusions; however, they increase the risk of thromboembolic events and mortality. The impact of ESAs on quality of life (QoL) is controversial and led to different recommendations of medical societies and authorities in the USA and Europe. We aimed to critically evaluate and quantify the effects of ESAs on QoL in cancer patients.Methods:We included data from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the effects of ESAs on QoL in cancer patients. Randomised controlled trials were identified by searching electronic data bases and other sources up to January 2011. To reduce publication and outcome reporting biases, we included unreported results from clinical study reports. We conducted meta-analyses on fatigue- and anaemia-related symptoms measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Fatigue (FACT-F) and FACT-Anaemia (FACT-An) subscales (primary outcomes) or other validated instruments.Results:We identified 58 eligible RCTs. Clinical study reports were available for 27% (4 out of 15) of the investigator-initiated trials and 95% (41 out of 43) of the industry-initiated trials. We excluded 21 RTCs as we could not use their QoL data for meta-analyses, either because of incomplete reporting (17 RCTs) or because of premature closure of the trial (4 RCTs). We included 37 RCTs with 10 581 patients; 21 RCTs were placebo controlled. Chemotherapy was given in 27 of the 37 RCTs. The median baseline haemoglobin (Hb) level was 10.1 g dl(-1); in 8 studies ESAs were stopped at Hb levels below 13 g dl(-1) and in 27 above 13 g dl(-1). For FACT-F, the mean difference (MD) was 2.41 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.39-3.43; P<0.0001; 23 studies, n=6108) in all cancer patients and 2.81 (95% CI 1.73-3.90; P<0.0001; 19 RCTs, n=4697) in patients receiving chemotherapy, which was below the threshold (⩾3) for a clinically important difference (CID). Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents had a positive effect on anaemia-related symptoms (MD 4.09; 95% CI 2.37-5.80; P=0.001; 14 studies, n=2765) in all cancer patients and 4.50 (95% CI 2.55-6.45; P<0.0001; 11 RCTs, n=2436) in patients receiving chemotherapy, which was above the threshold (⩾4) for a CID. Of note, this effect persisted when we restricted the analysis to placebo-controlled RCTs in patients receiving chemotherapy. There was some evidence that the MDs for FACT-F were above the threshold for a CID in RCTs including cancer patients receiving chemotherapy with Hb levels below 12 g dl(-1) at baseline and in RCTs stopping ESAs at Hb levels above 13 g dl(-1). However, these findings for FACT-F were not confirmed when we restricted the analysis to placebo-controlled RCTs in patients receiving chemotherapy.Conclusions:In cancer patients, particularly those receiving chemotherapy, we found that ESAs provide a small but clinically important improvement in anaemia-related symptoms (FACT-An). For fatigue-related symptoms (FACT-F), the overall effect did not reach the threshold for a CID.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 17 April 2014; doi:10.1038/bjc.2014.171 www.bjcancer.com.

Neighborhood mobility: A Long-Gone Pardigm? Approaching proximity and land use mix using data from home based surveys.

El WCTR es un congreso de reconocido prestigio internacional en el ámbito de la investigación del transporte y aunque las actas publicadas están en formato digital y sin ISSN ni ISBN, lo consideramos lo suficientemente importante como para que se considere en los indicadores. Policies trying to increase walking within urban mobility modal split usually highlight the importance of the functional patterns and the environmental quality of the urban space as major drivers of citizens modal choices. Functional characteristics would be mainly associated to an appropriate mix of land uses within neighbourhoods, whereas environmental quality would be associated to the characteristics of urban spaces. The purpose of this research is threefold: first, to identify relevant proxy indicators, which could characterize pedestrian-friendly land use mix and environmental quality. Second, to assess, for both traits, existing disparities among neighbourhoods in a major metropolitan area. And finally, to explore the association between both indicators and children mobility patterns: according to their built environment, which neighbourhoods have a greater proportion of children and, how is their mobility? Using data from the 2004 household mobility survey in the 128 neighbourhoods of the municipality of Madrid, this paper concludes that potentially favourable conditions at the neighbourhood level seem to have only a modest influence in,mobility patterns , in terms of both, selection of closer destinations and a higher share of walking within modal split. The citys policy choices, with intensive investment in road and public transport infrastructure may explain why short-distance mobility is not as important as it could have been expected in those neighbourhoods with more pedestrian-friendly conditions. The metropolitan transport system is providing mobility conditions, which make far-away destinations attractive to most citizens.

