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Hospital food service quality significantly impacts patient satisfaction with overall care(1) and can influence food intake, thereby increasing the risk of malnutrition(2). By contrast, meals tailored to patients’ needs result in lower complications and hospitalisation costs(3). With Australia’s ageing population and projected increases among racial and ethnic minority migrants, service delivery must adapt to promote equity and inclusion in the healthcare system. However, data is lacking on the lived experience, preferences, and acceptance of hospital food service and meal quality among older patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. This study aimed to bridge this gap by investigating the differences in hospital food services related to cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were planned among 15 Australian-born and 15 CALD-background patients, aged 65 years or over, admitted to the Department of General Medicine at Flinders Medical Centre. Patients admitted with a highly contagious infectious disease (e.g., COVID-19), those referred for palliative care, receiving parenteral or enteral nutrition, or on nil-by-mouth orders were excluded. Translators were available to participants upon request. With participants’ consent, all interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase process(4). Data was inductively coded with a phenomenological perspective to explore participants’ experiences with hospital food services. Similar codes were grouped together and further developed into themes through iterative discussions with the research team. The current analysis involved six participants from each group to present preliminary results. Among the 12 participants, the mean age was 82 years, ranging from 72–92 in the Australian-born group and 68–92 in the CALD group. Five primary themes emerged: (1) No Complaints—participants did not want to complain about their meals, preferring staff to focus on their healthcare. This attitude was compounded for CALD participants who lacked the language to voice complaints; (2) Food and Identity—CALD participants viewed themselves separately from Australian-born patients, with the lack of culturally familiar food contributing to a feeling of being the minority; (3) Acceptance—the food service was viewed in the context of the overall hospital system, with participants accepting that meals may not suit their preference; (4) Experiences of the Food Service—influenced by participant’s individual preferences for meal quality, menu options, and staff interactions; and (5) Nutrition and Health—All participants had a preference for smaller portions due to their perception of reduced nutritional needs, yet meals were also valued for enjoyment. These preliminary results indicate that hospital food services should offer culturally familiar options, improve patient-staff communication, and provide personalised, smaller portions to enhance patient experience. Addressing the enablers and barriers to meeting cultural and individual dietary needs in hospitals will promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in healthcare.
Bioturbation can increase time averaging by downward and upward movements of young and old shells within the entire mixed layer and by accelerating the burial of shells into a sequestration zone (SZ), allowing them to bypass the uppermost taphonomically active zone (TAZ). However, bioturbation can increase shell disintegration concurrently, neutralizing the positive effects of mixing on time averaging. Bioirrigation by oxygenated pore-water promotes carbonate dissolution in the TAZ, and biomixing itself can mill shells weakened by dissolution or microbial maceration, and/or expose them to damage at the sediment–water interface. Here, we fit transition rate matrices to bivalve age–frequency distributions from four sediment cores from the southern California middle shelf (50–75 m) to assess the competing effects of bioturbation on disintegration and time averaging, exploiting a strong gradient in rates of sediment accumulation and bioturbation created by historic wastewater pollution. We find that disintegration covaries positively with mixing at all four sites, in accord with the scenario where bioturbation ultimately fuels carbonate disintegration. Both mixing and disintegration rates decline abruptly at the base of the 20- to 40-cm-thick, age-homogenized surface mixed layer at the three well-bioturbated sites, despite different rates of sediment accumulation. In contrast, mixing and disintegration rates are very low in the upper 25 cm at an effluent site with legacy sediment toxicity, despite recolonization by bioirrigating lucinid bivalves. Assemblages that formed during maximum wastewater emissions vary strongly in time averaging, with millennial scales at the low-sediment accumulation non-effluent sites, a centennial scale at the effluent site where sediment accumulation was high but bioturbation recovered quickly, and a decadal scale at the second high-sedimentation effluent site where bioturbation remained low for decades. Thus, even though disintegration rates covary positively with mixing rates, reducing postmortem shell survival, bioturbation has the net effect of increasing the time averaging of skeletal remains on this warm-temperate siliciclastic shelf.
