bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Caenorhabditis elegans mboa-7, a Member of the MBOAT Family, Is Required for Selective Incorporation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids into Phosphatidylinositol
Authors: Lee Hyeon-Cheol , Inoue Takao , Imae Rieko , Kono Nozomu , Shirae Shinichiro , Matsuda Shinji , Gengyo-Ando Keiko , Mitani Shohei , Arai Hiroyuki
Published: December 2007

Phosphatidylinositol (PI) is a component of membrane phospholipids, and it functions both as a signaling molecule and as a compartment-specific localization signal in the form of polyphosphoinositides. Arachidonic acid (AA) is the predominant fatty acid in the sn-2 position of PI in mammals. LysoPI acyltransferase (LPIAT) is thought to catalyze formation of AA-containing PI; however, the gene that encodes this enzyme has not yet been identified. In this study, we established a screening system to identify genes required for use of exogenous polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in Caenorhabditis elegans. In C. elegans, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) instead of AA is the predominant fatty acid in PI. We showed that an uncharacterized gene, which we named mboa-7, is required for incorporation of PUFAs into PI. Incorporation of exogenous PUFA into PI of the living worms and LPIAT activity in the microsomes were greatly reduced in mboa-7 mutants. Furthermore, the membrane fractions of transgenic worms expressing recombinant MBOA-7 and its human homologue exhibited remarkably increased LPIAT activity. mboa-7 encodes a member of the membrane-bound O-acyltransferase family, suggesting that mboa-7 is LPIAT. Finally, mboa-7 mutants had significantly lower EPA levels in PI, and they exhibited larval arrest and egg-laying defects.
“Many a Long Day”: HSBC and Its Note Issue in Republican China, 1912–1935
Authors: Horesh Niv
Published: December 2007

This article utilizes the local banknote circulation volumes of HSBC, the largest foreign bank in China, as a gauge with which to explore political stability and state-building during the Republican era (1912–1935). It will challenge the prevailing view that British banks faced little resistance in China through the 1920s–1930s, and expose new archival evidence on the perception of, and mobilization against, foreign banks.
What factors contribute to an ownership advantage?
Authors: Fayed S.A , Jennions M.D , Backwell P.R.Y
Published: December 2007

In most taxa, owners win fights when defending a territory against intruders. We calculated effect sizes for four factors that potentially contribute to an ‘owner advantage’. We studied male fiddler crabs
Uca mjoebergi
, where owners won 92% of natural fights. Owners were not more successful because they were inherently better fighters (
r
=0.02). There was a small effect (
r
=0.18) of the owner's knowledge of territory quality (food availability) and a medium effect (
r
=0.29) of his having established relations with neighbours (duration of active tenure), but neither was statistically significant. There was, however, a significant effect due to the mechanical advantage the owner gained through access to the burrow during fights (
r
=0.48,
p
<0.005).
Optimization of a Type III Secretion System-Based
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Live Vector for Antigen Delivery
Authors: Epaulard Olivier , Derouazi Madiha , Margerit Carole , Marlu Raphaël , Filopon Didier , Polack Benoît , Toussaint Bertrand
Published: December 2007

During the last few years, the use of type III secretion system-based bacterial vectors for immunotherapy purposes has been assessed in various applications. We showed that a type III secretion-based
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
vector delivering the ovalbumin (OVA) antigen induced an efficient specific CD8
+
T-lymphocyte immune response against OVA-expressing cells. Because of the intrinsic toxicity of the vector, further virulence attenuation was needed. Therefore, we explored the effects of the deletion of quorum-sensing genes and the
aroA
gene toward toxicity and efficiency of the vector strain. The
aroA
mutation in our strain (making the strain auxotrophic for aromatic amino acids) conferred a strikingly reduced toxicity, with the bacterial lethal dose being more than 100 times higher than that of the parental strain. The quorum-sensing gene mutation alone was associated with a slightly reduced toxicity. In a prophylactic OVA-expressing melanoma mouse model, an OVA-delivering
aroA
-deficient mutant was the most efficient at a low dose (10
5
), but dose enhancement was not associated with a greater immune response. The quorum-sensing-deficient strain was the most efficient at a mild dose (10
6
), but this dose was close to the toxic dose. Combination of both mutations conferred the highest efficiency at an elevated dose (10
7
), in agreement with the known negative effects of quorum-sensing molecules upon T-cell activation. In conclusion, we have obtained a promising immunotherapy vector regarding toxicity and efficiency for further developments in both antitumor and anti-infectious strategies.
Production of Recombinant Antigens of
Ureaplasma parvum
Serotypes 3 and 6 for Development of a Serological Assay
Authors: Vancutsem E. , Echahidi F. , Van Geel K. , Muyldermans G. , Soetens O. , Naessens A.
Published: December 2007

