bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
University of California, Davis–Conference: Genetics of Alcoholism
Authors: Schuckit Marc A. , Li Ting‐Kai , Cloninger C. Robert , Deitrich Richard A.
Published: September 2007

Great progress has been made by research on the contribution genetic factors make to a vulnerability toward alcoholism. Animal studies have demonstrated the importance of genetics in ethanol preference and levels of consumption, and human family, twin, and adoption research have revealed a 4‐fold higher risk for offspring of alcoholics, even if they were adopted out at birth. The work presented in this symposium reviews the ongoing search for genetic trait markers of a vulnerability toward alcoholism. Dr. Li has used both animal and human research to demonstrate the possible importance of the genetic control of enzymes involved in ethanol metabolism and has worked to help develop an animal model of alcoholism. The possible importance of subgroups with different levels of predisposition toward alcoholism is emphasized by Or. Cloninger. An overview of the studies of sons of alcoholics, given by Dr. Schuckit, reveals the potential importance of a decreased intensity of reaction to ethanol as part of a predisposition toward alcoholism and discusses the possible impact of some brain waves and ethanol metabolites to an alcoholism vulnerability. Dr. Deitrich reviews interrelationships between studies of animals and humans in the search for factors involved in a genetic vulnerability toward alcoholism. Taken together, these presentations underscore the importance of genetic factors in alcoholism, review animal and human research attempting to identify markers of a vulnerability, and reveal the high level of interaction between human and animal research.
Ethanol Potentiates the Toxic Effects of 1,4‐Butanediol
Authors: Poldrugo F. , Barker S. , Basa M. , Mallardi F. , Snead O. C.
Published: September 2007

The simultaneous administration of ethanol increases the mortality rate and tissue damage observed in rats after 1,4‐butanediol (1,4‐BO). A related increase in tissue 1,4‐BO concentration supported the hypothesis of an in vivo competition of the two substances for alcohol dehydrogenase. The clinical implications of the results, in light of the recent discovery of the presence of endogenous 1,4‐BD in humans are discussed.
Ethanol Drug Interaction with Chlordiazepoxide and Pentobarbital
Authors: Okamoto Michiko , Rao Srinivas N. , Aaronson Laura M. , Walewski Jose L.
Published: September 2007

Drug interactions between ethanol and pentobarbital and ethanol and chlordiazepoxide were investigated utilizing mice. At the peak of oral ethanol (0–4 g/kg), either sodium pentobarbital (1–120 mg/ kg) or chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride (2–400 mg/kg) was given intraperHoneafly. Blood concentrations of ethanol, pentobarbital, chlordiazepoxide, and its pharmacologically active major metabolites were monitored utilizing either gas chromatography or high performance liquid chromatography. Lethality and loss‐of‐righting reflex were measured as indexes of behavioral drug interactions. It was evident from the isoootographtc plot that the interactions between ethanol and pentobarbital and ethanol and chlordiazepoxide were more than additive. Interaction between ethanol and pentobarbital was greater than that between ethanol and chlordiazepoxide. Furthermore, with increasing ethanol pretreatment the shift in dose‐response curves for the loss‐of‐righting reflex was affected more than the shift in dose‐response curves for lethality. Blood concentration monitoring of each drug indicated that the rate of biotransformation of pentobarbital was significantly decreased; sequential biotransformation of chlordiazepoxide was also altered, resulting in a large accumulation of demethylchlordiazepoxide in the blood.
Climbing‐fibre activation of NMDA receptors in Purkinje cells of adult mice
Authors: Renzi Massimiliano , Farrant Mark , Cull‐Candy Stuart G.
Published: September 2007

Among principal neurons, adult Purkinje cells have long been considered unusual in lacking functional NMDA receptors. This view has emerged largely from studies on rats, where NMDA receptors are expressed in Purkinje cells of newborn animals, but are lost after 2 weeks. By contrast, immunolabelling data have shown that Purkinje cells from adult mice express multiple NMDA receptor subunits, suggesting a possible species difference. To investigate the presence of functional NMDA receptors in Purkinje cells of mice, and to explore the contribution of different receptor subunits, we made whole‐cell and single‐channel patch‐clamp recordings from Purkinje cells of wild‐type and NR2D−/− mice of different ages. Here we report that multiple NMDA receptor subtypes are indeed expressed in Purkinje cells of young and adult mice; in the adult, both NR2A‐ and NR2B‐containing subtypes are present. Furthermore, we show that NMDA receptor‐mediated EPSCs can be evoked by climbing fibre stimulation, and appear to be mediated mainly by NR2A‐containing receptors.
Southern Hemisphere and Deep-Sea Warming Led Deglacial Atmospheric CO
2
Rise and Tropical Warming
Authors: Stott Lowell , Timmermann Axel , Thunell Robert
Published: September 2007

