Symphony No.1

Unpublished, Premiered April 29, 2013 in Dover Theater, Gardner-Webb University Symphony in four movements available on YouTube: Mvt. I Mvt. II Mvt. III Mvt. IV Instrumentation: 3231, 4331, Euphonium, 5 perc plus timp, glock, xyl, piano, harp, strings Additional Instruments, 4th mvt. only: alto flute, drum set, electric guitar, electric bass

Sunrise at Roanoke

Music for flute and harp This piece was inspired by the beautiful sunrises over Albemarle sound at Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina. This music, in the timeless style of the Impressionist composers makes a wonderful concert or recital piece. If no harp is available, the accompaniment may be played on the piano. Purchase the full score on SheetMusicPlus

Ages of the Pliocene-Pleistocene Alexandra and Ngatutura Volcanics, western North Island, New Zealand, and some geological implications

The Alexandra and Ngatutura Volcanics are the two southernmost of the Pliocene-Quaternary volcanic fields of western and northern North Island, New Zealand, northwest of Taupo Volcanic Zone TVZ. The Ngatutura Basalts are an alkalic basaltic field comprising monogenetic volcanoes. The Alexandra Volcanics consist of three basaltic magma series: an alkalic (Okete Volcanics), calcalkalic (Karioi, Pirongia, Kakepuku, and Te Kawa Volcanics), and a minor potassic series. Twenty new K-Arages are presented for the Alexandra Volcanics and 9 new ages for the Ngatutura Basalts. Ages of the Alexandra Volcanics range from 2.74 to 1 .60 Ma, and the ages of all three magma series overlap. Ages of the Ngatutura Basalts range from 1 .83 to 1.54 Ma. Each basaltic field has a restricted time range and there is a progressive younging in age of the basaltic fields of western North Island from the Alexandra Volcanics in the south, to Ngatutura, to South Auckland, and then to the Auckland field in the north. Neither of the Alexandra nor Ngatutura Volcanics shows any younging direction of their volcanic centres or any age pattern within their fields, and there is no systematic variation in age with rock composition. Any correlation of age with degree of erosion of volcanic cones is invalid for these basaltic fields; instead, the degree of erosion may be controlled by the lithology of the cones and possibly by the extent of preservation offered by the thick cover deposits of the Kauroa, Hamilton, and younger tephra beds. Stratigraphic relations have enabled the earliest member of the Kauroa Ash Formation to be dated at 2.3 Ma. This formation represents a series of widespread rhyolitic plinian and ignimbrite eruptions probably derived from TVZ and initiated during the Late Pliocene

San Francisco: 50 Years On - Part One

Dingman argues that the San Francisco settlement signaled the emergence of a new Pacific maritime order in which the United States Navy is the dominant naval force relying on significant bases in Japan. In particular, he focuses on the Yokosuka naval base whose retention was called for by the navy and became an important element in Washington's approach to the peace negotiations. Tozawa deals with the attitudes of the Yoshida government and the opposition parties to the peace negotiations and later to the ratification of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the United States-Japan Security Pact. The points of difference were: whether Japan should negotiate with all the victors or with individual countries; whether Japan should observe disarmed neutrality; whether amendment to the Constitution was necessary. Cortazzi presents the perspective of a junior official in the United Kingdom Liaison Mission from October 1951. He gives an account of the activities of the British delegation to the San Francisco Conference and the conversations of Herbert Morrison and Robert Scott, especially with Prime Minister Yoshida. Lowe argues that British ministers and officials looked backward, influenced by economic, strategic and public opinion factors, the last referring to prisoners-of-war who had been treated harshly in Southeast Asia. The Labour government was worried over a probable revival in Japanese economic competition, referring particularly to textiles, shipping and the potteries. The British views of the treaty were much more critical of Japan than the USA. Foreign Secretary Herbert Morrison, anxious that the British contribution to the ultimate treaty should be properly acknowledged, agreed to be in San Francisco at the last moment for the signing of the peace treaty.San Francisco Treaty, Attlee Government, Herbert Morrison, Robert Scott, John Foster Dulles, Yoshida Shigeru, USA, Japan, United Kingdom Liaison Mission (Tokyo), United States -Japan Security Pact, British delegation to the San Francisco Peace Conference, Ratification, new Pacific maritime order, United States Navy, Yokosuka naval base.

Transfer RNA genes experience exceptionally elevated mutation rates.