We report the discovery of a bow-shock pulsar wind nebula (PWN), named Potoroo, and the detection of a young pulsar J1638$-$4713 that powers the nebula. We present a radio continuum study of the PWN based on 20-cm observations obtained from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and MeerKAT. PSR J1638$-$4713 was identified using Parkes radio telescope observations at frequencies above 3 GHz. The pulsar has the second-highest dispersion measure of all known radio pulsars (1 553 pc cm$^{-3}$), a spin period of 65.74 ms and a spin-down luminosity of $\dot{E}=6.1\times10^{36}$ erg s$^{-1}$. The PWN has a cometary morphology and one of the greatest projected lengths among all the observed pulsar radio tails, measuring over 21 pc for an assumed distance of 10 kpc. The remarkably long tail and atypically steep radio spectral index are attributed to the interplay of a supernova reverse shock and the PWN. The originating supernova remnant is not known so far. We estimated the pulsar kick velocity to be in the range of 1 000–2 000 km s$^{-1}$ for ages between 23 and 10 kyr. The X-ray counterpart found in Chandra data, CXOU J163802.6$-$471358, shows the same tail morphology as the radio source but is shorter by a factor of 10. The peak of the X-ray emission is offset from the peak of the radio total intensity (Stokes $\rm I$) emission by approximately 4.7$^{\prime\prime}$, but coincides well with circularly polarised (Stokes $\rm V$) emission. No infrared counterpart was found.
Felt presence is a widely occurring experience, but remains under-recognised in clinical and research practice. To contribute to a wider recognition of the phenomenon, we aimed to assess the presentation of felt presence in a large population sample (n = 10 447) and explore its relation to key risk factors for psychosis. In our sample 1.6% reported experiencing felt presence in the past month. Felt presence was associated with visual and tactile hallucinations and delusion-like thinking; it was also associated with past occurrence of adverse events, loneliness and poor sleep. The occurrence of felt presence may function as a marker for general hallucination proneness.
We present the third data release from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project. The release contains observations of 32 pulsars obtained using the 64-m Parkes ‘Murriyang’ radio telescope. The data span is up to 18 yr with a typical cadence of 3 weeks. This data release is formed by combining an updated version of our second data release with $\sim$3 yr of more recent data primarily obtained using an ultra-wide-bandwidth receiver system that operates between 704 and 4032 MHz. We provide calibrated pulse profiles, flux density dynamic spectra, pulse times of arrival, and initial pulsar timing models. We describe methods for processing such wide-bandwidth observations and compare this data release with our previous release.
Background: SMA affects individuals with a broad age range and spectrum of disease severity. Risdiplam (EVRYSDI®) is a centrally and peripherally distributed, oral SMN2 pre-mRNA splicing modifier. Methods: SUNFISH is a multicenter, two-part, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study in patients with Types 2/3 SMA. Part 1 assessed the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of different risdiplam dose levels in patients with Types 2/3 SMA. Part 2 assessed the efficacy and safety of the selected dose of risdiplam versus placebo in Type 2 and non-ambulant Type 3 SMA. In Part 2, participants were treated with risdiplam or placebo for 12 months, then received risdiplam in a blinded manner until month 24. At month 24, patients were offered the opportunity to enter the open-label extension phase. Results: Change from baseline in MFM32 total score (Part 2- primary endpoint) in patients treated with risdiplam versus placebo was met at month 12. These increases in motor function were sustained in the second and third year after risdiplam treatment. Here we present 4-year efficacy and safety data from SUNFISH. Conclusions: SUNFISH is ongoing and will provide further long-term efficacy and safety data of risdiplam in a broad population of individuals with SMA.