Recombinant antigens of
Ureaplasma parvum
serotypes 3 and 6 were produced in order to develop a serological assay for
Ureaplasma
antibody detection. The genes of the multiple banded antigen (MBA) were amplified by PCR and cloned in a pTrcHis TOPO plasmid. Purified recombinant proteins were evaluated in Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibodies and human sera. Our approach was successful in the production of the recombinant MBAs (rMBAs) for serotypes 3 and 6. The antigens tested positive with serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies in Western blotting and in ELISA. Prominent reactions were detected with the rMBAs and their homologous monoclonal antibodies. Strong cross-reactions were visible in ELISA between rMBA 3 and the monoclonal antibodies from the other
U. parvum
serotypes. A weak cross-reaction was seen with rMBA 3 and the monoclonal antibody from serotype 4. rMBA 6 showed cross-reaction only with the monoclonal antibody from
U. parvum
serotype 1. Fifty-one percent of the sera obtained from culture-positive women reacted with one or both rMBAs. Only three (15%) of the sera from culture-negative women reacted with the rMBA. The positive reactions were observed only with rMBA 6. These preliminary tests showed the potential usefulness of the rMBAs produced for detecting an antibody response against
Ureaplasma
antigens.
Brain Abscess Caused by
Streptomyces
Infection following Penetration Trauma: Case Report and Results of Susceptibility Analysis of 92 Isolates of
Streptomyces
Species Submitted to the CDC from 2000 to 2004
Authors: Rose Charles E. , Brown June M. , Fisher John F.
Published: December 2007

The case of a patient who presented with a brain abscess caused by
Streptomyces
infection following penetrating cerebral trauma with a soil-contaminated object generated an interest in optimizing antimicrobial therapy. Collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led to the analysis of susceptibility data for
Streptomyces
isolates that suggested that amikacin (100% susceptibility for 92 isolates tested) and linezolid, an oxazolidinone (100% susceptibility for 41 isolates tested), offer reliable activity against all isolates.
Isolation and Characterization of
Bartonella bacilliformis
from an Expatriate Ecuadorian
Authors: Lydy Shari L. , Eremeeva Marina E. , Asnis Deborah , Paddock Christopher D. , Nicholson William L. , Silverman David J. , Dasch Gregory A.
Published: December 2007

Carrion's disease is typically biphasic with acute febrile illness characterized by bacteremia and severe hemolytic anemia (Oroya fever), followed by benign, chronic cutaneous lesions (verruga peruana). The causative agent,
Bartonella bacilliformis
, is endemic in specific regions of Peru and Ecuador. We describe atypical infection in an expatriate patient who presented with acute splenomegaly and anemia 3 years after visiting Ecuador. Initial serology and PCR of the patient's blood and serum were negative for
Bartonella henselae
,
Bartonella quintana
, and
B. bacilliformis
. Histology of splenic biopsy was suggestive of bacillary angiomatosis, but immunohistochemistry ruled out
B. henselae
and
B. quintana
. Bacilli (isolate EC-01) were subsequently cultured from the patient's blood and analyzed using multilocus sequence typing, protein gel electrophoresis with Western blotting, and an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) against a panel of sera from patients with Oroya fever in Peru. The EC-01 nucleotide sequences (
gltA
and internal transcribed spacer) and protein band banding pattern were most similar to a subset of
B. bacilliformis
isolates from the region of Caraz, Ancash, in Peru, where
B. bacilliformis
is endemic. By IFA, the patient's serum reacted strongly to two out of the three Peruvian
B. bacilliformis
isolates tested, and EC-01 antigen reacted with 13/20 Oroya fever sera. Bacilliary angiomatosis-like lesions were also detected in the spleen of the patient, who was inapparently infected with
B. bacilliformis
and who presumably acquired infection in a region of Ecuador where
B. bacilliformis
was not thought to be endemic. This study suggests that the range of
B. bacilliformis
may be expanding from areas of endemicity in Ecuador and that infection may present as atypical clinical disease.
Multiplex Detection of Human Herpesviruses from Archival Specimens by Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Sjöholm Malin I. L. , Dillner Joakim , Carlson Joyce
Published: December 2007

The human herpesviruses are involved in a variety of diseases. Large-scale evaluation of the clinical and epidemiological importance of different herpesviruses requires high-throughput methods. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a method that has a multiplex capacity enabling simultaneous detection of several viruses in a single sample. PCR-based methods for the multiplex detection of all known human herpesviruses were developed on the MALDI-TOF MS system. A variety of 882 archival samples, including bronchoalveolar lavage, conjunctival fluid, sore secretion, blister material, plasma, serum, and urine, analyzed for herpesviruses using PCR-based reference methods, were used to evaluate the MALDI-TOF MS method. The overall concordance rate between the MALDI-TOF MS method and the reference methods was 95.6% (κ = 0.90). In summary, the MALDI-TOF MS method is well suited for large-scale detection of all known human herpesviruses in a wide variety of archival biological specimens.
Early Impairment of Gut Function and Gut Flora Supporting a Role for Alteration of Gastrointestinal Mucosa in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Pathogenesis
Authors: Gori Andrea , Tincati Camilla , Rizzardini Giuliano , Torti Carlo , Quirino Tiziana , Haarman Monique , Ben Amor Kaouther , van Schaik Jacqueline , Vriesema Aldwin , Knol Jan , Marchetti Giulia , Welling Gjalt , Clerici Mario
Published: December 2007

Our results show that impairment of the gastrointestinal tracts in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients is present in the early phases of HIV disease. This impairment is associated with alterations in gut microbiota and intestinal inflammatory parameters. These findings support the hypothesis that alterations at the gastrointestinal-tract level are a key factor in HIV pathogenesis.
Visualization of Double-Stranded RNA in Cells Supporting Hepatitis C Virus RNA Replication
Authors: Targett-Adams Paul , Boulant Steeve , McLauchlan John
Published: December 2007