Establishing what caused Earth's largest climatic changes in the past requires a precise knowledge of both the forcing and the regional responses. We determined the chronology of high- and low-latitude climate change at the last glacial termination by radiocarbon dating benthic and planktonic foraminiferal stable isotope and magnesium/calcium records from a marine core collected in the western tropical Pacific. Deep-sea temperatures warmed by ∼2°C between 19 and 17 thousand years before the present (ky B.P.), leading the rise in atmospheric CO
2
and tropical–surface-ocean warming by ∼1000 years. The cause of this deglacial deep-water warming does not lie within the tropics, nor can its early onset between 19 and 17 ky B.P. be attributed to CO
2
forcing. Increasing austral-spring insolation combined with sea-ice albedo feedbacks appear to be the key factors responsible for this warming.
FLUCTUATIONS IN SPEECH
Authors: UMESH SRINIVASAN , COHEN LEON , NELSON DOUGLAS
Published: September 2007

We argue that when individuals enunciate sounds which are perceived to be the same, the sounds have the commonalty that their spectra can be transformed into a new domain which results in identical spectra except for a speaker dependent translation factor. We call the transformation function the speech scale. The speech scale is experimentally obtained. In this paper we explore the mathematical issues involved and obtain various criteria for when a transformation to a new domain results in a speaker independent transform.
The Need for Knowledge Management in the Malaysian Film Industry: A Case Study
Authors: Perumal Vimala , Woods Peter Charles
Published: September 2007

This paper reports a case study on how knowledge is transferred through a film project and how it has been utilised. Prior literature and knowledge transfer theory is used to review the studied project and to draw recommendations on how best to utilise knowledge as well as to create an awareness on the importance of knowledge transfer in a film project. In order to gain the insight into the realm of the transfer of knowledge in the film industry, a project entitled Chemman Chaalai and produced by One Hundred Eye Sdn. Bhd. Production House was chosen. An in-depth interview approach was used to study the real phenomenon of knowledge transfer during the production of the film work.
The Role of Intellectual Capital in Mexican Family-Based Businesses: Understanding their Soul, Brain and Heart
Authors: Trevinyo-Rodríguez Rosa Nelly , Bontis Nick
Published: September 2007

This paper attempts to highlight a key source of intangible value (i.e., intellectual capital) for family-based businesses. By reviewing the merger and acquisition activity of four Mexican cases, an analysis of the consideration of various intangible assets is conducted. Consequently, we introduce the term intellectual capital in family businesses (ICFB) and define it as a sum of a set of quantitative and qualitative intangible assets affecting overall business performance. A metaphor for diagnosing the qualitative intangible assets for family businesses is then suggested encompassing a firm's soul (human capital), brain (structural capital) and heart (relational capital).
Organisational Learning: Conceptual Links to Individual Learning, Learning Organisation and Knowledge Management
Authors: Hoe Siu Loon
Published: September 2007

Organisational learning has over the years been subject of much study by scholars and managers. In the process, the organisational learning concept has been linked to many other knowledge concepts such as individual learning, learning organisation, and knowledge management. This paper draws from existing literature in organisational behaviour, human resource management, marketing, and information management, to further develop the conceptual links between organisational learning and these knowledge concepts. The paper discusses the characteristics of organisational learning and emphasises its link to individual learning, the learning organisation, and knowledge management. It contributes to the conceptual and theoretical understanding of organisational learning and its relationship to these knowledge concepts from a multidisciplinary perspective.
A Survey of Knowledge Management Adoption in Public Administration
Authors: Handzic Meliha , Lagumdzija Amila , Celjo Amer
Published: September 2007

This paper reports the results of a survey of the adoption of knowledge management (KM) in the public administration organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The results indicate that these organisations have a good understanding of the value of their knowledge assets, that they are in the process of implementing some form of strategy to manage these assets, and that they face obstacles in this process that are mainly outside their control. The overall picture also shows that KM practices in BiH are being implemented at similar levels as other countries in all aspects except measurement and technology. This suggests that BiH needs to catch up with the more advanced countries by accelerating application of these two KM initiatives.
Engineering Geology in the Urban Environment
Authors: Price David George
Published: September 2007

Engineering geology involves the appreciation of a wide range of earth and engineering sciences so that it is particularly appropriate to the study of problems of ground conditions that arise in engineering works undertaken in the urban environment. The paper discusses the relationship between the historical expansion of urban areas and their engineering geology problems; these problems are classified and illustrated. The difficulties and limitations of site investigation work in urban areas are described and the role of engineering geology in town planning is discussed.
The role of the Engineering Geologist during construction
Authors: Rawlings Graham Edward
Published: September 2007

The paper describes the functions that the engineering geologist may be required to perform whilst employed as part of the construction team during project development. Examples are provided from major schemes within the author's experience illustrating the essential part the geologist has to play. The role of the engineering geologist during construction is evaluated and conclusions drawn.
Simple equations for determining the Factor of Safety of a planar wedge under various groundwater conditions
Authors: Stimpson B.
Published: September 2007

