A study of an estuarine benthic community subjected to petrochemical effluents

This study has assessed the impact of a petrochemical complex, which discharges its effluents onto an intertidal mudflat. The Grangemouth petrochemical complex on the Forth Estuary, Scotland discharges two effluents on to the Kinneil intertidal area. The results of a 24-year monitoring programme of the Kiimeil intertidal area, carried out between 1976 to 1999, are analysed. The relative impact of the effluents on the macrobenthic community is considered along with other potential pollution sources and climatic factors. During the study period a clear increase in the diversity, evenness and species richness was observed over the whole area. This is attributed to the increased quality of the refinery effluent, the chemical effluent and the River Avon, which also crosses the area. The group analysis showed that although all areas have shown an increase in diversity there are still three areas that can be considered impacted (Groups 1, 2 and 4). Two major changes in the species composition were seen in 1979 when Manayunkia aestuarina was first found and in 1994 when Streblospio shrubsolii was first recorded. The impact of the recent movement of the chemical outfall from a hightide position to a lower shore site is also considered. A detailed survey of the areas around the new lower shore and old upper shore outfalls indicated that there was a spatial difference in the species distribution, which can be explained by the distance from the refinery outfall, the hydrocarbon concentration of the sediments and/or the station height. No change in the community composition was detected after the movement of the chemical outfall in January 1998, although seasonal changes were seen

Moving tales, exploring narrative strategies for scalable locative audio drama.

This paper reports on a recent collaboration between the Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts at Middlesex University and the BBC Radio Drama Department, which was designed to investigate the narrative possibilities of locative media in a drama context. The locative drama Scratch is the first outcome of an ongoing research project, Locating Drama, whose aim is to investigate and develop narrative strategies that take full advantage of the current generation of GPS enabled portable computing devices for audio drama. In particular, we are exploring content and modes of interaction, which, while based on location awareness are not in any way site-specific allowing users to experience the drama in a location of their choice. We will refer to this approach as translocational as it allows the translation of locative media experiences to a wide variety of spaces. The translocational approach is of particular interest to broadcasters as it is more scalable than a site-specific paradigm, opening the possibility of downloadable location-aware podcasts featuring professionally authored content for a wide audience

The formation of cyanoborate liquid clathrates with water or cresol as promoters

If host and guest components form a liquid clathrate only when a third component is present, the third component is a promoter of liquid clathrate formation. The importance of promoters was verified by promoting liquid clathrate formation in guest-host combinations which do not form liquid clathrates without a promoter. The validity of the conventional definition of liquid clathrates was probed with respect to the absence of host in the excess guest layer and with respect to the fixed maximum guest to host ratio. A model which allows for the effect of promoters on liquid clathrates was proposed. The II electron rich nature of the guest is important in the model, so the guests, furan, thiophene and benzene, were used to probe the dependence of cyanoborate liquid clathrate formation on the IT electron rich nature of the guest. Differences in the electronic nature of the promoters, water and cresol, caused differences in the ease of promoting cyanoborate liquid clathrate formation, in the stability and composition of the liquid clathrates formed, and in the interactions between the promoter and the components of the liquid clathrate (host anion, host cation and guest). In promoting liquid clathrate formation, the promoter separated the host cation-anion pairs so that the guest interacted favourably with the host cation. The guest to host ratio was dependent on the amount of promoter present in the liquid clathrate, and favourable interactions of the promoter with liquid clathrate components caused the liquid clathrate to expand as it accommodated increased amounts of promoter and guest. Favourable interaction of the promoter with the components of the liquid clathrate compensated for the energy required to separate the host cation-anion pairs

Alien Registration- Davis, Helen I. (Presque Isle, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/33491/thumbnail.jp

