U Pb and Sm Nd geochronologic studies of the eastern Borborema Province, Northeastern Brazil: initial conclusions

The Borborema Province of NE Brasil comprises the central part of a wide Pan-African-Brasiliano orogenetic belt that formed as a consequence of late Neoproterozoic convergence and collision of the São Luis-West Africa craton and the São Francisco-Congo-Kasai cratons. New Sm Nd and U Pb results from the eastern part of this province help to define the basic internal architecture and pre-collisional history of this province, with particular emphasis on delineating older cratonic terranes, their fragmentation during the Mesoproterozoic, and their assembly into West Gondwana during the Pan African-Brasiliano orogeny at ca. 600 Ma. The region can be divided into three major geotectonic domains: a) Rio Piranhas-Caldas Brandão massif, with overlying Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic supracrustal rocks, north of the Patos Lineament; b) the Archean to Paleoproterozoic São Francisco craton (SFC) to the south; and c) a complex domain of Paleoproterozoic to Archean basement blocks with several intervening Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic fold belts in the center (south of Patos Lineament and north of SFC). The northern and central domains comprise the Borborema Province. Archean basement gneiss and Transamazonian granulite of northern SFC are exposed in the southern part of the central domain, underlying southern parts of the Sergipano fold belt. Basement in the Rio Piranhas massif appears to consist mostly of Transamazonian (2.1 to 2.2 Ga) gneissic rocks; Nd model ages (TDM) of ca. 2.6 Ga for 2.15 Ga gneisses indicate a substantial Archean component in the protoliths to these gneisses. The Caldas Brandão massif to the east yields both Transamazonian and Archean U Pb zircon and Nd (TDM) ages, indicating a complex architecture. Metasedimentary rocks of the Jucurutu Formation yield detrital zircons with original crystallization ages as young as 1.8 Ga, indicating that these rocks may be late Paleoproterozoic and correlate with other ca. 1.8 Ga cratonic supracrustal rocks in Brazil such as the Roraima Group and Espinhaço Group. Most metavolcanic and pre-Brasiliano granitic units of the Sergipano (SDS), Pajeú-Paraíba (SPP), Riacho Pontal (SRP), and Piancó-Alto Brígida (SPAB) fold belts in the central domain formed ~ 1.0 ± 0.1 Ga, based on U Pb ages of zircons. Nd model ages (TDM) for these same rocks, as well as Brasiliano granites intruded into them and large parts of the Pernambuco-Alagoas massif, are commonly 1.3-1.7 Ga, indicating that rocks of the fold belts were not wholly derived from either older (> 2.1 Ga) or juvenile (ca. 1.0 Ga) crust, but include mixtures of both components. A simple interpretation of Brasiliano granite genesis and the Nd data implies that there is no Transamazonian or Archean basement underlying large parts of these fold belts or of the Pernambuco-Alagoas massif. An exception is a belt of syenitic Brasiliano plutons (Syenitoid Line) and host gneisses between SPAB and SPP that clearly has a Transamazonian (or older) source. In addition, there are several smaller blocks of Archean to Transamazonian gneiss that can be defined within and among these fold belts. These blocks do not appear to constitute a continuous basement complex, but appear to be isolated older crustal fragments. Our data support a model in which ca. 1.0 Ga rifting was an important tectonic and crust-forming event along the northern edge of the São Francisco craton. Our data also show that significant parts of the Borborema Province are not remobilized Transamazonian to Archean crust, but that Mesoproterozoic crust is a major feature of the Province. There are several small remnants of older crust within the area dominated by Mesoproterozoic crust, suggesting that the rifting event created several small continental fragments that were later incorporated into the Brasiliano collisional orogen. We cannot at present determine if the Rio Piranhas-Caldas Brandão massifs and the older crustal blocks of the central domain were originally part of the São Francisco craton or whether some (or all) of them came from more exotic parts of the Proterozoic Earth. Finally, our data have not yet revealed any juvenile terranes of either Transamazonian or Brasiliano age. © 1995.

