Science, sulphur and sustainability : environmental strategies of mining in the Russian Kola Peninsula

This dissertation analyses the problem of co-aligning corporate strategy and public policy for effective environmental governance. A case study of the mining industry in the Russian Kola Peninsula shows how institutional arrangements (including public policies) affect the environmental performance of industrial organizations. The analysis emphasizes the motivations that drive people's decisions and how they are affected by culture and formal institutions both inside and outside the domain of public policy. It bridges management and governance studies with an added focus on engineering approaches to sustainability. In substantial terms, the dissertation has a strong focus on "complex utilization", which has been a common environmental and natural resource strategy in Russia since the 1930s. In an important respect, complex utilization both antedates and closely resembles industrial ecology that has been developed in the West. This suggests that a lack of technical knowledge was not the principal cause of the well-known environmental problems that existed in the Soviet Union. On the contrary, the potential benefits of complex utilization were not realized because Soviet political and economic institutions provided weak incentives for pollution control and efficient resource use. The central theoretical effort of this dissertation is to show how effective environmental governance is contingent upon emergent strategy and policy processes. Both corporate environmental strategy and public environmental policy depend on power relations and network building among a variety of actors in the society. The case study yields three different emergent processes: political embedding of scientific concepts, cultural contextualization of indicators, and legitimacy in stakeholder salience. The dissertation also delivers policy recommendations pertaining to the future development of the Barents Euro-Arctic region. This future depends both on the level of political centralization and on the future development of the oil and gas industry in the region. On one hand, it is possible that the mining industry will continue on the same path as it has done throughout the 2000s. It will continue to develop its environmental strategy primarily on the basis of signals from the international market and a few dominant stakeholder groups. On the other hand, it is possible that complex utilization will be strengthened as an environmental strategy in the region. The two future scenarios allow for case specific recommendations for indicators and environmental co-operation

Seasonal variation of platelets in a cohort of Italian blood donors: a preliminary report

Massimo Gallerani1*, Roberto Reverberi2, Raffaella Salmi1, Michael H Smolensky3 and Roberto Manfredini4 Author Affiliations 1 Internal Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria, Ferrara, Italy 2 Immunohematological and Transfusional Service, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria, Ferrara, Italy 3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA 4 Clinica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria, Ferrara, ItalyBackground: Since available data are not univocal, the aim of this study was to explore the existence of a seasonal variation in platelet count. Methods: The study was based on the database of the Italian Association of Blood Volunteers (AVIS), section of Ferrara, Italy, 2001–2010. Hematological data (170,238 exams referring to 16,422 donors) were categorized into seasonal and monthly intervals, and conventional and chronobiological analyses were applied. Results: Platelets and plateletcrit were significantly higher in winter-autumn, with a main peak in December-February (average +3.4% and +4.6%, respectively, P <0.001 for both). Conclusions: Although seasonal variations have been reported for several acute cardiovascular diseases, it is extremely unlikely that such a slight increase in platelet count in winter alone may be considered as a risk factor.Biomedical [email protected]

Modeling heat transfer from quench protection heaters to superconducting cables in Nb3Sn magnets

We use a recently developed quench protection heater modeling tool for an analysis of heater delays in superconducting high-field Nb3Sn accelerator magnets. The results suggest that the calculated delays are consistent with experimental data, and show how the heater delay depends on the main heater design parameters.Comment: 8 pages, Contribution to WAMSDO 2013: Workshop on Accelerator Magnet, Superconductor, Design and Optimization; 15 - 16 Jan 2013, CERN, Geneva, Switzerlan

Crossing Borders, Crossing Cultures. Popular print in Europe

This volume explores the challenges and possibilities of research into the European dimensions of popular print culture. Popular print culture has traditionally been studied with a national focus. Recent research has revealed, however, that popular print culture has many European dimensions and shared features. A group of specialists in the field has started to explore the possibilities and challenges of research on a wide, European scale. This volume contains the first overview and analysis of the different approaches, methodologies and sources that will stimulate and facilitate future comparative research. This volume first addresses the benefits of a media-driven approach, focussing on processes of content recycling, interactions between text and image, processes of production and consumption. A second perspective illuminates the distribution and markets for popular print, discussing audiences, prices and collections. A third dimension refers to the transnational dimensions of genres, stories, and narratives. A last perspective unravels the communicative strategies and dynamics behind European bestsellers. This book is a source of inspiration for everyone who is interested in research into transnational cultural exchange and in the fascinating history of popular print culture in Europe

