UHP metamorphic rocks of the Eastern Rhodope Massif, NE Greece: new constraints from petrology, geochemistry and zircon ages

In this PhD thesis, a multidisciplinary study has been carried out on metagranitoids and paragneisses from the Eastern Rhodope Massif, northern Greece, to decipher the pre-Alpine magmatic and geodynamic evolution of the Rhodope Massif and to correlate the eastern part with the western/central parts of the orogen. The Rhodope Massif, which occupies the major part of NE Greece and S Bulgaria, represents the easternmost part of the Internal Hellenides. It is regarded as a nappe stack of high-grade units, which is classically subdivided into an upper unit and a lower unit, separated by a SSE-NNW trending thrust plane, the Nestos thrust. Recent research in the central Greek Rhodope Massif revealed that the two units correspond to two distinct terranes of different age, the Permo-Carboniferous Thracia Terrane, which was overthrusted by the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous Rhodope Terrane. These terranes are separated by the Nestos suture, a composite zone comprising metapelites, metabasites, metagranitoids and marbles, which record high-pressure and even ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in places. Similar characteristic rock associations were investigated during this study along several well-constrained cross sections in vincity to the Ada, Sidiro and Kimi villages in the Greek Eastern Rhodope Massif. Field evidence revealed that the contact zone of the two terranes in the Eastern Rhodope Massif is characterized by a mélange of metapelites, migmatitic amphibolites/eclogites, strongly sheared orthogneisses and marbles. The systematical occurrence of this characteristic rock association between the terranes implies that the Nestos suture is a continuous belt throughout the Greek Rhodope Massif. In this study, a new UHP locality could be established and for the first time in the Greek Rhodope, metamorphic microdiamonds were identified in situ in their host zircons using Laser-Raman spectroscopy. The presence of the diamonds as well as element distribution patterns of the zircons, obtained by TOF-SIMS, indicate metamorphic conditions of T > 1000 °C and P > 4 GPa. The high-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure rocks of the mélange zone are considered to have formed during the subduction of the Nestos Ocean in Jurassic times at ~150 Ma. Melting of metapelitic rocks at UHP conditions facilitated the exhumation to lower crustal levels. To identify major crust forming events, basement granitoids were dated by LA-SF-ICPMS and SHRIMP-II U-Pb analyses of zircons. The geochronological results revealed that the Eastern Rhodope Massif consists of two crustal units, a structurally lower Permo-Carboniferous unit corresponding to the Thracia Terrane and a structurally upper Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous unit corresponding to the Rhodope Terrane, like it was documented for the Central Rhodope Massif. Inherited zircons in the orthogneisses from the Thracia Terrane of the Eastern Rhodope Massif indicate the presence of a pre-existing Neoproterozoic and Ordovician-Silurian basement in this region. Triassic magmatism is witnessed by the zircons of few orthogneisses from the easternmost Rhodope Massif and is interpreted to be related to rifting processes. Whole-rock major and trace element analyses indicate that the metagranitoids from both terranes originated in a subduction-related magmatic-arc environment. The Sr-Nd isotope data for both terranes of the Eastern and Central Rhodope Massif suggest a mixed crust-mantle source with variable contributions of older crustal material as already indicated by the presence of inherited zircons. Geochemical and isotopic similarity of the basement of the Thracia Terrane and the Pelagonian Zone implies that the Thracia Terrane is a fragment of a formerly unique Permo-Carboniferous basement, separated by rifting and opening of the Meliata-Maliac ocean system in Triassic times. A branch of the Meliata-Maliac ocean system, the Nestos Ocean, subducted northwards in Late Jurassic times leading to the formation of the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous Rhodope magmatic arc on remnants of the Thracia Terrane as suggested by inherited Permo-Carboniferous zircons. The ~150 Ma zircon ages of the orthogneisses from the Rhodope Terrane indicate that subduction-related magmatism and HP/UHP metamorphism occurred during the same subduction phase. Subduction ceased due to the closure of the Nestos Ocean in the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous. The post-Jurassic evolution of the Rhodope Massif is characterized by the exhumation of the Rhodope core complex in the course of extensional tectonics associated with late granite intrusions in Eocene to Miocene times.

