bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
We Should All Have a Little List
The Checklist Manifesto
How to Get Things Right

by Atul Gawande

Metropolitan Books (Henry Holt), New York, 2010. 221 pp. $24.50, C$29.50. ISBN 9780805091748.
Authors: Goldman Michael A.
Published: June 2010

Gawande demonstrates that following simple do-this lists helps avoid serious errors in settings from airplane cockpits to operating rooms.
U.S. Effort to Reach Out to Muslim-Majority Nations Begins to Bear Fruit
Authors: Stone Richard
Published: June 2010

Indonesia and the United States have just inked their first S&T agreement, which is now awaiting ratification by Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Two high-profile initiatives are in the works.
What’s Hypusine Got to Do with Diabetes? Well, Maybe a Lot!
Authors: Bremer Andrew A.
Published: June 2010

Depleting an unusual amino acid found only in a translation initiation factor in islet cells improves β cell function in mice and humans, potentially treating diabetes.
Blood-Based Diagnostics—A Biopsy Surrogate
Authors: Damani Samir
Published: June 2010

A gene-expression profile accurately predicts the risk for transplant rejection.
GeneXpert Captures Unstable Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
Prone to Rapidly Losing the
mecA
Gene
Authors: Ciardo Diana E. , Burger Sibylle , Payer Michael , Lee Christian , McCallum Nadine
Published: June 2010

A cefoxitin-susceptible
Staphylococcus aureus
strain was identified by the Cepheid GeneXpert as methicillin-resistant
S. aureus
(MRSA). This strain was highly unstable and rapidly lost SCC
mec
upon subculturing
in vitro
, indicating that unstable MRSA is best detected by gene amplification-based methods.
Polo-Like Kinase 1 Is Involved in Hepatitis C Virus Replication by Hyperphosphorylating NS5A
Authors: Chen Yung-Chia , Su Wen-Chi , Huang Jing-Ying , Chao Ti-Chun , Jeng King-Song , Machida Keigo , Lai Michael M. C.
Published: June 2010

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication involves many viral and host factors. Here, we employed a lentivirus-based RNA interference (RNAi) screening approach to search for possible cellular factors. By using a kinase-phosphatase RNAi library and an HCV replicon reporter system, we identified a serine-threonine kinase, Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), as a potential host factor regulating HCV replication. Knockdown of Plk1 reduced both HCV RNA replication and nonstructural (NS) protein production in both HCV replicon cells and HCV-infected cells while it did not significantly affect host cellular growth or cell cycle. Overexpression of Plk1 in the knockdown cells rescued HCV replication. Interestingly, the ratio between the hyperphosphorylated form (p58) and the basal phosphorylated form (p56) of NS5A was lower in the Plk1 knockdown cells and Plk1 kinase inhibitor-treated cells than in the control groups. Further studies showed that Plk1 could be immunoprecipitated together with NS5A. Both proteins partially colocalized in the perinuclear region. Furthermore, Plk1 could phosphorylate NS5A to both the p58 and p56 forms in an
in vitro
assay system; the phosphorylation efficiency was comparable to that of the reported casein kinase. Taken together, this study shows that Plk1 is an NS5A phosphokinase and thereby indirectly regulates HCV RNA replication. Because of the differential effects of Plk1 on HCV replication and host cell growth, Plk1 could potentially serve as a target for anti-HCV therapy.
Random Transposon-Mediated Mutagenesis of the Essential Large Tegument Protein pUL36 of Pseudorabies Virus
Authors: Möhl Britta S. , Böttcher Sindy , Granzow Harald , Fuchs Walter , Klupp Barbara G. , Mettenleiter Thomas C.
Published: June 2010

Homologs of the pseudorabies virus (PrV) essential large tegument protein pUL36 are conserved throughout the
Herpesviridae
. pUL36 functions during transport of the nucleocapsid to and docking at the nuclear pore as well as during virion formation after nuclear egress in the cytoplasm. Deletion analyses revealed several nonessential regions within the 3,084-amino-acid PrV pUL36 (S. Böttcher, B. G. Klupp, H. Granzow, W. Fuchs, K. Michael, and T. C. Mettenleiter, J. Virol. 80:9910-9915, 2006; S. Böttcher, H. Granzow, C. Maresch, B. Möhl, B. G. Klupp, and T. C. Mettenleiter, J. Virol. 81:13403-13411, 2007), while the C-terminal 62 amino acids are essential for virus replication (K. Coller, J. Lee, A. Ueda, and G. Smith, J. Virol. 81:11790-11797, 2007). To identify additional functional domains, we performed random mutagenesis of PrV pUL36 by transposon-mediated insertion of a 15-bp linker. By this approach, 26 pUL36 insertion mutants were selected and tested in transient transfection assays for their ability to complement one-step growth and/or viral spread of a PrV UL36 null mutant. Ten insertion mutants in the N-terminal half and 10 in the C terminus complemented both, whereas six insertion mutants clustering in the center of the protein did not complement in either assay. Interestingly, several insertions within conserved parts yielded positive complementation, including those located within the essential C-terminal 62 amino acids. For 15 mutants that mediated productive replication, stable virus recombinants were isolated and further characterized by plaque assay,
in vitro
growth analysis, and electron microscopy. Except for three mutant viruses, most insertion mutants replicated like wild-type PrV. Two insertion mutants, at amino acids (aa) 597 and 689, were impaired in one-step growth and viral spread and exhibited a defect in virion maturation in the cytoplasm. In contrast, one functional insertion (aa 1800) in a region which otherwise yielded only nonfunctional insertion mutants was impaired in viral spread but not in one-step growth without a distinctive ultrastructural phenotype. In summary, these studies extend and refine previous analyses of PrV pUL36 and demonstrate the different sensitivities of different regions of the protein to functional loss by insertion.
Determinants in 3D
pol
Modulate the Rate of Growth of Hepatitis A Virus
Authors: Konduru Krishnamurthy , Kaplan Gerardo G.
Published: June 2010