Paleoambiente e proveniência da formação cabeças da bacia do Parnaíba: evidências da glaciação famenniana e implicações na potencialidade do reservatório

O histórico de prospecção de hidrocarbonetos da Bacia Paleozoica do Parnaíba, situada no norte-nordeste do Brasil, sempre foi considerado desfavorável quando comparado aos super-reservatórios estimados do Pré-Sal das bacias da Margem Atlântica e até mesmo interiores, como a Bacia do Solimões. No entanto, a descoberta de gás natural em depósitos da superseqüência mesodevoniana-eocarbonífera do Grupo Canindé, que incluem as formações Pimenteiras, Cabeças e Longá, impulsionou novas pesquisas no intuito de refinar a caracterização paleoambiental, paleogeográfica, bem como, entender o sistema petrolífero, os possíveis plays e a potencialidade do reservatório Cabeças. A avaliação faciológica e estratigráfica com ênfase no registro da tectônica glacial, em combinação com a geocronologia de zircão detrítico permitiu interpretar o paleoambiente e a proveniência do reservatório Cabeças. Seis associações de fácies agrupadas em sucessões aflorantes, com espessura máxima de até 60m registram a evolução de um sistema deltaico Devoniano influenciado por processos glaciais principalmente no topo da unidade. 1) frente deltaica distal, composta por argilito maciço, conglomerado maciço, arenito com acamamento maciço, laminação plana e estratificação cruzada sigmoidal 2) frente deltaica proximal, representada pelas fácies arenito maciço, arenito com laminação plana, arenito com estratificação cruzada sigmoidal e conglomerado maciço; 3) planície deltaica, representada pelas fácies argilito laminado, arenito maciço, arenito com estratificação cruzada acanalada e conglomerado maciço; 4) shoreface glacial, composta pelas fácies arenito com marcas onduladas e arenito com estratificação cruzada hummocky; 5) depósitos subglaciais, que englobam as fácies diamictito maciço, diamictito com pods de arenito e brecha intraformacional; e 6) frente deltaica de degelo, constituída pelas fácies arenito maciço, arenito deformado, arenito com laminação plana, arenito com laminação cruzada cavalgante e arenito com estratificação cruzada sigmoidal. Durante o Fammeniano (374-359 Ma) uma frente deltaica dominada por processos fluviais progradava para NW (borda leste) e para NE (borda oeste) sobre uma plataforma influenciada por ondas de tempestade (Formação Pimenteiras). Na borda leste da bacia, o padrão de paleocorrente e o espectro de idades U-Pb em zircão detrítico indicam que o delta Cabeças foi alimentado por áreas fonte situadas a sudeste da Bacia do Parnaíba, provavelmente da Província Borborema. Grãos de zircão com idade mesoproterozóica (~ 1.039 – 1.009 Ma) e neoproterozóica (~ 654 Ma) são os mais populosos ao contrário dos grãos com idade arqueana (~ 2.508 – 2.678 Ma) e paleoproterozóica (~ 2.054 – 1.992 Ma). O grão de zircão concordante mais novo forneceu idade ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U de 501,20 ± 6,35 Ma (95% concordante) indicando idades de áreas-fonte cambrianas. As principais fontes de sedimentos do delta Cabeças na borda leste são produto de rochas do Domínio Zona Transversal e de plútons Brasilianos encontrados no embasamento a sudeste da Bacia do Parnaíba, com pequena contribuição de sedimentos oriundos de rochas do Domínio Ceará Central e da porção ocidental do Domínio Rio Grande do Norte. No Famenniano, a movimentação do supercontinente Gondwana para o polo sul culminou na implantação de condições glaciais concomitantemente com o rebaixamento do nível do mar e exposição da região costeira. O avanço das geleiras sobre o embasamento e depósitos deltaicos gerou erosão, deposição de diamictons com clastos exóticos e facetados, além de estruturas glaciotectônicas tais como plano de descolamento, foliação, boudins, dobras, duplex, falhas e fraturas que refletem um cisalhamento tangencial em regime rúptil-dúctil. O substrato apresentava-se inconsolidado e saturados em água com temperatura levemente abaixo do ponto de fusão do gelo (permafrost quente). Corpos podiformes de arenito imersos em corpos lenticulares de diamicton foram formados pela ruptura de camadas pelo cisalhamento subglacial. Lentes de conglomerados esporádicas (dump structures) nos depósitos de shoreface sugere queda de detritos ligados a icebergs em fases de recuo da geleira. A elevação da temperatura no final do Famenniano reflete a rotação destral do Gondwana e migração do polo sul da porção ocidental da América do Sul e para o oeste da África. Esta nova configuração paleogeográfica posicionou a Bacia do Parnaíba em regiões subtropicais iniciando o recuo de geleiras e a influência do rebound isostático. O alívio de pressão é indicado pela geração de sills e diques clásticos, estruturas ball-and-pillow, rompimento de camadas e brechas. Falhas de cavalgamento associadas à diamictitos com foliação na borda oeste da bacia sugerem que as geleiras migravam para NNE. O contínuo aumento do nível do mar relativo propiciou a instalação de sedimentação deltaica durante o degelo e posteriormente a implantação de uma plataforma transgressiva (Formação Longá). Diamictitos interdigitados com depósitos de frente deltaica na porção superior da Formação Cabeças correspondem a intervalos com baixo volume de poros e podem representar trapas estratigráficas secundárias no reservatório. As anisotropias primárias subglaciais do topo da sucessão Cabeças, em ambas as bordas da Bacia do Parnaíba, estende a influência glacial e abre uma nova perspectiva sobre a potencialidade efetiva do reservatório Cabeças do sistema petrolífero Mesodevoniano-Eocarbonífero da referida bacia.

