The importance of feeding status and desiccation rate in successful anhydrobiosis of Panagrolaimus detritophagus

We examined the effect of nutritional status and desiccation rate on the ability of Panagrolaimus detritophagus to undergo anhydrobiosis, as well as to survive high temperatures in the dried state. Both nutrition and drying rate were found to be important, with starvation and slow drying providing better success at anhydrobiosis. The upper temperature for survival of dried animals in laboratory studies was 80 degrees C. Starved worms recovered from drying more successfully when the starvation period was followed by a smooth, gradual dry period prior to undergoing desiccation. Thus, the ability of these worms to enter and leave anhydrobiosis is dependent on critical stress signals

A Compendium of Far-Infrared Line and Continuum Emission for 227 Galaxies Observed by the Infrared Space Observatory

Far-infrared line and continuum fluxes are presented for a sample of 227 galaxies observed with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer on the Infrared Space Observatory. The galaxy sample includes normal star-forming systems, starbursts, and active galactic nuclei covering a wide range of colors and morphologies. The dataset spans some 1300 line fluxes, 600 line upper limits, and 800 continuum fluxes. Several fine structure emission lines are detected that arise in either photodissociation or HII regions: [OIII]52um, [NIII]57um, [OI]63um, [OIII]88um, [NII]122um, [OI]145um, and [CII]158um. Molecular lines such as OH at 53um, 79um, 84um, 119um, and 163um, and H2O at 58um, 66um, 75um, 101um, and 108um are also detected in some galaxies. In addition to those lines emitted by the target galaxies, serendipitous detections of Milky Way [CII]158um and an unidentified line near 74um in NGC1068 are also reported. Finally, continuum fluxes at 52um, 57um, 63um, 88um, 122um, 145um, 158um, and 170um are derived for a subset of galaxies in which the far-infrared emission is contained within the ~75" ISO LWS beam. The statistics of this large database of continuum and line fluxes, including trends in line ratios with the far-infrared color and infrared-to-optical ratio, are explored.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Serie

ISO LWS Spectroscopy of M82: A Unified Evolutionary Model

We present the first complete far-infrared spectrum (43 to 197 um) of M82, the brightest infrared galaxy in the sky, taken with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer of the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). We detected seven fine structure emission lines, [OI] 63 and 145 um, [OIII] 52 and 88 um, [NII] 122 um, [NIII] 57 um and [CII] 158 um, and fit their ratios to a combination starburst and photo-dissociation region (PDR) model. The best fit is obtained with HII regions with n = 250 cm^{-3} and an ionization parameter of 10^{-3.5} and PDRs with n = 10^{3.3} cm^{-3} and a far-ultraviolet flux of G_o = 10^{2.8}. We applied both continuous and instantaneous starburst models, with our best fit being a 3-5 Myr old instantaneous burst model with a 100 M_o cut-off. We also detected the ground state rotational line of OH in absorption at 119.4 um. No excited level OH transitions are apparent, indicating that the OH is almost entirely in its ground state with a column density ~ 4x10^{14} cm^{-2}. The spectral energy distribution over the LWS wavelength range is well fit with a 48 K dust temperature and an optical depth, tau_{Dust} proportional to lambda^{-1}.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJ, Feb. 1, 199

Global Governance Behind Closed Doors : The IMF Boardroom, the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, and the Intersection of Material Power and Norm Change in Global Politics

Up on the 12th floor of its 19th Street Headquarters, the IMF Board sits in active session for an average of 7 hours per week. Although key matters of policy are decided on in the venue, the rules governing Boardroom interactions remain opaque, resting on an uneasy combination of consensual decision-making and weighted voting. Through a detailed analysis of IMF Board discussions surrounding the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF), this article sheds light on the mechanics of power in this often overlooked venue of global economic governance. By exploring the key issues of default liability and loan conditionality, I demonstrate that whilst the Boardroom is a more active site of contestation than has hitherto been recognized, material power is a prime determinant of both Executive Directors’ preferences and outcomes reached from discussions. And as the decisions reached form the backbone of the ‘instruction sheet’ used by Fund staff to guide their everyday operational decisions, these outcomes—and the processes through which they were reached—were factors of primary importance in stabilizing the operational norms at the heart of a controversial phase in the contemporary history of IMF concessional lending