The mechanisms involved in hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA replication are unknown, and this aspect of the virus life cycle is not understood. It is thought that virus-encoded nonstructural proteins and RNA genomes interact on rearranged endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes to form replication complexes, which are believed to be sites of RNA synthesis. We report that, through the use of an antibody specific for double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), dsRNA is readily detectable in Huh-7 cells that contain replicating HCV JFH-1 genomes but is absent in control cells. Therefore, as that of other RNA virus genomes, the replication of the HCV genome may involve the generation of a dsRNA replicative intermediate. In Huh-7 cells supporting HCV RNA replication, dsRNA was observed as discrete foci, associated with virus-encoded NS5A and core proteins and identical in morphology and distribution to structures containing HCV RNA visualized by fluorescence-based hybridization methods. Three-dimensional reconstruction of deconvolved z-stack images of virus-infected cells provided detailed insight into the relationship among dsRNA foci, NS5A, the ER, and lipid droplets (LDs). This analysis revealed that dsRNA foci were located on the surface of the ER and often surrounded, partially or wholly, by a network of ER-bound NS5A protein. Additionally, virus-induced dsRNA foci were juxtaposed to LDs, attached to the ER. Thus, we report the visualization of HCV-induced dsRNA foci, the likely sites of virus RNA replication, and propose that HCV genome synthesis occurs at LD-associated sites attached to the ER in virus-infected cells.
Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus Utilizes a pH-Dependent Endocytosis Pathway for Entry
Authors: Bertrand Pascale , Côté Marceline , Zheng Yi-Min , Albritton Lorraine M. , Liu Shan-Lu
Published: December 2007

Using Moloney murine leukemia virus pseudovirions bearing the envelope protein of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), we report here that entry was weakly inhibited by lysosomotropic agents but was profoundly blocked by bafilomycin A1 (BafA1). Kinetics studies revealed that JSRV entry is a slow process and was substantially blocked by a dominant-negative mutant of dynamin. Interestingly, a low-pH pulse overcame the BafA1 block to JSRV infection, although this occurred only if virus-bound cells were preincubated at 37°C, consistent with a very early entry event such as endocytosis being required before the low-pH-dependent step occurs. Moreover, JSRV pseudovirions were resistant to low-pH inactivation. Altogether, this study reveals that JSRV utilizes a pH-dependent, dynamin-associated endocytosis pathway for entry that differs from the classical pH-dependent entry pathway of vesicular stomatitis virus.
Vaccinia Virus A34 Glycoprotein Determines the Protein Composition of the Extracellular Virus Envelope
Authors: Perdiguero Beatriz , Lorenzo María M. , Blasco Rafael
Published: December 2007

The outer envelope of the extracellular form of vaccinia virus contains five virus-encoded proteins, F13, A33, A34, A56, and B5, that, with the exception of A56, are implicated in virus egress or infectivity. A34, a type II transmembrane glycoprotein, is involved in the induction of actin tails, the release of enveloped virus from the surfaces of infected cells, and the disruption of the virus envelope after ligand binding prior to virus entry. To investigate interactions between A34 and other envelope proteins, a recombinant vaccinia virus (vA34R
HA
) expressing an epitope-tagged version of A34 (A34
HA
) was constructed by appending an epitope from influenza virus hemagglutinin to the C terminus of A34. Complexes of A34
HA
with B5 and A36, but not with A33 or F13, were detected in vA34R
HA
-infected cells. A series of vaccinia viruses expressing mutated versions of the B5 protein was used to investigate the domain(s) of B5 required for interaction with A34. Both the cytoplasmic and the transmembrane domains of B5 were dispensable for binding to A34. Most of the extracellular domain of B5, which contains four short consensus repeats homologous to complement control proteins, was sufficient for A34 interaction, indicating that both proteins interact through their ectodomains. Immunofluorescence experiments on cells infected with A34-deficient virus indicated that A34 is required for efficient targeting of B5, A36, and A33 into wrapped virions. Consistent with this observation, the envelope of A34-deficient virus contained normal amounts of F13 but decreased amounts of A33 and B5 with respect to the parental WR virus. These results point to A34 as a major determinant in the protein composition of the vaccinia virus envelope.
Evidence for Differential Roles for NKG2D Receptor Signaling in Innate Host Defense against Coronavirus-Induced Neurological and Liver Disease
Authors: Walsh Kevin B. , Lodoen Melissa B. , Edwards Robert A. , Lanier Lewis L. , Lane Thomas E.
Published: December 2007

Infection of SCID mice with a recombinant murine coronavirus (mouse hepatitis virus [MHV]) expressing the T-cell chemoattractant CXC chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) resulted in increased survival and reduced viral burden within the brain and liver compared to those of mice infected with an isogenic control virus (MHV), supporting an important role for CXCL10 in innate immune responses following viral infection. Enhanced protection in MHV-CXCL10-infected mice correlated with increased gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production by infiltrating natural killer (NK) cells within the brain and reduced liver pathology. To explore the underlying mechanisms associated with protection from disease in MHV-CXCL10-infected mice, the functional contributions of the NK cell-activating receptor NKG2D in host defense were examined. The administration of an NKG2D-blocking antibody to MHV-CXCL10-infected mice did not reduce survival, dampen IFN-γ production in the brain, or affect liver pathology. However, NKG2D neutralization increased viral titers within the liver, suggesting a protective role for NKG2D signaling in this organ. These data indicate that (i) CXCL10 enhances innate immune responses, resulting in protection from MHV-induced neurological and liver disease; (ii) elevated NK cell IFN-γ expression in the brain of MHV-CXCL10-infected mice occurs independently of NKG2D; and (iii) NKG2D signaling promotes antiviral activity within the livers of MHV-infected mice that is not dependent on IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor alpha secretion.
4E10-Resistant Variants in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype C-Infected Individual with an Anti-Membrane-Proximal External Region-Neutralizing Antibody Response
Authors: Gray Elin S. , Moore Penny L. , Bibollet-Ruche Frederic , Li Hui , Decker Julie M. , Meyers Tammy , Shaw George M. , Morris Lynn
Published: December 2007

The broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibody (MAb) 4E10 recognizes a linear epitope in the C terminus of the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of gp41. This epitope is particularly attractive for vaccine design because it is highly conserved among human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains and neutralization escape in vivo has not been observed. Multiple
env
genes were cloned from an HIV-1 subtype C virus isolated from a 7-year-old perinatally infected child who had anti-MPER neutralizing antibodies. One clone (TM20.13) was resistant to 4E10 neutralization as a result of an F673L substitution in the MPER. Frequency analysis showed that F673L was present in 33% of the viral variants and in all cases was linked to the presence of an intact 2F5 epitope. Two other envelope clones were sensitive to 4E10 neutralization, but TM20.5 was 10-fold less sensitive than TM20.6. Substitutions at positions 674 and 677 within the MPER rendered TM20.5 more sensitive to 4E10 but had no effect on TM20.6. Using chimeric and mutant constructs of these two variants, we further demonstrated that the lentivirus lytic peptide-2 domain in the cytoplasmic tail affected the accessibility of the 4E10 epitope, as well as virus infectivity. Collectively, these genetic changes in the face of a neutralizing antibody response to the MPER strongly suggested immune escape from antibody responses targeting this region.
The place of geology in government scientific research
Authors: STEWART FREDERICK HENRY
Published: December 2007

‘There is no science whose value can be adequately estimated by economists and utilitarians of the lower order’

H
ugh
M
iller
1841

‘It is most important that the opportunity afforded by the appointment of a new Director of the Museum of Practical Geology should not be lost for furthering the general scheme for bringing science and art to bear upon the productive industry of the Country. . .

. . .as it so often happens that the person who through great difficulties, and by his own exertions has succeeded in realizing one idea, does not readily merge this in a larger one, so Mr H. De la Beche cannot be said to have extended the usefulness of his Department, but has rather counteracted the plans of the Commissioners by confining his attention to
simple Geology.

It becomes of the utmost importance that whoever is appointed now should be made thoroughly aware of the views of Government and accept the office with a clear understanding that he will be counted upon to work them out. He should further consider himself not in the light of a simple Geologist, but as the head of a Government educational establishment for the diffusion of Science generally as applied to productive industry.’ (‘Copy of a letter of Prince Albert to Lord Palmerston when my good friend the latter appointed me Director General of the Geological Survey May 1855.

R. I. M
urchison
’)

P
erhaps the range
of attitudes has not changed all that much in the last hundred
A geochronological study of the Lewisian from Loch Laxford to Durness, Sutherland, N. W. Scotland
Authors: LAMBERT RICHARD ST JOHN , HOLLAND JAMES GRENVILLE
Published: December 2007

Potassium-argon biotite and hornblende ages from near Laxford Bridge, Sutherland, range up to 1770 m.y.: higher apparent ages of 2060 and 1840 m.y. occur in the biotite pods along the southern margin of the Laxford assemblage. A rubidium-strontium isochron from whole-rock specimens from the gneisses of the Laxford assemblage gives 1850 ± 50 m.y., initial
87
Sr/
86
Sr = 0.7061 ± 0.0005 (T

1
2

= 4.85. 10
10
y). It is suggested that 1850 ± 50 m.y. is a minimum age for the climax of the Laxfordian metamorphic episode, and that this metamorphism had effectively terminated by 1750 m.y. the highest K-Ar age of a mineral from the type area. Younger apparent ages of minerals from and close to the type area spread down to 1575 ± 50 m.y., associated with late effects of the metamorphism, continued pegmatite-formation, and a general slow-cooling. Closure of radiogenic systems occurred later at Durness than at Laxford Bridge.

Comparison with the sparse data from nearby shield areas suggests a closer correlation of the Lewisian with comparable rocks in Greenland than with Fennoscandia.
'Some points of interest concerning the Silurian inliers of southwest central Ireland in their geosynclinal context':

a reply
Authors: ZIEGLER ALFRED MAYLAND
Published: December 2007

Harper and Brenchley (preceding paper) challenge my conclusion that Silurian sediments in southwest central Ireland were deposited in an oceanic trench related to the northwest margin of the Proto-Atlantic Ocean. In my paper on the geosynclinal development of the British Isles (
Ziegler 1970
), I suggested that the Ordovician and Silurian greywackes of the Southern Uplands, and their equivalents along strike in Ireland, represent an ocean floor. Harper and Brenchley admit that the problems of interpreting the central Irish areas are severe. The strong deformation has fragmented the stratigraphic sections, the rare shelly assemblages that do occur seem to have been transported or are nekto-planktonic in nature, and very little modern work has been devoted to these areas. Only in the Slieve Bernagh-Cratloe Hills area has a stratigraphic column been re­constructed (Weir 1962; Rickards & Archer 1969) so that the arguments of Harper and Brenchley based on the regional extent of conglomerate lenses and shelly assemblages must be tentative in nature. As an example of the fragmentary nature of the stratigraphic record, the largest of the inliers, the Devilsbit Mountain district, is entirely underlain by the part of a single stratigraphic unit that was deposited during the uppermost two Wenlock graptolite zones (
Cope 1959
;
Palmer 1970
).

