Benthic foraminifera extinctions in the Cenozoic record

In the late Pliocene-middle Pleistocene a group of 95 species of elongate, cylindrical, deep-sea (lower bathyal-abyssal) benthic foraminifera became extinct. This Extinction Group (Ext. Gp), belonging to three families (all the Stilostomellidae and Pleurostomellidae, some of the Nodosariidae), was a major component (20-70%) of deep-sea foraminiferal assemblages in the middle Cenozoic and subsequently declined in abundance and species richness before finally disappearing almost completely during the mid-Pleistocene Climatic Transition (MPT). So what caused these declines and extinction? In this study 127 Ext. Gp species are identified from eight Cenozoic bathyal and abyssal sequences in the North Atlantic and equatorial Pacific Oceans. Most species are long-ranging with 80% originating in the Eocene or earlier. The greatest abundance and diversity of the Ext. Gp was in the warm oceanic conditions of the middle Eocene-early Oligocene. The group was subjected to significant changes in the composition of the faunal dominants and slightly enhanced species turnover during and soon after the rapid Eocene-Oligocene cooling event. Declines in the relative abundance and flux of the Ext. Gp, together with enhanced species loss, occurred during middle-late Miocene cooling, particularly at abyssal sites. The overall number of Ext. Gp species present began declining earlier at mid abyssal depths (in middle Miocene) than at upper abyssal (in late Pliocene-early Pleistocene) and then lower bathyal depths (in MPT). By far the most significant Ext. Gp declines in abundance and species loss occurred during the more severe glacial stages of the late Pliocene-middle Pleistocene. Clearly, the decline and extinction of this group of deep-sea foraminifera was related to the function of their specialized apertures and the stepwise cooling of global climate and deep water. We infer that the apertural modifications may be related to the method of food collection or processing, and that the extinctions may have resulted from the decline or loss of their specific phytoplankton or prokaryote food source, that was more directly impacted than the foraminifera by the cooling temperatures.

Pliocene/Pleistocene benthic foraminiferal abundances from six drilling cores

Twenty percent (19 genera, 95 species) of cosmopolitan, deep-sea (500-4000 m), benthic foraminiferal species became extinct during the late Pliocene-Middle Pleistocene (3-0.12 Ma), with the peak of extinctions (76 species) occurring during the mid-Pleistocene Climate Transition (MPT, 1.2-0.55 Ma). One whole family (Stilostomellidae, 30 species) was wiped out, and a second (Pleurostomellidae, 29 species) was decimated with just one species possibly surviving through to the present. Our studies at 21 deep-sea core sites show widespread pulsed declines in abundance and diversity of the extinction group species during more extreme glacials, with partial interglacial recoveries. These declines started in the late Pliocene in southern sourced deep water masses (Antarctic Bottom Water, Circumpolar Deep Water) and extending into intermediate waters (Antarctic Intermediate Water, North Atlantic Deep Water) in the MPT, with the youngest declines in sites farthest downstream from high-latitude source areas for intermediate waters. We infer that the unusual apertural types that were targeted by this extinction period were adaptations for a specific kind of food source and that it was probably the demise of this microbial food that resulted in the foraminiferal extinctions. We hypothesize that it may have been increased cold and oxygenation of the southern sourced deep water masses that impacted on this deep water microbial food source during major late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene glacials when Antarctic ice was substantially expanded. The food source in intermediate water was not impacted until major glacials in the MPT when there were significant expansion of polar sea ice in both hemispheres and major changes in the source areas, temperature, and oxygenation of global intermediate waters.

