bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of climate change on plant composition and diversity in the Gurbantünggüt Desert of northwestern China
Authors: Zeng Yong , Liu Tong , Zhou Xiao‐bing , Sun Qin‐ming , Han Zhi‐quan , Liu Kang
Published: March 2016

Understanding changes in plant diversity is important with changing climate in desert ecosystems. We analyzed the changes in species richness and plant functional types in different landscape positions and species turnover between five sub‐regions of the Gurbantünggüt Desert, China, from 2009 to 2013. We also analyzed how species density, richness, and plant functional types responded to annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, and the coefficient of variation (Cv) of both daily precipitation and monthly temperature, throughout this entire desert region. The results showed significant differences in the Shannon–Weiner, Evenness, and Gleason indices between the sub‐regions over the 5‐year study period. Species richness varied in the order of ephemeral plants > long‐lived annual plants > perennial herbs > shrubs. Species richness in the lower and inter‐dune area was higher than on the upper dune and on top of dunes. About 34.8 % of total species were influenced by climate change. The density of about 8.7 % of total species declined with increasing precipitation, especially the two dominant species, Haloxylon persicum and Haloxylon ammodendron. Plant richness increased significantly with increased precipitation. Ephemeral plant made the largest contribution to increasing plant diversity in the desert, while shrubs made the smallest. Ephemeral plants play an important role in maintaining plant community composition and function. In addition, species turnover declined with increasing precipitation. We suggest that differences in flora and different landscape positions in the dunes, specifically in shaping the heterogeneous microhabitats, are important reasons for the complex responses of species to climate change.
Where is the leak in the pipeline? Investigating gender differences in academic promotion at an academic medical centre
Authors: Paulus Jessica K. , Switkowski Karen M. , Allison Geneve M. , Connors Molly , Buchsbaum Rachel J. , Freund Karen M. , Blazey-Martin Deborah
Published: March 2016

Background Women are still under-represented in the senior ranks of academic medicine. As local surveys represent a critical initial step in addressing the challenges of gender disparities in academic promotion within institutions, we surveyed faculty at an academic medical centre to identify factors to improve the academic advancement of women.

Methods We conducted an electronic survey of all full-time faculty members in a Department of Medicine assessing academic rank and factors important in consideration for promotion.

Results 106 faculty members (46 %) responded to the survey; 40 % of the respondents were women. There was a statistically significant gender gap in faculty rank (p = 0.002), with only 2 of 17 full professor positions occupied by women. Among faculty who had not yet requested promotion, women were more likely to report that they did not think an academic promotion would benefit them (69 vs. 32 % in men, p = 0.01), and to report a lack of encouragement for requesting promotion (50 vs. 29 %, p = 0.08).

Conclusions Targeting the perceived value of academic promotion among women faculty, increasing junior faculty mentorship and modifying annual review processes could address gender disparities in academic medicine ranks.
The “Heel Hook”—A Climbing-Specific Technique to Injure the Leg
Authors: Schöffl Volker , Lutter Christoph , Popp Dominik
Published: March 2016

Acute injuries in rock climbing either come from a fall onto the lower leg or from performing a hard move and injuring the upper extremity. Further evaluations of lower leg injuries in rock climbing athletes have been performed recently finding sport characteristics such as peroneal tendon dislocations or chronic deformations of the feet. One injury mechanism described in case reports is the so-called heel hook position, which is used more frequently today compared with the beginngs of rock climbing. In addition, the number of these injuries is expected to rise with the increase in popularity of climbing and bouldering. Therefore, it is important to further analyze this pathology. We investigated 17 patients with injuries of the lower extremities after performing a heel hook.
Government ideology and party priorities: the determinants of public spending changes in Italy
Authors: Russo Federico , Verzichelli Luca
Published: March 2016

The literature developed by scholars dealing with policy agendas suggests that it is more important to look at changes in governments’ priorities rather than in their ideology, and criticizes the partisan theory as inadequate. However, hypotheses based on conventional wisdom and normative theories, holding that the identity of the governing parties matters for the allocation of public expenditures, are still recurrent in the debate. And many empirical studies found mixed evidence on the importance of party ideology. Focussing on Italy (1948–2009), this article empirically tests whether shifts in governments’ ideology and policy priorities are related to public spending changes in four policy sectors. The results indicate that shifts in governments’ priorities are related with public spending changes in welfare and defence, while they are not relevant to explain changes in public order and education spending. Government ideology is relevant only when it comes to defence spending, but this influence can be hindered by veto players. We argue that these findings do not disprove the importance of partisan politics but warn us against relying too much on the distinction between left and right parties. At the same time, more research is needed to understand under which conditions partisan preferences translate into changing public policies.
Walk before you jump: new insights on early frog locomotion from the oldest known salientian
Authors: Lires Andrés I. , Soto Ignacio M. , Gómez Raúl O.
Published: March 2016