Granulite facies metamorphism and partial melting processes in the Ivrea Zone, Northern Italy

The Ivrea Zone in northern Italy has been the focus of numerous petrological, geochemical and structural studies. It is commonly inferred to represent an almost complete section through the mid to lower continental crust, in which metamorphism and partial melting of the abundant metapelites was the result of magmatic underplating by a large volume of mantle-derived magma. This study concerns amphibolite and granulite facies metamorphism in the Ivrea Zone with focus on metapelites and metapsammites/metagreywackes from Val Strona di Omegna and metapelites from Val Sesia and Val Strona di Postua, with the aim to better constrain their metamorphic evolution as well as their pressure and temperature conditions via phase equilibria modelling.rnrnIn Val Strona di Omegna, the metapelites show a structural and mineralogical change from mica-schists with the common assemblage bi-mu-sill-pl-q-ilm ± liq at the lowest grades, through metatexitic migmatites (g-sill-bi-ksp-pl-q-ilm-liq) at intermediate grades, to complex diatexitic migmatites (g-sill-ru-bi-ksp-pl-q-ilm-liq) at the highest grades. Within this section several mappable isograds occur, including the first appearance of K-feldspar in the metapelites, the first appearance of orthopyroxene in the metabasites and the disappearance of prograde biotite from the metapelites. The inferred onset of partial melting in the metapelites occurs around Massiola. The prograde suprasolidus evolution of the metapelites is consistent with melting via the breakdown of first muscovite then biotite. Maximum modelled melt fractions of 30–40 % are predicted at the highest grade. The regional metamorphic field gradient in Val Strona di Omegna is constrained to range from conditions of 3.5–6.5 kbar at T = 650–730 °C to P > 9 kbar at T > 900 °C. The peak P–T estimates, particularly for granulite facies conditions, are significantly higher (around 100 °C) than those of most previous studies. In Val Sesia and Val Strona di Postua to the south the exposure is more restricted. P–T estimates for the metapelites are 750–850 °C and 5–6.5 kbar in Val Sesia and approximately 800–900 °C and 5.5–7 kbar in Val Strona di Postua. These results show similar temperatures but lower pressure than metapelites in Val Strona di Omegna. Metapelites in Val Sesia in contact with the Mafic Complex exhibit a metatexitic structure, while in Val Strona di Postua diatexitic structures occur. Further, metapelites at the contact with the Mafic Complex contain cordierite (± spinel) that overprint the regional metamorphic assemblages and are interpreted to have formed during contact metamorphism related to intrusion of the Mafic Complex. The lower pressures in the high-grade rocks in Val Sesia and Val Strona di Postua are consistent with some decompression from the regional metamorphic peak prior to the intrusion of the Mafic Complex, suggesting the rocks followed a clockwise P–T path. In contrast, the metapelites in Val Strona di Omegna, especially in the granulite facies, do not contain any cordierite or any evidence for a contact metamorphic overprint. The extrapolated granulite facies mineral isograds are cut by the rocks of the Mafic Complex to the south. Therefore, the Mafic Complex cannot have caused the regional metamorphism and it is unlikely that the Mafic Complex occurs in Val Strona di Omegna.

Potential vorticity and moisture in extratropical cyclones : climatology and sensitivity experiments