Stable carbon isotope ratios of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi of MIS 2 time slices

The interval of time represented by marine isotope stages 11 and 12 (~360-470 ka) contains what may be the most extreme glacial and interglacial climate conditions of the Late Pleistocene. It has been suggested that sea level rose by ~160 m at the termination of glacial stage 12. This is 30% greater than the sea level rise that followed the most recent glacial maximum. There have been few detailed studies of the unique conditions that existed during the stage 11-12 time period because of the lack of high-quality core material. This problem has been addressed by the collection of high deposition rate cores from sediment drifts in the western North Atlantic during Ocean Drilling Project Leg 172. Benthic foraminiferal d13C data from cores collected between ~4600 and 1800 m were used to reconstruct bathymetric gradients in deep and intermediate water properties for selected time slices during this glacial-interglacial cycle. During glacial stage 12, the deep western North Atlantic was filled by a water mass that was more nutrient-enriched than modern Antarctic Bottom Water. Above 2000 m, a more nutrient-depleted water mass existed during this glacial stage. Such an intermediate water mass has been described for more recent glacial periods and presumably forms in a more proximate region of the North Atlantic. Interglacial stage 11 water mass properties closely resemble those of the present-day western North Atlantic. A nutrient-depleted water mass (d13C of 0.75-1.0 per mil), similar to modern North Atlantic Deep Water existed between 3500 and 2000 m. This was underlain by a water mass with lower d13C values (<0.75 per mil) that probably was derived from a southern source. Using Leg 172 data, along with previously published results from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, we estimate a mean global d13C change of 0.95 per mil from stage 12 to stage 11. This is twice the whole ocean ?13C change reported for the transition from the last glacial maximum to the Holocene.

SRL 172 (killed Mycobacterium vaccae) in addition to standard chemotherapy improves quality of life without affecting survival, in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer : phase III results

Background: This open-label, randomised phase III study was designed to further investigate the clinical activity and safety of SRL172 (killed Mycobacterium vaccae suspension) with chemotherapy in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and methods: Patients were randomised to receive platinum-based chemotherapy, consisting of up to six cycles of MVP (mitomycin, vinblastine and cisplatin or carboplatin) with (210 patients) or without (209 patients) monthly SRL172. Results: There was no statistical difference between the two groups in overall survival (primary efficacy end point) over the course of the study (median overall survival of 223 days versus 225 days; P = 0.65). However, a higher proportion of patients were alive at the end of the 15-week treatment phase in the chemotherapy plus SRL172 group (90%), than in the chemotherapy alone group (83%) (P = 0.061). At the end of the treatment phase, the response rate was 37% in the combined group and 33% in the chemotherapy alone group. Patients in the chemotherapy alone group had greater deterioration in their Global Health Status score (-14.3) than patients in the chemotherapy plus SRL172 group (-6.6) (P = 0.02). Conclusion: In this non-placebo controlled trial, SRL172 when added to standard cancer chemotherapy significantly improved patient quality of life without affecting overall survival times. © 2004 European Society for Medical Oncology.

Sapientia, 1989, Vol. XLIV, nº 172 (número completo)

Contenido: Naturaleza del conocimiento humano : el significado de la abstracción en Santo Tomás (II) / Octavio Nicolás Derisi – Nacimiento, vida y transfiguración del filósofo griego / Cesáreo López Salgado – La transformación ockhamista de la teoría de la suposición / Ignacio Miralbell – La noción de lugar en Guillermo de Ockham / Olga L. Larre ; J. E. Bolzán – Notas y comentarios -- Bibliografía

Diário da Constituinte [gravação de vídeo] : [programa n. 172 A]

O chamado Grupo dos Trinta e Dois Constituintes revisou o projeto de Constituição, do Relator Bernardo Cabral (PMDB-AM), e reduziu o texto para duzentos e cinquenta artigos. O Deputado Israel Pinheiro (PMDB-MG) declara que o texto constitucional ficou mais organizado, mais articulado, após a revisão. Não houve preocupação em tocar nos pontos polêmicos do projeto, mas apenas de enxugar o texto original, deixando para a lei ordinária o que não é constitucional. O Senador Virgílio Távora (PDS-CE) considera que foi uma tentativa válida de auxílio. O Deputado Ulysses Guimarães (PMDB-SP), a quem foi entregue a nova versão, considerou que é uma contribuição importante, assim como outras tantas que chegarão. Balanço da primeira semana de entrega das emendas populares a Assembleia Nacional Constituinte (ANC). Representantes de empregados em empresas de telecomunicações de todo o país entregam emenda na qual pedem a manutenção do monopólio estatal nos serviços de telecomunicação e a criação do Conselho Nacional de Comunicação, que garanta a cada brasileiro o direito à informação livre e sem censura. Representantes das cooperativas entregam emenda na qual pedem a auto-gestão dos seus negócios, o ensino do cooperativismo e a isenção de impostos. Roberto Rodrigues, representante das cooperados, diz que quando a cooperativa vende algum insumo para o cooperado, cobrando dele um diferencial referente ao custo operacional da cooperativa, não pode haver incidência de imposto. O Deputado Ivo Vanderlinde (PMDB-SC) considera positivo o fortalecimento do cooperativismo. O Deputado Bernardo Cabral (PMDB-AM) mostra entusiasmo ao receber as emendas populares. Fernando Gabeira, jornalista e escritor, convoca o povo a participar.

