Mafic alkaline metasomatism in the lithosphere underneath East Serbia: evidence from the study of xenoliths and the host alkali basalts

Effects of mafic alkaline metasomatism have been investigated by a combined study of the East Serbian mantle xenoliths and their host alkaline rocks. Fertile xenoliths and tiny mineral assemblages found in depleted xenoliths have been investigated. Fertile lithologies are represented by clinopyroxene (cpx)-rich lherzolite and spinel (sp)-rich olivine websterite containing Ti–Al-rich Cr-augite, Fe-rich olivine, Fe–Al-rich orthopyroxene and Al-rich spinel. Depleted xenoliths, which are the predominant lithology in the suite of East Serbian xenoliths, are harzburgite, cpx-poor lherzolite and rare Mg-rich dunite. They contain small-scale assemblages occurring as pocket-like, symplectitic or irregular, deformation-assisted accumulations of metasomatic phases, generally composed of Ti–Al- and incompatible element-rich Cr-diopside, Cr–Fe–Ti-rich spinel, altered glass, olivine, apatite, ilmenite, carbonate, feldspar, and a high-TiO2 (c. 11 wt%) phlogopite. The fertile xenoliths are too rich in Al, Ca and Fe to simply represent undepleted mantle. By contrast, their composition can be reproduced by the addition of 5–20 wt% of a basanitic melt to refractory mantle. However, textural relationships found in tiny mineral assemblages inside depleted xenoliths imply the following reaction: opx+sp1 (primary mantle Cr-spinel) ±phlogopite+Si-poor alkaline melt=Ti–Al-cpx+sp2 (metasomatic Ti-rich spinel)±ol±other minor phases. Inversion modelling, performed on the least contaminated and most isotopically uniform host basanites (87Sr/86Sr=c. 0.7031; 143Nd/144Nd=c. 0.5129), implies a source that was enriched in highly and moderately incompatible elements (c. 35–40× chondrite for U–Th–Nb–Ta, 2× chondrite for heavy rare earth elements (HREE), made up of clinopyroxene, carbonate (c. 5%), and traces of ilmenite (c. 1%) and apatite (c. 0.05%). A schematic model involves: first, percolation of CO2- and H2O-rich fluids and precipitation of metasomatic hydrous minerals; and, second, the subsequent breakdown of these hydrous minerals due to the further uplift of hot asthenospheric mantle. This model links intraplate alkaline magmatism to lithospheric mantle sources enriched by sublithospheric melts at some time in the past

The Role of Gender in Preparedness and Response Behaviors towards Flood Risk in Serbia

Adverse outcomes from 2014 flooding in Serbia indicated problematic response phase management accentuated by a gender imbalance. For this reason, we investigated the risk perceptions and preparedness of women and men regarding these types of events in Serbia. Face-to-face interviews, administered to 2500 participants, were conducted across 19 of 191 municipalities. In light of the current findings, men seemed to be more confident in their abilities to cope with flooding, perceiving greater individual and household preparedness. By contrast, women displayed a deeper understanding of these events. Perhaps owing to a deeper level of understanding, women demonstrated more household-caring attitudes and behaviors and were more prone to report a willingness to help flood victims at reception centers. Emergency management agencies and land planners should account for these differences in gender awareness and preparedness. Based on these findings, doing so may increase citizen participation and shared responsibility under flood hazard scenarios

Frustrated multiband superconductivity

We show that a clean multiband superconductor may display one or several phase transitions with increasing temperature from or to frustrated configurations of the relative phases of the superconducting order parameters. These transitions may occur when more than two bands are involved in the formation of the superconducting phase and when the number of repulsive interband interactions is odd. These transitions are signalled by slope changes in the temperature dependence of the superconducting gaps.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Occupational vibration in urban bus and influence on drivers lower limbs: A review

Whole-body vibration occurs in many occupational activities, promoting discomfort in working environment and inducing a variety of psychophysical changes where consequences as a permanent dysfunction of certain parts of the organism may occur. The main goal of this review article is to find research works with the most reliable results relating whole-body vibrations in buses and, to compare them with the results of drivers lower limbs musculoskeletal disorders, which occurs as a result of many years exposure. PRISMA Statement Methodology was used and thereby 32 scientific databases were searched through where 3996 articles were found, of which 5 were included in this review. As leading standards for whole-body vibration analysis, ISO 2631-1 and ISO 2631-5 standards were considered. Furthermore, works including the European Directive 2002/ 44/ EC, where a daily action exposure to the whole-body vibrations is determined were also considered. All the results presented in this paper were compared with the aforesaid standards. Implementing the research methodology on the available databases, considering the problem of the impact of the vibration on the lower limbs, the found papers did not contain any information about the described problem