Behavioral Change in First Time Expectant Fathers\u27 Aggression

Thirty-two first time expectant fathers, 23-38 years of age, were recruited on a voluntary basis. They were tested on several behavioral measures throughout the course of their wives’ pregnancy. The Aggression Inventory (AI) was utilized during the first and third trimesters of the pregnancy in order to determine whether or not men become more aggressive over the course of a woman’s pregnancy. A two-way repeated measure Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was utilized. The Wilks’ Lambda Multivariate test of effect for time yielded an F of .186. At an alpha level of .05, it was not significant. The Wilks’ Lambda multivariate test of effect for the subscales yielded an F of 10.951, which was a significant main effect at an alpha level of .05. Finally, when testing for an interaction between time and subscales the Wilks’ Lambda multivariate tests yielded an F of 1.024. It was not significant. Therefore, it appears that there is not a significant increase in aggression in males over the course of a pregnancy. However, there were significant limitations to this study

Variable Education Exposure and Cognitive Task Performance Among the Tsimane, Forager-Horticulturalists.

At present, we know very little about the transition from traditional learning skills to models of standardized learning, and how it can influence the way one understands and solves problems. This research will examine cognitive performance and the factors affecting variation across communities and between individuals as it changes with age. The objective of this dissertation is to measure cognitive performance among children between 8 and 18 years of age exposed to variable levels of formal schooling in order to investigate three main research questions: (1) Whether exposure to schooling and increased performance in school-based abilities, such as math and reading, are positively correlated with performance on tests that measure cognitive ability. (2) How training to the test affects performance within schooled and unschooled populations. And, (3) how upstream factors, including parental embodied capital and family size, can impact child outcomes in school and on cognitive tests

Early Genealogy of the Davis Family

Copied directly from the Genealogy written by John Clement Davis in the latter years of his life. While the original Genealogy was written in 1896, the date of this handwritten copy is dated December 17, 1950. The primary downloadable document, also embedded as a pdf below, contains the original document followed by the transcription. Transcription by Davis Baird.https://commons.clarku.edu/early_genealogy/1000/thumbnail.jp

Impact of tumor-specific targeting on the biodistribution and efficacy of siRNA nanoparticles measured by multimodality in vivo imaging

Targeted delivery represents a promising approach for the development of safer and more effective therapeutics for oncology applications. Although macromolecules accumulate nonspecifically in tumors through the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, previous studies using nanoparticles to deliver chemotherapeutics or siRNA demonstrated that attachment of cell-specific targeting ligands to the surface of nanoparticles leads to enhanced potency relative to nontargeted formulations. Here, we use positron emission tomography (PET) and bioluminescent imaging to quantify the in vivo biodistribution and function of nanoparticles formed with cyclodextrin-containing polycations and siRNA. Conjugation of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid to the 5' end of the siRNA molecules allows labeling with 64Cu for PET imaging. Bioluminescent imaging of mice bearing luciferase-expressing Neuro2A s.c. tumors before and after PET imaging enables correlation of functional efficacy with biodistribution data. Although both nontargeted and transferrin-targeted siRNA nanoparticles exhibit similar biodistribution and tumor localization by PET, transferrin-targeted siRNA nanoparticles reduce tumor luciferase activity by {approx}50% relative to nontargeted siRNA nanoparticles 1 d after injection. Compartmental modeling is used to show that the primary advantage of targeted nanoparticles is associated with processes involved in cellular uptake in tumor cells rather than overall tumor localization. Optimization of internalization may therefore be key for the development of effective nanoparticle-based targeted therapeutics

2009 Annual Conference Session Reports

Summaries of selected sessions from SLA\u27s 2009 Annual Conference

Mooney Award Committee Report

The 2001 James Mooney Award Committee Teviewed ten books submitted by six university presses. As we made our final evaluations we soon reached a consensus that two of the ten books were superior in meeting the criteria for the Mooney Award. Creating Freedom: Material Culture and African American Identity at Oakley Plantation, Louisiana, 1840-1950 / by Laurie Wilkie (2000, Louisiana State University Press). Reviewed by Hester A. Davis, Mooney Award Committee, Arkansas Archeological Survey The Estuary\u27s Gift: An Atlantic Coast Cultural Biography / by David Griffith (1999, Pennsylvania State University Press). Reviewed by Helen Regis, Mooney Award Committee, Louisiana State Universit