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Several Upper Tortonian to Lower Messinian sedimentary facies were recognized and mapped in the M.te Soldano area at the southeastern end of the extensional Basin of Volterra in the Nothern Apennines in Tuscany. They consist of (a) disorganized coarse conglomerates, ft) organized conglomerates interbedded with sandstone, (c) coarse to medium grained sandstone which is present both as interlayers within the organized conglomerares as well as turbidite layers interbedded with lacustrine clay,(d) marlstone rich in opercula of Bithynia, and (e) lacustrine clay with few sandy turbidite interlayers. The vertical and lateral distribution of these facies indicates the existence of a large alluvial fan complex. The development of such a large complex from an apparently relatively narrow sediment source area (an interbasin ridge) was possible because the feeding rivers were probably located at the intersection between a border fault and a fault associated with a transfer zone. This allowed for a much wider drainage basin., Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (Research In Paleontology and Stratigraphy), V. 101, N. 3

Guide book of a field trip in the southern Tunisian chotts

A geological transect from the abyssal plain of the Ligurian Sea to the Po Plain, realised integrating seismic profiles (ENI, BG Group and CROP data set), well data and surface geology, is presented and discussed in order to highlight Messinian deposits and their structural-stratigraphic features in different structural domains, as a contribute to better define the geodynamic and tectonic implication of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) within the Northern Apennines (NA) evolution. In late Tortonian-early Pliocene time three main tectonic pulses caused the uplift of the emerging NA orogenic wedge and the outward migration of its associated basins (foredeep and wedge top basins), while a coeval extensional tectonic regime developed in hinterland areas (Tuscany region and Northern Tyrrhenian sea). The frontal zone of the NA orogenic wedge, thrusting over the west-dipping Adriatic monocline, is imaged in the NE part of the transect. Its thrust front is now buried under a thick succession of Plio-Pleistocene synorogenic deposits in the subsurface of the Po Plain. The Ligurian Units, the uppermost nappe of the tectonic pile, overly Oligo-Miocene foredeep turbidites which are tectonically stacked and accreted to the chain, together with their Mesozoic carbonatic substratum. In the NA foreland basin system two distinctive wedge-top basin types, with different morphostructural setting and Messinian stratigraphy, have been recognised: 1) closed marginal basins, where shallow-water primary evaporites, deposited during the first phase of the MSC, underwent deformation, uplift and erosion during the intra-Messinian tectonic phase (i.e. the Vena del Gesso basin, western Romagna area); 2) deeper and more subsiding basins where organicrich shales and thin limestones, coeval to marginal basins evaporites, were overlain by relatively deep-water resedimented evaporites during the intra-Messinian tectonic phase (i.e. the Cortemaggiore basin, in the Emila area). In deep basinal settings primary evaporites are never found. During the intra-Messinian tectonic phase the main foredeep depocentre shifted toward the NE and the late Tortonian-early Messinian foreland ramp areas were drowned. The axial zone of the chain occurs in the central part of the transect. No Messinian deposits are found here because this area underwent strong uplift and emersion during this time interval. Hinterland areas of the NA chain, characterised by peculiar Messinian deposits, occur in the SW portion of the transect: the Ligurian Basin and extensional basins pertaining to the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea and Tuscany region. The late Oligocene-early Miocene Ligurian Basin syn-rift sequences are highlighted in the Ligurian Basin. The Alpine units are interested by extensional west-dipping listric faults. An undifferentiated Messinian unit, including evaporites, salt and late Messinian deposits, has been recognised. Its deposition is related to a post-rift thermal subsidence regime that took place after the counterclockwise rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia Block. This well-stratified seismic unit shows evidence of deformations due to salt diapirism and gravitational tectonics, driven by shallow low-angle listrict faults that sole out at its base or immediately beneath. Moving NE-ward the intra-Messinian unconformity is sealed by the latest Messinian “Lago Mare” units, as recognized in the Gorgona High. The Northern Tyrrhenian Sea and Tuscany region in upper Tortonian-lower Pliocene time underwent extensional tectonic regime, with the developement of basins bounded by main west-dipping low-angle listric faults. In these basins, actually poor represented in our transect, primary evaporites are preserved under upper Messinian-Pliocene deposits. The Viareggio basin, imaged on this transect, displays evidence of important extensional tectonic regime only in Plio-Pleistocene time. At the base of these syn-rift deposits a probable undifferentiated Messinian unit has been traced. These sediments may represent the onset of the extensional tectonic phase in this area.

Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the eff ectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. Methods Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15–99 years) and 75 000 children (age 0–14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995–2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. Findings 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005–09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15–19% in North America, and as low as 7–9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10–20% between 1995–99 and 2005–09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995–99 and 2005–09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005–09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005–09 was high (54–58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18–23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major defi ciencies in the management of a largely curable disease. Interpretation International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide diff erences that are likely to be attributable to diff erences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems This work was funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, Cancer Institute New South Wales, Cancer Research UK (C1336/A16148), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 12FED03123, ACO12036), Swiss Re, Swiss Cancer Research foundation, Swiss Cancer League, and the University of Kentucky (3049024672-12-568)

© 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. The narrow shelf and upper slope immediately above the Gonone canyon head off NE Sardinia represent areas of very low sedimentation rates. Along the sides of the canyon head (1,600 m water depth), the sediment deposits are homogeneous but show alternating light-grey intervals rich in carbonate and dark-grey ones rich in organic matter, possibly related to distal turbidite processes. Deposits older than 50,000 years are already encountered at core depths of 2.50 m, the sedimentation rates varying from 6–21 cm/103 years in the lower parts of two cores and from 1.5–3 cm/103 years in the upper parts. At about 35,000 years BP, both cores show a simultaneous drop in sedimentation rate by a factor of 3, probably in response to local mechanisms of channel avulsion. Lithological, mineralogical and geochemical properties reveal the environmental factors which are responsible for the extremely slow sediment accumulation. The southernmost sector of the coast, and partly also of the shelf, consists of Jurassic limestones which supply only small amounts of fine-grained material transported in suspension. During the last sea-level highstand, the accumulation of the Cedrino River pro-delta remained restricted to the coast, the low siliciclastic sediment yields resulting in poor shelf sediment trapping. The present morphology of the canyon head prevented the occurrence of gravity processes in the deeper part of the canyon system, including the coring sites. Accordingly, deposition was mainly fed by hemipelagic material of planktonic origin, together with only moderate terrigenous inputs. On a wider late Pleistocene timescale, seismic data indicate the occurrence of a coarse-grained, layered turbidite facies, implying a very different architecture of the canyon drainage system probably prior to 60,000 years BP.