bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sedimentation and tectonism in the Middle Ordovician of the Girvan district, SW Scotland
Authors: Ince David
Published: November 2011

The Kirkland Conglomerate and the Benan Conglomerate and associated sediments of the Barr Group (Ordovician—Llanvirn-Llandeilo) of the Girvan district, SW Scotland record the development of two fan-delta systems situated on the northern margin of Iapetus. The intervening Stinchar Limestone represents a shallow marine fan-delta abandonment facies. Subaerial fan-delta deposits are seen at the lowest exposed horizons within the Kirkland Conglomerate. Transgression and eventual abandonment of the fan-delta system is recorded by (1) matrix-rich gravels forming the topmost horizons of the unit. (2) subaqueous distributary channel sands of the overlying transitional sandstone and associated shallow-marine carbonates of the Auchensoul Limestone and (3) shallow-marine sandstones of the Confinis Flags. Following a period of shallow-water sedimentation (Stinchar Limestone), a phase of rapid subsidence occurred during the upper Llandeilo, broadly synchronous with theNemagraptus gracilisZone transgression. Lowermost horizons of the succeeding Benan Conglomerate comprise re-sedimented gravels and laterally equivalent ‘outer shelf’ deposits (Superstes Mudstone). Renewal of coarse clastic sedimentation resulted from source area uplift related to granite plutonism, responsible also for the rapid subsidence of basinal areas. Fan-delta progradation is recorded by the occurrence of braided-fluvial deposits and shallow-marine carbonates at higher stratigraphical levels within the unit. Progradation of the fan-delta complex resulted from a gradual reduction in subsidence rates along basin-margin faults.

Fan-deltas of the Barr Group prograded southwards, from a SW—NE-trending faultdelineated basin margin, across a narrow shelf area. To the S of the shelf area defined by Barr Group outcrop, sediments of the Tappins complex accumulated in outer shelf, ?slope and base of slope settings.

The thickness of individual conglomerate units (>150 m—Kirkland Conglomerate, and up to 700 m—Benan Conglomerate), the associated high sedimentation rates, narrowness of the shelf area, and distribution and style of basin-margin faults indicate that oblique-slip motion along the northern margin of Iapetus may have provided a major control over Middle Ordovician sedimentation in the Girvan district.
Lower Ordovician brachiopods from the Ben Suardal Limestone Formation (Durness Group) of Skye, western Scotland
Authors: Curry Gordon B. , Williams Alwyn
Published: November 2011

Ten silicified brachiopod taxa have been recovered from the Ben Suardal Limestone Formation (Durness Group) on the Isle of Skye, western Scotland. This Arenig fauna contains a new camerellid genus, Boreadocamara, and new species of each of the orthacean genera Archaeorthis, Fasciculina, and Oligorthis. Representatives of Billingsella, Finkelnburgia, Syntrophia, Syntrophopsis, and an indeterminate orthacean have also been recovered from etched residues of the Ben Suardal Limestone. The Skye fossils show strong affinities with the Scoto-Appalachian or American faunal province, in keeping with the inferred plate tectonic position of the Durness Group along the northwestern margin of the early Palaeozoic ‘Iapetus’ Ocean.
Granite emplacement mechanisms and tectonic controls: inferences from deformation studies
Authors: Hutton Donald H. W.
Published: November 2011

This paper is a structural and tectonic approach to the emplacement and deformation of granitoids. The main methods available in structural geology are briefly reviewed and this emphasises that (a) a wealth of data, particularly strain and shear sense, which pertain to these problems, can be determined in and around plutons; (b) given the nature, unlike many other crustal rock types, of granites to crystallise from isotropic through weakly anisotropic crystal suspension fluids, that deformation which has occurred in these states may not be well preserved; and (c) it is entirely possible, using this methodology, to separate deformation resulting from externally originating tectonic stresses from that which is associated with internal magma-related stresses. It is also recommended that the genetically-based Cloosian classification of granite fabrics and structures into “primary” (magmatic flow/magmatic flow current) and “secondary”, be abandoned and that a more observationally-based approach which classifies granite deformation fabrics and structures according to their time of occurrence relative to the crystallisation state of the congealing magma, be adopted (i.e. pre-full crystallisation deformation and crystal plastic strain deformation).

Examples of recent, structurally based, studies of emplacement mechanisms of plutons within tectonic settings are described and these show that, in general, space for magma can be created by the combination of tectonically-created cavities and internal magma-related buoyancy. This occurs in both transcurrent and extensional tectonic settings and there is no reason to doubt that it can happen in compressive-contractional regimes. It is concluded that transient and permanent space creation, such as may be exploited by available magmas, is a typical feature of the tectonically stressed and deforming lithosphere and this, in combination with the natural buoyancy and ascending tendency of magmas, can generate the varied emplacement mechanisms of granites.
Ordovician graptolites from the northern Sierra de Cobachi, Sonora, Mexico
Authors: Riva John F. , Ketner Keith B.
Published: November 2011

