bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Racial differences in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Dahodwala Nabila , Siderowf Andrew , Xie Ming , Noll Elizabeth , Stern Matthew , Mandell David S.
Published: May 2009

The objective of this cohort study was to determine the incidence of Parkinson's disease (PD) and the effects of race/ethnicity, other demographic characteristics, geography, and healthcare utilization on probability of diagnosis. The authors used the Pennsylvania state Medicaid claims dataset from 1999 to 2003 to identify newly diagnosed cases of PD among the 182,271 Medicaid enrolled adults age 40–65; 319 incident cases of PD were identified. The 4‐year cumulative incidence of PD was 45 per 100,000; 54 per 100,000 among whites, 23 per 100,000 among African‐Americans and 40 per 100,000 among Latinos (P < 0.0001), corresponding to a relative risk (RR) of PD of 0.43 for African‐Americans (P < 0.0001) compared with whites. After adjusting for age, sex, geography, reason for Medicaid eligibility, and average number of visits, African‐Americans were still half as likely to be diagnosed with PD as whites (RR 0.45, P < 0.0001). Older age, more healthcare visits and Medicaid eligibility because of income alone also were significantly associated with PD diagnosis, while male sex was not. Observed racial differences in incidence of PD are not explained by differences in age, sex, income, insurance or healthcare utilization but still may be explained by biological differences or other factors such as education or aging beliefs. Better understanding of the complex biological and social determinants of these disparities is critical to improve PD care. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Effectiveness and safety of treatments for degenerative ataxias: A systematic review
Authors: Trujillo‐Martín M.Mar , Serrano‐Aguilar Pedro , Monton‐Álvarez Fernando , Carrillo‐Fumero Romen
Published: May 2009

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness and safety of available treatment alternatives for degenerative ataxias (DA). We systematically reviewed studies that assess pharmacological, rehabilitative, or psychological treatments in patients with DA. Studies were included if they fulfilled prespecified criteria. All included clinical trials were scored for methodological quality. Main outcome measures were clinical status of neurological disorder, adverse events, and patient‐based factors. Twenty‐five studies were included. Most studies were of small sample sizes, wide age variations, and low scientific validity. Only one study gave information on physical rehabilitation and none on psychological therapy. The remaining 24 studies reported on the effects of different pharmacological treatments. Outcomes such as functional capacity and psychological functioning of patients were evaluated by few studies. Some evidence supports that 5‐hydroxytryptophan is more effective than placebo improving neurological symptoms in patients with Friedreich ataxia (FA), olivopontocerebellar atrophy, or cerebellar atrophy. Idebenone is more effective than placebo for halting and reversing the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy associated with FA, but it seems unable to improve neurological semiology. Limited evidence for other therapies was found. No relevant side effects for drugs that shown some degree of effectiveness were reported. Availability of quality studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of treatments for most DA is scarce. No valid information on the actual value of physical rehabilitation and psychological support as treatments for DA is available. Further investigations with improved trial designs are necessary. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Influence of subthalamic deep brain stimulation versus levodopa on motor perseverations in Parkinson's disease
Authors: Herzog Jan , Möller Bettina , Witt Karsten , Pinsker Marcus O. , Deuschl Günther , Volkmann Jens
Published: May 2009

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) show impairment in generating random motor sequences reflecting a higher order motor deficit in set‐shifting and suppression of perseverative behavior. The impact of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) on motor perseverations has not yet been elucidated. In 35 patients with PD, we evaluated the effect of STN‐DBS and levodopa on motor perseverations using the Vienna perseveration task. The task was performed 6 months after implantation of stimulation electrodes in the following three conditions: Stimulation off/medication off (Stim OFF/Med OFF), Stim ON/Med OFF, and Stim OFF/Med ON. Perseverations were measured by redundancy of second order (R2) with higher values indicating more severe perseverations. ANCOVA analysis revealed that influence of STN‐DBS on R2 significantly depended on R2 severity during Stim OFF/Med OFF (F = 4.69, P = 0.035). Accordingly, we classified patients with PD into two groups based on the R2 value during off treatment. In patients with mild perseveration (R2 < 35) neither STN‐DBS nor levodopa changed perseverations. By contrast, in patients with severe perseveration (R2 > 35), STN‐DBS significantly reduced R2 by 9.7 ± 2.6 (P < 0.001) whereas levodopa had no impact (R2 reduction 3.7 ± 1.6, P = 0.081). This demonstrates that STN‐DBS, by reducing motor perseveration, influences higher order aspects of motor behavior of patients with PD. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Force variability during isometric biceps contraction in children with secondary dystonia due to cerebral palsy
Authors: Chu Way Tong Virginia , Sanger Terence D.
Published: May 2009

