The Game of Unity?: The 2007 Cricket World Cup as a Catalyst toward Caribbean Identity Construction

It was paramount for the English-speaking Caribbean to host a successful 2007 Cricket World Cup and field an outstanding West Indian cricket team for the international sporting mega-event. For CARICOM and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), there were two principle goals – first, to exhibit regional Caribbean identity, and second, to be triumphant under the leadership of the West Indian cricket team’s captain, Trinidadian Brian Lara. Identities are multifaceted and intricate, negotiated and renegotiated, based on a history of economic, political and cultural forces. This thesis interrogates Caribbean identity through textual analysis of the broadcast of the opening ceremony and regional newspaper coverage of the spectacle as well as ensuing events that were held in eight of the Caribbean countries from 11 March to 28 April 2007. The thesis questions whether this mega-event served as a catalyst toward Caribbean identity construction

Resolving the Middle Jurassic dinoflagellate radiation: The palynology of the Bajocian of Swabia, southwest Germany

Dinoflagellates underwent a major radiation during the Bajocian (Middle Jurassic, ~ 170-168 Ma). The group originated in the Middle Triassic and dinoflagellate cysts were relatively low in diversity until the Bajocian, when over 100 species appeared. The Gonyaulacaceae expanded during this interval to become the dominant family of cyst-forming dinoflagellates, and has remained the principal dinoflagellate family throughout the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. However, Bajocian dinoflagellate cysts have received relatively little study. In order to unravel the pattern of the Bajocian dinoflagellate radiation, we have generated a high resolution, quantitative, palynological record through an expanded Middle Jurassic succession in Swabia, southwest Germany. Previous research has indicated a rapid, stepwise order of first appearances through the Bajocian. By contrast, we clearly demonstrate that there was a more gradual, continuous increase in diversity from the Late Aalenian to the Early Bathonian, although the number of first appearances was highest during the latest Early Bajocian to Late Bajocian. Major experimentation in excystment mode in the gonyaulacaceans occurred during the Late Aalenian and Early Bajocian, when multi-plate precingular, single-plate precingular and epicystal archaeopyle types first appeared. Through the integration of our data with published information from northwest Europe, we demonstrate that the appearance of dinoflagellate cyst taxa through the Late Aalenian�Early Bathonian appears to have been controlled by a major second-order transgression. Although the cause of this radiation is yet to be constrained, given the contemporaneous diversifications of other plankton groups, as well as ammonites, bivalves and fishes, it is likely that it formed part of the wider Mesozoic Marine Revolution. There is a prominent acme of Dissiliodinium giganteum in the Lower Bajocian which is a useful stratigraphical marker. Acanthaulax crispa is confirmed as a key index species for the Bajocian. One new species, Korystocysta aldridgeii sp. nov., is described

The Middle Jurassic palynostratigraphy of the northern Lusitanian Basin, Portugal

A composite largely Middle Jurassic succession spanning the Toarcian–Aalenian transition to the lowermost Bathonian exposed at Cabo Mondego and São Gião in the northern Lusitanian Basin, western Portugal, was examined palynologically. The 129 samples are correlated to ammonite biozones spanning Pleydellia aalensis to Zigzagiceras zigzag. The Cabo Mondego succession comprises the type section of the Cabo Mondego Formation and spans virtually the entire interval studied. This is a significant interval because it includes the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) and the Auxiliary Stratigraphical Section and Point (ASSP) for the Bajocian and Bathonian stages respectively. The Cabo Mondego Formation largely yielded relatively abundant palynomorph associations in the 68 productive samples recovered. By contrast, the Pó'voa da Lomba Formation at São Gião only includes the Toarcian–Aalenian transition; the 21 productive horizons produced sparse assemblages. The uppermost Toarcian to lowermost Bajocian is characterised by a low diversity dinoflagellate cyst association, typified by Nannoceratopsis. Above this is a markedly more diverse assemblage. This influx, in the Witchellia laeviuscula ammonite biozone AB, represents a global evolutionary radiation which may be linked to sea level rise. The trend of increasing dinoflagellate cyst diversity continued at the Bajocian–Bathonian transition. The Middle Jurassic dinoflagellate cyst assemblages of the Lusitanian Basin are significantly less diverse than coeval palynobiotas from eastern and northern Europe, and the Arctic. The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) profoundly inhibited cyst-forming dinoflagellates in this depocentre, and the recovery was protracted. Hence the T-OAE may have suppressed dinoflagellate cyst diversity well into the Middle Jurassic. This phenomenon may have been exacerbated by the absence of typically Arctic taxa through latitudinal controls and/or global cooling during the early Aalenian. These low levels of dinoflagellate cyst species richness may also be related to the palaeogeography of the Lusitanian Basin. This relatively isolated deepwater depocentre close to the Proto Atlantic, may have precluded extensive biotal exchange with the widespread shelfal areas of the western Tethys. The absence of Dissiliodinium giganteum in the Lusitanian Basin is consistent with this scenario. The pollen and spores observed in this study are typical of Middle Jurassic assemblages worldwide. Araucarian pollen, largely Callialasporites, diversified and became prominent during the Aalenian

Welfare Reform, Precarity and the Re-Commodification of Labour

While welfare reform matters for workers and workplaces, it is peripheral in English-language sociology of work and industrial relations research. This article’s core proposition is that active labour market policies (ALMPs) are altering the institutional constitution of the labour market by intensifying market discipline within the workforce. This re-commodification effect is specified drawing on Marxism, comparative institutionalism, German-language sociology, and English-language social policy analysis. Because of administrative failures and employer discrimination, however, ALMPs may worsen precarity without achieving the stated goal of increasing labour-market participation

Integrated Functions of Pax3 and Pax7 in the Regulation of Proliferation, Cell Size and Myogenic Differentiation

Pax3 and Pax7 are paired-box transcription factors with roles in developmental and adult regenerative myogenesis. Pax3 and Pax7 are expressed by postnatal satellite cells or their progeny but are down regulated during myogenic differentiation. We now show that constitutive expression of Pax3 or Pax7 in either satellite cells or C2C12 myoblasts results in an increased proliferative rate and decreased cell size. Conversely, expression of dominant-negative constructs leads to slowing of cell division, a dramatic increase in cell size and altered morphology. Similarly to the effects of Pax7, retroviral expression of Pax3 increases levels of Myf5 mRNA and MyoD protein, but does not result in sustained inhibition of myogenic differentiation. However, expression of Pax3 or Pax7 dominant-negative constructs inhibits expression of Myf5, MyoD and myogenin, and prevents differentiation from proceeding. In fibroblasts, expression of Pax3 or Pax7, or dominant-negative inhibition of these factors, reproduce the effects on cell size, morphology and proliferation seen in myoblasts. Our results show that in muscle progenitor cells, Pax3 and Pax7 function to maintain expression of myogenic regulatory factors, and promote population expansion, but are also required for myogenic differentiation to proceed

Gadolinium and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: time to tighten practice

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a relatively new entity, first described in 1997. Few cases have been reported, but the disease has high morbidity and mortality. To date it has been seen exclusively in patients with renal dysfunction. There is an emerging link with intravenous injection of gadolinium contrast agents, which has been suggested as a main triggering factor, with a lag time of days to weeks. Risk factors include the severity of renal impairment, major surgery, vascular events and other proinflammatory conditions. There is no reason to believe that children have an altered risk compared to the adult population. It is important that the paediatric radiologist acknowledges emerging information on NSF but at the same time considers the risk:benefit ratio prior to embarking on alternative investigations, as children with chronic kidney disease require high-quality diagnostic imaging