Clearly one cannot sort out the geological problems in Ireland on a basis of parochial considerations alone. The basic framework can only be established in conjunction with the better exposed and more completely studied areas of Scotland and the north of England.
The structural setting and geochronology of basal granitic gneisses in the Caledonides of part of Nordland, Norway
Authors: WILSON MICHAEL R. , NICHOLSON ROBIN
Published: December 2007

Rb–Sr whole rock isochron dates of 1780 ± 43 m.y. and 1731 ± 73 m.y. (λ
87
Rb 1.39 × 10
−11
yr
−1
) have been measured on basal granitic gneisses which underlie Caledonian metamorphic rocks in the Glomfjord-Nasafjåll tract of Norway. Rb–Sr data from a part of the region can be interpreted in terms of localized Sr isotope homogenization at around 1200 m.y., but severe Caledonian deformation and metamorphism has had little apparent effect on the whole rock systems on the scale of sampling. The dates are discussed in the context of published Rb–Sr and U–Pb dates from the Baltic Shield, of which a distribution map is given. It is concluded that the gneisses investigated attained their pre-Caledonian form during the Svecofennian orogeny, but may have been affected in part by the Sveconorwegian orogeny.
New isotopic and stratigraphical evidence on the age of the Ingletonian: probable Cambrian of northern England
Authors: O'NIONS R. KEITH , OXBURGH E. RONALD , HAWKESWORTH CHRISTOPHER J. , MACINTYRE R. MITCHELL
Published: December 2007

At Horton in Ribblesdale, England, excavation has exposed an erosional unconformity between Ingletonian slates and grits and overlying Ashgillian quartzites. Seven Ingletonian slates define a Rb–Sr isochron with an age of 505 ± 7 m.y. (λ = 1·39 × 10
−11
yr
−1
) This age is interpreted as the time of dewatering, folding and development of the slaty elavage. The initial
87
Sr/
86
Sr ratio of 0·7071 is so low that the Ingletonian deposition was probably not earlier than Cambrian and could be early Ordovician. K–Ar ages on the same samples average 433 m.y. with a spread from 417 to 451 m.y. and probably relate to a second folding of the Ingletonian near the end of the Silurian.
A layered basic complex in the Lewisian, south of Loch Laxford, Sutherland
Authors: DAVIES F. BRYAN
Published: December 2007

South of Loch Laxford, basic and ultrabasic rocks overlying migmatitic gneisses and underlying schists of supracrustal origin, occupy a NW trending late Scourian synformal trough. The basic and ultrabasic outcrops are parts of a continuous sheet-like body now having a maximum thickness of 400 m and extending along strike for at least 12 km. Although the body has suffered the effects of the granulite facies metamorphism, still preserved in little-deformed portions of the sheet are lithological sequences, textures and minerals characteristic of a layered cumulitic igneous body.
The geological results of seismic refraction surveys in the Bristol Channel, 1970-1973
Authors: BROOKS MICHAEL , JAMES DAVID GARETH
Published: December 2007

Results are presented of eighteen refraction traverses in the Bristol Channel. Estimates based on refraction and CSP surveys indicate a Mesozoic sequence about 2000 m thick in the Bristol Channel syncline north of Devon. The Central Bristol Channel fault zone in the northern limb of the syncline has an overall southerly downthrow of over 1000 m. Up to 270 m of Mesozoic strata occur in the outer part of Swansea Bay and the Helwick syncline contains about 700 m of Mesozoic strata SW of Gower. There is evidence for an igneous intrusion at shallow depth west of Lundy in the vicinity of a positive Bouguer anomaly. The Tertiary basin E. of the Sticklepath fault in Barnstaple Bay is at least 340 m thick. A high velocity refractor 2500 m below Carmarthen Bay is interpreted as lower Palaeozoic or Precambrian volcanic rocks.

The surveys suggest that Cenozoic, Mesozoic and upper Palaeozoic strata can normally be differentiated on the basis of velocity but the results are of limited use in mapping upper Palaeozoic rocks and, in particular, provide no evidence for the major thrust postulated to subcrop beneath the Mesozoic strata of the Bristol Channel syncline.
Tertiary sediments in the Sea of the Hebrides
Authors: SMYTHE DAVID K. , KENOLTY NICHOLAS
Published: December 2007

Marine geophysical surveys in the Sea of the Hebrides show that there are several basins containing sediments up to 1 km in thickness resting on the offshore extensions of the Palaeocene–Eocene lava piles of Skye and Mull. Close geological and geophysical similarities with the Lough Neagh Clays of Northern Ireland suggest that the sediments are argillaceous deposits of probable Oligocene age; rocks of this age do not occur onshore in W Scotland. The early Tertiary history of the inner continental shelf now closely resembles that of the continental margin and Rockall trough, where an important Eocene–Oligocene unconformity preceded rapid Oligocene subsidence. South-west of Mull the main branch of the Great Glen fault downthrows the Tertiary to the SE. by about 0 5 km.
The Fenno-Scandian uplift
Authors: JEFFREYS HAROLD
Published: December 2007

The hypothesis that the uplift of Finland is due to viscosity, following the removal of ice at the end of the glacial period, is applied to the established difference between the Earth’s hydrostatic and actual ellipticities. It is shown to imply that there would be comparable rises at all latitudes above about 30°, and depressions nearer the equator. Known variations of height with time are inconsistent with the hypothesis that they are due to viscous flow.
Review of North Sea Basin development
Authors: KENT P. E.
Published: December 2007

The large amount of data now available on the North Sea stratigraphy, and on the history of the positive structures which form the sites of the oilfields, provides a basis for a review of basin development.

