Emeritus Professor J.N. Hutchinson : Historical Landslide Collection : Great Britain

This report describes a collection of material, field documents, aerial photographs, reports, maps and reference material, which was bequeathed to the British Geological Survey by Professor J. N. Hutchinson. Any material pertaining to Great Britain was sorted into geographical regions and catalogued with the remaining material archived within the National GeoSceince Data Centre to be catalogued at a later date

Spatial and temporal constraints on the pattern of crustal rotation in the Central Andean forearc of Northern Chile (27-30°S)

A total of 125 sites have been collected for palaeomagnetic analysis from two localities within the Coastal Cordillera and Precordillera regions of Northern Chile, between 27-30 °S, in addition to -200 samples collected from a magnetostratigraphic profile through the Pabellón Formation. In the southernmost (Tres Cruces) sampling locality, spanning the Coastal Cordillera- Precordillera boundary, the early, mid and latest Cretaceous-earliest Paleocene magmatic arcs intrude the earliest Cretaceous country rocks to the west and late Cretaceous rocks to the east. An ~50km transect sampled along Quebrada de Los Choros (~29°45'S), indicates that a consistent clockwise rotation of ~10°is recorded by primary magnetisations isolated from all of the units sampled, regardless of age, lithology or location. This is consistent with existing palaeomagnetic data immediately to the south, which has been recalculated, and suggests that localised rotations did not play a significant role in accommodating deformation at this latitude. Palaeomagnetic sampling of two plutons from the latest Cretaceous-earliest Paleocene magmatic arc situated in Quebrada de Los Choros and ~50km to the north, indicates that a sharp discontinuity exists in the regional rotation pattern, with the northern most pluton recording 30° of clockwise rotation. This discontinuity is observed to coincide with an area of diffuse deformation along which sinistral displacement is accommodated along predominantly NW orientated faults. This zone of deformation is interpreted as reflecting a pre-existing fundamental fault zone, similar in nature to a number of such NW striking crustal anisotropies that are observed to pre-determine much of the modern architecture of the modern forearc. These reactivated fault zones are interpreted to form the boundaries of large domains that display homogenous patterns of large magnitude clockwise rotation and are defined through a large number of palaeomagnetic studies. The age of rotation is not well defined in the Tres Cruces area, with a maximum age of 70-60Ma suggested for the youngest rotated plutons sampled, and the observation of a remagnetisation to the south. A second sampling area, situated in the Chilean Precordillera (c.27°45°S), was chosen to try and investigate the temporal accumulation of rotation in the northern Chilean forearc. A wide range of rocks of Triassic to Eocene age were sampled, albeit within the La Temera Fault System, associated with the Incaic orogeny, which marked the initial stages of the most recent phase of mountain building in the Andes. The oldest rocks record primary magnetisations that indicate ~40° of crustal rotation, very similar in magnitude to that recorded in the Coastal-Cordillera-Precordillera boundary zone to the west, suggesting that the La Temera Fault System does not control the regional rotation pattern. In addition, the youngest material sampled, a 40Ma pluton, suggests that rotation was completed prior to the Incaic orogeny, suggesting that crustal rotation in the present day forearc is not a consequence of plateau uplift or crustal thickening

Characterisation and control of electron-lattice coupling in 4d and 5d quantum materials

The burgeoning field of quantum materials concerns systems that do not adhere to the traditional theories of condensed matter physics. A key feature of these materials is a strong coupling between structural, electronic and magnetic degrees of freedom, which is especially prominent in 4d and 5d transition- metal oxides. The consequences of this coupling are wide, stabilising a range of emergent phases that are sensitive to perturbation. In this thesis, I develop novel techniques based on neutron and x-ray scattering to characterise and control electron-lattice coupling in 4d and 5d quantum materials. I begin with Ca3Ru2O7, a 4d polar metal that hosts a spin-reorientation transition. Using neutron and resonant x-ray scattering, I reveal a new cy- cloidal magnetic phase, arising from spin-orbit coupling, that rapidly evolves with temperature to mediate the transition. I further show that the cycloid- mediated spin-reorientation can be driven by anisotropic strain, demonstrating the control enabled by coupling to the lattice. I then turn to resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS), which has re- cently received interest as a new probe of electron-phonon coupling (EPC). Using graphite as a model system, I demonstrate the power of RIXS to probe the momentum-dependent EPC for a range of excited electronic states. Our RIXS data reveal some key deficiencies of current theoretical models of phonon excitations in RIXS, and prompt the development of a new Green’s-function– based model by our collaborators to address these issues. Finally, I present a study of the 5d material Sr2IrO4, a famous jeff = 1/2 spin-orbit Mott insulator. I characterise the phonon spectrum with non- resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, before using RIXS to explore the phonon and magnon excitations. I find a strong EPC similar to that seen in the cuprates, and offer a new interpretation of the magnon dispersion involving coupling to spin-orbit excitons

‘An office in which she had always depended’ : surrogate managers in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Persuasion

This article analyses the ways in which Jane Austen explores questions concerning female property management in two of her novels, Mansfield Park and Persuasion. These two novels are particularly relevant, as they share one common aspect: in both, two female characters attempt to appropriate the position of manager of a house they have no possibility of ever owning, thus replacing the legitimate manager. By analysing these two novels, I aim to show how Austen engages with the late eighteenth‐ and early nineteenth‐century discourse on female management and considers the possibilities and limits of this form of relationship with houses

Nerve-perivascular fat communication as a potential influence on the performance of blood vessels used as coronary artery bypass grafts.