In Paper I, we presented an overview of the Southern-sky MWA Rapid Two-metre (SMART) survey, including the survey design and search pipeline. While the combination of MWA’s large field-of-view and the voltage capture system brings a survey speed of ${\sim} 450\, {\textrm{deg}}^{2}\,\textrm{h}^{-1}$, the progression of the survey relies on the availability of compact configuration of the Phase II array. Over the past few years, by taking advantage of multiple windows of opportunity when the compact configuration was available, we have advanced the survey to 75% of the planned sky coverage. To date, about 10% of the data collected thus far have been processed for a first-pass search, where 10 min of observation is processed for dispersion measures out to 250 ${\textrm{pc cm}}^{-3}$, to realise a shallow survey that is largely sensitive to long-period pulsars. The ongoing analysis has led to two new pulsar discoveries, as well as an independent discovery and a rediscovery of a previously incorrectly characterised pulsar, all from ${\sim} 3\% $ of the data for which candidate scrutiny is completed. In this sequel to Paper I, we describe the strategies for further detailed follow-up including improved sky localisation and convergence to timing solution, and illustrate them using example pulsar discoveries. The processing has also led to re-detection of 120 pulsars in the SMART observing band, bringing the total number of pulsars detected to date with the MWA to 180, and these are used to assess the search sensitivity of current processing pipelines. The planned second-pass (deep survey) processing is expected to yield a three-fold increase in sensitivity for long-period pulsars, and a substantial improvement to millisecond pulsars by adopting optimal de-dispersion plans. The SMART survey will complement the highly successful Parkes High Time Resolution Universe survey at 1.2–1.5 GHz, and inform future large survey efforts such as those planned with the low-frequency Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low).
We present an overview of the Southern-sky MWA Rapid Two-metre (SMART) pulsar survey that exploits the Murchison Widefield Array’s large field of view and voltage-capture system to survey the sky south of 30$^{\circ}$ in declination for pulsars and fast transients in the 140–170 MHz band. The survey is enabled by the advent of the Phase II MWA’s compact configuration, which offers an enormous efficiency in beam-forming and processing costs, thereby making an all-sky survey of this magnitude tractable with the MWA. Even with the long dwell times employed for the survey (4800 s), data collection can be completed in $<$100 h of telescope time, while still retaining the ability to reach a limiting sensitivity of $\sim$2–3 mJy (at 150 MHz, near zenith), which is effectively 3–5 times deeper than the previous-generation low-frequency southern-sky pulsar survey, completed in the 1990s. Each observation is processed to generate $\sim$5000–8000 tied-array beams that tessellate the full $\sim 610\, {\textrm{deg}^{2}}$ field of view (at 155 MHz), which are then processed to search for pulsars. The voltage-capture recording of the survey also allows a multitude of post hoc processing options including the reprocessing of data for higher time resolution and even exploring image-based techniques for pulsar candidate identification. Due to the substantial computational cost in pulsar searches at low frequencies, the survey data processing is undertaken in multiple passes: in the first pass, a shallow survey is performed, where 10 min of each observation is processed, reaching about one-third of the full-search sensitivity. Here we present the system overview including details of ongoing processing and initial results. Further details including first pulsar discoveries and a census of low-frequency detections are presented in a companion paper. Future plans include deeper searches to reach the full sensitivity and acceleration searches to target binary and millisecond pulsars. Our simulation analysis forecasts $\sim$300 new pulsars upon the completion of full processing. The SMART survey will also generate a complete digital record of the low-frequency sky, which will serve as a valuable reference for future pulsar searches planned with the low-frequency Square Kilometre Array.
The EU-funded Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) research project (2011-2015) aimed to improve animal welfare through the development of practical on-farm animal welfare assessment protocols. The present study describes the application of the AWIN approach to the development of a welfare assessment protocol for horses (Equus caballus). Its development required the following steps: (i) selection of potential welfare indicators; (ii) bridging gaps in knowledge; (iii) consulting stakeholders; and (iv) testing a prototype protocol on-farm. Compared to existing welfare assessment protocols for other species, the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses introduces a number of innovative aspects, such as implementation of a two-level strategy focused on improving on-farm feasibility and the use of electronic tools to achieve standardised data collection and so promote rapid outcomes. Further refinement to the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses is needed in order to firstly gather data from a larger reference population and, secondly, enhance the welfare assessment protocol with reference to different horse housing and husbandry conditions.