Interactions between interfaces dictate stimuli-responsive emulsion behaviour

Stimuli-responsive emulsions offer a dual advantage, combining long-term storage with controlled release triggered by external cues such as pH or temperature changes. This study establishes that thermo-responsive emulsion behaviour is primarily determined by interactions between, rather than within, interfaces. Consequently, the stability of these emulsions is intricately tied to the nature of the stabilizing microgel particles - whether they are more polymeric or colloidal, and the morphology they assume at the liquid interface. The colloidal properties of the microgels provide the foundation for the long-term stability of Pickering emulsions. However, limited deformability can lead to non-responsive emulsions. Conversely, the polymeric properties of the microgels enable them to spread and flatten at the liquid interface, enabling stimuli-responsive behaviour. Furthermore, microgels shared between two emulsion droplets in flocculated emulsions facilitate stimuli-responsiveness, regardless of their internal architecture. This underscores the pivotal role of microgel morphology and the forces they exert on liquid interfaces in the control and design of stimuli-responsive emulsions and interfaces.ISSN:2041-172

Electronic submission and the movement towards a paperless law office in a modern university

The Government’s target of 50% of all under 30 year olds studying at higher education institutions by 2010, coupled with the National Committee Inquiry into Higher Education’ (1997) concluding that further expansion of higher education could not be afforded under the existing funding arrangements, may have serious ramifications for higher education in the UK. Alongside this increase in numbers, students are increasingly seen as educational consumers with increased choice in a demand-led market which universities must recognise. To compete in this academic environment these institutions are having to be ever more consumer aware in the services they offer and are having to increase choice to attract customers from rival enterprises. Information technology is playing an increasing role in the learning experience as noted by institutional commentators such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Joint Information Systems Committee, the Electronic Books ON-screen Interface group and Lord Dearing’s Report. Technology’s use is further evidenced through institutions’ employment of the internet, e-mail and web-based learning to harness the power of this medium. This paper focuses on the concept of commercialism in the university sector and how a movement to a paperless office may be one way in which a university could gain an early competitive advantage over its rivals. The paper takes a student perspective to demonstrate whether students would wish to move towards electronic methods of submission of assessed work and considers the current problems that are encountered in physical submission of documents. This is the first paper in an on-going research project investigating the benefits and viability of a paperless law office, and the results demonstrate both that the students desire more flexibility in submission of university work and that their acceptance may be the easy first step on the road to the paperless law school

Photoelectric Heating and [CII] Cooling of High Galactic Latitude Translucent Clouds

The (2P3/2 -> 2P1/2) transition of singly--ionized carbon, [CII], is the primary coolant of diffuse interstellar gas. We describe observations of [CII] emission towards nine high Galactic latitude translucent molecular clouds, made with the long wavelength spectrometer on board the Infrared Space Observatory. To understand the role of dust grains in processing the interstellar radiation field (ISRF) and heating the gas, we compare the [CII] integrated intensity with the far-infrared (FIR) integrated surface brightness for the 101 sampled lines of sight. We find that [CII] is linearly correlated with FIR, and the average ratio is equal to that measured with the COBE satellite for all high-latitude Milky Way gas. There is a significant decrease that was not detected with COBE in [CII] emissivity at high values of FIR. Our sample splits naturally into two populations depending on the 60um/100um surface brightness ratio, or color: ``warm'' positions and ``cold'' positions. A transition from sources with warm to those with cold 60/100 colors coincides approximately with the transition from constant to decreasing [CII] emissivity. We model the [CII] and far-infrared emission under conditions of thermal equilibrium, using the simplifying assumptions that, in all regions heated by the ISRF, the most important source of gas heating is the photoelectric effect on grains and the most important source of gas cooling is [CII] emission. The model matches the data well. There are no statistically significant differences in the derived values of the ISRF intensity and the photoelectric heating efficiency for warm and cold sources. The observed variations in the [CII] emissivity and the 60/100 colors can be understood entirely in terms of the attenuation and softening of the ISRF by translucent clouds, not changes in dust properties.Comment: 42 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Astrophysical Journal (volume 579, November 2002

