Metamorphic olivine in ultramafic rocks from Western Australia

Textural relationships plus associated mineralogy are compatible with a metamorphic origin for some olivines in altered ultramafics. Upper amphibolite facies PT conditions are indicated

The Impact of Historical Geography and Agricultural Land Development Processes on Wetland Restoration Methods Used to Create Ecological Networks: A Comparison of Japan and the Netherlands

In the Osaka area in the 1880s, rice was grown mostly in dry fields in upland areas, and a few paddy fields were situated on the natural wet landforms along the major rivers and streams on the Osaka Plain. As the area developed, dry fields became irrigated, and the lowland fields were filled and converted to urban land uses. For the Osaka city region, developed in this historical context, an ecological network has been proposed by the national government in 2006. The proposal was partially influenced by ecological network planning in the Netherlands, and it focuses on spatial patterns and wetland restoration measures at a limited number of sites. However, its historical geography is not taken into consideration. Therefore we examined historical land-use changes in the Osaka area and then compared restoration projects in both countries. On the one hand, we found some similarities in wetland restoration processes and measures at unused industrial sites in reclaimed coastal areas in Japan (the Osaka Nankou Bird Sanctuary) and the Netherlands (the Oostvaardersplassen). There are, on the other hand, notable differences in appropriate wetland restoration measures in farmland areas. Some potential wetland restoration candidates in Japan require either winter flooding or the resumption of labor-intensive agricultural practices in abandoned paddy fields, because many of these sites were naturally dry before the introduction of irrigation. In the Netherlands (e.g., at Tiengemeten), however, this was not a problem because areas are being converted from drained fields to natural wetlands. To conclude, regional considerations are therefore important when ecological networks are planned, and the perspective of historical geography is essential when networks are planned with wetland restoration as a core element.UrbanismArchitecture and The Built Environmen

The Virtual Shop: A new immersive virtual reality environment and scenario for the assessment of everyday memory

Background: Assessing and predicting memory performance in everyday life is a common assignment for neuropsychologists. However, most traditional neuropsychological tasks are not conceived to capture everyday memory performance. New method: The Virtual Shop is a fully immersive task developed to assess memory in a more ecological way than traditional neuropsychological assessments. Two studies were undertaken to assess the feasibility of the Virtual Shop and to appraise its ecological and construct validity. In study 1, 20 younger and 19 older adults completed the Virtual Shop task to evaluate its level of difficulty and the way the participants interacted with the VR material. The construct validity was examined with the contrasted-group method, by comparing the performance of younger and older adults. In study 2, 35 individuals with subjective cognitive decline completed the Virtual Shop task. Performance was correlated with an existing questionnaire evaluating everyday memory in order to appraise its ecological validity. To add further support to its construct validity, performance was correlated with traditional episodic memory and executive tasks. Results: All participants successfully completed the Virtual Shop. The task had an appropriate level of difficulty that helped differentiate younger and older adults, supporting the feasibility and construct validity of the task. Comparison with existing method(s): The performance on the Virtual Shop was significantly and moderately correlated with the performance on the questionnaire and on the traditional memory and executive tasks. Conclusions: Results support the feasibility and both the ecological and construct validity of the Virtual Shop

Science with the Murchison Widefield Array : Phase l results and Phase II opportunities

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is an open access telescope dedicated to studying the low-frequency (80-300 MHz) southern sky. Since beginning operations in mid-2013, the MWA has opened a new observational window in the southern hemisphere enabling many science areas. The driving science objectives of the original design were to observe 21 cm radiation from the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR), explore the radio time domain, perform Galactic and extragalactic surveys, and monitor solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric phenomena. All together programs recorded 20 000 h producing 146 papers to date. In 2016, the telescope underwent a major upgrade resulting in alternating compact and extended configurations. Other upgrades, including digital back-ends and a rapid-response triggering system, have been developed since the original array was commissioned. In this paper, we review the major results from the prior operation of the MWA and then discuss the new science paths enabled by the improved capabilities. We group these science opportunities by the four original science themes but also include ideas for directions outside these categories