The Origin of the External Basins of the Betics, Southern Spain, and Their Use in Interpreting the Orogenic History

The Betic mountain chain of Southern Spain, together with the Rif Mountains of N.W. Africa forms the western-most extension of the Alpine mountain chain in Europe. The Orogen formed as a direct result of the interaction between the African and Iberian plates which took place from the late Cretaceous onwards. The origin of the Betics is far from understood and there are several conflicting hypotheses concerning the origin of the Orogen. There are two major external basins to the Betic Orogen in Southern Spain, the Guadalquivir Basin and the Gibraltar Arc Flysch, and both provide important insights into its tectonic history. The Guadalquivir Basin lies on the northern margin of the External Zone Tertiary fold-thrust belt of the Betic Orogen and south of the Palaeozoic Iberian Meseta. It can be subdivided into structurally distinct regions, an undeformed autochthonous basin which lies to the north of a deformed allochthonous basin. The origin of the Guadalquivir Basin (previously interpreted as being the foreland basin to the Orogen) is questioned. Structured sedimentological and provenance studies demonstrate that the Guadalquivir Basin is not a foreland basin because; 1. It formed as an integral part of the destruction of the Iberian passive margin during which time thin skinned thrusting generated a basin on the northern margin of the External Zones, 2. The fill and unconformities of this basin were controlled by eustasy rather by the tectonic incursion of an orogenic wedge being driven onto the Iberian Margin, 3. The basin did not form by the downward flexure of the lithosphere in response to an orogenic load. Therefore the basin cannot be considered to be a true foreland basin. The clastic sedimentation in the Guadalquivir Basin was controlled by the emergence of the External Zone thrust sheet, during the late Miocene, which was related to the thin skinned thrusting. During this time the recycling of material, that had originally been derived from the Palaeozoic Iberian Meseta. took place. A thrusting event at the the end of the Miocene/ early Pliocene led to the destruction of the Guadalquivir Basin which was subdivided into the allochthon and autochthon seen today. The Gibraltar Arc flysch nappes link the External Rif of North Africa to the External Zone of Southern Spain. The largest unit of the Gibraltar Arc is the Aljibe Flysch which can be subdivided into the Beneiza Flysch and Aljibe Arenites, which are Oligo-Miocene in age. The Beneiza Flysch is characterised by thin sandstones and siltstones that are interpreted to have been deposited by turbiditic currents. These pass rapidly upwards into the thick bedded and super-mature Aljibe Arenites, which are entirely dominated by water escape- structures. The contact between these two units marks a dramatic change in the depositional environment at the beginning of the Miocene. The Aljibe Flysch is interpreted as recording the development of a basin plain that became tectonically segregated at the beginning of the Miocene, at which time new and tectonically confined basins developed. Tectonic instabilities created elsewhere in the External Zone resulted in mobilisation of large amounts of sediment which was rapidly deposited in the newly created basins. The flysch units have subsequently been thrust westwards post-Lower Miocene during which time peridotites were emplaced into mid-crustal levels Consideration of the tectonic and sedimentary history of the Guadalquivir Basin and Gibraltar Arc Flysch provides an important insight into the tectonic history of the Betic Orogen. Data collected during the study of these basins, combined with important new published data from the Alboran Sea and Ronda Peridotites, has resulted in the rejection of the widely accepted 'extensional collapse' model and in the identification of strike-slip tectonism and transcurrent movements as the main mechanism for the building of the Betic Orogen. Miocene transcurrent movements in the Betic area resulted in the break up the Iberian passive margin, the emplacement of metamorphic terranes and in the formation of thrusts in the Gibraltar Arc through a complicated history of transtension and transpression in the region of the Alboran sea

Predictors of Arterial Stiffness in Law Enforcement Officers

Background: Compare arterial stiffness among law enforcement officers (LEOs) versus general population normative values and identify predictors of arterial stiffness in LEOs. Methods: Seventy male LEOs (age: 24–54 years) completed body composition, blood pressures, physical activity level, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) measurements. T-tests and regression analyses were utilized to compare LEO data to normative data and predict cfPWV, respectively. Results: Compared to similar age strata within the general population, cfPWV was lower among LEO’s under 30-years (mean difference = −0.6 m·s−1), but higher among LEOs 50–55-years (mean difference = 1.1 m·s−1). Utilizing regression, age, relative body fat, and diastolic blood pressure explained the greatest variance in LEO’s cfPWV (adj. R2 = 0.56, p \u3c 0.001). Conclusion: This investigation demonstrated that arterial stiffness may progress more rapidly in LEOs and LEOs’ relative body fat and blood pressure may primarily affect arterial stiffness and risk of CVD

A Coordinated Effort to Manage Soybean Rust in North America: A Success Story in Soybean Disease Monitoring

Existing crop monitoring programs determine the incidence and distribution of plant diseases and pathogens and assess the damage caused within a crop production region. These programs have traditionally used observed or predicted disease and pathogen data and environmental information to prescribe management practices that minimize crop loss (3,69). Monitoring programs are especially important for crops with broad geographic distribution or for diseases that can cause rapid and great economic losses. Successful monitoring programs have been developed for several plant diseases, including downy mildew of cucurbits, Fusarium head blight of wheat, potato late blight, and rusts of cereal crops (13,36,51,80)