Children with secondary dystonia due to cerebral palsy (CP) often exhibit excess variability in their movements. To investigate the relationship between excess variability and single‐joint control in these children, we compared their force variations during single‐joint isometric tasks to age‐matched controls. Subjects performed isometric biceps contractions at six target force levels scaled to their maximum voluntary contraction. Similar studies in healthy adults have shown that movement variability exhibits characteristics of signal‐dependent noise (SDN). We look for the first time at whether variability in single‐joint force contractions in healthy children and children with CP exhibit similar characteristics of SDN. Results showed that compared to controls, patients exhibited increased variability (standard deviation about the mean), increased force error bias (difference between the mean and target), and increased dependence of force error bias on target force level. Signal‐dependence of the noise was significant only in healthy subjects due to the higher overall variability in the patients. A control experiment using filtered visual feedback confirmed that overcorrection for perceived error was not the cause of the observed variability. These results contribute to a better understanding of movement variability in childhood dystonia and have potential use in therapeutic interventions designed to increase force production reliability. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Upper limb nerve injuries in developmental age
Authors: Senes Filippo M. , Campus Riccardo , Becchetti Flavio , Catena Nunzio
Published: May 2009

Our series includes 105 children with peripheral nerve injuries of the upper limb due to trauma. The aim of this study is to validate our therapeutic approach to peripheral nerve injuries of the upper limb in children and to identify the suitable waiting time before surgical exploration. Case series examination included evaluation of (1) type of lesion; (2) topographical site of nerve injury; (3) motor and sensory outcome; (4) recovery time; (5) results after surgery. Open injuries (Sunderland V) received immediate treatment with direct suturing or nerve grafts or biological tubules in case of loss of nerve substance. After closed nerve injury, a waiting period of variable duration should precede surgery. Most of the cases had peripheral nerve injuries associated to fracture and cutting lesions followed by injuries due to other causes. Open or closed injuries of the median and radial nerves had a generally favorable prognosis, whereas ulnar nerve injuries (both isolated and associated) had a poor prognosis. Stable skeletal fixation is essential in fractures at risk of nerve involvement. During nerve exploration, secondary surgery interventions were never associated. In the absence of adequate clinical and instrumental response, the authors suggest to resort to nerve surgery at 6 months from injury to accelerate recovery time. Secondary surgery should be delayed as patient's recovery time can be very long. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2009.
Maternal plasma inhibin A at 11–13 weeks of gestation in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
Authors: Akolekar Ranjit , Minekawa Ryoko , Veduta Alina , Romero Ximena C. , Nicolaides Kypros H.
Published: May 2009

Objective

To investigate the potential value of maternal plasma inhibin A in first‐trimester screening for preeclampsia (PE).

Method

The concentration of inhibin A at 11–13 weeks was measured in samples from 121 pregnancies that developed PE, 87 cases of gestational hypertension (GH) and 208 normal controls. The distributions of inhibin A multiple of median (MoM) in the control and hypertensive groups were compared. Logistic regression analysis was used to derive algorithms for the prediction of hypertensive disorders.

Results

The maternal plasma inhibin A MoM was significantly higher in the early and late PE groups (1.55 MoM and 1.24 MoM, respectively; p < 0.0083), compared to the controls (0.98 MoM), but not in GH. Significant contributions for the prediction of PE were provided by maternal factors, plasma inhibin A and uterine artery pulsatility index (PI) and with combined screening the detection rates for early and late PE were 88% and 42%, respectively, for a false positive rate of 10%.

Conclusion

The proposed combined screening test could be used to identify women at high risk for PE and intensive monitoring in such patients would lead to earlier identification of the disease which could potentially improve pregnancy outcome. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rapid identification of gallotannins from Chinese galls by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry
Authors: Zhu Fan , Cai Yi‐Zhong , Xing Jie , Ke Jinxia , Zhan Zhaoqi , Corke Harold
Published: May 2009

Chinese gall, a conventional traditional Chinese medicine, contains high levels of gallotannins. A rapid method for direct analysis of the gallotannins without using any troublesome sample pretreatments was developed using matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry (MALDI‐QIT‐TOF MS) to successfully identify the gallotannin components in the crude extract of Chinese galls within several minutes. The high quality of the MS and MS2 spectra acquired clearly showed that hydrolysable tannins in Chinese galls were identified as a series of the gallotannins with degrees of polymerization (DP) of 4–11 galloyl units. The MS2 data indicated that the identified gallotannins with DP of 4–7 galloyl units had clear fragmentation with loss of 1–5 galloyl units which were further deprived of 1–3 water moieties. This technique may be used for rapid evaluation and screening of hydrolysable tannins in medicinal plants. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis of biotin‐tagged chemical cross‐linkers and their applications for mass spectrometry
Authors: Kang Sebyung , Mou Liyuan , Lanman Jason , Velu Sadanandan , Brouillette Wayne J. , Prevelige Peter E.
Published: May 2009

Chemical cross‐linking combined with mass spectrometry (MS) has been used to elucidate protein structures and protein‐protein interactions. However, heterogeneity of the samples and the relatively low abundance of cross‐linked peptides make this approach challenging. As an effort to overcome this hurdle, we have synthesized lysine‐reactive homobifunctional cross‐linkers with the biotin in the middle of the linker and used them to enrich cross‐linked peptides. The reaction of biotin‐tagged cross‐linkers with purified HIV‐1 CA resulted in the formation of hanging and intramolecular cross‐links. The peptides modified with biotinylated cross‐linkers were effectively enriched and recovered using a streptavidin‐coated plate and MS‐friendly buffers. The enrichment of modified peptides and removal of the dominantly unmodified peptides simplify mass spectra and their analyses. The combination of the high mass accuracy of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT‐ICR) MS and the tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) capability of the linear ion trap allows us to unambiguously identify the cross‐linking sites and additional modification, such as oxidation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Varieties of Capitalism and Institutional Complementarities in the Political Economy: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Hall Peter A. , Gingerich Daniel W.
Published: May 2009

