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Trace fossils from the Middle Devonian Caherbla Group of the Dingle Peninsula, southwest Ireland, record a diverse arthropod fauna inhabiting a hot-arid intracontinental rift setting. Aeolian dunefield and coeval fluvial interdune deposits interfinger spatially and temporally with alluvial fan sedimentary rocks. Three distinct trace fossil assemblages are recognized. The Taenidium-Scoyenia ichnocoenosis occurs in alluvial fan and fluvial channel deposits, and includes the large backfilled burrow Taenidium, interpreted as eoarthropleurid aestivation chambers. The Rusophycus-Protichnites ichnocoenosis, composed of arthropod trackways and surface pits, occurs in an interdune ponded area that was susceptible to ephemeral fluvial flow, with Rusophycus showing preferred orientation into the oncoming palaeocurrent. Both the Taenidium-Scoyenia and Rusophycus-Protichnites ichnocoenoses are assignable to the globally recurring continental Scoyenia ichnofacies. They are clearly substrate-controlled and moisture-related due to the ephemeral nature of the fluvial system. The Palmichnium-Entradichnus ichnocoenosis occurs in aeolian dune deposits, and includes Palmichnium, attributed to large stylonurid eurypterids, and Diplichnites, attributed to eoarthropleurids. These trackways represent the activities of dune pioneers that left their fluvial habitat to forage for detritus. Interface burrows (Entradichnus, Palaeophycus) were also constructed by arthropods moving just under the sand surface and vertical burrows (Cylindricum, Pustulichnus) were made by arthropods digging downward. Trace preservation in the aeolian environment was probably enhanced by heavy nocturnal dew-fall or light rain. The Palmichnium-Entradichnus ichnocoenosis is assigned to the globally recurring aeolian Octopodichnus-Entradichnus ichnofacies. This aeolian facies, and associated ichnofauna described herein, represents the oldest development of a unique erg system in the Old Red Sandstone (Devonian) of the southern British Isles, and one of the oldest and most diverse aeolian ichnofaunas to be reported worldwide. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This article considers the history of the transmission of the opening verses of the Fourth Gospel and the ways in which the text was divided or not divided into segments by commentators (e.g. Ptolemy, Heracleon, Irenaeus, Cyprian, Chrysostom, Augustine, Cyril, Philoxenus), liturgical systems and the scribes of early manuscripts (e.g. Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Georgian, Greek, Latin, Syriac). There is then investigation of the division of the text in the period of print from 1495 (the first printing of Jn 1.1-14) to the present. It is found that systems that regarded Jn 1.1-5, 1-14, or 1-17 as a unit preceded those that regarded 1.1-18 as a unit and that these earlier analyses each have distinct exegetical advantages over the common modern position of viewing 1.1-18 as a unit. The reasons for the currently preferred division and its exegetical consequences are explored with the conclusion that Jn 1.1-18 should not be regarded as the prologue of the Fourth Gospel.

Triassic dryland fluvial systems occur infilling extensional and post-rift basins across northwest Europe. These systems were deposited by streams draining off the major basin margin catchments of Greenland, Fennoscandia, the Scottish Highlands and the remnant Variscan mountains. Fluvial drainage was dominantly endorheic in character, and terminated in playa, aeolian dune, sabkha or marsh settings. Whilst the ambient basin climate fluctuated through varying levels of aridity and humidity, the dispersal of sand into these basins was critically dependant on catchment run-off from the major, basin flanking regions. In the Early Triassic the Tethyan monsoon drove seasonal precipitation over the Variscan mountains which transported sediment northward into arid dune fields and playa. In addition, far-travelled fluvial systems supplied sediment from distant, wetter catchments. Through the Middle and Late Triassic the effects of the Tethyan monsoon apparently weakened, and sand-prone fluvial systems draining off the Variscan mountains were more limited in areal extent, but expanded during pluvial episodes. However, Greenland and Fennoscandia maintained sediment supply from the north, with perennial run-off from Fennoscandia able to maintain marshes and levels of vegetation cover not encountered elsewhere in the region and to episodically drive major exorheic drainage systems into the Tethys Sea. Published climatic simulations are consistent with these observations, which indicate that Greenland, and particularly Fennoscandia, had precipitation levels higher than the regions to the south with a positive precipitation: evaporation balance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Green crab (Carcinus maenas) have recently invaded the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Although these invasive crabs have coexisted without appreciable impact on American lobster (Homarus americanus) populations in northeastern United States, Bay of Fundy, and the southern shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, the green crab in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence likely represents a new introduction of crab from northern Europe. The southern gulf is ideal habitat for green crab, and the crab are commonly captured subtidally, increasing the potential for overlap with juvenile lobsters. To complement previous experiments with green crab versus small (28–57 mm carapace length, CL) and medium (55–70 mm CL) sized lobsters in food competition trials, this paper reports findings from trials with large (72–80 mm CL) lobsters. The lobsters were first to gain possession of the food in an equal number of trials as green crab. The large lobsters fed for 62% of the total feeding time, versus 38% for the green cr...

