Deformation-induced and reaction-enhanced permeability in metabasic gneisses, Iona, Scotland: controls and scales of retrograde fluid movement

The spatial distribution of greenschist-facies retrograde reaction products in metabasic gneisses from Iona, western Scotland, has been investigated. The retrograde products may be broadly accounted for by a single reaction, but their different spatial and temporal development indicates that a series of reactions occur with significantly different scales of metasomatic transfer. After initial fluid influx linked to deformation-induced high permeability, reaction-enhanced permeability, coupled to cycling of fluid pressure during faulting, strongly controls the pervasive retrogression. Ca-plagioclase and pyroxene in the gneisses are replaced by albite and chlorite in pseudomorphic textures, and this is followed by localized epidotization of the albite. Two main generations of epidote are formed in the gneisses. Epidosite formation is associated with prominent zones of cataclasite indicating a strong link between faulting and fluid influx. In contrast, complete alteration of albite to epidote in the host metabasic gneisses is spatially complex, and areas of pervasive alteration may be constrained by both epidote-rich veins and cataclasites. In other instances, reaction fronts are unrelated to structural features. Volume changes associated with individual stages of the reaction history strongly control the localized distribution of epidote and the earlier more widespread development of chlorite and albite. Such behaviour contrasts with adjacent granitic gneisses where epidotization is restricted to local structural conduits. Many small-scale mineralized fractures with evidence of having previously contained fluids do not enhance the pervasive retrogression of the metabasic gneisses and represent conduits of fluid removal. Retrogression of these basement gneisses is dominated by a complex combination of reaction-enhanced and reaction-restricted permeability, kinetic controls on the nucleation of reaction products, changes in fluid composition buffered by the reactions, and periodic local migration of fluids associated with fault movements. This combination generates spatially complex patterns of epidotization that are limited by cation supply rather than fluid availability and alternations between focused and pervasive types of retrogression

Foot health education for people with rheumatoid arthritis : the practitioner's perspective

Background: Patient education is considered to be a key role for podiatrists in the management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patient education has undoubtedly led to improved clinical outcomes, however no attempts have been made to optimise its content or delivery to maximise benefits within the context of the foot affected by rheumatoid arthritis. The aim of this study was to identify the nature and content of podiatrists' foot health education for people with RA. Any potential barriers to its provision were also explored. Methods: A focus group was conducted. The audio dialogue was recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a structured, thematic approach. The full transcription was verified by the focus group as an accurate account of what was said. The thematic analysis framework was verified by members of the research team to ensure validity of the data. Results: Twelve members (all female) of the north west Podiatry Clinical Effectiveness Group for Rheumatology participated. Six overarching themes emerged: (i) the essence of patient education; (ii) the content; (iii) patient-centred approach to content and timing; (iv) barriers to provision; (v) the therapeutic relationship; and (vi) tools of the trade. Conclusion: The study identified aspects of patient education that this group of podiatrists consider most important in relation to its: content, timing, delivery and barriers to its provision. General disease and foot health information in relation to RA together with a potential prognosis for foot health, the role of the podiatrist in management of foot health, and appropriate self-management strategies were considered to be key aspects of content, delivered according to the needs of the individual. Barriers to foot health education provision, including financial constraints and difficulties in establishing effective therapeutic relationships, were viewed as factors that strongly influenced foot health education provision. These data will contribute to the development of a patient-centred, negotiated approach to the provision of foot health education for people with RA

A compendium of ecological knowledge for restoration of freshwater fishes in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin

Many freshwater fishes are imperilled globally, and there is a need for easily accessible, contemporary ecological knowledge to guide management. This compendium contains knowledge collated from over 600 publications and 27 expert workshops to support the restoration of 9 priority native freshwater fish species, representative of the range of life-history strategies and values in south-eastern Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin. To help prioritise future research investment and restoration actions, ecological knowledge and threats were assessed for each species and life stage. There is considerable new knowledge (80% of publications used were from the past 20 years), but this varied among species and life stages, with most known about adults, then egg, juvenile and larval stages (in that order). The biggest knowledge gaps concerned early life stage requirements, survival, recruitment, growth rates, condition and movements. Key threats include reduced longitudinal and lateral connectivity, altered flows, loss of refugia, reductions in both flowing (lotic) and slackwater riverine habitats, degradation of wetland habitats, alien species interactions and loss of aquatic vegetation. Examples and case studies illustrating the application of this knowledge to underpin effective restoration management are provided. This extensive ecological evidence base for multiple species is presented in a tabular format to assist a range of readers