This article provides a statistical analysis of core contentions of the ‘varieties of capitalism’ perspective on comparative capitalism. The authors construct indices to assess whether patterns of co-ordination in the OECD economies conform to the predictions of the theory and compare the correspondence of institutions across subspheres of the political economy. They test whether institutional complementarities occur across these subspheres by estimating the impact of complementarities in labour relations and corporate governance on growth rates. To assess the durability of varieties of capitalism, they report on the extent of institutional change in the 1980s and 1990s. Powerful interaction effects across institutions in the subspheres of the political economy must be considered if assessments of the economic impact of institutional reform in any one sphere are to be accurate.
Hydrothermal Melting of Shales
Authors: Wyllie P. J. , Tuttle O. F.
Published: May 2009

PT curves for the beginning of melting of five analysed shales in the presence of water vapour under pressure are 20° C. to 40° C. higher than the corresponding curve for granite. About 150° C. above the beginning of melting, the shales are half-melted; this is higher than the liquidus curve of most granites. Refractive indices of the quenched liquids (1·495–1·505) indicate a granitic or granodioritic composition. Quartz, cordierite, mullite, hypersthene, anorthite, etc., are developed in the partially fused shales. Partial fusion of shales by a granitic magma, even if superheated, would produce a liquid no more basic than granodiorite. The chemical characteristics of the shales are compared with average igneous rocks, and there appears to be no possibility that fusion of shales could produce a basaltic magma. Complete fusion would produce a melt with composition distinct from normal igneous magmas.
Petrographic Sub-provinces in the Tertiary to Recent Volcanics of Kenya
Authors: Wright J. B.
Published: May 2009

Three sub-provinces are recognized in the volcanics of the southern half of Kenya as follows:—

(a) the Miocene phonolite sub-province, (b) the Mount Kenya phonolite/basanite sub-province, and (c) the Rift Valley trachyte/olivine basalt sub-province. Mela-nephelinitic lavas in the two phonolitic sub-provinces are shown to differ significantly in mineralogy, chemistry, and associated volcanics. The type of volcanic association likely to be related to carbonatite occurrences is briefly discussed.

Areas of exposed Miocene phonolite and Plio-Pleistocene trachyte are much greater than those of associated basic lavas, while intermediate types are almost lacking. Calculations show that assimilation of gneissic basement rocks by basanite (or olivine mela-nephelinite) and by olivine basalt may contribute to the development of phonolite and trachyte respectively. Available supporting evidence is discussed, both from Kenya and from similar volcanic provinces elsewhere. The additional amount of salic derivatives “which can be produced in this way is small, however, relative to the volume of basic parent involved.
Sedimentary structures and palaeocurrents of the Siwaliks exposed between the Yamuna and Gola Rivers, U.P. (India)
Authors: Parkash B. , Bajpai I. P. , Saxena H. P.
Published: May 2009

The present paper deals with sedimentary structures and palaeocurrents of the Siwaliks exposed between the Yamuna and Gola rivers, U.P., India. Typical sedimentary structures observed in the Lower and Middle Siwalik formations are: cross-bedding, rib-and-furrow structure, parting lineation, plane-laminations and worm burrows. Also the Lower and Middle Siwaliks exhibit a typical, cyclic development of sedimentary bed forms and structures characteristic of flood plain deposits. A study of cross-bedding foreset azimuths indicates south-westerly and southerly paleocurrent directions for the Lower and Middle Siwaliks respectively. Distributions of pebble orientations from the Upper Siwalik have significant preferred orientations along both N–S and E–W directions.
Trace elements and tectonic relationships of basaltic rocks in the Ballantrae igneous complex, Ayrshire
Authors: Wilkinson J. M. , Cann J. R.
Published: May 2009

In order to obtain further evidence for the tectonic environment of generation of the basaltic rocks of the Ballantrae igneous complex, specimens of pillow lavas, dolerites, glaucophane schists and amphibolites were analysed for Ti, Zr, Y and Nb. Using Ti–Zr–Y, Ti–Zr and Y/Nb diagrams, three different genetic groups have been distinguished – (i) hot-spot basalts round Downan Point, round Bennane Head as far N as Balcreuchan Port, and also within serpentinite around Lendalfoot, (ii) island arc low-potassium tholeiites between Balcreuchan Port and Gamesloup, and (iii) possible ocean floor basalts at Knockormal and Knocklaugh. The interrelationships of these groups are in doubt. The hot-spot basalts may have been erupted through oceanic crust, but they could have formed prior to, or subsequent to, the island arc activity. More likely, the hot-spot basalts formed (possibly on oceanic crust) at a considerable distance from the island arc, and the two were later brought together tectonically, probably at the subduction zone associated with the arc.
On an Inverted Mass of Upper Cretaceous Strata near Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire; and on an Overlap of the Upper Gault in that Neighbourhood
Authors: Kitchin F. L. , Pringle J.
Published: May 2009

