Variations in the discharge and organic matter content of stalagmite drip waters in Lower Cave, Bristol

Six drip waters, which were actively depositing stalagmites in Lower Cave, Bristol, were analysed both for discharge and luminescence properties. Drip discharges were determined for two different years, and show a complex response to surface precipitation variations. Inter annual variability in drip discharge is demonstrated to be significantly higher than intra‐annual variability, and discharge was demonstrated both to increase and decrease non‐linearly with increased precipitation. Drip waters demonstrate a correlation between their luminescence intensity and drip discharge, with increased luminescence in winter as more organic matter is flushed through the aquifer. The strength of the relationship between luminescence intensity and discharge increases with increased discharge. The results presented here have implications for the palaeoenvironmental interpretation of annual growth laminae and the growth rates of stalagmite samples. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

POLITICAL ECONOMY AND PEEL'S REPEAL OF THE CORN LAWS

The repeal of the Corn Laws in Britain in 1846 has been much debated as to whether interest groups or ideology contributed most to this policy reform. This paper examines a conventional view that Sir Robert Peel, in proposing repeal, converted from protection to free trade under the influence of the ideas of political economy. It is shown that economic ideas had a crucial influence on Peel, but that he remained skeptical of political economy as a doctrine. Copyright 1989 Blackwell Publishers Ltd..

Striatal implants protect the host striatum against quinolinic acid toxicity.

Quinolinic acid (QA) and related excitotoxins produce a pattern of neuronal loss and neurochemical changes in the rat striatum similar to that of patients suffering from Huntington's disease, suggesting neurotoxicity is important in the etiology of that disease. Thus, strategies for limiting excitotoxin-induced striatal damage, like that caused by QA, may be of great benefit to these individuals. Accordingly, we tested the ability of both neural and non-neural tissue implants to protect the rat striatum against a subsequent QA challenge. Our results demonstrated that recipients of fetal striatal grafts were significantly less affected by striatal injections of QA than non-grafted animals. In contrast to the latter, fetal striatal tissue recipients did not exhibit apomorphine-induced rotation behavior and showed a sparing of cholinergic and enkephalinergic systems normally lost following QA injections. Animals grafted with adult rat sciatic nerve, adrenal medulla or adipose tissue all showed a less dramatic behavioral protection and sparing of cholinergic and enkephalinergic systems. These results suggest that fetal striatal tissue exerts an optimal, and perhaps specific protective influence on the host brain