The adaptability of horses and donkeys to different types of activity has seen the European equine industry become an important economic sector, giving rise to increasing concern regarding equine welfare. As part of the AWIN (Animal Welfare Indicators) project, this review focuses on scientific literature to find potential animal-based welfare indicators — the initial step in developing a valid, reliable and feasible on-farm welfare assessment protocol for equines. Forty-nine indicators were considered and classified in accordance with the four Principles and twelve Criteria developed by Welfare Quality®. Only practical indicators specifically for on-farm use were included, those requiring the use of specific instruments or laboratory analysis were excluded. Academic scientists, partners and collaborators of the AWIN project, discussed and agreed on validity, reliability, on-farm feasibility and acceptance by farmers for each indicator. Some aspects of equine welfare have been thoroughly investigated and appear to have indicators ready for on-farm use (eg ‘absence of prolonged hunger’, ‘absence of injuries and diseases’). On the other hand, a lack of animal-based measures were identified for other Criteria such as ‘absence of pain’ and ‘positive emotional state’. Ongoing research within the AWIN project has begun exploring some of the aforementioned Criteria — these preliminary results of promising indicators have been included (eg Horse Grimace Scale and Qualitative Behaviour Assessment). Further research should address the validity and reliability of indicators, such as human-animal relationship tests and signs of cold stress. As well as for working equines, the development and application of a welfare assessment protocol could be the first step for enhancing on-farm equine welfare.
Background: Assays capable of detecting prions in CSF (e.g., RT-QuIC) have greatly improved the antemortem diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) yet take time to conduct and are not widely accessible. There is a need to identify clinical features and common tests that identify mimics at presentation. Methods: Mimics were identified within longitudinal studies of rapidly progressive dementia at study sites. Mimics met clinical criteria for probable CJD but did not have CJD. Clinical features were compared between mimics and patients with CJD assessed at Mayo Clinic Enterprise (n=79) and Washington University in St. Louis (n=10; Jan-2014 to Oct-2020). Results: Mimics (10/155; 6.5%) were diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis (n=7), neurosarcoidosis, frontotemporal lobar degeneration with motor neuron disease, and unknown dementia. Age-at-symptom onset, gender, presenting symptoms, and EEG and MRI findings were similar between mimics and CJD patients. Focal motor abnormalities (49/93, 10/10), elevations in CSF leukocytosis (4/92, 5/10) and protein (39/92, 9/10) were more common in mimics (p<0.01). Neural-specific autoantibodies associated with autoimmune encephalitis were detected within the serum (4/9) and CSF (5/10) of mimics, but not CJD cases. Conclusions: Autoimmune encephalitis, neurosarcoidosis and neurodegenerative diseases may mimic CJD at presentation and should be considered in patients with early motor dysfunction and abnormal CSF studies.
The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to $\sim\!5$ yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of $\sim\!162$ h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of $0.24\ \mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$ and angular resolution of $12-20$ arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039–5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533–4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89–412162 and 2MASS J22414436–6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have no multi-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.
We describe 14 yr of public data from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), an ongoing project that is producing precise measurements of pulse times of arrival from 26 millisecond pulsars using the 64-m Parkes radio telescope with a cadence of approximately 3 weeks in three observing bands. A comprehensive description of the pulsar observing systems employed at the telescope since 2004 is provided, including the calibration methodology and an analysis of the stability of system components. We attempt to provide full accounting of the reduction from the raw measured Stokes parameters to pulse times of arrival to aid third parties in reproducing our results. This conversion is encapsulated in a processing pipeline designed to track provenance. Our data products include pulse times of arrival for each of the pulsars along with an initial set of pulsar parameters and noise models. The calibrated pulse profiles and timing template profiles are also available. These data represent almost 21 000 h of recorded data spanning over 14 yr. After accounting for processes that induce time-correlated noise, 22 of the pulsars have weighted root-mean-square timing residuals of $<\!\!1\,\mu\text{s}$ in at least one radio band. The data should allow end users to quickly undertake their own gravitational wave analyses, for example, without having to understand the intricacies of pulsar polarisation calibration or attain a mastery of radio frequency interference mitigation as is required when analysing raw data files.