Mr. G. W. Lamplugh and the late Mr. J. F. Walker published a paper in 1903 on a fossiliferous bed at the top of the Lower Greensand, exposed in sand-pits at Shenley Hill, near Leighton Buzzard. The bed in question presented points of considerable lithological interest and was remarkable for its rich brachiopodfauna. Its position above the “silver-sands” of the Lower Greensand and below a capping of dark “shaly clay”, ascribed by those observers to the Lower Gault, led to the conclusion that it belonged to the top part of the Lower Greensand. The discovery of its fossils was considered to throw welcome light on the faunal characters of the latest Lower Cretaceous rocks in England, represented in more southern counties by relatively unfossiliferous sands.
On the Distribution of Productus humerosus (= sublaevis) and the Zonal Range of the “Brachiopod Beds” of the Midlands
Authors: Sibly T. Franklin
Published: May 2009

In 1908 the Productus humerosus beds in the Carboniferous Limestone of Caldon Low, N. Staffs, were tentatively assigned to the Lower Dibunophyllum zone, D1, of Vaughan's classification. The slender evidence for this correlation was set out in my paper on the Midland Area.
The Cretaceous Shales of Jamaica
Authors: Trechmann C. T.
Published: May 2009

Beds of shale, sandstone and conglomerate containing Upper Cretaceous fossils occur at several places in Jamaica, and in every instance that I know of they are found to be more or less in close association with Rudist limestones. They generally occur below the limestones with Rudistae but in at least one locality, that at St. Ann's Great River, fossiliferous shales occur immediately above and also a considerable distance, 1,000 feet or so, below a bed of Rudist limestone.
Further Notes on Structural Types and Earth Movements
Authors: Lee J. S.
Published: May 2009

In a previous paper published in the Geological Magazine, the writer made an attempt to discuss the mechanism of earth movement on a continental scale purely from a tectonic point of view. The problem is so vast and involved that some of the vital points were hardly touched upon, partly because of lack of space and partly of literature. The arrival of the admirable works of Dr. A. du Toit and Dr. E. Krenkel has enabled the writer to deduce the mechanism of the movements of South Africa directly from its tectonic features, which process is thought to be far more reliable than the type of argument used in the previous case although the results arrived at are essentially the same. The earlier movements in North America are now seen to furnish evidence of the same type of mechanism as that which staged the later movements. An epsilon type of structure has been recognized in Eastern China, which was then described as a mere arc. The problem of the distribution of concealed coalfields in England was in the previous paper barely touched upon. It is now proposed to consider some of the critical points bearing on the problem.
Notes on the Portsoy Coastal District
Authors: Elles Gertrude L.
Published: May 2009

During the summer of 1928 I spent a month making a detailed study of the metamorphic condition of the rocks in the magnificent section displayed along the Banffshire coast and in the immediate hinterland, and this work has been supplemented by examination of a number of rock slices cut from specimens then obtained, and also of those in the collection of the Sedgwick Museum mostly collected by Mr. Harker.
II. On the Fossil Neck-bones of a Whale (Palæocetus sedgwicki), from the Neighbourhood of Ely.
Authors: Seeley Harry
Published: May 2009

Though the oldest English Whales yet named are found in the Crag, Prof. Sedgwick, a quarter of a century since, obtained from Ely some anchylosed cervical vertebræ evidently Cetacean. The fossil was found at Roswell Pit in the Boulderclay, but the Professor writes, ‘I have not the shadow of a doubt that it was washed out of the Kimmeridge (or the Oxford) Clay, for both clays are near at hand. In condition it is exactly like the bones from those clays; and is utterly unlike the true Gravel bones, whether in the dry Gravel, or the Till.’* This is unmistakeable, for the specimen is mineralised with phosphate of lime; and so could have been derived from no deposit newer than the Crag.
III. Note on Xiphoteuthis elongata
Authors: Phillips John
Published: May 2009

The very important addition to our knowledge of the Belemnitidæ contained in Professor Huxley's Memoir on Xiphoteuthis encourages the hope that, by following the steps of Mr. Day, we may clear up some other perplexities among the Cephalopoda of the Lias. One of the singular forms which presents itself for more complete inquiry is the fossil called by Mr. J. Sowerby Belemnites pistilliformis, found at Lyme-Regis. It is not the species so named by Blainville, which belongs to quite another part of the series of strata. The phragmocone is as yet undiscovered. If a considerable number of specimens be examined, including varieties of figure—club-shaped, fusiform, and subcylindrical,—there will appear enough of resemblance to the guard of Xiphoteuthis to suggest the probability that the phragmocone might be slender and elongate as in that fossil. The same idea has, indeed, already been expressed by Quenstedt (‘Der Jura’) in reference to Bel. clavatus, Blainv., a fossil rather common in the Lias, and which is probably identical with Bel. pistilliformis of Sowerby. Quenstedt expressly proposes to join Orthoceratites elongatus of De la Beche, which was unprovided with a guard, with Bel. clavatus, still deficient of a phragmocone. And, in addition to the English example of that phragmocone from Lyme, he figures (‘Der Jura,’ pl. 17, fig. 9) another, having similar general characters, from the Lias of Heckingen.
III.—Land Shells in the Red Crag
Authors: Bell Robert G.
Published: May 2009

