Southwestern Border Research Articles

Potential rockfalls and analysis of slope dynamics in the Palatine archaeological area (Rome, Italy)

The Palatine Hill is among the main archaeological sites of Roman antiquity. Today, this place requires continuous care for its safeguarding and conservation. Among the main problems, slope instabilities threaten the southwestern border of the hill flanked by the Velabrum Valley, as also testified by historical documents. The upper part of the investigated slope is characterized by Middle Pleistocene red-brownish tuffs known as “Tufo Lionato”. The rock mass is affected by two jointing belts featuring the slope edge and its internal portion with different joint frequency and distribution. The analysis of the geometric relationship between the joint systems and the slope attitude evidenced possible planar sliding and toppling failure mechanisms on the exposed tuff cliffs. Potential rock block failures threatening the local cultural heritage were contrasted with preliminary works for site remediation. In addition, stress-strain numerical modelling verified the hypothesis of a tensile origin for the jointing belts, suggested by fracture characteristics and orientation. A first modelling was limited to the southwestern edge of the Palatine Hill and analysed the present stress-strain condition of the slope, proving the inconsistency with the observed deformation. A second modelling was extended to the Palatine-Velabrum slope-to-valley system to consider the role played by the geomorphological evolution of the area on the local slope dynamics during the late Pleistocene-Holocene. Results demonstrate how original conditions of slope instability, deformation and retreat along the Palatine western edge were determined by deep valley incision, and controlled by deformability contrasts within the slope. Slope instability influenced the site occupation and development during the Roman civilization, as also indicated by the remnants of retaining walls of different ages at the slope base.

Litogeoquímica do Complexo Campos Gerais e granitoides intrusivos, Arqueano/Paleoproterozoico, Brasil

The Campos Gerais Complex is located near the southwestern border of the São Francisco Craton, in the Brasília Belt. It consists of mesoarqueans migmatized orthogneiss (Campos Gerais and Mandembo orthogneisses), associated with neoarchean granitoids, granites and tonalites with probably Paleoproterozoic age. The Campos Gerais Orthogneiss shows a migmatitic stromatic structure, with tonalitic to monzogranitic mesosome, composing a sub-alkaline, calc-alkaline, metaluminous to peraluminous suite. This unit exhibits 3.2 Ga TDM model age (εNd: -4.6). The Mandembo Orthogneiss shows diatexitic to nebulitic structure. Its composition is predominantly tonalitic to syenogranitic forming a sub-alkaline, calc-alkaline, peraluminous high-K series, with 3.4 to 3.2 Ga TDM ages (εNd ≈ -8). The Grão Mogol metagranitoid is intrusive in the Campos Gerais Orthogneiss, composing a series of rocks with sub-alkaline, calc-alkaline, peraluminous, high-K affinity. Metatonalitic bodies are intrusive in the units described above, and show model ages (TDM) very close to the absolute ages (2.85 to 2.77 Ga) and εNd close to zero. The Itapixé Granite is isotropic granite, slightly foliated, with sub-alkaline, calc-alkaline, peraluminous, high-K affinity. The Córrego do Sapateiro Granite has an isotropic, medium to coarse-grained texture and pinkish color. It belongs to a sub-alkaline, calc-alkaline, peraluminous, high-K series. The lithogeochemical data suggest that the Campos Gerais Complex protoliths are related to the melting of metamorphosed oceanic crust (orthogneiss Campos Gerais) and anatexis of TTG crust (orthogneiss Mandembo).

Validation of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II for Hispanic Male Truck Drivers in the Southwest

The aims of the study were to validate the English and Spanish Versions of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II) with Hispanic male truck drivers and to determine if there were any differences in drivers' responses based on driving responsibility. The methods included a descriptive correlation design, the HPLP II (English and Spanish versions), and a demographic questionnaire. Fifty-two Hispanic drivers participated in the study. There were no significant differences in long haul and short haul drivers' responses to the HPLP II. Cronbach's alpha for the Spanish version was .97 and the subscales alphas ranged from .74 to .94. The English version alpha was .92 and the subscales ranged from .68 to .84. Findings suggest the subscales of Health Responsibility, Physical Activities, Nutrition, and Spirituality Growth on the HPLP II Spanish and English versions may not adequately assess health-promoting behaviors and cultural influences for the Hispanic male population in the southwestern border region.

