Small Isles Research Articles

Clocks replaced with : ; . [Deschooling Time in the Small Isles

Abstract The Scottish Small Isles – comprising Muck, Rùm, Eigg, Canna, and by extension, Coll – are geologically complex, with intersecting rock samples from the Archean (Lewisian Gneiss basements formed approximately 3 billion years ago), Proterozoic (Torridonian sandstone formed approximately 1 billion years ago), Mesozoic (sedimentation deposited approximately 200 million years ago) and Palaeocene (basalt formed approximately 55.8 million years ago as part of the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum event). This practice research article – drawing on palaeontology, kinaesthetic learning and creative writing – takes the Small Isles as a case study for what geologist Marcia Bjornerud defines as a discernible “timefulness” that humans should seek to attain: “an acute consciousness of how the world is made by–indeed, made of–time” (2020, Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World, 5). Through their lithic intrusions, and interruptive strata, the Small Isles offer an alternative form of pedagogy: where multiple epochs, tenses and tempos visibly converse with one another; where “polytemporality” can be witnessed and physically experienced; where the notion of linear time is destabilised.

Minke whale entanglement in static fishing gear: identifying consistent areas of high risk in Western Scotland

Abstract Entanglement in static fishing gear is the largest cause of non-natural mortality for minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in Scottish waters. To mitigate whale entanglement, one priority is to identify areas where the risk of entanglement is consistently high. Sightings data for minke whales and creel fleets were collected by the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, during vessel line transect surveys conducted between 2008 and 2014. Habitat modelling was used to relate survey, environmental, and temporal variables to the co-occurrence of minke whales and creels in coastal waters of western Scotland. This revealed that minke whale occurrence was related to depth, peaking around 70 m. Using predictive habitat modelling, the overlap between minke whale habitat and the creel fishery was measured as risk of entanglement. A method was developed to quantify the consistency of risk over the seven-year time period. This allowed for the identification of areas where there had been a consistently low, medium, or high risk of entanglement from 2008 to 2014. The three areas with a consistent high risk of entanglement were identified: Inner Sound and Sound of Raasay, east of North and South Uist, and north of The Small Isles. The method presented here could be used to guide management to areas where mitigation efforts will be the most consistently effective over time.

Tourism and coastal & maritime cultural heritage: a dual relation

ABSTRACT Coastal and Maritime Cultural Heritage (CMCH) is an important asset in coastal areas. However, this heritage has been exposed to several environmental and human-created threats. This paper presents three European coastal regions with relevant CMCH and important tourism destinations: Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), the Small Isles (Scotland, UK) and Marsaxlokk (Malta). The paper draws attention to the challenges to CMCH they face, the dynamics between tourism and CMCH and provides recommendations for sustainable tourism exploitation of CMCH. A comparative case-study approach was undertaken, based on 41 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Findings unveil that, despite the different demographics, socioeconomics and importance of tourism in each location, CMCH is seen as an important element to consider as tourism destination. Stakeholders identified economic, sociocultural and environmental dynamics between tourism and CMCH with positive and negative impacts on the regions. This study provides guidelines and recommendations that can be used as a reference to define a joint policy response for sustainable exploitation of CMCH in a tourism context.

The unique challenges and opportunities of delivering a First Contact Physiotherapy (FCP) Service to remote island communities in NHS Highland

Purpose: The main aim of undertaking this project was to find an alternative yet pragmatic model of care to deliver MSK health & well-being support to the population of the Small Isles. The objectives were to provide a service that not only delivered on the contractual obligation for the GP contract, but also had a positive impact on patient experience, practitioner experience, associated travel costs, time and the carbon footprint of the service.

Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation attenuates growth of chemotherapy treated oral squamous cell carcinoma in an animal model.