Perhaps very few Tertiary formations have received a greater amount of attention from geologists and collectors of fossils, during the last forty years, than the Red Crag of Suffolk and Walton-Naze; and it seems singular that so few traces of land life have resulted from so much research. Although in its southern portions it is strictly a marine deposit, yet its distance from shore could not have been very great at any point; but putting aside the few plants and mammalian remains, most of which in the coprolite portion of the Red Crag are derivative, there is little evidence of its proximity.
III.—On the Occurrence of the Genus Dalmanites in the Lower Carboniferous Rocks of Ohio
Authors: Claypole E. W.
Published: May 2009

Of the abounding Trilobites which mark the faunas of the Lower and Middle Palæozoic rocks few survive into the Upper Palæozoic. Three genera, if indeed they really deserve that name, have been described from the Carboniferous beds in England—Phillipsia, Griffithides and Brachymetopus. Only the first of these is yet known to occur in American Palæozoic strata. But on the other hand two species of Proetus have been announced from America—a genus not yet recognized in England. It is true that the distinctions are so slight that possibly these last might be as correctly referred to Phillipsia as to Proetus.
II.—Geological Nomenclature
Authors: Hutton F. W.
Published: May 2009

I Should be much obliged if you would allow me to make a few remarks on the subject of Geological Nomenclature. Certain points connected with nomenclature are forced on the attention of a geologist living at the antipodes of Europe which are not likely to attract the notice of one who is working in, or near, the region from which the standard table of rock-systems has been drawn up; and this must be my excuse for coming forward in a matter which has already been so much and so well discussed.
III.—Contributions to the Palæontology of the Yorkshire Oolites
Authors: Hudleston Wilfrid H.
Published: May 2009

Bibliography, etc.—This somewhat insignificant fossil approaches several of the small granulated or tuberculated species of Trochus (or Monodonta), which are distinguished by a completely conical outline, resulting from a close suture and perfect flatness of the whorls. Although without description, Phillips's figure is characteristic, and it is somewhat singular that this species was not recognized by D'Orbigny amongst the fossils of the French Jurassic. The typical form is confined, in Yorkshire, so far as I know, to the Scarborough Limestone (zone 3), where it is rare, and, for the most part, so imperfectly preserved, that accurate description is a matter of some difficulty.
II.—Can Underground Heat be Utilized?
Authors: Gardner J. Starkie
Published: May 2009

Geology has long been the handmaid of Engineering. Instances are numerous in which the practical bearing of facts discovered by the devotee of the one have been recognized and utilized by the other. On the other hand, engineering enterprise has often put geologists in possession of facts of the greatest value as bases for fresh inductions. The subject now brought forward may perhaps sooner, or in a remote future, furnish another instance in which knowledge gained by the geologist may become available for a great economic purpose.
V.—Note on the Genus Stenotheca
Authors: Matthew George F.
Published: May 2009

As facts relative to the earliest forms of Molluscs are of interest to the naturalist as well as the geologist, I offer this note on the genus Stenotheca, derived from a study of the remains of several species occurring in the Cambrian rocks of Canada. The formation in which they are found is the St.-John Group, a formation occurring in the Southern part of the Province of New Brunswick; and the geological horizons are those of the Solva and Menevian Groups of Wales, equivalent to the Paradoxides-Tesseni beds, and overlying measures of Étage 1, of the Norwegian geologists. The fossils are, therefore, of great antiquity, having preceded any known Lamellibranchs; and, except the Metoptoma Barrandei of Linnarsson, I know of no Gasteropods of equal antiquity.
I.—Note on the Skeleton of Pareiasaurus Baini
Authors: Seeley H. G.
Published: May 2009

The skeleton of Pareiasaurus Baini, which I brought from the Bath near Tamboer Fontein, in Cape Colony, is shown in the accompanying photograph of the right side of the specimen, as it is now mounted in the British Museum. It is the only known example of the group of animals to which it belongs, in which almost every part of the skeleton is shown. The Dicynodonts were familiar to us from the discovery of many skulls; the Theriodonts were mostly known from snouts; and the Pareiasaurus, although originally described from skull remains, had become known from the fine axial skeleton of P. bombideus, which Mr. Thomas Bain sent to the British Museum many years ago. I therefore entertained hope that the limbs and other missing parts of the skeleton might reward personal exploration in the country. The area to be examined was clearly defined as lying approximately between the Prince Albert Road Station and Fraserberg; for Dr. W. G. Atherstone had found the type of the species near the former locality, and Mr. Bain had found the specimen described by myself in 1887–8 at Palmiet Fontein, at the foot of the Nieuwveldt Range, towards the latter place.
IV.—A Comparison of the Pebbles in the Trias of Budleigh Salterton and of Cannock Chase
Authors: Bonney T. G.
Published: May 2009

The pebble-bed in the Trias of Budleigh Salterton has attracted much notice, but I am not aware that its materials have been compared with those of the corresponding bed in the Bunter group of the English Midlands. For this purpose I recently spent a short time at the former place, and think the results worth placing on record. I select for comparison the pebble-bed on the more northern part of the wild Staffordshire moorland called Cannock Chase, with which I happen to be especially familiar. The points of resemblance shall be noted first, those of difference afterwards.
V.—Questions and Answers on Ice-Motion
Authors: Hill E.
Published: May 2009