The Early Devonian Conigar Pit Sandstone Member (CPSM) of the Freshwater West Formation (Lower Old Red Sandstone, Lochkovian age) at Freshwater West in south Wales comprises a heterolithic, predominantly alluvial suite (mudstones, fine to coarse-grained sandstones, conglomerates) with varying depositional architecture. A number of discrete facies associations are observed. The fine-grained, inclined- and non-inclined heterolithic association is dominant within the CPSM. It represents dryland sinuous channelized flow (IHS bedsets) and unconfined flow (non-inclined bedsets) at terminal and intermediate floodouts deposited under semi-arid conditions. Mudstones were deposited in two distinct environments associated with this semi-arid river system. Laminated and burrowed, reddish brown mudstones were deposited in shallow semi-permanent lakes or pools on the floodplain. Massive mudstones were deposited as within-channel muddy braid-bars, with sedimentary structures being lost during subsequent compaction. The mudstones exhibit Vertisol pedogenesis reflecting the seasonal wetting and drying associated with the semi-arid climate. Periods of intense desiccation are indicated by deep desiccation cracks and associated rubbly surfaces. Possible, though unproven tidal conditions influenced a small percentage of the heterolithic channels at Freshwater West. The extent of these channels is uncertain. The coarser-grained multi-storey sandstone association was deposited by low-sinuosity rivers with a fluctuating, but perennial discharge. Associated with these laterally extensive sandbodies was a high water table with surface ponding (wetlands) that enabled the preservation of plant detritus. During high discharge events, flow expanded over the contemporaneous floodplain depositing the sheet sandstone association within splay complexes. The interpretation that perennial discharge may have been triggered by basin-wide climate change challenges the long-held view that the Lower ORS climate was continuously semi-arid in nature. The spatial/temporal extent of this climate change is uncertain, as it is possible that the multi-storey sandbodies were deposited by allogenic rivers draining a distant, possibly uplifted source area. A decrease in the observed frequency and maturity of Vertisol profiles, and a corresponding increase in multi-storey sandbodies upward through the succession may reflect a long-term, episodic pattern of climate change.

The lower part of the Old Red Sandstone in the Dingle Penisula has been previously assigned to one lithostratigraphic group (Dingle Group) despite marked variations in sedimentary facies. However the apparently oldest non-marine sequence in the northwest of the peninsula has sedimentary and lithological attributes that contrast strongly with those of the late Silurian-early Devonian Dingle Group to the south. This northern sequence, here renamed the Smerwick Group, evolved independently of the Dingle Group in a separate basin of deposition. Field relationships between the two groups in the north of the peninsula are interpreted as indicating that the Smerwick Group overlies, with angular unconformity, a normal Dingle Group succession. Similarly, it is argued that the Smerwick Group overlies, with angular unconformity, the Dingle Group in the northwest of the peninsula, but there the Dingle Group is attenuated, represented only by a conglomerate unit some 10 m thick. In the absence of biostratigraphic evidence the age of the Smerwick Group is poorly constrained. Nevertheless, we propose a tectonic model that suggests that the Smerwick Group evolved within a small extensional half-graben on the northern margin of the Munster Basin. This model accounts for the stratigraphic and structural relationships observed, and implies that the Smerwick Group is of Late Devonian age.