In this paper, some simple equations are developed for determining the Factor of Safety of slopes against planar sliding under a variety of groundwater conditions. The latter include a dry slope (with or without a tension crack), a saturated slope (with or without a tension crack), and partly saturated slopes with conditions of horizontal or bi-linear phreatic surfaces. The simple equations provide a means of rapidly determining Factors of Safety using a pocket calculator in situations where an approximate first estimate is required. The general equation can be used to calculate Factors of Safety for non-linear phreatic surfaces.
The magnitude of displacement along clay mylonite shear zones
Authors: Stimpson B.
Published: September 2007

In 1970 Stimpson & Walton reported on the presence of thin clay bands, tentatively (and perhaps inappropriately) named ‘clay mylonites’, in core recovered from the Northumberland and Durham Coalfield, England. The geotechnical properties of these layers were investigated and the results reported at the First International Congress of the International Association of Engineering Geology in Paris. Apart from the low direct shear strengths of these thin layers and the excellent drilling and careful core logging that must be undertaken in order to detect them, the most scientifically interesting aspect of the laboratory test data was a relationship between the thickness of the ‘clay mylonite’ and its shear strength (
Fig. 1
); the thicker layers had a greater shear strength than the thinner layers. A possible model to explain this feature is to consider the shear zone as comprising a series of parallel surfaces stacked one upon the other, each of which undergoes some shear displacement. The total shear displacement of the shear zone is the sum of all the internal shear displacements. According to this model, a thin layer would have fewer internal surfaces and, hence, for the same total shear displacement each internal surface would suffer a greater displacement than in a thick clay mylonite. Thus, it would be anticipated that a thin clay mylonite would have a lower shear strength than a thick clay mylonite, i.e. it is closer to its ultimate shear strength.

The magnitude of displacement along the clay mylonite bands is a matter of
Discussion on ‘Least-squares fitting of the linear Mohr envelope’ by R. J. Lisle & C. S. Strom
Authors: Bland J. A.
Published: September 2007

J. A. Bland writes: A similar approach to the least-squares fitting of the linear Mohr envelope has been presented by Bland (1980, 1981).

Here the theoretical tangent is τ = a¡ +
c
and for each Mohr circule
m
=½(¡
3
+ ¡
1
), r =½(¡
3
-¡
1
).

Now the above equations (1) and (2) yield equations identical to equations (2) of Lisle & Strom. Furthermore, equations (1) and (2) of Bland (1981) [the iteration in Bland (1980) is not necessary] together with equation (12) of Bland (1980) yield equations (3) of Lisle & Strom.

Another least-squares fitting of the linear Mohr envelope is given by Craig (1974) where the problem is considered in (
m
,
r
) space (cf. Fig. 2). Here γ=
a
¡+
c
becomes
r
=a′
m
+
c
′ and standard linear regression is used to determine
a
′ and
c
′. The shear strength parameters ϕ and
c
are then determined from
The application of microcomputer technology to the automation of physical testing in engineering geology
Authors: McNair Martin A.
Published: September 2007

The major problem in the automation of physical measurement with microcomputers is the interfacing of transducer devices and developing a means of monitoring them. Although many solutions are available, they generally involve microcomputer technology; the range of choices is very confusing, especially to those unfamiliar with this type of computer application. A testing engineer wishing to produce a data logging system invariably has to learn about interfacing technology, or the expertise has to be bought in at considerable cost.

The autonomous data acquisition unit (ADU) has been designed to overcome these problems by combining adaptable hardware and software in one unit. It is an intelligent data logging device that can accept a wide range of transducers and monitor them in virtually any manner desired. The ADU is simple to program from most popular makes of microcomputer. All readings gathered are stored in its own solid state memory until requested by the user. Since all the necessary data logging functions are in the ADU, the problem is drastically simplified. All the user has to do is specify the tests to be carried out and retrieve the readings when required. Process control can be added as an option for applying intelligent control to pressures, loads, rates of flow, etc.

The ADU is a universal tool that offers particular advantages for the engineering geologist for automating field and laboratory testing. Typical rock mechanics applications would be strain gauge measurements of rock cores,
in situ
stress and load measurements, modulus measurements, and monitoring settlements and ground movement.
The hydrogeochemistry of the Lower Greensand aquifers south of London, England
Authors: Morgan-Jones M.
Published: September 2007

Hydrogeochemical studies of the Folkestone Beds and Hythe Beds aquifers of the Lower Greensand formation of Surrey and Hampshire indicate that both aquifers are very depleted in readily soluble mineral species. The lack of such minerals, particularly the carbonates, removes a potential buffer control upon acidic recharge water and ensures that the unconfined groundwaters in both aquifers exhibit pH values generally less than 7.0 and have low concentrations of total dissolved solids. At the onset of confined conditions the dissolved oxygen is rapidly removed and the redox potential Eh decreases as the aquifer conditions become strongly reducing. Saline water is present at depth in the confined zones. Apart from iron and manganese all heavy metal concentrations are low, most samples exhibiting values around the detection limit of 0.01 mg/litre. Tritium and stable isotope analyses indicate that confined borehole sources are abstracting a gradually increasing component of post-1953 recharge water. All sources contain tritium concentrations in excess of 5 tritium units and some have concentrations exceeding 15 tritium units.
Assessing ground conditions of small sites by aerial infrared photography
Authors: Weltman Austin
Published: September 2007

The false-colour infrared photograph of Lightmoor Tip in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Fig. 1) was taken using a radio controlled camera plane. The tip is associated with past coal extraction from the Carboniferous Limestone. In this example, infrared and natural colour aerial photography were used to determine topographical and subsurface information.