Ecological genetics in the North Atlantic: environmental gradients and adaptation at specific loci

The North Atlantic intertidal community provides a rich set of organismal and environmental material for the study of ecological genetics. Clearly defined environmental gradients exist at multiple spatial scales: there are broad latitudinal trends in temperature, meso-scale changes in salinity along estuaries, and smaller scale gradients in desiccation and temperature spanning the intertidal range. The geology and geography of the American and European coasts provide natural replication of these gradients, allowing for population genetic analyses of parallel adaptation to environmental stress and heterogeneity. Statistical methods have been developed that provide genomic neutrality tests of population differentiation and aid in the process of candidate gene identification. In this paper, we review studies of marine organisms that illustrate associations between an environmental gradient and specific genetic markers. Such highly differentiated markers become candidate genes for adaptation to the environmental factors in question, but the functional significance of genetic variants must be comprehensively evaluated. We present a set of predictions about locus-specific selection across latitudinal, estuarine, and intertidal gradients that are likely to exist in the North Atlantic. We further present new data and analyses that support and contradict these simple selection models. Some taxa show pronounced clinal variation at certain loci against a background of mild clinal variation at many loci. These cases illustrate the procedures necessary for distinguishing selection driven by internal genomic vs. external environmental factors. We suggest that the North Atlantic intertidal community provides a model system for identifying genes that matter in ecology due to the clarity of the environmental stresses and an extensive experimental literature on ecological function. While these organisms are typically poor genetic and genomic models, advances in comparative genomics have provided access to molecular tools that can now be applied to taxa with well-defined ecologies. As many of the organisms we discuss have tight physiological limits driven by climatic factors, this synthesis of molecular population genetics with marine ecology could provide a sensitive means of assessing evolutionary responses to climate change

Bank ownership structure, regulations and risk-taking : evidence from commercial banks in Pakistan

This paper conducts the first empirical assessment of the theories concerning the influence of ownership structure on bank risk-taking in the presence of regulations in Pakistan. The sample used in this paper comprises a panel data of 26 banks in Pakistan, for the period from 2000 to 2014. The analysis provides evidence that increase in ownership concentration leads to an increase in bank risk-taking. Managerial ownership is associated with high risk-taking at low and high levels of managerial ownership while at intermediate level, managerial ownership has negative impact on bank risk-taking. Different types of ownership of banks in Pakistan have different impact on risk-taking. While government, family and institutional ownership have a positive impact on bank risk-taking, foreign own- ership has a negative impact on bank risk-taking. Furthermore, the results show that capital regulations are important in influencing bank risk-taking with regard to higher ownership concentration. The findings of this paper suggest that the relation between bank risk-taking and capital regulations typically depends on the type of ownership.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Beyond outputs: pathways to symmetrical evaluations of university sustainable development partnerships

As the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014) draws to a close, it is timely to review ways in which the sustainable development initiatives of higher education institutions have been, and can be, evaluated. In their efforts to document and assess collaborative sustainable development program outcomes and impacts, universities in the North and South are challenged by similar conundrums that confront development agencies. This article explores pathways to symmetrical evaluations of transnationally partnered research, curricula, and public-outreach initiatives specifically devoted to sustainable development. Drawing on extensive literature and informed by international development experience, the authors present a novel framework for evaluating transnational higher education partnerships devoted to sustainable development that addresses design, management, capacity building, and institutional outreach. The framework is applied by assessing several full-term African higher education evaluation case studies with a view toward identifying key limitations and suggesting useful future symmetrical evaluation pathways. University participants in transnational sustainable development initiatives, and their supporting donors, would be well-served by utilizing an inclusive evaluation framework that is infused with principles of symmetry