The role of extension in the Miocene denudation of the Nevado-Filábride Complex, Betic Cordillera (SE Spain)

The Internal Zone of the Betic Cordillera, SE Spain, consists of a nappe stack of three complexes, the deepest of which is the Nevado-Filábride Complex. The zone is separated from the overlying Alpujárride Complex by a crustal scale shear zone that has variously been interpreted as a thrust or an extensional detachment. A suite of 74 new apatite and zircon fission track results have been obtained from the Nevado-Filábride Complex and these have been used to define regional cooling patterns for the complex. Rapid cooling (105°C–200°C Ma−1) is spatially related to the tectonic contact with the overlying Alpujárride Complex-Cooling to near-surface temperatures occurred first in the east (Sierra de los Filabres) during the mid-Serravallian (12±1 Ma) and was completed by the early Tortonian (9–8 Ma) in the west (Sierra Nevada). There is no correlation between fission track age and sample elevation. These results are consistent with tectonic unroofing of this complex, a finding that favors extension as the mechanism by which the two complexes were brought into contact. Extension spans the middle and earliest upper Miocene (12–8 Ma) in the study area and therefore lasted much longer than previously documented. A hypothesis is advanced which links oblique convergence between the Iberian plate and the Betic Internal Zones, resulting in crustal contraction at depth, with orogen parallel extension in the middle and upper crust

Haunting Evidence: Quoting the Prisoner in 19th Century Old Bailey Trial Discourse. The Defences of Cooper (1842) and McNaughten (1843)

This paper focuses on the representation of quoted speech in a corpus of Old Bailey trials from Victorian London, with detailed examination of two of them: Cooper (1842) and McNaughten (1843). These trials involve an insanity defence. As the trials were recorded by hand, they entail scribal choices about whether to record and how to represent quotation, making choices about direct and indirect quotation pragmatically interesting, since the illocutionary force of the recorded utterances is selected as important by the scribe. My corpus, the Monomania Corpus, is collected from the larger Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913 [available online: http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/], which contains 197,745 criminal trials over more than two centuries. Criminal trial hearings are communicative events which are densely intertextually structured. Prior questioning of witnesses and records of what they say are extensively quoted, requoted, and recontextualized in the course of the trial and quotation is used to demonstrate the defendant's criminal liability or his incapacity to commit a criminal offence. The establishment of a binding legal reality crucially hinges on the differential weights of prosecution and defence evidence, so the selective power of quotation is an important resource for defending the prisoner. In the case of Cooper, the prosecution’s use of direct and indirect quotation is incriminating for the defendant and the witnesses seem well ‘rehearsed’ in supporting the prosecution case, whereas the defence picture, drawn out through family members, presents the defendant’s insane utterances from childhood to early manhood, with the miserable, poor, young man being seen as easy prey by a constabulary looking for results. In McNaughten’s case, we see the two institutions of the law and medicine fighting over culpability and insanity, as the defence quotes from medical interviews with the accused. The analysis shows the powerful use of hypothetical quotation and establishes a new category of quotation: metatalk for suppressing quotation. The “haunting evidence” (Eigen 1995: 160) of prisoner testimony is given voice through the powerful alliance of advocate and witness (lay, and medical), as they tell the court, through the prisoner’s words, what he is incapable of putting together himself. The prisoner is prosecuted in his own words. What he says on arrest, in gaol, and before the magistrate, is recorded and replayed to self-incriminate, as he is ventriloquized by the prosecution, and it is therefore a masterful adversarial reversal to defend with the same voice, but from a different perspective

Men who have sex with men: a comparison of a probability sample survey and a community based study

We compared characteristics of men who have sex with men (MSM) in a probability sample survey with a community based study in London. The majority of men in both surveys reported male sex partner(s) in the last year but MSM recruited through the population based survey had lower levels of HIV risk behaviour, reported fewer sexually transmitted infections and HIV testing than those recruited from gay venues. Community samples are likely to overestimate levels of risk behaviour among all MSM

A crucial sequence for transglutaminase type 2 extracellular trafficking in renal tubular epithelial cells lies in its N-terminal {beta}-sandwich domain

