“some kind of thing it aint us but yet its in us”: David Mitchell, Russell Hoban, and metafiction after the millennium

This article appraises the debt that David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas owes to the novels of Russell Hoban, including, but not limited to, Riddley Walker. After clearly mapping a history of Hoban’s philosophical perspectives and Mitchell’s inter-textual genre-impersonation practice, the article assesses the degree to which Mitchell’s metatextual methods indicate a nostalgia for by-gone radical aesthetics rather than reaching for new modes of its own. The article not only proposes several new backdrops against which Mitchell’s novel can be read but also conducts the first in-depth appraisal of Mitchell’s formal linguistic replication of Riddley Walker

Liberal intervention in the foreign policy thinking of Tony Blair and David Cameron

David Cameron was a critic of Tony Blair’s doctrine of the international community, which was used to justify war in Kosovo and more controversially in Iraq, suggesting caution in projecting military force abroad while in opposition. However, and in spite of making severe cuts to the defence budget, the Cameron-led Coalition government signed Britain up to a military intervention in Libya within a year of coming into office. What does this say about the place liberal interventionism occupies in contemporary British foreign policy? To answer this question, this article studies the nature of what we describe as the ‘bounded liberal’ tradition that has informed British foreign policy thinking since 1945, suggesting that it puts a distinctly UK national twist on conventional conservative thought about international affairs. Its components are: scepticism of grand schemes to remake the world; instinctive Atlanticism; security through collective endeavour; and anti-appeasement. We then compare and contrast the conditions for intervention set out by Tony Blair and David Cameron. We explain the similarities but crucially also the vital differences between the two leaders’ thinking on intervention, with particular reference to Cameron’s perception that Downing Street needed to loosen its control over foreign policy-making after Iraq. Our argument is that policy substance, policy style and party political dilemmas prompted Blair and Cameron to reconnect British foreign policy with its ethical roots, ingraining a bounded liberal posture to British foreign policy after the moral bankruptcy of the John Major years. This return to a patient, pragmatic and ethically informed foreign policy meant that military operations in Kosovo and Libya were undertaken in quite different circumstances, yet came to be justified by similar arguments from the two leaders

Spirobifluorene metallaaromatics

Spirobifluorene derivatives find use in many end-user applications. Therefore, further expansion of their scope is the focus of many research studies. However, although the optical properties of spirobifluorenes can be greatly tuned through incorporation of metal complexes, to date, spirobifluorene metallaaromatics remain unknown. Taking advantage of the versatility of our methodology for the synthesis of metallaaromatic systems, this work reports the first metallaaromatic spirobifluorene compound. The presence of an Ir atom was found to redshift the absorption maximum by ca. 1.1 eV compared to bare spirobifluorene. Additionally, X-ray analysis as well as anisotropy of the current-induced density calculations revealed this compound to be of aromatic nature. The high stability in solution, solid state, under air, and at high temperature, as well as distinct optical properties of this new class of compounds are expected to open new frontiers for chiroptical and optoelectronic applications.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431F 2016/005Unión Europea-FEDER (Interreg V-A—España-Portugal) | Ref. 0245_IBEROS_1_EXunta de Galicia | Ref. GRC2015/01

Mid-Infrared laser spectroscopy detection and quantification of explosives in soils using multivariate analysis and artificial intelligence

A tunable quantum cascade laser (QCL) spectrometer was used to develop methods for detecting and quantifying high explosives (HE) in soil based on multivariate analysis (MVA) and artificial intelligence (AI). For quantification, mixes of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) of concentrations from 0% to 20% w/w with soil samples were investigated. Three types of soils, bentonite, synthetic soil, and natural soil, were used. A partial least squares (PLS) regression model was generated for predicting DNT concentrations. To increase the selectivity, the model was trained and evaluated using additional analytes as interferences, including other HEs such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), trinitrotoluene (TNT), cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), and non-explosives such as benzoic acid and ibuprofen. For the detection experiments, mixes of different explosives with soils were used to implement two AI strategies. In the first strategy, the spectra of the samples were compared with spectra of soils stored in a database to identify the most similar soils based on QCL spectroscopy. Next, a preprocessing based on classical least squares (Pre-CLS) was applied to the spectra of soils selected from the database. The parameter obtained based on the sum of the weights of Pre-CLS was used to generate a simple binary discrimination model for distinguishing between contaminated and uncontaminated soils, achieving an accuracy of 0.877. In the second AI strategy, the same parameter was added to a principal component matrix obtained from spectral data of samples and used to generate multi-classification models based on different machine learning algorithms. A random forest model worked best with 0.996 accuracy and allowing to distinguish between soils contaminated with DNT, TNT, or RDX and uncontaminated soils