Trace fossils of Beaconites type are found abundantly and widely in the Old Red Sandstone magnafacies of the British Isles, particularly in fluviatile deposits, where they occur in or closely associated with channel sandstones. Because of their giant size, however, terminations to the sediment-filled burrows are almost impossible to detect, and it has hitherto been uncertain whether the Beaconites organism dwelt in or near active rivers, or merely colonized the sandy deposits at their abandoned sites. At Llanstephan in southwest Wales B. antarcticus is preserved in a laterally accreted sandstone, a unique example of the trace fossil being truncated by an erosion surface cut during the sideways growth of a presumed point bar. The Beaconites organism is therefore thought to have lived in and near active river channels, where a moist environment was provided.

The Devonian Old Red Sandstone Ridgeway Conglomerate Formation crops out in Pembrokeshire, SW Wales. It was deposited as part of a dryland alluvial fan, axial fluvial valley deposystem. It conformably overlies the mid Lochkovian Freshwater West Formation and probably predates deposition of the Lower Cosheston Group Mill Bay Formation indicating an Early Devonian (latest Lochkovian to earliest Pragian) age, rather than a Middle Devonian age as suggested by previous workers. It therefore represents the youngest preserved formation of the Milford Haven Group south of the Ritec Fault. The Formation thickens drastically into the Ritec Fault, indicating its control on sedimentation. The half-graben topography initiated deposition of a hangingwall alluvial fan that was sourced from a southerly Lower Palaeozoic/Precambrian provenance within the present-day Bristol Channel. The Formation is heterolithic in nature, with deposits on the fan reflecting a mixture of processes. Conglomerates were deposited primarily by laterally extensive sheetfloods, and as bars in low-relief, laterally accreted channels. Sandstones were also predominantly deposited by sheetfloods. Gritty mudrocks in comparison demonstrate deposition by cohesive debris flows. The fan prograded northward and interfingered with a low-gradient, high-sinuosity fluvial channel system dominated by inclined and non-inclined heterolithic stratification. Thinly laminated mudstone and sandstone interbeds were deposited in ephemeral fan-toe and axial valley lakes that may have developed during sub-humid climatic episodes. The lacustrine heterolithic association has associated matgrounds and possible ‘algal roll-up’ structures. Calcretized peetee structures and root traces comprise a lake margin calcrete association. Fan gravels prograded into the axial fluvial valley during periods of increased sediment flux that may represent semi-arid conditions and/or episodes of tectonic activity. Calcretes of varying development were established in both the fan and axial valley zones. Calcretes with lower stages of development are more proximal to the Ritec Fault reflecting decreased soil residence times and high deposition rates within the axial valley. More strongly developed soil profiles on the fan may indicate sequence boundaries associated with low sediment flux, or increased soil residence time due to active fan-channel migration (the pedofacies concept). Groundwater calcretes have sharp-based and layer-bound calcrete profiles. Gully-bed cements are locally developed within the fan gravels. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Public awareness and concern over food safety, together with intensified regulatory control over the impact of food processing operations on the environment, present new challenges to the industry. This paper outlines a systematic approach to water management that addresses both cost-reduction strategies and environmental performance improvement, which can enhance industry image while maintaining product and brand integrity. Many companies already operate a well-defined environmental management system (EMS), and some have already sought accreditation to ISO 14001. However, the implementation of, among others, the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive, the Water Directive and the Climate Change Levy (CCL) are raising new and important questions.