Detrital zircon ages and geochronological constraints on the Neoproterozoic Puga diamictites and associated BIFs in the southern Paraguay Belt, Brazil

The Paraguay belt comprises a thick sedimentary succession deposited on the southwestern border of the Amazonian Craton and the Rio Apa Block. The base of the succession in the southern Paraguay belt is marked by a level of glacially derived deposits from the Puga Formation associated with banded iron formations, which has been assumed to be end-Cryogenian in age (635Ma) by previous authors is spite of the lack of geochronological data. Here we present the first U–Pb SHRIMP ages on detrital zircon grains separated from the matrix of six samples of these diamictites two different localities (Puga Hill and Bodoquena area). U–Pb ages determined from two samples (ca. 130 grains) of Puga Hill show a large variation between 970Ma and 2100Ma. Rocks with these ages can be found in the Amazonian Craton suggesting that it is the most probable source of the sediments. Detrital zircons (ca. 230 grains) from the Bodoquena area (about 200km south of Puga Hill) range from 706 to 1990Ma. The 1760Ma source is significantly more important in these samples, comprising more than 70% of analyzed grains, and indicates provenance from the adjacent Rio Apa Block. The youngest zircon was dated at 706±9Ma, thus constraining the maximum depositional age for the Puga Formation. Possible sources for this younger population could be either the juvenile Mara Rosa magmatic arc in the Brasilia belt, or the rocks from the Laurentian external fold belts located to the west of the sampled area in Neoproterozoic paleogeographic reconstructions. The maximum depositional age of the diamictites (and associated BIFs), together with cap carbonate carbon and strontium isotope data (δ13C=−5.0 and 87Sr/86Sr=0.7077) in Puga Hill, indicate that they were deposited after 700Ma, suggesting that they may represent the end-Cryogenian event.

Human Plasmodium knowlesi infection in Ranong province, southwestern border of Thailand

BackgroundPlasmodium knowlesi, a simian malaria parasite, has been reported in humans in many Southeast Asian countries. In Thailand, most of the limited numbers of cases reported so far were from areas near neighbouring countries, including Myanmar.MethodsBlood samples collected from 171 Thai and 248 Myanmese patients attending a malaria clinic in Ranong province, Thailand, located near the Myanmar border were investigated for P. knowlesi using nested PCR assays. Positive samples were also investigated by PCR for Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale, and were confirmed by sequencing the gene encoding the circumsporozoite protein (csp).ResultsTwo samples, one obtained from a Thai and the other a Myanmese, were positive for P. knowlesi only. Nucleotide sequences of the csp gene derived from these two patients were identical and phylogenetically indistinguishable from other P. knowlesi sequences derived from monkeys and humans. Both patients worked in Koh Song, located in the Kawthoung district of Myanmar, which borders Thailand.ConclusionThis study indicates that transmission of P. knowlesi is occurring in the Ranong province of Thailand or the Kawthoung district of Myanmar. Further studies are required to assess the incidence of knowlesi malaria and whether macaques in these areas are the source of the infections.

O rio Paraguai no megaleque do Nabileque, sudoeste do Pantanal Mato-Grossense, MS

Abstract The Nabileque fluvial fan is a quaternary depositional system located at the southwestern border of the Pantanal, covering an area of approximately 9100 km ². It is a peculiar alluvial system because it is not associated with flowing from adjacent plateaus. The Nabileque megafan has been forming by the Paraguay River at the exit of the Pantanal wetland, coalescing with the Pilcomayo megafan of the Chaco basin. A geomorphological zonation was performed making use of remote sensing data with field verification. Most of the area is a vast alluvial plain made of Pleistocene deposits, whose surface is marked by the presence of an intricate network of distributary paleochannels. The areas of Pleistocene deposits are degraded by erosion streams, but are subject of frequent flooding events. The Paraguay River flows in a meander belt constrained by NE fractures associated with the lineament Transbrasiliano, but deflects towards SSE after the Negro River confluence composing the system peripheral drainage. An abandoned meander belt is preserved within a remarkable NS incised-valley that is interpreted as the ancient Paraguay River course. Processes of avulsion and river capture are suggested to explain the observed changes of the river course. The Nabileque River is an underfit stream within the incised-valley cutting paleomeanders and point bars of the previous Paraguay River course.