A Passage in Mr. Deeley's letter in the December Number suggests to me that some readers may like an opportunity of clearing their thoughts on some points connected with the motion of ice. After a tutor's fashion, I will ask some questions. Let any reader consider the answers he would give, and then compare with mine which shall follow.
VI.—Note on a Specimen of Keraterpetum Galvani, Huxley, from Staffordshire
Authors: Andrews C. W.
Published: May 2009

In a collection of Coal-measure Vertebrata made by Mr. J. Ward, of Longton, and recently acquired by the British Museum, there is an imperfect, crushed skeleton of a small Labyrinthodont from the Ash-coal Shale of Longton Hall Colliery, Staffordshire. This specimen was noticed by Miall in 1874 in his British Association Report on the Classification of the Labyrinthodonts, where it is referred to Urocordylus, some of the characters given in his diagnosis of that genus being taken from it. Some measurements of the skull were added. The same specimen was afterwards figured in Mr. Ward's paper “On the Geological Features of the North Staffordshire Coal-field” (Trans. N. Staffs. Instit. Mining Engineers, vol. x. 1890, pl. ix. fig. 2) as Keraterpetum Galvani. This figure, which is natural size, unfortunately does not show any details of the structure of the skull, some account of which may be of interest.
The Iapetus suture in the British Isles
Authors: McKerrow W. S. , Soper N. J.
Published: May 2009

The position of the Iapetus Ocean suture can be traced between Ordovician fossil localities in the Southern Uplands and the Lake District which contain, respectively, distinct North American and European faunas. The Southern Uplands contains North American Caradoc faunas in the Northern Belt, and is considered to have been accreted onto the Laurentian (North American) margin between the Llandeilo and the end of the Wenlock. Deep seismic reflection profiling shows that a surface, probably parallel to the suture zone, dips down to the northwest from the Solway Line. In eastern Ireland, the surface trace of the suture coincides with the Navan Fault, which separates the Longford-Down massif from Ordovician sediments containing European faunas. The Navan–Silvermines Fault may represent the surface expression of the suture, but it is masked by Wenlock turbidites, which appear to have crossed over the plate boundary. Northward subduction of continental crust below the margin of Laurentia during the late Silurian may explain the influx of turbidite fans from the north or north west onto depressed crust to the south of the suture. Termination of subduction coincides with the widespread Acadian Orogeny in the Emsian (at 395±5 Ma).
Emplacement features of lamprophyre and carbonatitic lamprophyre dykes at Aillik Bay, Labrador
Authors: Foley S. F.
Published: May 2009

Alkaline and ultramafic lamprophyre dykes at Aillik Bay on the coast of central Labrador exhibit features indicative of volatile-rich conditions at the time of emplacement. Aillikites (ultramafic lamprophyres) are flanked by closely spaced fracture systems whose formation was promoted by a carbonate-rich fluid moving ahead of the intruding magma. Sannaites (alkaline lamprophyres) frequently have horned termination structures which are interpreted to be partial reconnections between dyke segments which had separated at an earlier stage of intrusion.

The lamprophyre dykes comprise three sets which are interpreted as cone sheets and radial dykes related to an intrusive centre located beneath the Labrador Sea to the northeast of the coastal exposures. This complex is one of several on the margins of the Labrador Sea, and its position may be influenced by the Archean/Aphebian boundary and by a major oceanic structural feature represented by offsets in seafloor magnetic anomalies.
Discontinuities between picritic and crinanitic units in the Shiant Isles sill: evidence of multiple intrusion
Authors: Gibb F. G. F. , Henderson C. M. B.
Published: May 2009

Two internal discontinuities are described from the Tertiary, Shiant Isles sill (northwest Scotland). The lower discontinuity separates picrite from overlying picrodolerite and the recently discovered upper discontinuity separates picrite from underlying crinanite. The sill is thus divided into an inner, strongly differentiated, picrodolerite–crinanite unit and outer picritic units. The lower discontinuity is slightly transgressive with respect to the picrite. The discontinuities are interpreted as the contacts between an earlier-intruded picritic sill (about 30 m thick) and a slightly later-intruded, much thicker, crinanitic sill. The Shiant Isles main sill is therefore a multiple intrusion.
Trace fossils from the type ‘Etcheminian Series’ (Lower Cambrian Ratcliffe Brook Formation), Saint John area, New Brunswick, Canada
Authors: Hofmann H. J. , Patel I. M.
Published: May 2009

Selected trace fossils from the type section of the ‘Etcheminian Series’ at Hanford Brook are described and illustrated:Helmithoidichnites tenuisFitch,Monocraterionsp.,Palaeophycus tubularisHall,Planolitessp.,Psammichnites gigasMatthew,Subphyllochordra?sp.,Taphrhelminthoida dailyin. sp., andTaphrhelminthopsiscf.T. circularisCrimes et al. The assemblage has elements comparable to those in other Lower Cambrian sequences. It formed in shallow water settings, is mainly endichnial, and contains systematic, guided meander traces that are generally characteristic of deep-water environments in younger sequences; this may be related to global environmental changes early in the Palaeozoic. The guided meander traces are characterized morphometrically, using an image analyser: the meander systems exhibit a strongly bimodal distribution of morphologic elements, reflecting a well developed taxis (sense for position, direction, and distance) during trace production. The method of morphometric analysis has potential for characterizing trace fossils generally, somewhat like X-ray diffractograms characterize minerals.
Fracture spacing and its relation to bed thickness
Authors: Huang Qin , Angelier J.
Published: May 2009

