Spectacular fossils from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Group of northeastern China have greatly expanded our knowledge of the diversity and palaeobiology of dinosaurs and early birds, and contributed to our understanding of the origin of birds, of flight, and of feathers. Pennaceous (vaned) feathers and integumentary filaments are preserved in birds and non-avian theropod dinosaurs, but little is known of their microstructure. Here we report that melanosomes (colour-bearing organelles) are not only preserved in the pennaceous feathers of early birds, but also in an identical manner in integumentary filaments of non-avian dinosaurs, thus refuting recent claims that the filaments are partially decayed dermal collagen fibres. Examples of both eumelanosomes and phaeomelanosomes have been identified, and they are often preserved in life position within the structure of partially degraded feathers and filaments. Furthermore, the data here provide empirical evidence for reconstructing the colours and colour patterning of these extinct birds and theropod dinosaurs: for example, the dark-coloured stripes on the tail of the theropod dinosaur Sinosauropteryx can reasonably be inferred to have exhibited chestnut to reddish-brown tones.

Understanding of AMS in pristine basic igneous rocks in terms of flow‐orientation of ellipsoidal magnetite grains is thwarted by the fact that these grains (1) typically are irregularly equant or skeletal rather than distinctly ellipsoidal, and (2) usually crystallize interstitially and late, after magma flow has ceased. However, the distribution of such grains will be relatively anisotropic if they grew in residual liquid volumes within a preferredly‐oriented (by flow) silicate “template”. This constraint may impose a slight preferred shape orientation to the irregular magnetite grains during their growth, but in addition, we suggest it is the anisotropic magnetic interaction between the grains which is the basic cause of AMS. Experiments involving the casting of magnetite‐epoxy mixtures in various foliated or lineated glass templates have yielded samples with the expected AMS symmetry, i.e. K3 perpendicular to glass plates or K1 parallel to glass rods. Slicing of near isotropic synthetic blank‐ and natural rock‐cores and interleaving with glass slides showed a progressive increase in anisotropy of the blank from ∼0.4% to 2%, and the natural rock from ∼0.9% to ∼2.9%. In both the K3 axis migrates to be perpendicular to the glass slides.

OBJECTIVE -To determine if glucose management in postcardiothoracic surgery patients with a combined intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (SC) insulin regimen reduces mortality and morbidity in patients with diabetes and stress-induced hyperglycemia.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Retrospective review of 614 consecutive patients who underwent cardiothoracic (CT) surgery in 2005 was performed to evaluate the incidence and treatment of postoperative hyperglycemia and operative morbidity and mortality. Hyperglycemic patients (glucose Ͼ6.05 mmol/l) were treated with IV insulin in the intensive care unit (ICU) followed by SC insulin (outside ICU). Subgroup analysis was performed on 159 coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)-only patients.RESULTS -Among all CT surgeries, patients with a preoperative diagnosis of diabetes had higher rates of postoperative mortality (7.3 vs. 3.3%; P ϭ 0.03) and pulmonary complications (19.5 vs. 11.6%; P ϭ 0.02) but had similar rates of infections and cardiac, renal, and neurological complications on univariate analysis. However, on multivariate analysis, a preoperative diagnosis of diabetes was not a significant factor in postoperative mortality or pulmonary complications. In CABG-only patients, no significant differences were seen in outcomes between diabetic and nondiabetic patients. Independent of diabetic status, glucose Ն11 mmol/l on ICU admission was predictive of higher rates of mortality and renal, pulmonary, and cardiac postoperative complications.CONCLUSIONS -A combination of IV insulin (in the ICU) and SC insulin (outside the ICU), a less costly and less nursing-intensive therapy than 3 days of IV insulin postoperatively, results in a reduction of the increased surgical morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients after CT surgery. Diabetes Care 30:823-828, 2007

International audienceEvidence from iron meteorites indicates that a large number of differentiated planetesimals formed early in Solar System history. These bodies should have had well-developed olivine-rich mantles and consequentially such materials ought to be abundant both as asteroids and meteorites, which they are not. To investigate this "Great Dunite Shortage" we have undertaken a geochemical and oxygen isotope study of main-group pallasites and dunitic rocks from mesosiderites.Oxygen isotope analysis of 24 main-group pallasites (103 replicates) yielded a mean Delta O-17 value of -0.187 +/- 0.016 parts per thousand (2 sigma), which is fully resolved from the HED Delta O-17 value of -0.246 +/- 0.014 (2 sigma) obtained in our earlier study and demonstrates that both groups represent distinct populations and were derived from separate parent bodies. Our results show no evidence for Delta O-17 bimodality within the main-group pallasites, as suggested by a number of previous studies.Olivine-rich materials from the Vaca Muerta, Mount Padbury and Lamont mesosiderites, and from two related dunites (NWA 2968 and NWA 3329), have Delta O-17 values within error of the mesosiderite average. This indicates that these olivine-rich materials are co-genetic with other mesosiderite clasts and are not fragments from an isotopically distinct pallasite-like impactor. Despite its extreme lithologic diversity the mesosiderite parent body was essentially homogeneous with respect to Delta O-17, a feature best explained by an early phase of large-scale melting (magma ocean), followed by prolonged igneous differentiation.Based on the results of magma ocean modeling studies, we infer that Mg-rich olivines in mesosiderites formed as cumulates in high-level chambers and do not represent samples of the underlying mantle. By analogy, recently documented Mg-rich olivines in howardites may have a similar origin.Although the Dawn mission did not detect mesosiderite-like material on Vesta, evidence linking the mesosiderites and HEDs includes: (i) their nearly identical oxygen isotope compositions; (ii) the presence in both of coarse-grained Mg-rich olivines; (iii) both have synchronous Lu-Hf and Mn-Cr ages; (iv) there are compositional similarities between the metal in both; and (v) mesosiderite-like material has been identified in a howardite breccia. The source of the mesosiderites remains an outstanding question in meteorite science.The underrepresentation of olivine-rich materials amongst both asteroids and meteorites results from a range of factors. However, evidence from pallasites and mesosiderites indicates that the most important reason for this olivine shortage lies in the early, catastrophic destruction of planetesimals in the terrestrial planet-forming region and the subsequent preferential loss of their olivine-rich mantle

WBI has lower than expected activity in CNS metastasis of malignant melanoma. Although TMZ can be safely administered with WBI, the combination has limited anti-tumor activity.