Two Ordovician graptolite assemblages are recognised and described for the first time in the allochthonous siliceous assemblage or succession forming the Guayacan Group of central Sonora in northwestern Mexico. A Middle Ordovician assemblage referable to theNemagraptus gracilis-Climacograptus wilsonizonal interval occurs in the upper siliceous shale of unit 1 of the Guayacan Group and an Upper Ordovician assemblage representative of theDicellograptus ornatusZone of the Pacific faunal province has been collected from shaly partings in the bedded radiolarian chert constituting unit 2. The stratigraphical make-up of the siliceous assemblage bears a striking similarity to the better known—and correlative—Lower Palaeozoic siliceous succession of central and northern Nevada, giving credence to the hypothesis that the Palaeozoic siliceous assemblage in northwestern Mexico was originally the extension of the Nevadan assemblage into California, which has been transposed to its present position along a left-lateral megashear of the magnitude of at least 1000 km.

A review of the proximal development of the spinose species remaining in the form genusClimacograptusHall has led to the proposal to restrict the genus toClimacograptus bicornis(Hall), its type species, and to two other septate species of early Middle Ordovician age (Llandeilo-early Caradoc) with a primitive type of proximal-end development. The genusEuclimacograptus, withClimacograptus hastatusT. S. Hall as the type species, is proposed for spinose Upper Ordovician climacograptids with an advanced proximal-end development. The genusEnsigraptus, withClimacograptus caudatusLapworth as the type species, is also proposed for species homeomorphic with those included inNormalograptusLegrand but with a less advanced proximal-end development. Five species are described.
A palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the Silurian rocks in the Pentland Hills, near Edinburgh, Scotland
Authors: Robertson Gary
Published: November 2011

Silurian sediments up to 2500 m thick are exposed in the Pentland Hills, SW of Edinburgh. These sediments, the North Esk Group, are here sub-divided into five well-defined formations: the Reservoir Formation, Deerhope Formation, Cock Rig Formation, Wether Law Linn Formation and Henshaw Formation. The Wether Law Linn Formation is further sub-divided into three members. Based on limited palaeontological evidence, the sediments appear to be late Llandovery (crenulata Biozone) to Wenlock in age. The Silurian sediments represent a regressive sequence, passing from offshore submarine-fan turbidite facies, through shallow marine sediments, with an abundant flora and fauna, possibly a barrier complex, to terrestrial red beds of Old Red Sandstone facies. Changing faunal associations in the shallow marine sediments reflect the availability of different substrates. The regression occurred on the southern margin of the Midland Valley graben.
Correlation of depositional sequences in a structurally complex area: the Dalradian of Glenn Fearnach to Glen Shee, Scotland
Authors: Goodman S. , Crane A. , Krabbendam M. , Leslie A. G. , Ruffell A.
Published: November 2011

The stratigraphy of the Neoproterozoic Dalradian Supergroup has been formalised at group, subgroup and formation level, based largely on mapping in the SW Highlands of Scotland. Elsewhere, there has been a tendency for the lithostratigraphy to be fitted into this framework, implying that the lithostratigraphy represents basin-wide changes in depositional environment. The pitfalls of this ‘layer-cake’ approach are illustrated by interpreting the geology of the Gleann Fearnach to Glen Shee area of the Central Highlands, using the published maps of the adjacent regions. Attempts to correlate units into the Braemar area in the NE and into the Pitlochry area in the SW show considerable mismatch between the maps covering these areas, which has in the past led to invocation of geometrically unlikely arrangements of faults and slides to explain the lithostratigraphical distribution.

The present study is the result of a different approach adopted during remapping of the Gleann Fearnach to Glen Shee area. Some basin-wide events, here suggested to be associated with key sequence stratigraphic surfaces, were identified. These principally relate to the deposition of Appin Quartzite, Boulder Bed and Ben Lawers Schist precursor sediments. Between these reference units the stratigraphy has been determined by detailed field mapping, and variation from the standard stratigraphy explained in terms of both the position within the depositional sequence and palaeogeography during deposition. This has led to an integrated solution which works on both sedimentological and structural grounds. There are local implications for the stratigraphy and structural geology elsewhere in the Scottish Dalradian, but, more importantly, it is an approach which must be more widely applied in order to make wider correlations beyond the British Dalradian to the rest of the Laurentian margin.
Trilobites from the Ordovician Ardwell Group of the Craighead Inlier, Girvan district, Scotland
Authors: Tripp R. P.
Published: November 2011

All trilobites known from the Ardwell Group, Craighead Inlier, Girvan district are listed and frequencies recorded.Encrinuroides lapworthin. sp. from the Sericoidea Mudstones, andBumastoides fornaxn. sp. from the Kiln Mudstones, are described. The Sericoidea Mudstones constitute a deeper water interlude in the complex succession which comprises the Craighead Limestone Formation; graptolites from this horizon indicate lowDicranograptus clinganizone. The closest resemblance of the trilobite assemblage as a whole is to faunas of Trenton age in North America. The occurrence of forms allied to Boda Limestone (Ashgill) species suggests that these are long-ranging, carbonate associated, trilobite stocks.
Magnetic susceptibility record of Chinese Loess
Authors: Kukla G. , An Z. S. , Melice J. L. , Gavin J. , Xiao J. L.
Published: November 2011