Recent studies have demonstrated mesenchymal stem cell migration toward tumor locations. When applied locally, MSCs interact with the locally residing host cells. The mechanisms behind this are still unclear. We aimed to detect the possible action mechanisms of MSCs on the in vivo growth of primary human oral squamous cell carcinoma. In mouse model of OSSC, chemotherapy with Cisplatin was done beginning from 9day of tumor visualization. 3weeks after tumor cell injection cultivated MSCs were administrated in tail vein or directly intra-tumorally. Animals underwent surveillance and afterward were sacrificed. Tumor growth was measured. MSCs biodistribution was assessed with bioluminescent analysis. Tumor tissues were tested morphologically and immunohistochemically for angiogenesis, hypoxia status, and cell apoptosis. In the group treated with Cisplatin in combination with mesenchymal stem cell injection, the average size of the tumor was 98.9±7.65mm3 . In the experimental group, tumor tissues were less outlined and the presence of necrotic areas and connective tissue basal layers was detected. Immunohistochemical surveys with CD31 and anti-carbonic anhydrase 9 demonstrated strongly developed micro-vessel structures and small isles of hypoxia in the tumor tissues. TUNEL assay revealed in the same group that tumor tissues were mostly comprised of apoptotic cells. Viable cell communities presented as small isles. The study demonstrates that intra-tumorally injected MSCs, combined with Cisplatin, leads to a minimal hypoxia status and increased apoptotic activity in tumor tissues, compared with the control group. This finding can be explained with better distribution of Cisplatin due to increased angiogenesis.

The Health Problems at the Landing of the Migrants in Lampedusa from 2011 to June 2019: Analysis of the Data and Revision of the Literature

This is a study on the migrants hospitalized from 2011 to June 2019, coming from Lampedusa, a small isle in the Mediterranean Sea, called Europe’s door, where they arrive along the Sicily Canal Central Route. The physicians of 118 emergency service required the hospitalization for 775 patients (440 men and 335 women) in 6 Sicilian hospitals, mainly in Palermo: 203 in 2011; 62 in 2012; 95 in 2013; 45 in 2014, 184 in 2015; 72 in 2016, 73 in 2017, 35 in 2018, and 6 from January to June 2019. The mean age was 25 years; underage children were about 10%. Their diseases were very similar over the years, irrespective of their country provenance; 227 patients were hospitalized for obstetrics-gynecology problems, 167 infectious diseases (21 TB), 125 orthopedic, 92 intensive care, 89 medicine-cardiology, and 75 for dermatology lesions and burns. In decreasing order, the more frequent provenances were West, Horn, and North Africa and Middle East. The knowledge of the health problems is very important to study of the best practices to activate for these patients. First, help the migrants while they are in the sea, to allow the reduction of the serious health problems, related to the hardships and duration of the long journey, main risk factors for their hospitalization; second, optimize the moment of landing of migrants, for disseminating information on the basic principles of health education. In relation to their young age, these migrants have the mission of perpetuating their ethnic groups, at risk of annihilation by the war violence.

Developing the Rural Creative Economy ‘from Below’: Exploring Practices of Market-Building amongst Creative Entrepreneurs in Rural and Remote Scotland

The article draws on material gathered as part of three research projects, the first, ‘Supporting Creative Business’ was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, the second, ‘Towards a model of support for the rural creative industries’ was funded by the University of Glasgow’s Knowledge Exchange fund and the third, ‘The effects of improved communications technology of rural creative entrepreneurs’ funded by CREATe, the Research Councils UK Centre for the Study of Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted at a range of sites around the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, this paper argues that despite recent attempts to develop the creative economy in remote and rural Scotland, the current institutional infrastructure is lacking. The paper explores creative practitioners’ responses to the opportunities and challenges posed by ‘place’. Therefore, the paper documents the tactics that creative entrepreneurs employ to aid the development of the creative economy ‘from below’, focusing in particular on the opportunities posed by improved communications technologies.

