Pronival ramparts

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 835-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Hedding

Pronival ramparts are debris ridges formed at the downslope margins of perennial or semi-permanent snowbeds beneath bedrock cliffs. These landforms, also previously known as protalus ramparts, are located in periglacial environments, but the apparent simplicity of rampart formation made these landforms far less interesting than other modified forms of talus in cold environments. As a result, limited research, use of supposed relict examples and assumed formative mechanisms led to the misidentification of ramparts, circular arguments regarding genesis and inappropriate palaeo-environmental inferences. Several advances have, however, been made in the past few decades, particularly where actively-forming ramparts have been studied. Thus, this paper provides a review of research on pronival ramparts. In particular, focus is placed on the advances made in our understanding of rampart genesis, identification (diagnostic criteria) and palaeo-environmental significance. Notable advances include the development of a retrogressive model of rampart genesis to supplement the conventional downslope model of development, revised diagnostic criteria for field identification and the use of calibration equations during Schmidt-hammer exposure dating of pronival rampart. The use of pronival ramparts as palaeo-environmental indicators is also examined to determine what relict examples of these landforms may reveal about past climates.

2005 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Grab

Miniature varieties of cryogenic mounds that are capable of forming in seasonally frozen ground are commonly referred to as earth hummocks (e.g., North America), thúfur (e.g., Greenland and Iceland) and pounus (Fennoscandia). Over the past few decades there has been a consistent interest to study earth hummocks from a variety of environmental settings. This review summarizes the current knowledge of earth hummocks, highlighting aspects on the external and internal morphology, and thermal characteristics, which may assist to explain hummock formation. Several hypotheses have been proposed for the genesis of earth hummocks, including the ‘cryoexpulsion’ of clasts, hydrostatic and cryostatic pressure, cellular circulation, and differential frost heave. These hypotheses are critically evaluated and some research gaps identified. It emerges that considerable advances have been made towards an improved understanding of earth hummock development, modification and disintegration. Much progress has been made in the application of earth hummock studies to a variety of environmental research approaches such as palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and assessing their impact on hillslope drainage.


1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-188
Author(s):  
Rafiq Ahmad

Like nations and civilizations, sciences also pass through period of crises when established theories are overthrown by the unpredictable behaviour of events. Economics is passing through such a crisis. The challenge thrown by the Great Depression of early 1930s took a decade before Keynes re-established the supremacy of economics. But this supremacy has again been upset by the crisis of poverty in the vast under-developed world which attained political independence after the Second World War. Poverty had always existed but never before had it been of such concern to economists as during the past twenty five years or so. Economic literature dealing with this problem has piled up but so have the agonies of poverty. No plausible and well-integrated theory of economic development or under-development has emerged so far, though brilliant advances have been made in isolated directions.


Author(s):  
Rocco J. Rotello ◽  
Timothy D. Veenstra

: In the current omics-age of research, major developments have been made in technologies that attempt to survey the entire repertoire of genes, transcripts, proteins, and metabolites present within a cell. While genomics has led to a dramatic increase in our understanding of such things as disease morphology and how organisms respond to medications, it is critical to obtain information at the proteome level since proteins carry out most of the functions within the cell. The primary tool for obtaining proteome-wide information on proteins within the cell is mass spectrometry (MS). While it has historically been associated with the protein identification, developments over the past couple of decades have made MS a robust technology for protein quantitation as well. Identifying quantitative changes in proteomes is complicated by its dynamic nature and the inability of any technique to guarantee complete coverage of every protein within a proteome sample. Fortunately, the combined development of sample preparation and MS methods have made it capable to quantitatively compare many thousands of proteins obtained from cells and organisms.


Author(s):  
John Hunsley ◽  
Eric J. Mash

Evidence-based assessment relies on research and theory to inform the selection of constructs to be assessed for a specific assessment purpose, the methods and measures to be used in the assessment, and the manner in which the assessment process unfolds. An evidence-based approach to clinical assessment necessitates the recognition that, even when evidence-based instruments are used, the assessment process is a decision-making task in which hypotheses must be iteratively formulated and tested. In this chapter, we review (a) the progress that has been made in developing an evidence-based approach to clinical assessment in the past decade and (b) the many challenges that lie ahead if clinical assessment is to be truly evidence-based.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088506662199232
Author(s):  
Xiaojuan Zhang ◽  
Xin Li

Septic shock with multiple organ failure is a devastating situation in clinical settings. Through the past decades, much progress has been made in the management of sepsis and its underlying pathogenesis, but a highly effective therapeutic has not been developed. Recently, macromolecules such as histones have been targeted in the treatment of sepsis. Histones primarily function as chromosomal organizers to pack DNA and regulate its transcription through epigenetic mechanisms. However, a growing body of research has shown that histone family members can also exert cellular toxicity once they relocate from the nucleus into the extracellular space. Heparin, a commonly used anti-coagulant, has been shown to possess life-saving capabilities for septic patients, but the potential interplay between heparin and extracellular histones has not been investigated. In this review, we summarize the pathogenic roles of extracellular histones and the therapeutic roles of heparin in the development and management of sepsis and septic shock.


