bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Permian reef and shelf carbonates of the Arabian platform and Neo-Tethys as recorders of climatic and oceanographic changes
Authors: Weidlich Oliver 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
The present study provides an example of how Permian benthic carbonate production is controlled by oceanographic factors and climate. After the Permo-Carboniferous glaciation, shallow-marine benthic carbonate production exhibits strikingly different temporal and spatial patterns on the eastern Arabian plate and on isolated platforms of the SW Neo-Tethys. Close to the SE margin of the Arabian plate in the Haushi area, Cisuralian (late Sakmarian-early Artinskian) mixed carbonate-siliciclastic deposits of the Saiwan Formation and Guadalupian (Wordian) marl-carbonate alterations of the Khuff Formation are characterized by dominance of crinoids, brachiopods, bivalves and bryozoans. Scarcity of calcareous algae and zooxanthellate invertebrates indicate that members of the heterozoan association (bryonoderm facies) were responsible for carbonate production. Guadalupian carbonates of the Khuff Formation in the Haushi area show striking compositional differences to lateral equivalents in the subsurface where photozoan carbonates dominate. Contemporaneous carbonates of the Saiq Formation from the Saih Hatat (Oman Mountains) exhibit a twofold composition: siliciclastic sediments contain small tabulate corals of the heterozoan association. Most of the formation is carbonate of the photozoan association with fusulinaceans, smaller foraminifers, calcareous algae, rugose corals and aggregate grains. Lopingian carbonates of the Saiq Formation (Saih Hatat) are dominated by heterozoan carbonate production with crinoids, chaetetids, bryozoans and brachiopods, and resemble heterozoan bryonoderm carbonates. Shallow-water reef carbonates of the Neo-Tethys, preserved as blocks in the Ba'id area (Oman Mountains) and the Batain coast, are contrasting: in the Ba'id area Late Cisuralian-Early Lopingian blocks of photozoan carbonates have been found, containing calcareous sponges, rugose corals, richthofeniid brachiopods and calcareous algae. Cisuralian blocks from the Batain coast are very similar to the heterozoan bryonoderm facies, while Guadalupian reef blocks show striking similarities to photozoan chlorosponge associations.
Combining climate modelling data with outcrop data, dominance of heterozoan carbonate production along the rim of Arabian plate and the Neo-Tethys can be explained by cool water during the Cisuralian and local upweUing of nutrient-rich water during the Guadalupian. Formation of Lopingian heterozoan carbonates of the Saiq Formation is least understood but could be the consequence of upwelling of saline and nutrient-rich oceanic bottom water. Comparing the ecological complexity of reefs, chlorosponge reefs built complex frameworks with a variety of ecological niches, if encrusters are present, whereas heterozoan reef communities are comparatively simple in their structure.
North Atlantic contourite sand channels
Authors: Akhmetzhanov A. , Kenyon N. H. , Habgood E. , Van Der Mollen A. S. , Nielsen T. , Ivanov M. , Shashkin P. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Two sand-rich channelized depositional systems, formed by strong contour currents, were studied west of the Faeroe Bank Channel and in the Gulf of Cadiz. Both are areas beyond the exit of constrictions where water overflows from the Norwegian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, respectively. West of the Faeroe Bank, newly mapped channels are developed mainly under the influence of a geostrophic current and are characterized by significant lateral migration, which determines the marked cross-sectional asymmetry and the architecture of the deposits. The pathways of the Mediterranean Undercurrent in the Gulf of Cadiz are complex, with the greater proportion flowing under geostrophic conditions along a terrace but with some of the denser water becoming ageostrophic and descending downslope owing to gravity. A series of ‘peel-off’ channels is formed, with the largest one, Gil Eanes, being about 40 km long. Most of the channel fills consist of medium-coarse sand. Levees are mainly silts with a higher sand content in the vicinity of the channel. Both depositional systems have a variety of contourite sand channels, which in most respects are remarkably similar. In both cases there are stretches where the flow is ageostrophic, with water descending downslope for as much as 400 m before resuming geostrophic flow at deeper levels. In each case the main pathway of the densest water is the shallowest and several branches turn off to the left of this main pathway before bending to the right under the influence of Coriolis forces. In both cases there are channel fills of medium-coarse sand, probably cross-bedded, and up to 200 ms thick. Sheets of sand with a thickness of a few metres to a few tens of metres are common. Similarities to turbidite channels are the aggradational nature of some channel floors and the flanking muddy or silty sediment waves. Contourite channel depositional complexes are distinguished from turbiditic ones by their coarsening-up rather than fining-up sand units, the asymmetry in channel architecture, the presence of regional unconformities, and the distribution pattern with well-marked boundaries of current-derived deposits.
Quaternary evolution of the contourite depositional system in the Gulf of Cadiz
Authors: Llave E. , Hernández-Molina F. J. , Somoza L. , Stow D. A. V. , Díaz Del Río V. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
This paper provides for the first time a detailed vertical and spatial representation of Quaternary evolution of the contourite depositional system (CDS) in the Gulf of Cadiz, based on the results of careful morphological, structural and stratigraphic analyses using high-resolution seismic reflection profiles as well as oil company borehole data, and piston and gravity cores. Different drifts observed on the stratigraphic architecture allow us to propose a regional Quaternary evolution for the whole system, in which three major stages can be identified. (1) In the Early Pleistocene to Mid-Pleistocene, the CDS was mainly dominated by depositional processes, where the upper and lower cores of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) generated the mounded elongated Cadiz—Faro—Albufeira drift in the transition between the middle and upper slope, and the equivalent Huelva—Guadalquivir drift on the middle slope. During this stage the main erosive features were established close to the Strait of Gibraltar. (2) In the Mid-Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene, two important changes in the CDS took place. One occurred at the transition between the middle and upper slope, related to a change in the upper branch of the MOW, when a mixed drift began to develop, burying the eastern part of the Cadiz-Faro-Albufeira mounded elongated and separated drift. The second change is observed on the central area of the middle slope, related to the lower branch of the MOW, where a large contourite channel (the Guadalquivir channel) progressively eroded the western part of the mounded Huelva-Guadalquivir drift. Laterally an extensive sheeted drift buried the previous mounded deposits. (3) In the Late Pleistocene to Holocene, in the northern area of the CDS, a plastered drift started to be developed in the transitional zone between the upper and middle slope. On the middle slope, the mounded elongated Huelva-Guadalquivir drift was not developed and more erosive processes became dominant as the lower core of the MOW intensified. In the sector close to the Straits of Gibraltar, a field of broad seabed forms was generated. These three evolutionary stages have been controlled by tectonics, including recent diapiric movement, Guadalquivir Bank uplift, and reactivation along several fault systems and anticline-syncline structures. Tectonics has been a key factor in the sea-floor morphological changes, which has caused new pathways for the core and branches of the MOW, and consequently has produced the contourite stratigraphic and architectural changes. Superimposed on these tectonic changes, both climatic and eustatic changes during the Quaternary (but especially from the Mid-Pleistocene) have controlled the development of vertical contourite stratigraphy. The general conclusion of this study is that the contourite depositional system of the Gulf of Cadiz has changed from a dominantly depositional system to a dominantly erosive one during the Quaternary.
Ridge and valley systems in the Upper Cretaceous chalk of the Danish Basin: contourites in an epeiric sea
Authors: Esmerode E. V. , Lykke-Andersen H. , Surlyk F. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Extensive low-lying parts of the NW European craton were flooded during the Late Cretaceous transgression, creating a relatively deep epeiric sea with reduced supply of siliciclastic material and insignificant coastal upwelling. The chalk, essentially an oceanic sediment type, was deposited as a pelagic rain of mainly coccolith debris and with local redeposition along structural highs. The study area is located in the eastern part of the Danish Basin, where the bordering Ringkøbing-Fyn High and the inverted Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone converge. Multichannel seismic reflection lines show the Chalk Group to be far from the expected flat-lying pelagic succession. A multitude of features of considerable relief, comprising an extensive unconformity, sediment waves, drifts and moats, are recognized. At least two episodes of widespread drift deposition are identified, one in the Santonian-Late Campanian and one in the Maastrichtian, separated by a Top Campanian Unconformity. The structures were formed by strong bottom currents flowing northwestward through the basin parallel to bathymetric contours. A lateral northeastward change, from more depositional to more erosional architecture, indicates a positive current velocity gradient towards the inversion zone, probably as a result of the Coriolis force. The strong similarity between the chalk drifts and modem contourite deposits supports the proposal that the oceanographic conditions linked to continental margins were extended into the Late Cretaceous epeiric sea of NW Europe.
Are there Middle Jurassic contourites in the Tarnovo depression (Southern Moesian platform margin)?
Authors: Georgiev George , Botoucharov Nikola 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
The first boreholes in the Tarnovo depression, located in the central Southern Moesian platform margin zone (Bulgaria), drilled at the end of the 1970s, display intervals of unusually thin, irregular and lens-like interbedding of shales and siltstones in the Middle Jurassic succession. Their specific lithological, log and seismic features, which resemble or distinguish them from contourites, have been studied and described in detail. The depositional setting in the Tarnovo depression during the Late Aalenian-Early Bajocian was favourable for the accumulation of deeper-water sediments, influenced by bottom currents. These were deposited along the hanging walls of major growth faults, which have a decisive geodynamic importance for Early-Middle Jurassic basin evolution throughout the Southern Moesian platform margin zone. Some lithological characteristics of the studied sediments correspond to diagnostic criteria for contourites. However, some other features, such as tractive indications, thin fine-grained laminae and wavy facies alternation, are also indicative of fine-grained turbidites and/or reworked bottom-current deposits.
Juridical works in the oldest catalogue of Leiden University Library (1595)
Authors: Feenstra Robert 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe first printed catalogue of Leiden University Library (1595, reprint 1995) was omitted in the author's study on Roman law works in XIIIth – XVIth century (manuscript) catalogues in the Northern Netherlands (Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis, 28 (1960), p. 439–507). This gap is now filled by a description of the circa 35 juridical works (of a total of circa 350) listed in this catalogue. Bibliographical references are added for the copies still available (itemized by shelfmarks) as well as for those now missing. Purchase prices and names of donors are given (if known). Some biographical information is supplied for the authors of the works.
Intraseasonal Interactions between Temperature and Vegetation over the Boreal Forests
Authors: Wang Weile , Anderson Bruce T. , Entekhabi Dara , Huang Dong , Su Yin , Kaufmann Robert K. , Myneni Ranga B. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThis paper uses statistical and analytical techniques to investigate intraseasonal interactions between temperature and vegetation [surrogated by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)] over the boreal forests. Results indicate that interactions between the two fields may be approximated as a coupled second-order system, in which the variability of NDVI and temperature of the current month is significantly regulated by lagged NDVI anomalies from the preceding two months. In particular, the influence from the one-month lagged NDVI anomalies upon both temperature and vegetation variability is generally positive, but the influence from the second-month lagged NDVI anomalies is often negative. Such regulations lead to an intrinsic oscillatory variability of vegetation at growing-season time scales across the study domain. The regulation of temperature variability by NDVI anomalies is most significant over interior Asia (Siberia), suggesting strong vegetation–atmosphere couplings over these regions. Physical mechanisms for these statistical results are investigated further with a stochastic model. The model suggests that the oscillatory variability of the temperature–NDVI system may reflect the dynamic adjustments between the two fields as they maintain a thermal balance within the soil and lower boundary layer of the atmosphere; the particular role vegetation plays in this scenario is mainly to dissipate heat and therefore reduce surface temperatures.
Factors determining the quality of life of patients with COPD in primary care
Authors: Miravitlles Marc , Molina Jesús , Naberan Karlos , Cots Josep Maria , Ros Fernando , Llor Carles 
Published: December 2007

