Endocrine disrupting effects on the nesting behaviour of male three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus L

The analysis of patterns of temporal variability in the nesting behaviour of male threespined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) exposed to the synthetic oestrogen, 17β-ethinylestradiol, revealed immediate, but transient, treatment-related effects. Gluing frequency and time spent near nest were significantly reduced in exposed fish at the beginning of the experiment. The expression of these behaviours subsequently recovered and there was no effect of treatment on nest building success. The potential causes and implications of these findings are discussed

Lifelong learning and schools as community learning centres : key aspects of a national curriculum draft policy framework for Malta

The island of Malta has been engaged in policy document formulations for curriculum renewal in the country’s educational system (4-16 years of age) since 1988 when the first National Minimum Curriculum (henceforth NMC) was launched (Wain, 1991; Borg et al, 1995). In 1999 a revamped NMC (Ministry of Education, 1999) was developed following a long process of consultation involving various stages and stakeholders. It was a compromise document (Borg & Mayo, 2006) which emerged as a result of reactions to a more radical and coherent draft document produced in 1988. Both curricular documents were subject to debates and critiques (Wain, 1991; Darmanin, 1993; Borg et al, 1995; Giordmaina, 2000; Borg and Mayo, 2006). More recently a series of volumes providing guidelines, key principles and aims for a national curriculum framework (henceforth NCF) have been produced (MEEF, 2011a,b,c,d) and are currently the target of debate and the focus of reactions by various stakeholders in education including teachers who were asked to read the volumes and provide reactions in the form of answers to a set questionnaire. In this paper, I will focus on one aspect of the documents, the first of its three aims: ‘Learners who are capable of successfully developing their full potential as lifelong learners.’ It is that aspect of the framework documents that falls within the purview of the title for this special issue. The use of this notion attests to the influence of the EU’s policy communications on member states, Malta having joined the Union in 2004 (Mayo, 2007).peer-reviewe

Analysis of strain and stacking faults in single nanowires using Bragg coherent diffraction imaging

Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) on Bragg reflections is a promising technique for the study of three-dimensional (3D) composition and strain fields in nanostructures, which can be recovered directly from the coherent diffraction data recorded on single objects. In this article we report results obtained for single homogeneous and heterogeneous nanowires with a diameter smaller than 100 nm, for which we used CDI to retrieve information about deformation and faults existing in these wires. The article also discusses the influence of stacking faults, which can create artefacts during the reconstruction of the nanowire shape and deformation.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures Submitted to New Journal of Physic

On deflationary accounts of human action understanding

A common deflationary tendency has emerged recently in both philosophical accounts and comparative animal studies concerned with how subjects understand the actions of others. The suggestion emerging from both arenas is that the default mechanism for understanding action involves only a sensitivity to the observable, behavioural (non-mental) features of a situation. This kind of ‘smart behaviour reading’ thus suggests that, typically, predicting or explaining the behaviour of conspecifics does not require seeing the other through the lens of mental state attribution. This paper aims to explore and assess this deflationary move. In §1 I clarify what might be involved in a smart behaviour reading account via looking at some concrete examples. Then in §2 I critically assess the deflationary move, arguing that, at least in the human case, it would in fact be a mistake to assume that our default method of action understanding proceeds without appeal to mental state attribution. Finally in §3 I consider briefly how the positive view proposed here relates to discussions about standard two-system models of cognition

Colour and chemical stability of bismuth oxide in dental materials with solutions used in routine clinical practice

