Plate driven extension and convergence along the East Gondwana active margin: Late Silurian–Middle Devonian tectonics of the Lachlan Fold Belt, southeastern Australia

The Lachlan Fold Belt of southeastern Australia developed along the Panthalassan margin of East Gondwana. Major silicic igneous activity and active tectonics with extensional, strike-slip and contractional deformation have been related to a continental backarc setting with a convergent margin to the east. In the Early Silurian (Benambran Orogeny), tectonic development was controlled by one or more subduction zones involved in collision and accretion of the Ordovician Macquarie Arc. Thermal instability in the Late Silurian to Middle Devonian interval was promoted by the presence of one or more shallow subducted slabs in the upper mantle and resulted in widespread silicic igneous activity. Extension dominated the Late Silurian in New South Wales and parts of eastern Victoria and led to formation of several sedimentary basins. Alternating episodes of contraction and extension, along with dispersed strike-slip faulting particularly in eastern Victoria, occurred in the Early Devonian culminating in the Middle Devonian contractional Tabberabberan Orogeny. Contractional deformation in modern systems, such as the central Andes, is driven by advance of the overriding plate, with highest strain developed at locations distant from plate edges. In the Ordovician to Early Devonian, it is inferred that East Gondwana was advancing towards Panthalassa. Extensional activity in the Lachlan backarc, although minor in comparison to backarc basins in the western Pacific Ocean, was driven by limited but continuous rollback of the subduction hinge. Alternation of contraction and extension reflects the delicate balance between plate motions with rollback being overtaken by advance of the upper plate intermittently in the Early to Middle Devonian resulting in contractional deformation in an otherwise dominantly extensional regime. A modern system that shows comparable behaviour is East Asia where rollback is considered responsible for widespread sedimentary basin development and basin inversion reflects advance of blocks driven by compression related to the Indian collision

Tectonic evolution of the Ordovician Macquarie Arc, central New South Wales: arguments for subduction polarity and anticlockwise rotation

The Ordovician Macquarie Arc is most widely exposed in the Lachlan Fold Belt of central New South Wales. Complex relationships between the arc and the Ordovician turbidite mega-fan are partly explained by anticlockwise rotation of the arc during the Ordovician. Thus, initially two lobes of the mega-fan formed to the north and south of the east-west trending arc, using present-day coordinates. The arc consists of the western Goonumbla-Trangie Volcanic Belt, replacing the inappropriate term Junee-Narromine Volcanic Belt, and an eastern composite of the Molong, Rockley-Gulgong and Kiandra Volcanic Belts. These two major segments of the arc are separated by Ordovician quartz turbidites of the Kirribilli Formation and it is probable that the arc has been duplicated by a sinistral strike-slip fault. Eastonian palaeogeographic reconstruction of the eastern segment of the arc highlights a prominent limestone platform in the western Molong Volcanic Belt that grades eastwards into a realm of mainly deep-marine sedimentation and volcanic activity. By analogy with Guam in the western Pacific Ocean, the limestone platform is equated to a frontal arc ridge. This implies that the associated subduction zone was along the western side of the arc and not to the east, as in previous reconstructions. A wide zone of deformed Ordovician quartz turbidites, making up the Girilambone and Wagga-Omeo Zones west of the Macquarie Arc, is interpreted as a subduction complex that formed rapidly in the Late Ordovician. Flipping of the subduction zone was a relatively long event, inferred to have occurred during the latest Ordovician to early Silurian Benambran Orogeny. This was driven by collision of the subduction complex with northern continuations of the Stawell and Bendigo Zones, with a new west-dipping subduction zone forming to the east

Severe acute malnutrition and HIV in children in Malawi

Sub-Saharan Africa is more affected by the HIV epidemic than any other region of the world. At the same time, malnutrition remains a major public health concern. HIV and malnutrition are interlinked, both epidemiologically and physiologically, contributing to high mortality and poor growth and development of children in sub-Saharan Africa. This thesis aims to explore the impact of HIV on the treatment and care of children with severe acute malnutrition in Malawi. The thesis will investigate mortality and nutritional recovery in HIV-infected and uninfected children with SAM; HIV infection and nutritional status in carers of children with SAM; and caregiver perspectives on quality of care for children with SAM. The study is based on a prospective cohort study of 454 children with SAM and meta-analysis of 17 relevant studies; a cross sectional study of 322 carer-child pairs; and a qualitative study using a grounded theory approach

