Towards a Marxist theory of financialised capitalism

In the rapid growth of the literature on financialisation, the term risks becoming meaningless (‘take x, add finance’). This contribution first reviews this literature, highlighting characteristic empirical features at the macroeconomic level and their variegation across different institutional contexts, then turning to meso- and micro-level multidisciplinary studies of how processes of financialisation have manifest in the transformed behaviour of firms, states and households, as well as in the changing mode of provision of public services and the appropriation of the commons. Marxist attempts to theorize the essences of financialisation are examined and found wanting. Two proposals are made in the spirit of advancing this project. First, financialisation as cyclical process must be disentangled from financialised capitalism as secular stage. Second, it is argued that the emergence of financialised capitalism as a new stage within mature capitalism is linked with the central role played by finance in the internationalisation of the circuit of production

Water quality and ecological impacts of watering cattle adjacent to a small middle Tennessee stream

A water quality project comparing three different cattle watering techniques was conducted on a small Middle Tennessee stream. The treatment areas were located on the same stream in sequential downstream order and were: (1) where cattle had no access and were given an alternative water source, (2) where cattle had access in an improved area, and (3) where cattle had free access. Little quantifiable evidence exists on the cumulative effects of watering cattle in small perennial streams. This study provides farmers and other land managers with comprehensive water quality and biological data as it relates to cattle stream access and information relating the feasibility and practicality of installing and maintaining two Best Management Practice (BMP) watering techniques (an alternative water source and a limited access stream crossing). Water quality data were collected intensively on a seasonal basis and storm data on a storm-event basis. Six intensive and three storm samples were collected between the fall of 1996 and the spring of 1998. Both mass and mass addition rates were calculated for each constituent (nitrate, ammonia, TOC, BOD, total solids, and fecal coliform bacteria) at each treatment area during each intensive sampling session. Total solids concentrations were measured during each storm event. Biological assessments (fish and aquatic macroinvertebrates) were conducted once during the study (fish in spring 1996 and macroinvertebrates in spring 1997). Differences in the macroinvertebrate community were documented between treatment areas. Fish were only sampled below the study area because of the limited sampling distance between treatment areas. Benthic and Fishery Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBI) were used to evaluate the responses in both groups of organisms. Results showed statistically significant differences (α=0.05) in nitrate, ammonia, and fecal coliform bacteria levels where cattle had free access to the stream. In areas where cattle were completely restricted or had limited access to the stream, significant differences were only detected for nitrate, when compared to the Control. Storm samples showed increases in total solids concentrations at all treatment areas during significant events. Benthic EBI scores indicated minimal change in the stream\u27s biotic health as cattle access increased. Stream classifications ranged from severely impaired ( no cows ) to severely/moderately impaired ( limited access and free access ). The Fishery IBI classified the stream as FAIR, signifying that the integrity of the stream, downstream of the cattle accessed areas, had not been severely impacted. Research indicated that statistically significant differences in water quality can be achieved by restricting and/or limiting cattle access to streams, however, significant differences were not detected between the two different watering BMP\u27s. Differences in the biotic integrity of the stream were probably the result of starting with a nutrient-poor, spring-fed stream. The ecological balance (benthic macroinvertebrates) within the stream was not severely impacted by increasing cattle access. In future studies, we recommend that the validity of installing similar BMP\u27s be conducted on an individual basis because of inherent differences in stream size, geology, soils, distribution of target organisms, grazing densities, and other physiographic differences

Disc Brake Energy Conversion

The original goal of this project was to complete the design and building of a disc brake energy conversion project started by a former senior project team, and then spend a majority of the year performing testing in order to see if the device could be used to accurately calculate the Joule\u27s constant. However, due to unforeseen complications and obstacles, the design and manufacturing portion of the project ended up taking much longer than anticipated. A majority of this time was spent designing the hydraulic plumbing system that would actuate the brakes. The previous team purchased some hydraulic parts and left them unassembled with no hydraulic schematic, and in order to save money, one of our goals was to use as many of the previous team\u27s purchased parts as possible. This led to us attempting to complete their hydraulic design using the few parts they had left behind. However, after some time we discovered that the parts they had purchased would not work with the system we were trying to create. After discussion with multiple professors and shop techs, we discovered a hydraulic schematic created by W.C. Branham that would be perfect for our device. After making a few changes to the design, we were able to start manufacturing the hydraulic system using hand-held tube benders and tube cutters. Once the tubing was assembled, we bled the air out of the hydraulic portion of the system and filled it with hydraulic fluid. Then, in order to measure the temperature of the thermistor in the copper brake pads, we programmed an Arduino read the thermistor and collect data. This left us with only three weeks to test; however, through our testing and analysis, we were able to calculate a Joule\u27s constant within 35% of the accepted value. The error in the calculated value came from heat loss that was not accounted for by our thermal model for the system. In an attempt to reduce the heat loss, we insulated the rear of the thermistor using Styrofoam and improved the thermal conductivity between the thermistor and copper pad using thermal paste. Although this improved our measured temperature, we believe we were still losing a lot of heat out of the back of the copper pad. Even though we had limited time to test, we believe that we proved that with further testing and analysis this device can be used to accurately and consistently calculate the Joule\u27s constant