Bismuth(III) oxide is included as a radio-opacifier in dental materials, including hydraulic silicate cements, the material of choice for several endodontic procedures. It has been implicated in tooth discoloration after contact with endodontic irrigants, in particular NaOCl solution, To date, there has been no work on the chemistry: all reports have been of clinical findings only. The purpose now was to report the reactions leading to colour change from Bi2O3 in contact with solutions used in routine endodontic practice. Ten-gram portions of Bi2O3 were immersed in either water, NaOH, NaCl, NaOCl or HCl solution, either in the dark or exposed to visible light, and samples retrieved at 1, 4, 12 and 24 weeks. After washing, these were exposed to either added CO2 or not, for 1 week while drying, and under the same dark or light conditions. Changes in appearance were monitored by photography and colour measurement, and chemically by X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. 24-week material was studied using electron paramagnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy; NaOCl-treated material was also examined by scanning electron microscopy. With water, NaCl and NaOH, bismuth subcarbonate was formed. With or without added carbon dioxide, discoloration occurred from pale yellow to light brown when exposed to light, and to a lesser extent in the dark, intensifying with time. In contrast, exposure to NaOCl rapidly formed a dark brown-black sodium bismuthate. With HCl, white BiOCl was formed. Bi2O3 is not at all inert in this context as is commonly believed, denying its principle of use. Previously unreported solution-mediated reaction occurs readily even in water and NaCl solution, forming new compounds that discolour. In contact with NaOCl sodium bismuthate is formed; severe darkening occurs rapidly. The reactivity is such that Bi2O3 is not indicated for dental materials and should be withdrawn from use

Inverse Spectral-Scattering Problem with Two Sets of Discrete Spectra for the Radial Schroedinger Equation

The Schroedinger equation on the half line is considered with a real-valued, integrable potential having a finite first moment. It is shown that the potential and the boundary conditions are uniquely determined by the data containing the discrete eigenvalues for a boundary condition at the origin, the continuous part of the spectral measure for that boundary condition, and a subset of the discrete eigenvalues for a different boundary condition. This result extends the celebrated two-spectrum uniqueness theorem of Borg and Marchenko to the case where there is also a continuous spectru

Towards reviving post-Olympic Athens as a cultural destination

This paper examines the effects of global change on the status and qualities of the Greek national capital, Athens, focusing on how they affect the development of cultural tourism in the city. Although Athens constituted one of the most significant destinations for Greek tourism in the past, in recent years it started to weaken. Athens is characterised by a series of problems, among them are the degradation of its environment and quality of life and traffic congestion. However, in terms of tourism development, the Olympic Games helped in re-imaging the city and upgrading its infrastructure. This study based on semi-structured interviews with top officials reveals how global change has affected Athens’ socio-cultural/economic status, identity and image. Despite the tourism policy/planning responses to global changes, Athens’ tourism continues to decline leaving unexplored potential such as its rich cultural heritage, new multicultural identity and the New Acropolis Museum. The paper suggests that cultural elements of capital cities must be multidimensional including a variety of attractions and amenities. The use of cultural heritage assets needs to be in line with global developments in order for cities to effectively leverage heritage for cultural tourism

How to find an attractive solution to the liar paradox

The general thesis of this paper is that metasemantic theories can play a central role in determining the correct solution to the liar paradox. I argue for the thesis by providing a specific example. I show how Lewis’s reference-magnetic metasemantic theory may decide between two of the most influential solutions to the liar paradox: Kripke’s minimal fixed point theory of truth and Gupta and Belnap’s revision theory of truth. In particular, I suggest that Lewis’s metasemantic theory favours Kripke’s solution to the paradox over Gupta and Belnap’s. I then sketch how other standard criteria for assessing solutions to the liar paradox, such as whether a solution faces a so-called revenge paradox, fit into this picture. While the discussion of the specific example is itself important, the underlying lesson is that we have an unused strategy for resolving one of the hardest problems in philosophy

Neutrino propagation in a random magnetic field

The active-sterile neutrino conversion probability is calculated for neutrino propagating in a medium in the presence of random magnetic field fluctuations. Necessary condition for the probability to be positive definite is obtained. Using this necessary condition we put constraint on the neutrino magnetic moment from active-sterile electron neutrino conversion in the early universe hot plasma and in supernova.Comment: 11 page