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Identifying the cells from which cancers arise is critical for understanding the molecular underpinnings of tumor evolution. To determine whether stem/progenitor cells can serve as cells of origin, we created a Msi2-Cre ERT2 knock-in mouse. When crossed to CAG-LSL-Myc T58A mice, Msi2-Cre ERT2 mice developed multiple pancreatic cancer subtypes: ductal, acinar, adenosquamous, and rare anaplastic tumors. Combining single-cell genomics with computational analysis of developmental states and lineage trajectories, we demonstrate that MYC preferentially triggers transformation of the most immature MSI2 + pancreas cells into multi-lineage pre-cancer cells. These pre-cancer cells subsequently diverge to establish pancreatic cancer subtypes by activating distinct transcriptional programs and large-scale genomic changes, and enforced expression of specific signals like Ras can redirect subtype specification. This study shows that multiple pancreatic cancer subtypes can arise from a common pool of MSI2+ cells and provides a powerful model to understand and control the programs that shape divergent fates in pancreatic cancer. [Display omitted] • Development of Msi2-Cre ERT2 knock-in mouse to express MYC in stem/progenitor cells • MSI2+ cells are cells of origin for multiple cancers such as lung, brain, and pancreas • Msi2-Myc mice form diverse pancreatic cancer subtypes from a common tumor precursor • Mapping dependencies of adenosquamous tumors identifies HMMR as a potential target Rajbhandari et al. report the development of a Msi2-Cre ERT2 mouse model which shows that multiple pancreatic cancer subtypes can arise from a common pool of MSI2+ cells and provides a powerful framework to understand the programs that shape divergent fates in pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HOXA Transcript Antisense RNA, Myeloid-Specific 1 (HOTAIRM1) is a conserved long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) involved in myeloid and neural differentiation that is deregulated in acute myeloid leukemia and other cancers. Previous studies focused on the nuclear unspliced HOTAIRM1 transcript, however cytoplasmic splice variants exist whose roles have remained unknown. Here, we report novel functions of HOTAIRM1 in the kidney. HOTAIRM1 transcripts are induced during renal lineage differentiation of embryonic stem cells and required for expression of specific renal differentiation genes. We show that the major HOTAIRM1 transcript in differentiated cells is the spliced cytoplasmic HM1-3 isoform and that HM1-3 is downregulated in >90% of clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs). Knockdown of HM1-3 in renal cells deregulates hypoxia-responsive and angiogenic genes, including ANGPTL4. Furthermore, HOTAIRM1 transcripts are downregulated by hypoxia-mimetic stress and knockdown of the cytoplasmic HM1-3 isoform in normoxic cells post-transcriptionally induces Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α (HIF1α) protein, a key activator of ANGPTL4. Our results demonstrate the pervasive downregulation of the specific HOTAIRM1 cytoplasmic isoform HM1-3 in ccRCC and suggest possible roles of HOTAIRM1 in kidney differentiation and suppression of HIF1-dependent angiogenic pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article distinguishes the obligation of States to 'facilitate' and 'protect' the right of peaceful assembly under Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) from State practices that rather seek to 'manage' or 'control' its exercise. Focusing on the protection of public assemblies in the Asia-Pacific region and drawing principally on the UN Human Rights Committee's assembly jurisprudence and its Concluding Observations on State reports, it emphasises the critical importance of the language in which State obligations are framed and understood. Many domestic laws over-regulate the right of assembly by creating broad discretionary powers, impermissible grounds of restriction, bureaucratic procedures and onerous liabilities. Such laws reinforce a police ego-image premised on the pernicious logic of 'management' and encourage preventive policing tactics that fundamentally undermine the right of peaceful assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting digital computing systems, primarily involving Josephson junctions are actively being pursued as high performance and low energy dissipating alternatives to CMOS-based technologies for petascale and exascale computers, although several challenges still exist in overcoming barriers to practically implement these technologies. In this paper, we present an alternative superconducting logic structure: quantized chargebased logic circuits using quantum phase-slip junctions, which have been identified as dual devices to Josephson junctions. Basic principles of logic implementation using quantum phase-slips are presented in simulations with the help of a SPICE model that has been developed for the quantum phase-slip structures. Circuit elements that form the building blocks for complex logic circuit design are introduced. Two different logic gate designs: OR gate and XOR gate are presented to demonstrate the usage of the building blocks introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intron retention (IR) is the most prevalent form of alternative splicing in plants. IR, like other forms of alternative splicing, has an important role in increasing gene product diversity and regulating transcript functionality. Splicing is known to occur co-transcriptionally and is influenced by the speed of transcription which in turn, is affected by chromatin structure. It follows that chromatin structure may have an important role in the regulation of splicing, and there is