Understanding the evolution of a Bauplan starts with discriminating phylogenetic signal from adaptation and the latter from exaptation in the observed biodiversity. Whether traits have predated, accompanied, or followed evolution of particular functions is the basic inference to establish the type of explanations required to determine morphological evolution. To accomplish this, we focus in a particular group of vertebrates, the anurans. Frogs and toads have a unique Bauplan among vertebrates, with a set of postcranial features that have been considered adaptations to jumping locomotion since their evolutionary origin. This interpretation is frequently stated but rarely tested in scientific literature. We test this assumption reconstructing the locomotor capabilities of the earliest known salientian, Triadobatrachus massinoti. This extinct taxon exhibits a mosaic of features that have traditionally been considered as representing an intermediate stage in the evolution of the anuran Bauplan, some of which were also linked to jumping skills. We considered T. massinoti in an explicit evolutionary framework by means of multivariate analyses and comparative phylogenetic methods. We used length measurements of major limb bones of 188 extant limbed amphibians (frogs and salamanders) and lizards as a morphological proxy of observed locomotor behavior. Our findings show that limb data correlate with locomotion, regardless of phylogenetic relatedness, and indicate that salamander-like lateral undulatory movements were the main mode of locomotion of T. massinoti. These results contrast with recent hypotheses and indicate that derived postcranial features that T. massinoti shared with anurans might have been later co-opted as exaptations in jumping frogs.
‘POWDERED WITH ARMES YMAGES AND ANGELS’: AN EARLY TUDOR CONTRACT FOR EMBROIDERED VESTMENTS
Authors: Jackson Cynthia
Published: March 2016

There are many extant examples of late medieval vestments in private and public collections in Europe and North America. Little is known, however, about the people who created them and the production methods used. A copy of a formal agreement between Sir Robert Clere and William Morton, included in the Townshend family papers, offers a rare insight into the making of a set of late fifteenth-century vestments. The document specifies the materials and the motifs to be used in making the vestments and the delivery deadline. This paper investigates the individuals mentioned in the agreement, the significance of the symbols and images chosen, and the possible motives behind the contract phraseology. Although these particular vestments no longer exist, parallels for the designs and techniques among extant examples have been used to re-create their possible appearance. Also considered is the relationship between embroiderer and mercer and the ways in which they collaborated to produce garments for royalty, the nobility and an increasing number of wealthy citizens.
Kindsversuscontinua: a review of psychometric approaches to uncover the structure of psychiatric constructs
Authors: Borsboom D. , Rhemtulla M. , Cramer A. O. J. , van der Maas H. L. J. , Scheffer M. , Dolan C. V.
Published: March 2016

The question of whether psychopathology constructs are discrete kinds or continuous dimensions represents an important issue in clinical psychology and psychiatry. The present paper reviews psychometric modelling approaches that can be used to investigate this question through the application of statistical models. The relation between constructs and indicator variables in models with categorical and continuous latent variables is discussed, as are techniques specifically designed to address the distinction between latent categories as opposed to continua (taxometrics). In addition, we examine latent variable models that allow latent structures to have both continuous and categorical characteristics, such as factor mixture models and grade-of-membership models. Finally, we discuss recent alternative approaches based on network analysis and dynamical systems theory, which entail that the structure of constructs may be continuous for some individuals but categorical for others. Our evaluation of the psychometric literature shows that the kinds–continua distinction is considerably more subtle than is often presupposed in research; in particular, the hypotheses of kinds and continua are not mutually exclusive or exhaustive. We discuss opportunities to go beyond current research on the issue by using dynamical systems models, intra-individual time series and experimental manipulations.
Whole genome sequencing provides insights into the genetic determinants of invasiveness inSalmonellaDublin
Authors: MOHAMMED M. , CORMICAN M.
Published: March 2016

Salmonella entericasubsp.entericaserovar Dublin (S.Dublin) is one of the non-typhoidalSalmonella(NTS); however, a relatively high proportion of human infections are associated with invasive disease. We applied whole genome sequencing to representative invasive and non-invasive clinical isolates ofS.Dublin to determine the genomic variations among them and to investigate the underlying genetic determinants associated with invasiveness inS.Dublin. Although no particular genomic variation was found to differentiate in invasive and non-invasive isolates four virulence factors were detected within the genome of all isolates including two different type VI secretion systems (T6SS) encoded on twoSalmonellapathogenicity islands (SPI), including SPI-6 (T6SSSPI-6) and SPI-19 (T6SSSPI-19), an intact lambdoid prophage (Gifsy-2-like prophage) that contributes significantly to the virulence and pathogenesis ofSalmonellaserotypes in addition to a virulence plasmid. These four virulence factors may all contribute to the potential ofS.Dublin to cause invasive disease in humans.
On the Fossil Foraminifera of Malta and Gozo
Authors: Jones T. Rupert
Published: March 2016

In a former volume of the ‘Geologist’ there are notices of the geology of Malta and Gozo (vol. for 1860, pp. 198, 275, 421), from which it appears that the stratal groups forming these islands are, in downward succession,—

1.