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are a central component for the biological synthesis of proteins, and they are among the most highly conserved and frequently transcribed genes in all living things. Despite their clear significance for fundamental cellular processes, the forces governing tRNA evolution are poorly understood. We present evidence that transcription-associated mutagenesis and strong purifying selection are key determinants of patterns of sequence variation within and surrounding tRNA genes in humans and diverse model organisms. Remarkably, the mutation rate at broadly expressed cytosolic tRNA loci is likely between 7 and 10 times greater than the nuclear genome average. Furthermore, evolutionary analyses provide strong evidence that tRNA genes, but not their flanking sequences, experience strong purifying selection acting against this elevated mutation rate. We also find a strong correlation between tRNA expression levels and the mutation rates in their immediate flanking regions, suggesting a simple method for estimating individual tRNA gene activity. Collectively, this study illuminates the extreme competing forces in tRNA gene evolution and indicates that mutations at tRNA loci contribute disproportionately to mutational load and have unexplored fitness consequences in human populations

Ages on weathered Plio-Pleistocene tephra sequences, western North Island, New Zealand

Using the zircon fission-track method, we have obtained five ages on members of two strongly-weathered silicic, Pliocene-Pleistocene tephra sequences, the Kauroa and Hamilton Ash formations, in western North Island, New Zealand. These are the first numerical ages to be obtained directly on these deposits. Of the Kauroa Ash sequence, member K1 (basal unit) was dated at 2.24 ± 0.29 Ma, confirming a previous age of c. 2.25 Ma obtained (via tephrochronology)from K/Ar ages on associated basalt lava. Members K2 and K3 gave indistinguishable ages between 1.68 ± 0.12 and 1.43 ± 0.17 Ma. Member K12, a correlative of Oparau Tephra and probably also Ongatiti Ignimbrite, was dated at 1.28 ± 0.11 Ma, consistent with an age of 1.23 ± 0.02 Ma obtained by various methods on Ongatiti Ignimbrite. Palaeomagnetic measurements indicated that members K13 to K15 (top unit, Waiterimu Ash) are aged between c. 1.2 Ma and 0.78 Ma. Possible sources of the Kauroa Ash Formation include younger volcanic centres in the southern Coromandel Volcanic Zone or older volcanic centres in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, or both. Of the Hamilton Ash sequence, the basal member Ohinewai Ash (HI) was dated at 0.38 ± 0.04 Ma. This age matches those obtained by various methods on Rangitawa Tephra of 0.34-0.35 Ma, supporting correlation with this Whakamaru-caldera derived deposit. The origin of the other Hamilton Ash beds is unknown but various younger volcanic centres in the Taupo Volcanic Zone are possible sources. The topmost member, Tikotiko Ash (H6-H7), is estimated to be aged between c. 0.18 and 0.08 Ma. Various silicic pyroclastic deposits documented in North Island and in marine cores may be co-eval with members of the Kauroa Ash and Hamilton Ash sequences on the basis of their age

Being knowledge, power and profession subordinates:students' perceptions of Twitter for learning

Further conceptualisations are needed that consider students' actual engagement with and perceptions of Twitter for learning. To address this gap, an optional Twitter learning activity was created for a UK-based cohort of Year 1 Physiotherapy students. However, students did not contribute in this medium. Forty-three participating students were surveyed, and two focus groups held. These methods explored: 1) the frequency of student self-initiated use of social media, focusing on Twitter, 2) students' perceptions of Twitter, and 3) factors that would discourage or facilitate students' use of Twitter for learning. Results suggest students perceive Twitter as a platform where student knowledge and power is subordinated to leading Twitter users from relevant disciplines or professions, but also as a platform for enhancing career/business. To this end, a ‘digital information activation’ (Dig-Info-Act) pedagogy for social media is suggested: that is, a pedagogical orientation towards a critical analysis of and acting upon social media information

Using PHREEQC to model cement hydration

This paper presents the steps involved in undertaking an analysis of hydrating cements with different levels of limestone powder using the PHREEQC geochemical software with the Notepad++ editor. The analysis begins with determining which solid phases are thermodynamically predicted to precipitate and form using the oxide compositions of commercial CEM I and CEM II/A-L cements. When the phases are known, PHREEQC is programmed to provide predictions of the phase dissolution and phase assemblage over time (here, 1000 days of hydration) as well as the pore solution chemistry. Thermodynamics has been successfully applied to the field of cement hydration to predict phase assemblages and pore solution changes. With an appropriate cement-based thermodynamic database, PHREEQC has the potential to be a very powerful tool in the ongoing development of sustainable cements into the future. The paper also discusses the ongoing work to couple PHREEQC with the HYDCEM model to provide users with an all-in-one platform to undertake a complete simulation of cement hydration