preliminary evidence in metazoans to suggest that this is indeed the case; however, nothing is known about the role of chromatin structure in regulating IR in plants. DNase I-seq is a useful experimental tool for genome-wide interrogation of chromatin accessibility, providing information on regions of chromatin with very high likelihood of cleavage by the enzyme DNase I, known as DNase I Hypersensitive Sites (DHSs). While it is well-established that promoter regions are highly accessible and are over-represented with DHSs, not much is known about DHSs in the bodies of genes, and their relationship to splicing in general, and IR in particular. Results: In this study we use publicly available DNase I-seq data in arabidopsis and rice to investigate the relationship between IR and chromatin structure. We find that IR events are highly enriched in DHSs in both species. This implies that chromatin is more open in retained introns, which is consistent with a kinetic model of the process whereby higher speeds of transcription in those regions give less time for the spliceosomal machinery to recognize and splice out those introns co-transcriptionally. The more open chromatin in IR can also be the result of regulation mediated by DNA-binding proteins. To test this, we performed an exhaustive search for footprints left by DNA-binding proteins that are associated with IR. We identified several hundred short sequence elements that exhibit footprints in their DNase I-seq coverage, the telltale sign for binding events of a regulatory protein, protecting its binding site from cleavage by DNase I. A highly significant fraction of those sequence elements are conserved between arabidopsis and rice, a strong indication of their functional importance. Conclusions: In this study we have established an association between IR and chromatin accessibility, and presented a mechanistic hypothesis that explains the observed association from the perspective of the co-transcriptional nature of splicing. Furthermore, we identified conserved sequence elements for DNA-binding proteins that affect splicing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Otish Gabbro sills intrude sedimentary rocks in the Otish Basin of the southeastern Superior Province. Here, deposition of Otish Supergroup sediments had previously been thought to be older than K-Ar and Sm-Nd ages of ca. 1750-1710 Ma for Otish Gabbro sills, and younger than ca. 2515-2500 Ma U-Pb ages of underlying Mistassini dykes. However, a much older U-Pb baddeleyite age of 2169.0 ± 1.4 Ma is presented here for an Otish sill, indicating that they are coeval with, and likely genetically related to, the giant 2172-2167 Ma Biscotasing dyke swarm to the southwest and (or) the Cramolet sills and Payne River dykes to the north. The new date also indicates that the age of the Otish Supergroup falls between ca. 2515 Ma and ca. 2169 Ma, only a little different from the ca. 2450-2217 Ma bracket for the Huronian Supergroup of the Southern Province, and is consistent with both supergroups spanning the oxy-atmo inversion. The Otish Supergroup could also be coeval with the Sakami Formation to the north, but is likely older than the Richmond Gulf Group on the east coast of Hudson Bay. Early paleomagnetic study of Otish sills yielded a remanence ∼20° from that expected for Biscotasing-aged intrusions. This may indicate that too few distinct sills were studied to average out paleosecular variation, that demagnetization techniques failed to fully remove unstable magnetization components, or that the remanence is a stable secondary overprint, perhaps acquired during a fluid event related to uranium mineralization at ca. 1720 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I argue that the syntax of Mi’gmaq (Eastern Algonquian) is underlyingly configurational despite displaying surface characteristics of non-configurationality. Three subject–object asymmetries are presented that cannot be accounted for in a principled manner unless: (1) DPs are base-generated in Argument (A) positions, and (2) the subject A-position asymmetrically c-commands the object A-position. First, I show that wh -phrases are strictly ordered in multiple wh -questions which is accounted for as a Superiority effect. Next, I present disjoint reference effects within a clause which shows that Binding Condition C effects are present. Finally, I present a restricted pattern of Long-Distance Agreement with embedded declaratives that is limited to the structurally highest embedded argument. The presence of a Restricted LDA pattern is proposed as a diagnostic for the relative structural height of DPs, which has implications for Algonquian languages with a similar pattern. I conclude that Mi’gmaq is configurational. I propose that an investigation of discourse factors is the most promising possibility to explain the non-configurational appearance of Mi’gmaq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of copper electroplating additives is critical to ensuring consistent copper plating of conductors and through-silicon-vias used in semiconductor processing and electronics packaging. The present analysis methods require many chemical analysis steps, generate waste, and are not very accurate. A new set of analysis methods utilizes a reduced number of steps and along with the use artificial neural networks (NNs) overcomes the present limitations, and provides an accurate and ecologically green analysis procedure. Using a newly developed second-order NN algorithm called neuron-by-neuron analysis, accuracies less than 1% have been realized. A step-by-step procedure to implement this method is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacitive fringing field sensors are often used in applications where moisture is detected, since the