Records of the low field magnetic susceptibility at three sites in the Chinese Loess Plateau, each with sediments covering the last 2·5 Ma, were averaged and combined into a single stacked file whose dating is independent of astronomic chronology. The stack reveals orbital frequencies, which are in general agreement with the astronomically tuned oxygen isotope deep sea chronology in the upper part of the Brunhes epoch, but disagree prior to 0·5 Ma ago.
The Laurentide ice sheet through the last glacial cycle: the topology of drift lineations as a key to the dynamic behaviour of former ice sheets
Authors: Boulton G. S. , Clark C. D.
Published: November 2011

Study of satellite images from most of the area of the Canadian mainland once covered by the Laurentide ice sheet reveals a complex pattern of superimposed drift lineations. They are believed to have formed subglacially and parallel to ice flow. Aerial photographs reveal patterns of superimposition which permit the sequence of lineation patterns to be identified. The sequential lineation patterns are interpreted as evidence of shifting patterns of flow in an evolving ice sheet. Flow stages are recognised which reflect roughly synchronous integrated patterns of ice sheet flow. Comparison with stratigraphic sections in the Hudson Bay Lowlands suggests that all the principal stages may have formed during the last, Wisconsinan, glacial cycle. Analogy between Flow stage lineation patterns and the form and flow patterns of modern ice sheets permits reconstruction of patterns of ice divides and centres of mass which moved by 1000–2000 km during the glacial period. There is evidence that during the early Wisconsinan, ice sheet formation in Keewatin may have been independent of that in Labrador–Quebec, and that these two ice masses joined to form a major early Wisconsinan ice sheet. Subsequently the western dome decayed whilst the eastern dome remained relatively stable. A western dome then re-formed, and fused with the eastern dome to form the late Wisconsinan ice sheet before final decay.

Because of strong coupling between three-dimensional ice sheet geometry and atmospheric circulation, it is suggested that the major changes of geometry must have been associated with large scale atmospheric circulation changes.

Lineation patterns suggest very little erosional/depositional activity in ice divide regions, and can be used to reconstruct large scale patterns of erosion/deposition.

The sequence of flow stages through time provides an integrative framework allowing sparse stratigraphic data to be used most efficiently in reconstructing ice sheet history in time and space.
Time-scales and degrees of freedom operating in the evolution of continental ice-sheets
Authors: Hindmarsh Richard C. A.
Published: November 2011

Comprehensible explanations of the operation of earth climate systems should consist of descriptions of the operation of a few degrees of freedoms. Qualitative interpretations of results from large-scale numerical models generally follow this principle, but do not render formal definitions of the precise nature of such degrees of freedom.

At its simplest, ice-sheet kinematics requires knowledge of the evolving height and span. Rheology and surface mass-balance impose different requirements upon the co-evolution of these variables, meaning a two-degree of freedom model is over-prescribed. By means of a perturbation expansion about the analytic similarity solution for viscous spreading, eigenfunctions corresponding to degrees of freedom in the ice-sheet profile are obtained, and are used to decompose mass-balance distributions. Only a few eigenfunctions are needed to replicate numerical models, implying that ice-sheets in plane flow may operate with fewer than ten degrees of freedom.

Unstable evolution of ice-sheets can occur, when the operation of a very large number of degrees of freedom can be manifested. Previous work is reviewed and new results for the unstable transformation of valley glaciers into ice-sheets are presented. Phasing of initiation may be an unpredictable phenomenon.
The petrology of the Lugar Sill, SW Scotland
Authors: Henderson C. M. B. , Gibb F. G. F.
Published: November 2011

A 49 m complete section through the 288 Ma Lugar Sill obtained from drill cores can be subdivided into nine units. The uppermost four units are teschenitic and are mirror images of the bottom four. A 35 m thick central unit consists of theralite passing down into kaersutite theralite and then picrite. Marginal chilling 'of the units indicates multiple intrusion from the outside inwards. Olivine in the central unit (Fo88–90) encloses Cr-rich spinels and increases in amount inwards to over 50%. Clinopyroxene, kaersutite and biotite show symmetrically increasing Fe/Mg from the centre of the sill outwards. Most major and trace elements vary symmetrically throughout the sill with those in the central unit reflecting mainly olivine distribution but incompatible elements exhibit upward enrichment. Remarkably, the most-evolved rocks in the sill are at its margins. The sill was formed by multiple injections of successivelyless-evolved teschenitic magmas followed by a larger pulse of theralitic liquid carrying abundant olivine phenocrysts. The amount of olivine in this final pulse increased during emplacement. Subsequentin-situdifferentiation in the central unit, with upward enrichment in residual liquid and volatiles, gave rise to lugarites. The various magmas were produced in a lower-level magma chamber by differentiation of a mantle-derived, alkali-rich picritic magma.
Permian K-rich volcanic rocks of Devon: petrogenesis, tectonic setting and geological significance
Authors: Thorpe R. S.
Published: November 2011

