Anatomically corrected malposition of the great arteries is a rare CHD, involving alignment and position of the great arteries. We report an infant with situs solitus, atrioventricular discordance, and ventriculoarterial concordance with the aorta arising anteriorly and to the right of the pulmonary artery. A mutation of Nodal gene, implicated in the pathogenesis of human left–right patterning defects, was found.

Glacial extent and mass balance are sensitive climate proxies providing solid information on past climatic conditions. However, series of annual mass-balance measurements of more than 60 years are scarce. To our knowledge, this is the first time the latewood density data (MXD) of the Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra L.) have been used to reconstruct the summer mass balance (Bs) of an Alpine glacier. The MXD-based Bs well correlates with a Bs reconstruction based on the May to September temperature. Winter precipitation has been used as an independent proxy to infer the winter mass balance and to obtain an annual mass-balance (Bn) estimate dating back to the glaciological year 1811/12. The reconstructed MXD/precipitation-based Bn well correlates with the data both of the Careser and of other Alpine glaciers measured by the glaciological method. A number of critical issues should be considered in both proxies, including non-linear response of glacial mass balance to temperature, bedrock topography, ice thinning and fragmentation, MXD acquisition and standardization methods, and finally the ‘divergence problem’ responsible for the recently reduced sensitivity of the dendrochronological data. Nevertheless, our results highlight the possibility of performing MXD-based dendroglaciological reconstructions using this stable and reliable proxy.

Experimental studies have reported on the anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenols. However, results from epidemiological investigations have been inconsistent and especially studies using biomarkers for assessment of polyphenol intake have been scant. We aimed to characterise the association between plasma concentrations of thirty-five polyphenol compounds and low-grade systemic inflammation state as measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). A cross-sectional data analysis was performed based on 315 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort with available measurements of plasma polyphenols and hsCRP. In logistic regression analysis, the OR and 95 % CI of elevated serum hsCRP (>3 mg/l) were calculated within quartiles and per standard deviation higher level of plasma polyphenol concentrations. In a multivariable-adjusted model, the sum of plasma concentrations of all polyphenols measured (per standard deviation) was associated with 29 (95 % CI 50, 1) % lower odds of elevated hsCRP. In the class of flavonoids, daidzein was inversely associated with elevated hsCRP (OR 0·66, 95 % CI 0·46, 0·96). Among phenolic acids, statistically significant associations were observed for 3,5-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid (OR 0·58, 95 % CI 0·39, 0·86), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid (OR 0·63, 95 % CI 0·46, 0·87), ferulic acid (OR 0·65, 95 % CI 0·44, 0·96) and caffeic acid (OR 0·69, 95 % CI 0·51, 0·93). The odds of elevated hsCRP were significantly reduced for hydroxytyrosol (OR 0·67, 95 % CI 0·48, 0·93). The present study showed that polyphenol biomarkers are associated with lower odds of elevated hsCRP. Whether diet rich in bioactive polyphenol compounds could be an effective strategy to prevent or modulate deleterious health effects of inflammation should be addressed by further well-powered longitudinal studies.

Tree rings from temperature-limited environments are highly sensitive climate proxies, widely used to reconstruct past climate parameters for periods prior to the availability of instrumental data and to analyse the effect of recent global warming on tree growth. An analysis of the climatic signal in five high-elevation tree-ring width chronologies of European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) from the tops of five different glacial valleys in the Italian Central Alps revealed that they contain a strong summer-temperature signal and that tree-ring growth is especially influenced by June temperatures. However, a moving correlation function analysis revealed a recent loss of the June temperature signal in the tree-ring chronologies. This signal reduction primarily involves the two lowest-altitude chronologies. It is probable that the observed increasing importance of late-summer temperature for tree-ring growth over the past 50 yr is an effect of the lengthening growing season and of the variations in the climate/tree-ring relationship over time. All the chronologies considered, especially those at the highest altitudes, show an increasing negative influence of June precipitation on tree-ring growth. The climatic signal recorded in tree-ring chronologies from the Italian Central Alps varies over time and is also differentially influenced by climatic parameters according to site elevation.

Geomorphological and glacial geological surveys and multiple cosmogenic nuclide analyses (10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne) allowed us to reconstruct the chronology of variations prior to the last glacial maximum of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and valley glaciers in the Terra Nova Bay region. Glacially scoured coastal piedmonts with round-topped mountains occur below the highest local erosional trimline. They represent relict landscape features eroded by extensive ice overriding the whole coastal area before at least 6 Ma (pre-dating the build-up of the Mt. Melbourne volcanic field). Since then, summit surfaces were continuously exposed and well preserved under polar condition with negligible erosion rates on the order of 17 cm/Ma. Complex older drifts rest on deglaciated areas above the younger late-Pleistocene glacial drift and below the previously overridden summits. The combination of stable and radionuclide isotopes documents complex exposure histories with substantial periods of burial combined with minimal erosion. The areas below rounded summits were repeatedly exposed and buried by ice from local and outlet glaciers. The exposure ages of the older drift(s) indicate multiple Pleistocene glacial cycles, which did not significantly modify the pre-existing landscape.

One of the major issues in (palaeo-) climatology is the response of Antarctic ice sheets to global climate changes. Antarctic ice volume has varied in the past but the extent and timing of these fluctuations are not well known. In this study, we address the question of amplitude and timing of past Antarctic ice level changes by surface exposure dating using in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides (10Be and 21Ne). The study area lies in the Ricker Hills, a nunatak at the boundary of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in southern Victoria Land. By determining exposure ages of erratic boulders from glacial drifts we directly date East Antarctic Ice Sheet variations. Erosion-corrected neon and beryllium exposure ages indicate that a major ice advance reaching elevations of about 500 m above present ice levels occurred between 1.125 and 1.375 million years before present. Subsequent ice fluctuations were of lesser extent but timing is difficult as all erratic boulders from related deposits show complex exposure histories. Sample-specific erosion rates were on the order of 20–45 cm Ma-1 for a quartzite and 10–65 cm Ma-1 for a sandstone boulder and imply that the modern cold, arid climate has persisted since at least the early Pleistocene.

A geomorphological sketch map of the Fossil Bluff area, showing the main morphological characteristics was prepared from aerial photographs taken by the British Antarctic Survey in 1995. Landforms and deposits mapped include those related to glaciers and the local hydrography, periglacial and nival activity, and wind and gravity action. Data mapped originally at a scale of 1:12 500 and simplified for presentation here at a scale of about 1:30 000, have been digitized as vectors using a GIS. In this way these data may easily be integrated with other environmental data for future research.

Geomorphological and glaciological features are represented on a georeferenced satellite image mosaic of the Mount Murchison quadrangle, northern Victoria Land, Antarctica (73–74˚ S, 162–166˚30' E), at a scale of 1 : 250 000. Landforms and deposits of glacial and periglacial environments, forms related to mass wasting, wind action, weathering and geological structures are identified and mapped. The chronological sequence of landforms and deposits, morphography and lithology is also indicated. Glacier velocities (up to 180 ma–1) and ice-front fluctuations (1964–99) were determined by analysis of aerial photography and satellite imagery. Airborne radar surveys reveal that the greatest ice thickness (about 1500 m) is located in the grounding zone of Aviator Glacier. Up to 1000 mof ice bury the subglacial relief of Deception Plateau, Hercules Névé and the Deep Freeze Range. Snow accumulation rates (average = 170 kg m–2 a–1) exhibit an overall negative correlation with altitude and distance from the coast. The relationships among relict erosional landforms and volcanic activity provide chronological constraints for the palaeogeographic evolution of this sector of the Transantarctic Mountains.