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Abstract
Runit Island on Enewetak Atoll was very heavily impacted by the U.S. nuclear testing campaign in the northern Marshall Islands (1946–58). The primary source of contamination on Runit Island was the 1958 Quince safety test where a large quantity of device plutonium (Pu) was scattered over the area near the GZ. A second low-yield device was detonated on the same site 10 days later, further disturbing the soil and leaving behind a very heterogeneous pattern of contamination including milligram-size particles of plutonium. A limited cleanup of the Fig-Quince zone was carried out in 1979. During this period, the effectiveness of the cleanup operations was primarily evaluated on the basis of bulk soil concentration data with little consideration given to the heterogeneity and long-term material-, biological-, and environmental-specific impacts of residual high activity (hot) particle contamination. The aim of the present study was twofold; (i) to characterize the levels and distribution of residual contamination in the Fig-Quince zone, and (ii) to develop pertinent data on the frequency distribution, elemental and isotopic composition, and physico-chemical properties of hot particles isolated from surface soils from Fig-Quince with a view towards providing recommendations on the future management and possible cleanup of the site. Today, Runit Island remains under an administrative quarantine.
Background and aims
This study examined the lived experience of individuals who underwent ibogaine treatment for an opioid use disorder.
Methods
Semi-structured interview questions probed for potential changes in predetermined categories derived from a literature review. Participants’ experiences with ibogaine were analyzed for commonalities and emergent themes.
Results
Categories that emerged revealed themes about subjective neurological and physical effects, auditory and visual phenomena, impact on withdrawal and craving, and shifts in outlook on self and life.
Conclusion
Ibogaine treatment provides a subjectively powerful physiological, emotional, and psychological experience, attenuates opioid withdrawal, and results in a more optimistic outlook on self and life.
Abstract
The Madaras brickyard section found at the northernmost fringe of the Backa loess plateau is one of the thickest and best-developed last glacial loess sequences of Central Europe. In the present work high-resolution magnetic susceptibility measurements (at 2 cm) were implemented on samples from the 10 m-section corresponding to a period between 29 and 11 KY cal b2K. One aim was to compare the findings with the ice core records of northern Greenland in order to establish a high-resolution paleoclimatic record for the last climatic cycle and with findings documented in other biotic and abiotic proxies so far. Our results revealed a strong variability of loess/paleosol formation during MIS 2. Millennial time-scale climatic events that characterize the North Atlantic during the last climatic cycle have been identified. From 29 ka up to the start of the LGM, the recorded MS values show a weak, negative correlation with the temperature proxy, and a weak positive correlation with the dust concentration of Greenland. A strong correlation was observed with the local paleotemperatures. Local climatic factors must have had a more prominent effect here on loess/paleosol development than the climate shifts over Greenland. During the LGM the same pattern is seen with a stronger correlation with the dust concentrations and a weaker correlation with the local temperature. Local climatic factors, plus dust accumulation, must have had a prominent influence on loess/paleosol development here. From the terminal part of the LGM a strong positive correlation of the MS values with the temperature proxy for Greenland accompanied by a strong negative correlation with the dust concentration values is observed. Correlation with local paleotemperatures is positive and moderate, strong. Here climate shifts over Greenland, as well as local endowments equally had an important role on the development of the MS signal.
Despite extensive research into peptide synthesis, coupling of amino acids with weakly nucleophilic heterocyclic amines remains a challenge. The need for microwave technology to promote this coupling interferes with the scalability of the process. By applying the microwave-to-flow paradigm, a library of (α-aminoacyl)amino-substituted heterocycles was continuously produced at near quantitative conversions and the reaction was scaled up successfully. Various N-Cbz-protected amino acids were activated using BtH/SOCl2 under continuous-flow conditions with excellent yields. Their coupling with heterocyclic amines was accomplished in MeCN—NMP on a preparative scale. However, performing both steps in-line resulted in an inconvenient work-up. Therefore, a two-step approach was taken, isolating the intermediate Bt-activated amino acid via simple filtration. This allows for a solvent switch to DMSO for the coupling reaction which led to excellent conversions for a broad range of substrates.