Potassium (K)-rich volcanic rocks occur within Permian sedimentary rocks in SW England and are approximately contemporaneous with the emplacement of the Cornubian granite batholith. The volcanic rocks have chemical characteristics of subduction-related magmas and may have been derived by small amounts of partial melting of heterogeneous large-ion lithophile (LIL) enriched mantle with the assemblage olivine–pyroxene–garnet–phlogopite–titanate. The LIL enrichment may have occurred during shallow or oblique subduction of oceanic lithosphere below SW England during the Devonian and Carboniferous. Such LIL-enriched mantle may have contributed some components to the Cornubian granite batholith.
Geophysiology
Authors: Lovelock James E.
Published: November 2011

The geological theory of the evolution of the material environment and the biological theory of the evolution of organisms by natural selection are usually treated separately. This paper presents a new evolutionary theory, in which the evolution of the organisms, and the evolution of their material environment, are seen to be so closely coupled as to form a single, indivisible, process. This combined evolutionary system can be taken to be a domain with emergent properties unexpected from a simple addition of its component parts, rather like the eighteenth-century scientific view of the Earth as a super-organism. In homage to James Hutton, who lectured before the Royal Society of Edinburgh about the Earth as a super-organism and on the physiology of the Earth, the new topic is called geophysiology.

The difference between the geophysiological view of the Earth, where the environment and the organisms are tightly coupled, and the co-evolutionary, or biogeochemical view, where the coupling is loose leaving organisms and their environment to evolve more or less separately, is discussed. The paper includes numerical models to illustrate how a close-coupled evolutionary system could have self regulation, homeostasis, as an automatic and emergent property. The models will be compared with the real world past and present and their predictions examined.
Environmental controls on the taphonomy and distribution of Carboniferous malacostracan crustaceans
Authors: Briggs D. E. G. , Clarkson E. N. K.
Published: November 2011

Shrimp-like malacostracan crustaceans first appeared in the late Devonian and underwent a substantial adaptive radiation in the Carboniferous. They are rarely found in rocks of fully marine origin but are well represented in sediments laid down in brackish water and marginal marine conditions; such transitional environments provide the exceptional circumstances required for the preservation of unmineralised shrimps. The best examples are in the Dinantian of Scotland, the Namurian of Montana, and the Westphalian of Illinois. It is probable that shrimps were widespread in contemporaneous marine environments, but are not preserved.

Any approach to understanding the physiology of fossil organisms is necessarily indirect. The diversity of crustacean communities, and the nature of associated taxa and trace fossils, are the most useful biotic factors for interpreting the habitat and tolerance of fossil examples.

All known Carboniferous crustacean communities lived in brackish conditions; none is fully marine. Malacostracan assemblages in the Dinantian of Britain show a general trend of increasing diversity with salinity, from a single taxon at Gullane (stratified freshwater lake or brackish lagoon) to ten at Glencartholm (approaching normal marine).Tealliocarisis associated with low salinities.Crangopsis socialisis confined to the brackish water interdistributary bay environment, butBairdopsandBelotelsondisplay a broader environmental tolerance.Crangopsis eskdalensis, Sairocaris, andPerimecturusoccur only at Glencartholm, indicating a requirement for a strong marine influence. Those taxa confined to a limited environmental range all occur where a marine influence is pronounced; none occurs solely in areas of lower salinity. While salinity was apparently the dominant influence on distribution, a complex of independently varying environmental factors was involved. The range of habitats colonised early in the Carboniferous indicates that the preserved taxa had already developed advanced osmoregulatory mechanisms.
Mechanics and physiology of flight in fossil vertebrates
Authors: Rayner Jeremy M. V.
Published: November 2011

Flight—defined as the ability to produce useful aerodynamic forces by flapping wings—is one of the most demanding adaptations in vertebrates. The mechanical problems of flight ensure considerable external morphological homogeneity and behavioural similarity in extant fliers. Observations of the vortex wakes and wingbeat geometry of modern birds and bats confirm that the two groups are mechanically very similar, despite differences in phylogeny, anatomy and physiology. With this background it is possible to attack two problems: the evolution of flight in vertebrates, and the flight performance of extinct animals such as pterosaurs andArchaeopteryx.

The origin of flight has been surrounded by considerable controversy, due in part to terminological inconsistencies, in part to phylogenetic uncertainty over the relationships of birds, bats and pterosaurs, in part to disagreement over the interpretation of the available fossil evidence, and in part to argument over the relative importance of morphological, mechanical and ecological specialisations. The mechanical changes needed in the course of the evolution of flight favour a gliding origin of tetrapod flight, and on mechanical and ecological grounds the alternative cursorial hypothesis may be discounted. This argument is particularly strong in bats, but has been thought to be weaker in birds owing to apparent inconsistencies with the fossil evidence. However, fossils of the Jurassic theropod dinosaurArchaeopteryxalso support a gliding origin for flight, and suggest that this animal was adapted for flapping flight at moderately high speeds associated with gliding; it could fly less well at the slow speeds which would have been required for incipient flight in a running cursor, and at which the wingbeat is aerodynamically and kinematically considerably more complex. Slow flight in birds and bats is the more derived condition, and vertebrate flapping flight apparently evolved through a gliding stage.

