Ultramafic xenoliths from the Bearpaw Mountains, Montana, USA: evidence for multiple metasomatic events in the lithospheric mantle beneath the Wyoming craton

Ultramafic xenoliths in Eocene minettes of the Bearpaw Mountains volcanic field (Montana, USA), derived from the lower lithosphere of the Wyoming craton, can be divided based on textural criteria into tectonite and cumulate groups. The tectonites consist of strongly depleted spinel lherzolites, harzburgites and dunites. Although their mineralogical compositions are generally similar to those of spinel peridotites in off-craton settings, some contain pyroxenes and spinels that have unusually low Al2O3 contents more akin to those found in cratonic spinel peridotites. Furthermore, the tectonite peridotites have whole-rock major element compositions that tend to be significantly more depleted than non-cratonic mantle spinel peridotites (high MgO, low CaO, Al2O3 and TiO2) and resemble those of cratonic mantle. These compositions could have been generated by up to 30% partial melting of an undepleted mantle source. Petrographic evidence suggests that the mantle beneath the Wyoming craton was re-enriched in three ways: (1) by silicate melts that formed mica websterite and clinopyroxenite veins; (2) by growth of phlogopite from K-rich hydrous fluids; (3) by interaction with aqueous fluids to form orthopyroxene porphyroblasts and orthopyroxenite veins. In contrast to their depleted major element compositions, the tectonite peridotites are mostly light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched and show enrichment in fluid-mobile elements such as Cs, Rb, U and Pb on mantle-normalized diagrams. Lack of enrichment in high field strength elements (HFSE; e.g. Nb, Ta, Zr and Hf) suggests that the tectonite peridotites have been metasomatized by a subduction-related fluid. Clinopyroxenes from the tectonite peridotites have distinct U-shaped REE patterns with strong LREE enrichment. They have 143Nd/144Nd values that range from 0·5121 (close to the host minette values) to 0·5107, similar to those of xenoliths from the nearby Highwood Mountains. Foliated mica websterites also have low 143Nd/144Nd values (0·5113) and extremely high 87Sr/86Sr ratios in their constituent phlogopite, indicating an ancient (probably mid-Proterozoic) enrichment. This enriched mantle lithosphere later contributed to the formation of the high-K Eocene host magmas. The cumulate group ranges from clinopyroxene-rich mica peridotites (including abundant mica wehrlites) to mica clinopyroxenites. Most contain >30% phlogopite. Their mineral compositions are similar to those of phenocrysts in the host minettes. Their whole-rock compositions are generally poorer in MgO but richer in incompatible trace elements than those of the tectonite peridotites. Whole-rock trace element patterns are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILE; Rb, Cs, U and Pb) and depleted in HFSE (Nb, Ta Zr and Hf) as in the host minettes, and their Sr–Nd isotopic compositions are also identical to those of the minettes. Their clinopyroxenes are LREE-enriched and formed in equilibrium with a LREE-enriched melt closely resembling the minettes. The cumulates therefore represent a much younger magmatic event, related to crystallization at mantle depths of minette magmas in Eocene times, that caused further metasomatic enrichment of the lithosphere

A Hybrid Sequencing Approach Completes the Genome Sequence of Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200

Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200 has been identified as a potential sustainable biofuel producer due to its ability to readily ferment carbohydrates to ethanol. A hybrid sequencing approach, combining Oxford Nanopore and Illumina DNA sequence reads, was applied to produce a single contiguous genome sequence of 2,911,280 bp

Implementation of a consolidated, standardized database of environmental measurements data

This report discusses the benefits of a consolidated and standardized database; reasons for resistance to the consolidation of data; implementing a consolidated database, including attempts at standardization, deciding what to include in the consolidated database, establishing lists of valid values, and addressing quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) issues; and the evolution of a consolidated database, which includes developing and training a user community, resolving configuration control issues, incorporating historical data, identifying emerging standards, and developing pointers to other data. OREIS is used to illustrate these topics

Malnutrition and feeding practices among under-five children in rural communities of Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria

Background: Poor dietary practices and malnutrition among under five children in Nigeria has remained a great public health concern. Objective: This study assessed the feeeding practices and nutritional status of under-five children to determine the prevalence of malnutrition of under five children in Kuje area council, Abuja. Methods: Cross-sectional study design was employed. Validated questionnaire was used to obtain information on the feeding practices of the respondents, while appropriate equipment was used for measurements of anthropometric parameters. Anthropometric data was analysed by comparing with reference standard and analysed statistically with p<0.05 considered significant. Results: Result showed that 97% of the children were breastfed, 30.6% had early initiation to breastfeeding, 22.4% were breastfed exclusively, and 30.2% discarded colostrum. Only 27.7% had age appropriate timely introduction of complementary feeding. The prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM) was 12.8%, (severe wasting [5.4%] plus moderate wasting [7.4%]), underweight was 24.4%, stunting was 40.3% and overweight was 7.0%. Child left in the care of another child (younger than 14 years old), place of delivery, immunization status of the child, early initiation to breastfeeding, use of colostrum, and age of child were all significantly (p<0.05) associated with nutritional status. Conclusion: There is high prevalence of malnutrition and poor infant and young child practice in Kuje Area Council

Effects of different coagulants on the physico-chemical, microbial and sensory properties of Wara, a Nigerian soft soy-cheese

Nigerian soft cheese often referred to as wara was produced from soya bean milk using coagulants from lime, alum and steep water. Effects of these coagulants on the yield, proximate composition, functional properties, microbial loads and sensory properties were evaluated. The result revealed that different coagulants used had no significant (p ≥ 0.05) effect on yield of the cheeses. The result for the proximate composition shows that, different coagulants used influenced all the proximate parameters except the protein content. Similarly, coagulants used significantly affected the water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, foam capacity and gelation capacity. However, the bulk density was not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) affected. Steep water coagulated cheese had the highest total plate count. The result for sensory properties shows that, lime gave the best cheese in terms of general acceptability. Cheese produced from steep water as a coagulant gave the best proximate attributes, however, its high total plate count calls for concern.Key words: local cheese, proximate, microbial, sensory and functiona