Upper Limestone ; fossiliferous.

2.

Soft sandy rock, consisting of yellow, green, and black sand in variable proportions, and containing many shells and echinoderms, chiefly as casts, and sharks’ teeth.

3.

Bluish marl, with sharks’ teeth and other fossils, especially Pecten Burdigalensis.

4.

Light-yellow calcareous freestone ; the common building-stone of the islands, rich with echinoderms, and containing also nautilus, fish-remains, and other fossils: this comprises also a band of chocolate- coloured pebbles, with sharks’ teeth.

5.

Lower Limestone, white and hard; with Scutella subrotunda, fish-teeth, and a few other fossils.

These strata have been described by Captain Spratt, in the Geol. Soc. Proc, vol. iv. p. 225, etc., and their fossils determined and enumerated by Professor E. Forbes, ib., p. 230, etc. Dr. Wright also gave a notice of the beds, and descriptions of several of their fossils, in a paper published by the Cotteswold Nat. Field-club, and in the Annals Nat. Hist., 2nd ser., vol. xv.; lastly, Dr. A. L. Adams and Dr. Wright communicated a paper on the Maltese Strata and Echinoderms to the Geological Society, in 1863.

Having lately received, from Captain F.W. Hutton and Dr. A.Leith Adams, some fine specimens of foramiuifera from the Maltese beds, carefully labelled as to their respective strata, as well as some notes on the strata from the same friends, I am enabled to add something as to the distribution of the foraminifera.

Stratum No. 1, which, being largely composed of corallines (Nulliporae, E. Forbes's List, loc. cit.), and destitute of corals, seems to have no title to its old name of “Coral-limestone,” contains Heterostegina depressa, according to Dr. Adams and Captain Hutton; the latter informs me that this limestone is sometimes 230 feet thick, Pecten Pandora being one of its most abundant fossils.
On the Denudation of Arthur's Seat
Authors: Haswell James
Published: March 2016

“Quid magis est saxo durum ? quid mollius unda ?

Dura tamen molli saxa cavantur aqua.”

The condition of Central Scotland during the long period represented by the Secondary formations is involved in darkness. On the east and west coasts of Scotland rocks of Secondary age occur north of the Grampians, but of the physical history of Central Scotland during the time these rocks were deposited, we know nothing. From the time of the deposition of our Upper Coal-beds, or, it may be, of some Permian Sandstones, up till the time when the whole island was locked fast in one immense mantle of ice, we are almost entirely ignorant of what was going on in that part of the country which lies between the Grampians and the Forth. And the man who shall decipher for us the physical geography of that period, and reveal to us the old surface of that district, with its vegetation and animal productions, prior to the time of the Boulder Clay, will have rendered no small service to the cause of Scottish geology.

But although we have not as yet been able to trace the old surface of the land, we are not altogether without data to guide us in our researches. One thing is clear and certain,—a great change was taking place over the whole face of this region.
Three Days at Farringdon.—Position of Sponge-Gravel
Authors: Meyer. C. J. A.
Published: March 2016

Early in September of the present year, I accompanied my friend Mr. C. Evans in a short excursion to Farringdon, with a view to examining the well-known “Sponge-gravel” pits of Little Coxwell; our intentions being, besides collecting fossils, to trace, if possible, some positive connection, or otherwise, between these reputed Upper Cretaceous Sponge-gravels and the acknowledged Lower Greensand deposits of Furze Hill and Badbury Hill.

Taking up our quarters at Farringdon, we first visited the Sponge-gravel pit near the Windmill public-house at Little Coxwell, where we found a splendid section of the gravel exposed (see section 4), and in a few hours had collected a good supply of fossils;—dip of beds E. by N. 10°, resting, in part at least, upon Kimmeridge clay. Next day we went to Furze Hill, and found near the top of the hill the ironstone concretions described by Mr. Godwin-Austen (Quar. Journ. Geol. Soc, vol. vi. p. 456), containing numerous fossils, all of them, I believe, of Lower Greensand age. These concretions, for the most part, lie scattered about on or near the surface. In one place, however, we found a small section exposed, where the concretions occurred in position, imbedded in light-coloured sand. About fifteen feet lower down the hill, we found the same light-coloured sand, alternating with clay in thin layers, without concretions, and apparently unfossiliferous.
On Echinothuria Floris, a New and Anomalous Echinoderm from the Chalk of Kent
Authors: Woodward S. P.
Published: March 2016

The fossils represented in the accompanying Plate are probably only fragments of the original structure, and possibly only the smaller and less essential portions of the whole. Nevertheless I have determined to publish some account of them, although at the risk of committing an extravagant error, as a last resort towards obtaining more complete examples or suggestions for their more correct interpretation.

Both specimens have been presented to the British Museum; one by J. Wickham Flower, Esq., of Park Hill, Croydon, the other by the Rev. Norman Glass, of London.