Author(s):  
Cesar de Souza Bastos Junior ◽  
Vera Lucia Nunes Pannain ◽  
Adriana Caroli-Bottino

Abstract Introduction Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is the most common gastrointestinal neoplasm in the world, accounting for 15% of cancer-related deaths. This condition is related to different molecular pathways, among them the recently described serrated pathway, whose characteristic entities, serrated lesions, have undergone important changes in their names and diagnostic criteria in the past thirty years. The multiplicity of denominations and criteria over the last years may be responsible for the low interobserver concordance (IOC) described in the literature. Objectives The present study aims to describe the evolution in classification of serrated lesions, based on the last three publications of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the reproducibility of these criteria by pathologists, based on the evaluation of the IOC. Methods A search was conducted in the PubMed, ResearchGate and Portal Capes databases, with the following terms: sessile serrated lesion; serrated lesions; serrated adenoma; interobserver concordance; and reproducibility. Articles published since 1990 were researched. Results and Discussion The classification of serrated lesions in the past thirty years showed different denominations and diagnostic criteria. The reproducibility and IOC of these criteria in the literature, based on the kappa coefficient, varied in most studies, from very poor to moderate. Conclusions Interobserver concordance and the reproducibility of microscopic criteria may represent a limitation for the diagnosis and appropriate management of these lesions. It is necessary to investigate diagnostic tools to improve the performance of the pathologist's evaluation, for better concordance, and, consequently, adequate diagnosis and treatment.


1939 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Fenwick

Numerous attempts have been made in the past to induce the eggs of Ascaris suum to hatch outside the body of the host. Extra-corporeal hatching has been observed under a variety of conditions by different workers. Kondo (1920, 1922), Asada (1921) and others record hatching in water, charcoal and sand cultures. Wharton (1915) states that hatching will occur in alkaline digestive juices, while Martin (1913) records a similar phenomenon in pancreatic fluid. Many different explanations have been offered to explain this hatching. Wharton suggested that the interaction of algae and sand might have some effect. Ohba (1923), who found that hatching would occur in 0·2% hydrochloric acid and 0·2% sodium carbonate believed that extra-corporeal hatching was limited to very old cultures of eggs. Many workers are of the opinion that some stimulus normally present in the digestive tract is necessary for hatching.


2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1681) ◽  
pp. 20140267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Ferraro ◽  
Merlin M. Hanauer

To develop effective protected area policies, scholars and practitioners must better understand the mechanisms through which protected areas affect social and environmental outcomes. With strong evidence about mechanisms, the key elements of success can be strengthened, and the key elements of failure can be eliminated or repaired. Unfortunately, empirical evidence about these mechanisms is limited, and little guidance for quantifying them exists. This essay assesses what mechanisms have been hypothesized, what empirical evidence exists for their relative contributions and what advances have been made in the past decade for estimating mechanism causal effects from non-experimental data. The essay concludes with a proposed agenda for building an evidence base about protected area mechanisms.


1995 ◽  
Vol 347 (1319) ◽  
pp. 21-25 ◽  

Over the past three or four years, great strides have been made in our understanding of the proteins involved in recombination and the mechanisms by which recombinant molecules are formed. This review summarizes our current understanding of the process by focusing on recent studies of proteins involved in the later steps of recombination in bacteria. In particular, biochemical investigation of the in vitro properties of the E. coli RuvA, RuvB and RuvC proteins have provided our first insight into the novel molecular mechanisms by which Holliday junctions are moved along DNA and then resolved by endonucleolytic cleavage.


Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
S.L. Yuen ◽  
R.H.Y. So

This paper summarizes the progress made in the quest to establish a Cybersickness Dose Value (CSDV). The Motion Sickness Dose Value (MSDV), reported in the British Standard BS6841, has been used to predict the severity of seasickness since 1987. In 1999, the authors of this paper proposed a CSDV formulation with a structure similar to that of the MSDV (So, 1999). Since then, several experiments and simulation studies have been conducted to modify and develop the proposed CSDV formula. In particular, progress has been made in (i) the methods to measure CSDV, (ii) the determination of a frequency weighting curve to equalize the non-linear relationship between the navigation velocity and levels of cybersickness, and (iii) the detailed formulation of CSDV. This paper summarizes the past progress and reports on the current effort in developing a CSDV.


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