Geomorphological and ecological processes have created various microenvironments at the site. The majority of the soil supports vegetation. The aerial infrared photograph shows not only the major plant communities, but also their health and relative densities. Dark red to dark pink areas correspond to healthy, dense growths of vegetation, whilst colour tones of pink and grey depict poor or stressed vegetation. Exposed substrates and routeways appear greenish blue to light grey. Increased amounts of surface moisture result in darkening of ground colours.

A short grass community forms the initial colonizer of the tip and dominates the site. Grass health is poor on steep slopes, particularly over rock and scree debris, where vegetation is absent in places. Notably healthy, dense growths of grass are visible in zones where there may be water collection or seepage. A second natural community, consisting of gorse and low shrubs, is present on more sheltered and gentle slopes. The majority of this vegetation is thin and in poor health. Development from the short grass to scrub vegetation has progressed where the slopes are stable. The configurations of these slopes and nature of the vegetation would suggest that they represent older scree debris.

Figure 2
Plume heads, continental lithosphere, flood basalts and tomography
Authors: Anderson Don L. , Zhang Yu-Shen , Tanimoto Toshiro
Published: September 2007

High-resolution uppermantle tomographic models are interpreted in terms of plate tectonics, hotspots and plume theories. Ridges correlate with very low velocity areas to a depth of 100 km, probably a result of passively induced upwelling and partial melting. Past positions of ridges also exhibit very low seismic velocities in the uppermantle. At depths greater than 100 km, some low velocity anomalies (LVA) may record past positions of migrating ridges. Buoyant upwellings induced by spreading do not track the migration of surface ridges; they lag behind.

At depths greater than about 150 km many LVA (Atlantic and Indian oceans) are more closely related to hotspots, and past positions of ridges than to current ridge locations. In the upper 200 km of the mantle, back-arc and continental extension areas are generally slower than hotspot mantle, possibly reflecting partially molten and/or hydrous mantle. The Pacific ocean ridges tend to be LVA, and probably hot, to about 400 km depth.

The surface locations of hotspots, ridges and continental basaltic magmatism seem to require a combination of hot uppermantle and suitable lithospheric conditions, presumably the existence of tensile stresses. The high-velocity regions of the upper 200 km of the mantle correlate with Archaean cratons. Below 300 km the regions of generally fast seismic velocity, and therefore cold mantle, correlate with regions probably underlain by ancient slabs, where the uppermantle may be cooled from below. A moving plate, overriding a hot region, and being put into tension, will behave as if it were being impacted from below by a giant plume head.

At sublithospheric depths there are very large LVA (VLVA) in the Pacific and Indian oceans and in the North and South Atlantics. The large continental and oceanic flood basalt provinces seem to have formed over these large, presumably hot, regions. These VLVA do not appear to be plume heads nor is there any obvious damage to the lithosphere under the present locations of flood and plateau basalt provinces. The uppermantle does not appear to be isothermal; the LVA are not restricted to hotspot locations.

We suggest that LVA are hotcells in the uppermantle which reflect, in part, the absence of subduction cooling. Plate tectonic induced rifting causes massive magmatism if the break occurs over hotcells, i.e. low-seismic velocity regions. Flood basalts (CFB) may result from the upwellings of already hot, even partially molten, mantle. In contrast to plume heads and plume tails, hotcells are robust features which are fixed relative to one another. They are most pronounced in parts of the mantle that have not been cooled by subduction. There is a close relationship between CFB initiation sites, LVA and ridges and, we believe, hotcells.
The stress regime associated with continental break-up
Authors: Bott Martin H. P.
Published: September 2007

Extensional syn-rift structures at passive margins indicate that continental break-up occurs in response to horizontal deviatoric tension in the continental lithosphere. An abrupt change in the state of stress occurs at the onset of the post-rift (break-up) unconformity when the large tension ceases. The stress regime at the time of continental break-up has been modelled by finite element analysis with a view to simulating the observed features.