The first example (Fig. A) was obtained, at least sixteen years ago, from the Upper Chalk of Higham, near Rochester, and was submitted to Prof. E. Forbes, in whose custody it remained for several years. It was originally shown to me in connection with the anomalous Cirripede Loricula, then newly discovered by Mr. Wetherell. The resemblance between them is certainly curious; but there is no real relationship. Mr. Flower's fossil exhibits distinct traces of the crystalline structure peculiar to the petrified Echinodermata, and the pairs of pores in the ambulacral plates are equally characteristic of the Echinidæ. Mr. Darwin also has examined this fossil and rejected it from his province of inquiry.
Supposed Imprints in the Lower Cambrian Beds of the Isle of man
Authors: Taylor John
Published: March 2016

The good example which has been set us by Mr. Salter to look out for traces of mechanical and vital agencies in the Cambrian beds is worthy to be followed by every brother of the hammer; and instead of waiting, like Micawber, for “something to turn up,” to set heartily to work and turn up the stones for ourselves. It is well known what good work Mr. Salter has done in the Cambrians of the Longmynd, towards clearing up the circumstances under which those rocks were deposited, as well as in tracing the remains of their ancient life; but much remains to be done ere this formation is as well known as the others. One thing, however, is certain, that the Cambrians and the Drift are at present the “lions” of the geological world, so that the study need not suffer on the ground of unpopularity.

Being out one day (during a recent visit to the Isle of Man), at Dalby, where the Cambrian rocks are quarried for flags by a newly-formed slate-company, I observed that many of the slabs were most decidedly ripple-marked. This is, I believe, the first time that such appearances have been observed in the island; indeed, with the exception of some doubtful fucoids, no fossils have been met with in these beds.
On the Crania of the Most Ancient Races of Men
Authors: Blake Charles Carter
Published: March 2016

The authenticated discovery of human remains in strata of high historical antiquity in the Heathery Burn Cave, near Stanhope, and at Muskham in the Valley of the Trent, and the approaching discussion which “looms in the distance” of Palæontology consequent upon the proximate publication of Sir Charles Lyell's ‘Antiquity of Man,’ induce me to offer a few observations on the osteological nature of the evidences at present afforded to us of man contemporary with the mammoths, with a view, if possible, to determine the grade of the individuals whose remains have been preserved in suprapliocene strata.

The deposits on the banks of the Somme (Abbeville, St. Acheul, St. Roch), at Grenelle near Paris, at Hoxne in Suffolk, at Brixham and Kent's Hole in the south-west of England, under Gray's-Innlane in Middlesex, at Maccagnone in Sicily, the Kjökkenmöddings in Denmark, and at Wookey Hole in the Mendips, indicate to us the existence of man in a low state of civilization, as proved by his weapons, but of whom the osteological evidences have not yet been discovered. In these deposits the bones of extinct mammalia are found, as well as a more or less percentage of animals of existing species.

At Engis in Belgium, Massat in France, Aurignac in Gascony, Muskham in the Valley of the Trent, the Lake habitations in Switzerland, proofs of man have been found in strata contemporaneous with the most recently extinct animals.
The Disputed Beads from the Drift
Authors: Wyatt James
Published: March 2016

It is not improbable that, in the eager search for flint implements, some of us may underrate the importance of objects which might serve to throw light upon the interesting subject of the antiquity of the human race. Anxiety not to lose any evidence bearing upon this point will, doubtless, be accepted as a sufficient excuse for re-opening the question as to the perforated balls found in the Drift, displaying proofs of the workmanship of man. We have had conflicting opinions upon these objects, but I am not aware that anything decisive has been published. It is desirable, under such circumstances, to obtain as many facts as possible, and get the question settled. My first acquaintance with these objects occurred about fifteen years ago; for as I was uncovering some Anglo-Saxon remains in the Kempston Gravel-pit, near Bedford, I found several round stones perforated through ; and so strongly was I impressed at the time that they were the personal ornaments of the ancient chieftain just exhumed, that I actually presented them to the Archaeological Society as Saxon beads. Subsequent examinations of the Drift gravels, however, convinced me that the balls were of an earlier period than the Anglo-Saxon, whether works of art or natural productions. They are described by some naturalists to be specimens of the Chalk fossil named as the Coscinopora globularis; but the great question for consideration is, how did they become perforated? The theory put forth by some objectors is that they were bored by an insect or worm when they were in their soft, primitive condition; but it is difficult to understand how the most voracious insect could seize upon a perfectly round object and drill through it, most accurately, a thoroughly straight tunnel of uniform bore.
On the Inapplicability of the New Term “Dyas” to the “Permian” Group of Rocks, as Proposed by Dr. Geinitz
Authors: Murchison Roderick Impey
Published: March 2016

In the year 1859, M. Marcou proposed to substitute the word “Dyas” for “Permian,” and summed up his views by saying that he regarded “the New Red Sandstone, comprising the Dyas and Trias, as a great geologic period, equal in time and space to the Palæozoic epoch or the Grey wacke (Silurian and Devonian), the Carboniferous (Mountain-limestone and Coal), the Mesozoic (Jurassic and Cretaceous), the Tertiary (Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene), and the recent deposits (Quaternary and later)”!!