Vocalização de anúncio e ampliação da distribuição de Pristimantis crepitans (Bokermann) (Amphibia, Anura, Strabomantidae)

Espécimes de Pristimantis crepitans (Bokermann, 1965) foram obtidos em áreas de afloramentos rochosos situadas na borda sudoeste do Cerrado e na borda oeste do Pantanal, próximo à fronteira entre o Brasil e a Bolívia. Indivíduos foram coletados e gravados na localidade-tipo e em outros quatro municípios, nos estados de Mato Grosso e Mato Grosso do Sul. Além da ampliação da área de ocorrência e de dados morfométricos adicionais aos da série-tipo, apresentamos pela primeira vez na literatura parâmetros da vocalização topotípica de P. crepitans, bem como fotografias de espécimes em vida e de alguns dos hábitats ocupados pelos mesmos.

The occurrence of summer diapause in the large white butterfly Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae): A geographical perspective

At the south western border of its extensive distribution, the multivoltine large white butterfly, Pieris brassicae L., is exceptional in undergoing summer diapause or aestivation. In all other regions investigated, P. brassicae pupae only hibernate. The transitional zone from non-aestivating to aestivating populations is a geographically stable region south of the Pyrenees. The restric- tion of this response to this region cannot be accounted for in terms of genetics as aestivation is intermediately inherited, with the heritability (h 2 ) of aestivation in inbreeding lines between 0.35 and 0.77. Two hypotheses are presented to explain why this species does not aestivate in more northern regions. First, aestivation is a behaviour that serves to synchronize generations in areas where this species produces a high number of generations per year. Second, aestivation reduces the incidence of parasitism suffered by the butterfly by desynchronizing its life cycle from that of its main parasitoid, Cotesia glomerata. The two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive and both seem to be adaptive where the species is multivoltine.

Defending the Homeland: Judicial Sentencing Practices for Federal Immigration Offenses

In the last decade, immigration prosecutions in federal court have increased 165%, with immigration offenses comprising over 28% of the federal criminal caseload in 2008. Despite this increase, research has yet to fully examine the sentencing outcomes for these offenders. Exploration of sentencing outcomes for immigration offenders is particularly salient due to the racial/ethnic composition of these defendants and the documented history of disparate treatment of minorities at this decision point. To explicate these issues, we examine the sentence length of immigration cases to assess the impact of legal, extra-legal, and case-processing factors. We further disaggregate by offense type to explore if correlates of sentencing are consistent across specific categories of immigration violations. Finally, we examine southwestern border districts, which process over 70% of all cases, to assess their specific sentencing practices. Model results, theoretical implications, and avenues for future research are also discussed.

Border Justice? Sentencing Federal Narcotics Offenders in Southwest Border Districts: A Focus on Citizenship Status

The war on drugs has largely been waged in the southwestern border region of the United States. Five federal border districts (California South, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas West, and Texas South) alone are responsible for roughly one quarter of federal narcotics prosecutions annually. Narcotics cases make up roughly 30% of the federal criminal caseload each year, and the number of Hispanic and noncitizen defendants prosecuted in U.S. federal courts has risen steadily over the past two decades. In 1991, noncitizens comprised about 23% of persons prosecuted in federal courts; by 2009, nearly 45% of those prosecuted were noncitizens.This study examined judicial sentencing practices for federal narcotics offenders in these five southwestern border districts to explore the effect of citizenship status on sentence length. We also partition our analysis by district to enable assessment of variation in sentencing practices across these federal border districts.