Objectives: To describe the health-related quality of life (HRQL) in a cohort of COPD patients recruited in primary care and identify the variables of the patients and the treatment associated with impaired HRQL. Method: Multicenter, observational study of patients with COPD recruited in Primary Care centers. Data regarding HRQL measured by the St. George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ) are presented. The total population was divided into two subgroups, high and Low SGRQ, using the median of the total SGRQ score. Univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis with calculation of adjusted odds ratios were used to investigate the factors significantly associated with a higher SGRQ score (poor HRQL). Results: A total of 27 investigators included 222 valid patients with a mean age of 68.2 years (SD = 9.9) and a mean FEV1(%) of 49.2% (SD = 15.4%). The median total SGRQ score was 39.5 and patients with a high score had a longer evolution of COPD ( p < 0 .0001), more severe dyspnea ( p < 0 .0001) and a worse FEV1(%) (46.3% vs. 51.9%; p = 0 .008). Factors independently associated with the total SGRQ score were cough and dyspnea, duration of COPD and treatment with inhaled steroids. Conclusion: Patients with COPD controlled in primary care demonstrate an important impairment in HRQL, with chronic cough and dyspnea being associated with more impaired HRQL. Strategies aimed at modifying these factors should significantly improve the well-being of COPD patients.
Myeloperoxidase modulates lung epithelial responses to pro-inflammatory agents
Authors: Haegens A. , Vernooy J. H. J. , Heeringa P. , Mossman B. T. , Wouters E. F. M. 
Published: December 2007