The pterosaurs have become the subject of much controversy over the nature of their stance, the wing surface, and the degree of involvement of the leg in the wing membrane. Reconstruction of their wings indicates proficient flying animals, and comparison with birds suggests that most pterosaurs probably occupied marine or coastal/estuarine habitat.
Ecosystem services and fictitious commodities
Authors: BROCKINGTON DAN
Published: November 2011

There is a great deal of discussion in conservation about the possibility of quantifying and paying for the services to societies that nature performs. Functions such as carbon sequestration and water provision can be valued and payments made for them. Advocates argue that payments for ecological/environmental services (PES) will generate substantial sums, render environmental values legible to politicians and make protecting nature common sense to rational people.
Transforming (Private) Rights through (Public) International Law: Readings on a ‘Strange and Painful Odyssey’ in the PCIJ Mavrommatis Case
Authors: BURGIS MICHELLE
Published: November 2011

Straddling both the centres of (European) power and the shifting dynamics of the post-Ottoman world in a quest to guarantee private rights through public international legal redress, the PCIJ Mavrommatis case provides a rich resource for interrogating the extent to which international law during the League period could speak for voices on the edge of empire. In this article, historical consideration of the regimes of empire and Mandate form the backdrop to an exploration into how international legal discourse (re)configured the relationship between the core and the periphery, especially for those peoples awaiting the promise of self-determination and sovereignty. The figure of a lone Greek investor and his dashed hopes in the newly created Palestine Mandate is the backdrop to this tail of ever-shifting interpretations of public and private rights, of speech as well as silence before and beyond the Peace Palace.
The 1937 International Sugar Agreement: Neo-Colonial Cuba and Economic Aspects of the League of Nations
Authors: FAKHRI MICHAEL
Published: November 2011

To many in the West, the League of Nations was to establish political peace between nations. To the Cuban sugar-producing elite of the 1920s and 1930s, however, the League was an important socioeconomic institution used to augment many of Cuba's first modern state institutions. This article explores how and why Cuban delegates were the principals behind the 1937 International Sugar Agreement – one of the League's few operational economic treaties. This treaty sheds light onto how actors from the so-called industrial core and agricultural periphery used international law, institutions, and practice to negotiate and renegotiate their relationship with each other.
Common Civility: The Culture of Alegality in International Criminal Law
Authors: DUBBER MARKUS D.
Published: November 2011

Written from an outsider's perspective, this paper tries to capture the ethos, or, if you prefer, the Sittlichkeit, of international criminal law. It argues that international criminal law can profitably be seen as an ethos, rather than a body of law. In this telling, international criminal law, despite its name, emerges as an ethical–administrative enterprise rather than a legal one. If placed alongside global administrative law, for instance, international criminal law appears as alegal rather than illegal, so that to criticize international criminal law for violating, say, the ‘principle of legality’ would be like faulting apples for not producing orange juice, and oranges for not making apple pie.
Autonomisation du français en usage en Suisse romande: quels indicateurs?
Authors: PRIKHODKINE ALEXEI
Published: November 2011

Dans les études ayant conclu à une dépréciation de la variété endogène, les attitudes linguistiques ont été suscitées à partir de stimuli généraux (p.ex.,accent). Dans cet article, nous soulignons les limites de ces travaux, en montrant au travers d'une récente enquête que la réponse à un stimulus général est formulée sur la base d'une partie seulement des variantes lexicales, celles relevant d'un contact de langues et présentant un déficit de prestige. Les résultats de cette recherche mettent parallèlement au jour la légitimité de tout un pan de variantes endogènes (archaïsmes et innovations romandes). Tout en expliquant pourquoi certaines ressources linguistiques sont plus susceptibles que d'autres de servir de fondement à la variété endogène légitime, nous discutons les facteurs contribuant à l'autonomisation du français en Suisse romande.
Water supply and the reconstruction of urban space in early twentieth-century Tianjin
Authors: HAIYAN LIU
Published: November 2011

The emergence of tap water supplied through water grids changed the spatial structure of cities. As a commercial port containing foreign settlements and divided urban political systems, Tianjin became host to two major, long-term water supply systems. Different social environments and systems of municipal government meant that tap water was accepted by urban society in different ways. In the settlements, the supply of tap water was the foundation for the formation of a modern community. In the Old City, the introduction of tap water for the most part had a different effect: it manifested the ways in which traditional and new lifestyles conflicted and mingled with each other. Yet, in any case, as tap water entered the lives of the people from the end of the Qing to the Republican period, new ideas of health and hygiene associated with tap water were gradually accepted, and modern urban lifestyles gradually took shape.
Production and processing asymmetries in the acquisition of tense morphology by sequential bilingual children
Authors: CHONDROGIANNI VASILIKI , MARINIS THEODOROS
Published: November 2011