The Lower Devonian (Lochkovian-Emsian) Cosheston Group of south Pembrokeshire is one of the most enigmatic units of the Old Red Sandstone of Wales. It consists of a predominantly green, exceptionally thick succession (up to 1.8 km) within the red c. 3 km-thick fill of the Anglo-Welsh Basin, but occupies a very small area (27 km2). Four formations—Llanstadwell (LLF), Mill Bay (MBF), Lawrenny Cliff (LCF) and New Shipping (NSF)—group into lower (LLF + MBF) and upper (LCF + NSF) units on stratigraphical and sedimentological criteria. Two palynostratigraphic associations (Hobbs Point and Burton Cliff) are recognised in the LLF. Overall, the Cosheston succession comprises a fluvial, coarsening-upward megasequence, mostly arranged in fining-upward rhythms. It is interpreted as the fill of an east-west graben bounded by faults to the north and south of the Benton and Ritec faults, respectively. Both ‘lower Cosheston’ formations were deposited by east-flowing, axial river systems draining a southern Irish Sea landmass. Drainage reversal, early in the deposition of the LCF, resulted in ‘upper Cosheston’ lateral, SW-flowing rivers which carried predominantly second- and multi-cycle detritus. The ‘lower Cosheston’ is characterized by an abundance of soft-sediment deformation structures, probably seismically triggered by movements along the graben's northern bounding fault. A minimum average (≥ mesoseismic) earthquake recurrence interval of c. 4000 yr is estimated for the MBF. This and the correlative Senni Formation of south-central Wales form a regionally extensive green-bed development that represents a pluvial climatic interval. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Raman instrumentation design has improved radically in efficiency and ease of use over the past 15 years. New technologies made this possible with introduction of the first commercial high-efficiency (high speed) Raman systems incorporating low power lasers. Systems were introduced for the first time on production and process lines. Higher efficiency systems have continued to evolve, as a result of novel engineering solutions. Raman-near field optical systems and Raman-SEM (scanning electron microscopy) combinations have created a new area of nanoscale spectroscopic measurements. New application areas are: (a) semiconductor processing; (b) pharmaceutical drug processing; (c) gemology; (d) narcotic and explosives forensic detection; (e) coatings on computer hard disks and read heads; (f) endoscopic and Raman detection of oesophageal and other types of cancer. Comparisons are made with competing optical and alternative instrumentation techniques for general Raman work and the applications.

