Structural Controls of the MacFarlane Geothermal System, Humboldt County, Nevada: New Insights Based on Detailed Geologic Mapping, Shallow Temperature Surveys, and Magnetic Data

Detailed geologic mapping, structural analysis, magnetic and two-meter temperature data, integrated with previous datasets, constrain the structural controls of the MacFarlane geothermal system. MacFarlane hot springs and the travertine fissure ridges lie within a relay ramp. The relay ramp is formed between two overlapping, north-northeast-striking, west-dipping Holocene normal faults exposed in Lake Lahontan sediments. Other mapped faults near the hot spring include a north-striking, west-dipping Tertiary fault east of MacFarlane hot springs. The highest temperature gradient is found at the projected intersection between the Tertiary and north-northeast-striking Quaternary fault, ~2.5 km northeast of the hot spring (Sibbett et al., 1982; Swanberg and Bowers, 1982). Our new data suggest other controls involving the relay ramp geometry of the Holocene faults. The anomalous orientation of the travertine fissure ridge motivated this study of the structural controls of the geothermal system. MacFarlane hot spring is located on the eastern margin of the Black Rock Desert, ~85 km west of Winnemucca, in Humboldt County, Nevada. The active hot spring emerges from the west end of an east-trending travertine fissure ridge, which is ~180 m long. The travertine fissure ridge is up to ~2 m tall and ~5 m wide, and has a central fissure along its long axis. The orientation of the travertine fissure ridge indicates local north-south extension, which is inconsistent with the regional west-northwest extension of the northwestern Basin and Range province. The anomalous travertine orientation is due to fractures that occurred during formation of a relay ramp between two overlapping fault segments

Examining the Affects of Student Multitasking with Laptops During the Lecture

This paper examines undergraduate student use of laptop computers during a lecture-style class that includes substantial problem-solving activities and graphic-based content. The study includes both a self-reported use component collected from student surveys as well as a monitored use component collected via activity monitoring “spyware” installed on student laptops. We categorize multitasking activities into productive (course-related) versus distractive (non course-related) tasks. Quantifiable measures of software multitasking behavior are introduced to measure the frequency of student multitasking, the duration of student multitasking, and the extent to which students engage in distractive versus productive tasks. We find that students engage in substantial multitasking behavior with their laptops and have non course-related software applications open and active about 42% of the time. There is a statistically significant inverse relationship between the ratio of distractive versus productive multitasking behavior during lectures and academic performance. We also observe that students under state the frequency of email and instant messaging (IM) use in the classroom when self-reporting on their laptop usage

Роль хемоклина и галоклина в образовании углеродистых сланцев

Laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) has been applied for multi-elemental analysis of slag samples from a steel plant. In order to avoid the time-consuming step of sample preparation, the liquid slag material can be filled in special probes. After cooling of the liquid slag and solidification, the samples can be analyzed with LIBS - Chemical analysis of slag is an essential input parameter used for numerical simulations to control liquid steel processing. The relative variation range of element concentrations in slag samples from steel production can amount to up to 30%. A multivariate calibration model is used to take into account matrix effects caused by these varying concentrations. By optimizing the measuring parameters as well as the calibration models, an agreement between the standard X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis and LIBS analysis in terms of the coefficient of determination r2 of 0.99 for the main analytes CaO, SiO2, and Fe(tot) of converter slag samples was achieved. The average repeatability of the LIBS measurement for these elements in terms of the relative standard deviation of the determined concentration is improved to less than 1.0%. With these results, the basis is established for future on-line applications of LIBS in the steel-making industry for slag analysis