Biological Stoichiometry in Human Cancer

A growing tumor in the body can be considered a complex ecological and evolutionary system. A new eco-evolutionary hypothesis (the "Growth Rate Hypothesis", GRH) proposes that tumors have elevated phosphorus (P) demands due to increased allocation to P-rich nucleic acids, especially ribosomal RNA, to meet the protein synthesis demands of accelerated proliferation.We determined the elemental (C, N, P) and nucleic acid contents of paired malignant and normal tissues from colon, lung, liver, or kidney for 121 patients. Consistent with the GRH, lung and colon tumors were significantly higher (by approximately two-fold) in P content (fraction of dry weight) and RNA content and lower in nitrogen (N):P ratio than paired normal tissue, and P in RNA contributed a significantly larger fraction of total biomass P in malignant relative to normal tissues. Furthermore, patient-specific differences for %P between malignant and normal tissues were positively correlated with such differences for %RNA, both for the overall data and within three of the four organ sites. However, significant differences in %P and %RNA between malignant and normal tissues were not seen in liver and kidney and, overall, RNA contributed only approximately 11% of total tissue P content.Data for lung and colon tumors provide support for the GRH in human cancer. The two-fold amplification of P content in colon and lung tumors may set the stage for potential P-limitation of their proliferation, as such differences often do for rapidly growing biota in ecosystems. However, data for kidney and liver do not support the GRH. To account for these conflicting observations, we suggest that local environments in some organs select for neoplastic cells bearing mutations increasing cell division rate ("r-selected," as in colon and lung) while conditions elsewhere may select for reduced mortality rate ("K-selected," as in liver and kidney)

Empirically Constrained Color-Temperature Relations. II. uvby

(Abriged) A new grid of theoretical color indices for the Stromgren uvby photometric system has been derived from MARCS model atmospheres and SSG synthetic spectra for cool dwarf and giant stars. At warmer temperatures this grid has been supplemented with the synthetic uvby colors from recent Kurucz atmospheric models without overshooting. Our transformations appear to reproduce the observed colors of extremely metal-poor turnoff and giant stars (i.e., [Fe/H]<-2). Due to a number of assumptions made in the synthetic color calculations, however, our color-temperature relations for cool stars fail to provide a suitable match to the uvby photometry of both cluster and field stars having [Fe/H]>-2. To overcome this problem, the theoretical indices at intermediate and high metallicities have been corrected using a set of color calibrations based on field stars having accurate IRFM temperature estimates and spectroscopic [Fe/H] values. Encouragingly, isochrones that employ the transformations derived in this study are able to reproduce the observed CMDs (involving u-v, v-b, and b-y colors) for a number of open and globular clusters (including M92, M67, the Hyades, and 47Tuc) rather well. Moreover, our interpretations of such data are very similar, if not identical, with those given by VandenBerg & Clem (2003, AJ, 126, 778) from a consideration of BV(RI)c observations for the same clusters. In the present investigation, we have also analyzed the observed Stromgren photometry for the classic Population II subdwarfs, compared our "final" (b-y)-Teff relationship with those derived empirically in a number of recent studies, and examined in some detail the dependence of the m1 index on [Fe/H].Comment: 70 pages, 26 figures. Accepted for publication in AJ (Feb 2004). Postscript version with high resolution figures and complete Table 3 available at http://astrowww.phys.uvic.ca/~jclem/uvb