Pano Kente: estrutura e estética africana

The fractal geometry of nature is seen in organizations and has set handcrafted artifacts, among them African Kente cloth traditionally produced by Ewe and Ashanti of West Africa. Incorporating parameters also classify products as carriers of fractal geometry, the Kente fabrics exhibit built from geometric shapes classified as seeds or unique architecture. This article aims to analyze examples of Kente cloths and establish the existence of geometric structures formed from a parent cell, exposing how this cell and how its architecture and formed patterns are maintained throughout the finished product.

Cytotoxicity of cashew flavonoids towards malignant cell lines

The leaves of the Cashew plant (Anacardium occidentale L.) are used by the folk medicine in South America and West Africa. This plant is rich in flavonoids, which are polyphenolic compounds widespread in plants, and that have diverse physiological effects. In a sub-acute toxicity assay it was found that an ethanolic extract of Cashew leaves elicited lymphopenia in rats. The extract was also found to be cytotoxic and to induce apoptosis in Jurkat (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) cells. The crude ethanolic extract was fractionated and resolved by HPLC. One of the four fractions obtained led to the isolation of the biflavonoid agasthisflavone. [H-3]-thymidine incorporation assays and flow cytometry analysis showed that the isolated compound displayed a high anti-proliferative effect in Jurkat cells with an IC50 of 2.4 mu g/ml (4.45 mu M). The effect of agathisflavone on the acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL60, Burkitt lymphoma Raji cells and Hep-2 laryngeal carcinoma cells was also tested. The two latter ones were only mildly affected by agathisflavone. It is also shown that agathisflavone induces apoptosis in Jurkat cells and it this proposed that this is the likely mechanism of agathisflavone specific cytotoxicity. (C) 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Serological detection of Plasmodium vivax malaria using recombinant proteins corresponding to the 19-kDa C-terminal region of the merozoite surface protein-1