A local compression is associated with thinned crust and an opposing local tension is produced by hot, low density upwelled asthenosphere. The resulting stress associated with stretching and thinning of the lithosphere is relatively insignificant and is likely to be compressive unless the normal continental crust is very thin. One possible source of break-up tension is the large tensional loading stress associated with an underlying hot, low density upper mantle, such as now occurs in the present day uplifted continental rift systems. It is uncertain whether such local tension could readily cause break-up within the present compressional stress regime of normal continental regions. Another possible source of wide-spread continental tension would be the occurrence of subduction on opposite sides of a large continental mass such as Pangaea, giving rise to instability. At such times, splitting could more readily propagate outwards from a domed plume region leading to break-up, thus involving both active and passive factors. The radical change in stress regime at the onset of seafloor spreading is readily modelled as the change in stress associated with the development of a new weak plate boundary.
Deccan-related magmatism west of the Seychelles-India rift
Authors: Devey C. W. , Stephens W. E.
Published: September 2007

The rocks of the Seychelles can be divided into two age groups, namely Precambrian granites and younger (Cretaceous/Tertiary) intrusive rocks. The latter can be further subdivided into alkaline ring complexes (as found on the islands of Silhouette and North Island) and basic dykes (on Praslin, Felicité and Mahé islands). Evidence from offshore seismic work and drill holes suggests that Cretaceous/Tertiary magmatism occurred over the whole Seychelles Bank, producing both flood basalts and central volcanic complexes. The flood basalts extend at least as far south as 10°S/60°E.

The younger igneous rocks of the Seychelles show close similarities to the Deccan igneous rocks of India. Tholeiitic dykes from Praslin have previously been shown to resemble Bushe Formation tholeiites from the Deccan, and here we show that the Felicité Island dykes also resemble Bushe. We show also that the alkaline dykes of Mahé and North Island are chemically similar to the dykes at Murud on the west coast of India. Isotopically the Seychelles undersaturated rocks fall within the fields of the Deccan tholeiites.

In India, alkaline magmatism post-dates the tholeiitic magmatism; the age difference is of the order of 3 Ma. This is similar to the age difference between shield-building and rejuvenated-stage magmatism on Hawaiian volcanoes, which has been related to reactivation of the volcanoes by the passage of the Hawaiian Arch. We propose that the Deccan alkaline magmatism is a continental equivalent of oceanic rejuvenated-stage volcanism.
Palaeohydrological reconstruction: advantages and disadvantages
Authors: Starkel L.
Published: September 2007

The study of continental palaeohydrology is a young branch of science which has drawn on knowledge of the mechanisms, and observations, of present-day processes to reconstruct past hydrological conditions. Patterns of annual precipitation and evaporation, for example, can be determined from the distribution of plant communities or by dendrochronological techniques, lake-level variations can provide an indication of water storage fluctuations, reconstructions of runoff, particularly bankfull discharge and mean annual discharge can be based on palaeochannel form and sedimentology, and extreme floods can be studied using slack-water deposits. All of these techniques rely on the acceptance of assumptions which may not always be valid. It is therefore important that several different methods are used to provide a collaborative approach both to validating methods and in determining the driving force of hydrological changes.
Erosion and sediment yield in a changing environment
Authors: Walling D. E.
Published: September 2007

Existing assessments of patterns of global sediment flux from the land to the oceans and of global patterns of sediment yield have tended to treat the global denudational system as a static system. There is, however, increasing evidence that the sediment loads of the world’s rivers have changed significantly as a result of human activity and interference. As well as being of scientific interest, such changes have important environmental and economic implications and should be included in current concerns for the impact of global change on the Earth’s environment. Lack of reliable long-term records precludes a detailed assessment of longer-term and recent changes in suspended sediment transport by world rivers, but the available information can be supplemented by evidence from several other sources, which include the long-term geological perspective, lake sediment records, catchment experiments and space-time substitution; all of which provide valuable information concerning the sensitivity of river sediment loads to environmental change and the magnitude of the changes involved. There is evidence of significant increases and decreases in sediment yields in many areas of the world. Any attempt to relate such changes in sediment loads to environmental change within the upstream drainage basin must, however, take account of the complexity of the sediment delivery system.
Palaeo and historical flood hydrology, Indian Peninsula
Authors: Kale Vishwas S. , Ely Lisa L. , Enzel Yehouda , Baker Victor R.
Published: September 2007

The Indian Peninsula has many rivers that flow through bedrock gorges, providing excellent sites for the emplacement and preservation of late Holocene slackwater sediments and palaeostage indicators. Preliminary surveys of palaeoflood hydrology at these sites and the available historical data (since 1700) indicate considerable spatial and temporal variability of the largest flood events. There appear to be complex associations with the monsoon and with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon that will require further study as more palaeoflood records are developed at the study sites. Data available thus far indicate a modern (post-1950) epoch of very large floods that may exceed the magnitudes of events over the last millennium.
Conodont bio-events, cladistics and response to glacio-eustasy, Ordovician-Silurian boundary through Llandovery, Anticosti Basin, Québec
Authors: Zhang Shunxin , Barnes Christopher R.
Published: September 2007

