Knowledge and the artefact

This paper discusses ways that knowledge may be found in or through artefacts. One purpose is to suggest situations where artefacts might be central to a narrative, rather than secondary to a text. A second purpose is to suggest ways that design and production of artefacts might be instrumental in eliciting knowledge. Four general situations are proposed: (1) Simple Forms - an artefact demonstrates or describes a principle or technique. (2) Communication of Process - artefacts arising from a process make the process explicit. (3) Artefacts Within the Research - artefacts are instrumental in advancing the research by communicating ideas or information. (4) Knowledge Elicited by Artefacts - artefacts provide a stimulus or context which enables information to be uncovered. .</p

Preliminary Canopy Removal Experiments in Algal Dominated Communities Low on the Shore and in the Shallow Subtidal on the Isle of Man

The algal dominated communities immediately above and below the low-water spring level on a moderately exposed Manx shore were investigated by canopy removal experiments. Fucus serratus, Laminaria digitata and L. hyperborea were removed. Competition was shown to be important in determining the zonation of L. digitata and the distribution along the wave exposure gradient of other species such as Alaria esculenta, Desmarestia aculeata and D. viridis, and L. saccharina. Many species of algal epiphytes were early colonizers of canopy removal areas suggesting that competition from canopy algae usually restricts them to an epiphytic habit. The results indicate that interactions between macrophytes are much more important than grazing in structuring these communities

Brain natriuretic peptide and NT-proBNP levels reflect pulmonary artery systolic pressure in trekkers at high altitude.

Our objective was to evaluate the utility of the natriuretic peptides BNP (brain natriuretic peptide) and NT-proBNP as markers of pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) in trekkers ascending to high altitude (HA). 20 participants had BNP and NT-proBNP assayed and simultaneous echocardiographic assessment of PASP performed during a trek to 5150 m. PASP increased significantly (p=0.006) with ascent from 24+/-4 to 39+/-11 mm Hg at 5150 m. At 5150 m those with a PASP>/=40 mm Hg (n=8) (versus those with PASP/=400 pg/ml) rise in NT-proBNP at 5150 m (n=4) PASP was significantly higher: 45.9+/-7.5 vs. 32.2+/-6.2 mm Hg (p=0.015). BNP and NT-proBNP may reflect elevated PASP, a central feature of high altitude pulmonary oedema, at HA

New combinations for Sonoran Desert plants

We provide new nomenclatural combinations for three Sonoran Desert plants: Opuntia engelmannii var. laevis (J.M. Coulter) Felger, Verrier, & Carnahan, comb. nov.; Parkinsonia florida subsp. peninsulare (Rose) Hawkins & Felger, comb. nov.; and Parkinsonia ×sonorae (Rose & I.M. Johnston ex I.M. Johnston) Hawkins & Felger, comb. nov

Ultracompact monolithic integration of balanced, polarization diversity photodetectors for coherent lightwave receivers

The authors have monolithically integrated an optical front-end on InP for balanced, polarization-diversity coherent lightwave reception which is only 1.3-mm long. Low on-chip insertion loss (<4.5 dB) and balanced photoresponse (1.05:1 or better) are achieved at 1.5-μm wavelength using straightforward, regrowth-free fabrication. Low-capacitance photodetectors (≤0.15 pF) are employed for high bandwidth operation

High prevalence of scrapie in a dairy goat herd: tissue distribution of disease-associated PrP and effect of PRNP genotype and age

Following a severe outbreak of clinical scrapie in 2006–2007, a large dairy goat herd was culled and 200 animals were selected for post-mortem examinations in order to ascertain the prevalence of infection, the effect of age, breed and PRNP genotype on the susceptibility to scrapie, the tissue distribution of diseaseassociated PrP (PrP$^{\rm d}$), and the comparative efficiency of different diagnostic methods. As determined by immunohistochemical (IHC) examinations with Bar224 PrP antibody, the prevalence of preclinical infection was very high (72/200; 36.0%), with most infected animals being positive for PrP$^{\rm d}$ in lymphoreticular system (LRS) tissues (68/72; 94.4%) compared to those that were positive in brain samples (38/72; 52.8%). The retropharyngeal lymph node and the palatine tonsil showed the highest frequency of PrP$^{\rm d}$ accumulation (87.3% and 84.5%, respectively), while the recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) was positive in only 30 (41.7%) of the infected goats. However, the efficiency of rectal and palatine tonsil biopsies taken shortly before necropsy was similar. The probability of brain and RAMALT being positive directly correlated with the spread of PrP$^{\rm d}$ within the LRS. The prevalence of infection was influenced by PRNP genetics at codon 142 and by the age of the goats: methionine carriers older than 60 months showed a much lower prevalence of infection (12/78; 15.4%) than those younger than 60 months (20/42; 47.6%); these last showed prevalence values similar to isoleucine homozygotes of any age (40/80; 50.0%). Two of seven goats with definite signs of scrapie were negative for PrP$^{\rm d}$ in brain but positive in LRS tissues, and one goat showed biochemical and IHC features of PrP$^{\rm d}$ different from all other infected goats. The results of this study have implications for surveillance and control policies for scrapie in goats

Eco-engineered rock pools: a concrete solution to biodiversity loss and urban sprawl in the marine environment

journal_title: Environmental Research Letters article_type: lett article_title: Eco-engineered rock pools: a concrete solution to biodiversity loss and urban sprawl in the marine environment copyright_information: © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd license_information: cc-by Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. date_received: 2016-05-12 date_accepted: 2016-08-10 date_epub: 2016-09-1