The Rum Igneous Centre, Scotland

AbstractThe publication of the British Geological Survey memoir on Rum and the Small Isles in 1997 was followed by a period of intense petrological and mineralogical research, leading to some 40 papers, books and other publications. The research progress since then is reviewed here and integrated with the information previously available to provide an overview of the current status of understanding of the centre. New data on the acidic and mixed acid/basic magmas of the early Rum caldera demonstrate that frequent mafic replenishments were the main driver for magmatic activity at Rum right from its initial stages. The caldera is bound by the Main Ring Fault, a structure which probably also exercised an influence on the emplacement of the subsequent basic and ultrabasic intrusions. The later emplacement of gabbros and ultrabasic rocks caused only limited thermal metamorphism of the surrounding Torridonian sandstones, contrasting markedly with the crustal isotope signatures of the early intracaldera ignimbrite magmas and the intense alteration of uplifted masses of Lewisian gneiss within the ring fault. Rare picritic dykes provide an indication of the possible parent magma for the mafic and ultrabasic rocks, but these, as with most other magmatic rocks on Rum, have undergone varying degrees of crustal contamination, involving both Lewisian granulite and amphibolite-type crust but, notably, no Moine metasedimentary compositions as is the case at the nearby Ardnamurchan centre. Detailed textural studies on the gabbroic and ultrabasic rocks allow a distinction between intrusive peridotites and peridotite that forms part of the classic layered cumulate units of Rum and, furthermore, this work and that on the chromite seams and veins in these rocks shows that movement of trapped magma and magma derived from later intrusions, may produce textures regarded previously as of primary cumulate origin. Sulfides in the chromitite seams and ultrabasic rocks, in turn, show possible influences from assimilated Mesozoic sediments. Igneous activity on Rum was short-lived, possibly only between 0.5 and 1 m.y. in duration and commenced at ∼60.5 Ma. The Rum Central Complex was extinct by the time the main activity at the nearby Skye Central Complex commenced (∼59 Ma). From recent apatite fission-track studies it seems probable that Rum, in common with other Palaeogene centres, underwent a brief, but significantly later heating event (∼45 Ma).

Habitat preferences and interannual variability in occurrence of the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena off northwest Scotland

The harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena is the most common cetacean around the British Isles, but knowledge of its ecology, habitat preferences and inter-annual variability is still inadequate. Here, sightings collected by the Sea Watch Foundation during vessel surveys in West Scotland (August during the years 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997) were critically analysed and used to construct a predictive habitat model for harbour porpoises in the Greater Minch. Generalised additive models were used to analyse relative abundance in relation to environmental variables; a preference for waters within 15 km from the shore and between 50 and 150 m depth was clearly identified. A relationship between tidal variables and porpoise distribution was also recognised with more sightings predicted for high tidal stream speed areas as well as during times of high tide. Maps constructed from the model were used to identify potential ‘hotspots’and compare between years. Four areas with high relative abundance were identified in (1) the region between Ardnamurchan, Coll and the Small Isles, (2) southeast of Barra, (3) northeast of Skye to Gairloch, and (4) west of Pairc Peninsula (Isle of Lewis) to Shiant Islands. Number of sightings fluctuated up to 4-fold between consecutive years; such extreme variability in relative abundance is offered as a bench-mark for comparing trends in the future as well as evidence that the Greater Minch represents only a small part of the effective range of this population.

Stepwise Radical Endoscopic Resection Is Effective for Complete Removal of Barrett's Esophagus with Early Neoplasia: A Prospective Study