During extensive inflammation, neutrophils undergo secondary necrosis causing myeloperoxidase (MPO) release that may damage resident lung cells. Recent observations suggest that MPO has pro-inflammatory properties, independent of its enzymatic activity. The aims of the present study were to characterise MPO internalisation by lung epithelial cells and to investigate the effect of MPO on oxidative stress, DNA damage and cytokine production by lung epithelial cells.Human alveolar and bronchial epithelial cells were stimulated with MPO, with or without priming the cells with pro-inflammatory stimuli. MPO protein was detected in the cell cytoplasm. Expression of haemoxygenase (HO)-1 and DNA strand breakage were determined. The production of interleukin (IL)-8 and -6 were measured.Analyses of MPO-stimulated cells demonstrated MPO presence in the cells. HO-1 expression was increased after MPO stimulation and increased further when cells were primed before MPO stimulation. MPO exposure also induced DNA strand breakage. Interestingly, MPO inhibited IL-8 production in bronchial, but not alveolar epithelium.In conclusion, alveolar and bronchial epithelial cells can internalise myeloperoxidase. Stimulation with myeloperoxidase increases haemoxygenase-1 expression and DNA strand breakage, suggesting cell damaging capacity of myeloperoxidase. In addition, myeloperoxidase inhibited interleukin-8 production by bronchial epithelial cells, indicating a negative feedback loop for neutrophil recruitment.
Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a tissue Doppler echocardiographic study
Authors: Papadopoulos C. E. , Pitsiou G. , Karamitsos T. D. , Karvounis H. I. , Kontakiotis T. , Giannakoulas G. , Efthimiadis G. K. , Argyropoulou P. , Parharidis G. E. , Bouros D. 
Published: December 2007