Abstract Background Serological tests to detect antibodies specific to Plasmodium vivax could be a valuable tool for epidemiological studies, for screening blood donors in areas where the malaria is not endemic and for diagnosis of infected individuals. Because P. vivax cannot be easily obtained in vitro, ELISA assays using total or semi-purified antigens are rarely used. Based on this limitation, we tested whether recombinant proteins representing the 19 kDa C-terminal region of the merozoite surface protein-1 of P. vivax (MSP119) could be useful for serological detection of malaria infection. Methods Three purified recombinant proteins produced in Escherichia coli (GST-MSP119, His6-MSP119 and His6-MSP119-PADRE) and one in Pichia pastoris (yMSP119-PADRE) were compared for their ability to bind to IgG antibodies of individuals with patent P. vivax infection. The method was tested with 200 serum samples collected from individuals living in the north of Brazil in areas endemic for malaria, 53 serum samples from individuals exposed to Plasmodium falciparum infection and 177 serum samples from individuals never exposed to malaria. Results Overall, the sensitivity of the ELISA assessed with sera from naturally infected individuals was 95%. The proportion of serum samples that reacted with recombinant proteins GST-MSP119, His6-MSP119, His6-MSP119-PADRE and yMSP119-PADRE was 90%, 93.5%, 93.5% and 93.5%, respectively. The specificity values of the ELISA determined with sera from healthy individuals and from individuals with other infectious diseases were 98.3% (GST-MSP119), 97.7% (His6-MSP119 and His6-MSP119-PADRE) or 100% (yMSP119-PADRE). Conclusions Our study demonstrated that for the Brazilian population, an ELISA using a recombinant protein of the MSP119 can be used as the basis for the development of a valuable serological assay for the detection of P. vivax malaria.

Identification of an African Bacillus anthracis Lineage That Lacks Expression of the Spore Surface-Associated Anthrose-Containing Oligosaccharide

The surfaces of Bacillus anthracis endospores expose a pentasaccharide containing the monosaccharide anthrose, which has been considered for use as a vaccine or target for specific detection of the spores. In this study B. anthracis strains isolated from cattle carcasses in African countries where anthrax is endemic were tested for their cross-reactivity with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for anthrose-containing oligosaccharides. Unexpectedly, none of the isolates collected in Chad, Cameroon, and Mali were recognized by the MAbs. Sequencing of the four-gene operon encoding anthrose biosynthetic enzymes revealed the presence of premature stop codons in the aminotransferase and glycosyltransferase genes in all isolates from Chad, Cameroon, and Mali. Both immunological and genetic findings suggest that the West African isolates are unable to produce anthrose. The anthrose-deficient strains from West Africa belong to a particular genetic lineage. Immunization of cattle in Chad with a locally produced vaccine based on anthrose-positive spores of the B. anthracis strain Sterne elicited an anti-carbohydrate IgG response specific for a synthetic anthrose-containing tetrasaccharide as demonstrated by glycan microarray analysis. Competition immunoblots with synthetic pentasaccharide derivatives suggested an immunodominant role of the anthrose-containing carbohydrate in cattle. In West Africa anthrax is highly endemic. Massive vaccination of livestock in this area has taken place over long periods of time using spores of the anthrose-positive vaccine strain Sterne. The spread of anthrose-deficient strains in this region may represent an escape strategy of B. anthracis.

Performance characteristics and design recommendations for biomass-burning stoves using earthen construction materials

This report provides an analysis of the thermal performance and emissions characteristics of improved biomass stoves constructed using earthen materials. Commonly referred to as mud stoves, this type of improved stove incorporates high clay content soil with an organic binder in the construction of its combustion chamber and body. When large quantities of the mud material are used to construct the stove body, the stove does not offer significant improvements in fuel economy or air quality relative to traditional open fire cooking. This is partly because a significant amount of heat is absorbed by the mass of the stove reducing combustion efficiency and heat transfer to the cook pot. An analysis of the thermal and mechanical properties of stove materials was also performed. A material mixture containing a one‐to‐one ratio by volume of high content clay soil and straw was found to have thermal properties comparable to fired ceramics used in more advanced improved stove designs. Feedback from mud stove users in Mauritania and Mali, West Africa was also collected during implementation. Suggestions for stove design improvements were developed based on this information and the data collected in the performance, emissions, and material properties analysis. Design suggestions include reducing stove height to accommodate user cooking preferences and limiting overall stove mass to reduce heat loss to the stove body.