Endoscopic therapy for early neoplasia in Barrett's esophagus (BE) is evolving rapidly. Aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate safety and efficacy of stepwise radical endoscopic resection (ER) of BE containing early neoplasia. Patients with early neoplasia (i.e., high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia or early cancer) in BE < or = 5 cm, without signs of submucosal infiltration or lymph node/distant metastases, were included. Patients underwent resection sessions (cap technique after submucosal lifting) with intervals of 6 wk. Between January 2003 and December 2004, 39 consecutive patients were included. Therapy was discontinued in two patients due to unrelated comorbidity. Complete eradication of early neoplasia was achieved in all 37 treated patients in a median number of three sessions. Complete removal of all Barrett's mucosa was achieved in 33 (89%) patients: 4 patients (all had undergone APC [argon plasma coagulation]) were found to have small isles of Barrett's mucosa underneath neosquamous mucosa. Complications occurred in two out of 88 (2%) ER procedures: one asymptomatic perforation, one delayed bleeding. Symptomatic stenosis occurred in 10 of 39 (26%) patients and was effectively treated by endoscopic bougienage. During a median follow-up of 11 months, no patients died and none had recurrence of neoplasia or Barrett's mucosa. Stepwise radical ER is effective for selected patients with early neoplasia in BE; provides optimal histopathological diagnosis; and may reduce recurrence rate, since all mucosa at risk is effectively removed. Use of APC should be limited to prevent buried Barrett's mucosa. Methods for prevention of stenosis should be developed.

Rapid formation of the Small Isles Tertiary centre constrained by precise 40Ar/ 39Ar and U–Pb ages

The relative chronology of magmatic and tectonic events is key to an understanding of the influence of the Iceland plume on the North Atlantic. In particular, the location and duration of magmatism is of fundamental importance. Initial widespread flood basalt formation occurred in Baffin Island, Greenland, and Britain before complete plate break up at 56 Ma after which time magmatism became concentrated in the active rift zone. Historically the British Tertiary Igneous Province (BTIP) has been instrumental in advancing many concepts of igneous petrology. However, the absolute age and duration of the province remains unresolved. Here, we present new internally consistent 40Ar/ 39Ar ages that help to constrain the volcanic activity in the Small Isles centre to within 2 my. This short duration has implications for the onset of magmatism in the larger North Atlantic province, the rapid unroofing of the Rum volcano, and more significantly, some of the evidence used to propose pulsing of the Iceland plume.

Strain-induced martensite in ADI alloys

The remarkable mechanical properties of austempered ductile irons arise from their microstructure, which is composed of a high-carbon stabilized austenite matrix filled with small isles of ferrite platelets, appropriately called ausferrite. Cold work imposed on the material yields a partial transformation of retained austenite into martensite, which can strongly influence the mechanical behavior of the alloy. The present study deals with the determination of transformed austenite upon plastic deformation in the range from 0 to 25% thickness reduction of the samples. The analyzed material was a Cu–Mo–Ni-alloyed ADI, obtained by austempering at 400 °C for 90 min after austenization at 900 °C for 80 min under Ar-protecting atmosphere. The determination of retained austenite and induced martensite made use of the classical X-ray diffraction technique and Rietveld refinement of the intensity data, with all experimental profile modeled by non-linear least-squares fitting, using pseudo-Voigt functions. The overall results showed that the starting contents of retained austenite in three groups of samples, i.e. 43.20, 35.79 and 44.05 vol.%, gradually evolved to 18.23, 13.02 and 18.59%, respectively, after 20% cold work, while formation of martensite increased from nearly zero to 24.95, 24.01 and 25.52% under the same deformation process. These results are further analyzed on the basis of some classical transformation theories.