Neighbourhood mobility: a longgone Paradigm? Approaching "proximity" and "land use mix" using data from home-based surveys

Policies trying to increase walking within urban mobility modal split usually highlight the importance of the functional patterns and the environmental quality of the urban space as major drivers of citizens modal choices. Functional characteristics would be mainly associated to an appropriate mix of land uses within neighbourhoods, whereas environmental quality would be associated to the characteristics of urban spaces. The purpose of this research is threefold: first, to identify relevant proxy indicators, which could characterize pedestrian-friendly land use mix and environmental quality. Second, to assess, for both traits, existing disparities among neighbourhoods in a major metropolitan area. And finally, to explore the association between both indicators and children mobility patterns: according to their built environment, which neighbourhoods have a greater proportion of children and, how is their mobility? Using data from the 2004 household mobility survey in the 128 neighbourhoods of the municipality of Madrid, this paper concludes that potentially favourable conditions at the neighbourhood level seem to have only a modest influence in,mobility patterns , in terms of both, selection of closer destinations and a higher share of walking within modal split. The city s policy choices, with intensive investment in road and public transport infrastructure may explain why short-distance mobility is not as important as it could have been expected in those neighbourhoods with more pedestrian-friendly conditions. The metropolitan transport system is providing mobility conditions, which make far-away destinations attractive to most citizens.

Estimation of surface roughness in a semiarid region from C-band ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar data

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using the C-band European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-1) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to estimate surface soil roughness in a semiarid rangeland. Radar backscattering coefficients were extracted from a dry and a wet season SAR image and were compared with 47 in situ soil roughness measurements obtained in the rocky soils of the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed, southeastern Arizona, USA. Both the dry and the wet season SAR data showed exponential relationships with root mean square (RMS) height measurements. The dry C-band ERS-1 SAR data were strongly correlated (R² = 0.80), while the wet season SAR data have somewhat higher secondary variation (R² = 0.59). This lower correlation was probably provoked by the stronger influence of soil moisture, which may not be negligible in the wet season SAR data. We concluded that the single configuration C-band SAR data is useful to estimate surface roughness of rocky soils in a semiarid rangeland.

Organic soils promote the efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes, with different foraging strategies, in the control of a major forest pest: a meta-analysis of field trial data

The large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis, is a serious pest of reforestation in northern Europe. However, weevils developing in stumps of felled trees can be killed by entomopathogenic nematodes applied to soil around the stumps and this method of control has been used at an operational level in the UK and Ireland. We investigated the factors affecting the efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes in the control of the large pine weevil spanning 10 years of field experiments, by means of a meta-analysis of published studies and previously unpublished data. We investigated two species with different foraging strategies, the ‘ambusher’ Steinernema carpocapsae, the species most often used at an operational level, and the ‘cruiser’ Heterorhabditis downesi. Efficacy was measured both by percentage reduction in numbers of adults emerging relative to untreated controls and by percentage parasitism of developing weevils in the stump. Both measures were significantly higher with H. downesi compared to S. carpocapsae. General linear models were constructed for each nematode species separately, using substrate type (peat versus mineral soil) and tree species (pine versus spruce) as fixed factors, weevil abundance (from the mean of untreated stumps) as a covariate and percentage reduction or percentage parasitism as the response variable. For both nematode species, the most significant and parsimonious models showed that substrate type was consistently, but not always, the most significant variable, whether replicates were at a site or stump level, and that peaty soils significantly promote the efficacy of both species. Efficacy, in terms of percentage parasitism, was not density dependent.