(Press-News.org) This week from AGU: Measuring Antarctic ice loss, Indian Ocean program, Oregon landslides
From AGU's blogs: Scientists use fiber-optic cables to measure ice loss in Antarctic
Researchers installed moorings containing fiber-optic cables hundreds of meters down into the McMurdo Ice Shelf in West Antarctica to collect temperature information about the base of the ice shelf, where the thick platform of floating ice meets the ocean. The sensors were able to measure mere millimeters of ice loss at the interface, demonstrating that the new fiber-optic method could be used to remotely monitor the ice shelves in real-time. GeoSpace spoke with Scott Tyler, a hydrologist at the University of Nevada, Reno and the study's principal investigator, about the new research that has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
From this week's Eos: New Indian Ocean Program Builds on a Scientific Legacy
From 1957 to 1965, 46 research vessels operating under 14 flags collected data for the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Now, 50 years later, the time is ripe for a fresh effort to study the Indian Ocean.
From AGU's journals: Oregon earthquakes increase local landslide risk
Coastal Oregon is home to a number of slow, recurrent landslides. During bouts of heavy rain, water gets into the soil, reducing friction and causing the ground to slip. Often, these landslides creep along at a barely perceptible rate—less than a centimeter per day. Yet the landslides are a lurking threat, as past events that have damaged infrastructure and cut communities off for months at a time have demonstrated.
Of particular concern is how these landslide regions would respond to the more potent shaking of an earthquake, a process which is not well understood. Based on new laboratory experiments, Schulz and Wang suggest that many of Oregon's slow creeping coastal areas would fail catastrophically during an earthquake, an added threat in the seismically active region.
Between the smaller recurrent landslide events, the hillslopes are propped up by the constant friction that develops in the soil during the slow movements, known as its "residual shear strength." A small amount of jostling, however, can actually change the strength of a hillslope, as soil particles are rearranged into either a more shear-resistant or shear-compliant state.
The question posed by the authors was how the soil from two of Oregon's landslide regions would respond to different kinds of pressure. The authors tested soil samples from two recurrent landslides under constant and increasing displacement rate and under loading forces that mimicked historical earthquakes.
They find that a small rapid displacement causes a pronounced drop in shear strength. Yet, if the displacement rate is increasing, rather than constant, the shear strength actually increases—up to a point. Under shaking conditions drawn from historical earthquakes, however, the soils' residual strength could not hold up.
INFORMATION:
Click here for the online version of This Week From AGU
Click here to register for access to AGU journal papers and Eos, the newspaper of the Earth and space sciences.
The American Geophysical Union is dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity through its scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing more than 62,000 members in 144 countries. Join our conversation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media channels.
This week from AGU: Measuring Antarctic ice loss, Indian Ocean program, Oregon landslides
2014-09-30
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Depression increasing across the country
2014-09-30
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Sept. 30, 2014)— A study by San Diego State University psychology professor Jean M. Twenge shows Americans are more depressed now than they have been in decades.
Analyzing data from 6.9 million adolescents and adults from all over the country, Twenge found that Americans now report more psychosomatic symptoms of depression, such as trouble sleeping and trouble concentrating, than their counterparts in the 1980s.
"Previous studies found that more people have been treated for depression in recent years, but that could be due to more awareness and less ...
Disease decoded: Gene mutation may lead to development of new cancer drugs
2014-09-30
ANN ARBOR—The discovery of a gene mutation that causes a rare premature aging disease could lead to the development of drugs that block the rapid, unstoppable cell division that makes cancer so deadly.
Scientists at the University of Michigan and the U-M Health System recently discovered a protein mutation that causes the devastating disease dyskeratosis congenita, in which precious hematopoietic stem cells can't regenerate and make new blood. People with DC age prematurely and are prone to cancer and bone marrow failure.
But the study findings reach far beyond the ...
New guidelines for treatment of hypothyroidism endorse current therapy
2014-09-30
WASHINGTON (Sept. 30, 2014) — Levothyroxine is considered the gold standard therapy for an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism), and a new review of therapies for the condition — including combining levothyroxine with another agent — has not altered that assessment, say a team of investigators.