Hepatitis A virus (HAV), an atypical member of the
Picornaviridae
, grows poorly in cell culture. To define determinants of HAV growth, we introduced a blasticidin (Bsd) resistance gene into the virus genome and selected variants that grew at high concentrations of Bsd. The mutants grew fast and had increased rates of RNA replication and translation but did not produce significantly higher virus yields. Nucleotide sequence analysis and reverse genetic studies revealed that a T6069G change resulting in a F42L amino acid substitution in the viral polymerase (3D
pol
) was required for growth at high Bsd concentrations whereas a silent C7027T mutation enhanced the growth rate. Here, we identified a novel determinant(s) in 3D
pol
that controls the kinetics of HAV growth.
Molecular Characterization ofIn VivoAdjuvant Activity in Ferrets Vaccinated against Influenza Virus
Authors: Fang Yuan , Rowe Thomas , Leon Alberto J. , Banner David , Danesh Ali , Xu Luoling , Ran Longsi , Bosinger Steven E. , Guan Yi , Chen Honglin , Cameron Cheryl C. , Cameron Mark J. , Kelvin David J.
Published: June 2010

The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic has prompted a significant need for the development of efficient, single-dose, adjuvanted vaccines. Here we investigated the adjuvant potential of CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) when used with a human seasonal influenza virus vaccine in ferrets. We found that the CpG ODN-adjuvanted vaccine effectively increased antibody production and activated type I interferon (IFN) responses compared to vaccine alone. Based on these findings, pegylated IFN-α2b (PEG-IFN) was also evaluated as an adjuvant in comparison to CpG ODN and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Our results showed that all three vaccines with adjuvant added prevented seasonal human A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1) virus replication more effectively than did vaccine alone. Gene expression profiles indicated that, as well as upregulating IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), CpG ODN enhanced B-cell activation and increased Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and IFN regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) expression, whereas PEG-IFN augmented adaptive immunity by inducing major histocompatibility complex (MHC) transcription and Ras signaling. In contrast, the use of CFA as an adjuvant induced limited ISG expression but increased the transcription of MHC, cell adhesion molecules, and B-cell activation markers. Taken together, our results better characterize the specific molecular pathways leading to adjuvant activity in different adjuvant-mediated influenza virus vaccinations.
Effects of Electroacupuncture on Local Anaesthesia for Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial
Authors: Dias Marcio , Carneiro Norton Moritz , Guerra Luiz Antônio Vanni , Velarde Guillermo Coca , de Souza Pedro Assaf Teixeira , da Silva Lidiane Luiz Damásio , de Abreu e Souza Rafael Ramalho , Nolasco Roberta , Olej Beni
Published: June 2010

Objective

To assess the effect of electroacupuncture (EA), akin to percutaneous electroneurostimulation, on pain and biochemical measures during and after inguinal hernia repair.

Methods

Thirty-three patients were randomised to EA (n=16) or sham transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) control (n=17). EA was applied at different frequencies, through needles inserted around the incision, over selected peripheral nerve branches and in the ear, from 30 min before surgery until the end of surgery, when needles were removed. All patients also received routine sedation and local anaesthesia.

Results

There was no difference between the pain scores in the groups receiving EA and sham TENS in the immediate postoperative period, which may be owing to adequate levels of analgesia from conventional techniques. On the fourth and seventh postoperative days, less pain and lower consumption of analgesic drugs were reported in the treatment group. Seroma occurred more frequently in the control group, which also had higher glucose blood levels in the immediate postoperative surgery period. The single case of chronic postoperative pain occurred in the control group.

Conclusions

The sample size was too small to draw any conclusions about the effect of EA on pain and other parameters following inguinal hernia surgery, but our observations suggest that future studies in this area are justified.
A Study of Acupuncture in Asian Patients: Clinical Aspects and Effects on Cortical Excitability
Authors: Lo Y L , Cui S L , Lum S Y , Chong S Fook , Siow H C
Published: June 2010

Objective

To determine the effect of acupuncture on the phosphene threshold, by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and the clinical effect of acupuncture on headache frequency, duration and severity.

Methods

Twenty-one patients (16 women; mean age 46 years; range 23–61 years, 17 Chinese, 2 Malays, 2 Indians) underwent 10 acupuncture sessions scheduled twice a week for 5 weeks. The lowest TMS intensity to elicit phosphene perception is defined as the phosphene threshold. TMS was performed before the first and last sessions, and at 2 months’ follow-up.

Results

Acupuncture resulted in reduction of headache frequency, duration and severity over the course of treatment. However, this was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in the phosphene threshold over a similar time course. The baseline threshold before acupuncture treatment had no predictive value for outcome of treatment.

