Small island economies : Caribbean versus Pacific

After a review of the small island economy literature, this study compares the average performance of 16 Caribbean versus 15 mainly Pacific islands with three from the Indian Ocean. Mean difference analysis is employed across 22 socio-economic and demographic variables. Results confirm previous research. The Caribbean outperforms the Pacific with higher per capita GDP and life expectancy and lower infant mortality and fertility. Different migration experiences discriminate the more dynamic Caribbean characterized by heavy immigration from the relatively stagnant Pacific marked by chronic emigration. The three determinants offered to account for these differences involve significant Caribbean advantages: geographic proximity to the major global markets, early post-war development of international tourism and offshore banking, and a longer and more intense period of colonisation that early on established basic infrastructure and market institutions.peer-reviewe

Quarterly Progress Report Research And Development Activities Waste Fixation Program October Through December 1976

Research and development activities of the Waste Fixation Program for October through December 1976 are described in this report. The objective of this program is to develop processes to convert high-level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW) to solid forms that are demonstrated to be physically, chemically, and radiolytically stable and inert. The scope of this program encompasses plans to make available a flexible advancing technology for the solidification of radioactive waste. Early technology will produce borosilicate glass by in-can melting and continuous electric melters. Multibarrier waste forms will be developed for future application

Phosphorylation of ezrin on Thr567 is required for the synergistic activation of cell spreading by EPAC1 and protein kinase A in HEK293T cells

Recent studies have demonstrated that the actin binding protein, ezrin, and the cAMP-sensor, EPAC1, cooperate to induce cell spreading in response to elevations in intracellular cAMP. To investigate the mechanisms underlying these effects we generated a model of EPAC1-dependent cell spreading based on the stable transfection of EPAC1 into HEK293T (HEK293T–EPAC1) cells. We found that direct activation of EPAC1 with the EPAC-selective analogue, 8-pCPT-2′-O-Me-cAMP (007), promoted cell spreading in these cells. In addition, co-activation of EPAC1 and PKA, with a combination of the adenylate cyclase activator, forskolin, and the cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor, rolipram, was found to synergistically enhance cell spreading, in association with cortical actin bundling and mobilisation of ezrin to the plasma membrane. PKA activation was also associated with phosphorylation of ezrin on Thr567, as detected by an electrophoretic band mobility shift during SDS-PAGE. Inhibition of PKA activity blocked ezrin phosphorylation and reduced the cell spreading response to cAMP elevation to levels induced by EPAC1-activation alone. Transfection of HEK293T–EPAC1 cells with inhibitory ezrin mutants lacking the key PKA phosphorylation site, ezrin-Thr567Ala, or the ability to associate with actin, ezrin-Arg579Ala, promoted cell arborisation and blocked the ability of EPAC1 and PKA to further promote cell spreading. The PKA phospho-mimetic mutants of ezrin, ezrin-Thr567Asp had no effect on EPAC1-driven cell spreading. Our results indicate that association of ezrin with the actin cytoskeleton and phosphorylation on Thr567 are required, but not sufficient, for PKA and EPAC1 to synergistically promote cell spreading following elevations in intracellular cAMP

Measurements and analysis of the upper critical field Hc2H_{c2} on an underdoped and overdoped La2−xSrxCuO4La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 compounds

The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ is one of the many non conventional properties of high-$T_c$ cuprates. It is possible that the $H_{c2}(T)$ anomalies are due to the presence of inhomogeneities in the local charge carrier density $\rho$ of the $CuO_2$ planes. In order to study this point, we have prepared good quality samples of polycrystalline $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_{4}$ using the wet-chemical method, which has demonstrated to produce samples with a better cation distribution. In particular, we have studied the temperature dependence of the second critical field, $H_{c2}(T)$, through the magnetization measurements on two samples with opposite average carrier concentration ($\rho_m=x$) and nearly the same critical temperature, namely $\rho_m = 0.08$ (underdoped) and $\rho_m = 0.25$ (overdoped). The results close to $T_c$ do not follow the usual Ginzburg-Landau theory and are interpreted by a theory which takes into account the influence of the inhomogeneities.Comment: Published versio