dielectric constant of liquid water is approximately 80 times greater than the dielectric constant of air. Most of these sensors, however, are realized using rigid substrates. Some applications would benefit from using a flexible capacitive fringing field sensor that could be conformally mounted on a nonplanar surface. Flexible printed circuit board technology is a mature commercially available process for manufacturing flexible electronics. This same technology can also be used to realize flexible fringing field moisture sensors where the patterned Cu foil is used for the electrodes and the soldermask coating electrically insulates the electrodes from being electrically shorted by moisture in the detection environment. Sensors were designed and characterized through flat and bending tests in air and in water. The tests demonstrated that bending a sensor over a radius of curvature as small as 13.7 mm had no measurable impact on sensor performance in air or in water. The sensors achieved a 3:1 increase in capacitance when immersed in water compared with in air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Fifteen methyl ester biodiesels synthesized from edible & nonedible oils. • Major biodiesel components (C13, C14, C16, C18) consistent with previous studies. • Biodiesel densities > JP-5 max. density specification, some viscosities > JP-5 spec. • Biodiesel flashpoints > 373 K, cetane numbers > 40, surface tension > 28.6 mN/m. • Yanmar diesel engine metrics for JP-5, biodiesel, and their mixtures reported. This study investigates the physical properties and combustion behavior of blends of military jet fuel JP-5 with biodiesels synthesized from methanol, potassium hydroxide, and 13 plant oils (avocado, canola, castor, coconut, corn grapeseed, linseed, neem, olive, palm, peanut, soybean, and walnuts), bacon grease, and duck fat. The biodiesels were analyzed using gas chromatography(GC)/mass spectrometry(MS) and GC/flame ionization detection(FID). The main components found were methyl esters with 13 to 18 carbon atoms, agreeing with previously reported compositions. Biodiesel densities ranged from 875.3 to 929.3 kg·m−3 at 15 °C, many exceeding the maximum allowable U. S. Naval diesel fuel density of 876 kg·m−3. Biodiesel viscosities ranged from 3.05 to 15.8 at mm2·s−1 at 40 °C, half of which were higher than the maximum allowable military diesel viscosity of 4.3 mm2·s−1. All biodiesel flash points were higher than the military diesel minimum requirement of 60 °C, and all the biodiesel derived cetane numbers where greater than the minimum of 42, except for castor oil, which had a DCN of 41.2. Surface tensions ranged from 28.6 to 32.4 mN·m−1, which were higher than the 26.0 mN·m−1 measured for JP-5. The bulk moduli ranged from 1678 to 2039 MPa, which were higher than the 1444 MPa for JP-5. Combustion experiments in a Yanmar diesel engine were conducted with JP-5, castor, soy, corn, coconut and palm oil biodiesels and 20% and 50% mixtures of the biodiesels in JP-5. The ignition delay (IGD) of the neat fuels decreased (shortened) as the DCN of the fuel increased. The maximum rate of heat release was highest for the castor oil and lowest for palm oil. The peak pressure location was similar for the biodiesels, except for castor oil biodiesel, which had later combustion phasing. There was only a modest increase in the thermal efficiencies of the biodiesels as compared to JP-5. Most mixtures of JP-5 and biodiesel had IGDs, maximum rates of heat release, and peak pressures that fell between the value for pure biodiesel and that of JP-5. Overall, the mixture of 20% biodiesel with JP-5 will have minimal impact on the combustion characteristics in a diesel engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting circuits that operate by propagation of small voltage or current pulses, corresponding to propagation of single flux or charge quantum, are naturally suited for implementing spiking neuron circuits. Quantum phase-slip junctions (QPSJs) are 1-D superconducting nanowires that have been identified as exact duals to Josephson junctions, based on charge-flux duality in Maxwell's equations. In this paper, a superconducting quantized-charge circuit element, formed using quantum phase-slip junctions, is investigated for use in high-speed, low-energy superconducting spiking neuron circuits. By means of a SPICE model developed for QPSJs, operation of this superconducting circuit to produce and transport quantized charge pulses, in the form of current pulses, is demonstrated. The resulting quantized-charge-based operation emulates spiking neuron circuits for brain-inspired neuromorphic applications. Additionally, to further demonstrate the operation of QPSJ-based neuron circuits, a QPSJ-based integrate and fire neuron circuit is introduced, along with simulation results using WRSPICE. Estimates for operating speed and power dissipation are provided and compared to Josephson junction and CMOS-based spiking neuron circuits. Current challenges are also briefly mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boreal watersheds contain a vast quantity of terrestrially derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) originating from wetland and forest soils, yet variation in the potential for photochemical transformation of boreal aquatic DOM sources remains poorly understood. Laboratory solar radiation exposure experiments were conducted on DOM samples collected in three seasons, across nine sites, representing contrasting catchment composition and watershed position to assess variation in the photochemical lability of boreal DOM source and stable carbon isotopic signature (δC) of photomineralized DOM. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) loss rates during laboratory exposure were lowest in summer, suggesting that DOM may have been more photo-degraded during summer. DOM from upstream portions of forested stream sites and wetland-influenced sites was more photolabile relative to downstream portions and the river DOM, suggesting potential losses in photolabile DOM downstream and in the lower reaches of the watershed. Increased a:a and spectral slope following sample exposure suggest photoproduction of low molecular weight (LMW) CDOM and/or a higher photoreactivity of high molecular weight versus LMW compounds. Photomineralization of nitrogen was regulated by organic nitrogen concentration and resulted in NH-photoproduction rates between 0.01 and 0.3 µM N h and ecologically significant increases in NH for these waters. The δC of the photomineralized DOM was positively correlated to initial DOC concentration and generally lower when initial DOC concentrations were lower, suggesting variation in photomineralized DOM δC may be a result of kinetic isotope fractionation. Results from this study demonstrate significant variation in the photochemical lability of boreal watershed sources of DOM. Such variation suggests landscape and environmental change has the potential to alter the biogeochemical role photochemical transformations play in downstream portions of boreal watersheds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avalonia was a microcontinent during most of the Ordovician, separating the Iapetus Ocean to the north from the Rheic Ocean to the south. In the northern Antigonish Highlands, Nova Scotia, volcanic rocks (Dunn Point and McGillivray Brook formations) underlie Early Silurian - Early Devonian strata (Arisaig Group) and were thought to represent extension that heralded the development of the basin into which Arisaig Group strata were deposited. However, recent U-Pb (zircon, thermal ionization mass spectrometry) data from rhyolite in the Dunn Point Formation (DPF) yielded an age of 460.0 ± 3.4 Ma, and, here, we report a concordant age of 454.5 ± 0.7 Ma for an ignimbrite in the overlying McGillivray Brook Formation (MBF). These data confirm a ca. 10 million year gap between volcanism and onset of Arisaig Group deposition, which occurred after accretion of Avalonia to Baltica. The DPF and MBF both resemble A-type SiO2-rich magmas. The MBF has very high concentrations of Zr (745-1965 ppm), Y (65-213 ppm), Nb (57 to 185 ppm), and high Ga/Al. Several MBF samples exhibit strong LREE depletion, consistent with fractionation of LREE-bearing accessory phases. εNd t values for MBF ( t = 455 Ma) range from +1.5 to +3.9, and overlap with DPF rhyolites that range from +2.9 to +3.7. Depleted mantle model ages for MBF and DPF samples unaffected by accessory phase fractionation are between 0.9 and 1.2 Ga and are similar to TDM values in older (Neoproterozoic, Cambrian) crustally derived felsic rocks, suggesting derivation from the lower crustal basement beneath the Antigonish Highlands. DPF and MBF rocks were probably erupted in a local extensional environment within an ensialic arc, perhaps analogous to the modern Taupo Volcanic Zone in northern New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The oxidative addition of I2, PhCH2Br and MeI with [Pt(CH2SiMe3)2(DPK)], 1, DPK=di-2-pyridyl ketone, occurred with trans stereochemistry to give [PtI2(CH2SiMe3)2(DPK)], [PtBr(CH2Ph)(CH2SiMe3)2(DPK)] and [PtIMe(CH2SiMe3)2(DPK)], respectively. Complex 1 reacted with acids HX (X=Cl or CF3CO2) to give initially the hydridoplatinum complexes [PtHX(CH2SiMe3)2(DPK)], but these complexes were thermally unstable and decomposed largely by α-silyl migration to give compounds such as [PtX(SiMe3)Me2(DPK)], as determined by monitoring the reactions by NMR at low temperature. With excess acid, HX, at room temperature, the products were largely [PtX2(DPK)], CH4 and Me3SiX with Me4Si as a minor product only. The mechanism of the easy Si–CH2 bond cleavage is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: U–Pb baddeleyite ages of 1592±3 and 1590±4Ma are reported for paleomagnetic sites in sheets and dykes of Western Channel Diabase (WCD) that intrude Proterozoic rocks of the flat-lying Hornby Bay Group in the Hornby Bay basin and the deformed volcanic-plutonic Great Bear Magmatic Zone of Wopmay orogen of northwestern Laurentia. A published WCD paleomagnetic pole at 9°N, 115°W (A 95 =6°) has been demonstrated primary. The new ages indicate that the WCD pole falls midway in time between poles for the 1.74Ga Cleaver dykes and 1.48–1.42Ga Elsonian-aged plutons, filling an important gap in the Proterozoic apparent polar wander path (APWP) for Laurentia. The WCD pole can be compared with poles reported from similar-aged magmatic units on other cratons in order to test paleocontinental reconstructions. A comparison of the Laurentian WCD pole with primary ca. 1.63Ga and ca. 1.575Ga poles for Baltica, along with an earlier comparison of precisely dated 1.27–1.255Ga poles for Laurentia and Baltica, suggests that the two cratonic blocks drifted as a single entity with Baltica adjacent to eastern Greenland during the ca. 1.59–1.27Ga interval. On the basis of less well constrained ca. 1.84–1.83Ga poles from Laurentia and Baltica, it is possible that this reconstruction existed as early as ca. 1.83Ga. The WCD is the same age as Wernecke breccias of the Wernecke and Ogilvie Mountains of northwestern Laurentia and bimodal Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV) and related Olympic Dam breccias of the Gawler craton. It has been proposed by others that the Gawler craton lay adjacent to northwestern Laurentia at 1.59Ga, with the Olympic Dam and Wernecke breccias forming a large hydrothermal province. The primary WCD pole provides an opportunity to test Laurentia–Gawler craton reconstructions at 1.59Ga. A paleopole has been reported for the GRV, although its primary or secondary nature is open to interpretation. If primary, or if acquired as an overprint during the later stages of 1.60–1.58Ga Hiltaba-GRV magmatism, then a position for the Gawler craton adjacent to northwestern Laurentia is permitted. If the GRV pole is a later secondary overprint then a reliable comparison with Laurentian poles cannot be made. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A novel mutator locus in Escherichia coli was identified from a collection of random transposon insertion mutants. Several mutators in this collection were found to have an insertion in the dgt gene, encoding a previously characterized dGTP triphosphohydrolase. The mutator activity of the dgt mutants displays an unusual specificity. Among the six possible base pair substitutions in a lacZ reversion system, the G·C→C·G transversion and A·T→G·C transition are strongly enhanced (10- to 50-fold), while a modest effect (two- to threefold) is also observed for the G·C→A·T transition. Interestingly, a two- to threefold reduction in mutant frequency (antimutator effect) is observed for the G·C→T·A transversion. In the absence of DNA mismatch repair (mutL) some of these effects are reduced or abolished, while other effects remain unchanged. Analysis of these effects, combined with the DNA sequence contexts in which the reversions take place, suggests that alterations of the dGTP pools as well as alterations in the level of some modified dNTP derivatives could affect the fidelity of in vivo DNA replication and, hence, account for the overall mutator effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Develop ARIMA based time-series anomaly detection approach to handle vehicle operating status identification. • Use immersive Virtual Reality to interpret obtained results. • Use large scale vehicle operating time series dataset to validate proposed approach. Nowadays, with the increasing complexity of vehicle operating environment, vehicle operating reliability becomes growing essential and has attracted significant attention in recent decades. The majority of vehicle operating activities are organized in the format of time series data. Many conventional approaches are proposed to deal with time-series data. Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) approach is one of the most widely used methods to analyze time-series data. In this paper, an ARIMA-based anomaly detection framework is developed to identify abnormal states of the vehicles based on the multiple-channel operating time series data. The state anomaly is captured by the deviation of real-time values at different channels from the predictions. After abnormal operating states are identified, a novel immersive Virtual Reality (VR) tool is applied to visualize the difference between normal and abnormal status. The combination of ARIMA anomaly detection and VR visualization for vehicle multiple-channel operating time-series data would provide a robust way to present the results of vehicle operating status. A large scale data set of 14 days operational performance channels of a specific vehicle is utilized to validate the performance of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Samples of crab, fish, sediments, vegetation and waters were collected from a pristine (Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge) and historically polluted (Bayou d''Inde) waterway in Southwest Louisiana. After sample preparation via microwave digestion to obtain a solution, cadmium, mercury, nickel and lead were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. A comparison of results showed that there was very little difference in concentrations for the four metals between the two areas, typically in the 10 μg/g range for crabs and fish, around 0.05 μg/mL or lower for waters, and somewhat higher for sediments and vegetation of around two to three times. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ecological observatories are a new class of multiuser research infrastructure designed and deployed to address a broad range of continental-scale ecological questions that until only recently were not technologically feasible. These highly networked ecological observatories, spread across the United States and featuring a diverse integration of programmable sensing capabilities and remote observational functions are expected to enable a transformation in the scope of environmental research, particularly in relation to understanding how global climate shifts and local and regional land use changes will quantitatively affect the composition, structure, and dynamics of the nation's ecosystems and services. Observing systems research focused on terrestrial ecology is one of four core research application fields of the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing, which operates an engineering and experimental test bed located at the James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve, a biological field station that is part of the University of California Natural Reserve System. This paper describes the various experimental and deployed embedded networked sensing systems at the James Reserve, and suggests how similar systems and related infrastructure will be key to meeting the engineering and science objectives of future ecological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the dispute system design and the mediation of contested parades for intensifying democracy in Northern Ireland. It relates such dispute system to theories of democratic dialogue such as the Habermasian theories of communication action. It explores the background of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission which demonstrates the contribution of such system to the resolution of identity-based conflict.