Conodont diversity was severely reduced during the terminal Ordovician mass extinction. Few species, mainly coniform taxa, survived across the Ordovician-Silurian boundary. The nature and timing of the post-extinction recovery and diversification have previously been difficult to assess, due to limited knowledge and preservation of the earliest Silurian faunas. Recent documentation of early Llandovery conodont faunas from a complete stratigraphic succession on Anticosti Island, Québec, along with the data re-examined from earlier detailed studies, provides the basis for a new analysis. Five evolutionary cycles are recognized through the Llandovery, together with a distinct set of bio-events that are interpreted as immigration, emigration, origination, and extinction events through consideration of global occurrence data for Llandovery conodonts. These events are supported by the detailed sampling and stratigraphic range data, as well as the first cladistic analysis of the four key genera:
Oulodus, Ozarkodina, Pterospathodus
, and
Rexroadus
. The Anticosti Basin may have been an important centre of evolutionary radiation, given that several genera and species have first appearances in this region and that initial evolutionary lineages can be established for many taxa. Many faunal variations appear to be correlated to eustatic events as well as the changing ocean-climate state through this boundary interval.
Palynostratigraphy of the classic Portland and Purbeck sequences of Dorset, southern England, and the correlation of Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary beds in the Tethyan and Boreal realms
Authors: Hunt Chris O.
Published: September 2007

Placement of the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary and its correlation between the Tethyan and Boreal realms are still contentious. The distribution of stratigraphically significant dinoflagellate cysts in the Portland Stone and Purbeck formations of the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, UK provides a basis for direct correlation between these sections and the type Berriasian in southeast France. The base of the Berriasian — and thus of the currently accepted Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary — most probably lies at the base of the Cypris Freestones in the Purbeck Formation. Miospore correlation between the Dorset sections and ammonite-bearing rocks in the Spilsby Province suggests that the base of the Cretaceous lies close to the base of the
Subcraspidites preplicomphalus
zone in the Boreal Realm.
Chronostratigraphy of proposed Turonian-Coniacian (Upper Cretaceous) stage boundary stratotypes: Salzgitter-Salder, Germany, and Wagon Mound, New Mexico, USA
Authors: Sikora Paul J. , Howe Richard W. , Gale Andrew S. , Stein Jeffrey A.
Published: September 2007

A knowledgeable choice for a stage boundary stratotype is dependent upon obtaining high-resolution stratigraphic data. Detailed analyses conducted for the two potential Turonian-Coniacian stage boundary stratotypes that were considered at the Second Cretaceous Stage Boundary Symposium provide both positive and negative insights for consideration. The Salzgitter-Salder Quarry in central Germany (which was recommended by the symposium) contains abundant bivalve fossils, including the recommended boundary datum: the lowest occurrence of the inoceramid bivalve
Cremnoceramus deformis erectus
. Foraminifera are also abundant, but extensive diagenetic recrystallization seriously degrades nannofossil and palynomorph recovery and limits the potential of the section for stable isotope stratigraphy and radiometric dating. Furthermore, palaeoenvironmental analysis indicates that much of the Salzgitter stage boundary interval has resulted from allochthonous sedimentation, indicating that the well-developed lithological cyclicity between limestone and marlstone that occurs in the section is largely autocyclic. The orbital cyclostratigraphic potential of the section is therefore also in question.

The Wagon Mound outcrop in northeastern New Mexico, USA, has good recovery and biostratigraphic control for all three microfossil groups, but the base of
C. deformis erectus
occurs above the section, by definition placing the section entirely in the Upper Turonian Well-preserved ammonites and inoceramid bivalves are also recoverable in over half of this section. Facies have not been recrystallized and represent continuous autochthonous sedimentation with sharply defined lithological cyclicity between limestone/marlstone couplets on a fine stratigraphic scale. In addition, a number of bentonites with proven datability occur in the section. Thus the bio- and chemostratigraphic dating potential, as well as the radiometric dating potential, of the section are good. However, much of the section is composed of carbonaceous, dysoxic facies with abnormal marine micro- and macrofossil assemblages, limiting study of the stratigraphic or palaeoecological trends leading up to the boundary.

The absence of the datum at Wagon Mound is puzzling, because microfossil biostratigraphy suggests that the section is substantially coeval with the Salzgitter-Salder section. The
C. deformis erectus
datum may thus be diachronous. Until the suitability of the recommended boundary datum is addressed, a reasoned choice of a section for the boundary stratotype is not possible. In any case, the absence of
C. deformis erectus
and the abnormal facies in the lower part of the Wagon Mound section, and the extensive diagenesis and partly allochthonous nature of the Salzgitter-Salder section, are serious enough problems to warrant rejection of both sections as stratotypes.
Upper Palaeocene and Lower Eocene interval in the Dieppe–Hampshire Basin: biostratigraphic analysis based on pyritized diatoms
Authors: van Eetvelde Y. , Dupuis C.
Published: September 2007