Cultural History, the Possible, and the Principle of Plenitude

The article argues that the study of past cultures always entails the mapping of past possibilities. The first strand of the essay builds on the metaphor of the black hole and intends to solve one of the central problems faced by cultural historians, namely, how to access the horizon of the people of the past, their experience of their own time, especially when the sources remain silent. The second, more speculative strand builds on the notion of plenitude and is designed to open up avenues for further discussion about the concept of culture in particular

High-resolution near-bottom vector magnetic anomalies over Raven Hydrothermal Field, Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 119 (2014): 7389–7403, doi:10.1002/2014JB011223.High-resolution, near-bottom vector magnetic data were collected by remotely operated vehicle Jason over the Raven hydrothermal vent field (47°57.3′N 129°5.75′W) located north of Main Endeavour vent field on the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The survey was part of a comprehensive heat flow study of the Raven site using innovative thermal blanket technology to map the heat flux and crustal fluid pathways around a solitary hydrothermal vent field. Raven hydrothermal activity is presently located along the western axial valley wall, while additional inactive hydrothermal deposits are found to the NW on the upper rift valley wall. Magnetic inversion results show discrete areas of reduced magnetization associated with both active and inactive hydrothermal vent deposits that also show high conductive heat flow. Higher spatial variability in the heat flow patterns compared to the magnetization is consistent with the heat flow reflecting the currently active but ephemeral thermal environment of fluid flow, while crustal magnetization is representative of the static time-averaged effect of hydrothermal alteration. A general NW to SE trend in reduced magnetization across the Raven area correlates closely with the distribution of hydrothermal deposits and heat flux patterns and suggests that the fluid circulation system at depth is likely controlled by local crustal structure and magma chamber geometry. Magnetic gradient tensor components computed from vector magnetic data improve the resolution of the magnetic anomaly source and indicate that the hydrothermally altered zone directly beneath the Raven site is approximately 15 × 106 m3 in volume.This work was funded by the National Science Foundation under grant OCE-1037840 to Maurice Tivey and grant OCE-1037870 to H. Paul Johnson.2015-04-0

Quantitative estimate of heat flow from a mid-ocean ridge axial valley, Raven field, Juan de Fuca Ridge : observations and inferences

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 119 (2014): 6841–6854, doi:10.1002/2014JB011086.A systematic heat flow survey using thermal blankets within the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge axial valley provides quantitative estimates of the magnitude and distribution of conductive heat flow at a mid-ocean ridge, with the goal of testing current models of hydrothermal circulation present within newly formed oceanic crust. Thermal blankets were deployed covering an area of 700 by 450 m in the Raven Hydrothermal vent field area located 400 m north of the Main Endeavour hydrothermal field. A total of 176 successful blanket deployment sites measured heat flow values that ranged from 0 to 31 W m−2. Approximately 53% of the sites recorded values lower than 100 mW m−2, suggesting large areas of seawater recharge and advective extraction of lithospheric heat. High heat flow values were concentrated around relatively small “hot spots.” Integration of heat flow values over the Raven survey area gives an estimate of conductive heat output of 0.3 MW, an average of 0.95 W m−2, over the survey area. Fluid circulation cell dimensions and scaling equations allow calculation of a Rayleigh number of approximately 700 in Layer 2A. The close proximity of high and low heat flow areas, coupled with previous estimates of surficial seafloor permeability, argues for the presence of small-scale hydrothermal fluid circulation cells within the high-porosity uppermost crustal layer of the axial seafloor.This work has been funded by the National Science Foundation under grant OCE-1037870 and was supported under a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to MSS2015-03-1

In vitro propagation of Acacia hybrid through alginate-encapsulated shoots and axillary buds

Seed collected from Acacia hybrid trees yields highly variable and poorly performing offspring and are not commonly used in regeneration. The present study described the incapsulation of Acacia hybrid shoots and axillary buds in the calcium alginate gel. The aim of the study was to evaluate the germination of the buds in vitro on the medium with different concentrations of plant growth regulator and; the performance of the germination under light and darkness. For encapsulation purposes, 3% sodium alginate (w/v) in the Murashige and Skoog (MS) free of calcium salt solution solvent were tested. While for complexation, 100 mM calcium chloride solutions (CaCl2.2H2O) were prepared in liquid MS medium. The encapsulated explants or the beads were cultured into the following media: Modified basal MS supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) ranging from 0 to 2.5 mg/L BAP. High germination rate (100%) was observed within five to eight days in all medium tested. Analysis of variance showed no significant difference in the ability of the synthetic seeds to germinate. This showed that the regeneration of shoots is possible by using basal MS only. It was observed that synthetic seeds needed sucrose more than plant growth regulator for its germination. They were also showing good regeneration and development under light condition.Key words: Acacia hybrid, synthetic seeds, encapsulation, germination, regeneration