First Record of Avian Plasmodium DNA from Mosquitoes Collected in the Yaeyama Archipelago, Southwestern Border of Japan

We studied the prevalence of avian Plasmodium in 509 mosquitoes of 9 species collected from the Ishigaki and Iriomote islands in the Yaeyama Archipelago, located southwest from the mainland of Japan. Two identical avian Plasmodium lineages were detected from Culex (Culiciomyia) nigropunctatus. Detected lineages were phylogenetically classified into different clade to avian Plasmodium lineages from birds and mosquitoes in the mainland of Japan but identical to a lineage detected from a resident bird, White-breasted Waterken (Amaurornis phoenicurus). This is the first detection of avian Plasmodium DNA from mosquitoes in the Yaeyama Archipelago and suggested that resident birds might have been infected with an avian Plasmodium lineage specific to the studied area and C. nigropunctatus could be the candidate vector mosquito species.

Crustal segments in the North Patagonian Massif, Patagonia: An integrated perspective based on Sm–Nd isotope systematics

Abstract New insights on the Paleozoic evolution of the continental crust in the North Patagonian Massif are presented based on the analysis of Sm–Nd systematics. New evidence is presented to constrain tectonic models for the origin of Patagonia and its relations with the South American crustal blocks. Geologic, isotopic and tectonic characterization of the North Patagonian Massif and comparison of the Nd parameters lead us to conclude that: (1) The North Patagonian Massif is a crustal block with bulk crustal average ages between 2.1 and 1.6 Ga T DM (Nd) and (2) At least three metamorphic episodes could be identified in the Paleozoic rocks of the North Patagonian Massif. In the northeastern corner, Famatinian metamorphism is widely identified. However field and petrographic evidence indicate a Middle to Late Cambrian metamorphism pre-dating the emplacement of the ca. 475 Ma granitoids. In the southwestern area, are apparent 425–420 Ma (?) and 380–360 Ma metamorphic peaks. The latter episode might have resulted from the collision of the Antonia terrane; and (3) Early Paleozoic magmatism in the northeastern area is coeval with the Famatinian arc. Nd isotopic compositions reveal that Ordovician magmatism was associated with attenuated crust. On the southwestern border, the first magmatic recycling record is Devonian. Nd data shows a step by step melting of different levels of the continental crust in the Late Palaeozoic. Between 330 and 295 Ma magmatism was likely the product of a crustal source with an average 1.5 Ga T DM (Nd). Widespread magmatism represented by the 295–260 Ma granitoids involved a lower crustal mafic source, and continued with massive shallower-acid plutono volcanic complexes which might have recycled an upper crustal segment of the Proterozoic continental basement, resulting in a more felsic crust until the Triassic. (4) Sm–Nd parameters and detrital zircon age patterns of Early Paleozoic (meta)-sedimentary rocks from the North Patagonian Massif and those from the neighboring blocks, suggest crustal continuity between Eastern Sierras Pampeanas, southern Arequipa-Antofalla and the northeastern sector of the North Patagonian Massif by the Early Paleozoic. This evidence suggests that, at least, this corner of the North Patagonian Massif is not allochthonous to Gondwana. A Late Paleozoic frontal collision with the southwestern margin of Gondwana can be reconcilied in a para-autochthonous model including a rifting event from a similar or neighbouring position to its post-collision location. Possible Proterozoic or Early Paleozoic connections of the NPM with the Kalahari craton or the western Antartic blocks should be investigated.

Accretion of Grenvillian terranes to the southwestern border of the Río de la Plata craton, western Argentina

A comprehensive review of the geological, geochronological, and isotopic features of the Mesoproterozoic Grenvillian terranes attached to the southwest of the Rio de la Plata craton in Early Paleozoic times is presented in this paper. They are grouped into the northern (sierras de Umango, Maz and del Espinal and surroundings), central (Sierra de Pie de Palo, southern Precordillera and Frontal Cordillera), and southern (San Rafael and Las Matras Blocks) segments. The Mesoproterozoic basement consists mainly of arc related, intermediate to acidic and mafic–ultramafic rocks of 1,244–1,027 Ma, with juvenile, Laurentian affinity. Exception to it is the Maz Group, with a protracted history and reworked character. They are affected by 846–570 Ma, extensional magmatism in the northern and central segments, which represents the Neoproterozoic breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent. Successive passive margin sedimentation is registered in Late Neoproterozoic (~640–580 Ma) and Cambro-Ordovician (~550–470 Ma) times. The southern segment is noted for the younger sedimentation alone, and for showing the exclusive primary unconformable relationship between the Mesoproterozoic basement and Early Ordovician cover. The effects of Early Paleozoic Famatinian orogeny, associated with the collisions of Cuyania and Chilenia terranes, are recorded as main phase (480–450 Ma), late phase (440–420 Ma), and Chanic phase (400–360 Ma). Among them, the tectonothermal climax is the Ordovician main phase, to which klippe and nappe structures typical of collisional orogens are related in the northern and central segments. Preliminary data allow us to suggest a set of paired metamorphic belts, with an outboard high-P/T belt, and an inboard Barrowian P/T belt.