Assemblages of brackish and marine pyritized diatoms have been examined from Thanetian and Ypresian sediments in the Dieppe–Hampshire Basin. Two sites were studied: the borehole of Saint-Josse and sections at Ailly, both located in northern France. Pyritized diatoms are preserved in the deposits by epigenesis or as internal moulds by the growth of pyrite crystals in internal cavities. In both sites studied, most groups of
in situ
microfossils (e.g. dinoflagellates, foraminifera, nannoplankton) were extremely rare or absent, in contrast to pyritized diatoms, which showed good recovery, thereby proving their utility across this interval. The Palaeocene-Eocene boundary referred to this study is the official boundary defined by the Carbon Isotope Excursion. This is recorded in both sites studied. Diatom assemblages change character through the stratigraphic sequence, with three major diatom assemblages being defined which provide a key reference marker for the Palaeocene-Eocene boundary sediments from the Dieppe–Hampshire Basin. The first assemblage, D1, is characterized by the abundance peak of
Coscinodiscus morsianus
var.
moelleri
and
Coscinodiscus morsianus
var.
morsianus
. This assemblage is recorded in Thanetian and Lower Sparnacian facies. The second assemblage, D2, is defined by the abundance peak of
Fenestrella antiqua
, the downhole occurrence of
Coscinodiscus morsianus
sp., and a great diversity of circular diatoms. The upper part of this zone is marked by the greatest occurrence of
Fenestrella antiqua
and the extinction of
Coscinodiscus morsianus
var.
moelleri
. This assemblage corresponds with the upper part of the Sparnacian facies. The last assemblage (D3), of Early Ypresian age, is characterized by the presence of
Aulacodiscus, Trinacria, Craspedodiscus
and the great diversity of triangular, oval and bipolar species; these are held to indicate a marked increase in marine influence. These diatom assemblages from the Dieppe–Hampshire Basin show similarities to those from the North Sea Basin. Correlations between these two basins are possible by the use of pyritized diatoms. Thanks to these correlations, it is now possible to locate the Carbon Isotope Excursion in the North Sea Basin.
Palaeobiotope analysis and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Palaeocene-Early Eocene ostracodes from east-central Sinai, Egypt
Authors: Elewa Ashraf M. T. , Morsi Abdel-Mohsen M.
Published: September 2007

Quantitative study of the ostracode assemblages from the Palaeocene to Early Eocene succession exposed along the area of east-central Sinai extending from the Egma Plateau in the south to Areif El Naqa in the north, using cluster analysis based on the customary presence/absence data matrix of frequencies (the Jaccard coefficient of similarity), has resulted in the distinction of five ecozones in the Early Palaeocene to Early Eocene intervals. Correspondence analysis applied to the same data matrix has led to the identification of five environmental factors affecting the distribution of the whole ostracode assemblage of the study area. These are the time factor or vertical distribution (second latent vector), water depth (third latent vector), degree of energy (fourth latent vector), water temperature as a function of depth (fifth latent vector), and oxygen concentration (sixth latent vector). From this, the prevailing palaeoenvironments in the study area during the Early Palaeocene to Early Eocene times have been reconstructed. A distinct faunal change has been detected at the Palaeocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) as indicated by the second latent vector.
Highlighting the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition in Italian and French large-mammal faunas: similarities and faunal renewals
Authors: Palombo Maria R. , Valli Andrea M. F.
Published: September 2007

A similarity analysis between the large-mammal faunas of France and the Italian peninsula for the Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene highlights the taxonomic and structural renewal of large-mammal assemblages that took place at the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition. This faunal renewal coincides with a period of climatic deterioration revealed by the spread of grasslands that supported more abundant ‘cold’ taxa. Nevertheless, both in France and in Italy, this passage is not marked by a real turnover (i.e. the complete or almost complete renewal of a mammal fauna), but by an extinction phase followed by a dispersal event.
Hominin responses to Pleistocene environmental change in Arabia and South Asia
Authors: Petraglia Michael D.
Published: September 2007

Palaeoanthropologists typically outline human evolution within a framework of Pleistocene environmental change. Environmental change occurring across the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition is examined relative to patterns of hominin dispersal, ecological adaptations, cognitive advances and behavioural flexibility. Although climatic information has been used as the backdrop to human evolution, major lacunae exist in our understanding of the ecological settings where hominins evolved. Data from investigations conducted in the Arabian peninsula and the Indian subcontinent are reviewed, indicating the nature of Palaeolithic localities and their physical settings. Although much information remains to be obtained from these terrestrial records, significant changes are recognized in the environmental and archaeological record. The Early-Middle Pleistocene transition shows some conservative trends in hominin adaptations and technology, yet it is also an interval that evidences an increasing ability to transcend environmental controls through a greater level of behavioural flexibility and innovation.
Geometric Morphometrics
Authors: Slice Dennis E.
Published: September 2007

Morphometrics, the field of biological shape analysis, has undergone major change in recent years. Most of this change has been due to the development and adoption of methods to analyze the Cartesian coordinates of anatomical landmarks. These geometric morphometric (GM) methods focus on the retention of geometric information throughout a study and provide efficient, statistically powerful analyses that can readily relate abstract, multivariate results to the physical structure of the original specimens. Physical anthropology has played a central role in both the development and the early adoption of these methods, just as it has done in the realm of general statistics, where it has served as a major motivating and contributing force behind much innovation. This review surveys the current state of GM, the role of anthropologists in its development, recent applications of GM in physical anthropology, and GM-based methods newly introduced to, or by, anthropology, which are likely to impact future research.
Genetic Basis of Physical Fitness
Authors: Montgomery Hugh , Safari Latif
Published: September 2007