Conclusions

Although acupuncture was effective in treating migraine, the use of occipital cortex excitability as an adjunctive parameter to evaluate treatment response was not suitable. The relief of migraine with acupuncture may be related to separate neural pathways independent of occipital or visual processes in the human brain.
THE PICARD GROUP OF THE LOOP SPACE OF THE RIEMANN SPHERE
Authors: ZHANG NING
Published: June 2010

The loop space Lℙ1 of the Riemann sphere consisting of all Ck or Sobolev Wk, p maps S1 → ℙ1 is an infinite dimensional complex manifold. We compute the Picard group pic(Lℙ1) of holomorphic line bundles on Lℙ1 as an infinite dimensional complex Lie group with Lie algebra the Dolbeault group H0, 1(Lℙ1). The group G of Möbius transformations and its loop group LG act on Lℙ1. We prove that an element of pic(Lℙ1) is LG-fixed if it is G-fixed, thus completely answering the question of Millson and Zombro about the G-equivariant projective embedding of Lℙ1.
GENERALIZED NONCOMMUTATIVE HARDY AND HARDY–HILBERT TYPE INEQUALITIES
Authors: HANSEN FRANK , KRULIĆ KRISTINA , PEČARIĆ JOSIP , PERSSON LARS-ERIK
Published: June 2010

We extend and unify several Hardy type inequalities to functions whose values are positive semi-definite operators. In particular, our methods lead to the operator versions of Hardy–Hilbert's and Godunova's inequalities. While classical Hardy type inequalities hold for parameter values p > 1, it is typical that the operator versions hold only for 1 < p ≤ 2, even for functions with values in 2 × 2 matrices.
MATHEMATICAL ASPECTS OF ANDERSON LOCALIZATION
Authors: Spencer Thomas
Published: June 2010

This article discusses mathematical results and conjectures motivated by Anderson localization and by related problems for deterministic and nonlinear systems. Finite volume criteria for Anderson localization are explained for random potentials. Recent results on a phase transition for a hyperbolic, supersymmetric sigma model on a 3D lattice are also presented. This transition is analogous to the Anderson transition.
OUT-OF-PLANE FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF FUNCTIONALLY GRADED CIRCULAR CURVED BEAMS SUPPORTED ON ELASTIC FOUNDATION
Authors: MALEKZADEH P. , HAGHIGHI M. R. GOLBAHAR , ATASHI M. M.
Published: June 2010

As a first endeavor, the out-of-plane free vibration analysis of thin-to-moderately thick functionally graded (FG) circular curved beams supported on two-parameter elastic foundation is presented. The formulation is derived based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), which includes the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia due to both torsional and flexural vibrations. The material properties are assumed to be graded in the direction normal to the plane of the beam curvature. The differential quadrature method (DQM), as an efficient and accurate method, is employed to discretize the equations of motion and the related boundary conditions. In order to assure the accuracy of the formulation and the method of solution, convergence behavior of the nondimensional natural frequencies is examined for FG circular curved beams and comparison studies with those of isotropic curved beams, available in the literature, are performed. The effects of the elastic foundation coefficients, boundary conditions, the material graded index and different geometrical parameters on the natural frequency parameters of the FG circular curved beams are investigated. The new results can be used as benchmark solutions for future research works.
ANALYSIS OF MINDLIN–REISSNER PLATES USING CELL-BASED SMOOTHED RADIAL POINT INTERPOLATION METHOD
Authors: CUI X. Y. , LIU G. R. , LI G. Y.
Published: June 2010

In this paper, a formulation for the static and free vibration analysis of Mindlin–Reissner plates is proposed using the cell-based smoothed radial point interpolation method (CS-RPIM) with sub-domain smoothing operations. The radial basis functions augmented with polynomial basis are employed to construct the shape functions that have the Delta function property. The generalized smoothed Galerkin (GS-Galerkin) weakform is adopted to discretize the governing differential equations, and the curvature smoothing is performed to relax the continuity requirement and to improve the accuracy and the rate of convergence of the solution. The present CS-RPIM formulation is based on the first-order shear deformation plate theory, with effective treatment for shear-locking and hence is applicable to both thin and relatively thick plates. To verify the accuracy and stability of the present formulation, intensive comparison studies are conducted with existing results available in the literature and good agreements are obtained. The numerical examples confirm that the present method is shear-locking free and very stable and accurate even using extremely distributed nodes.
Insights into shallow‐level processes of mountain building from the Northern Apennines, Italy
Authors: VANNUCCHI PAOLA , MALTMAN ALEX J.
Published: June 2010

Recent observations from submarine convergent margins reveal that sediments at shallow levels of burial undergo intricate and irregular fluctuations in physical conditions as they progressively deform and lithify—the early stages of mountain building. Similar on‐land evidence is comparatively sparse, as a result of difficulties of exposure and of early features having been obscured. Here we describe aspects of three structures from the Northern Apennines of Italy that corroborate these notions of complex shallow‐level orogenic processes.

