Reading between the lines: attitudinal expressions in text

This is a brief overview of the starting points a project currently proposed and under evaluation by funding agencies. We discuss some of the linguistic methodology we plan to employ to idenitify and analyze attitudinal expressions in text, and touch briefly on how to evaluate our future results

Thin liquid water clouds: their importance and our challenge

Many clouds important to the Earth’s energy balance contain small amounts of liquid water, yet despite many improvements, large differences in retrievals of their liquid water amount and particle size still must be resolved

Limitations of the Arrhenius Methododolgy

The Arrhenius methodology has been utilized for many years to NOV 171998 predict polymer lifetimes in various applications. Unfortunately, there are numerous potential limitations associated with this methodology, o ST I many of which can lead to non-Arrhenius behavior. This paper will review several of these limitations, including a brief mention of diffusion-limited oxidation (DLO) effects and a more extensive discussion of the implication of changes in the effective Arrhenius activation energy E. or in the dominant reactions as the temperature changes. Changes in Ea or in the dominant reactions with temperature can happen for any material, making extrapolations beyond the experimental temperature range problematic. Unfortunately, when mechanistic changes occur, they invariably result in a reduction in effective Arrhenius activation energy, leading to lower than expected material lifetimes. Thus it is critically important to derive methods for testing the Arrhenius extrapolation assumption. One approach that we have developed involves ultrasensitive oxygen consumption measurements. Results from the application of this approach will be reviewed

Understanding children’s constructions of meanings about other children: implications for inclusiveeducation

This paper explores the factors that influence the way children construct meanings about other children, and especially those who seem to experience marginalisation, within school contexts. The research involved an ethnographic study in a primary school in Cyprus over a period of 5 months. Qualitative methods were used, particularly participant observations and interviews with children. Interpretation of the data suggests that children's perceptions about other children, and especially those who come to experience marginalisation, are influenced by the following factors: other children and the interactions between them; adults’ way of behaving in the school; the existing structures within the school; and the cultures of the school and the wider educational context. Even though the most powerful factor was viewed to be the adults’ influence, it was rather the interweaving between different factors that seemed to lead to the creation of particular meanings for other children. In the end, it is argued that children's voices should be seen as an essential element within the process of developing inclusive practices.<br/

Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide Production in the Isolated Rat Lung Using Amplex Red

The objectives of this study were to develop a robust protocol to measure the rate of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production in isolated perfused rat lungs, as an index of oxidative stress, and to determine the cellular sources of the measured H2O2 using the extracellular probe Amplex red (AR). AR was added to the recirculating perfusate in an isolated perfused rat lung. AR’s highly fluorescent oxidation product resorufin was measured in the perfusate. Experiments were carried out without and with rotenone (complex I inhibitor), thenoyltrifluoroacetone (complex II inhibitor), antimycin A (complex III inhibitor), potassium cyanide (complex IV inhibitor), or diohenylene iodonium (inhibitor of flavin-containing enzymes, e.g. NAD(P)H oxidase or NOX) added to the perfusate. We also evaluated the effect of acute changes in oxygen (O2) concentration of ventilation gas on lung rate of H2O2 release into the perfusate. Baseline lung rate of H2O2 release was 8.45 ± 0.31 (SEM) nmol/min/g dry wt. Inhibiting mitochondrial complex II reduced this rate by 76%, and inhibiting flavin-containing enzymes reduced it by another 23%. Inhibiting complex I had a small (13%) effect on the rate, whereas inhibiting complex III had no effect. Inhibiting complex IV increased this rate by 310%. Increasing %O2 in the ventilation gas mixture from 15 to 95% had a small (27%) effect on this rate, and this O2-dependent increase was mostly nonmitochondrial. Results suggest complex II as a potentially important source and/or regulator of mitochondrial H2O2, and that most of acute hyperoxia-enhanced lung rate of H2O2 release is from nonmitochondrial rather than mitochondrial sources

Global Research Alliance N2 O chamber methodology guidelines:Introduction, with health and safety considerations

Non-steady-state (NSS) chamber techniques have been used for decades to measure nitrous oxide (N₂O) fluxes from agricultural soils. These techniques are widely used because they are relatively inexpensive, easy to adopt, versatile, and adaptable to varying conditions. Much of our current understanding of the drivers of N₂O emissions is based on studies using NSS chambers. These chamber techniques require decisions regarding multiple methodological aspects (e.g., chamber materials and geometry, deployment, sample analysis, and data and statistical analysis), each of which may significantly affect the results. Variation in methodological details can lead to challenges in comparing results between studies and assessment of reliability and uncertainty. Therefore, the New Zealand Government, in support of the objectives of the Livestock Research Group of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA), funded two international projects to, first, develop standardized guidelines on the use of NSS chamber techniques and, second, refine them based on the most up to date knowledge and methods. This introductory paper summarizes a collection of papers that represent the revised guidelines. Each article summarizes existing knowledge and provides guidance and minimum requirements on chamber design, deployment, sample collection, storage and analysis, automated chambers, flux calculations, statistical analysis, emission factor estimation and data reporting, modeling, and “gap-filling” approaches. The minimum requirements are not meant to be highly prescriptive but instead provide researchers with clear direction on best practices and factors that need to be considered. Health and safety considerations of NSS chamber techniques are also provided with this introductory paper