Miocene to Pleistocene diatom biostratigraphy with a focus on Thalassiosira in sediments of ODP Leg 186 sites

Late Neogene biostratigraphy of diatoms has been investigated from two sites occupied during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 186 off the coast of northeast Japan. A unique aspect of ODP Leg 186 was the installation of two permanent borehole geophysical observatories at the deep-sea terrace along the Japan Trench. The Neogene subsidence history of the forearc was documented from both Sites 1150 and 1151, and Quaternary to middle Miocene (16 Ma) sediments represent a nearly continuous stratigraphic sequence including numerous ash records, especially during the past 9 m.y. Diatoms are found in most samples in variable abundance and in a moderately well preserved state throughout the sequence. The assemblages are characterized consistently by age-diagnostic species of Denticulopsis and Neodenticula found in regions of high surface water productivity typical of middle to high latitudes. The Neogene North Pacific diatom zonation divides the Miocene to Quaternary sequences fundamentally well, except that the latest Miocene through early Pliocene Thalassiosira oestrupii Subzone is not applicable. Miocene and late Pliocene through Pleistocene diatom datum levels that have been proven to be of great stratigraphic utility in the North Pacific Ocean appear to be nearly isochronous within the level of resolution constrained by core catcher sample spacing. The taxonomy and stratigraphy of previously described species determined to be useful across the Miocene/Pliocene boundary have been investigated on the basis of the evolutionary changes within the Thalassiosira trifulta group. The biostratigraphically important forms belonging to the genus Thalassiosira have been illustrated with scanning electron micrographs.

On the role of circulation and mixing in the ventilation of oxygen minimum zones with a focus on the eastern tropical North Atlantic

Ocean observations carried out in the framework of the Collaborative Research Center 754 (SFB 754) "Climate-Biogeochemistry Interactions in the Tropical Ocean" are used to study (1) the structure of tropical oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), (2) the processes that contribute to the oxygen budget, and (3) long-term changes in the oxygen distribution. The OMZ of the eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA), located between the well-ventilated subtropical gyre and the equatorial oxygen maximum, is composed of a deep OMZ at about 400 m depth with its core region centred at about 20° W, 10° N and a shallow OMZ at about 100 m depth with lowest oxygen concentrations in proximity to the coastal upwelling region off Mauritania and Senegal. The oxygen budget of the deep OMZ is given by oxygen consumption mainly balanced by the oxygen supply due to meridional eddy fluxes (about 60%) and vertical mixing (about 20%, locally up to 30%). Advection by zonal jets is crucial for the establishment of the equatorial oxygen maximum. In the latitude range of the deep OMZ, it dominates the oxygen supply in the upper 300 to 400 m and generates the intermediate oxygen maximum between deep and shallow OMZs. Water mass ages from transient tracers indicate substantially older water masses in the core of the deep OMZ (about 120-180 years) compared to regions north and south of it. The deoxygenation of the ETNA OMZ during recent decades suggests a substantial imbalance in the oxygen budget: about 10% of the oxygen consumption during that period was not balanced by ventilation. Long-term oxygen observations show variability on interannual, decadal and multidecadal time scales that can partly be attributed to circulation changes. In comparison to the ETNA OMZ the eastern tropical South Pacific OMZ shows a similar structure including an equatorial oxygen maximum driven by zonal advection, but overall much lower oxygen concentrations approaching zero in extended regions. As the shape of the OMZs is set by ocean circulation, the widespread misrepresentation of the intermediate circulation in ocean circulation models substantially contributes to their oxygen bias, which might have significant impacts on predictions of future oxygen levels.

Nonuniformity of the constitutive law parameters for shear rupture and quasistatic nucleation to dynamic rupture: a physical model of earthquake generation processes.

Based on the recent high-resolution laboratory experiments on propagating shear rupture, the constitutive law that governs shear rupture processes is discussed in view of the physical principles and constraints, and a specific constitutive law is proposed for shear rupture. It is demonstrated that nonuniform distributions of the constitutive law parameters on the fault are necessary for creating the nucleation process, which consists of two phases: (i) a stable, quasistatic phase, and (ii) the subsequent accelerating phase. Physical models of the breakdown zone and the nucleation zone are presented for shear rupture in the brittle regime. The constitutive law for shear rupture explicitly includes a scaling parameter Dc that enables one to give a common interpretation to both small scale rupture in the laboratory and large scale rupture as earthquake source in the Earth. Both the breakdown zone size Xc and the nucleation zone size L are prescribed and scaled by Dc, which in turn is prescribed by a characteristic length lambda c representing geometrical irregularities of the fault. The models presented here make it possible to understand the earthquake generation process from nucleation to unstable, dynamic rupture propagation in terms of physics. Since the nucleation process itself is an immediate earthquake precursor, deep understanding of the nucleation process in terms of physics is crucial for the short-term (or immediate) earthquake prediction.

