GATS and the Education Service Industry : The Politics of Scale and Global Reterritorialization

One consequence of the hype around globalization and education and debates on global political actors such as the World Bank, IMF and WTO-is that there has not been sufficient attention paid by education theorists to the development of a rigorous set of analytic categories that might enable us to make sense of the profound changes which now characterize education in the new millennium. 1 This is not a problema confined to education. Writing in the New Left Review, Fredric Jameson observes that debates on globalization have tended to be shaped by "…ideological appropriations- discussions not of the process itself, but of its effects, good or bad: judgements, in other words, totalizing in nature; while functional descriptions tend to isolate particular elements without relating them to each other." In this paper we start from the position that little or nothing can be explained in terms of the causal powers of globalization; rather we shall be suggesting that globalization is the outcome of processes that involve real actors-economic and political-with real interests. Following Martin Shaw, we also take the view that globalization does not undermine the state but includes the transformation of state forms; "…it is both predicated on and produces such transformations."3 Examining how these processes of transformation work, however, requires systematic investigation into the organization and strategies of particular actors whose horizons or effects might be described as global

Cloud Height Daytime Variability From DSCOVR/EPIC and GOES-R/ABI Observations

One of the largest uncertainties in climate sensitivity predictions is the influence of clouds. While some aspects of cloud formation and evolution are well understood, others such as the diurnal variability of their heights remains largely unexplored at global scales. Aiming to fill that fundamental gap in cloud knowledge, this paper studies the daytime evolution of cloud top height using the EPIC instrument aboard the DSCOVR satellite, complemented by coincident cloud height retrievals by GOES-R’s ABI instrument. Both datasets indicate that cloud height exhibits a minimum around midday for low clouds with amplitudes between 250 and 600 m depending on the season. The two datasets also agree that high clouds exhibit a contrasting behavior with steady increase of cloud height from morning to evening. We investigate dependences on the type of underlying surface, finding that the amplitude of the diurnal cycles is weaker over ocean than over land for both EPIC and ABI retrievals. We also find a positive correlation between cloud fraction and height over ocean which turns negative over land for low clouds, while for high clouds the correlation is largely positive

Chloroform conversion into ethane and propane by catalytic hydrodechlorination with Pd supported on activated carbons from lignin

Conversion of chloroform (TCM) by gas-phase catalytic hydrodechlorination (HDC) has been addressed to maximize the selectivity to ethane and propane. Several own-made Pd (1 wt%) catalysts have been tested. The catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of five different activated carbons. These carbons were obtained by chemical activation of lignin with different activating agents, namely, H3PO4, ZnCl2, FeCl3, NaOH and KOH. The catalysts were fully characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption at −196 °C, CO2 adsorption at 0 °C, TPR, NH3-TPD, XRD, XPS and TEM. The activating agents provided important differences in the characteristics of activated carbon supports, and hence in the resulting catalysts, in terms of their porous texture, surface acidity, Pd oxidation state and Pd particle size distribution. NaOH and KOH activation led to carbons with the highest surface areas (2158 and 2991 m2 g−1 , respectively) and low Pd0 / Pdn+ ratios, while ZnCl2- and H3PO4-activated carbons yielded the highest surface acidity and mean Pd particle sizes. The analysis of the TOF values revealed that the HDC of TCM on these catalysts is a structure-sensitive reaction, increasing TOF values with Pd particle size. The best results, in terms of selectivity to ethane and propane, were obtained with the catalysts supported on KOH- and NaOH-activated carbons. The former allowed 80% selectivity to the target compounds at almost complete dechlorination (>99%) at 300 °C. The KOH-based catalyst showed fairly good stability at a reaction temperature of 200 °CThe authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) through the project CTM 2014-5300

Diversity in insect seed parasite guilds at large geographical scale: the roles of host specificity and spatial distance

