Securing accumulation by restoration – exploring spectacular corporate conservation, coal mining and biodiversity compensation in the German Rhineland

German energy giant and coal mine operator RWE makes two products: cheap electricity and ‘pretty new landscapes’. These ‘pretty new landscapes’ are biodiversity offsets to compensate for the destruction of the ancient Hambacher Forest for the world’s largest opencast lignite coal mine in the German Rhineland. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork including participant observation and interviews in and around the mine and its offset sites, this paper explores the relationship between coal mining, spectacularisation of conservation, the ecotourism–extraction nexus and accumulation by restoration. I illustrate the historic and contemporary importance of restoration activities to the accumulation process and explore the recent engagement of mine operator RWE in the provision of restored nature (in the form of ‘eco-points’), which constitute new business opportunities. The significance of RWE’s biodiversity work for accumulation by restoration lies not only in its profit opportunities but its productive power: the legitimation of coal mining and the making of new, ordered ‘ecologies of repair’. This productive power operates through the mobilising function of RWE’s offsetting work, which forms the foundation for corporate partnerships and alliances with conservation groups and volunteers. These lend legitimacy to RWE’s ‘repair work’ and form the basis for the ecotourism–extraction nexus by turning the mine and its offsets into ‘extractive attractions’ for visitors and ‘nature lovers’. Its power further manifests in the way it captures imaginations through novel imaginaries and narratives of sustainable coal mining, supposedly creating not only a ‘better nature’ but a ‘better future’. Positioning offsetting as social technology of governance, I explore RWE’s spectacular performance of sustainability and the ontological flattening to facilitate claims of commensurability and ‘offsettability’ of nature. These are integral to the ecotourism–extraction nexus and grounded in the belief in the human/corporate ability to recreate nature, a fascination with huge earth-shifting machinery and a commitment to high-modernist ideologies of control

Quantum dynamics in strong fluctuating fields

A large number of multifaceted quantum transport processes in molecular systems and physical nanosystems can be treated in terms of quantum relaxation processes which couple to one or several fluctuating environments. A thermal equilibrium environment can conveniently be modelled by a thermal bath of harmonic oscillators. An archetype situation provides a two-state dissipative quantum dynamics, commonly known under the label of a spin-boson dynamics. An interesting and nontrivial physical situation emerges, however, when the quantum dynamics evolves far away from thermal equilibrium. This occurs, for example, when a charge transferring medium possesses nonequilibrium degrees of freedom, or when a strong time-dependent control field is applied externally. Accordingly, certain parameters of underlying quantum subsystem acquire stochastic character. Herein, we review the general theoretical framework which is based on the method of projector operators, yielding the quantum master equations for systems that are exposed to strong external fields. This allows one to investigate on a common basis the influence of nonequilibrium fluctuations and periodic electrical fields on quantum transport processes. Most importantly, such strong fluctuating fields induce a whole variety of nonlinear and nonequilibrium phenomena. A characteristic feature of such dynamics is the absence of thermal (quantum) detailed balance.Comment: review article, Advances in Physics (2005), in pres

Comparison between two methods of working length determination and its effect on radiographic extent of root canal filling: a clinical study [ISRCTN71486641]

BACKGROUND: Obtaining a correct working length is critical to the success of endodontic therapy. Different methods have been used to identify this crucial measurement. The Aim of this clinical study was to compare the effect of working length determination using apex locator alone or in combination with working length radiograph on the apical extent of root canal filling. METHODS: A total number of 66 patients, 151 canals were randomized into two groups, In group (I) working length was determined by apex locator alone, while in group (II) working length was determined by apex locator confirmed by working length radiograph, length of obturation was assessed, and the total number of radiographs was recorded. The data were analyzed using SAS system and T. tests were carried out. Statistical significance was considered to be P ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: Sixty seven canals in group I were treated with a mean distance from the tip of root canal filling to radiographic apex -0.5 mm ± 0.5 and a mean of a total number of radiographs of 2.0, while in group II eighty four canals were treated with a mean distance from the tip of root canal filling to radiographic apex -0.4 mm ± 0.5 and a mean of a total number of radiographs of 3.2. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean distance from the tip of root filling to radiographic apex between group I and group II (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The practice of using electronic apex locator in the determination of working length is useful and reliable with no statistical difference of the radiographic extent of root canal filling when using apex locator alone or in combination with working length radiograph. Under the clinical conditions of this study, it is suggested that the correct use of an apex locator alone could prevent the need for further diagnostic radiographs for determination of working length. This method can be useful in patients who need not to be exposed to repeated radiation because of mental, medical or oral conditions