The area was initially occupied by two inter-cratonic basins: the Northern Basin had a Devonian ancestor; the Southern Basin dates back at least to the Carboniferous. During the Permian and Trias broad intercratonic subsidence continued in the south, but rifting developed across the separating Mid North Sea High and in the Northern Basin. Rifting (taphrogenic) control of subsidence became widely dominant through the Jurassic and lower Cretaceous, dying away in the upper Cretaceous, with major subsidence in the Viking Graben in the Northern Basin and in a series of narrow troughs in the south. No opening of the crust was associated with the central rifting: deep penetrations have encountered Devonian or Precambdan in the rift floor. For the most part the upper Cretaceous sagged into the earlier depressions with minor faulting only, but in the south inversion of the troughs took place in late Cretaceous and early Tertiary times; this may have had a compressional (orogenic) cause.

The Tertiary basin developed as a single, relatively simple synclinal subsidence of the whole North Sea area, centred on the main rift system but showing an absence of fault-control.

Interruptions in deposition on the individual structural high areas show wide correspondence in the North Sea. Except for a major late Triassic movement limited to the Netherlands and adjoining areas they show also close relation to those in Britain. The most notable are early middle Jurassic, early upper Jurassic and end Jurassic/lower Cretaceous. These produced erosional phases even in the deeper parts of the basin. They were entirely of epeirogenic type.

Halokinetic movements of Permian salt produced many local complications (especially in the Southern North Sea Basin) with consequent structural and stratigraphical anomalies from the middle Trias onwards.
Estimation of strain rates from microstructures
Authors: WHITE S.
Published: December 2007

The strain rates associated with the production of various microstructures in naturally deformed quartzites can be estimated by comparing them with experimentally produced equivalents. Fast, medium and slow strain rate ranges can be distinguished with values, at 350°C, of greater than 10
−3
sec
−1
, between 10
−4
to 10
−9
sec
−1
, and less than 10
−9
respectively. The strain rate producing normal tectonite textures is estimated at 3 × 10
−14
sec
−1
at 350°C.
Relaxation time of dunes in decelerating aqueous flows
Authors: ALLEN J. R. L. , FRIEND P. F.
Published: December 2007

The relaxation time of a bed form is the time required by the feature to equilibrate to a new flow condition after a change of flow. In the case of dunes formed by flows that periodically decelerate into the ripple existence-field, or into the field of no bed-material movement, the relaxation time (minimum value) may be calculated in terms of dune geometry and the total sediment transport permitted by the governing flow regime. Application of the analysis to intertidal dunes on a sand bank at an East Anglian locality afforded a relaxation time very much greater than the effective period of the ebbing tide and significantly larger than the effective period of the spring-neap tidal cycle. This finding is consistent with the observation that a dune pattern is a permanent feature of the bank.
Stratigraphical analysis of island arc—continental margin collision in eastern Indonesia
Authors: CARTER D. J. , AUDLEY-CHARLES M. G. , BARBER A. J.
Published: December 2007

Eastern Indonesia is a sinuous plate margin interpreted as a collision between the northern margin of the Australian continent and an Asian island arc. Detailed stratigraphical analysis of the collision zone in Timor reveals that pre-Pliocene deformation phases affected members of the allochthon before they were overthrust together onto the Australian margin in the middle Pliocene. The Australian facies para-autochthon below the thrust sheets was not involved in these pre-Pliocene deformations. The distinction within the collision zone of elements having different structural histories and opposite facies polarity permits identification of the plate margin which has been overthrust and folded after the initial collision.

The lowest thrust sheet emplaced in Timor and other islands of the Outer Banda Arc appears to be part of an Asian outer arc ridge overthrust by fragments of a continental margin metamorphic basement and volcanic-sedimentary cover.

Stratigraphical studies provide the basis for an explanation of the origin, transport and emplacement of a major olistostrome, for the sequence of allochthonous elements emplaced on the underthrusting continental margin and for post-collision deformation phases in the arc. A speculative model interprets a progressive Mio-Pliocene collision between the Australian margin and an island arc migrating away from SE. Asia by spreading of the marginal-type Banda Sea. The Asian arc was underthrust by the Australian continental margin but buoyancy probably restricted the process to overthrusting slivers of rocks from the trench and trench-arc gap. This model could be tested by seismic and magnetic studies of the Banda Sea region.