The development of extratropical cyclones can be seen as an interplay of three positive potential vorticity (PV) anomalies: an upper-level stratospheric intrusion, low-tropospheric diabatically produced PV, and a warm anomaly at the surface acting as a surrogate PV anomaly. In the mature stage they become vertically aligned and form a “PV tower” associated with strong cyclonic circulation. This paradigm of extratropical cyclone development provides the basis of this thesis, which will use a climatological dataset and numerical model experiments to investigate the amplitude of the three anomalies and the processes leading in particular to the formation of the diabatically produced low-tropospheric PV anomaly.rnrnThe first part of this study, based on the interim ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) dataset, quantifies the amplitude of the three PV anomalies in mature extratropical cyclones in different regions in the Northern Hemisphere on a climatological basis. A tracking algorithm is applied to sea level pressure (SLP) fields to identify cyclone tracks. Surface potential temperature anomalies ∆θ and vertical profiles of PV anomalies ∆PV are calculated at the time of the cyclones’ minimum SLP and during the intensification phase 24 hours before in a vertical cylinder with a radius of 200 km around the surface cyclone center. To compare the characteristics of the cyclones, they are grouped according to their location (8 regions) and intensity, where the central SLP is used as a measure of intensity. Composites of ∆PV profiles and ∆θ are calculated for each region and intensity class at the time of minimum SLP and during the cyclone intensification phase.rnrnDuring the cyclones’ development stage the amplitudes of all three anomalies increase on average. In the mature stage all three anomalies are typically larger for intense than for weak winter cyclones [e.g., 0.6 versus 0.2 potential vorticity units (PVU) at lower levels, and 1.5 versus 0.5 PVU at upper levels].rnThe regional variability of the cyclones’ vertical structure and the profile evolution is prominent (cyclones in some regions are more sensitive to the amplitude of a particular anomaly than in other regions). Values of ∆θ and low-level ∆PV are on average larger in the western parts of the oceans than in the eastern parts. In addition, a large seasonal variability can be identified, with fewer and weaker cyclones especially in the summer, associated with higher low-tropospheric PV values, but also with a higher tropopause and much weaker surface potential temperature anomalies (compared to winter cyclones).rnrnIn the second part, we were interested in the diabatic low-level part of PV towers. Evaporative sources were identified of moisture that was involved in PV production through condensation. Lagrangian backward trajectories were calculated from the region with high PV values at low-levels in the cyclones. PV production regions were identified along these trajectories and from these regions a new set of backward trajectories was calculated and moisture uptakes were traced along them. The main contribution from surface evaporation to the specific humidity of the trajectories is collected 12-72 hours prior to therntime of PV production. The uptake region for weaker cyclones with less PV in the centre is typically more localized with reduced uptake values compared to intense cyclones. However, in a qualitative sense uptakes and other variables along single trajectories do not vary much between cyclones of different intensity in different regions.rnrnA sensitivity study with the COSMO model comprises the last part of this work. The study aims at investigating the influence of synthetic moisture modification in the cyclone environment in different stages of its development. Moisture was eliminated in three regions, which were identified as important moisture source regions for PV production. Moisture suppression affected the cyclone the most in its early phase. It led to cyclolysis shortly after its genesis. Nevertheles, a new cyclone formed on the other side of a dry box and developed relatively quickly. Also in other experiments, moisture elimination led to strong intensity reduction of the surface cyclone, limited upper-level development, and delayed or missing interaction between the two.rnrnIn summary, this thesis provides novel insight into the structure of different intensity categories of extratropical cyclones from a PV perspective, which corroborates the findings from a series of previous case studies. It reveals that all three PV anomalies are typically enhanced for more intense cyclones, with important regional differences concerning the relative amplitude of the three anomalies. The moisture source analysis is the first of this kind to study the evaporation-condensation cycle related to the intensification of extratropical cyclones. Interestingly, most of the evaporation occurs during the 3 days prior to the time of maximum cyclone intensity and typically extends over fairly large areas along the track of the cyclone. The numerical model case study complements this analysis by analyzing the impact of regionally confined moisture sources for the evolution of the cyclone.

Dynamics of coastal aquifers: data-driven forecasting and risk analysis

This work is focused on the study of saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers, and in particular on the realization of conceptual schemes to evaluate the risk associated with it. Saltwater intrusion depends on different natural and anthropic factors, both presenting a strong aleatory behaviour, that should be considered for an optimal management of the territory and water resources. Given the uncertainty of problem parameters, the risk associated with salinization needs to be cast in a probabilistic framework. On the basis of a widely adopted sharp interface formulation, key hydrogeological problem parameters are modeled as random variables, and global sensitivity analysis is used to determine their influence on the position of saltwater interface. The analyses presented in this work rely on an efficient model reduction technique, based on Polynomial Chaos Expansion, able to combine the best description of the model without great computational burden. When the assumptions of classical analytical models are not respected, and this occurs several times in the applications to real cases of study, as in the area analyzed in the present work, one can adopt data-driven techniques, based on the analysis of the data characterizing the system under study. It follows that a model can be defined on the basis of connections between the system state variables, with only a limited number of assumptions about the "physical" behaviour of the system.