Both regional and localized tectonic events controlled deposition within the Wenlock and early Ludlow of SW Wales. Estuarine deposits within north–south-tending incised valleys dominate the youngest (Homerian) Gray Sandstone Group, valley incision being probably related to changing base-levels associated with Avalonia/Laurentian collision. Available accommodation space was outpaced by sediment supply, with the Red Cliff Formation (Late Ludfordian) defining a conformable transition from marine to Old Red Sandstone (ORS) deposition within the Marloes Peninsula. Sedimentation was dominated by fine-grained pedified siliciclastics, with subordinate fine-grained ephemeral sheet-flood sandstones. Local palaeocurrents indicate sediment transport from the south and west, though long-distance transport from a distant Laurentian provenance is assumed. A probable tectonically generated sequence boundary marks the base of petrographically distinctive, multi-storey pebbly sandstones of the Albion Sands Formation, deposited within the hangingwall valley of the active east–west-trending Wenall Fault. Sediment accommodation space was controlled by proximity to the tip-point of this important growth fault within the Lower ORS. Debris-flow-dominated fans, shed from both the hangingwall and footwall of the Wenall Fault, deposited the Lindsway Bay Formation, an exotic-clast conglomerate unit sourced predominantly from the south and west. It is uncertain as to whether movement along the Wenall Fault was caused by collision-related transtension, or rifting associated with the southern margin of Avalonia. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sandstone bodies within the Lower Old Red Sandstone (ORS) in southern Pembrokeshire exhibit variability in architecture, sediment grade and composition both spatially and temporally. Four architectural styles are observed, namely decimetre- to metre-thick sheets, metre-thick multi-storey amalgamations, inclined-heterolithic units and ribbon geometries. Sandstone bodies in the Freshwater East Formation are sheet-like, heterolithic units several metres thick. An association with lingulids and wave ripples alludes to a marine influence, possibly estuarine tidal flats or storm washovers. Within the Moor Cliffs Formation, the most common sandstone bodies are centimetre- to metre-thick sheets with high width-to-depth ratios. Fine-grained sandstones represent sheet-flood deposition on unconfined, planar surfaces, whereas coarser-grained sandstones constitute distinctive amalgamations of discrete flood events, reflecting either a change in provenance or tectonic influence. Clear incision of coarse-grained, multi-storey units within the Inter-Tuff Moor Cliffs Formation reflects a change in relative sea-level, possibly tectonically induced. The base of the Conigar Pit Sandstone Member (CPSM) is marked by a distinctive, exotic-clast conglomerate defining the base to heterolithic, lateral-accretion bedsets and sandstone sheets. This association defines a significant influx of coarse-grained sediment post-Chapel Point Calcrete formation, an interval of presumed topographic stability across the Anglo-Welsh Basin. This influx must reflect rejuvenation of source regions, with changes in base-level reflecting either eustatic or tectonic influences. Commonly observed in the CPSM are fine-grained, inclined-heterolithic bedsets recording deposition by highly sinuous rivers with flashy discharge. Up-sequence within the CPSM are metre-thick, multi-storey amalgamations of predominatly trough cross-stratified medium- to coarse-grained sandstone. It is likely that these units are genetically related to contemporaneous decimetre-thick sandstone sheets, the latter being ‘splay’ events marginal to the main channel axis. The interbedding of multi-storey sandstones and fine-grained laterally accreted units reflects changes in provenance, slope and/or climate. Thickness variations within the Lower ORS detail significant thickening of all units northward into the Benton Fault. It seems likely that this thickening reflects variable accommodation space development associated with active growth along this and other WNW–ESE-trending faults, and migration of channel belts toward the footwall. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Within the UK, a large number of surveys are being carried out for the identification of asbestos in building materials. Pre-demolition or major refurbishment and building sampling surveys require that representative samples be analysed for asbestos. The primary technique for the analysis of asbestos fibres in bulk materials is polarized light microscopy (PLM). Since this method is based on visual estimation, it depends on the competence and experience of the analyst. Furthermore, PLM, in common with the other analytical methods used for the identification of asbestos in bulk materials, is a laboratory-based technique requiring samples to be collected and then sent to a laboratory for analysis. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for mineral characterization and provides a molecular fingerprint for material. In recent years, new developments in optics and electronics have permitted the development of compact Raman spectrometers allowing in situ measurements. We report the performance of a robust, laboratory-based fibre-optic probe for the identification of asbestos in bulk materials by Raman spectroscopy. Thirty-eight samples were analysed, and the results showed that 95% of the samples were successfully identified as either asbestos free or containing one or more asbestos components. A success rate of 100% was found for asbestos insulating board and asbestos cement materials. The results indicated that a Raman probe device for detecting asbestos does have potential, but a number of issues need to be addressed before an on-site system can be developed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Two cantilever-based chemical sensors are reported. First, a differential cantilever-based chemical sensor capable of sensitive surface stress measurements has been designed and implemented. The system uses two commercially available atomic force microscope cantilevers. The surface of one cantilever is functionalized to make it receptive to specific target analytes, while the second, passivated cantilever is used as a reference by subtracting undesired signals, resulting from mechanical and thermal noise, from the signal of interest. The second system is a combined cantilever-based sensor and ellipsometer capable of simultaneous in situ surface stress and film thickness measurements. Both sensors, operated in static mode, achieve a cantilever deflection measurement sensitivity of 0.2 nm and a surface stress resolution of 5 310 25 N/m. Molecular monolayer thicknesses are measured simultaneously with a 0.1 nm resolution. The real-time formation process of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on gold was investigated as a model system to characterize these instruments. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. @DOI: 10.1063/1.1614859#

The European green crab, Carcinus maenas, is an invasive species in eastern North America and has the potential to significantly impact wild and aquaculture shellfish in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. To examine potential predation effects on local shellfish and assess the appropriateness of extrapolating results from studies conducted elsewhere, the morphometry of chelae from a recently established population of C. maenas in Nova Scotia was examined for comparison with the presumed founding (European) population, and forces generated by the chelae over a range of crab sizes were estimated. The Nova Scotia population was found to be morphologically very similar to European populations with respect to chela structure. Force generation by the chelae was found to scale with isometry in the female crab and with positive allometry in the male. Estimated forces compare well with previously reported forces, and force generation is calculated to increase in a nonlinear manner proceeding from the chela tips proximally toward the fulcrum. The calculated forces generated by the chelae are clearly sufficient for outright crushing of some shells (e.g., Mya arenaria), even for small crabs, but appear to be too low for crushing those of other molluscs. There is a complex interplay between gape and maximum force along the length of the dactyl that allows great variability in force application, and thus also in the size of prey consumed and prey-handling behaviour. We suggest that for such a lever system, the gape angle of the chelae, which does not change with crab size, is optimal with respect to the resultant force generated.