The Laramide Black Hills uplift of southwest South Dakota exposes a Precambrian crystalline core of ~2560–2600 Ma basement granitoids nonconformably overlain by two Paleoproterozoic intracratonic rift successions. In the northern Black Hills, a 1 km thick, layered sill (the Blue Draw metagabbro) that intrudes the older rift succession provides a key constraint on the timing of mafic magmatism and of older rift-basin sedimentation. Ion microprobe spot analyses of megacrysts of magmatic titanite from a horizon of dioritic pegmatite in the uppermost sill portion yield a 207Pb/206Pb upper-intercept age of 2480 ± 6 Ma (all age errors ±2σ), comparable to two-point 207Pb/206Pb errorchron ages obtained by Pb stepwise leaching of the same titanites. Nearly concordant domains in coexisting magmatic zircon yield apparent spot ages ranging from 2458 ± 16 to 2284 ± 20 Ma (i.e., differentially reset along U–Pb concordia), and hornblende from an associated metadiorite yields a partially reset date with oldest apparent-age increments ranging between 2076 ± 16 and 2010 ± 8 Ma. We interpret these data as indicating that an episode of gabbroic magmatism occurred at 2480 Ma, in response to earlier rifting of the eastern edge of the Wyoming craton. Layered mafic intrusions of similar thickness and identical age occur along a rifted belt in the southern Superior craton (Sudbury region, Ontario). Moreover, these mafic intrusions are spatially aligned using previous supercontinent restorations of the Wyoming and Superior cratons (Kenorland–Superia configurations). This new "piercing point" augments one previously inferred by spatial–temporal correlation of the Paleoproterozoic Huronian (southern Ontario) and Snowy Pass (southeastern Wyoming) supergroups. We propose that layered mafic intrusions extending from Nemo, South Dakota, to Sudbury, Ontario, delineate an axial rift zone along which Wyoming began to separate from Superior during initial fragmentation of the Neoarchean supercontinent at ≥2480 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygenetic monazite grains in diverse Precambrian crystalline rocks from the Black Hills, South Dakota, have been analyzed in situ by ion and electron microprobe methods (SHRIMP and EMP), to evaluate the accuracy and precision of EMP ages determined using a new analytical protocol that incorporates improved background acquisition and interference corrections. Parallel evaluations were conducted by comparing EMP chemical and SHRIMP isotopic ages at regional-, rock-, and grain-scales. The monazite data set includes 354 EMP chemical analyses from 26 grains in six metamorphic rocks, which resolve into 54 age-composition domains, and 31 SHRIMP isotopic ages from 13 grains in one of the rocks, with six grains microanalyzed in common by the two methods. The data set also includes monazite-bearing garnets in two of the rocks, whose isotopic compositions were analyzed using Pb stepwise-leaching (PbSL) methods. Both the EMP and SHRIMP data sets reveal a continuum of apparent monazite ages spanning a ∼1790-1680 Ma timeframe, with a relatively high probability of ages at ∼1755 and ∼1715 Ma that correspond spatially to core and rim domains. PbSL ages of ∼1742 and ∼1734 Ma obtained from monazite-bearing garnet in two rocks are intermediate compared to the corresponding EMP ages, and are thereby interpreted as mixed ages. EMP data for two grains in the structurally deepest of the six rocks record ∼1785 and ∼1755 Ma ages in the cores and (higher-Y and lower-Th) rims, respectively, and these results are duplicated by SHRIMP ages in these and/or other grains from the same rock. Overall, the EMP, SHRIMP, and PbSL ages are internally consistent at the various scales of observation, which serves to validate EMP chemical dating as an accurate and precise method of discerning monazite age populations in polymetamorphic terrains. The EMP data set is interpreted geologically as reflecting multiple episodes of monazite growth that are provisionally related to... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conjugate additions of (2-piperidyl)acetate esters to acetylenic sulfones, followed by LDA- promoted intramolecular acylations, afforded cyclic enaminones that were readily converted into the corresponding 4-substituted 2-keto- or 2-hydroxyquinolizidines by stereoselective reduction and desulfonylation. This procedure was applied to the total synthesis of (-)-lasubine II from methyl (S)-(2-piperidyl)acetate and 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-l-(p-toluenesulfonyl)ethyne. Similarly, methyl (±)-(2-piperidyl)acetate and 1-(p-toluenesulfonyl)propyne provided (±)-myrtine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Central Gneiss Belt in the Grenville Province, Ontario, exposes metaplutonic rocks, orthogneisses, and minor paragneisses that were deformed and metamorphosed at crustal depths of 20–35 km during the Mesoproterozoic Grenvillian orogeny. We present sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb zircon data from eight