Epidemiology of Brucellosis and Q Fever in Linked Human and Animal Populations in Northern Togo

BACKGROUND: Although brucellosis (Brucella spp.) and Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii) are zoonoses of global importance, very little high quality data are available from West Africa. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A serosurvey was conducted in Togo's main livestock-raising zone in 2011 in 25 randomly selected villages, including 683 people, 596 cattle, 465 sheep and 221 goats. Additionally, 464 transhumant cattle from Burkina Faso were sampled in 2012. The serological analyses performed were the Rose Bengal Test and ELISA for brucellosis and ELISA and the immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for Q Fever Brucellosis did not appear to pose a major human health problem in the study zone, with only 7 seropositive participants. B. abortus was isolated from 3 bovine hygroma samples, and is likely to be the predominant circulating strain. This may explain the observed seropositivity amongst village cattle (9.2%, 95%CI:4.3-18.6%) and transhumant cattle (7.3%, 95%CI:3.5-14.7%), with an absence of seropositive small ruminants. Exposure of livestock and people to C. burnetii was common, potentially influenced by cultural factors. People of Fulani ethnicity had greater livestock contact and a significantly higher seroprevalence than other ethnic groups (Fulani: 45.5%, 95%CI:37.7-53.6%; non-Fulani: 27.1%, 95%CI:20.6-34.7%). Appropriate diagnostic test cut-off values in endemic settings requires further investigation. Both brucellosis and Q Fever appeared to impact on livestock production. Seropositive cows were more likely to have aborted a foetus during the previous year than seronegative cows, when adjusted for age. This odds was 3.8 times higher (95%CI: 1.2-12.1) for brucellosis and 6.7 times higher (95%CI: 1.3-34.8) for Q Fever. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first epidemiological study of zoonoses in Togo in linked human and animal populations, providing much needed data for West Africa. Exposure to Brucella and C. burnetii is common but further research is needed into the clinical and economic impact.

Detection and management of drug-resistant tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients in lower-income countries.

SETTING Drug resistance threatens tuberculosis (TB) control, particularly among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected persons. OBJECTIVE To describe practices in the prevention and management of drug-resistant TB under antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in lower-income countries. DESIGN We used online questionnaires to collect program-level data on 47 ART programs in Southern Africa (n = 14), East Africa (n = 8), West Africa (n = 7), Central Africa (n = 5), Latin America (n = 7) and the Asia-Pacific (n = 6 programs) in 2012. Patient-level data were collected on 1002 adult TB patients seen at 40 of the participating ART programs. RESULTS Phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) was available in 36 (77%) ART programs, but was only used for 22% of all TB patients. Molecular DST was available in 33 (70%) programs and was used in 23% of all TB patients. Twenty ART programs (43%) provided directly observed therapy (DOT) during the entire course of treatment, 16 (34%) during the intensive phase only, and 11 (23%) did not follow DOT. Fourteen (30%) ART programs reported no access to second-line anti-tuberculosis regimens; 18 (38%) reported TB drug shortages. CONCLUSIONS Capacity to diagnose and treat drug-resistant TB was limited across ART programs in lower-income countries. DOT was not always implemented and drug supplies were regularly interrupted, which may contribute to the global emergence of drug resistance.

The ring vaccination trial: a novel cluster randomised controlled trial design to evaluate vaccine efficacy and effectiveness during outbreaks, with special reference to Ebola

A World Health Organization expert meeting on Ebola vaccines proposed urgent safety and efficacy studies in response to the outbreak in West Africa. One approach to communicable disease control is ring vaccination of individuals at high risk of infection due to their social or geographical connection to a known case. This paper describes the protocol for a novel cluster randomised controlled trial design which uses ring vaccination.In the Ebola ça suffit ring vaccination trial, rings are randomised 1:1 to (a) immediate vaccination of eligible adults with single dose vaccination or (b) vaccination delayed by 21 days. Vaccine efficacy against disease is assessed in participants over equivalent periods from the day of randomisation. Secondary objectives include vaccine effectiveness at the level of the ring, and incidence of serious adverse events.Ring vaccination trials are adaptive, can be run until disease elimination, allow interim analysis, and can go dormant during inter-epidemic periods.