The Effects of Phase Separation in the Cuprate Superconductors

Phase separation has been observed by several different experiments and it is believed to be closely related with the physics of cuprates but its exactly role is not yet well known. We propose that the onset of pseudogap phenomenon or the upper pseudogap temperature $T^*$ has its origin in a spontaneous phase separation transition at the temperature $T_{ps}=T^*$. In order to perform quantitative calculations, we use a Cahn-Hilliard (CH) differential equation originally proposed to the studies of alloys and on a spinodal decomposition mechanism. Solving numerically the CH equation it is possible to follow the time evolution of a coarse-grained order parameter which satisfies a Ginzburg-Landau free-energy functional commonly used to model superconductors. In this approach, we follow the process of charge segregation into two main equilibrium hole density branches and the energy gap normally attributed to the upper pseudogap arises as the free-energy potential barrier between these two equilibrium densities below $T_{ps}$. This simulation provides quantitative results %on the hole doping and temperature %dependence of the degree of the charge inhomogeneity in agreement with %some experiments and the simulations reproduce the observed stripe and granular pattern of segregation. Furthermore, with a Bogoliubov-deGennes (BdG) local superconducting critical temperature calculation for the lower pseudogap or the onset of local superconductivity, it yields novel interpretation of several non-conventional measurements on cuprates.Comment: Published versio

Zirconium metal-water oxidation kinetics. I. Thermometry

A description is given of the thermometry techniques used in the Zirconium Metal--Water Oxidation Kinetics Program. Temperature measurements in the range 900 to 1500$sup 0$C are made in three experimental systems: two oxidation apparatuses and the annealing furnace used in a corollary study of the diffusion of oxygen in $beta$-Zircaloy. Carefully calibrated Pt vs Pt--10 percent Rh thermocouples are employed in all three apparatuses, while a Pt--6 percent Rh vs Pt-- 30 percent Rh thermocouple and an optical pyrometer are used in addition in the annealing furnace. Features of the experimental systems pertaining to thermocouple installation, temperature control, emf measurements, etc. are described, and potential temperature-measurement error sources are discussed in detail. The accuracy of the temperature measurements is analyzed

Building Bridges with Boats: Preserving Community History through Intra- and Inter-Institutional Collaboration

This chapter discusses Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City, a project which documents the historical and contemporary role of dory fishers in the life of the coastal village of Pacific City, Oregon, U.S. Linfield College’s Department of Theatre and Communication Arts, its Jereld R. Nicholson Library, the Pacific City Arts Association, the Pacific City Dorymen\u27s Association, and the Linfield Center for the Northwest joined forces to engage in a collaborative college and community venture to preserve this important facet of Oregon’s history. Using ethnography as a theoretical grounding and oral history as a method, the project utilized artifacts from the dory fleet to augment interview data, and faculty/student teams created a searchable digital archive available via open access. The chapter draws on the authors’ experiences to identify a philosophy of strategic collaboration. Topics include project development and management, assessment, and the role of serendipity. In an era of value-added services where libraries need to continue to prove their worth, partnering with internal and external entities to create content is one way for academic libraries to remain relevant to agencies that do not have direct connections to higher education. This project not only developed a positive “town and gown” relationship with a regional community, it also benefited partner organizations as they sought to fulfill their missions. The project also serves as a potential model for intra- and inter-agency collaboration for all types of libraries

Loss of murine Paneth cell function alters the immature intestinal microbiome and mimics changes seen in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains the leading cause of gastrointestinal morbidity and mortality in premature infants. Human and animal studies suggest a role for Paneth cells in NEC pathogenesis. Paneth cells play critical roles in host-microbial interactions and epithelial homeostasis. The ramifications of eliminating Paneth cell function on the immature host-microbial axis remains incomplete. Paneth cell function was depleted in the immature murine intestine using chemical and genetic models, which resulted in intestinal injury consistent with NEC. Paneth cell depletion was confirmed using histology, electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and real time RT-PCR. Cecal samples were analyzed at various time points to determine the effects of Paneth cell depletion with and without Klebsiella gavage on the microbiome. Deficient Paneth cell function induced significant compositional changes in the cecal microbiome with a significant increase in Enterobacteriacae species. Further, the bloom of Enterobacteriaceae species that occurs is phenotypically similar to what is seen in human NEC. This further strengthens our understanding of the importance of Paneth cells to intestinal homeostasis in the immature intestine