A NEW, LARGE ACTEONID GASTROPOD (MOLLUSCA) FROM THE LATEST CRETACEOUS OF ANTARCTICA

Opisthobranch gastropods are rare in Mesozoic deposits of Antarctica. The first documented occurrence of opisthobranchs from this continent is from Cretaceous shallow-marine deposits of the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula, where Wilckens (1910, p. 95–96, pl. 4, fig. 19) described the minute ringiculid Cinulia sp., based on five specimens from two localities on Snow Hill Island. No further work has been done on the Snow Hill Island species. The next mention of Antarctic Cretaceous opisthobranchs was by Zinsmeister et al. (1989, p. 733, fig. 2, p. 734, fig. 3), who cited the occurrence of the ringiculid “ Oligoptycha cf. O. concinna Meek and Hayden, 1858,” in the lowermost part of Unit 8 of the Lopez de Bertodano Formation (Maastrichtian) on the southern half of Seymour Island (Fig. 1). We report the first record of Acteonidae from the Mesozoic of Antarctica, Acteon (Tenuiactaeon) antarctihadrum n. sp., discovered in shallow-marine Maastrichtian deposits. Figure 1 —Index map of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, showing the distribution of Maastrichtian and Danian strata on the southern two-thirds of the island. Diagonal hatched, Lopez de Bertodano Formation. The numbers correspond to Macellari's lithologic units (1–5, Upper Campanian; 6–9, Maastrichtian, and 10, Danian). Cross hatched, Sobral Formation; Stippled region, Cross Valley Formation, Late Paleocene; Unshaded northern region of Seymour Island, Eocene La Meseta Formation. Diagonal black lines crossing the Sobral and units 8 through 10 of the Lopez de Bertodano Formations represent a Neogene dike complex. Thick lines between units 9 and 10 represent the K-T boundary. Locality 1620 is 692 m above the base of the sequence (dip of strata 8 degrees) Seymour Island provides an exceptionally rich and well-preserved fossil record across the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary. The diverse suites of molluscs from this small Antarctic isle offer important insight on the composition …

Effects of diel and seasonal cycles on the dive duration of the minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) surfacing intervals were recorded over a period of three years in the coastal waters of Mull, Coll and the Small Isles, in the north-west of Scotland. Significant differences in surfacing intervals were noted both throughout the day and throughout the year. Surfacing intervals were shortest at noon and in the months of June and July. Surfacing intervals were longest both mid-morning and mid-afternoon and during May and August. Differences in surfacing intervals were interpreted to be the result of ecological changes such as different foraging strategies. Consequently, the results of this study have an impact on the methodologies and designs of minke whale sightings surveys.

Contrasting modes of reactivation in the Outer Hebrides Fault Zone, northern Barra, Scotland

The gently ESE-dipping Outer Hebrides Fault Zone may be traced for c . 170 km through the Lewisian gneisses of northwestern Scotland and defines broad, arcuate swings in strike from NE–SW to almost north–south. This study evaluates the kinematic evolution of the fault zone within the hinge region of such a strike swing exposed in the small isles north of Barra. New structural mapping of this area has concentrated on the geometry, kinematic significance and the relative age of different structural elements of the fault zone, and provides a comparison with the better known tectonics of the northern portions of the Outer Hebrides Fault Zone. Hitherto unrecognized top-to-the-NW ductile thrusting in this southern portion of the fault zone, coupled with abundant evidence of extensional reactivation and lack of sinistral strike-slip in phyllonites as reported further north, suggests that the present segmented and arcuate geometry is a primary feature of the fault system. The original thrust template governed the subsequent reactivation and relative importance of both late Caledonian strike-slip and extensional collapse components. Inherited structural architectures may thus provide geometric constraints on the nature and patterns of subsequent reactivation and tectonism.

Precise 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age for the initiation of Palaeogene volcanism in the Inner Hebrides and its regional significance

Sanidine crystals from two tuff layers at the base of the Palaeocene Eigg Lava Formation on the Isle of Muck, Inner Hebrides, yield step-wise Ar release plateau ages of 62.8 ± 0.6 (2 σ ) and 62.4 ±0.6 Ma using the laser 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating technique. These determinations, which are in accord with, but significantly more precise than earlier results, provide a definitive age for the inception of igneous activity in the Small Isles. From stratigraphical inferences, the Muck ages provide precise, maximum constraints on the possible age of Skye magmatism and possibly most of the British Tertiary Volcanic Province. The new ages significantly predate the oldest ages determined so far for Tertiary magmatism in NE Greenland but are similar to ages obtained from W Greenland and offshore SE Greenland and support the concept that the initiation of regional volcanism was primarily controlled by lithospheric thin spots. The Muck sanidine age appears to precisely date the first manifestation of the impingement of the Iceland mantle plume on the lithosphere beneath NW Scotland.