Perivascular fat, the cushion of adipose tissue surrounding blood vessels, possesses dilator, anti-contractile and constrictor actions. The majority of these effects have been demonstrated in vitro and may depend on the vessel and/or the experimental method or species used. In general, the relaxant effect of perivascular adipose tissue is local and may be either endothelium-dependent or endothelium-independent. However, nerve stimulation studies show that, in general, perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) has an anti-contractile vascular effect likely to involve an action of the autonomic vascular nerves. Apart from a direct effect of perivascular fat-derived factors on bypass conduits, an interaction with a number of neurotransmitters and other agents may play an important role in graft performance. Although the vascular effects of PVAT are now well-established there is a lack of information regarding the role and/or involvement of peripheral nerves including autonomic nerves. For example, are perivascular adipocytes innervated and does PVAT affect neuronal control of vessels used as grafts? To date there is a paucity of electrophysiological studies into nerve-perivascular fat control. This review provides an overview of the vascular actions of PVAT, focussing on its potential relevance on blood vessels used as bypass grafts. In particular, the anatomical relationship between the perivascular nerves and fat are considered and the role of the perivascular-nerve/fat axis in the performance of bypass grafts is also discussed

Saphenous Vein Vasa Vasorum as a Potential Target for Perivascular Fat-Derived Factors

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is a source of factors affecting vasomotor tone with the potential to play a role in the performance of saphenous vein (SV) bypass grafts. As these factors have been described as having constrictor or relaxant effects, they may be considered either beneficial or detrimental. The close proximity of PVAT to the adventitia provides an environment whereby adipose tissue-derived factors may affect the vasa vasorum, a microvascular network providing the vessel wall with oxygen and nutrients. Since medial ischaemia promotes aspects of graft occlusion the involvement of the PVAT/vasa vasorum axis in vein graft patency should be considered

Endothelin-1, endothelin receptor antagonists, and vein graft occlusion in coronary artery bypass surgery: 20 years on and still no journey from bench to bedside

The saphenous vein is the most commonly used bypass graft in patients with coronary artery disease. During routine coronary artery bypass, grafting the vascular damage inflicted on the vein is likely to stimulate the release of endothelin-1, a potent endothelium-derived vasoconstrictor that also possesses cell proliferation and inflammatory properties, conditions associated with vein graft failure. In both in vitro and in vivo studies, endothelin receptor antagonists reduce neointimal thickening. The mechanisms underlying these observations are multifactorial and include an effect on cell proliferation and cell/tissue damage. Much of the data supporting the beneficial action of endothelin-1 receptor antagonism at reducing intimal thickening and occlusion in experimental vein grafts were published over 20 years ago. The theme of the recent ET-16 conference in Kobe was “Visiting Old and Learning New”. This short review article provides an overview of studies showing the potential of endothelin receptor antagonists to offer an adjuvant therapeutic approach for reducing saphenous vein graft failure and poses the question why this important area of research has not been translated from bench to bedside given the potential benefit for coronary artery bypass patients

A Brief Comment on Vasa Vasorum of Human Saphenous Vein: relevance for Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

The importance of the vasa vasorum and blood supply to the wall of human saphenous vein (hSV) used for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is briefly discussed. This is in the context of the possible physical link of the vasa vasorum connecting with the lumen of hSV and the anti-ischaemic impact of this microvessel network in the hSV used for CABG

HDAC8 and STAT3 Repress BMF Gene Activity in Colon Cancer Cells

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are undergoing clinical trials as anticancer agents, but some exhibit resistance mechanisms linked to anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 functions, such as BH3-only protein silencing. HDAC inhibitors that reactivate BH3-only family members might offer an improved therapeutic approach. We show here that a novel seleno-α-keto acid triggers global histone acetylation in human colon cancer cells and activates apoptosis in a p21-independent manner. Profiling of multiple survival factors identified a critical role for the BH3-only member Bcl-2-modifying factor (Bmf). On the corresponding BMF gene promoter, loss of HDAC8 was associated with signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)/specificity protein 3 (Sp3) transcription factor exchange and recruitment of p300. Treatment with a p300 inhibitor or transient overexpression of exogenous HDAC8 interfered with BMF induction, whereas RNAi-mediated silencing of STAT3 activated the target gene. This is the first report to identify a direct target gene of HDAC8 repression, namely, BMF. Interestingly, the repressive role of HDAC8 could be uncoupled from HDAC1 to trigger Bmf-mediated apoptosis. These findings have implications for the development of HDAC8-selective inhibitors as therapeutic agents, beyond the reported involvement of HDAC8 in childhood malignancy