The Indonesian
Volcanic features of the nearside equatorial lunar maria
Authors: GUEST J. E. , MURRAY J.B.
Published: December 2007

A map is presented of the distribution of volcanic features in the lunar maria between longitudes 50°E. and 100°W, and latitudes 50°N. and S. Flood basaltic flows predominate, and where individual flow units can be identified they may be hundreds of kilometres long. Sinuous rilles are considered to be tubes and channels associated with flood volcanism and to indicate directions and lengths of flows. The large areal extent of the flood basalts may result from an exeedingly high eruption rate of low viscosity lava. Mare ridges are thought to be generally shallow in origin and result from magma movement in extensive shallow sills. Other types of volcanism include caldera collapse, shield volcanoes and viscous extrusions together with pyroclastic cones.
Preliminary report on the nature and age of the Blackstones Bank Igneous Centre, western Scotland
Authors: DURANT G . P. , DOBSON M. R. , KOKELAAR B. P. , MACINTYRE R. M. , REA W. J.
Published: December 2007

Over 100 samples from the submarine Black–stones Bank Igneous Centre have been collected by scuba divers. The samples include gabbros, dolerites and metamorphosed sediments but ultramafic rocks, expected in view of the high positive gravity anomaly on the bank, have not so far been sampled. The mode of occurrence, petrography and chemical composition of the samples show many similarities between the Blackstones Bank Centre and the Tertiary igneous centres of NW. Scotland. However, K-Ar age determinations on a basaltic dyke which cuts a gabbro suggest a minimum age for the Blackstones Centre of 70 Ma, while most plutonic rocks in the British Tertiary Province have ages of
c
. 59 and 53 Ma.
Age and structural setting of the Slieve Gamph Igneous Complex, Co. Mayo, Eire
Authors: PANKHURST R. J. , ANDREWS J. R. , PHILLIPS W. E. A. , SANDERS I. S. , TAYLOR W. E. G.
Published: December 2007

A Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron age of 487 ± 6 Ma for the Slieve Gamph Igneous Complex is interpreted as a minimum age for the regional metamorphism of the ?pre-Dalradian country rock. It is also believed to date deformation in the local Dalradian, and thus raises the question of diachronous deformation and metamorphism in the Dalradian of Ireland and Scotland.
Textures and fabrics in rocks
Authors: McCLAY K.
Published: December 2007

In the petrological context the term 'fabric' denotes both preferred orientations in populations of crystal grains (metallurgists call this texture) and the shapes and mutual dispositions of matrix grains and subsidiary phases (what metallurgists term morphology). Geologists and metallurgists are often concerned with the fabrics which arise from mechanical deformation of materials and the resultant recrystallization when the temperature is high enough.

Recent research into rock fabrics has increasingly involved metallurgical techniques and theories. In particular Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray texture goniometry have been widely applied. By drawing analogies with metallurgical phenomena, geologists are better able to understand de-formation mechanisms and the textures produced in rocks. Therefore this meeting was organized to bring geologists and metallurgists together in order to foster a multidisciplinary approach to problems of deformation and textures in rocks.

Two leading metallurgists were invited to give reviews of current thinking on deformation textures and recrystallization textures in metals. Dr I. Dillamore (British Steel Corporation, Sheffield) outlined the development of preferred orientations in deformed metals. He showed that the orientation distribution found in deformed face centred (f.c.c.) and body centred (b.c.c.) cubic metals could be explained by mathematical models which take account of the intracrystalline slip systems and shape change for each grain in a polycrystalline aggregate during plastic deformation. However, in the study of deformed metals, the deformation history and material properties are relatively well known com- pared with those for rocks and minerals but it is clear that these modelling techniques will be
Volcanism and structure of continental rift valleys
Authors: GASS I. G.
Published: December 2007

T
he
common image invoked by the term “riff” is of extensive linear depressions embellished by the constructional features of recent volcanic activity. It is to the credit of Drs Pinkerton and Macdonald, both of Lancaster University, that they interpreted "rift" in an imaginative way and organized a group of speakers who, although falling under the general generic heading of “rifters”, dealt with the subject over a long time scale and wide spatial distribution. Drs Williams and Banks were conventional enough in that their subjects were respectively the geology and geophysics of the East African rift system in Kenya. Professor King summarized the geology in and around the non-volcanic Baikal rift. Dr Upton presented the fascinating story of the intense faulting and associated magmatism of the late Precambrian Gardar province of South Greenland whereas Dr Howell Francis injected new data and enthusiasm into the magmatic history of the Midland Valley of Scotland. Professor Bailey, painting on a wider canvas, considered the causes of African rifting and magmatism.

Dr Williams, dealing with the distribution, composition and age of the Cenozoic volcanics both within and away from the Kenya rift, emphasised the growing complexity of the story as more data become available. Lavas that at one time had been considered to belong to the same phase, had been shown to differ in both composition and age. There was no simple compositional progression in either space or time, this lack of obvious correlation applied also between volcanic structures and those in the underlying
A possible early Scourian supracrustal assemblage within the Moine
Authors: HARRISON VALERIE E. , MOORHOUSE STEVEN J.
Published: December 2007

Studies in the Armadale–Strathy area of north-east Sutherland indicate the presence of a large area dominantly composed of siliceous grey gneiss with subordinate amphibole-bearing gneisses, amphibolite and marble. The presence of relict pyroxene-granulite facies rocks unusually low in K, Rb and Th suggests that the Strathy complex may be Lewisian which has undergone prolonged high grade metamorphism, tentatively correlated with the Badcallian event. This characteristic depleted geochemistry also occurs in the grey gneisses, distinguishing them from other Lewisian supracrustal rocks.
Volcanic stratigraphy and geochronology of the Kedong–Olorgesailie area and the evolution of the South Kenya rift valley
Authors: BAKER BRIAN HOWARD , MITCHELL JOHN GRAHAM
Published: December 2007