[Aim]: Host specificity within plant-feeding insects constitutes a fascinating example of natural selection that promotes inter-specific niche segregation. If specificity is strong, composition of local plant parasitic insect guilds is largely dependent on the presence and prevalence of the preferred hosts. Alternatively, if it is weak or absent, historic and stochastic demographic processes may drive the structuring of insect communities. We assessed whether the species composition of acorn feeding insects (Curculio spp. guilds) and their genetic variation change geographically according to the local host community. [Location]: An 800 km transect across California, USA. [Methods]: We used DNA taxonomy to detect potential Curculio cryptic speciation and assessed intra-specific genetic structure among sampling sites. We monitored larval performance on different hosts, by measuring the weight of each larva upon emerging from the acorn. Our phylogenetic and spatial analyses disentangled host specificity and geographical effects on Curculio community composition and genetic structure. [Results]: DNA taxonomy revealed no specialized cryptic species. Californian Curculio spp. were sister taxa that did not segregate among Quercus species or, at a deeper taxonomic level, between red and white oaks. Curculio species turnover and intra-specific genetic differentiation increased with geographical distance among localities irrespective of local oak species composition. Moreover, larval performance did not differ among oak species or acorn sizes when controlling for the effect of the locality. [Main conclusions]: Historical processes have contributed to the structuring of acorn weevil communities across California. Trophic niche overlapped among species, indicating that ecologically similar species can co-exist. Acorn crop inter-annual variability and unpredictability in mixed oak forests may have selected against narrow specialization, and facilitated co-existence by means of an inter-specific time partitioning of the resources. Wide-scale geographical records of parasitic insects and their host plants are necessary to understand the processes underlying species diversity.This work was financed by the projects: CONSOLIDER-MONTES CSD2008-00040 MICINN, PII1C09-0256-9052JCCM and ESF, AGL2014-54739-R (MINECO), PPII-2014-01-PJCCM ESF and CGL2008-00095 ⁄ BOS (MICINN). A.M.was funded by a Juan de la Cierva contract and R.B. by acontract of the Atracción de Talento Investigador Programme (Gobierno de Extremadura TA13032). J.O. wasfunded by Severo Ochoa (SEV-2012-0262) and Ramón y Cajal (RYC-2013-12501) research fellowships.Peer reviewe

Brans-Dicke-type theories and avoidance of the cosmological singularity

We tudy flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology in Brans-Dicke-type theories of gravitation with minimal coupling between the scalar field and the matter fields in the Einstein frame (general relativity with an extra scalar field) for arbitrary values of the Brans-Dicke parameter $\omega>-{3/2}$. It is shown that the cosmological singularity occuring in the Einstein frame formulation of this theory is removed in the Jordan frame in the range $-{3/2}<\omega<\leq-{4/3}$. This result is interpreted in the ligth of a viewpoint (first presented in reference gr-qc/9905071) asserting that both Jordan frame and Einstein frame formulations of general relativity are physically equivalent. The implications of the obtained result for string theory are outlined.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, no figures. Improved version accepted for publication in PR

Fires increase Amazon forest productivity through increases in diffuse radiation

Atmospheric aerosol scatters solar radiation increasing the fraction of diffuse radiation and the efficiency of photosynthesis. We quantify the impacts of biomass burning aerosol (BBA) on diffuse radiation and plant photosynthesis across Amazonia during 1998-2007. Evaluation against observed aerosol optical depth allows us to provide lower and upper BBA emissions estimates. BBA increases Amazon basin annual mean diffuse radiation by 3.4-6.8% and net primary production (NPP) by 1.4-2.8%, with quoted ranges driven by uncertainty in BBA emissions. The enhancement of Amazon basin NPP by 78-156TgCa-1 is equivalent to 33-65% of the annual regional carbon emissions from biomass burning. This NPP increase occurs during the dry season and acts to counteract some of the observed effect of drought on tropical production. We estimate that 30-60TgCa-1 of this NPP enhancement is within woody tissue, accounting for 8-16% of the observed carbon sink across mature Amazonian forests