Sicurezza, protezione e integrità nei sistemi cloud: Modelli, metodi e tecnologie

La natura distribuita del Cloud Computing, che comporta un'elevata condivisione delle risorse e una moltitudine di accessi ai sistemi informatici, permette agli intrusi di sfruttare questa tecnologia a scopi malevoli. Per contrastare le intrusioni e gli attacchi ai dati sensibili degli utenti, vengono implementati sistemi di rilevamento delle intrusioni e metodi di difesa in ambiente virtualizzato, allo scopo di garantire una sicurezza globale fondata sia sul concetto di prevenzione, sia su quello di cura: un efficace sistema di sicurezza deve infatti rilevare eventuali intrusioni e pericoli imminenti, fornendo una prima fase difensiva a priori, e, al contempo, evitare fallimenti totali, pur avendo subito danni, e mantenere alta la qualità del servizio, garantendo una seconda fase difensiva, a posteriori. Questa tesi illustra i molteplici metodi di funzionamento degli attacchi distribuiti e dell'hacking malevolo, con particolare riferimento ai pericoli di ultima generazione, e definisce le principali strategie e tecniche atte a garantire sicurezza, protezione e integrità dei dati all'interno di un sistema Cloud.

Massenspektrometrische Wasserdampfmessung in der oberen Troposphäre und unteren Stratosphäre

Diese Arbeit beschreibt die Entwicklung des flugzeuggetragenen Atmosphärischen Ionisations-Massenspektrometers AIMS-H2O zur Messung von Wasserdampf in der oberen Troposphäre und unteren Stratosphäre (UTLS) und erste Flugzeugmessungen mit dem Instrument. Wasserdampf beeinflusst das Klima in der UTLS aufgrund seiner Strahlungseigenschaften und agiert als wichtiger Parameter bei der Bildung von Zirruswolken und Kondensstreifen. Deshalb sind genaue Wasserdampfmessungen für das Verständnis vieler atmosphärischer Prozesse unerlässlich. Instrumentenvergleiche wie sie im SPARC Report No. 2 und dem Bericht der AUQAVIT Kampagne zusammengefasst sind, haben gezeigt, dass große Abweichungen zwischen einzelnen Methoden und Instrumenten bestehen. Diese Unsicherheiten limitieren das Verständnis des Einflusses von Wasserdampf auf die Dynamik und die Strahlungseigenschaften in der UTLS. Die in dieser Arbeit vorgestellte Entwicklung einer neuen Messmethode für Wasserdampf mit dem Massenspektrometer AIMS-H2O ist deshalb auf die genaue Messung niedriger Wasserdampfkonzentrationen in der UTLS fokussiert. Mit AIMS H2O wird Umgebungsluft in einer neu entwickelten Gasentladungsquelle ionisiert. Durch eine Reihe von Ionen-Molekül-Reaktionen entstehen H3O+(H2O) und H3O+(H2O)2 Ionen. Diese Ionen werden genutzt, um die Wasserdampfkonzentration in der Atmosphäre zu bestimmen. Um die erforderliche hohe Genauigkeit zu erzielen, wird AIMS H2O im Flug kalibriert. In dem zu diesem Zweck aufgebauten Kalibrationsmodul wird die katalytische Reaktion von Wasserstoff und Sauerstoff auf einer Platinoberfläche genutzt, um definierte Wasserdampfkonzentrationen für die Kalibration im Flug zu erzeugen. Bei ersten Messungen auf der Falcon während der Kampagne CONCERT 2011 konnte dabei eine Genauigkeit von 8 bis 15% für die Messung der Wasserdampfkonzentration in einem Messbereich von 0,5 bis 250 ppmv erreicht werden. Die Messfrequenz betrug 4 Hz, was einer räumlichen Auflösung von etwa 50 m entspricht. Der Vergleich der Messung des Massenspektrometers mit dem Laserhygrometer Waran zeigt eine sehr gute Übereinstimmung im Rahmen der Unsicherheiten. Anhand zweier Fallstudien werden die Messungen von AIMS H2O während CONCERT 2011 detailliert analysiert. In der ersten Studie werden zwei Flüge in eine stratosphärische Intrusion über Nordeuropa untersucht. In dieser Situation wurde stratosphärische Luft bis hinunter auf 6 km Höhe transportiert und war dadurch mit der Falcon erreichbar. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass AIMS-H2O sehr gut für die genaue Messung niedriger Wasserdampfkonzentrationen, in diesem Fall bis etwa 3,5 ppmv, geeignet ist. Der Vergleich der Messung mit Analysen des ECMWF Integrated Forecast Systems zeigt eine gute Übereinstimmung der gemessenen Wasserdampfstrukturen mit der dynamischen Tropopause. Unterschiede tauchen dagegen beim Vergleich der Wasserdampfkonzentrationen in der unteren Stratosphäre auf. Hier prognostiziert das Modell deutlich höhere Feuchten. Die zweite Fallstudie beschäftigt sich mit der Verteilung der relativen Feuchte in jungen Kondensstreifen im Vergleich zu ihrer direkten Umgebung. Dabei wurde für drei Messsequenzen im Abgasstrahl von Flugzeugen beobachtet, dass die relative Feuchte innerhalb des Kondensstreifens im Vergleich zur Umgebung sowohl bei unter- als auch übersättigten Umgebungsbedingungen in Richtung Sättigung verschoben ist. Die hohe Anzahl an Eispartikeln und die damit verbundene große Eisoberfläche in jungen Kondensstreifen führt also zu einer schnellen Relaxation von Gasphase und Eis in Richtung Gleichgewicht. In der Zukunft soll AIMS-H2O auch auf HALO für die genaue Messung von Wasserdampf bei ML-CIRRUS und weiteren Kampagnen eingesetzt werden.