The Upper Cretaceous Castiglioncello mélange formed during the subduction phase of Apennine orogenesis; the major Cervarola thrust and the smaller, intra‐formational, Balduini thrust, both of Tortonian age, represent the ensuing collisional phase. All three structures formed at burial depths less than 2 or 3 km and are syn‐diagenetic. Although differing in detail, all three show features such as clay fabrics and mineralized veins that record complex histories of fluid flow, overpressure, and deformation. The clays show varying types of scaliness, some of which had to involve pore dilation and collapse operating in cycles. The veins typically evolved from networks of bedding‐parallel and bedding‐perpendicular veinlets, through dilation breccias and mosaic textures, to shear and extensional fibre‐growth during hydrofracture. Such observations imply fluctuating physical conditions and dynamic tectonic processes operating on shallow‐level sediments in a way that is highly heterogeneous—with depth, areally and through time.
Palaeobiology meets geochemistry: concretions as tombs
Authors: COPE JOHN C. W. , CURTIS CHARLES D.
Published: June 2010

All but one of the papers in this thematic set derive from papers presented to the 1998 Lyell Meeting convened by John Cope and Charles Curtis under the auspices of the Joint Committee for Palaeontology, held in the Society’s apartments in February of that year. We are pleased to acknowledge the financial contributions made to this meeting by the Geological Society and the Palaeontological Association.
‘Instantaneous’ sedimentation, early microbial sediment strengthening and a lengthy record of chemical diagenesis preserved in Lower Jurassic ammonitiferous concretions from Dorset
Authors: CURTIS C. D. , COPE J. C. W. , PLANT D. , MACQUAKER J. H. S.
Published: June 2010

Ammonites from different localities and horizons within the Lower Lias of Dorset record a complex diagenetic history preserved in carbonate cements within their body chambers. The studied ammonites are commonly preserved uncrushed in thinly bedded (0.001 m) peloidal sediments associated with small‐scale upward fining couplets. The body chambers of the studied ammonites are partially infilled by uncompacted peloidal material with the remaining porosity, both here and in the other chambers, being occluded by a complex succession of carbonate cements. These comprise early, microdolomite/pyrite inclusion‐rich radiaxial Mn‐rich calcite cements which are enclosed by later inclusion‐free sparry cements. The assemblages of ammonites found are ‘life’ assemblages, often preserving the remains of jaw structures and many rest oblique to the plane of sedimentation. One likely explanation for these observations is that the ammonite assemblages were rapidly engulfed by a fine sediment drape resulting from event resuspension processes. Alternative explanations, such as mass mortality due to bottom water anoxia ‘events’ are more difficult to sustain. Following burial, the package of sediment enclosing the ammonites rapidly became anoxic and early radiaxial calcite precipitated in response to microbial organic matter mineralisation (Mn‐, Fe‐ and sulphate reduction) reactions. This early cement prevented compaction. Following precipitation of these early fringing cements, cavities were progressively filled with zoned, inclusion‐poor sparry carbonate cements. These represent deeper, slower, equilibrium crystallization wherein pore water solute access was severely limited by grain boundary diffusion processes. Finally, remaining porosity was infilled by a distinctive ferroan calcite, the iron most probably sourced in deep, thermally induced redox reactions.
Formation and distribution of coal balls in the Herrin Coal (Pennsylvanian), Franklin County, Illinois Basin, USA
Authors: DEMARIS PHILIP J.
Published: June 2010

Large areas of concentrated coal balls (permineralized peat) up to 4 m thick obstructed longwall mining in the Herrin Coal at the Old Ben No. 24 mine. The largest coal‐ball area mapped contained >1500 m
3
; several areas contained >400 m
3
of coal balls. In‐mine mapping established that there were two types of roof (freshwater and marine), and that the coal balls were spatially correlated with the marine roof units. Regional studies and local data revealed that the younger, freshwater Energy Shale (mud) originally covered all of the peat deposited at the mine, but the mud was locally removed during a period of erosion.

The great majority of coal balls are found within the coal seam, where they were permineralized
in situ
by carbonates. Some coal balls are found exposed on the eroded coal surface and others are within the channel fill associated with the erosion, which predates any marine sedimentation. Thus, the mineralization of the coal balls was synchronous with the erosion of the Energy Shale mud.

Data from C‐and O‐isotope, geochemical, and mineralogical analyses of coal balls and associated materials were used to refine a depositional model of coal‐ball formation. The concentrated coal‐ball areas were created by the triggered degassing of CO
2
from partially decomposed peat in the presence of cations from fresh waters;
13
C/
12
C ratios in these coal balls average −23.9‰.
13
C/
12
C ratios as low as −34‰ occurring in the most concentrated coal balls are consistent with CO
2
produced by anaerobic oxidation of methane. Top‐of‐seam coal balls were formed later and show slight to strong marine influence; their
13
C/
12
C ratios average −10.8‰.
Carbonates and oxalates in sediments and landfill: monitors of death and decay in natural and artificial systems
Authors: MANNING DAVID A. C.
Published: June 2010

Subaqueous sediments and landfill waste disposal sites are both natural locations for anaerobic microbiological metabolism, where sulphates are reduced to sulphide, and organic matter (particularly acetate) is oxidized and degraded to produce ultimately CO
2
and CH
4
. The microbiologically mediated geochemical processes in each case are similar. However, natural sedimentary porewaters can be difficult to sample and monitor, whereas landfill sites are relatively easily accessible, yielding leachate samples that are routinely monitored over periods of time. In both environments, carbonate precipitation is predicted to be a normal consequence of anaerobic microbiological activity, consistent with changes in leachate composition and the predictions of geochemical modelling. Initial investigation of scale from a landfill drainage system confirms the presence of calcite, together with gypsum and iron minerals.