Efficacy and effectiveness of an rVSV-vectored vaccine expressing Ebola surface glycoprotein: interim results from the Guinea ring vaccination cluster-randomised trial.

BACKGROUND A recombinant, replication-competent vesicular stomatitis virus-based vaccine expressing a surface glycoprotein of Zaire Ebolavirus (rVSV-ZEBOV) is a promising Ebola vaccine candidate. We report the results of an interim analysis of a trial of rVSV-ZEBOV in Guinea, west Africa. METHODS For this open-label, cluster-randomised ring vaccination trial, suspected cases of Ebola virus disease in Basse-Guinée (Guinea, west Africa) were independently ascertained by Ebola response teams as part of a national surveillance system. After laboratory confirmation of a new case, clusters of all contacts and contacts of contacts were defined and randomly allocated 1:1 to immediate vaccination or delayed (21 days later) vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV (one dose of 2 × 10(7) plaque-forming units, administered intramuscularly in the deltoid muscle). Adults (age ≥18 years) who were not pregnant or breastfeeding were eligible for vaccination. Block randomisation was used, with randomly varying blocks, stratified by location (urban vs rural) and size of rings (≤20 vs >20 individuals). The study is open label and masking of participants and field teams to the time of vaccination is not possible, but Ebola response teams and laboratory workers were unaware of allocation to immediate or delayed vaccination. Taking into account the incubation period of the virus of about 10 days, the prespecified primary outcome was laboratory-confirmed Ebola virus disease with onset of symptoms at least 10 days after randomisation. The primary analysis was per protocol and compared the incidence of Ebola virus disease in eligible and vaccinated individuals in immediate vaccination clusters with the incidence in eligible individuals in delayed vaccination clusters. This trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, number PACTR201503001057193. FINDINGS Between April 1, 2015, and July 20, 2015, 90 clusters, with a total population of 7651 people were included in the planned interim analysis. 48 of these clusters (4123 people) were randomly assigned to immediate vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV, and 42 clusters (3528 people) were randomly assigned to delayed vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV. In the immediate vaccination group, there were no cases of Ebola virus disease with symptom onset at least 10 days after randomisation, whereas in the delayed vaccination group there were 16 cases of Ebola virus disease from seven clusters, showing a vaccine efficacy of 100% (95% CI 74·7-100·0; p=0·0036). No new cases of Ebola virus disease were diagnosed in vaccinees from the immediate or delayed groups from 6 days post-vaccination. At the cluster level, with the inclusion of all eligible adults, vaccine effectiveness was 75·1% (95% CI -7·1 to 94·2; p=0·1791), and 76·3% (95% CI -15·5 to 95·1; p=0·3351) with the inclusion of everyone (eligible or not eligible for vaccination). 43 serious adverse events were reported; one serious adverse event was judged to be causally related to vaccination (a febrile episode in a vaccinated participant, which resolved without sequelae). Assessment of serious adverse events is ongoing. INTERPRETATION The results of this interim analysis indicate that rVSV-ZEBOV might be highly efficacious and safe in preventing Ebola virus disease, and is most likely effective at the population level when delivered during an Ebola virus disease outbreak via a ring vaccination strategy. FUNDING WHO, with support from the Wellcome Trust (UK); Médecins Sans Frontières; the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Research Council of Norway; and the Canadian Government through the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, International Development Research Centre, and Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

Potential Impact of Sexual Transmission on Ebola Virus Epidemiology: Sierra Leone as a Case Study.