Evaluación del nivel de competitividad del servicio de investigaciones oceanográficas basado en la lógica difusa compensatoria

Se evalúa la competitividad de los servicios de investigaciones oceanográficas utilizando la modelación matemática basada en lógica difusa compensatoria (LDC). Se realizó un análisis teórico de la competitividad y de los servicios de investigaciones oceanográficas lo que aportó como elementos para la evaluación de la competitividad de los servicios: el capital humano y su rendimiento, la tecnología que se utiliza, el producto que se ofrece mediante el servicio y la gestión económica como resultado de los servicios. En la modelación matemática basada en LDC se obtiene como predicado compuesto final la competitividad de los servicios de investigaciones oceanográficas, la cual se evalúa con 4 predicados compuestos y 14 predicados simples. Los predicados compuestos coinciden con los elementos anteriormente mencionados. Entre los predicados simples se tienen cualitativos y cuantitativos; los cualitativos se obtienen a partir de una lista de chequeo diseñada y los cuantitativos a partir de indicadores que se miden en la organización. Las ecuaciones matemáticas que caracterizan la modelación utilizan el operador AND que trabaja con la media geométrica y las operaciones internas acordes con esta teoría permiten llevar de la escala de valores reales de los predicados simples a la escala de valores de verdad [0; 1] que es con la que trabaja la LDC. Los resultados demuestran que es más falso que verdadero que el servicio es competitivo; los predicados compuestos que más influyen en el resultado son: el capital humano competente y el servicio diferenciado al mercado

Aptitud Combinatoria de líneas endocriadas (S3) de maíces forrajeros con introgresión de Zea diploperennis litis, Ooebley y Guzmán para la producción de biomasa aérea

The evaluation of inbred lines within a program of hybrid maize requires not only the determination of lines production per-se but also that of the average behaviour of their hybrid combinations (General Combining Aptitude) and their capacity to produce higher hybrid combinations among them (Specific Combining Aptitude). The aim of this work was the analysis of the General Combining Aptitude (GCA) of eleven forage maize inbred lines derived from the original crossing between Zea mays L. x Zea diploperennis Iitis, Doebley and Guzman, and the Specific Combining Aptitude (SCA) of the progeny of a pimple and direct diallelic among them. The total aerial plant forage mass and their morphological components are evaluated in comparison with a commercial hybrid. The GCA/SCA rate was high for all the production characters evaluated, showing low dominance effect or over-dominance, maybe due to a slight difference among lines. GCA was found to be significant for the production of leaves -line 4 (LE 785) presented the highest values and was also favoured with the GCA highest values for stem and whole plant. Line 2 (LE 769) GCA was found satisfactory for corncob production. The crossing (2 x 4) showed good behaviour in the production of forage and since this is due to the genetic contribution of their progeny lines, it would be interesting to begin a recurrent selection program, starting with the first segregating generation of this crossing, trying a favourable gene recombination of the forage mass.La evaluación de líneas endocriadas en un programa de maíces híbridos requiere no sólo determinar la producción perse de las mismas, sino también el comportamiento promedio de sus combinaciones híbridas (Aptitud Combinatoria General) y la capacidad de producir combinaciones híbridas superiores al cruzarse entre sí (Aptitud Combinatoria Específica). El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la Aptitud Combinatoria General (ACG) de once líneas endocriadas de maíces forrajeros derivados de la cruza original entre Zea mays L. x Zea dipioperennis litis, Doebley y Guzman y la Aptitud Combinatoria Específica (ACE) de la progenie de un dialélico simple directo entre ellas. Se evaluó la biomasa aérea total de la planta y sus componentes morfológicos en comparación con un híbrido comercial. La proporción de ACG/ACE fue alta en todos los caracteres de producción evaluados indicando poco efecto de dominancia o sobredominancia, quizás producto de una escasa divergencia entre las líneas. Sólo se encontró ACG significativa para la producción de hojas. Sobresale en tal sentido la línea 4 (LE 785) que también presentó los mayores valores en la producción de tallo y planta entera. La línea 2 (LE 769) se destacó por su ACG en la producción de mazorca. La cruza (2 x 4) tuvo buen comportamiento en la producción de forraje y teniendo en cuenta que se debe a la transmisión de los genes de sus líneas progenitoras sería interesante iniciar un programa de selección recurrente a partir de la primera generación segregante de esa cruza, intentando una recombinación génica favorable en la producción de biomasa