samples of migmatitic orthogneiss, granite, and pegmatite from the Muskoka and Shawanaga domains that constrain the age and duration of partial melting in the mid orogenic crust. Our results support earlier interpretations that the protoliths to these migmatitic orthogneisses formed at ca. 1450 Ma. Emplacement and crystallization of granite and pegmatite in the Shawanaga domain took place at ca. 1089 Ma, apparently coevally with deformation and high-grade metamorphism. Leucosomes in the Muskoka and Shawanaga domains yield ages of 1067 and 1047 Ma, respectively, interpreted as the ages of melt crystallization. The geochronological data and field observations suggest that melt was present at the mid-crustal level of the Grenville orogen during a significant part of its deformational history, probably at least 20–30 million years. By analogy with modern orogens, the amount and duration of melting observed in the Muskoka and Shawanaga domains may have had an impact on the orogenic evolution of the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paleozoic evolution of Avalonia is crucial to the understanding of the development of the Appalachian orogen and the Iapetus and Rheic Oceans. Paleomagnetic, faunal, structural and isotopic data indicate that Avalonia had accreted to Laurentia by the Early Silurian. In the Avalon terrane of Nova Scotia, Ordovician–Early Devonian rocks consist of bimodal volcanic rocks at the base (Dunn Point Formation) disconformably overlain by a thick sequence of fossiliferous siliciclastics (Arisaig Group) which contain Llandoverian to Lochkovian fossils. Until now, the only published age data for the volcanic rocks yielded an imprecise Rb–Sr whole rock isochron age of 421±15 Ma and the volcanism has been interpreted to reflect local extension and basin development related to the oblique collision between Avalonia and Laurentia after closure of the Iapetus Ocean.We present U–Pb zircon data from a rhyolite which indicate an age of 460.0±3.4 Ma for the Dunn Point Formation, an age that requires a re-interpretation of its tectonic setting. The Dunn Point volcanism probably developed on the Avalonian microcontinent outboard from both Laurentia and Gondwana, possibly in a rifted arc setting, analogous to the modern Taupo Zone in northern New Zealand. A Llanvirn age for these felsic rocks also reconciles apparently conflicting paleomagnetic data and inferred paleolatitude for Avalonia in the Ordovician–Silurian and implies 10° northward movement of Avalonia between 460 and 440 Ma and about 5.5 cm/year for the latitudinal component of the convergence between Avalonia and Laurentia (i.e. the destruction of the Iapetus Ocean) and divergence between Gondwana and Avalonia (development of the Rheic Ocean) during this interval. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In advance of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) summit in Glasgow in 2021, Police Scotland insisted that human rights and facilitation would be central to their operation. When the event passed off peacefully, without any of the mass arrests and disorder seen at previous iterations of COP, the Police declared it a huge success. We draw on research with activists and officers to scrutinize this claim and analyse the policing of COP26. Literature on protest policing suggests that global summits are distinctive, because the interplay between the security of Heads of state and other dignitaries, the local community and protestors is heavily biased in favour of security at such events. We suggest that this remains the case, despite the police emphasis on facilitation. We conclude that the ‘human-rights-based approach’ to policing is poorly defined and unevenly implemented and means different things to police and protestors. A fundamental rethinking of existing approaches and priorities is required for it to be meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COP26 Climate Summit held in Glasgow in November 2021 was expected to attract mass protests. Given the climate crisis and the increase in direct action in the UK, the police anticipated huge numbers with the potential for significant disorder. Despite this, Police Scotland insisted that they were committed to facilitating peaceful protest. Drawing on ethnographic observation and interviews with both police and protestors, this paper offers analysis of a contentious event during the large set-piece demonstration on Saturday 6 November. It focuses on the containment of a small group of Young Communists to ask what this tells us about ‘facilitation’, crowd theory, and police-protestor relations. Whilst fairly insignificant in terms of numbers, we argue that the YCL containment offers valuable insights into protest policing and facilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses financing options for energy investment in the Arab region. Existing financing sources; Arab oil and gas potential; Contrasting supply paths; Investment needs for oil and gas sectors; Investment needs in the power sector.