BACKGROUND Sexual transmission of Ebola virus disease (EVD) 6 months after onset of symptoms has been recently documented, and Ebola virus RNA has been detected in semen of survivors up to 9 months after onset of symptoms. As countries affected by the 2013-2015 epidemic in West Africa, by far the largest to date, are declared free of Ebola virus disease (EVD), it remains unclear what threat is posed by rare sexual transmission events that could arise from survivors. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We devised a compartmental mathematical model that includes sexual transmission from convalescent survivors: a SEICR (susceptible-exposed-infectious-convalescent-recovered) transmission model. We fitted the model to weekly incidence of EVD cases from the 2014-2015 epidemic in Sierra Leone. Sensitivity analyses and Monte Carlo simulations showed that a 0.1% per sex act transmission probability and a 3-month convalescent period (the two key unknown parameters of sexual transmission) create very few additional cases, but would extend the epidemic by 83 days [95% CI: 68-98 days] (p < 0.0001) on average. Strikingly, a 6-month convalescent period extended the average epidemic by 540 days (95% CI: 508-572 days), doubling the current length, despite an insignificant rise in the number of new cases generated. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our results show that reductions in the per sex act transmission probability via abstinence and condom use should reduce the number of sporadic sexual transmission events, but will not significantly reduce the epidemic size and may only minimally shorten the length of time the public health community must maintain response preparedness. While the number of infectious survivors is expected to greatly decline over the coming months, our results show that transmission events may still be expected for quite some time as each event results in a new potential cluster of non-sexual transmission. Precise measurement of the convalescent period is thus important for planning ongoing surveillance efforts.

Long chain 1,13- and 1,15-diols in surface sediments ans SST reconstruction for sediment core GeoB6518-1

Although commonly reported in marine and freshwater environments, little is known about the biological sources of long chain alkyl 1,13- and 1,15-diols, and factors controlling their distributions. Here we analyzed the occurrence and distribution of these lipids in a comprehensive set of marine surface sediments and compare their distributions with environmental conditions like sea surface temperature (SST), salinity and nutrient concentrations. Fractional abundances of the C28 1,13-, C30 1,13- and C30 1,15-diols show a strong correlation with SST and based on these results, we propose the Long chain Diol Index (LDI), which expresses the C30 1,15-diol abundance relative to those of C28 1,13-, C30 1,13- and C30 1,15-diols. The LDI shows a strong linear correlation with SST (LDI = 0.033 × SST + 0.095; R2 = 0.969, n = 162) over a temperature range of -3 to 27 °C. Long chain diol distributions in sediments from the South Atlantic close to the Congo River outflow (West Africa) provided a 43 kyr LDI SST record. This record reflects several known climatic events and shows similarities with an alkenone-derived SST record obtained using the same suite of sediments, both in trend and in terms of absolute SST. This confirms the potential of the LDI as a proxy for palaeo-SST reconstruction.

Age determination of sediment cores close to the Strait of Gibralta

A suit of sediment cores close to and south of the Strait of Gibraltar (12°-36°N, 500-2800 m water depth) were analyzed for stable isotopes in epibenthic foraminifers Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi and Planulina ariminensis. During peak glacial times, the data exhibit higher delta13C values of up to 1.6 per mil at intermediate depths near the Strait of Gibraltar (36°N). The values decrease to the south as evidenced by our data, but also to the north as revealed by data of intermediate depth cores north of 38°N (in Duplessy et al. (1987)). Thus, the distribution pattern of delta13C provides crucial evidence for an increased influence of nutrient depleted Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) on the glacial northeast Atlantic hydrography. During oxygen isotope Terminations I and II, the meridional carbon isotope gradient indicates a significantly decreased but still active MOW. As deduced from the delta18O fluctuations, the temperatures of the MOW in the Atlantic were lower during glacial times by as much as 5°C. During glacial times and during Termination I the maximum delta13C values of the MOW correlate with minimum values of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and vice versa. This inverse response to climatic change of the carbon isotope signals of both water masses indicates, that the supply of saline MOW to the north Atlantic may be less important for the formation of NADW than previously assumed.