SITE 1121 - FIELD NOTES Revealing Deep Form as a Basis for Urban Landscape Design

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Beyond verbal fluency: Investigating the long-term effects of bilateral subthalamic (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) on language in two cases

Cognitive functioning has been described as largely impervious to chronic STN-DBS administered over 12-month periods. In relation to the domain of language, however, the effects of STN-DBS are yet to be thoroughly delineated. Verbal fluency tasks represent an almost exclusively applied index of linguistic proficiency relative to neuropsychological research within this population. Comprehensive investigations of the impact of STN-DBS on language function, however, have never been undertaken. The more precise elucidation of the role of the STN in the mediation of language processes, by way of assessments which probe language comprehension and production mechanisms, served as the primary focus of this research. Longitudinal analysis also afforded consideration of the way in which cognitive-linguistic circuits respond to STN-DBS over time. Bilateral STN-DBS primarily effected clinically reliable fluctuations (i.e., both improvements and declines) in performance in both subjects on tasks demanding cognitive-linguistic flexibility in the formulation and comprehension of complex language. Of particular note, both subjects demonstrated a cumulative increase in the proportion of reliable post-operative improvements achieved over time. The findings of this research lend support to models of subcortical participation in language which endorse a role for the STN, and suggest that bilateral STN-DBS may serve to enhance the proficiency of basal ganglia-thalamocortical linguistic circuits over time.

Developing critical understanding in HRM students:using innovative teaching methods to encourage deep approaches to study

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on developing critical understanding in human resource management (HRM) students in Aston Business School, UK. The paper reveals that innovative teaching methods encourage deep approaches to study, an indicator of students reaching their own understanding of material and ideas. This improves student employability and satisfies employer need. Design/methodology/approach – Student response to two second year business modules, matched for high student approval rating, was collected through focus group discussion. One module was taught using EBL and the story method, whilst the other used traditional teaching methods. Transcripts were analysed and compared using the structure of the ASSIST measure. Findings – Critical understanding and transformative learning can be developed through the innovative teaching methods of enquiry-based learning (EBL) and the story method. Research limitations/implications – The limitation is that this is a single case study comparing and contrasting two business modules. The implication is that the study should be replicated and developed in different learning settings, so that there are multiple data sets to confirm the research finding. Practical implications – Future curriculum development, especially in terms of HE, still needs to encourage students and lecturers to understand more about the nature of knowledge and how to learn. The application of EBL and the story method is described in a module case study – “Strategy for Future Leaders”. Originality/value – This is a systematic and comparative study to improve understanding of how students and lecturers learn and of the context in which the learning takes place.

Semi-engineered earthquake-resistant structures: one-storey buildings built up with gabion-box walls

This thesis studies the static and seismic behavior of simple structures made with gabion box walls. The analysis was performed considering a one-story building with standard dimensions in plan (6m x 5m) and a lightweight timber roof. The main focus of the present investigation is to find the principals aspects of the seismic behavior of a one story building made with gabion box walls, in order to prevent a failure due to seismic actions and in this way help to reduce the seismic risk of developing countries where this natural disaster have a significant intensity. Regarding the gabion box wall, it has been performed some calculations and analysis in order to understand the static and dynamic behavior. From the static point of view, it has been performed a verification of the normal stress computing the normal stress that arrives at the base of the gabion wall and the corresponding capacity of the ground. Moreover, regarding the seismic analysis, it has been studied the in-plane and out-of-plane behavior. The most critical aspect was discovered to be the out-of-plane behavior, for which have been developed models considering the “rigid- no tension model” for masonry, finding a kinematically admissible multiplier that will create a collapse mechanism for the structure. Furthermore, it has been performed a FEM and DEM models to find the maximum displacement at the center of the wall, maximum tension stresses needed for calculating the steel connectors for joining consecutive gabions and the dimensions (length of the wall and distance between orthogonal walls or buttresses) of a geometrical configuration for the standard modulus of the structure, in order to ensure an adequate safety margin for earthquakes with a PGA around 0.4-0.5g. Using the results obtained before, it has been created some rules of thumb, that have to be satisfy in order to ensure a good behavior of these structure.

Lessons from the 2015 earthquake(s) in Nepal: implication for rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: There has been an increase in the number of natural disasters in recent history, and the rate of disability is increasing among survivors. The most recent major natural disaster was the earthquake(s) that occurred in Nepal on 25 April 2015 and 12 May 2015. In total, more than 8500 people were killed and over 18,500 people were left injured. This article aims to demonstrate the role of rehabilitation professionals in post-disaster relief and beyond in Nepal. METHOD: This is an experiential account of physiotherapists present during the earthquake and participating in the post-disaster relief. RESULTS: Rehabilitation professionals played an important role in the acute phase post-disaster by providing essential services and equipment. However, discharge planning emerged as an important role for rehabilitation providers in the early days of post-disaster and signaled a relatively new and innovative function that facilitated the heavy imbalance between little supply and tremendous demand for care. In the coming years, rehabilitation will need to support local initiatives that focus on minimizing the long-term effects among people with a newly acquired disability. CONCLUSIONS: Rehabilitation serves an important role across the continuum in post-disaster relief from the initial stages to the months and years following an event. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Driven by medical advances in acute field medicine, the relative proportion of casualties following natural disasters is decreasing, while relative rates of disability are rising among survivors. In post-disaster settings, the growing number of people with newly acquired disabilities will be added to the existing proportion of the population who lived with disabilities, creating a significant growth in the total number of people with disabilities (PWDs) in communities that are often ill prepared to provide necessary services. Rehabilitation interventions in the initial stages of emergency humanitarian response can minimize the long-term effects among people with newly acquired disabilities through early activation and prevention of secondary effects. Rehabilitation providers thus appear to have an important mediating effect on outcomes of disabilities in the early stages, but must also be strong partners with PWDs to advocate for social and political change in the long term.