As that author, who had not been in Russia, criticized the labours and inductions of my associates De Verneuil and Von Keyserling, and myself, in having proposed the word “Permian” for tracts in which he surmised that we had commingled with our Permian deposits much red rock of the age of the Trias, I briefly defended the views I had further sustained by personal examination of the rocks of Permian age in various other countries of Europe.

It was, indeed, evident that M. Marcou's proposed union of the so-called Dyas and Trias in one natural group could not for a moment be maintained, since there is no conclusion on which geologists and palæontologists are more agreed, than that the series composed of Roth-liegende, Kupfer-Schiefer, Zechstein, etc., forms the uppermost Palæozoic group, and is entirely distinct in all its fossils, animal and vegetable, from the overlying Trias, which forms the true base of the Mesozoic or Secondary rocks.
Notes on the Geology of Cleveland
Authors: Peatt Charles
Published: March 2016

The district of which it is the object of the present paper to describe the principal geological features, has within the last few years attracted an extraordinary amount of interest and attention, as well from scientific observers as from those who are always seeking some fresh outlet for the investment of their capital. Until a period so recent as little more than twelve years ago, it was only for its fertile meadows and picturesque scenery of hill and dale, that Cleveland had gained any celebrity; but a metamorphosis so truly marvellous has since that time taken place, that it is already entitled to be associated with the most productive iron-making districts in the United Kingdom, and what, in all probability, will be its future position in that respect I shall not now venture to predict, although present circumstances would seem to indicate that, at no very distant day, the great iron-fields of South Staffordshire and South Wales must give place to their youthful opponent in the north.

The discovery, or more properly speaking, the development of the great ironstone deposits of Cleveland in 1848 has given such a stimulus to the iron manufacture of the district, and indeed, of the country, as has seldom been experienced by any other branch of trade. The present flourishing town of Middlesburgh, which, with its new environs, has a population of nearly twenty thousand, for the most part dependent on the iron trade, was, forty years ago, represented by one solitary farmstead, with a census of five inhabitants: and in like manner have all the surrounding villages in the neighbourhood of the new works and mines multiplied their former dimensions with amazing rapidity.
On Mercury in Alluvial Deposits
Authors: Watson J. J. W.
Published: March 2016

Dr. Phipson, of Paris, has drawn attention, in the April number of the Geologist, to the observations which have been made of the presence of mercury in the soil and substrata of the town of Montpellier, and, in your June number, another correspondent notices the finding of the same metal under circumstances so decidedly adventitious, however, as to possess, I think, rather archæological than geological interest. The occurrence of this precious metal in rocks and mineral deposits of such ages as we should hesitate to assign for its matrix, most probably arises from its fluid nature admitting of its easy transport to distances far remote from those formations in which it exists in situ; and, as furnishing something like the history of its presence in such apparently abnormal situations, the following account of its discovery at Ajaccio, in the Island of Corsica, may, perhaps, be considered worthy of insertion:—

In the year 1811, a M. Matthieu, an Engineer Officer of the French Army, was entrusted by Napoleon with the mineral survey of the Island, but, being re-called to his military duties in 1814, was cut off before Leipzig, leaving in the possession of his widow the notes he had made of his survey. These notes do not appear ever to have been officially communicated, but among them was a memorandum to the effect that a deposit of mercury existed at Ajaccio.
The Ironstone-Formation of the Forest of Dean; with a Sketch of the General Geology and Industrial History of the District
Authors: Watson J. J. W.
Published: March 2016

The coal-measures repose conformably on a series of grit-beds, all more or less charged with oxide of iron, and measuring together about 500 feet in thickness. In some places a bed of limestone intervenes between the lowest bed and those above, but the general section, in descending order, is as follows:—

1. Coarse red grit-stone, called “The Miner's Farewell Rock.”

2. Light red sandstone, with layers of variegated marls, which, although partly indurated in the bed, fall to pieces by exposure to the air.

3. Fine-grained quartzose grit, much charged with iron in the middle beds, constituting the “Sandstone Mine Formation.” In this group there are two thin beds of coarse conglomerate, or pudding-stone.

It would be impossible for me to enter into any adequate description of this most important part of the Forest geology, without extending this article to an undue length. The following summary, therefore, must suffice, in the present instance; although I purpose describing the coalfield, which has special interest—geological as well as industrial—on another occasion.