UWB radar sensor networks: Detection algorithms design and experimental analysis

In the last years radar sensor networks for localization and tracking in indoor environment have generated more and more interest, especially for anti-intrusion security systems. These networks often use Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology, which consists in sending very short (few nanoseconds) impulse signals. This approach guarantees high resolution and accuracy and also other advantages such as low price, low power consumption and narrow-band interference (jamming) robustness. In this thesis the overall data processing (done in MATLAB environment) is discussed, starting from experimental measures from sensor devices, ending with the 2D visualization of targets movements over time and focusing mainly on detection and localization algorithms. Moreover, two different scenarios and both single and multiple target tracking are analyzed.

On Accidental Archaeology

Archaeological excavations in the nineteenth century presented images of past and present collapsed together. Examining the accidental excavation of Roman remains in London and the failed excavation of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, this essay shows how the intrusion of material from one time into another disrupted notions of linear chronology.

Measurements of Humidity in the Atmosphere and Validation Experiments MOHAVE-2009; overview of campaign operations and results

The Measurements of Humidity in the Atmosphere and Validation Experiment (MOHAVE) 2009 campaign took place on 11–27 October 2009 at the JPL Table Mountain Facility in California (TMF). The main objectives of the campaign were to (1) validate the water vapor measurements of several instruments, including, three Raman lidars, two microwave radiometers, two Fourier-Transform spectrometers, and two GPS receivers (column water), (2) cover water vapor measurements from the ground to the mesopause without gaps, and (3) study upper tropospheric humidity variability at timescales varying from a few minutes to several days. A total of 58 radiosondes and 20 Frost-Point hygrometer sondes were launched. Two types of radiosondes were used during the campaign. Non negligible differences in the readings between the two radiosonde types used (Vaisala RS92 and InterMet iMet-1) made a small, but measurable impact on the derivation of water vapor mixing ratio by the Frost-Point hygrometers. As observed in previous campaigns, the RS92 humidity measurements remained within 5% of the Frost-point in the lower and mid-troposphere, but were too dry in the upper troposphere. Over 270 h of water vapor measurements from three Raman lidars (JPL and GSFC) were compared to RS92, CFH, and NOAA-FPH. The JPL lidar profiles reached 20 km when integrated all night, and 15 km when integrated for 1 h. Excellent agreement between this lidar and the frost-point hygrometers was found throughout the measurement range, with only a 3% (0.3 ppmv) mean wet bias for the lidar in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). The other two lidars provided satisfactory results in the lower and mid-troposphere (2–5% wet bias over the range 3–10 km), but suffered from contamination by fluorescence (wet bias ranging from 5 to 50% between 10 km and 15 km), preventing their use as an independent measurement in the UTLS. The comparison between all available stratospheric sounders allowed to identify only the largest biases, in particular a 10% dry bias of the Water Vapor Millimeter-wave Spectrometer compared to the Aura-Microwave Limb Sounder. No other large, or at least statistically significant, biases could be observed. Total Precipitable Water (TPW) measurements from six different co-located instruments were available. Several retrieval groups provided their own TPW retrievals, resulting in the comparison of 10 different datasets. Agreement within 7% (0.7 mm) was found between all datasets. Such good agreement illustrates the maturity of these measurements and raises confidence levels for their use as an alternate or complementary source of calibration for the Raman lidars. Tropospheric and stratospheric ozone and temperature measurements were also available during the campaign. The water vapor and ozone lidar measurements, together with the advected potential vorticity results from the high-resolution transport model MIMOSA, allowed the identification and study of a deep stratospheric intrusion over TMF. These observations demonstrated the lidar strong potential for future long-term monitoring of water vapor in the UTLS.