An area 1360 km
2
in extent on the eastern side of the South Kenya rift valley consists of block faulted Plio-Pleistocene flood lavas ranging from basalts to trachytes. The oldest flood lavas are the Limuru trachytes (1.91 Ma BP) which were followed by the Ol Keju Nero basalts. A second eruptive cycle began with the Ol Tepesi basalts (1.42–1.65 Ma), which contain a very thick porphyritic benmoreite flow, and were followed by the Plateau trachytes (0.8–1.25 Ma). The magnetic polarities of the lavas agree with new K–Ar dates, and allow a revised and expanded stratigraphic succession to be established. The tectonic evolution of the eastern margin of the South Kenya rift valley followed pre-rift eruption of peralkaline lavas from shield volcanoes (13.4–3.3 Ma), and consisted of formation of the eastern boundary fault (3.3–2.3 Ma), formation of an inner graben (1.9–1.65 Ma), succeeded by almost continuous block fault movements (0.8–0.4 Ma). It is postulated that two major basalt-trachyte eruptive cycles occurred during late Pleistocene evolution of the southern rift valley, and that the voluminous flood trachytes could have been formed by fractional crystallization from a large basic intrusive body emplaced under the axial zone of the rift.
Lower Cambrian fossils from the Hell’s Mouth Grits, St Tudwal’s Peninsula, North Wales
Authors: BASSETT MICHAEL G. , OWENS ROBERT M. , RUSHTON ADRIAN W. A.
Published: December 2007

The trilobites
Hamatolenus (Myopsolenus) douglasi
sp. nov.,
Kerberodiscus succinctus
gen. et sp. nov. and
Serrodiscus ctenoa?
Rushton, 1966 are described from the upper part of the Hell’s Mouth Grits, St Tudwal’s Peninsula, together with hexactinellid sponge spicules, trace fossils and a single inarticulate brachiopod. The fauna is of late lower Cambrian age, within the upper part of the protolenid-strenuellid Zone of the Comley Series of British nomenclature. From comparison with related faunas the horizon is correlated approximately with beds in New York State containing the
Acimetopus
faunule, the top of the Issafénien Stage of Morocco, and the uppermost lower Cambrian trilobite-bearing horizon in the Purley Shales of Warwickshire, but it is younger than the
Pseudatops viola
horizon in the Llanberis Slates. The top of the Hell’s Mouth Grits is lithologically equivalent to the uppermost Rhinog Grits of the Harlech Dome.

Smooth (effaced) eodiscid trilobites are shown to be polyphyletic, and to complement the evidence of the Hell’s Mouth eodiscids
Runcinodiscus index
gen. et sp. nov. is described from the lower Cambrian of Comley, Salop.
Palaeomagnetic studies of the Longmyndian and other British late Precambrian/early Palaeozoic rocks, and their regional tectonic implications
Authors: LOMAX K. , BRIDEN J. C.
Published: December 2007

The natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of the Longmyndian sediments is carried by hematite and was imposed post-tectonically in a palaeomagnetic field D = 54°, I = +80° (α
95
= 6°). Crosscutting dykes and their baked contacts have stable NRM D = 316°, I = -16° (α
95
= 10°). The corresponding palaeomagnetic poles are 60°N, 29°E and 19°N, 223°E respectively. These results are consistent with (but do not prove) the notion that deformation of the sediments and dyke intrusion both occurred during a period of rapid “apparent polar wander” during the late Proterozoic. After rotating the European and American plates into their pre-Wegenerian drift positions the pole from the dykes is consistent with late Proterozoic data from the whole region but the (older) pole from the Longmyndian sediments is not—a change which may reflect contemporary closure of the pre-Caledonide ocean.

Uriconian and Malvernian rocks carry magnetizations which are probably post-tectonic; their
in situ
directions are not significantly different from either the Longmyndian NRM or the present geomagnetic field. Because at least some of these NRMs reside in multidomain magnetite of doubtful palaeomagnetic stability, and in the absence of further controls, the age and geological significance of these remanences is unknown. Some Monian metasediments from Lleyn are only partially stable palaeomagnetically, and even the more stable component is probably secondary and of Caledonian age. Arvonian metavolcanies from North Wales could carry a primary remanence, but the preliminary studies reported here are inadequate to define it with acceptable precision.
Lithosphere control of continental rift magmatism
Authors: BAILEY D. K.
Published: December 2007

The proposition that intra-continental magmatism is caused by plumes which have fixed sources below the lithosphere is critically examined and found to be false. Repetition of alkaline/carbonatite activity at continental rift intersections, over periods of large-scale plate movement, demands that the structural fabric of the lithosphere is determining the
site
of the magmatism. It is concluded that the structure and thickness of the continental slab modulate the escape of heat and volatiles from the deep mantle, and the lithosphere thus also controls the
character
of the magmatism.
Marine geology of Slyne Ridge
Authors: BAILEY R. J. , JACKSON P. D. , BENNELL J. D.
Published: December 2007

New seismic reflection profiles plus recent gravity and magnetic data suggest that the Slyne Ridge contains three continuous sub-Cenozoic grabens developed along Caledonoid faults. Two of these faults may connect with the offshore line of the Great Glen Fault, but the third, which also seems to have influenced the structural development of the north Seabight Trough, runs ENE towards the fault convergence of Achill––Clew Bay, Co. Mayo. The grabens contain a gently folded succession and represent a more accurate realization of the structure previously named the Slyne Trough; they may originate in regional Triassic rifting.