Spectroscopy of A=12 at High Excitation

Supported by the National Science Foundation and Indiana Universit

Health Systems Global, the new international society for health systems research

I see starting a new international society for health systems research as a step towards renewing our collective commitment to global health goals; in particular I see the proposed society as marking a commitment to equitable universal health care. From my perspective it is important that we are clear on the values that underpin the development of this new society. In addition, the society needs a clear strategy to help achieve this goal, in particular we need to first identify who is the target audience or constituency for the society; and second, the tools through which the society will work and how the society will engage with its audience.Fil: Kraushaar, D.. No especifíca;Fil: Kieny, M. P.. Organizacion Mundial de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Lazarus, J. V.. Health Systems Global; Estados UnidosFil: Bermejo, R.. University Of The Philippines; FilipinasFil: Abimbola, S.. National Primary Health Care Development Agency; NigeriaFil: Prashanth, N.. Institute Of Public Health; IndiaFil: Flores, W.. Center For The Study Of Equity And Governance In Health; GuatemalaFil: Freddie Ssengooba. Makerere University School Of Public Health; UgandaFil: Maceira, Daniel Alejandro. Centro de Estudios de Estado y Sociedad; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Volcanic Initiation of the Eocene Heart Mountain Slide, Wyoming, USA

The Eocene Heart Mountain slide of northwest Wyoming covers an area of as much as 5000 km2 and includes allochthonous Paleozoic carbonate and Eocene volcanic rocks with a run-out distance of as much as 85 km. Recent geochronologic data indicated that the emplacement of the slide event occurred at ∼48.9 Ma, using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) extracted from U-Pb zircon ages from basal layer and injectite carbonate ultracataclasite (CUC). We now refine that age with U-Pb results from a lamprophyre diatreme that is temporally and spatially related to the CUC injectites. The ages for the lamprophyre zircons are 48.97 ± 0.36 Ma (LA-ICPMS) and 49.19 ±0.02 Ma (chemical abrasion isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry). Thus, the lamprophyre and CUC zircons are identical in age, and we interpret that the zircons in the CUC were derived from the lamprophyre during slide emplacement. Moreover, the intrusion of the lamprophyre diatreme provided the trigger mechanism for the Heart Mountain slide. Additional structural data are presented for a variety of calcite twinning strains, results from anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility for the lamprophyre and CUC injectites and alternating-field demagnetization on the lamprophyre, to help constrain slide dynamics. These data indicate that White Mountain experienced a rotation about a vertical axis and minimum of 35° of counterclockwise motion during emplacement

Head of State of Exception

During the escalation of the “German Autumn” in 1977 the Federal German government resorted to a specific form of crisis management that had been described as an undeclared state of exception. It was Federal chancellor Helmut Schmidt in the first place who oversaw the anti-terrorist measures in the situation room where the executive branch ruled for six weeks beyond any parliamentary control. This article examines the role that Helmut Schmidt had played for the creation of a “subjective state of exception” (Julius Hatschek) and how this could be seen as stemming from Schmidt’s earlier experiences and handling of crisis situations dating back to the 1960s. In this regard it has to be asked with Giorgio Agamben, if in the West German case, the state of exception had become the rule

Serotonin 5-HT4 receptors in the nucleus accumbens are specifically involved in the appetite suppressant and not locomotor stimulant effects of MDMA ('ecstasy')

Abstract Rationale 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) abuse is a substantial problem in young adults. Due to a high focus on body image in this population, two main factors that may encourage MDMA use are the appetite suppressant and locomotor stimulant effects of this drug. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a brain region associated with the regulation of motivated and locomotor behaviours, and recent evidence suggests that NAc 5-HT4 receptors are likely to be involved in the appetite suppressant effect of MDMA. It has not yet been shown whether 5-HT4 receptors of the NAc are involved in the locomotor stimulant effects of MDMA, which may also contribute to a reduction in food intake. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the effect of local antagonism of serotonin 5-HT4 receptors in the NAc in the appetite suppressant and locomotor stimulant effects of MDMA. Methods Male hooded Wistar rats underwent surgery for the implantation of bilateral NAc microinjection cannulae under isofluorane anesthesia. Following 5-7 days of recovery, the rats received bilateral microinjections of the 5-HT4 antagonist RS39604 into the NAc immediately prior to either saline or MDMA administration. Food intake, water intake, body weight and locomotor activity were measured. Results RS39604 significantly increased food intake and increased weight loss in MDMA-treated but not saline-treated rats. Measures of MDMA-induced water intake or locomotor activity were not altered by antagonist administration. Conclusions These results demonstrate that 5-HT4 receptors in the NAc specifically regulate the appetite suppressant effects of MDMA but not MDMA-induced water intake or locomotor activity