This study investigates the production and online processing of English tense morphemes by sequential bilingual (L2) Turkish-speaking children with more than three years of exposure to English. Thirty-nine six- to nine-year-old L2 children and twenty-eight typically developing age-matched monolingual (L1) children were administered the production component for third person -s and past tense of the Test for Early Grammatical Impairment (Rice & Wexler, 2001) and participated in an online word monitoring task involving grammatical and ungrammatical sentences with presence/omission of tense (third person -s, past tense -ed) and non-tense (progressive -ing, possessive 's) morphemes. The L2 children's performance on the online task was compared to that of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in Montgomery and Leonard (1998, 2006) to ascertain similarities and differences between the two populations. Results showed that the L2 children were sensitive to the ungrammaticality induced by the omission of tense morphemes, despite variable production. This reinforces the claim about intact underlying syntactic representations in child L2 acquisition despite non-target-like production (Haznedar & Schwartz, 1997).
The effects of language impairment on the use of direct object pronouns and verb inflections in heritage Spanish speakers: A look at attrition, incomplete acquisition and maintenance
Authors: JACOBSON PEGGY F.
Published: November 2011

This study examined object clitic pronouns (OCPs) and verb inflections in twenty-five school-age children with typical development (TD) and twenty children with bilingual language impairment (BLI). MANOVA and ANOVA were used to explore differences according to grade level and language status (TD vs. BLI). Although children with BLI produced higher rates of grammatical errors overall, accuracy on number and gender assignment for OCPs was better for both groups in the higher grades. Although the rate of verb inflection errors did not differ for children with TD and BLI in the lower grades, a significant interaction yielded higher error rates on subject–verb agreement for third person singular and plural inflections in the later grades for children with BLI. Greater accuracy on OCP use in later grades weakens claims that bilingualism exacerbates language impairment. For BLI, whether incomplete acquisition or delayed development is the determining factor for verb inflection errors remains undetermined.
Explaining the variability in recommended intakes of folate, vitamin B12, iron and zinc for adults and elderly people
Authors: Doets Esmée L , Cavelaars Adrienne EJM , Dhonukshe-Rutten Rosalie AM , van ‘t Veer Pieter , de Groot Lisette CPGM
Published: October 2011

Objective

To signal key issues for harmonising approaches for establishing micronutrient recommendations by explaining observed variation in recommended intakes of folate, vitamin B12, Fe and Zn for adults and elderly people.

Design

We explored differences in recommended intakes of folate, vitamin B12, Fe and Zn for adults between nine reports on micronutrient recommendations. Approaches used for setting recommendations were compared as well as eminence-based decisions regarding the selection of health indicators indicating adequacy of intakes and the consulted evidence base.

Results

In nearly all reports, recommendations were based on the average nutrient requirement. Variation in recommended folate intakes (200–400 μg/d) was related to differences in the consulted evidence base, whereas variation in vitamin B12recommendations (1·4–3·0 μg/d) was due to the selection of different CV (10–20 %) and health indicators (maintenance of haematological status or basal losses). Variation in recommended Fe intakes (men 8–10 mg/d, premenopausal women 14·8–19·6 mg/d, postmenopausal women 7·5–10·0 mg/d) was explained by different assumed reference weights and bioavailability factors (10–18 %). Variation in Zn recommendations (men 7–14 mg/d, women 4·9–9·0 mg/d) was also explained by different bioavailability factors (24–48 %) as well as differences in the consulted evidence base.

Conclusions

For the harmonisation of approaches for setting recommended intakes of folate, vitamin B12, Fe and Zn across European countries, standardised methods are needed to (i) select health indicators and define adequate biomarker concentrations, (ii) make assumptions about inter-individual variation in requirements, (iii) derive bioavailability factors and (iv) collate, select, interpret and integrate evidence on requirements.
The effect of pre-pregnancy BMI on intention, initiation and duration of breast-feeding
Authors: Guelinckx Isabelle , Devlieger Roland , Bogaerts Annick , Pauwels Sara , Vansant Greet
Published: October 2011

Objective

To determine whether pre-pregnancy BMI influences breast-feeding practice.

Design

Retrospective epidemiological study.

Setting

University Hospital Leuven, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium.

Subjects

Two hundred women (median age 29 years, interquartile range (IQR) 4; 52 % nulliparae) were grouped into four categories according to pre-pregnancy BMI using WHO cut-offs.

Results

The incidence of intention and initiation of breast-feeding was significantly lower in underweight (64 %) and obese women (68 %) compared with normal weight (92 %) and overweight women (80 %). Initiation was also related to parity (OR = 0·582; 95 % CI 0·400, 0·846), but not to gestational weight gain, method of delivery or hypertensive disorders. Fifty-two per cent of underweight, 70 % of normal weight and 56 % of overweight women were exclusively breast-feeding their infant during the first month of life. This incidence was significantly lower in the obese group (34 %; P = 0·030). Only 40 % of all infants were exclusively breast-fed at 3 months of age, with the lowest prevalence among women with obesity (P = 0·0 0 1). The median duration of any breast-feeding in the obese group (1·8 months, IQR 3·4) was significantly shorter than in the underweight (3·0 months, IQR 3·1), normal weight (3·0 months, IQR 2·4) and overweight group (3·0 months, IQR 3·5; P = 0·024). Reasons given for ceasing breast-feeding in the obese group were maternal complications (29 %), insufficient milk supply (23 %), sucking problems (21 %) and work resumption (21 %).