If the ordnance geological sheet No. XLIII. S.E. be examined, with the horizontal sections Nos. 15 and 16, a very good notion of this coal-basin may be obtained, although not too much dependence is to be placed, practically, on the position of the lines marking the crop of the several veins. Indeed, to lay down the line of crop accurately, in many places where there are no workings, is impossible, from the thickness of the over-burden or soil: besides which, the theoretical lines invariably require to be shifted, from the occurrence of minor faults and local denudation.
Contributions to the Geology of Gloucestershire. The Lias
Authors: Brodie P. B.
Published: March 2016

The beds immediately below the Marlstone, which consist of laminated shales and clays often micaceous and sandy, were well exposed at the latter place during the formation of the reservoirs, and at Robinswood Hill, near Gloucester, and at Chipping Campden, on the north-eastern extremity of the county, a locality which deserves a special visit. In this part of the series, at the base of the Marlstone, a good deal of ironstone prevails, which, it is said, was in ancient times worked near Gloucester; it is of some thickness and of excellent quality at Campden. These beds are no where destitute of fossils, among which, at the last named place, we may especially notice the fine Ophioderma Gaveyi (one of the brittle-stars, some species of which are so frequent in our present seas) and a new species of Pentacrinites (P. robustus, Wright). Here, too, at the base of the Marlstone, Mr. Gavey found two previously undescribed forms of star-fish, the Uraster Qaveyi and the Tropidaster pectinatus, both of which were figured and described by the late lamented Professor Edward Forbes, in the 3rd Decade of the Geological Survey. With them he obtained an entire and beautiful large Cidaris Edwardsii (Wright), with the attached spines, a rarity in this condition in any formation, and especially in the Lias, where Echinoderms are very scarce; although we have met with specimens of some small species, with the spines attached, in the upper, middle, and lower Lias.

These fossil star-fish are often obtained grouped together, as living ones are now, with their short spines adhering to the rays. Indeed, they seem to have been more than usually abundant at this spot—at least, such is the case with the Tropidaster pectinatus. Two or three species of small Crustacea, chiefly belonging to the genus Astacus, were also procured there in the argillaceous nodules, irregularly distributed throughout the clay. The most interesting we have seen is one in our possession, nearly allied to the recent genus Æga, belonging to the order Isopoda, and which, like others of this group, was probably parasitic upon fish. There were also a great number and variety of marine shells in a remarkably good state of preservation, and these were equally abundant at Hewlett's Hill, some of them retaining the actual shell.
Notes of a Geologist in Ireland during August and September, 1857
Authors: Symonds W. S.
Published: March 2016

As the summer approaches, many of the readers of the Geologist will be preparing for their vacation-rambles; and should any think of visiting our Sister Isle—“Old Erin”—the following notes may be of service.

We started on a bright August morning of last year for the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Dublin, and with the intention of travelling over as much country, breaking as many stones, gathering as many plants, and catching as many salmon as time and circumstances would permit. We were fortunate in our combination of naturalist and sportsman, but as these notes are intended solely for the naturalist, we leave our “salmon struggles” unrecorded—at least in the pages of the Geologist.

We travelled by Conway and Bangor to Holyhead, and as it was blowing a gale of wind when we arrived, we determined to wait until the sea was calmer, and, in the meanwhile, to visit the Cambrian rocks of Anglesea.

We never saw a more instructive example of contortion and twisting of rocks than is displayed at the South Stack Lighthouse, of which a good sketch is given in Sir R. Murchison's “Siluria.” It is indeed a rugged coast; and the terrible Bay of Caernarvon to the south has been the locale of more shipwrecks than any other in the British Isles. We visited the grand quarries of quartzite, worked on a gigantic scale for the great breakwater. Here, as the geologist approaches the quarry from Holyhead, is a greenstone-dyke traversing the quartzite with a singular vein of pink decomposing felspathic rock.
On the Occurrence of the Boulder Clay, or Northern Clay Drift, at Bricket Wood, Near Watford
Authors: Prestwich Joseph
Published: March 2016

The Boulder Clay is so seldom exposed in the neighbourhood of London, that I think it may be desirable to point out a new locality where I have met with it and where it may yet be seen, especially as I have just found some points, connected with its position at this place, which are of rare occurrence. The new line of railway from Watford to St. Albans passes chiefly through gravel and chalk. At one place, however, called Bricket Wood, about midway between those towns, there is a cutting of some length, and twenty to thirty feet deep, entirely through the Boulder Clay. The superposition of this clay, with regard to the gravels of the London district, is seldom to be determined; the cutting itself throws no light on this subject, or, at least, nothing very definite. But a ballast pit has recently been opened at the Watford end of the Bricket Wood cutting, and immediately south of the line, which exposes a section of much interest. The Boulder Clay has there almost thinned out, leaving but a seam one to two feet thick, whilst both above and below it is a thick bed of gravel. The lower sandy gravel, which consists chiefly of sub-angular flints and flint pebbles, with some quartz, sandstone, and old-rock pebbles, with subordinate seams of whitish sand, has a clean, washed appearance.
Gems from Private Collections
Authors: Bowerbank J. S.
Published: March 2016

At the extremity of a pretty bay, on the coast of Yorkshire, stands the town of Whitby, known to every geologist for the numerous treasures of organic remains which the Lias beds, there outcropping on the shore, have furnished at various times.