The hydroboration of allyl sulfonamides (4-H3CC6H4SO2NRCH2CH&z.dbnd6;CH2: R=H, 1; Ph, 2; Bz, 3) with catecholborane (HBcat) using different rhodium catalysts has been examined using multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Reactions give complex product distributions, regardless of the choice of catalyst, arising from a competing isomerization reaction. This isomerization reaction can be used with N-substituted allyl sulfonamides 2 and 3 to give the corresponding enamines (4-H3CC6H4SO2CH&z.dbnd6;CH2CH3), which in turn react with HBcat to give regioselective formation of one isomer (4-H3CC6H4SO2NRCH2CH2(Bcat)CH3). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this phase I/II clinical trial the antitumor activity of high-dose tamoxifen when administered in combination with vinblastine was assessed and the toxicity profile of this combination characterized. All 25 patients enrolled in this study were required to have androgen-independent prostate cancer and to maintain androgen ablation during treatment. Vinblastine was given by continuous infusion over 5 days. Doses were increased from 0.9 mg/m²/day to 1.5 mg/m²/day in successive cohorts of at least 3 patients, with no further escalation even in the absence of dose-limiting toxicity. Intra-patient dose escalation was permitted. Tamoxifen was administered at a dose of 200 mg/kg on day 1, then 120 mg/kg/day on day 2. Standard response criteria were utilized to assess antitumor activity and CTC toxicity criteria were used. Quality of life (QOL) pain assessments were evaluated at each visit to the clinic. Most patients tolerated the highest dose of vinblastine at 1.5 mg/m²/day by continuous infusion over 5 days with 200 mg/kg/day of tamoxifen on day 1 and day 2. One patient had a greater than 50% decline in prostatespecific antigen that lasted for 170 days. Two patients received dose reductions because of toxicity. The most common serious toxicities included neutropenia, and fatigue. Reversible neurosensory, neuromotor, neurocortical and neurocerebellar toxicities were reported. Six of the 25 patients enrolled in the study (24%) experienced reversible neurologic toxicity of at least grade III. No statistically significant differences between precycle assessment of QOL and subsequent cycles were observed. It is concluded that vinblastine at 1.5 mg/m²/day continuous IV infusion combined with tamoxifen 200 mg/kg/day on day 1 and day 2 is inactive, and not without toxicity in the treatment of advanced metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major regional deformation and metamorphic events in the Godtha˚bsfjord region, southern West Greenland, occurred at ∼3650 and 2820–2720 Ma (e.g. Precambrian Res. 78 (1996) 1). New geochronological constraints (U–Pb zircon, Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe [SHRIMP] and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry [TIMS]) have been obtained from a stack of mylonitic, crystalline thrust-nappes in the footwall of the western part of the Paleoarchean (∼3.8–3.7 Ga) Isua Greenstone Belt, Isukasia. A mylonitic tonalite sheet, interpreted to have intruded synkinematically with respect to mylonitisation, yields a magmatic crystallisation age of 3640±3 Ma. A cross-cutting pegmatite and a post-kinematic tonalite pluton yield magmatic crystallisation ages of 2948±8 and 2991±2 Ma, respectively. Accordingly, we interpret the thrust-nappe stack to have formed during the Paleoarchean (∼3640 Ma), making it the oldest example known on Earth. The similarity of this structural regime to that of modern mountain belts suggests that Paleoarchean and modern continental crust were comparable in terms of mechanical strength and constitution.Southern West Greenland has been interpreted in terms of Neoarchean accretion, comparable with modern plate tectonics (e.g. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 142 (1996) 353). Isukasia lies just east of a purported Neoarchean accretionary boundary between the Akia terrane to the Northwest and the Akulleq terrane to the Southeast. The Akia terrane was previously considered to overthrust the Akulleq terrane at ∼2820–2720 Ma. Our geochronological and geological data indicate (i) that the two “terranes”, as presently defined, were stitched at 2991±2 Ma and (ii) that thrusting across the boundary was directed toward the Akia terrane. Therefore, we suggest that the Akia–Akulleq interface was not a fundamental tectonic structure during the Neoarchean, and we question its identification as an accretionary boundary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reports on the experimental results of the effects of 63-MeV proton irradiation on Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) analog and radio-frequency (RF) circuits and passive elements. Information on the SiGe technology; Factors which caused the inherent radiation tolerance of the SiGe technology; Discussion on the bandgap reference circuit.

Lost production of fine coal particulates from mines to rivers and streams in Indonesia is estimated at 31.8 to 63.7 million metric tons during the period 1990-1998. The value of lost coal sales in this period is estimated at USD 955.9 million to USD 1.91 billion. The value of lost royalties due the Indonesian government is estimated at USD 129 million to USD 258 million. Technology to recover fine coal has been commercially available for many years. Investments in fine coal recovery systems would produce recovery of capital in 1-2 years at some larger mines, and 3-10 years at smaller mines, producing increased profits and improving surface water quality every year thereafter. Design and construction of preparation plants utilizing fine coal circuits provide many unexplored but significant opportunities for development of new environmental businesses in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with a study which examined the experimental results of the effects of proton irradiation on both the lateral and vertical scaling properties of silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) bipolar/complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology. Description of SiGe technology; Data and methodology used; Results and discussion.

Reports on the continuing risks of forest fires and underground coal and peat fires in Southeast Asia. Forest fires due to land clearing in Indonesia; Field reconnaissance of coal and peat fires in Malaysia and Indonesia; Burning of coal seams for long periods of time; Lack of systematic attempts to suppress seam coal fires.