Using examples from the Gulf of Suez and southeastern France, the distribution of tension tectonic joints as well as shear tectonic joints in continuous profiles is shown to fit a Gamma distribution. The parameters of this distribution are determined using the maximum likelihood method. Apparent fit with negative exponential distribution in photointerpretation analysis results from lack of resolution. The average joint spacing is directly proportional to bed thickness; it decreases when the degree of rock consolidation increases.
Basement–cover relationships around Aberdaron, Wales, U.K.: the fault-reactivated northwestern margin of the Welsh Basin
Authors: Gibbons Wes
Published: May 2009

On mainland North Wales basement rocks emerge from beneath a Lower Ordovician cover along the west side of the Llyn peninsula. The basement contains steeply dipping mylonites (Llŷn shear zone) that separate plutonic and gneissic rocks (Sarn Complex) from a melange (Gwna mélange). The western edge of the Ordovician outcrop follows the basement shear zone, and new trenching data confirm that only a faulted relationship exists between cover and basement along this northwestern extremity of the Welsh Basin. Deformation along this margin has propagated into the Arenig cover to produce southeasterly verging thrusts, asymmetric folds and northwesterly dipping cleavage. A prominent steep fault (Daron Fault) cutting the Ordovician succession follows an eastern splay of the Llŷn shear zone and again therefore records brittle reactivation of an underlying mylonite belt. The likelihood of syn-Arenig fault movements is provided by the presence of a prominent late Arenig coarse clastic unit, containing boulders of the basement mylonites, that is found only to the west of the Daron Fault. Steep basement structures such as the Llŷn shear zone, initially generated as major transcurrent faults, are interpreted as having exerted a strong control over the deposition and subsequent deformation of the Ordovician cover sequence.
Compositional variation in Lower Old Red Sandstone detrital garnets from the Midland Valley of Scotland and the Anglo-Welsh Basin
Authors: Haughton P. D. W. , Farrow C. M.
Published: May 2009

Compositional variation in Lower Old Red Sandstone (ORS) detrital garnets can be used to evaluate potential source areas and to trace the pattern of early Devonian sediment dispersal. Garnets in northwesterly derived fans along the northern flank of the Midland Valley appear to duplicate spatial variation in the compositions of garnets in the adjacent Dalradian block. Whilst metamorphic clasts ‘resembling’ Dalradian lithologies occur in these fanglomerates, the strike-extent of Dalradian-type crust (c. 1000 km) makes simply matching the clasts a rather imprecise way of constraining source–basin displacement. The garnet data imply that the Ordovician separation inferred for crustal blocks juxtaposed along the Highland Boundary was removed by early Devonian times. Major Silurian displacements are thus invoked along the Highland Boundary with amalgamation largely achieved prior to the ‘Acadian’ transcurrent deformation seen in the slate belts to the south. Vertical changes in the composition of garnets in the thick Lower ORS sequence in the northeast Midland Valley are slight and it is not known to what extent these reflect migration of a differentiated source block or the involvement of recycled additions which become increasingly important towards the base of the ORS succession. The axially dispersed sandstones which interdigitate with the northwesterly derived fans are dominated by spessartine-rich almandines which resemble garnets fed laterally to the basin in the northwest Midland Valley. Although the large scale inferred for the axial fluvial system suggests that its drainage basin extended outside Scotland, almandine-pyropes which might have come from exhumed eclogites in western Norway are absent. Such compositions are widespread in Mesozoic sandstones in the northern North Sea and it is evident that these sediments do not represent the final repository for the 'lost' sediment stripped from Caledonian metamorphic terranes in Scotland. Garnet populations from the Anglo-Welsh Basin do not resemble those in the coeval axial sandstones of the Midland Valley, suggesting that the two basins were not linked at this time. The scale of the Midland Valley axial sandbodies are inconsistent with internal drainage of central Scotland and a route to the early Devonian shoreline must be sought. It may be that 'Acadian' strike-slip motions have displaced the Scottish basins from the coastal alluvial plains they originally fed.
Experimental study of interaction between hydrous granite melt and amphibolite
Authors: Rutter Michael J. , Wyllie Peter J.
Published: May 2009

We have investigated the reaction between crystalline amphibolite and hydrous granite melt in static experiments at 810 °C and 1.5 kbar. Boundary layer concentration gradients in quenched silicate glass for the major element oxides and the volatile components, water and carbon dioxide, were measured using electron probe analysis and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, respectively. We found a measurable change in the concentration of all components adjacent to the amphibolite in experiments of 66 and 330 hours duration. After I hour there was no detectable change in the concentration of major element oxides in the granitic glass, but steep concentration profiles were determined for carbon dioxide and water. A bubble-free zone developed adjacent to the amphibolite in the 66 hour experiment, and this zone increased in width after 330 hours. Reaction is controlled by dissolution of amphibolite and by transport of dissolved material through the granite melt. The rate-controlling process is chemical diffusion in the melt phase. Results confirm that in the absence of convective heat transfer and/or mechanical disaggregation of mafic inclusions, assimilation of mafic rocks by granite melt is very slow, corresponding to on the order of 10 mm for SiO2 in 1000 years.
Isotopic U–Pb ages of zircon and monazite from the Leinster Granite, southeast Ireland
Authors: O'Connor P. J. , Aftalion M. , Kennan P. S.
Published: May 2009