Canine Distemper Epizootic among Red Foxes, Italy, 2009

Canine Distemper Epizootic among Red Foxes, Italy, 2009

Resiliency and Social Support Networks in a Population of Mexican American Intimate Partner Violence Survivors

This article discusses research conducted with Mexican American female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and explores the survivors’ capacity for resiliency and the nature of their social networks. The study used a nonprobability convenience sample of survivors of IPV living in shelters in two southwestern border cities and asked these questions: How much is resiliency affected by mood? What parts of the IPV survivors’ social networks are most supportive? Dependent sample t tests demonstrated that increased resiliency is associated with decreased mood disturbance. Ordinary least squares regression indicated that perception of social support is directly related to number of friends/neighbors and size of formal network. Implications for practice are discussed.

Active tectonic morphology and submarine deformation of the northern Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba from analyses of multibeam data

A high-resolution marine geophysical study was conducted during October-November 2006 in the northern Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat, providing the first multibeam imaging of the seafloor across the entire gulf head spanning both Israeli and Jordanian territorial waters. Analyses of the seafloor morphology show that the gulf head can be subdivided into the Eilat and Aqaba subbasins separated by the north-south-trending Ayla high. The Aqaba submarine basin appears starved of sediment supply, apparently causing erosion and a landward retreat of the shelf edge. Along the eastern border of this subbasin, the shelf is largely absent and its margin is influenced by the Aqaba Fault zone that forms a steep slope partially covered by sedimentary fan deltas from the adjacent ephemeral drainages. The Eilat subbasin, west of the Ayla high, receives a large amount of sediment derived from the extensive drainage basins of the Arava Valley (Wadi ’Arabah) and Yutim River to the north–northeast. These sediments and those entering from canyons on the south-western border of this subbasin are transported to the deep basin by turbidity currents and gravity slides, forming the Arava submarine fan. Large detached blocks and collapsed walls of submarine canyons and the western gulf margin indicate that mass wasting may be triggered by seismic activity. Seafloor lineaments defined by slope gradient analyses suggest that the Eilat Canyon and the boundaries of the Ayla high align along north- to northwest-striking fault systems—the Evrona Fault zone to the west and the Ayla Fault zone to the east. The shelf–slope break that lies along the 100 m isobath in the Eilat subbasin, and shallower (70–80 m isobaths) in the Aqaba subbasin, is offset by approx. 150 m along the eastern edge of the Ayla high. This offset might be the result of horizontal and vertical movements along what we call the Ayla Fault on the east side of the structure. Remnants of two marine terraces at 100 m and approx. 150 m water depths line the southwest margin of the gulf. These terraces are truncated by faulting along their northern end. Fossil coral reefs, which have a similar morphological appearance to the present-day, basin margin reefs, crop out along these deeper submarine terraces and along the shelf–slope break. One fossil reef is exposed on the shelf across the Ayla high at about 60–63 m water depth but is either covered or eroded in the adjacent subbasins. The offshore extension of the Evrona Fault offsets a fossil reef along the shelf and extends south of the canyon to linear fractures on the deep basin floor.