Background: SMA1 is a neurodegenerative disease caused by bi-allelic survival motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1) deletion/mutation. In the phase 1 study, SMN GRT onasemnogene abeparvovec (AVXS-101) improved outcomes of symptomatic SMA1 patients. We report preliminary data of STR1VE, a pivotal study (NCT03306277) evaluating efficacy and safety of a one-time intravenous AVXS-101 infusion. Methods: STR1VE is a phase 3, multicenter, open-label, single-arm study in SMA1 patients aged <6 months (bi-allelic SMN1 loss, 2xSMN2). Primary outcomes: independent sitting for ≥30 seconds (18 months) and survival (14 months). Secondary outcomes: ability to thrive and ventilatory support (18 months). Exploratory outcomes: CHOP-INTEND and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development scores. Results: Enrollment is complete with 22 patients dosed. Mean age at symptom onset, genetic diagnosis, and enrollment was 1.9 (0–4.0), 2.1 (0.5–4.0), and 3.7 (0.5–5.9) months. At baseline, no patient required ventilatory/nutritional support, and all exclusively fed by mouth. Mean baseline CHOP-INTEND score was 32.6 (17.0–52.0), which increased 6.9 (-4.0–16.0, n=20), 10.4 (2.0–18.0, n=12), and 11.6 (-3.0–23.0, n=9) points at 1, 2, and 3 months; updates provided at congress. Conclusions: Preliminary data from STR1VE show rapid motor function improvements in SMA1 patients, paralleling phase 1 findings.
Background: SMA is characterized by reduced levels of survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein from deletions and/or mutations of the SMN1 gene. While SMN1 produces full-length SMN protein, a second gene, SMN2, produces low levels of functional SMN protein. Risdiplam (RG7916/RO7034067) is an investigational, orally administered, centrally and peripherally distributed small molecule that modulates pre-mRNA splicing of SMN2 to increase SMN protein levels. Methods: FIREFISH (NCT02913482) is an ongoing, multicenter, open-label operationally seamless study of risdiplam in infants aged 1–7 months with Type 1 SMA and two SMN2 gene copies. Exploratory Part 1 (n=21) assesses the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of different risdiplam dose levels. Confirmatory Part 2 (n=40) is assessing the safety and efficacy of risdiplam. Results: In a Part 1 interim analysis (data-cut 09/07/18), 93% (13/14) of babies had ≥4-point improvement in CHOP-INTEND total score from baseline at Day 245, with a median change of 16 points. The number of infants meeting HINE-2 motor milestones (baseline to Day 245) increased. To date (data-cut 09/07/18), no drug-related safety findings have led to patient withdrawal. No significant ophthalmological findings have been observed. Conclusions: In FIREFISH Part 1, risdiplam improved motor function in infants with Type 1 SMA.
Analysis of the total surface energy γT and its three components as established by the van Oss-Chaudhury-Good Theory (vOCG) is conducted via Three Liquid Contact Angle Analysis (3LCAA). γT is correlated with the composition of the top monolayers (ML) obtained from High-Resolution Ion Beam Analysis (HR-IBA). Control of γT enables surface engineering for wafer bonding (Nano-BondingTM) and/or epitaxial growth. Native oxides on boron-doped p-Si(100) are found to average γT of 53 ± 1.4 mJ/m2) and are always hydrophilic. An HF in methanol or aqueous HF etch for 60 s always renders Si(100) hydrophobic. Its γT decreases by 20% to 44 ± 3 mJ/m2 in HF in methanol etch and by 10% to 48 ± 3 mJ/m2 in aqueous HF. On the contrary, GaAs(100) native oxides are found to always be hydrophobic. Tellurium n+-doped GaAs(100) yields an average of γT of 37 ± 2 mJ/m2, 96% of which is due to the Lifshitz-Van der Waals molecular interactions (γLW = 36 ± 1 mJ/m2). However, hydrophobic GaAs(100) can be made highly hydrophilic. After etching, γT increases by almost 50% to 66 ± 1.4 mJ/m2. 3LCAA shows that the γT increase is due to electron acceptor and donor interactions, while the Lifshitz-van der Waals energy γLW remains constant. IBA combining the 3.039 ± 0.01 MeV oxygen nuclear resonance with <111> channeling, shows that oxygen on Si(100) decreases by 10% after aqueous HF etching, from 13.3 ± 0.3 monolayers (ML) to 11.8 ± 0.4 ML 1 hour after etch.Te-doped GaAs(100) exhibits consistent oxygen coverage of 7.2 ± 1.4 ML, decreasing by 50% after etching to a highly hydrophilic surface with 3.6 ± 0.2 oxygen ML. IBA shows that etching does not modify the GaAs surface stoichiometry to within 1% . Combining 3LCAA with HR-IBA provides a quantitative metrology to measure how GaAs and Si surfaces can be altered to a different hydroaffinity and surface termination.
