New Divisions of Labour?: Comparative Thoughts on the Current Recession

This article argues that it is useful to compare the current recession with that which occurred three decades ago. Drawing on research undertaken at that time by Ray Pahl, it is suggested that four questions are once again revealing in the study of the current economic downturn: \'How have we come to be where we are currently?\', \'Who gets what?\', \'How do we know what we claim to know?\', and \'What sorts of lessons can be drawn to inform thinking about the future?\' The usefulness of asking these questions is discussed, even though the answers must await further research.Recession, Divisions of Labour, Community

Differential tangential expansion as a mechanism for cortical gyrification.

Gyrification, the developmental buckling of the cortex, is not a random process-the forces that mediate expansion do so in such a way as to generate consistent patterns of folds across individuals and even species. Although the origin of these forces is unknown, some theories have suggested that they may be related to external cortical factors such as axonal tension. Here, we investigate an alternative hypothesis, namely, whether the differential tangential expansion of the cortex alone can account for the degree and pattern-specificity of gyrification. Using intrinsic curvature as a measure of differential expansion, we initially explored whether this parameter and the local gyrification index (used to quantify the degree of gyrification) varied in a regional-specific pattern across the cortical surface in a manner that was replicable across independent datasets of neurotypicals. Having confirmed this consistency, we further demonstrated that within each dataset, the degree of intrinsic curvature of the cortex was predictive of the degree of cortical folding at a global and regional level. We conclude that differential expansion is a plausible primary mechanism for gyrification, and propose that this perspective offers a compelling mechanistic account of the co-localization of cytoarchitecture and cortical folds

INTRINSIC CURVATURE: A MARKER OF MILLIMETER-SCALE TANGENTIAL CORTICO-CORTICAL CONNECTIVITY?

In this paper, we draw a link between cortical intrinsic curvature and the distributions of tangential connection lengths. We suggest that differential rates of surface expansion not only lead to intrinsic curvature of the cortical sheet, but also to differential inter-neuronal spacing. We propose that there follows a consequential change in the profile of neuronal connections: specifically an enhancement of the tendency towards proportionately more short connections. Thus, the degree of cortical intrinsic curvature may have implications for short-range connectivity

Agricultural terraces in the Mediterranean:Medieval intensification revealed by OSL profiling and dating

The history of agricultural terraces remains poorly understood due to problems in dating their construction and use. This has hampered broader research on their significance, limiting knowledge of past agricultural practices and the long-term investment choices of rural communities. The authors apply OSL profiling and dating to the sediments associated with agricultural terraces across the Mediterranean region to date their construction and use. Results from five widely dispersed case studies reveal that although many terraces were used in the first millennium AD, the most intensive episodes of terrace-building occurred during the later Middle Ages (c. AD 1100–1600). This innovative approach provides the first large-scale evidence for both the longevity and medieval intensification of Mediterranean terraces

"Belonging” in the gentrified Golden Horn/Halic neighbourhoods of Istanbul

Mainstream gentrification research predominantly examines experiences and motivations of the middle-class gentrifier groups, while overlooking experiences of non-gentrifying groups including the impact of in situ local processes on gentrification itself. In this paper, I discuss gentrification, neighbourhood belonging and spatial distribution of class in Istanbul by examining patterns of belonging both of gentrifiers and non-gentrifying groups in historic neighbourhoods of the Golden Horn/Halic. I use multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), a methodology rarely used in gentrification research, to explore social and symbolic borders between these two groups. I show how gentrification leads to spatial clustering by creating exclusionary practices and eroding social cohesion, and illuminate divisions that are inscribed into the physical space of the neighbourhood

EVIDENCE FOR OVERDOMINANT SELECTION MAINTAINING X-LINKED FITNESS VARIATION IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

The role of balancing selection in maintaining genetic variation for fitness is largely unresolved. This reflects the inherent difficult in distinguishing between models of recurrent mutation versus selection, which produce similar patterns of inbreeding depression, as well as the limitations of testing such hypotheses when fitness variation is averaged across the genome. Signatures of X-linked overdominant selection are less likely to be obscured by mutational variation because X-linked mutations are rapidly eliminated by purifying selection in males. Although models maintaining genetic variation for fitness are not necessarily mutually exlusive, a series of predictins for identifying X-linked overdominant selection can be used to separate its contribution from other underlying processes. We consider the role of overdominant selection in maintaining fitness variation in a sample of 12 X chromosomes from a population of Drosophila melanogaster. Substantial variation was observed for male reproductive success and female fecundity, with heterozygous-X genotypes exhibiting the greatest gegree of variance, a finding that agress well with predictions of the overdominance model. The importance of X-linked overdominant selection is discussed along with models of recurrent mutation and sexually antagonistic selection.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75442/1/j.0014-3820.2006.tb01223.x.pd

BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene.

MotivationThe BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables includedThe database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grainBioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2).Time period and grainBioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurementBioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.Software format.csv and .SQL

Recombination Speeds Adaptation by Reducing Competition between Beneficial Mutations in Populations of Escherichia coli

Identification of the selective forces contributing to the origin and maintenance of sex is a fundamental problem in biology. The Fisher–Muller model proposes that sex is advantageous because it allows beneficial mutations that arise in different lineages to recombine, thereby reducing clonal interference and speeding adaptation. I used the F plasmid to mediate recombination in the bacterium Escherichia coli and measured its effect on adaptation at high and low mutation rates. Recombination increased the rate of adaptation ∼3-fold more in the high mutation rate treatment, where beneficial mutations had to compete for fixation. Sequencing of candidate loci revealed the presence of a beneficial mutation in six high mutation rate lines. In the absence of recombination, this mutation took longer to fix and, over the course of its substitution, conferred a reduced competitive advantage, indicating interference between competing beneficial mutations. Together, these results provide experimental support for the Fisher–Muller model and demonstrate that plasmid-mediated gene transfer can accelerate bacterial adaptation

Funny walking : the rise, fall and rise of the Anglo-American comic eccentric dancer

This article will attempt to reposition comic eccentric dance as a metamorphic form that still, surprisingly, exists, and is to be found with reasonable ubiquity, in renewed incarna-tions within twenty first century media. Tracing the origins of comic eccentric dance through examples of earlier comedy performance, and drawing from Bergson’s comic theory of body misalliance, this article will dis-cuss this particularly ludic fusion of music and comedy. Further changes to the form affected by modernist preoccupations during the new Jazz Age at the turn of the twentieth century will be suggested. Finally, ways in which the formulation lives on in twenty-first century in-carnations in the comedy work of, for instance, Jimmy Fallon and Ricky Gervase, and in popular television shows such as Strictly Come Dancing (BBC 2004 - ) and Britain’s Got Talent (ITV 2006 - ) will be posited