Environmental stimuli interact with common genetic variants to determine individual characteristics including physical performance: ∼80% of variation in arm eccentric flexor strength and grip strength may be genetically determined. However, many physical characteristics and physiological processes determine physical performance, and each is regulated by a large number of genes: strong genetic influences on maximum exertional oxygen uptake, heart size, lean mass, skeletal muscle growth, and bone mineral density have all been described. To date few variants strongly influencing global performance have been identified. One such is the presence (Insertion, I allele) rather than absence (Deletion, D allele) of a DNA segment in the gene encoding angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE): The I allele has been associated with fatigue resistance/endurance, and the D-allele with strength gain.
Legacies of Derrida: Anthropology
Authors: Morris Rosalind C.
Published: September 2007

This article considers the legacies of Jacques Derrida in and for Anglo-American sociocultural anthropology. It begins with a survey of Derrida's own engagement with themes that have historically been foundational to the field: (a) the critique of sign theory and, with it, the questions of language and law in Lévi-Straussian structuralism; (b) the question of the unconscious; (c) the critique of the performative and its consequences for the idea of ritual; (d) the rereading of Marcel Mauss's concept of the gift, and of economy more generally; and (e) the analysis of the metaphysical basis of law, in both religious and ostensibly secular formations. It then considers the state of the field at the time when it was being infused with different forms of poststructuralism and explores the competing claims made by these discourses in relation to deconstruction. Finally, after tracing the convergences and divergences between Derridean deconstruction and theory in sociocultural anthropology, it treats two main examples of works produced against and under the influence of Derrida's thought, respectively.
Wafer Contamination Analysis, Speciation and Reference-free Nanolayer Characterization using Synchrotron Radiation based X-ray Spectrometry
Authors: Beckhoff Burkhard , Fliegauf Rolf , Kolbe Michael , Müller Matthias , Pollakowski Beatrix , Weser Jan , Ulm Gerhard
Published: September 2007

Total-reflection, grazing-incidence and reference-free X-ray fluorescence analysis employing synchrotron radiation can substantially contribute to the contamination analysis and speciation on semiconductor surfaces as well as to the non-destructive characterization of nanolayered systems allowing for high information depths.
Thin Film Analysis and Model Interface Characterization Studies of Relevance to Microelectronics
Authors: Dontas Ioannis , Papaefthimiou Vasiliki , Kennou Styliani , Ladas Spyridon
Published: September 2007

In order to demonstrate the application of surface sensitive techniques in microelectronics-related model interface studies, two such examples of recent work at the SSL are briefly presented. The first involves the controlled growth of the interface between a conjugated organic semiconducting film (Ooct-OPV5, an oligomer of PPV) and p-doped Si(111), which is relevant to hybrid organic/inorganic microelectronic devices. The second example concerns the comparative study of in situ grown metal/6H-SiC (0001) interfaces using a series of metals with different work functions, which is relevant to Schottky contact formation in devices. Using a combination of spectroscopic and other techniques in each case, information concerning film composition and electronic structure, interfacial chemistry, band bending and interface dipole formation are obtained, leading to band line-up diagrams, from which band offsets or carrier injection barriers can be estimated.
Application of Selected Electron Microscopy Methods to Materials Analysis Problems
Authors: Rucki Andreas , Cerva Hans
Published: September 2007

Materials analysis problems often demand site-specific preparation at sub µm scale and element analysis at nm scale. Focused ion beam instruments and field emission transmission electron microscopes are instruments offering appropriate methods. This contribution features different applications: We show how EDX/EELS investigations help to understand the mechanism and the different stages of worm corrosion encountered during the manufacturing of aluminum interconnects. We present calibration data suitable for the quantitative determination of Ge in SiGe material by EFTEM/ESI at sub 10 nm scale. We describe a 3D defect analysis technique for silicon devices which combines defect localization in thick plan-view samples by 400 kV TEM with subsequent FIB cross-sectioning of the plan-view specimen. We demonstrate the application of FIB tomography to the characterization of delaminations at a chip / molding compound interface.
Characterization of Nickel-related Defects in Thin SOI Substrates after Thermal Treatment
Authors: Rink Ingrid , Emons Carry
Published: September 2007

By means of thermal treatment of blanket wafers, the impact of nickel contamination (applied on the wafer surface) on defect formation in Silicon on Isolator (SOI)-material during oxidation has been studied. Methods like determination of defect density by microscopic control after extended vapor phase decomposition and preferential etching, minority carrier lifetime measurements and vapor phase decomposition - Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry were used to characterize the effect and the redistribution of nickel through the handle wafer after oxidation. It is shown that with the same nickel concentration at the wafer surface the highest defect density is caused in the thinnest SOI-layer after oxidation not dependent from the thermal budget. Furthermore, it is found that nickel diffuses through the buried oxide and might relax the allowable limits nickel at the wafer frontside before oxidation, because it is after oxidation dissolved in the handle wafer. However, the backside contamination with nickel becomes more critical because by the reverse diffusion nickel can reach the frontside and form defects