The effects of crystal orientation and doping on the surface energy, γT, of native oxides of Si(100) and Si(111) are measured via Three Liquid Contact Angle Analysis (3LCAA) to extract γT, while Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) is used to detect Oxygen. During 3LCAA, contact angles for three liquids are measured with photographs via the “Drop and Reflection Operative Program (DROP™). DROP™ removes subjectivity in image analysis, and yields reproducible contact angles within < ±1°. Unlike to the Sessile Drop Method, DROP can yield relative errors < 3% on sets of 20-30 drops. Native oxides on 5 x 1013 B/cm3 p- doped Si(100) wafers, as received in sealed, 25 wafer teflon boats continuously stored in Class 100/ISO 5 conditions at 24.5°C in 25% controlled humidity, are found to be hydrophilic. Their γT, 52.5 ± 1.5 mJ/m2, is reproducible between four boats from three sources, and 9% greater than γT of native oxides on n- doped Si(111), which averages 48.1 ± 1.6 mJ/m2 on four 4” Si(111) wafers. IBA combining 16O nuclear resonance with channeling detects 30% more oxygen on native oxides of Si(111) than Si(100). While γT should increase on thinner, more defective oxides, Lifshitz-Van der Waals interactions γLW on native oxides of Si(100) remain at 36 ± 0.4 mJ/m2, equal to γLW on Si(111), 36 ± 0.6 mJ/m2, since γLW arises from the same SiO2 molecules. Native oxides on 4.5 x 1018 B/cm3 p+ doped Si(100) yield a γT of 39 ± 1 mJ/m2, as they are thicker per IBA. In summary, 3LCAA and IBA can detect reproducibly and accurately, within a few %, changes in the surface energy of native oxides due to thickness and surface composition arising from doping or crystal structure, if conducted in well controlled clean room conditions for measurements and storage.
A 36C1 peak has been found at about 37 ka BP in the Guliya ice core, drilled from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. This peak is indicative of enhanced cosmogenic isotope production in the atmosphere, rather than a change in accumulation rate. Comparison with the records of 10Be and 36C1 in ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland indicates that peaks of the cosmogenic isotopes are global, and that they can be used as time markers for dating ice cores. Interestingly, the 37 ka BP global event coincided with a cold period.
The WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) Divide deep ice core was recently completed to a total depth of 3405 m, ending 50 m above the bed. Investigation of the visual stratigraphy and grain characteristics indicates that the ice column at the drilling location is undisturbed by any large-scale overturning or discontinuity. The climate record developed from this core is therefore likely to be continuous and robust. Measured grain-growth rates, recrystallization characteristics, and grain-size response at climate transitions fit within current understanding. Significant impurity control on grain size is indicated from correlation analysis between impurity loading and grain size. Bubble-number densities and bubble sizes and shapes are presented through the full extent of the bubbly ice. Where bubble elongation is observed, the direction of elongation is preferentially parallel to the trace of the basal (0001) plane. Preferred crystallographic orientation of grains is present in the shallowest samples measured, and increases with depth, progressing to a vertical-girdle pattern that tightens to a vertical single-maximum fabric. This single-maximum fabric switches into multiple maxima as the grain size increases rapidly in the deepest, warmest ice. A strong dependence of the fabric on the impurity-mediated grain size is apparent in the deepest samples.