microRNA input into a neural ultradian oscillator controls emergence and timing of alternative cell states.

© 2014 Macmillan Publishers LimitedThis is an open access article that is freely available in ORE or from the publisher's web site. Please cite the published version.Progenitor maintenance, timed differentiation and the potential to enter quiescence are three fundamental processes that underlie the development of any organ system. In the nervous system, progenitor cells show short-period oscillations in the expression of the transcriptional repressor Hes1, while neurons and quiescent progenitors show stable low and high levels of Hes1, respectively. Here we use experimental data to develop a mathematical model of the double-negative interaction between Hes1 and a microRNA, miR-9, with the aim of understanding how cells transition from one state to another. We show that the input of miR-9 into the Hes1 oscillator tunes its oscillatory dynamics, and endows the system with bistability and the ability to measure time to differentiation. Our results suggest that a relatively simple and widespread network of cross-repressive interactions provides a unifying framework for progenitor maintenance, the timing of differentiation and the emergence of alternative cell states.Wellcome Trus

Covalently bonded three-dimensional carbon nanotube solids via boron induced nanojunctions

The establishment of covalent junctions between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the modification of their straight tubular morphology are two strategies needed to successfully synthesize nanotube-based three-dimensional (3D) frameworks exhibiting superior material properties. Engineering such 3D structures in scalable synthetic processes still remains a challenge. This work pioneers the bulk synthesis of 3D macroscale nanotube elastic solids directly via a boron-doping strategy during chemical vapour deposition, which influences the formation of atomic-scale “elbow” junctions and nanotube covalent interconnections. Detailed elemental analysis revealed that the “elbow” junctions are preferred sites for excess boron atoms, indicating the role of boron and curvature in the junction formation mechanism, in agreement with our first principle theoretical calculations. Exploiting this material’s ultra-light weight, super-hydrophobicity, high porosity, thermal stability, and mechanical flexibility, the strongly oleophilic sponge-like solids are demonstrated as unique reusable sorbent scaffolds able to efficiently remove oil from contaminated seawater even after repeated use

Oscillations by Minimal Bacterial Suicide Circuits Reveal Hidden Facets of Host-Circuit Physiology

Synthetic biology seeks to enable programmed control of cellular behavior though engineered biological systems. These systems typically consist of synthetic circuits that function inside, and interact with, complex host cells possessing pre-existing metabolic and regulatory networks. Nevertheless, while designing systems, a simple well-defined interface between the synthetic gene circuit and the host is frequently assumed. We describe the generation of robust but unexpected oscillations in the densities of bacterium Escherichia coli populations by simple synthetic suicide circuits containing quorum components and a lysis gene. Contrary to design expectations, oscillations required neither the quorum sensing genes (luxR and luxI) nor known regulatory elements in the PluxI promoter. Instead, oscillations were likely due to density-dependent plasmid amplification that established a population-level negative feedback. A mathematical model based on this mechanism captures the key characteristics of oscillations, and model predictions regarding perturbations to plasmid amplification were experimentally validated. Our results underscore the importance of plasmid copy number and potential impact of “hidden interactions” on the behavior of engineered gene circuits - a major challenge for standardizing biological parts. As synthetic biology grows as a discipline, increasing value may be derived from tools that enable the assessment of parts in their final context