LFA-1 expression in a series of colorectal adenocarcinomas

LFA-1 is an adhesion molecule which belongs to the β2-integrin family. Overexpression of LFA-1 in hepatic natural killer cells has been associated with increased apoptosis of neoplastic cells in colorectal cancer (CRC); moreover, studies in CRC have linked LFA-1 overexpression in neoplastic cells with vascular intrusion through adhesion to endothelial cells, thus implying a possible role in creation of metastases.

Not in the Legends

In writing “Not in the Legends”, one of the images and concepts which constantly returned was that of pilgrimage. I began to write these poems while studying abroad in London, after having passed the previous semester in France and travelling around Europe. There was something in the repetition of sightseeing— walking six miles in Luxembourg to see the grave of General Patton, taking photographs of the apartment where Sylvia Plath ended her life, bowing before the bones of saints, searching through Père Lachaise for the grave of Théodore Gericault— which struck me as numinous and morbid. At the same time, I came to love living abroad and I grew discontent with both remaining and returning. I wanted the opportunity to live everywhere all the time and not have to choose between home and away. Returning from abroad, I turned my attention to the landscape of my native country. I found in the New England pilgrims a narrative of people who had left their home in search of growth and freedom. In these journeys I began to appreciate the significance of place and tried to understand what it meant to move from one place to another, how one chose a home, and why people searched for meaning in specific locations. The processes of moving from student to worker and from childhood to adulthood have weighed on me. I began to see these transitions towards maturity as travels to a different land. Memory and nostalgia are their own types of pilgrimage in their attempts to return to lost places, as is the reading of literature. These pilgrimages, real and metaphorical, form the thematic core of the collection. I read the work of many poets who came before me, returning to the places where the Canon was forged. Those poets have a large presence in the work I produced. I wondered how I, as a young poet, could earn my own place in the tradition and sought models in much the same way a painter studies the brushstrokes of a master. In the process, I have tried to uncover what it means to be a poet. Is it something like being a saint? Is it something like being a colonist? Or is to be the one who goes in search of saints and colonists? In trying to measure my own life and work based on the precedent, I have questioned what role era and generation have on the formation of identity. I focused my reading heavily on the early years of English poetry, trying to find the essence of the time when the language first achieved the transcendence of verse. In following the development of English poetry through Coleridge, John Berryman, and Allison Titus, I have explored the progression of those basic virtues in changing contexts. Those bearings, applied to my modern context, helped to shape the poetry I produced. Many of the poems in “Not in the Legends” are based on my own personal experience. In my recollections I have tried to interrogate nostalgia rather than falling into mere reminiscence. Rather than allowing myself poems of love and longing, I have tried to find the meaning of those emotions. A dominant conflict exists between adventure and comfort which mirrors the central engagement with the nature of being “here” or “there”. It is found in scenes of domesticity and wilderness as I attempt to understand my own simultaneous desire for both. For example, in “Canned Mangoes…” the intrusion of nature, even in a context as innocuous as a poem by Sir Walter Raleigh, unravels ordinary comforts of the domestic sphere. The character of “The Boy” from Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot proved such an interesting subject for me because he is one who can transcend the normal boundaries of time and place. The title suggests connections to both place and time. “Legends” features the dual meaning of both myths and the keys to maps. To propose something “Not in the Legends” is to find something which has no precedent in our histories and our geographies, something beyond our field of knowledge and wholly new. One possible interpretation I devised was that each new generation lives a novel existence, the future being the true locus of that which is beyond our understanding. The title comes from Keats’ “Hyperion, a Fragment”, and details the aftermath of the Titanomachy. The Titans, having fallen to the Olympians, are a representation of the passing of one generation for the next. Their dejection is expressed by Saturn, who laments: Not in my own sad breast, Which is its own great judge and searcher out, Can I find reason why ye should be thus: Not in the legends of the first of days… (129-132) The emotions of the conquered Titans are unique and without antecedent. They are experiencing feelings which surpass all others in history. In this, they are the equivalent of the poet who feels that his or her own sufferings are special. In contrast are Whitman’s lines from “Song of Myself” which serve as an epigraph to this collection. He contends for a sense of continuity across time, a realization that youth, age, pleasure, and suffering have always existed and will always exist. Whitman finds consolation in this unity, accepting that kinship with past generations is more important that his own individuality. These opposing views offer two methods of presenting the self in history. The instinct of poetry suggests election. The poet writes because he feels his experiences are special, or because he believes he can serve as a synecdoche for everyone. I have fought this instinct by trying to contextualize myself in history. These poems serve as an attempt at prosopography with my own narrative a piece of the whole. Because the earth abides forever, our new stories get printed over the locations of the old and every place becomes a palimpsest of lives and acts. In this collection I have tried to untangle some of those layers, especially my own, to better understand the sprawling legend of history.