Auger electron spectroscopy study of the interface between bulk aluminum and bulk aluminum oxide

An extensive Auger electron spectroscopy study of the aluminum-aluminum oxide interface is presented, with the aim of identifying the behaviour of the contact zone between bulk metal and bulk oxide. Restored oxygen KLL and aluminum LVV spectra have been derived and analysed as a function of the depth of a thick aluminum sample evaporated onto an aluminum oxide crystal. The capability of the Auger electron spectroscopy to derive rather unique information on the nature of the contact zone is used to infer that the metal and oxide form small isles or domains in the interface region, so that the transition from the metal to the oxide is not characterized by a sharp surface.

Auger electron spectroscopy study of the interface between bulk alumunum and bulk aluminum oxide

An extensive Auger electron spectroscopy study of the aluminum-aluminum oxide interface is presented, with the aim of identifying the behaviour of the contact zone between bulk metal and bulk oxide. Restored oxygen KLL and aluminum LW spectra have been derived and analysed as a function of the depth of a thick aluminum sample evaporated onto an aluminum oxide crystal. The capability of the Auger electron spectroscopy to derive rather unique information on the nature of the contact zone is used to infer that the metal and oxide form small isles or domains in the interface region, so that the transition from the metal to the oxide is not characterized by a sharp surface.

Inland Shores

this collection is strongly negative. The reader may admire the courage and stamina of a given character, such as Corine in "Retribution," but even she is so backwoodsy that her wisdom is outdone by her remoteness. As a whole, the characters seem like specimens in an exhibit rather than like neighbors and friends. This flaw comes from the fact that the stories have been printed as a collection. They read better, I think, individually than they do in combination. This is particularly evident in the use ofAppalachian speech patterns. A little dialect goes a long way, and when it is "stacked up," as it is in this group of stories, it becomes an obstruction. PatriciaShirleyisafine storyteller,however . Eachofthepieces inDear FloraMae is well worth reading, not only for the characterizationsandtheplots, but also for the strong value orientation revealed in each tale. While the reader may react initially as didShakespeare'sPuck: "What fools these mortals be,"in the longrun that Suotation is changed to the more sympaietic "What fools we mortals be." And, after all, that universalizing of experience is what storytelling should be about. -Barbara Smith Inland Shores How like die grey Atlantic these shores swept by storms and winds and crustal waves extruded from the mande's grasp clothed over, anchored in a net of green. Listen closely, hear wind lap reef of grass, forest, meadow, endless quivering leaves and trembling limbs like waves caressing sand. Summer crickets chirp like shore birds, crying on the edge of wave and wind like killdeer, plover, gull. The terrapin drags the yard with ancient armour, creeps toward the creek to sounds of breaking waves within her head. Does she remember that small Isle where sea sent welcome to her scudding young in their fierce seaward path? The terrapin makes the creek, as in another time the sea birds wheel and scream above their rushing prey. How like the grey Atlantic are these shores terrapin and human left to our dreams amidst the bones of ancient pine and fem, leaving but shell or toodi to mark our wake. -Christyna E. Mecca 66 ...

Flora of the Isle su Cardulinu (Southern Sardinia)

Abstract The results of two years of collection in a small isle in the southern Sardinia are reported, consisting in a floristic list of 116 entities distributed in 96 genera and 41 families. The biological spectrum of this flora puts in evidence a typical Mediterranean environment, characterized by a marked summer dryness. The ratio: number of entities/surface of the studied site has been compared with that of other small southern Sardinian islands, resulting the highest value. This floristic aspect, as well as differences in the biological spectrum, is interpreted as the result of the presence in the area under study of a desultory link with the mainland, in form of a sandy isthmus. This seems important in breaking the biological balance of the small island.