Conclusions

Breast-feeding practice in the total population, but especially among women with obesity, fell short of global WHO recommended standards. Policy initiatives and local interventions should continue to support breast-feeding, but also prevent maternal obesity.
Adsorption of Humic Acid onto Carbonaceous Surfaces: Atomic Force Microscopy Study
Authors: Liu Zhiguo , Zu Yuangang , Meng Ronghua , Xing Zhimin , Tan Shengnan , Zhao Lin , Sun Tongze , Zhou Zhen
Published: November 2011

The adsorption of humic acid (HA) onto highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces at different concentrations has been studied by atomic force microscopy. When HA concentration was increased from 10 to 1,000 mg/L, HA can sequentially form spherical particles, layered structures, and connected blocks on HOPG surfaces. The findings of the layer structures and small amount of fine chains have been verified and discussed. When HA was acidified by addition of acetic acid, it changed into small rigid particles. These results indicated that HA can be considered as supramolecular associations of self-assembling heterogeneous and relatively small molecules, and a small amount of polymers. The present results are important for understanding HA molecular structures and their adsorption characteristic on carbonaceous surfaces.
The Bible in the Political Rhetoric of the American Founding
Authors: Dreisbach Daniel L.
Published: October 2011

The American founders frequently alluded to and quoted from the Bible in their political rhetoric. This fact alone reveals little about how and for what purposes the founding generation used the Bible and, more important, how the Bible influenced the political thought of the founding era. Drawing on some of the most familiar political rhetoric of the founding era, this article examines the founders' diverse uses of the Bible in political discourse, ranging from the strictly literary and cultural to the theological, from the stylistic to the substantive. Recognition of these distinct uses is important insofar as it is misleading to read spiritual meaning into purely political or rhetorical uses of the Bible orvice versa.
Meeting basic human needs for water remains huge challenge, expert says
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2011

Since the 1998 publication of the first volume of The World's Water, a biennial report on freshwater resources from the Pacific Institute, some significant strides have been made in improving water management and quality. However, there has also been a continuing stream of bad news about the state of water in many parts of the world. With the 18 October publication of volume 7 in the series, two stark statistics stand out to lead author Peter Gleick: More than 1 billion people still lack safe drinking water, and more than 2.5 billion lack adequate sanitation.
Gum Arabic's (Gum Acacia's) Journey from Tree to End User
Authors: Idris O.H.M. , Haddad G.M.
Published: November 2011

Gum acacia, also known as gum arabic, is exuded from Acacia trees - mainly from Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. The main gum acacia producing countries are Sudan, Nigeria, Chad and Senegal. Sudan is considered to be the world's largest producer of gum acacia. Gum acacia is the oldest and best known of all the polysaccharide plant exudates.
Creating an Enabling Environment for Sustainable Production and Marketing of Gum Acacia – The Case of Southern Sudan
Authors: Wani J.T.E. , Yor T.T.O. , Owino F. , Jiji B.
Published: November 2011

The Government of Southern Sudan, established by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Jan 2005, has a land area of about 648,051 km2, which is endowed with vast quantities of natural resources including Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal trees. The Southern Sudan gum belt, based on the African Gum Belt Map and the Probability Map produced by SNV (2009), is estimated at 300,740.6 km2 (30,074,060 ha), which is about 46.4% of the total land area and covers 7 states: Upper Nile, Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Northern Bahr El Gazal, Central Equatoria and Warrap. Although Southern Sudan has these vast natural resources, it has not formally participated in the commercial production and marketing of the valuable gum acacia. Some communities in Southern Sudan states bordering North Sudan have some idea of commercial gum collection and marketing as they, over time, have been marginally involved and most of the gum has been sold to northern traders or brokers.

These vast resources therefore remain underdeveloped and untapped for meaningful benefit to the rural communities and livelihood improvement. As the newly formed ‘Republic of South Sudan’ enters a new phase of independence (from 9th July 2011), the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) is committed to developing the gum sector for the benefit of the many years marginalised and war ravaged rural communities' socio-economic development, banking on the reversion from traditional local uses to modern production, processing and marketing strategies and as an alternative non-oil revenue earner. Sustainable natural gums production shall be the corner stone to developing the rural communities as this promotes people's livelihoods in harmony with forests and woodlands.

As South Sudan enters the international arena on Acacia gum marketing, the desire is to also fulfil the Global Consensus on actions towards sustainable management of forests. Sustainable and reliable production of quality organic gums from South Sudan that meets international standards and requirements is therefore the Government of South Sudan's focus. This provides huge investment opportunities for the sub-sector to foster socio-economic development of rural populace in potential gum production zones: quality products, fair pricing, value addition and marketing channels.