Nor is Whitby wanting in historical associations. It was there, in Anglo-Saxon days, stood the far-famed monastery of Streones-healh, of which St. Hilda, the relative of Northumbria's powerful monarch, Edwin, was the abbess. It was there the famous council was held to decide the keeping of Easter (A.D., 664); it was on those rugged shores of the North Sea that the early stand was made by Colman on behalf of the native religion against the then increasing dominion of the Romish Church. It was there reposed the remains of Edwin, Oswy, Aelfleda, and of the Saxon Hilda herself. Associated with its monastic rule were many of the famous men of the olden times—Bosa, Aetla, Oftfor, Wilfred, and Cædmon, to whom Bede says sublime strains of poetry were so natural that he dreamed in verse, and composed in sleep that which he penned on awaking. And the history of Whitby is pleasingly associated with its geology by the legend of its saint.
The Common Fossils of The British Rocks
Authors: Mackie S. J.
Published: March 2016

In a magazine devoted especially to the propagation of Geological knowledge, it seems no infringement of its space, no deterioration of its value, tha t some pains should be taken to aid the student in his early efforts, and to disperse broadcast some useful elementary information, which may prove to the mass at once a source of instruction and of enjoyment, and so, by clearing the road to future and higher studies, may foster a dawning taste, and ultimately prove the means of adding many volunteers, and not unlikely even some brilliant master-minds to the ranks of Geologists, that otherwise, deterred at the outset, might perhaps have turned their attention and talents to some more accessible, if not more congenial study.

Who does not feel some interest in the past history of this beautiful world—the scene of our labours and of our loves—of our successes and of our failures—the stage of our existence and the tomb of our dust ? If the animated creations of the past were dumb brute animals, still the earth was green and gay with trees, and plants and flowers—the hu m of insects vibrated on the summer's air, and the snows of winter covered the ancient lands with their hyemal mantle—the tides of ocean rose and fell, and the world went rolling on through time and space, through years and seasons. There were earthquakes the n and blazing volcanos—and winds and storms—great waves and merry dancing ripples on the sea.
The Geology of the Severn Valley Railway
Authors: Roberts George E.
Published: March 2016

Deep cuttings and long tunnels are regarded by railway-contractors as things to be avoided,
though lessons of the greatest instruction are derived from them by the student of geology. But as safety in transit demands the easiest gradients, and a line as straight as possible, the lesser inequalities of the surface have often to be cut into, so that no insignificant part of geological teaching is derived from railway-work. And oft-times a way that puzzles the contractor to make “ good,” or a hill-slope that, lacking Knowledge of its springs, he has cut into only to see it slip continuously upon his line, are great aids and helps to comprehending the natural formation of a district, and so, a contractor's poison becomes a geologist's meat.
Note on the Speeton Clay of Yorkshire
Authors: Leckenby John
Published: March 2016

The lowest beds of Speeton Clay in overlying contact with any inferior stratum have never been found in Filey Bay, but a little to the south of a point where it is first exposed Lias “scars” exist with Ammonites communis and A. Walcotti in situ, showing great upheaval or disturbance, or else great unconformability here.

1. The lowest known beds of Speeton Clay, so called, consist of blue clay, with seams of septarian nodules. In one of these seams, in beds of a black claystone, specimens of Ammonites biplex three to four inches in diameter are not unfrequent. This is the only fossil found in this bed.
Foreign Correspondencé
Authors: Phipson T. L.
Published: March 2016

Much attention has been excited in France for some few months past by the fall of a large aërolite, which took place in the canton of Montrejeau on the 9th of December last. We have now all the details that we are ever likely to have concerning this remarkable meteor. It fell about seven o'clock in the morning, appearing first in the north-east like a large red-hot bomb, which passed rapidly to the south-west, where it remained stationary for an instant. It then emitted a considerable column of smoke and flame; three seconds after which a loud detonation was heard, followed by a rumbling noise. Although in broad daylight, the little town of Aurignac was completely illuminated by the passage of this aërolite. After the explosion nothing was observed in the sky but a streak of vapour and a small cloud which marked out the direction followed by the meteoric stone, and the place where it exploded. Shortly after this phenomenon two large fragments of the aërolite were picked up in the parishes of Aussan and Clarac; one of these weighed about 90 lbs., and had sunk into the ground for nearly two yards; the other, that fell at Clarac, broke through the roof of a cottage; it weighed from 16 to 20 lbs., and was so hot when first seen that it could not be touched for some time. These blocks present rounded forms, their surface is black and smooth, the interior is formed of a sort of grey substance, not unlike certain volcanic products in structure.
General Considerations on the Formation of Ore-Veins
Authors: Cotta Bernhard , Salmon H. C.
Published: March 2016

