1,391 research outputs found
From continent to intra-oceanic arc: zircon xenocrysts record the crustal evolution of the Solomon island arc
The first U-Pb ages from a ca. 26–24 Ma pluton on Guadalcanal, in the intra-oceanic Solomon island arc (southwest Pacific Ocean), reveal Eocene- to Archean-aged zircon xenocrysts. Xenocryst populations at ca. 39–33 Ma and ca. 71–63 Ma correlate with previously obtained ages of supra-subduction magmatism within the arc. A ca. 96 Ma zircon population may be derived from Cretaceous ophiolite basement crust or region-wide continental rift-related magmatism. Xenocryst age populations alternate with periods of oceanic basin formation that fragmented the East Gondwana margin. Early Cretaceous to Archean zircon xenocryst ages imply continental origins and a cryptic source within the arc crust; they may have been introduced by Eocene interaction of a continental fragment with the arc, and concealed by ophiolite obduction. The data demonstrate that continentally derived zircons may be transported thousands of kilometers from their source and added to intra-oceanic arc magmas, a process likely facilitated by cyclical subduction zone advance and retreat. The findings highlight the continuum of arcs that occurs between continental and oceanic end members, and the caution with which zircons should be used to determine the provenance and setting of ancient arc terranes accreted to the continental crust
|\epsilon|-Near-Zero materials in the near-infrared
We consider a mixture of metal coated quantum dots dispersed in a polymer
matrix and, using a modified version of the standard Maxwell-Garnett mixing
rule, we prove that the mixture parameters (particles radius, quantum dots
gain, etc.) can be chosen so that the effective medium permittivity has an
absolute value very close to zero in the near-infrared, i.e. |Re(epsilon)|<<1
and |Im (epsilon)|<<1 at the same near-infrared wavelength. Resorting to
full-wave simulations, we investigate the accuracy of the effective medium
predictions and we relate their discrepancy with rigorous numerical results to
the fact that |epsilon|<<1 is a critical requirement. We show that a simple
method for reducing this discrepancy, and hence for achieving a prescribed
value of |\epsilon|, consists in a subsequent fine-tuning of the nanoparticles
volume filling fraction.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
Uncertainty-driven Forest Predictors for Vertebra Localization and Segmentation
Accurate localization, identification and segmentation of vertebrae is an important task in medical and biological image analysis. The prevailing approach to solve such a task is to first generate pixelindependent features for each vertebra, e.g. via a random forest predictor, which are then fed into an MRF-based objective to infer the optimal MAP solution of a constellation model. We abandon this static, twostage approach and mix feature generation with model-based inference in a new, more flexible, way. We evaluate our method on two data sets with different objectives. The first is semantic segmentation of a 21-part body plan of zebrafish embryos in microscopy images, and the second is localization and identification of vertebrae in benchmark human CT
Patterns and outcomes of preterm hospital admissions during pregnancy in NSW, 2001-2008
Contains fulltext :
139362.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access
Strange Stars with a Density-Dependent Bag Parameter
We have studied strange quark stars in the framework of the MIT bag model,
allowing the bag parameter B to depend on the density of the medium. We have
also studied the effect of Cooper pairing among quarks, on the stellar
structure. Comparison of these two effects shows that the former is generally
more significant. We studied the resulting equation of state of the quark
matter, stellar mass-radius relation, mass-central-density relation,
radius-central-density relation, and the variation of the density as a function
of the distance from the centre of the star. We found that the
density-dependent B allows stars with larger masses and radii, due to
stiffening of the equation of state. Interestingly, certain stellar
configurations are found to be possible only if B depends on the density. We
have also studied the effect of variation of the superconducting gap parameter
on our results.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figs; v2: 25 pages, 9 figs, version to be published in
Phys. Rev. (D
Rapid thermal rejuvenation of high-crystallinity magma linked to porphyry copper deposit formation; evidence from the Koloula Porphyry Prospect, Solomon Islands
Magmas containing the components needed to form porphyry copper deposits are relatively common within arcs, yet mineralising events are uncommon within the long-lived magmatic systems that host them. Understanding what causes the transition from barren to productive intrusions is critical to the development of conceptual deposit models. We have constrained the tempo of pre- and syn-mineralisation magmatic events in relationship to the thermal evolution of the plutonic body that underlies one of the world's youngest exposed plutonic–porphyry systems, the Inamumu Zoned Pluton, Koloula Porphyry Prospect, Solomon Islands. High precision ID-TIMS U–Pb dates of texturally and chemically characterised zircons indicate pluton emplacement over 50% crystals) state, past the point of rheological lock-up. We estimate that thermal rejuvenation of the deeper high-crystallinity magma and generation of a mobile melt fraction may have occurred ≤10 kyr before its transport and emplacement within the porphyry environment. The underlying pluton likely cooled and returned to high-crystallinity states prior to subsequent remobilisation-emplacement events. Titanium-in-zircon geothermometry and whole-rock geochemistry suggest pre-mineralisation intrusions were remobilised by mixing of a silicic magma with a high-temperature, less-evolved melt. In contrast, syn-mineralisation melts were most likely remobilised by the percolation of hot volatiles exsolved from contemporaneous less-evolved intrusions cooling beneath the crystalline silicic magma. The evidence for the rapid thermal rejuvenation and long term storage of highly crystalline silicic magmas is consistent with previous studies that indicate two components of exsolved volatiles contribute to ore forming fluids. We conclude that the liberation of crystal-rich porphyry copper deposit forming magmas, and the addition of the chemical components required for ore formation, are intrinsically linked to the volatiles released during the recharge of less-evolved melt into a highly crystalline silicic magma
Multifetal pregnancies: preterm admissions and outcomes
Objective.
To describe the rates of antenatal hospital admission during twin or higher order multifetal pregnancies, and the admission outcomes as discharge undelivered, transfer to higher care, or spontaneous or elective delivery.
Methods.
Cohort study using linked birth and hospital data. The cohort comprised women who gave birth to twins or higher order multiple infants of ≥ 24 weeks gestation in 2001–2008 and who were admitted to hospital in weeks 20–36 of the pregnancy.
Results.
In 63.4% of 10 779 twin pregnancies and 99.5% of 197 triplet and quadruplet pregnancies, the woman was admitted to hospital at least once in weeks 20–36 of the pregnancy, for a total 10 985 admissions. Almost half the admissions (46.3%) ended in discharge without delivery, 10.7% in transfer to higher care, 21.1% in spontaneous labour and birth, and 21.8% in elective delivery (induction or prelabour Caesarean section). The reason for admission was preterm labour in 34.2% of admissions.
Conclusions.
Hospital admission during pregnancy is common for women with multifetal pregnancies, with many of these admissions resulting in preterm birth. This is the first study to report the rate of pregnancy admissions for women with multifetal pregnancies, and provides a baseline for future studies of hospital use in this population.
What is known about the topic?
Multifetal pregnancies are high risk and require greater medical care than singleton pregnancies. However, few studies specifically examine multifetal pregnancies, and most pregnancy studies exclude them, so there is little known about the resource use of this group.
What does this paper add?
This is the first paper to report population rates of hospital admission during pregnancy for women with multifetal pregnancies. We report the admission rates, and the admission outcomes as discharge undelivered, transfer to higher care or spontaneous or elective delivery.
What are the implications for practitioners?
Most women with multifetal pregnancies are admitted to hospital at least once during the pregnancy, with 51% of these admissions resulting in preterm delivery. Of those discharged undelivered, 60% were admitted for 1 day or less. This has implications for resource use, proposed place of birth and for practitioners advising pregnant women.
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