A more precise age for the synkinematic emplacement of the large S-type Leinster batholith (southeast Ireland) has been obtained by U–Pb dating of zircon and monazite separates from the two main granite varieties of the Northern Pluton. A concordant age of 405±2 Ma derived from monazite is considered to reflect both the age of intrusion and the main regional deformation event (D1) in southeast Ireland. The monazite age is in good agreement with an earlier, less precise whole-rock Rb–Sr isochron determination. The zircon data indicate recent Pb loss effects and the existence of a small component of inherited radiogenic Pb derived from a crustal precursor during the generation of the batholith.
Radiocarbon dating and sedimentation rates in the Holocene alluvial sediments of the northern Bihar plains, India
Authors: Sinha Rajiv , Friend Peter F. , Switsur V. R.
Published: May 2009

Seven radiocarbon dates of carbonate shells and charcoal from the upper two metres of sediment in the Indo-Gangetic plains of northern Bihar, eastern India, can be divided into three groups, with the following approximate ages: 2400±45 a BP (two samples), 1100±45 a BP (four samples) and 765±45 a BP (one sample). This evidence for at least three episodes of sedimentation in the last 2400 a contrasts with evidence of greater ages from similarly near-surface sediments in the middle Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, further west. In these more westerly areas, greater ages and well-developed river terraces point to much more restricted late Holocene sedimentation. Rates of net sediment accumulation calculated using our Bihar ages, spanning a period of the order of 103–104a, are similar to those calculated for periods of the order of 105–106a for the Himalayan foreland basin. This suggests that, in the whole basin case, short-period rates higher than the Bihar rates have been compensated by longer than Bihar periods of non-deposition or erosion.
The role of the Secondary Standard in stratigraphy
Authors: Cope J. C. W.
Published: May 2009

The development of a series of internationally acceptable chronostratigraphical units initially grew up through agreed use. Today's requirement of endorsement by the International Commission on Stratigraphy has resulted in the official rejection of names which are perfectly valid and still essential in the parts of the world for which they were introduced. Recognition of this fact is urged, by the acceptance of the Secondary Standards as locally defined chronostratigraphical units pending possible future correlation with the primary standard.
The Neoproterozoic to early Cambrian in southwest Mongolia: an introduction
Authors: Brasier M. D. , Dorjnamjaa D. , Lindsay J. F.
Published: May 2009

In this collection of papers, we attempt to document, through interdisciplinary studies in southwest Mongolia, the interlinked evolution of the biosphere and lithosphere over the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian interval. In so doing, we bring together the fruits of two expeditions to the Altay mountains, sponsored by IGCP Project 303 on Precambrian–Cambrian Event Stratigraphy. Both expeditions took place during an interval of great socio-economic change in the region. The first expedition, in 1991, was one of the last in a series of Joint Soviet–Mongolian Palaeontological Expeditions, organized by A. Yu. Rozanov and R. Barsbold, and led by E. A. Zhegallo and A. Yu. Zhuravlev. Scientists from Sweden and the UK also participated. The second, 1993, expedition was one of the first IGCP project meetings organized independently by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and was led by M. D. Brasier and D. Dorjnamjaa.
First Permo-Carboniferous conodonts from North Greenland
Authors: Rasmussen Jan Audun , Håkansson Eckart
Published: May 2009

Upper Palaeozoic conodonts are described for the first time from the North Greenland Wandel Sea Basin. In eastern Peary Land, the Moscovian speciesIdiognathodus incurvusand the Kasimovian—GzhelianI. magnificusoccur in the Upper Carboniferous Foldedal Formation, while an assemblage from the lower part of the succeeding Kim Fjelde Formation suggests deposition in the Upper ArtinskianNeostreptognathodus pequopensis—N.clarkiZone. These datings confirm the existence in the northern part of the Wandel Sea Basin of the pronounced early Permian hiatus previously recognized in Holm Land and Amdrup Land in the southern part of the basin. The single conodont specimen found at Prinsesse Ingeborg Halvø further corrobates the local absence of this regional hiatus in the central part of the Wandel Sea Basin.
Intrusion age of Pan-African augen gneisses in the southern Menderes Massif and the age of cooling after Alpine ductile extensional deformation
Authors: Hetzel R. , Reischmann T.
Published: May 2009

Pb–Pb single zircon ages of 546.2 ± 1.2 Ma demonstrate that the augen gneisses in the southern Menderes Massif were generated from Pan-African intrusions. During the Alpine orogenic evolution of the Menderes Massif these granites were metamorphosed and transformed into augen gneiss in an extensional top-to-the-south shear zone, located between augen gneisses and overlying schists. Quartz fabrics suggest a pronounced static recrystallization that post-dates the ductile deformation in the shear zone. Ar–Ar muscovite ages of 43–37 Ma from augen gneisses and schists suggest that ductile deformation and subsequent cooling occurred in the Eocene. These results contradict previous models that (1) interpret the extensional shear zone as late Oligocene in age and (2) regard the augen gneisses as syntectonic with respect to ductile extensional deformation.