Development and validation of a new MRI simulation technique that can reliably estimate optimal in vivo scanning parameters in a glioblastoma murine model

BACKGROUND: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) relies on optimal scanning parameters to achieve maximal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and high contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between tissues resulting in high quality images. The optimization of such parameters is often laborious, time consuming, and user-dependent, making harmonization of imaging parameters a difficult task. In this report, we aim to develop and validate a computer simulation technique that can reliably provide optimal in vivo scanning parameters ready to be used for in vivo evaluation of disease models. METHODS: A glioblastoma murine model was investigated using several MRI imaging methods. Such MRI methods underwent a simulated and an in vivo scanning parameter optimization in pre- and post-contrast conditions that involved the investigation of tumor, brain parenchyma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CNR values in addition to the time relaxation values of the related tissues. The CNR tissues information were analyzed and the derived scanning parameters compared in order to validate the simulated methodology as a reliable technique for optimal in vivo scanning parameters estimation. RESULTS: The CNRs and the related scanning parameters were better correlated when spin-echo-based sequences were used rather than the gradient-echo-based sequences due to augmented inhomogeneity artifacts affecting the latter methods. Optimal in vivo scanning parameters were generated successfully by the simulations after initial scanning parameter adjustments that conformed to some of the parameters derived from the in vivo experiment. CONCLUSION: Scanning parameter optimization using the computer simulation was shown to be a valid surrogate to the in vivo approach in a glioblastoma murine model yielding in a better delineation and differentiation of the tumor from the contralateral hemisphere. In addition to drastically reducing the time invested in choosing optimal scanning parameters when compared to an in vivo approach, this simulation program could also be used to harmonize MRI acquisition parameters across scanners from different vendors

Scaling leaf respiration with nitrogen and phosphorus in tropical forests across two continents

Leaf dark respiration (Rdark) represents an important component controlling the carbon balance in tropical forests. Here, we test how nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) affect Rdark and its relationship with photosynthesis using three widely separated tropical forests which differ in soil fertility. Rdark was measured on 431 rainforest canopy trees, from 182 species, in French Guiana, Peru and Australia. The variation in Rdark was examined in relation to leaf N and P content, leaf structure and maximum photosynthetic rates at ambient and saturating atmospheric CO2 concentration. We found that the site with the lowest fertility (French Guiana) exhibited greater rates of Rdark per unit leaf N, P and photosynthesis. The data from Australia, for which there were no phylogenetic overlaps with the samples from the South American sites, yielded the most distinct relationships of Rdark with the measured leaf traits. Our data indicate that no single universal scaling relationship accounts for variation in Rdark across this large biogeographical space. Variability between sites in the absolute rates of Rdark and the Rdark : photosynthesis ratio were driven by variations in N- and P-use efficiency, which were related to both taxonomic and environmental variability

Trees increase ant species richness and change community composition in Iberian Oak savannahs

Iberian man-made oak savannahs (so called dehesas) are traditional silvopastoral systems with a high natural value. Scattered trees provide shelter and additional food to livestock (cattle in our study sites), which also makes possible for animals depending on trees in a grass-dominated landscape to be present. We compared dehesas with nearby treeless grasslands to assess the effects of oaks on ant communities. Formica subrufa, a species associated with decayed wood, was by far the most abundant species, especially in savannahs. Taxa specialized in warm habitats were the most common both in dehesas and grasslands, as expected in areas with a Mediterranean climate. Within dehesas, the number of species was higher below oak canopies than outside tree cover. Compared to treeless grasslands, the presence of oaks resulted in a higher species richness of aphid-herding and predator ants, probably because trees offer shelter and resources to predators. The presence of oaks changed also the species composition, which differed between grasslands and dehesas. In self-standing scattered oaks, ant communities did not differ between the trunks and soil below canopies. These results stress the conservation value of trees in dehesas; within grasslands, they offer an additional microhabitat for species that would otherwise be scarce or absent