A Symmetric Dual Feedback System Provides a Robust and Entrainable Oscillator

Many organisms have evolved molecular clocks to anticipate daily changes in their environment. The molecular mechanisms by which the circadian clock network produces sustained cycles have extensively been studied and transcriptional-translational feedback loops are common structures to many organisms. Although a simple or single feedback loop is sufficient for sustained oscillations, circadian clocks implement multiple, complicated feedback loops. In general, different types of feedback loops are suggested to affect the robustness and entrainment of circadian rhythms

Lac repressor mediated DNA looping: Monte Carlo simulation of constrained DNA molecules complemented with current experimental results

Tethered particle motion (TPM) experiments can be used to detect time-resolved loop formation in a single DNA molecule by measuring changes in the length of a DNA tether. Interpretation of such experiments is greatly aided by computer simulations of DNA looping which allow one to analyze the structure of the looped DNA and estimate DNA-protein binding constants specific for the loop formation process. We here present a new Monte Carlo scheme for accurate simulation of DNA configurations subject to geometric constraints and apply this method to Lac repressor mediated DNA looping, comparing the simulation results with new experimental data obtained by the TPM technique. Our simulations, taking into account the details of attachment of DNA ends and fluctuations of the looped subsegment of the DNA, reveal the origin of the double-peaked distribution of RMS values observed by TPM experiments by showing that the average RMS value for anti-parallel loop types is smaller than that of parallel loop types. The simulations also reveal that the looping probabilities for the anti-parallel loop types are significantly higher than those of the parallel loop types, even for loops of length 600 and 900 base pairs, and that the correct proportion between the heights of the peaks in the distribution can only be attained when loops with flexible Lac repressor conformation are taken into account. Comparison of the in silico and in vitro results yields estimates for the dissociation constants characterizing the binding affinity between O1 and Oid DNA operators and the dimeric arms of the Lac repressor. © 2014 Biton et al

A randomized controlled pilot study of a brief web-based mindfulness training

Background: Mindfulness has been shown to be effective in treating various medical and mental problems. Especially its incorporation in cognitive-behavioural interventions has improved long-term outcomes of those treatments. It has also been shown, that brief mindfulness-based trainings are effective in reducing distress. There have been few web-based interventions incorporating mindfulness techniques in their manual and it remains unclear whether a brief web-based mindfulness intervention is feasible. Methods: Out of 50 adults (different distress levels; exclusion criteria: < 18 years, indication of psychotic or suicidal ideation in screening) who were recruited via e-mail and screened online, 49 were randomized into an immediate 2-weeks-treatment group (N = 28) or a waitlist-control group (N = 21), starting with a 2-week delay. Distress (BSI), perceived stress (PSQ), mindfulness (FMI), as well as mood and emotion regulation (PANAS/SEK-27) were measured at pre-, post- and 3-month follow-up (3MFU). Intention-to-treat analyses using MI for missing data and per-protocol analyses (≥ 50% attendance) were performed. Results: 26 participants of the treatment group completed post-measures. Most measures under ITT-analysis revealed no significant improvement for the treatment group, but trends with medium effect sizes for PSQ (d = 0.46) and PANASneg (d = 0.50) and a small, non-significant effect for FMI (d = 0.29). Per-protocol analyses for persons who participated over 50% of the time revealed significant treatment effects for PSQ (d = 0.72) and PANASneg (d = 0.77). Comparing higher distressed participants with lower distressed participants, highly distressed participants seemed to profit more of the training in terms of distress reduction (GSI, d = 0.85). Real change (RCI) occurred for PSQ in the treatment condition (OR = 9). Results also suggest that participants continued to benefit from the training at 3MFU. Conclusion: This study of a brief web-based mindfulness training indicates that mindfulness can be taught online and may improve distress, perceived stress and negative affect for regular users. Although there were no significant improvements, but trends, for most measures under ITT, feasibility of such a program was demonstrated and also that persons continued to use techniques of the training in daily life