Revista de Vertebrados de la Estación Biológica de Doñana

Catálogo descriptivo de los anfibios y reptiles de CubaEvolución estacional de la comunidad de aves en un robledal de Sierra NevadaComposición de la comunidad de aves en pinares del Parque Nacional de Doñana (suroeste de España).Alimentación de la pagaza piconegra (Gelochelidon nilotica) en las marismas del GuadalquivirContaminación xenobiótica del Parque Nacional de Doñana. III. Residuos de insecticidas organoclorados, bifenilos policlorados y metales pesados en ciconiformesAlimentación de la lechuza común Tyto alba en la cuenca del Duero, EspañaEstudio de una población rural de (Mus musculus L.) I. La probabilidad de captura y la estima numéricLa reproducción en Gazella dorcasIncidencia del Nemátodo parásito Skrjabingylus Leuckart, 1842 sobre el Mustela en España.Desplazamientos de ungulados silvestres a través de una zona de ecotono en Doñana.Etograma de la cabra montés (Capra pyrenaica) y comparación con otras especies.Sobre comportamiento agresivo de Triturus marmoratus en época de celoEmbarrancamiento masivo de ejemplares de tortuga lad (Dermochelys coriacea L.) en las costas de Ceuta (España, norte de África)Sobre un ejemplar melánico de Podarcis hispanica (Steindachner, 1870)Nuevos datos sobre la distribución de cuatro especies de reptiles en la provincia de Cádiz.Algunos datos sobre la nidificación de Ciconia nigra L. en sierra Morena (S. España)Observación del halcón de Eleonor (Falco eleonorae) en el centro de EspañaNueva localidad de cría del pájaro moscón (Remiz pendulinus) en la Península IbéricaRegistro de aves en el sur de BoliviaNidificación del paiño de Madeira Oceanodroma castro (Harcourt, 1851) en las Islas Canarias.Observación primaveral de Phalaropus fulicarius L. en el SO de EspañaNuevos datos sobre la presencia del nóctulo gigante Nyctalus lasiopterus (Chiroptera, vespertilionidae) en EspañaNote sur l'alimentation de Martes martes a Menorca (Baleares).Peer reviewe

New Sites/Sights: Exploring the White Spaces of Organization

Contemporary organization is increasingly understood as contingent and improvisational - and immersed in complex and shadowy realities where customary assumptions about the space and time of organization no longer hold. This Special Issue invites organization studies into an ambivalent space of sites/sights in organization, the double-play of this modest conceptual proposal necessary in order to open up the complex folding of the epistemological and the ontological in organization today. In this introduction we seek to establish and position a distinctive approach to what we claim to be ‘white spaces’ in organization. We show that any adequate treatment of these white spaces compels a significant breaching of the disciplinary norms of organization studies. Our argument derives from a consideration of a range of recently emerging concepts and analyses in the study of organization, all of which are suggestive of crisis and of emerging (anti-)forms of organization. This edition of Organization Studies publishes six papers and three originally commissioned book reviews that help advance this emerging problematic in organization, and which in their various ways extend our understanding of possible organizing futures. </jats:p