1Their analysis, published as a set of guidelines in the journal Thyroid, finds insufficient consistent data exist to recommend a change in use of levothyroxine — whether generic, or sold under various trade names, such as Synthroid® — as the only drug needed to treat hypothyroidism.
"Levothyroxine ...
A new dimension for integrated circuits: 3-D nanomagnetic logic
2014-09-30
This news release is available in German.
Electrical engineers at the Technische Universität München (TUM) have demonstrated a new kind of building block for digital integrated circuits. Their experiments show that future computer chips could be based on three-dimensional arrangements of nanometer-scale magnets instead of transistors. As the main enabling technology of the semiconductor industry – CMOS fabrication of silicon chips – approaches fundamental limits, the TUM researchers and collaborators at the University of Notre Dame are exploring "magnetic computing" ...
Medicaid and Uninsured patients obtain new patient appointments most easily at FQHCs
2014-09-30
PHILADELPHIA – Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) granted new patient appointments to Medicaid beneficiaries and uninsured patients at higher rates than other primary care practices (non-FQHCs), in addition to charging less for visits, according to results of a new 10-state University of Pennsylvania study published this month in Medical Care.
Using data from a previous "secret shopper" study conducted in 2012 and 2013, the investigators found that FQHCs — community health clinics that receive federal funding to provide primary care access to underserved populations ...
UCI study uncovers important process for immune system development
2014-09-30
Irvine, Calif., Sept. 30, 2014 — Research by UC Irvine immunologists reveals new information about how our immune system functions, shedding light on a vital process that determines how the body's ability to fight infection develops.
In the online version of Nature Immunology, neurology professor Dr. Michael Demetriou, postdoctoral scholar Raymond Zhou and other Institute for Immunology colleagues describe a critical mechanism underlying how T cells are created, selected and released into the bloodstream.
A T cell is a type of blood cell called a lymphocyte that protects ...
Expect 6,000 more Australian deaths if pollution rises to 'safe' threshold
2014-09-30
The National Environment Protection Measures (NEPM) has set maximum daily limits, or 'standards', for six key outdoor pollutants, which QUT's Associate Professor Adrian Barnett says many authorities wrongly assume to be 'safe' thresholds for health.
To test that assumption, Professor Barnett calculated what the health effects would be if the current average levels of five of those pollutants across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane were to rise to just below the NEPM 'safe' standards.
"I've found that increasing pollution levels to just below the NEPM standards would cause ...
How to predict who will suffer the most from stress
2014-09-30
Montreal, September 30, 2014 — More than 23 per cent of Canadians report being stressed or very stressed on most days. While chronic stress increases the risk of poor mental and physical health, not everyone is affected the same way. Some cope well, but for others — especially those most likely to sweat the small stuff — chronic stress can be harmful.
Thankfully, new research from Concordia University has found a way to identify those most susceptible to stress. That's a huge help for healthcare professionals working to stop stress before it gets out of control.
The ...
Antioxidant found in grapes uncorks new targets for acne treatment
2014-09-30
Got grapes? UCLA researchers have demonstrated how resveratrol, an antioxidant derived from grapes and found in wine, works to inhibit growth of the bacteria that causes acne.
The team also found that combining resveratrol with a common acne medication, benzoyl peroxide, may enhance the drug's ability to kill the bacteria and could translate into new treatments.
Published in the current online edition of the journal Dermatology and Therapy, the early lab findings demonstrated that resveratrol and benzoyl peroxide attack the acne bacteria, called Propionibacterium acnes, ...
New hypothyroidism treatment guidelines from American Thyroid Association
2014-09-30
New Rochelle, NY, September 30, 2014—Levothyroxine (L-T4), long the standard of care for treating hypothyroidism, is effective in most patients, but some individuals do not regain optimal health on L-T4 monotherapy. New knowledge about thyroid physiology may help to explain these differences. An expert task force of the American Thyroid Association on thyroid hormone replacement reviewed the latest studies on L-T4 therapy and on alternative treatments to determine whether a change to the current standard of care is appropriate, and they present their recommendations in ...