Calcium oxalate minerals (whewellite and weddelite) are widespread in their occurrence within septarian concretions from a number of geological formations; whewellite is reportedly stable up to 160°C. The solubility of calcium oxalate is very low, and precipitation readily takes place when oxalate (oxalic acid) is present (derived from fungal processes in sediments and soils). Calcium oxalate minerals should be expected wherever vegetable matter is decomposing; this link can be demonstrated for natural sediments, but has yet to be proven for landfill.
Revised geochronology of the Neogene calc‐alkaline volcanic suite in Sierra de Gata, Alborán volcanic province, SE Spain
Authors: ZECK H. P. , MALUSKI H. , KRISTENSEN A. B.
Published: June 2010

40
Ar/
39
Ar step heating experiments were performed on biotites from seven andesites/dacites/rhyolites which represent the entire volcano‐stratigraphic range in a
c.
 125 km
2
area in Sierra de Gata. Each sample rendered well defined plateau shaped incremental
39
Ar release spectra which define a time span of
c.
 12–10.5 Ma for the volcanic activity. There appears to have been a time gap in the volcanism, separating a basal section of
c.
 12–11.5 Ma from a cover section of
c.
 11–10.5 Ma. The two samples from the basal section constrain a weighed average age of 11.75 ± 0.15(2σ) Ma and the five samples from the cover section of 10.70 ± 0.15(2σ) Ma. This contrasts with earlier claims of
c.
 15–7 Ma for the whole spectrum, based mainly on K–Ar whole rock and ‘groundmass’ experiments. The
c.
 12–10.5 Ma age for the calc‐alkaline volcanism places it unequivocally after the late stage extensional tectonics (
c.
 24–17 Ma). This supports the currently available model for the Alborán volcanic province, which connects magma generation not to an active subduction zone of the collisional stage, but rather to a late stage anatectic event in the Betic–Ligurian lithosphere under influence of post‐collisional lithospheric slab detachment.
New U–Pb monazite and zircon data from the Sudetes Mountains in SW Poland: evidence for a single‐cycle Variscan orogeny
Authors: TIMMERMANN H. , PARRISH R. R. , NOBLE S. R. , KRYZA R.
Published: June 2010

New U–Pb monazite and zircon data combined with a study of their internal morphologies significantly clarifies the controversy surrounding the Palaeozoic geodynamic evolution of the Sudetes Mountains in the northeastern Bohemian Massif. Variably thin rims of secondary magmatic overgrowth on zircons from an anatectic granite in the Góry Sowie block are dated by a U–Pb zircon lower intercept age of 353±61 Ma, by magmatic monazite growth at 378±2 Ma, and by xenotime crystallization at 383–370 Ma in a late syntectonic pegmatite, reflecting the anatectic event associated with a single‐cycle Variscan orogeny in this area.
Response of Plio‐Pleistocene alluvial systems to tectonically induced base‐level changes, Vera Basin, SE Spain
Authors: STOKES M. , MATHER A. E.
Published: June 2010

Tectonics are perceived to be a major control on the positioning and long‐term evolution of alluvial systems. By increasing slope gradients through uplift and tilting, or by changing local base‐level, incision can be stimulated leading to a switch in the active area of sedimentation. An example of such a sedimentary response to tectonic activity is provided by well‐exposed late Pliocene/early Pleistocene alluvial sediments of the Salmerón Formation from the western margins of the Vera Basin, SE Spain. Early stage palaeogeographic reconstructions demonstrate the occurrence of two alluvial fan bodies with distinct palaeocurrent and provenance signatures that suggest sediment source areas from the north (Sierra Lisbona) and south (Sierra de Bédar) of the study area. Late stage reconstructions suggest fan abandonment and indicate the occurrence of a braided river system sourced from the Sierra de Bédar in the south. Proximal parts of this braided river are incised by up to 100 m into underlying fan sediments sourced from the Sierra de Bédar. In distal areas, incision is negligible and the braided system forms a conformable sedimentary succession with underlying fan sediments sourced from the Sierra Lisbona. The switch from alluvial fan to braided river sedimentation and the spatially variable patterns of incision into the alluvial fan bodies can be accounted for by a phase of deformation which affected the Vera Basin during the early Pleistocene. Extensional faulting resulted in uplift and subsidence, leading to localized tilting of depositional surfaces in distal areas of the southern fan. Increased stream power resulted in headward incision through mid and proximal fan areas. Once the system became fully trenched distal base‐level controls became effective in generating an enlarged catchment area and continuing incision. The resultant changes dramatically increased both sediment and water discharge to the alluvial system and a switch to braided river sedimentation.
Evidence of hydrocarbon and metalliferous fluid migration in the Palaeoproterozoic Earaheedy Basin of Western Australia
Authors: RASMUSSEN B. , KRAPEZ B.
Published: June 2010