Transglutaminase type 2 (TG2) catalyzes the formation of an -( -glutamyl)-lysine isopeptide bond between adjacent peptides or proteins including those of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Elevated extracellular TG2 leads to accelerated ECM deposition and reduced clearance that underlie tissue scarring and fibrosis. The extracellular trafficking of TG2 is crucial to its role in ECM homeostasis; however, the mechanism by which TG2 escapes the cell is unknown as it has no signal leader peptide and therefore cannot be transported classically. Understanding TG2 transport may highlight novel mechanisms to interfere with the extracellular function of TG2 as isoform-specific TG2 inhibitors remain elusive. Mammalian expression vectors were constructed containing domain deletions of TG2. These were transfected into three kidney tubular epithelial cell lines, and TG2 export was assessed to identify critical domains. Point mutation was then used to highlight specific sequences within the domain required for TG2 export. The removal of -sandwich domain prevented all TG2 export. Mutations of Asp94 and Asp97 within the N-terminal -sandwich domain were identified as crucial for TG2 externalization. These form part of a previously identified fibronectin binding domain (88WTATVVDQQDCTLSLQLTT106). However, siRNA knockdown of fibronectin failed to affect TG2 export. The sequence 88WTATVVDQQDCTLSLQLTT106 within the -sandwich domain of TG2 is critical to its export in tubular epithelial cell lines. The extracellular trafficking of TG2 is independent of fibronectin

Whitham modulation theory for the Ostrovsky equation

This paper derives the Whitham modulation equations for the Ostrovsky equation. The equations are then used to analyse localised cnoidal wavepacket solutions of the Ostrovsky equation in the weak rotation limit. The analysis is split into two main parameter regimes: the Ostrovsky equation with normal dispersion relevant to typical oceanic parameters and the Ostrovsky equation with anomalous dispersion relevant to strongly sheared oceanic flows and other physical systems. For anomalous dispersion a new steady, symmetric cnoidal wavepacket solution is presented. The new wavepacket can be represented as a solution of the modulation equations and an analytical solution for the outer solution of the wavepacket is given. For normal dispersion the modulation equations are used to describe the unsteady finite-amplitude wavepacket solutions produced from the rotation-induced decay of a Korteweg-de Vries solitary wave. Again, an analytical solution for the outer solution can be given. The centre of the wavepacket closely approximates a train of solitary waves with the results suggesting that the unsteady wavepacket is a localised, modulated cnoidal wavetrain. The formation of wavepackets from solitary wave initial conditions is considered, contrasting the rapid formation of the packets in anomalous dispersion with the slower formation of unsteady packets under normal dispersion

Wave-packet formation at the zero-dispersion point in the Gardner-Ostrovsky equation.

The long-time effect of weak rotation on an internal solitary wave is the decay into inertia-gravity waves and the eventual emergence of a coherent, steadily propagating, nonlinear wave packet. There is currently no entirely satisfactory explanation as to why these wave packets form. Here the initial value problem is considered within the context of the Gardner-Ostrovsky, or rotation-modified extended Korteweg-de Vries, equation. The linear Gardner-Ostrovsky equation has maximum group velocity at a critical wave number, often called the zero-dispersion point. It is found here that a nonlinear splitting of the wave-number spectrum at the zero-dispersion point, where energy is shifted into the modulationally unstable regime of the Gardner-Ostrovsky equation, is responsible for the wave-packet formation. Numerical comparisons of the decay of a solitary wave in the Gardner-Ostrovsky equation and a derived nonlinear Schrödinger equation at the zero-dispersion point are used to confirm the spectral splitting

Extreme Programming in the University

This paper summarises our experiences teaching Extreme Programming to undergraduate students over a period of 8 years. We describe an approach in which students learn about the Extreme Programming (XP) method by using it on real software development projects. This experiential learning technique has been effective in helping students understand how XP works in practice and helped them to develop the skills to reflect on their current approaches to software development and critically evaluate agile methods. Problems, including a steep learning curve for some XP practices and difficulties scheduling pair-programming time in a university environment are also Identified

Cassini detection of Enceladus' cold water-group plume ionosphere

This study reports direct detection by the Cassini plasma spectrometer of freshly-produced water-group ions (O+, OH+, H2O+, H3O+) and heavier water dimer ions (HxO(2))(+) very close to Enceladus where the plasma begins to emerge from the plume. The data were obtained during two close ( 52 and 25 km) flybys of Enceladus in 2008 and are similar to ion data in cometary comas. The ions are observed in detectors looking in the Cassini ram direction exhibiting energies consistent with the Cassini speed, indicative of a nearly stagnant plasma flow in the plume. North of Enceladus the plasma slowing commences about 4 to 6 Enceladus radii away, while south of Enceladus signatures of the plasma interaction with the plume are detected 22 Enceladus radii away. Citation: Tokar, R. L., R. E. Johnson, M. F. Thomsen, R. J. Wilson, D. T. Young, F. J. Crary, A. J. Coates, G. H. Jones, and C. S. Paty ( 2009), Cassini detection of Enceladus' cold water-group plume ionosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L13203, doi:10.1029/2009GL038923