Patterns of Late Cenozoic exhumation deduced from apatite and zircon U-He ages from Fiordland, New Zealand

New apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He ages from the Fiordland region of New Zealand's South Island expand on earlier results and provide new constraints on patterns of Late Cenozoic exhumation and cooling across this region. Zircon (U-Th)/He cooling ages, in combination with increased density of apatite ages, show that in addition to a gradual northward decrease in cooling ages that was seen during an earlier phase of this study, there is also a trend toward younger cooling ages to the east. Distinct breaks in cooling age patterns on southwestern Fiordland appear to be correlated to the location of previously mapped faults. The northward decrease in ages may reflect asynchronous cooling related to migration in the locus of exhumation driven by subduction initiation, or it may reflect synchronous regional exhumation that exposed different structural levels across Fiordland, or some combination of these effects. In either case, differential exhumation accommodated by major and minor faults that dissect Fiordland basement rocks apparently played an important role in producing the resulting age patterns

Insights from unifying modern approximations to infections on networks

Networks are increasingly central to modern science owing to their ability to conceptualize multiple interacting components of a complex system. As a specific example of this, understanding the implications of contact network structure for the transmission of infectious diseases remains a key issue in epidemiology. Three broad approaches to this problem exist: explicit simulation; derivation of exact results for special networks; and dynamical approximations. This paper focuses on the last of these approaches, and makes two main contributions. Firstly, formal mathematical links are demonstrated between several prima facie unrelated dynamical approximations. And secondly, these links are used to derive two novel dynamical models for network epidemiology, which are compared against explicit stochastic simulation. The success of these new models provides improved understanding about the interaction of network structure and transmission dynamics

Social encounter networks : collective properties and disease transmission

A fundamental challenge of modern infectious disease epidemiology is to quantify the networks of social and physical contacts through which transmission can occur. Understanding the collective properties of these interactions is critical for both accurate prediction of the spread of infection and determining optimal control measures. However, even the basic properties of such networks are poorly quantified, forcing predictions to be made based on strong assumptions concerning network structure. Here, we report on the results of a large-scale survey of social encounters mainly conducted in Great Britain. First, we characterize the distribution of contacts, which possesses a lognormal body and a power-law tail with an exponent of −2.45; we provide a plausible mechanistic model that captures this form. Analysis of the high level of local clustering of contacts reveals additional structure within the network, implying that social contacts are degree assortative. Finally, we describe the epidemiological implications of this local network structure: these contradict the usual predictions from networks with heavy-tailed degree distributions and contain public-health messages about control. Our findings help us to determine the types of realistic network structure that should be assumed in future population level studies of infection transmission, leading to better interpretations of epidemiological data and more appropriate policy decisions

Combination of self-harm methods and fatal and non-fatal repetition: A cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Assessment and aftercare for people who self-harm needs to be related to an understanding of risks of adverse outcomes. We aimed to determine whether self-harm by a combination of methods and its early repetition are associated with adverse outcomes - especially non-fatal repetition and suicide. METHOD: 10,829 consecutive general hospital attendances due to self-harm in one large English city were monitored, through scrutiny of Emergency Department attendances, over three years and followed up to determine the incidence of non-fatal repetition. Subsequent deaths, by any cause and by suicide, were determined from national statistical records. RESULTS: 6155 patients accounted for the 10,829 episodes: 72% by self-poisoning, 21% self-injury, and 746 episodes (7%) due to a combination of methods. After a combined-methods index episode, non-fatal repetition (P=0.001) and suicide (P=0.002) occurred sooner and more frequently than it did among those who had self-poisoned. Further hospital attendance due to self-harm within a month was associated with a 3.7-fold (95% CI 2.1-6.4) risk of subsequent suicide. LIMITATIONS: The data exclude self-harm episodes that do not result in a hospital attendance. Index episodes in the study are not generally life-time first episodes so follow-up data are based on an arbitrary start-point. Both of these limitations are common to all studies of this kind. CONCLUSIONS: At psychosocial assessment and the making of aftercare arrangements, combined methods of self-harm or another recent episode should be considered 'red-flag' indicators for attention to care

Beyond clustering: mean-field dynamics on networks with arbitrary subgraph composition