Dolomitized limestones of the Earaheedy Basin contain solid bitumen and metal‐sulphides, sulpharsenides and arsenides within a network of fractures which acted as pathways for migrating fluids. The solid bitumen formed from residual oil that was thermally altered within those fractures. Immobilization of oil was postdated by precipitation of fracture‐filling calcite and later replacive dolomite and quartz cements, as well as of magnesian chlorite. Solid bitumen has high concentrations of Fe‐, Zn‐, Pb‐, Ni‐ and FeCu‐bearing sulphides, sulpharsenides and arsenides in minute inclusions that are randomly distributed throughout its groundmass. Galena and pyrite also fill cracks in the bitumen, whereas pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, gersdorffite, enargite? and chalcopyrite fill contraction vugs. Small crystals of cassiterite are associated with cavity‐filling magnesian chlorite. Multiple phases of base‐metal precipitation are apparent. The first, indicated by the inclusions, probably formed during mixing of hydrocarbon and metal‐rich fluids. Later phases resulted from the filling of bitumen contraction structures that formed during and after thermal alteration and degassing processes, and which imply the migration of metal‐rich fluids after oil immobilization. The association of metal‐rich minerals and fracture‐filling bitumen, in this non‐ore setting, is a guide to the possible existence of ore‐grade mineralization elsewhere in the basin.
Evidence for the Lower Palaeozoic age of the Tay Nappe: the timing and nature of Grampian events in the Scottish Highland sector of the Laurentian Margin
Authors: ROSE P. T. S. , HARRIS A. L.
Published: June 2010

Stratigraphical and structural evidence for latest Proterozoic–Phanerozoic deposition of the Dalradian Supergroup in the Scottish Highlands sector of the Laurentian margin is incompatible with geochronological data suggesting
c.
 750 Ma (Knoydartian) and
c.
 600 Ma (Grampian) orogenesis. The age of the 590 ± 2 Ma Ben Vuirich Granite is critical to the dating of Grampian orogenesis. Fabric evidence indicates that the granite predates D2 while its relationship to D1 is unclear. In this paper the D1–D2 overprint during the evolution of the Tay Nappe, a regional Grampian structure, is examined. Documentation of the distribution, style and orientation of D1 and D2 structures from well exposed sections near the Highland Border has allowed the development of a kinematic model for the D1/D2 deformation. In this model early crustal shortening resulted in D1 upright structures that were subsequently overturned in a D2, SE‐directed shear regime associated with underthrusting of a southern landmass. The model is best explained in terms of a single continental collision event with no evidence of a time gap between D1 and D2. This analysis is consistent with pre‐regional D1 intrusion of the Ben Vuirich Granite and an Early Palaeozoic Grampian Orogeny.
Cambro‐Ordovician stratigraphy of Bjørnøya and North Greenland: constraints on tectonic models for the Arctic Caledonides and the Tertiary opening of the Greenland Sea
Authors: PAUL SMITH M.
Published: June 2010

The southern tip of Bjørnøya is composed of poorly known sedimentary rocks of Precambrian and Lower Palaeozoic age. Biostratigraphic and sedimentological investigations have demonstrated that the sediments of the Younger Dolomite are of Early, but not earliest, Ordovician age and that those of the conformably overlying Tetradium Limestone are of Black Riveran (Mid‐Ordovician) age. A significant hiatus lies between the base of the Younger Dolomite and the underlying Vendian glacial diamictites of the Sørhamna Formation. Comparison of this distinctive stratigraphic context with other sequences in Arctic Laurentia shows that a similar hiatus is present only in eastern North Greenland, where the Early Ordovician Wandel Valley Formation rests unconformably on a variety of Proterozoic units. Consideration of other geological characters, including the presence of west‐directed Caledonian thrusting and the location of the platform‐trough boundary in the Franklinian Basin, indicates that Bjørnøya was an integral part of the Franklinian Basin during Early Palaeozoic deposition and was attached to eastern North Greenland until early Tertiary rifting. A corollary of this interpretation of the Phanerozoic location of Bjørnøya indicates that any Caledonian strike‐slip, orogen‐parallel, displacements must have been located outboard of the combined Bjørnøya–Greenland craton. Furthermore, it provides strong constraints on interpretations of the geometry of Greenland Sea opening during early Tertiary time, and of the Vestbakken Volcanic Province and pull‐apart basin with its bounding faults, the Hornsund and Senja fracture zones.
Marine emplacement of welded ignimbrite: the Ordovician Pitts Head Tuff, North Wales
Authors: KOKELAAR PETER , KÖNIGER STEPHAN
Published: June 2010

The Pitts Head welded ignimbrite records a subaerial, large‐volume eruption and associated pyroclastic current that flowed into the sea. The current 15 km from source was steadily sustained with high mass flux and high particle concentration towards its base, and it entered the sea without substantial mixing with water and thus without large‐scale hydroexplosivity and without general cooling. It continued to aggrade ignimbrite at >580°C for at least 3–4 km from the original shoreline, in water initially ≥50 m deep. Entirely subaqueous, hot‐state, progressive aggradation and welding of the ignimbrite occurred where the water could not be wholly displaced by the current, although eventually the deposit displaced the shore >4 km seawards. Wet sea‐floor sediments buried by the ignimbrite were heated and locally fluidized by steam, and several square kilometres of hot ignimbrite with variable thicknesses of sedimentary substrate detached and slid downslope. Directions of sliding and the order of piling‐up of slide sheets are shown by hot‐state (rheomorphic) deformation fabrics and the geometric relations of detachment surfaces. Extensional disruption of the ignimbrite is marked by breaks in the sheet via which fluidized sediments were mobilized, locally to form rootless vents. Both the initial incursion of the pyroclastic current into the sea and the subsequent submarine sliding of the ignimbrite are likely to have caused tsunamis. Similar occurrences at modern coastlines presently susceptible to incursion of high mass flux pyroclastic currents (e.g. Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand; Neapolitan region, Italy; vicinity of Manila (Taal), Philippines) would, according to tsunami propagation behaviour, cause significant near‐and far‐field coastal hazard.
Variscan collisional magmatism and deformation in NW Iberia: constraints from U–Pb geochronology of granitoids
Authors: FERNÁNDEZ‐SUÁREZ J. , DUNNING G. R. , JENNER G. A. , GUTIÉRREZ‐ALONSO G.
Published: June 2010

U–Pb geochronology of Variscan granitoid rocks from the West Asturian Leonese Zone of the NW Iberian belt documents the episodic nature of magmatism in this section of the western European Variscides. Each magmatic episode is characterized by granitoids with distinct features and has a duration on the scale of several millions of years. The ages of these granitoids place new constraints on the age and duration of magmatic and tectonic events, that are consistent with previous structural studies and proposed models for the tectonic evolution and migration of deformation in the NW Iberian Variscan belt.