Feelings of revenge, retaliation motive, and posttraumatic stress reactions in crime victims

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often said to experience strong feelings of revenge. However, there is a need for confirmatory empirical studies. Therefore, in a study of 174 victims of violent crimes, the relation between feelings of revenge and posttraumatic stress reactions was investigated. Feelings of revenge were correlated with intrusion and hyperarousal but not with avoidance. Feelings of revenge explained incremental variance of intrusion and hyperarousalwhen the variance explained by victimological variables was controlled. The retaliation motive implied in feelings of revenge did not account for the relation between feelings of revenge and posttraumatic stress reactions. However, the relation was moderated by the time since victimization. Therefore, feelings of revenge must presumably be regarded as a maladaptive coping reaction to experienced injustice, but not in the first period after victimization.

Daibase Sill Comanche County, Oklahoma

The mechanics of intrusion and the processes involved are becoming of more and more interest to con­temporary geologists, because most of our mineral deposits are associated with igneous intrusions, and unknown-outcropping deposits are thought to be a thing of the past. If, by studying these pro­cesses, we could understand why some igneous masses are barren, while others of similar composition carry economic mineral deposits, geological prospecting for hidden mineral concentration would see a new era.

Bothnia dystrophy is caused by domino-like rearrangements in cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein mutant R234W

Cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP) is essential for mammalian vision by routing 11-cis-retinoids for the conversion of photobleached opsin molecules into photosensitive visual pigments. The arginine-to-tryptophan missense mutation in position 234 (R234W) in the human gene RLBP1 encoding CRALBP compromises visual pigment regeneration and is associated with Bothnia dystrophy. Here we report the crystal structures of both wild-type human CRALBP and of its mutant R234W as binary complexes complemented with the endogenous ligand 11-cis-retinal, at 3.0 and 1.7 A resolution, respectively. Our structural model of wild-type CRALBP locates R234 to a positively charged cleft at a distance of 15 A from the hydrophobic core sequestering 11-cis-retinal. The R234W structural model reveals burial of W234 and loss of dianion-binding interactions within the cleft with physiological implications for membrane docking. The burial of W234 is accompanied by a cascade of side-chain flips that effect the intrusion of the side-chain of I238 into the ligand-binding cavity. As consequence of the intrusion, R234W displays 5-fold increased resistance to light-induced photoisomerization relative to wild-type CRALBP, indicating tighter binding to 11-cis-retinal. Overall, our results reveal an unanticipated domino-like structural transition causing Bothnia-type retinal dystrophy by the impaired release of 11-cis-retinal from R234W.

No evidence for an association of posttraumatic stress disorder with circulating levels of CRP and IL-18 in a population-based study.

Several studies have shown associations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the development of cardiometabolic diseases. The underlying psychopathological mechanisms, including potential links to inflammatory processes, have been discussed but remain elusive. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of PTSD symptoms with the inflammatory biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-18 (IL-18). The study population consisted of 3012 participants aged 32-81years drawn from the population-based KORA F4 study conducted in 2006-08 in the Augsburg region (Southern Germany). PTSD symptoms were measured by the Impact of Event Scale, the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale and interview data and classified as no, partial or full PTSD. The associations of PTSD with CRP and IL-18 concentrations were estimated by multiple regression analyses with adjustments for age, sex and cardiometabolic risk factors. Linear regression analyses showed no significant association between PTSD and CRP or IL-18 concentration: adjusted for age and sex, the geometric mean concentrations in participants with full PTSD was for CRP 9% lower and for IL-18 1% higher than in participants with no PTSD (p values 0.53 and 0.89). However, further analyses indicated that individuals with partial PTSD had an increased chance of belonging to the highest quartile of the IL-18 concentration. No significant association was observed for any of the three subscales intrusion, avoidance or hyperarousal with CRP or IL-18 concentration. This large, population-based study could not find an association of full PTSD with CRP and IL-18 concentrations. Further research is needed to analyse these relationships.