It was hypothesised that, apart from right ventricular (RV) dysfunction, patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) also exhibit left ventricular (LV) impairment, which may affect disease progression and prognosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate LV performance in a cohort of IPF patients using conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography.IPF patients exhibiting mild-to-moderate pulmonary arterial hypertension (mean age 65±9 yrs; n = 22) and healthy individuals (mean age 61±6 yrs; n = 22) were studied. Conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography were used for the evaluation of RV and LV systolic and diastolic function.In addition to the expected impairment in RV function, all patients showed a characteristic reversal of LV diastolic filling to late diastole compared with controls (early diastolic peak filling velocity (E)/late diastolic peak filling velocity 0.7±0.2versus1.5±0.1, respectively). Patients with IPF also exhibited lower peak myocardial velocities in early diastole (Em; 5.7±1.1versus10.3±1.6 cm·s−1, respectively), higher in late diastole (Am; 8.9±1.3versus5.5±0.8 cm·s−1, respectively), lower Em/Amratio (0.6±0.1versus1.9±0.5, respectively) and higher E/Emratio (10.8±3versus6±0.6, respectively), all indicative of LV diastolic dysfunction. Moreover, LV propagation velocity was significantly lower in IPF patients (46±13versus83±21 cm·s−1, respectively).Physicians should be aware that patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis exhibit early impairment of left ventricular diastolic function.
Association of autism with polymorphisms in the paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 1 (PITX1) on chromosome 5q31: a candidate gene analysis
Authors: Philippi Anne , Tores Frédéric , Carayol Jérome , Rousseau Francis , Letexier Mélanie , Roschmann Elke , Lindenbaum Pierre , Benajjou Abdel , Fontaine Karine , Vazart Céline , Gesnouin Philippe , Brooks Peter , Hager Jörg 
Published: December 2007