Crop-raiding Baboons (Papio anubis) and Defensive Farmers: A West African perspective

Baboons are often reported as the worst crop-raiders in Africa, but there has been little observation of the actual behavioural-ecology of their crop-raiding, especially in West Africa. The paper examines the crop-raiding behaviour of a group of habituated baboons (Gamgam group) near the village of Gashaka on the south-western border of Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria. Data were collected during the wet and dry crop seasons via scan sampling and ad libitum techniques. For scan sampling the activity of each observed individual was noted every 2.5 min. For ad libitum data any activity relevant to crop-raiding was noted when it occurred, including the reactions of farmers who were guarding their fields. Descriptive statistics were generated and trends in baboon and human behaviour examined. Sixty-nine percent of Gamgam group’s raids were successful. Farmers only prevented or reduced the time baboons spent in fields on 28.9% of all raids. Crops eaten varied from ripe maize to scavenging for scraps of sweet potato in harvested fields. Maize (ripe and dried) was the most frequently eaten crop. All members of Gamgam group, including weaned infants, ate all crops, but only adult males ate bananas. Observations suggested that baboons used cheek pouches to store food before moving to a safer locality to eat, to avoid farmers’ attacks and intragroup competition. Deterrent methods included guarding, fences of fish net, poisoned baits, olfactory, visual and auditory scaring devices. Guarding presence in fields was not regular. In the wet season guards reacted to baboon crop-raiding on 54% of raids and in the dry season on 44%. On average it took farmers 23 min to react to baboons in their fields. The two most common reactions of guards were shouting and chasing baboons. Observations do not suggest that any one particular defence method can prevent baboon crop-raiding.

Politics and the perpetuation of poverty in Arizona Colonias

In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed the Cranston‐Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act (NAHA), the first federal legislation to acknowledge the existence and needs of the colonias along the Southwestern border. NAHA provided an official definition of colonias and mandating federal funding for infrastructural improvements in the border communities.1 Sadly, nineteen years after this legislation became law, and despite dedicated federal funding, colonia residents continue to suffer in conditions that can only be compared with those of underdeveloped countries. This study examines the disparity between the purpose of the NAHA legislation and the resulting policy implementation, exploring the role of benevolent rhetoric in the lack of effective implementation of the legislation's stated purpose. With a focus on the colonias of Arizona, this study examines why some colonias are positively affected, while others are detrimentally impacted.

“In whatever language people feel comfortable”: conflicting language ideologies in the US Southwest border

This article explores how language ideologies about monolingualism and bilingualism are reproduced and challenged by the media in a Southwestern border community in the United States. We investigate the particular ways in which these language ideologies are constructed and reconstructed through lexicogrammatical and discursive choices that evaluate and position languages and their users. Through an appraisal analysis (Martin and White, The language of evaluation: The appraisal framework in English, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) of local newspaper articles, we show how competing language ideologies are negotiated in discourse through a configuration of linguistic resources including: concession, modality, and polarity. These discursive configurations construct different evaluations of languages and their users; monolingual ideologies are associated to individual responsibility, whereas multilingual/bilingual ideologies are associated to social responsibility. The article points to the ways in which the print media in this community reproduces the dominant monolingual English-only ideology at the same time it opens up spaces for multilingual language ideologies.

Late Early Permian (266 Ma) N–S compressional deformation of the Turfan basin, NW China: the cause of the change in basin pattern

Previous studies suggested an important, but yet poorly-understood, tectonic transition in the Altaids (also termed the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, CAOB) in the Permian. This tectonic transition, clearly documented by published stratigraphic data and provenance analyses, suggested a unified Junger–Turfan basin in northwest China in Permian time and it further indicated that extension dominated Early Permian tectonics in the region, whereas flexural, foreland subsidence controlled Late Permian basin evolution. Our new structural observations, microtectonic analyses, and 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data from southwest of the Turfan basin reveal that in the late Early Permian (266 Ma) a NS-directed contractional deformation operated along the southern border of the unified Junger–Turfan basin, which was probably related to the transition in basin evolution. The contraction gave rise to a NW-striking right-lateral transpressional, rather than simple-shear dextral, ductile shear zone along the southwestern border of the Turfan basin, and to an interference fold pattern together with closely-spaced, concentrated cleavage and thrusts in a constrictional strain regime in the basin interior. After the Late Permian the tectonic evolution of the CAOB changed from Paleozoic continental amalgamation to Mesozoic–Cenozoic intracontinental orogenic reactivation.