This article seeks to share the several steps taken so far in creating an enabling environment, lessons learnt and the way forward in order to fully achieve the goal of gum being the corner stone to developing the war ravaged rural communities and restoring the dignity of the South Sudanese.
Effect of Methods of Tapping on Gum Yield of Acacia Seyal Var. Seyal in South Kordofan State, Sudan
Authors: Fadl K.E.M.
Published: November 2011

Acacia seyal var. seyal (talha) is an important multipurpose tree in the savanna zone of South Kordofan. The tree produces gum, which is collected from the natural exudation by the rural people. However, little information is available about the tapping possibility of A. seyal var. seyal. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of tapping tools, position of tapping, date of tapping and intensity of tapping on A. seyal var. seyal gum yield, to find an improved procedure, suitable tool and optimum time for tapping the tree. Therefore, two experiments each with two factors/variables were carried out at Umfakarin forest reserve in 2001/02.

In the first experiment the first factor was tapping tool, which was tested using four types (namely Makamak, Axe, Mohfar and Sonki). Sonki was developed by the gum research program for tapping A. senegal whilst the axe is the traditional tool for tapping the gum arabic tree. The second factor was position of tapping, which was tested at four levels: lower stem (0-50 cm), middle stem (50-100 cm), higher stem (100-150 cm) and branch tapping. In the second experiment, the first factor was the date of tapping which was tested at three times (1st November, 15th November and 1st December), and the second factor was intensity of tapping, which was tested at four levels (2, 4, 6 and 8 branches).

The present study revealed the possibility of talha gum production by tapping A. seyal var. seyal. The tapping tools showed significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) between the four tapping tools with respect to gum yield. The yield of Axe, Mohfar and Sonki was 58, 60 and 50% lower than that obtained using Makmak. The position of tapping had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on the amount of gum production; the middle stem tapping caused the highest gum yield with a total of 275 g\tree. The yields from the lower stem, higher stem and branch tapping were 25, 57 and 41% lower than that obtained from middle stem tapping. The interaction effect between the tapping tools and position of tapping was not significantly different. In the second experiment, the tapping date had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on the amount of produced talha gum. Trees in this experiment produced the highest gum yield when tapped on the 1st of November. However, the tapping intensity did not show significant effect on gum yield. Therefore, a tapping intensity of two to four branches is recommended in order to minimise the likelihood of damaging the A. seyal var. seyal tapped trees.
Spectroscopic Identification of Individual Acacia Gums
Authors: Cui S.W. , Phillips G.O.
Published: November 2011

Gum arabic is the oldest and best known of all natural gums and is made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. Natural polymers are never uniform or simple, variability in composition, structure and size is the common feature. For example, there are more than 1400 species of Acacia gums in the world and to distinguish between them by chemical analysis has proved a challenging task. There are variations in the amounts of the various sugars and amino acids between species, and for the same species from different countries. The pioneer in analysing literally hundreds of acacias was the late Dr Douglas Anderson.
Physicochemical Properties of Acacia Polyacantha Gum.
Authors: Elnour A.A. , Elsayed M.E. , Ishag K.E.A. , Abdalla A.A. , Osman M.E.
Published: November 2011

Although there are more than 1100 species of Acacia distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical areas of the world, most commercial gum arabic is derived from Acacia senegal locally known as hashab gum (in the Sudan) and as Kordofan gum around the world. Gum arabic has been known for many thousands of years and there are no artificial substitutes that match it for quality or cost of the production.1 Gum arabic consists mainly of high-molecular weight polysaccharides made up of rhamnose, arabinose, and galactose, glucuronic and 4-O-methylglucuronic acid, and the salts of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium of the two acids.
New Functionalities: Complexes of Gum Arabic with Whey Proteins
Authors: Schmitt C. , Bovay C. , Kolodziejczyk E. , Laneuville S.I. , Gauthier S.F. , Turgeon S.L.
Published: November 2011

The formation of complexes and coacervates in protein/polysaccharide mixtures results from net attractive forces arising between the macromolecules. Very often these forces are primarily long-range electrostatic interactions occurring when both macromolecules carry opposite net negative charges. Once electrostatic complexes are formed, additional short-range interactions such as hydrophobic, hydrogen or covalent bonds can be formed. The first description of electrostatic complex formation followed by a macroscopic phase separation into a concentrated and a dilute phase was made by Bungenderg de Jong for the gelatine/gum arabic system.
Contribution of Lipids, Phenolic Acids and Protein Rich Components to Emulsifying Properties of Corn Fibre gum and Acacia Gum
Authors: Yadav M.P. , Moreau R.A. , Johnston D.B. , Hicks K.B.
Published: November 2011

Corn fibre (CF), the most abundant low-valued co-product of the corn wet-milling process, contains a high percentage of a valuable arabinoxylan (AX), which, once isolated from the cell wall and purified, is also called corn fibre gum (CFG). The fibrous co-products from corn are prepared either by wet-milling or dry-milling. Corn fibre produced by the corn-wet milling industry is also called white fibre and it contains fibre fractions from the kernel's pericarp and endosperm. The fibres from pericarp and endosperm are also called “coarse” and “fine” fibres, respectively.