Two regional growth faults, the Golden Meadow Fault and the Lake Hatch Fault, were mapped in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes, Louisiana, utilizing over 3000 line kilometers of seismic data. The subcropping location of these faults identify major vegetation biozonations, new areas of wetland loss, and the position of transgressive lakes. The proposed mechanism governing these fault-related manifestations of subsidence involves the venting of fluid (and gas) from geopressured shales vertically up fault planes. Saline fluids and gases exiting a basin via growth faults provide accommodation space at depth, resulting in active , fault-induced subsidence in the down-thrown block. By contrast, areas along the fault trend where no fluids or gases were migrating would not result in an increase of accommodation space and would be considered inactive regarding faultinduced subsidence. The model that emerges is a growth fault trace that does not act in concert but more closely resembles a key-stepping system with sections alternating between active and inactive. These findings are relevant to the role of growth faults in subsidence-related coastal land loss and the vertical migration of hydrocarbons.

No abstract

No abstract

Deterioration of the upper urinary tract is exceptional in children on clean intermittent catheterisation for neuropathic incontinence and is found only in those with pre-existing renal damage. This report describes a bacteriological study of 24 children, of whom 10 had renal damage and 14 did not have renal damage before clean intermittent catheterisation began. Boric acid was added as a preservative to samples of urine in preference to the use of dip-slides because it preserves pus cells as well as bacteria. The incidence of bacteriuria in the two groups was similar (78% of samples from those with, and 72% of samples from those without, pre-existing renal damage). The groups differed in that the urine of children in the group with pre-existing renal damage yielded organisms other than Escherichia coli more than twice as often as did the urine of those children without renal damage. Moreover, the children with pre-existing renal damage were more likely to have fever with urinary tract infection and some of them showed frequent changes of organisms in the urine. Whatever organism was present, however, children in the group with renal damage more often had heavy pyuria.

This is the second in a series of papers that report experiments to investigate the properties required for effective tissue valve implants. This paper is concerned with investigations into alternative antimicrobial treatments and the effect these treatments produce on the structural and biomechanical properties of ovine aortic valves. Six treatments were studied: heat, peracetic acid (at two concentrations), chlorine dioxide, a surfactant cleaning agent and a solvent/detergent treatment. Samples of myocardial tissue were exposed to a mixed bacterial culture or one of three virus cultures and then decontaminated. Two of the six treatments (0.35% peracetic acid and heat) were effective in removing both bacterial and viral contamination, reducing levels of contamination by 2.5 to 3 logs, whilst a third (chlorine dioxide) was effective against viruses ( approximately 3 log reduction). Valves subjected to these treatments were examined by microscopy and measurements of mechanical properties were made. All three treatments seriously damaged endothelial cells and leaflet fibroblasts. Heat treatment also damaged connective tissue components (collagen and elastin) but these changes were not seen after chemical treatment. Mechanical testing confirmed severe damage following heat treatment but chemical treatment showed only minor effects on the elasticity of the leaflets and none on extensibility. These minor effects could be mitigated by exposure to a lower dose of peracetic acid and this treatment could be safely combined with cryopreservation or storage in 85% glycerol. Peracetic acid was the preferred disinfection method for use in the subsequent in vivo studies in sheep.