Clustering is the propensity of nodes that share a common neighbour to be connected. It is ubiquitous in many networks but poses many modelling challenges. Clustering typically manifests itself by a higher than expected frequency of triangles, and this has led to the principle of constructing networks from such building blocks. This approach has been generalised to networks being constructed from a set of more exotic subgraphs. As long as these are fully connected, it is then possible to derive mean-field models that approximate epidemic dynamics well. However, there are virtually no results for non-fully connected subgraphs. In this paper, we provide a general and automated approach to deriving a set of ordinary differential equations, or mean-field model, that describes, to a high degree of accuracy, the expected values of system-level quantities, such as the prevalence of infection. Our approach offers a previously unattainable degree of control over the arrangement of subgraphs and network characteristics such as classical node degree, variance and clustering. The combination of these features makes it possible to generate families of networks with different subgraph compositions while keeping classical network metrics constant. Using our approach, we show that higher-order structure realised either through the introduction of loops of different sizes or by generating networks based on different subgraphs but with identical degree distribution and clustering, leads to non-negligible differences in epidemic dynamics

Making the most of community energies:Three perspectives on grassroots innovation

Grassroots innovations for sustainability are attracting increasing policy attention. Drawing upon a wide range of empirical research into community energy in the UK, and taking recent support from national government as a case study, we apply three distinct analytical perspectives: strategic niche management; niche policy advocacy; and critical niches. Whilst the first and second perspectives appear to explain policy influence in grassroots innovation adequately, each also shuts out more transformational possibilities. We therefore argue that, if grassroots innovation is to realise its full potential, then we need to also pursue a third, critical niches perspective, and open up debate about more socially transformative pathways to sustainability

Single-shot single-gate RF spin readout in silicon

For solid-state spin qubits, single-gate RF readout can help minimise the number of gates required for scale-up to many qubits since the readout sensor can integrate into the existing gates required to manipulate the qubits (Veldhorst 2017, Pakkiam 2018). However, a key requirement for a scalable quantum computer is that we must be capable of resolving the qubit state within single-shot, that is, a single measurement (DiVincenzo 2000). Here we demonstrate single-gate, single-shot readout of a singlet-triplet spin state in silicon, with an average readout fidelity of $82.9\%$ at a $3.3~\text{kHz}$ measurement bandwidth. We use this technique to measure a triplet $T_-$ to singlet $S_0$ relaxation time of $0.62~\text{ms}$ in precision donor quantum dots in silicon. We also show that the use of RF readout does not impact the maximum readout time at zero detuning limited by the $S_0$ to $T_-$ decay, which remained at approximately $2~\text{ms}$. This establishes single-gate sensing as a viable readout method for spin qubits

Perceptions of knowledge sharing among small family firm leaders: a structural equation model

Small family firms have many unique relational qualities with implications for how knowledge is passed between individuals. Extant literature posits leadership approach as important in explaining differences in knowledge-sharing climate from one firm to another. This study investigates how leadership approaches interact with family influence to inform perceptions of knowledge sharing. We utilize survey data (n = 110) from owner-managers of knowledge-intensive small family firms in Scotland. Our findings present a choice in leadership intention, contrasting organization-focused participation against family-influenced guidance. Insight is offered on the implications of this leadership choice at both organizational and familial level

Uplift in the Fiordland Region, New Zealand: Implications for Incipient Subduction

Low-temperature thermochronometry reveals regional Late Cenozoic denudation in Fiordland, New Zealand, consistent with geodynamic models showing uplift of the overriding plate during incipient subduction. The data show a northward progression of exhumation in response to northward migration of the initiation of subduction. The locus of most recent uplift coincides with a large positive Bouguer gravity anomaly within Fiordland. Thermochronometrically deduced crustal thinning, anomalous gravity, and estimates of surface uplift are all consistent with ∼2 kilometers of dynamic support. This amount of dynamic support is in accord with geodynamic predictions, suggesting that we have dated the initiation of subduction adjacent to Fiordland

Advocacy in the tail: Exploring the implications of ‘climategate’ for science journalism and public debate in the digital age

This paper explores the evolving practices of science journalism and public debate in the digital age. The vehicle for this study is the release of digitally stored email correspondence, data and documents from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the weeks immediately prior to the United Nations Copenhagen Summit (COP-15) in December 2009. Described using the journalistic shorthand of ‘climategate’, and initially promoted through socio-technical networks of bloggers, this episode became a global news story and the subject of several formal reviews. ‘Climategate’ illustrates that media literate critics of anthropogenic explanations of climate change used digital tools to support their cause, making visible selected, newsworthy aspects of scientific information and the practices of scientists. In conclusion, I argue that ‘climategate’ may have profound implications for the production and distribution of science news, and how climate science is represented and debated in the digitally-mediated public sphere