Granitoid rocks in this zone belong to two main magmatic episodes (syn‐ and post‐tectonic relative to the Variscan Orogeny) and are broadly representative of the granitoid types found in the NW Iberian Variscan belt. The syntectonic association is formed by: (i) tonalite–granodiorite–monzogranite intrusions emplaced synchronously with the main phase of crustal deformation (D
2
) at
c.
 325 Ma and (ii) younger leucogranite intrusions emplaced synchronously with syn‐convergence extensional structures at
c.
 320–310 Ma. The post‐tectonic association is composed of: (i) volumetrically dominant tonalite–granodiorite–monzogranite intrusions (and associated minor mafic‐intermediate rocks) emplaced at
c.
 295–290 Ma; and (ii) scarce leucogranite intrusions emplaced at
c.
 290–285 Ma.
Post‐collisional granite generation and HT–LP metamorphism by radiogenic heating: the Variscan South Bohemian Batholith
Authors: GERDES A. , WÖRNER G. , HENK A.
Published: June 2010

The Palaeozoic Variscan Orogen of Europe is a well‐documented example of a collision zone characterized by widespread late‐orogenic high‐temperature metamorphism and associated crustal magmatism. However, the heat source is still under debate. Based on the Bohemian Massif in the internal zone of the Variscides as case study, we present geological, geochemical, petrological and geochronological data arguing against a substantial mantle involvement in metamorphism and magma genesis in the area of the South Bohemian Batholith. In order to provide an alternative explanation consistent with heat transfer mechanism, we apply a two‐dimensional thermal–kinematic modelling approach. The model calculates the transient lithospheric temperature field during crustal thickening and subsequent thinning by erosiorf from material parameters and boundary conditions specific to the study area. Model results show that the increased contribution of radiogenic heat in the thickened crust can indeed cause a substantial temperature increase in the middle and lower crust. Model predictions are in good agreement with observations, e.g. the
P–T–t
evolution of the country rocks, the formation of syn‐kinematic migmatites, the large volumes of peraluminous granites derived from dehydration melting of metasediments and the small volumes of lamprophyric melts from the mantle lithosphere. The results of this study emphasize the importance of radiogenic heat as the source for high‐temperature metamorphism and granite petrogenesis in the Bohemian Massif and potentially in other areas of the Variscan Orogen.
Late Proterozoic extensional collapse in the Arabian–Nubian Shield
Authors: BLASBAND B. , WHITE S. , BROOIJMANS P. , DE BOORDER H. , VISSER W.
Published: June 2010

A structural and petrological study of the Late Proterozoic rocks in the Wadi Kid area, Sinai, Egypt indicates the presence of an extensional metamorphic core complex in the northern Arabian–Nubian Shield. Gneissic domes throughout the Arabian–Nubian Shield resemble the core complex of the Wadi Kid area and as a result, they are interpreted as extensional metamorphic core complexes. The presence of a widespread phase of extension at the end of the Pan‐African period in the Arabian–Nubian Shield requires a new interpretation of the tectonic history of this shield. Three main tectonic phases are recognized in the Late Proterozoic of the Arabian–Nubian Shield. Ophiolites and island‐arc remnants are relicts of an oceanic phase, the oldest one. This phase was followed by arc‐accretion, well established in the Arabian–Nubian Shield from the presence of individual terranes bordered by sutures, which was responsible for lithospheric thickening. The Late Proterozoic ended with widespread NW–SE extension. The metamorphic core complexes, late‐orogenic extensional basins and large strike slip zones were formed during this phase. Similarity of the tectonic evolution of the Arabian–Nubian Shield with the Mesozoic and Early Cenozoic evolution of western North America lead us to conclude that gravitational instability at the final stages of the arc‐accretion phase caused the collapse and resulted in extension at the latest stages of the Pan‐African orogeny in the Arabian–Nubian Shield.
The eruption environment of multi-tiered columnar basalt lava flows
Authors: LYLE PAUL
Published: June 2010

Field studies on the eruption environment and prevailing cooling conditions of multi-tiered lava flows of the type exemplified by the Giant’s Causeway were carried out at localities on the Columbia River Plateau, southern Iceland, on the islands of Mull and Staffa and around the Giant’s Causeway, NE Ireland. Common features can be recognized in the volcanology of such flows in all the localities examined. These include palaeotopographic evidence of river valleys giving conditions conducive to the ponding of flows and the damming of existing drainage; evidence of high rainfall regimes or abundant surface water; association of interlava lacustrine and fluviatile sediments; association of hyaloclastite flow foot breccias within multi-tiered basalt lava successions and evidence of large volume lava flows and high eruption rates. Examination of the petrography of the upper curvi-columnar parts of the lava (the entablature) shows textural signs of quenching, compared with the lower more regular columnar zone (the colonnade). These common field and petrographic features confirm the model of multi-tiered flow formation by modification of the cooling regime in the upper part of the flow following inundation of the hot lava surface by displaced river drainage.
Amphibole asbestos in Africa and Australia: geology, health hazard and mining legacy
Authors: GIBBONS WES
Published: June 2010