General CMB and Primordial Trispectrum Estimation

We present trispectrum estimation methods which can be applied to general non-separable primordial and CMB trispectra. We present a general optimal estimator for the connected part of the trispectrum, for which we derive a quadratic term to incorporate the effects of inhomogeneous noise and masking. We describe a general algorithm for creating simulated maps with given arbitrary (and independent) power spectra, bispectra and trispectra. We propose a universal definition of the trispectrum parameter $T_{NL}$, so that the integrated bispectrum on the observational domain can be consistently compared between theoretical models. We define a shape function for the primordial trispectrum, together with a shape correlator and a useful parametrisation for visualizing the trispectrum. We derive separable analytic CMB solutions in the large-angle limit for constant and local models. We present separable mode decompositions which can be used to describe any primordial or CMB bispectra on their respective wavenumber or multipole domains. By extracting coefficients of these separable basis functions from an observational map, we are able to present an efficient estimator for any given theoretical model with a nonseparable trispectrum. The estimator has two manifestations, comparing the theoretical and observed coefficients at either primordial or late times. These mode decomposition methods are numerically tractable with order $l^5$ operations for the CMB estimator and approximately order $l^6$ for the general primordial estimator (reducing to order $l^3$ in both cases for a special class of models). We also demonstrate how the trispectrum can be reconstructed from observational maps using these methods.Comment: 38 pages, 9 figures. In v2 Figures 4-7 are altered slightly and some extra references are included in the bibliography. v3 matches version submitted to journal. Includes discussion of special case

Indigenous Suicide in New Zealand

This article describes patterns of suicide and attempted suicide among the indigenous (Ma ̄ori) population of New Zealand using official data from the New Zealand Health Information Service (NZHIS). The majority of Ma ̄ori suicides (75%) occurr in young people aged \u3c35 years. Rates of suicide are higher among Ma ̄ori males and females aged \u3c25 than in their non-Ma ̄ori peers. Rates of hospitalization for attempted suicides are higher amongst Ma ̄ori males aged 15–24, compared to non-Ma ̄ori. In contrast, suicide is virtually unknown amongst older Ma ̄ori (60 years). This article reviews explanations for the observed rates of suicide in Ma ̄ori, and examines approaches to effective intervention to reduce rates of suicide in young Ma ̄ori

Late Neoproterozoic passive margin of East Gondwana: geochemical constraints from the Anakie Inlier, central Queensland, Australia

Development of the East Gondwana passive margin and when it occurred are constrained by the composition of low grade mafic schists and U-Pb ages of detrital zircons in psammitic schists from the Bathampton Metamorphics in the Anakie Inlier of central Queensland. These rocks show considerable variation in light lithophile elements due to post-magmatic processes. They have flat heavy rare earth element patterns, low-TiO2 (\u3c2 wt%) contents and their immobile element Ti, V, Y, La, Nb, Th and Zr values, indicate that they have an NMORB- like magmatic affinity. However, they differ from N-MORB in that they show light rare earth depleted patterns and lower incompatible trace element contents. Their relative low abundance and association with metasediments suggest they formed in a magma-poor rifted margin setting. They are associated with psammitic rocks with detrital zircon ages indicating probable deposition in the late Neoproterozoic at ca 600 Ma. A magma-poor rifted margin in northeastern Australia differs from the volcanic passive setting that occurred in southeastern Australia at this time. These findings support development of the East Gondwana margin at 600 Ma that may have been related to rifting of a microcontinent off East Gondwana well after the breakup of Rodinia at ca 750 Ma

Keystone XL Pipeline: Overview and Recent Developments

[Excerpt] This report describes the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and the process that the State Department must complete to decide whether it will approve or deny TransCanada’s permit application. The report also discusses key energy security, economic, and environmental issues relevant to the State Department’s national interest determination. Some of these issues include perspectives among various stakeholders both in favor of and opposed to the construction of the pipeline. Finally, the report discusses the constitutional basis for the State Department’s authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents’ possible challenges to this authority