International Guidelines for Veterinary Tumor Pathology: A Call to Action

Standardization of tumor assessment lays the foundation for validation of grading systems, permits reproducibility of oncologic studies among investigators, and increases confidence in the significance of study results. Currently, there is minimal methodological standardization for assessing tumors in veterinary medicine, with few attempts to validate published protocols and grading schemes. The current article attempts to address these shortcomings by providing standard guidelines for tumor assessment parameters and protocols for evaluating specific tumor types. More detailed information is available in the Supplemental Files, the intention of which is 2-fold: publication as part of this commentary, but more importantly, these will be available as “living documents” on a website (www.vetcancerprotocols.org), which will be updated as new information is presented in the peer-reviewed literature. Our hope is that veterinary pathologists will agree that this initiative is needed, and will contribute to and utilize this information for routine diagnostic work and oncologic studies. Journal editors and reviewers can utilize checklists to ensure publications include sufficient detail and standardized methods of tumor assessment. To maintain the relevance of the guidelines and protocols, it is critical that the information is periodically updated and revised as new studies are published and validated with the intent of providing a repository of this information. Our hope is that this initiative (a continuation of efforts published in this journal in 2011) will facilitate collaboration and reproducibility between pathologists and institutions, increase case numbers, and strengthen clinical research findings, thus ensuring continued progress in veterinary oncologic pathology and improving patient care

Postcolonial healing landscapes and mental health in a remote Indigenous community in subarctic Ontario, Canada

The concept of therapeutic landscape is concerned with a holistic, socio-ecological model of health, but most studies have attempted to explore land-health links from a Western perspective. On an Indigenous reserve in Northern Ontario, part of the Canadian subarctic, we explore the importance of spaces and places in creating postcolonial therapeutic landscapes to treat the wounds inflicted by colonialism. The aim of this research is to gain insight from views and experiences of First Nations residents living on reservations that are undergoing a process of regaining traditional spiritual beliefs and teachings to construct therapeutic spaces to face mental health problems caused by legal opioid analgesic abuse. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with Cree and Ojibwe participants to understand how they are reconnecting with earth, spirituality and traditional animist beliefs on their way to recovery. We find that practices such as taking part in ceremonies and ritual spaces, and seeking knowledge and advice from Elders assist with personal healing and enable Indigenous people to be physically and mentally healthy. Our research findings provide important insights into the relationship between space, healing and culture as determinants of health and well-being and document some key factors that contribute to substance abuse recovery.This work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science (Spain) [I + D+i SEJ2005-09344/SOCI]; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada) [I + D+i CURA/NORTHERN]

The Fate of Firms: Explaining Mergers and Bankruptcies

Using a uniquely complete data set of more than 50,000 observations of approximately 16,000 corporations, we test theories that seek to explain which firms become merger targets and which firms go bankrupt. We find that merger activity is much greater during prosperous periods than during recessions. In bad economic times, firms in industries with high bankruptcy rates are less likely to file for bankruptcy than they are in better years, supporting the market illiquidity arguments made by Shleifer and Vishny (1992). At the firm level, we find that, among poorly performing firms, the likelihood of merger increases with poorer performance, but among better performing firms, the relation is reversed and chances of merger increase with better performance. Such a changing relation has not been detected in prior merger studies. We also find that low-growth, resource-rich firms are prime acquisition targets and that firms’ debt capacity relates negatively to the likelihood of a merger. Debt-related variables, leverage and secured debt, play an especially prominent role in distinguishing between which firms merge and which firms go bankrupt

Giant breast tumors: Surgical management of phyllodes tumors, potential for reconstructive surgery and a review of literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phyllodes tumors are biphasic fibroepithelial neoplasms of the breast. While the surgical management of these relatively uncommon tumors has been addressed in the literature, few reports have commented on the surgical approach to tumors greater than ten centimeters in diameter – the giant phyllodes tumor.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report two cases of giant breast tumors and discuss the techniques utilized for pre-operative diagnosis, tumor removal, and breast reconstruction. A review of the literature on the surgical management of phyllodes tumors was performed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Management of the giant phyllodes tumor presents the surgeon with unique challenges. The majority of these tumors can be managed by simple mastectomy. Axillary lymph node metastasis is rare, and dissection should be limited to patients with pathologic evidence of tumor in the lymph nodes.</p

How environmental managers perceive and approach the issue of invasive species: the case of Japanese knotweed s.l. (Rhône River, France)

We would like to thank Springer for publishing our article. The final publication is available at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10530-015-0969-1International audienceStudying the perceptions of stakeholders or interested parties is a good way to better understand behaviours and decisions. This is especially true for the management of invasive species such as Japanese knotweed s.l. This plant has spread widely in the Rhône basin, where significant financial resources have been devoted to its management. However, no control technique is recognized as being particularly effective. Many uncertainties remain and many documents have been produced by environmental managers to disseminate current knowledge about the plant and its management. This article aims at characterizing the perceptions that environmental managers have of Japanese knotweed s.l. A discourse analysis was conducted on the printed documentation produced about Japanese knotweed s.l. by environmental managers working along the Rhône River (France). The corpus was both qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. The results indicated a diversity of perceptions depending on the type of environmental managers involved, as well as the geographicalareas and scales on which they acted. Whereas some focused on general knowledge relating to the origins and strategies of colonization, others emphasized the diversity and efficacy of the prospective eradication techniques. There is a real interest in implementing targeted actions to meet local issues. To do so, however, these issues must be better defined. This is a challenging task, as it must involve all types of stakeholders