These veins penetrate the crystalline schists, particularly the gneiss, in those localities where the latter are largely penetrated by porphyry. They also generally penetrate the porphyry; only a few exceptions from this rule serving to show that the porphyry-eruptions continued into the period of the formation of the ore-veins. These veins form three or four principal groups, according to their direction, which groups in general differ both in age and in contents. Still, all veins by no means show similar directions in connection with similar contents, or the converse, only these predominant characteristics often coincide. Veins of distinctive contents are almost as much confined to certain localities as they are characteristic of definite directions. According to the contents we can distinguish three or four paragenetic combinations of different ages, but which often extend into one another in such a manner that one fissure sometimes contains the products of two or three of these different periods.
On the Red Chalk of England
Authors: Wiltshire Thomas
Published: March 2016

Persons in general take as the type or representative of chalk the material which mechanics employ for tracing out rough lines and figures. It is a substance of a bright white colour, somewhat yielding to the touch, and capable of being very easily abraded or rubbed down.

But the geologist gives a much wider interpretation to the term, not limiting it by these few characteristics; and, accordingly, he includes under the same title many strata which would hardly be so grouped together by the uninitiated.

For instance, there is at the base of the upper portion of the cretaceous system a certain hard, often pebbly, and highly coloured band, which, notwithstanding its great departure from the popular type, is nevertheless styled in geological language the “Red Chalk.” This stratum, the subject of the present paper, nowhere forms a mass of any great thickness or extent; perhaps if thirty feet be taken as its maximum of thickness, four feet as its minimum, and one hundred miles as its utmost extent in length, the truth will be arrived at. It may be said, also, to be peculiar to England, for the Scaglia, or Red Chalk of the Italians, has little in common with that of our country. The two differ widely in appearance, in situation, and in fossils.
On the Outlier of Upper Tertiary Ironsand on the North Downs of Kent
Authors: Jones T. Rupert
Published: March 2016

Having at times been asked questions about the “Fossiliferous Ironsands” of the North Downs, which Mr. Prestwich described in the Journal of the Geological Society in 1858, vol. xiv., p. 322, &c., I find that some little diagram appears to be wanted by amateur geologists and general readers for the clearer demonstration of these strata and their relations to the Chalk and the Drift.

I beg, therefore, to offer you the accompanying diagram, illustrative of the relationship of the so-called “Kentish Crag,” agreeable, I believe, to Mr. Prestwich's views of the subject, as given in his elaborate paper before mentioned. Having seen the ground at Lenham and Charing, to which Mr. Prestwich refers, and at the latter of which places my friend Mr. W. Harris, F.G.S., had some sections specially made, I feel the greater satisfaction in bearing testimony to Mr. Prestwich's careful working out of the whole question.
INTUITIONISTIC EPISTEMIC LOGIC
Authors: ARTEMOV SERGEI , PROTOPOPESCU TUDOR
Published: March 2016

We outline an intuitionistic view of knowledge which maintains the original Brouwer–Heyting–Kolmogorov semantics for intuitionism and is consistent with the well-known approach that intuitionistic knowledge be regarded as the result of verification. We argue that on this view coreflectionA→KAis valid and the factivity of knowledge holds in the formKA→ ¬¬A‘known propositions cannot be false’.

We show that the traditional form of factivityKA→Ais a distinctly classical principle which, liketertium non datur A∨ ¬A, does not hold intuitionistically, but, along with the whole of classical epistemic logic, is intuitionistically valid in its double negation form ¬¬(KA¬A).

Within the intuitionistic epistemic framework the knowability paradox is resolved in a constructive manner. We argue that this paradox is the result of an unwarranted classical reading of constructive principles and as such does not have the consequences for constructive foundations traditionally attributed it.
Fetal Intra-Peritoneal Transfusion for the Management of Very Early Spontaneous Twin Anemia-Polycythemia Sequence in an Obese Patient With a Whole Anterior Placenta
Authors: Guenot Cécile , Robyr Romaine , Jastrow Nicole , Vial Yvan , Raio Luigi , Baud David
Published: March 2016

Twin anemia-polycythemia sequence (TAPS) is a rare condition in monochorionic twin pregnancies. Small intertwin placental vascular communications allow transfusion, which results in a hemoglobin difference in the twins in the absence of oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios. We report here a case of TAPS diagnosed at 17 weeks’ gestation in an obese patient (BMI 42) with a whole anterior placenta. The only possible treatment at this stage of pregnancy was intra-uterine transfusion (IUT), which was repeated weekly until photocoagulation of placental anastomoses was feasible. Fetoscopic laser surgery is the only curative treatment, but is challenging in TAPS because of the absence of polyhydramnios and the presence of minuscule anastomoses. An anterior placenta and high BMI can make the procedure even more challenging. This case report demonstrates that very early and rapidly progressing TAPS with technically complicated conditions (elevated BMI and anterior placenta) can be successfully managed with IUT until laser procedure is achievable.