Although asbestiform amphiboles only contributed less than 6% of industrial asbestos worldwide, they have proved more toxic as mineral pathogens than the more commonly mined asbestiform serpentine (chrysotile or white asbestos). Most amphibole asbestos was mined as crocidolite (blue) and amosite (brown) from Precambrian banded ironstones in South Africa and, to a lesser extent, Western Australia. Blue and brown asbestos not only can induce asbestosis at lower concentrations than white asbestos, but they are highly carcinogenic. Early awareness of asbestos-related diseases in producer countries did not translate into preventative action before hundreds of thousands of individuals had been exposed to high fibre levels. The situation was most acute in South Africa where the occupational health status of black Africans in particular was badly neglected. In at least one mine, children were used to trample shipping bags filled with amosite, and in doing so received what is thought to have been the highest ever inhalation dose of amphibole asbestos. South Africa now has the highest rate of asbestos-induced mesothelioma in the world, with this invariably fatal cancer responsible for over 9% of deaths in a study conducted in a former Cape crocidolite mining town.
Evidence for a 6000 km length NW–SE-striking lineament in northern Africa: the Tibesti Lineament
Authors: GUIRAUD R. , DOUMNANG MBAIGANE J.-C. , CARRETIER S. , DOMINGUEZ S.
Published: June 2010

Satellite images of Africa and Digital Elevation Models exhibit a
c.
 6000 km length NW–SE-striking lineament extending from southwestern Algeria to Kenya. This lineament often corresponds to a 200 to 300 km wide fault swarm, including faults sporadically interrupted, including faults sporadically interrupted, with a possible late Proterozoic origin. We name it the Tibesti Lineament as it is the most obvious and best documented massif along this structure. Some plate-scale geophysical studies substantiate the connection of this tectonic lineament with a major discontinuity affecting the deep lithosphere. The existence of other lithospheric fault zones crosscutting the African plate and/or the neighbouring plates of the Gondwana is underlined.
A central European Variscide source for Upper Carboniferous sediments in SW England:
40
Ar/
39
Ar detrital white mica ages from the Forest of Dean Basin
Authors: SHERLOCK S. C. , JONES K. A. , JONES J. A.
Published: June 2010

40
Ar/
39
Ar detrital white mica ages from a Westphalian C/D sediment in the Varisan foreland Forest of Dean Basin (SW England) range from 309±12 to 371±2 Ma. Combining these ages with chemical data from the detrital white micas constrain their provenance to two sources: reworked Westphalian A to C, and, more controversially, the central European Variscides. Taking into account the palaeogeography of the Late Devonian to Late Carboniferous, the sediment derived from the central European Variscides must have resided in a holding basin proximal to their source for 30–40 Ma. During the Mid- to Late Carboniferous sediment was transported longitudinally from east to west along the Variscan front. Deposition and mixing of the two source components took place in the Forest of Dean Basin at approximately 307 Ma.
Neoproterozoic chemostratigraphy and correlation of the Port Askaig glaciation, Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland
Authors: BRASIER M. D. , SHIELDS G.
Published: June 2010

The δ
13
C of preglacial carbonates beneath the glaciogenic Port Askaig Formation falls from +5‰ to negative values, while least-altered
87
Sr/
86
Sr values are close to 0.7067. Postglacial ‘cap carbonates’ of the Bonahaven Formation begin with negative δ
13
C
carb
values, jumping sharply to +11.7‰ near the top, which we correlate with excursions above the Elbobreen–Wilsonbreen glaciations of Svalbard and putative Sturtian (not Varanger) glaciations elsewhere, dated at
c.
 720 Ma. Much of the succeeding Terminal Neoproterozoic is missing in NE Svalbard and East Greenland, raising doubts about their use for global Sr and C isotope curves in the Neoproterozoic.
Stratigraphy of the Rotliegend Group in the Danish part of the Northern Permian Basin, North Sea
Authors: STEMMERIK L. , INESON J. R. , MITCHELL J. G.
Published: June 2010

A stratigraphic study of the Rotliegend offshore Denmark has resulted in a coherent lithostratigraphic framework and a better understanding of the mid-Permian evolution of the eastern Northern Permian Basin. The Rotliegend Group is subdivided into the Karl Formation composed of syn-rift volcanics and volcaniclastic sediments, and the younger post-rift Auk Formation dominated by aeolian and fluvial sandstones. Radiometric age data based on K–Ar dating of plagioclase from the Karl Formation volcanics, combined with previously published age data suggests that volcanism took place during two separate events, 276–281 Ma and 261–269 Ma. Both events post-date the Lower Rotliegend volcanism (288–300 Ma) in the Southern Permian Basin, suggesting that the Northern Permian Basin was formed during a later tectonic event. The main volcanic event in the Northern Permian Basin was broadly coeval with volcanic activity in the Altmark area of NE Germany, reflecting simultaneous rifting and onset of Upper Rotliegend 2 sedimentation in the Northern and Southern Permian Basins.