Raman scattering properties from various GaN thin films grown on sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition were studied. Visible micro-Raman measurements show different mode behaviors with different laser incidence configurations. Raman lineshape analyses through two sets of equations led to the monitoring of the sample quality and stress and the optical determination of electrical properties of GaN films. An approximate 3 cm−1 shift in the E1(LO) mode wavenumber is observed across the GaN film from the sapphire/GaN interface to the GaN surface, indicating the spatial variation of strains along the film growth direction within a few microns thickness range. Combined Raman and PL spectra were obtained under UV excitation, and interesting high-order resonance Raman features were observed using a sensitive UV–Raman–photoluminescence microscope. A new way to characterize p-type GaN is introduced. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Raman microscopy was used to identify unambiguously the anions of lead and barium in gunshot residues (ca. 5 μm in size) deposited on cellulosic substrates. It was found that most of the particles consist of mixtures of oxides, sulphate and carbonate (along with carbon). In particular, there is strong evidence for the formation of mixed oxides of iron but only relatively little evidence for oxides of antimony. The Raman technique has been shown to be able to identify individual or mixed components and to confirm the presence of microcrystalline particles with a particular crystal structure (e.g. orthorhombic lead oxide). © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ortho‐amphibolites associated with the Cannington and Maramungee Pb‐Zn‐Ag deposits and with mineralised magnetite‐rich ironstones at Fairmile help define rock associations in the Mt Isa Eastern Succession similar to those that host the giant orebody at Broken Hill, New South Wales. Thin amphibolites at Maramungee are strongly differentiated and iron‐rich (FeO(t) 11.60–17.73 wt%; FeO(t)/(FeO(t)+ MgO) 0.614–0.820). They resemble the most iron‐rich magmatic suites known from modern environments (Galapagos Rift) but their iron enrichment is not as extreme as occurs in metabasic rocks at Broken Hill. The ratio FeO(t)/(FeO(t) + MgO) at Maramungee is negatively correlated with Ni and Cr whereas Y, Zr, Nb, REE, Hf and Th exhibit systematic 3–4 x enrichment from the most primitive to most evolved compositions. TiO2, P2O5 and V display inflections from incompatible to compatible behaviour implying that the differentiation is magmatic and due to crystal fractionation including separation of magnetite and apatite fro...

The combination of the three types of vibrational spectroscopy, infrared, Raman, and inelastic neutron scattering, has enabled all of the internal, and most of the external, modes of Mg2FeH6 and Mg2FeD6 to be observed and assigned, as well as some of the modes of Mg2FeD5H. As an aid to the assignment, a reliable, empirical force field has been developed. The spectra also show evidence for a dynamic distortion of the hexahydrido complex, an effect that is not observed for the deuterated species.

The antimicrobial enrofloxacin was tested for its ability to control atypical Aeromonas salmonicida in Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod). An initial experiment showed that a single injection of enrofloxacin, at a dosage of approximately 5 mg active ingredient per kilogram of fish, prevented the formation of characteristic furunculosis lesions but did not significantly reduce mortality during a 76-d period. In a second experiment, in which we administered the antimicrobial at days 1, 10, and 45, treated fish experienced significantly lower mortality than did the control fish. Three of 10 necropsied fish treated with enrofloxacin produced positive cultures of atypical A. salmonicida, whereas the pathogen was successfully cultured from 7 of 10 control fish. Cultures were obtained from skin lesions or from infected areas of buccal or caudal regions. Sixteen of 50 (32%) fish from the enrofloxacin treatment died during the experiment, and 30% of the dead fish displayed circular lesions on the trunk. ...