Diário da Constituinte [gravação de vídeo] : [programa n. 172]

Parlamentares de todos os partidos procuram o consenso em torno do projeto de Constituição. O Deputado Israel Pinheiro Filho (PMDB-MG) esclarece que a preocupação é encontrar um texto constitucional que seja mais reduzido, mais enxuto, mas que represente a vontade da sociedade brasileira. Pacifistas denunciam a fabricação indiscriminada de armas nucleares, quarenta e dois anos após a Bomba de Hiroshima. O atual projeto de Constituição admite o uso da energia nuclear somente para fins pacíficos. O Deputado Fabio Feldmann (PMDB-SP) esclarece que muitas pessoas defendem a bomba atômica como um instrumento da paz, o que é um claro absurdo. Ele apoia a emenda popular proposta pela Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência (SBPC) que proíbe a bomba atômica brasileira. Sessão Extraordinária da Assembleia Nacional Constituinte (ANC) debateu a Reforma Agrária. O Deputado Roberto Jefferson (PTB-RJ) criticou a esquerda e considera que a distinção entre terras improdutivas e terras inexploradas deve ser feita pela justiça, pois a violência inviabilizará a Reforma Agrária. O Deputado Aldo Arantes (PC do B-GO) afirma que o atual projeto é a expressão da vontade dos latifundiários e propõe limite ao tamanho das propriedades rurais.

双奇核~(172)Re高自旋态实验研究

利用149Sm(27Al,4nγ)172Re反应布居了形变双奇核172Re的高自旋态,用12套带有BGO反康普顿抑制的高纯锗探测器阵列进行了在束γ实验测量,首次建立了172Re由3个转动带构成的高自旋态能级纲图.研究和讨论了3个转动带的结构特征,基于已有的高自旋态核结构知识并通过系统学比较和分析指出它们的准粒子组态分别为πh11/2 νi13/2,πh9/2 νi13/2和 π1/2-[541] ν1/2-[521].发现前两个转动带在自旋小于18时其转动能级呈现反常的旋称劈裂.

双奇核~(172)Re高自旋态转动带结构实验研究

利用重离子熔合蒸发反应 14 9Sm (2 7Al,4nγ) 172 Re布居了形变双奇核 172 Re的高自旋态 ,用 12套带有BGO反康普顿抑制的高纯锗探测器阵列进行了在束γ实验测量 ,首次建立了形变双奇核172 Re由 3个转动带构成的高自旋态能级纲图 .研究和讨论了 3个转动带的结构特征 ,基于已有的高自旋态核结构知识并通过系统学比较和分析指出它们的准粒子组态分别为πh11 2 νi13 2 ,πh9 2 νi13 2 和π1 2 -[5 41] ν1 2 -[5 2 1].发现前两个转动带在自旋小于 18.5时其转动能级呈现反常的旋称劈裂 .

双奇核~(172)Re的高自旋态；High Spin States in Odd-odd ~(172)Re

对149Sm(27Al,4n)172Re反应产生的172Re在束γ的实验数据进行了重新分析,新发现了可归属于172Re的3个转动带,由此建立了由6个转动带构成的172Re高自旋态能级纲图。依据相邻核的带结构知识和推转壳模型分析方法,对新发现的3个转动带的准粒子组态进行了指定,讨论了它们的转动特征。

C 172 INST-D 2013. 353 Muestras de bisutería y productos decorativos de réplicas precolombinas talladas en piedra en altorelieve (San Agustín - Huila.

7 fotografías a color.