Abstract

Background
Autism is a complex, heterogeneous, behaviorally-defined disorder characterized by disruptions of the nervous system and of other systems such as the pituitary-hypothalamic axis. In a previous genome wide screen, we reported linkage of autism with a 1.2 Megabase interval on chromosome 5q31. For the current study, we hypothesized that 3 of the genes in this region could be involved in the development of autism: 1) paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 1 (PITX1), which is a key regulator of hormones within the pituitary-hypothalamic axis, 2) neurogenin 1, a transcription factor involved in neurogenesis, and 3) histone family member Y (H2AFY), which is involved in X-chromosome inactivation in females and could explain the 4:1 male:female gender distortion present in autism.

Methods
A total of 276 families from the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) repository composed of 1086 individuals including 530 affected children were included in the study. Single nucleotide polymorphisms tagging the three candidate genes were genotyped on the initial linkage sample of 116 families. A second step of analysis was performed using tightly linked SNPs covering the PITX1 gene. Association was evaluated using the FBAT software version 1.7.3 for single SNP analysis and the HBAT command from the same package for haplotype analysis respectively.

Results
Association between SNPs and autism was only detected for PITX1. Haplotype analysis within PITX1 showed evidence for overtransmission of the A-C haplotype of markers rs11959298 – rs6596189 (p = 0.0004). Individuals homozygous or heterozygous for the A-C haplotype risk allele were 2.54 and 1.59 fold more likely to be autistic than individuals who were not carrying the allele, respectively.

Conclusion
Strong and consistent association was observed between a 2 SNPs within PITX1 and autism. Our data suggest that PITX1, a key regulator of hormones within the pituitary-hypothalamic axis, may be implicated in the etiology of autism.
Climate prediction of El Niño malaria epidemics in north-west Tanzania
Authors: Jones Anne E , Wort Ulrika Uddenfeldt , Morse Andrew P , Hastings Ian M , Gagnon Alexandre S 
Published: December 2007

Abstract

Background
Malaria is a significant public health problem in Tanzania. Approximately 16 million malaria cases are reported every year and 100,000 to 125,000 deaths occur. Although most of Tanzania is endemic to malaria, epidemics occur in the highlands, notably in Kagera, a region that was subject to widespread malaria epidemics in 1997 and 1998. This study examined the relationship between climate and malaria incidence in Kagera with the aim of determining whether seasonal forecasts may assist in predicting malaria epidemics.

Methods
A regression analysis was performed on retrospective malaria and climatic data during each of the two annual malaria seasons to determine the climatic factors influencing malaria incidence. The ability of the DEMETER seasonal forecasting system in predicting the climatic anomalies associated with malaria epidemics was then assessed for each malaria season.

Results
It was found that malaria incidence is positively correlated with rainfall during the first season (Oct-Mar) (R-squared = 0.73, p < 0.01). For the second season (Apr-Sep), high malaria incidence was associated with increased rainfall, but also with high maximum temperature during the first rainy season (multiple R-squared = 0.79, p < 0.01). The robustness of these statistical models was tested by excluding the two epidemic years from the regression analysis. DEMETER would have been unable to predict the heavy El Niño rains associated with the 1998 epidemic. Nevertheless, this epidemic could still have been predicted using the temperature forecasts alone. The 1997 epidemic could have been predicted from observed temperatures in the preceding season, but the consideration of the rainfall forecasts would have improved the temperature-only forecasts over the remaining years.

Conclusion
These results demonstrate the potential of a seasonal forecasting system in the development of a malaria early warning system in Kagera region.