The galactosylation status of IgG from both control and arthritic DBA-1 mice was determined by exoglycosidase sequencing and an anti-GlcNAc monoclonal based ELISA. Two to three weeks after arthritis onset mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) showed a modest increase in IgG anti-GlcNAc reactivity against controls (0.644 +/- 0.080 and 0.530 +/- 0.087, respectively, mean absorbance +/- SEM n = 4) consistent with previous literature reports. However, the authors were unable to detect any significant changes in the galactosylation of purified IgG from arthritic and control mice using direct sequencing techniques (percentage G0 of 34.5% +/- 1.9 and 37.7% +/- 2.4, respectively, mean +/- SEM n = 4). It has been demonstrated that a correlation exists between percentage G0 and anti-GlcNAc reactivity for purified human IgG and sera samples, respectively; no such correlation was found for murine IgG and sera. The galactosylation of purified polyclonal murine IgG isotypes was analysed on a separate group of arthritic mice selected for their high anti-GlcNAc reactivities. No significant differences were observed between control and arthritic mice. Immunoglobulin G isotype specific differences were found, with IgG1 exhibiting the highest percentage G0 (45-48%) followed by IgG2a (27-37%), IgG3 (20-32%) and IgG2b the lowest (13-17%). The percentage G0 and anti-GlcNAc reactivity of purified IgG1 and IgG2b showed a narrow range of values when compared to those of IgG2a and IgG3 samples. Pooled sera from both arthritic and control mice was used to purify large quantities of IgG3. Which on analysis revealed a fourfold increase in anti-GlcNAc reactivity in the arthritic sample compared to control. Paradoxically these same IgG3 samples contained similar percentage G0 levels as determined by direct sequencing. The results suggest that IgG1 and IgG2b exhibit isotype selective oligosaccharide processing as little sample heterogeneity could be observed. These two purified IgG isotypes displayed a good correlation between percentage G0 and anti-GlcNAc reactivity; this was in contrast to IgG2a and IgG3. Immunoglobulin G3 from arthritic mice may have G0 oligosaccharides selectively paired together with no net increase in percentage G0. This observation is discussed in detail as is the role of agalactosyl IgG in murine type II collagen-induced arthritis.

A giant alteration system including approximately 200 km2 of rocks dominated by the secondary mineral assemblages lies near the prominent lineament formed by the Cloncurry Fault in the southeast of the Proterozoic Mt Isa Inlier. Alteration affected rocks that had previously undergone sillimanite zone metamorphism under pressures of at least 300 MPa. The main lineament was produced by postorogenic brittle transcurrent motion with limited displacement. It exploits older D1 faults and occupies different structural positions within F2 fold limbs that were reactivated as late/post‐D2 shear zones. Metasomatism and vein emplacement occurred under a range of retrograde conditions during the transition from a compressional regime in a ductile regional metamorphic environment, through late‐ to post‐orogenic granitoid emplacement, and ultimately high‐level brittle faulting. The dominant sodic‐calcic alteration occurred in multiple overprinting fluid buffered systems at 400–500°C with pressures initially above 200 MP...

Two typical representatives of the Ediacaran biota, Ediacaria booleyi n.sp. and Nimbia occlusa have been found in deep-water turbidites within the Upper Cambrian Booley Bay Formation at Booley Bay in Co. Wexford, Eire. The examples of E. booleyi were transported over short distances by the turbidity currents and then impacted, in some instances at high angles, into the ocean floor muds where they formed moulds but, as their bodies decayed, these were filled by casting sand from the overlying turbidite. They preserved fine detail during transportation and impaction, thereby indicating the existence of a rigid body wall. The three-dimensional nature of their preservation allows reconstruction, which shows that Ediacaria had a discoid form with prominent relief, particularly on its dorsal side, which was divided into three main concentric zones with thin radial features, more evident at the periphery. The ventral side had lower relief, with alternate areas of coarse and fine concentric markings and numerous fine radial lines, some also thicker at the periphery. Nimbia occlusa are disc-like bodies of low relief and occur in profusion on one sole. Some show a circular outline indicating that they were preserved flat on the bedding plane, but others occur as semicircular reliefs oriented in the palaeocurrent direction. This indicates that they too were moved by the turbidity current, but their abundance and excellent preservation indicate that transport distances were short. There is no evidence in either genus for the coelenterate characteristics of a mouth and a two-layered body wall enclosing a single cavity. This, and the evidence for a rigid outer wall, adds to recent doubt on the concept of the world-wide Ediacaran fauna as dominated by soft-bodied coelenterates.