Multipartite entangled coherent states

We propose a scheme for generating multipartite entangled coherent states via entanglement swapping, with an example of a physical realization in ion traps. Bipartite entanglement of these multipartite states is quantified by the concurrence. We also use the $N$--tangle to compute multipartite entanglement for certain systems. Finally we establish that these results for entanglement can be applied to more general multipartite entangled nonorthogonal states.Comment: 7 pages, two figures. We added more detail discussions on the generation of multipartite entangled coherent states and multipartite entangelemen

Kappa-symmetric deformations of M5-brane dynamics

We calculate the first supersymmetric and kappa-symmetric derivative deformation of the M5-brane worldvolume theory in a flat eleven-dimensional background. By applying cohomological techniques we obtain a deformation of the standard constraint of the superembedding formalism. The first possible deformation of the constraint and hence the equations of motion arises at cubic order in fields and fourth order in a fundamental length scale $l$. The deformation is unique up to this order. In particular this rules out any induced Einstein-Hilbert terms on the worldvolume. We explicitly calculate corrections to the equations of motion for the tensor gauge supermultiplet.Comment: 17 pages. Additional comments in section

Abelian D-terms and the superpartner spectrum of anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking

We address the tachyonic slepton problem of anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking using abelian D-terms. We demonstrate that the most general extra U(1) symmetry that does not disrupt gauge coupling unification has a large set of possible charges that solves the problem. It is shown that previous studies in this direction that added both an extra hypercharge D-term and another D-term induced by B-L symmetry (or similar) can be mapped into a single D-term of the general ancillary U(1)_a. The U(1)_a formalism enables identifying the sign of squark mass corrections which leads to an upper bound of the entire superpartner spectrum given knowledge of just one superpartner mass.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, [v2] reference added, [v3] Eq. (9) corrected, results unaffected, [v4] version to be published in Phys. Rev. D, expanded parameter space for figures to match tex

Charge asymmetry ratio as a probe of quark flavour couplings of resonant particles at the LHC

We show how a precise knowledge of parton distribution functions, in particular those of the u and d quarks, can be used to constrain a certain class of New Physics models in which new heavy charged resonances couple to quarks and leptons. We illustrate the method by considering a left-right symmetric model with a W' from a SU(2)_R gauge sector produced in quark-antiquark annihilation and decaying into a charged lepton and a heavy Majorana neutrino. We discuss a number of quark and lepton mixing scenarios, and simulate both signals and backgrounds in order to determine the size of the expected charge asymmetry. We show that various quark-W' mixing scenarios can indeed be constrained by charge asymmetry measurements at the LHC, particularly at 14 TeV centre of mass energy.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

A Once and Future Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem: Restoration Recommendations of an Expert Working Group

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) well blowout released more petroleum hydrocarbons into the marine environment than any previous U.S. oil spill (4.9 million barrels), fouling marine life, damaging deep sea and shoreline habitats and causing closures of economically valuable fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. A suite of pollutants — liquid and gaseous petroleum compounds plus chemical dispersants — poured into ecosystems that had already been stressed by overfishing, development and global climate change. Beyond the direct effects that were captured in dramatic photographs of oiled birds in the media, it is likely that there are subtle, delayed, indirect and potentially synergistic impacts of these widely dispersed, highly bioavailable and toxic hydrocarbons and chemical dispersants on marine life from pelicans to salt marsh grasses and to deep-sea animals. As tragic as the DWH blowout was, it has stimulated public interest in protecting this economically, socially and environmentally critical region. The 2010 Mabus Report, commissioned by President Barack Obama and written by the secretary of the Navy, provides a blueprint for restoring the Gulf that is bold, visionary and strategic. It is clear that we need not only to repair the damage left behind by the oil but also to go well beyond that to restore the anthropogenically stressed and declining Gulf ecosystems to prosperity-sustaining levels of historic productivity. For this report, we assembled a team of leading scientists with expertise in coastal and marine ecosystems and with experience in their restoration to identify strategies and specific actions that will revitalize and sustain the Gulf coastal economy. Because the DWH spill intervened in ecosystems that are intimately interconnected and already under stress, and will remain stressed from global climate change, we argue that restoration of the Gulf must go beyond the traditional “in-place, in-kind” restoration approach that targets specific damaged habitats or species. A sustainable restoration of the Gulf of Mexico after DWH must: 1. Recognize that ecosystem resilience has been compromised by multiple human interventions predating the DWH spill; 2. Acknowledge that significant future environmental change is inevitable and must be factored into restoration plans and actions for them to be durable; 3. Treat the Gulf as a complex and interconnected network of ecosystems from shoreline to deep sea; and 4. Recognize that human and ecosystem productivity in the Gulf are interdependent, and that human needs from and effects on the Gulf must be integral to restoration planning. With these principles in mind, we provide the scientific basis for a sustainable restoration program along three themes: 1. Assess and repair damage from DWH and other stresses on the Gulf; 2. Protect existing habitats and populations; and 3. Integrate sustainable human use with ecological processes in the Gulf of Mexico. Under these themes, 15 historically informed, adaptive, ecosystem-based restoration actions are presented to recover Gulf resources and rebuild the resilience of its ecosystem. The vision that guides our recommendations fundamentally imbeds the restoration actions within the context of the changing environment so as to achieve resilience of resources, human communities and the economy into the indefinite future