Species sensitivity of zeolite minerals for uptake of mercury solutes

The uptake of inorganic Hg2+ and organometallic CH3Hg+ from aqueous solutions by 11 different natural zeolites has been investigated using a batch distribution coefficient (Kd) method and supported by a preliminary voltammetric study. The effect of mercury concentration on theKd response is shown over an environmentally appropriate concentration range of 0.1-5 ppm inorganic and organometallic Hg using a batch factor of 100 ml g−1 and 20 h equilibration. Analcime and a Na-chabazite displayed the greatest methylmercury uptakes (Kd values at 1.5 ppm of 4023 and 3456, respectively), with mordenite as the smallest at 578. All uptake responses were greater for methylmercury than for the inorganic mercuric nitrate solutions, suggesting a distinctive sensitivity of zeolites to reaction with different types of solute species. It is likely that this sensitivity is attributable to the precise nature of the resultant Hg-zeolite bonds. Additionally, both the Si-Al ratio and the Na content of the initial natural zeolite samples are shown to influence the Kd responses, with positive correlations between Kd and Na content for all zeolites excluding mordenite

High School Influences on the Selection of Athletic Training as a Career

Context: Research suggests internships, mentorship, and specialized school programs positively influence career selection; however, little data exists specific to athletic training. Objective: We identified high school (HS) experiences influencing career choice in college athletic training students (ATS). Design: Our survey included 35 Likert-type close-ended questions, which were reviewed by a panel of faculty and peers to establish content and construct validity. Setting: Participants completed an online questionnaire at their convenience. Participants: 217 college ATS (153 female, 64 male) from a random selection of accredited programs on the east coast. We excluded minors, freshmen, and undecided majors from the study. Informed consent was implied by proceeding to the questionnaire. Data Collection and Analysis: We used descriptive statistics to analyze the data collected via a secure website. Results: Mentors were most influential in the decision of career path (62.4%;n=131/210) with 85.2% (n=138/162) reporting mentors were readily available to answer questions regarding career options and 53.1% (n=86/162) counseled them regarding HS electives. Of participants involved in an internship (41.0%;n=86/210), most developed such opportunities independently (66.3%;n=57/86). Respondents who attended traditional HS suggested providing diverse electives (71.9%;n=133/185), additional internship (53.5%;n=99/185), and mentorship (33.0%;n=61/185) opportunities to effectively educate students regarding career options. Conclusions: College ATS that gained internship experience during HS report the opportunity positively influenced their career selection. Mentors support HS students by offering insight and expertise in guiding students’ career choices. Participants suggested HS afford diverse electives with internship and mentorship opportunities to positively influence interested students towards pursuing a career in athletic training

Backarc basin and ocean island basalts in the Narooma Accretionary Complex, Australia: setting, geochemistry and tectonics

The Cambrian-Ordovician Wagonga Group contains basalts at Melville Point and Barlings Beach, 20 km south of Batemans Bay, New South Wales. At Melville Point, the succession has basal altered basalts overlain by chert and interbedded siliceous mudstone of the Wagonga Group, in turn overlain by turbidites and chert of the Adaminaby Group with a latest Cambrian to earliest Ordovician age. By contrast, at Barlings Beach, basalt is associated with highly disrupted chert (tectonic mélange), various slivers of mudstone and turbidites, and turbidites of the Adaminaby Group. Immobile elements in the basalts show consistent patterns that allow the magmatic affinity and tectonic setting to be determined in spite of pervasive hydrothermal alteration and subsequent lower greenschist facies metamorphism that accompanied strong folding and multiple foliation development. The Melville Point basalts show Ti/V ratios transitional between arc and MORB and therefore may have formed in either a forearc or backarc basin setting. However, these rocks have higher Ti/V ratios, LREE, Th and Nb than found in forearc basalts and are therefore considered to have formed in a backarc basin setting. In contrast to Melville Point, most basalts at Barlings Beach have a geochemical signature distinctive of ocean island settings like those reported from elsewhere in the Wagonga Group. We believe these rocks developed in a Cambrian backarc basin setting. In the Early to Middle Ordovician, much of the ocean basin was inundated by quartzose turbidites followed by basin destruction with accretion/underplating at a Late Ordovician-early Silurian Benambran subduction zone and formation of the Narooma Accretionary Complex