Relating Downlink Data Products to Uplink Commands

An improved data-labeling system provides for automatic association of data products of an exploratory robot (downlink information) with previously transmitted commands (uplink information) that caused the robot to gather the data. Such association is essential to correct and timely analysis of the data products -- including, for example, association of the data with the correct targets. The system was developed for use on Mars Rover missions during the next few years. The system could also be adapted to terrestrial exploratory telerobots for which delays between commands and data returns are long enough to give rise to questions as to which commands resulted in which data returns. The main advantage of this system over prior data-labeling systems is that given a downlink data product, the uplink command and sequence hierarchy that produced it are automatically provided, and given an uplink sequence and command, the downlink data products that it produced are automatically provided

Codon usage in twelve species of \u3ci\u3eDrosophila\u3c/i\u3e

Background: Codon usage bias (CUB), the uneven use of synonymous codons, is a ubiquitous observation in virtually all organisms examined. The pattern of codon usage is generally similar among closely related species, but differs significantly among distantly related organisms, e.g., bacteria, yeast, and Drosophila. Several explanations for CUB have been offered and some have been supported by observations and experiments, although a thorough understanding of the evolutionary forces (random drift, mutation bias, and selection) and their relative importance remains to be determined. The recently available complete genome DNA sequences of twelve phylogenetically defined species of Drosophila offer a hitherto unprecedented opportunity to examine these problems. We report here the patterns of codon usage in the twelve species and offer insights on possible evolutionary forces involved. Results: (1) Codon usage is quite stable across 11/12 of the species: G- and especially C-ending codons are used most frequently, thus defining the preferred codons. (2) The only amino acid that changes in preferred codon is Serine with six species of the melanogaster group favoring TCC while the other species, particularly subgenus Drosophila species, favor AGC. (3) D. willistoni is an exception to these generalizations in having a shifted codon usage for seven amino acids toward A/T in the wobble position. (4) Amino acids differ in their contribution to overall CUB, Leu having the greatest and Asp the least. (5) Among two-fold degenerate amino acids, A/G ending amino acids have more selection on codon usage than T/C ending amino acids. (6) Among the different chromosome arms or elements, genes on the non-recombining element F (dot chromosome) have the least CUB, while genes on the element A (X chromosome) have the most. (7) Introns indicate that mutation bias in all species is approximately 2:1, AT:GC, the opposite of codon usage bias. (8) There is also evidence for some overall regional bias in base composition that may influence codon usage. Conclusion: Overall, these results suggest that natural selection has acted on codon usage in the genus Drosophila, at least often enough to leave a footprint of selection in modern genomes. However, there is evidence in the data that random forces (drift and mutation) have also left patterns in the data, especially in genes under weak selection for codon usage for example genes in regions of low recombination. The documentation of codon usage patterns in each of these twelve genomes also aids in ongoing annotation efforts

Codon usage in twelve species of Drosophila

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Codon usage bias (CUB), the uneven use of synonymous codons, is a ubiquitous observation in virtually all organisms examined. The pattern of codon usage is generally similar among closely related species, but differs significantly among distantly related organisms, e.g., bacteria, yeast, and <it>Drosophila</it>. Several explanations for CUB have been offered and some have been supported by observations and experiments, although a thorough understanding of the evolutionary forces (random drift, mutation bias, and selection) and their relative importance remains to be determined. The recently available complete genome DNA sequences of twelve phylogenetically defined species of <it>Drosophila</it> offer a hitherto unprecedented opportunity to examine these problems. We report here the patterns of codon usage in the twelve species and offer insights on possible evolutionary forces involved.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>(1) Codon usage is quite stable across 11/12 of the species: G- and especially C-ending codons are used most frequently, thus defining the preferred codons. (2) The only amino acid that changes in preferred codon is Serine with six species of the <it>melanogaster </it>group favoring TCC while the other species, particularly subgenus <it>Drosophila</it> species, favor AGC. (3) <it>D. willistoni </it>is an exception to these generalizations in having a shifted codon usage for seven amino acids toward A/T in the wobble position. (4) Amino acids differ in their contribution to overall CUB, Leu having the greatest and Asp the least. (5) Among two-fold degenerate amino acids, A/G ending amino acids have more selection on codon usage than T/C ending amino acids. (6) Among the different chromosome arms or elements, genes on the non-recombining element F (dot chromosome) have the least CUB, while genes on the element A (X chromosome) have the most. (7) Introns indicate that mutation bias in all species is approximately 2:1, AT:GC, the opposite of codon usage bias. (8) There is also evidence for some overall regional bias in base composition that may influence codon usage.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, these results suggest that natural selection has acted on codon usage in the genus <it>Drosophila</it>, at least often enough to leave a footprint of selection in modern genomes. However, there is evidence in the data that random forces (drift and mutation) have also left patterns in the data, especially in genes under weak selection for codon usage for example genes in regions of low recombination. The documentation of codon usage patterns in each of these twelve genomes also aids in ongoing annotation efforts.</p

Identification of Fruit Volatiles from Green Hawthorn ( Crataegus Viridis ) and Blueberry Hawthorn ( Crataegus Brachyacantha ) Host Plants Attractive to Different Phenotypes of Rhagoletis Pomonella Flies in the Southern United States

The apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella, infests several hawthorn species in the southern USA. In a companion paper, we showed that R. pomonella flies infesting two different mayhaw species (Crataegus opaca and C. aestivalis) can discriminate between volatile blends developed for each host fruit, and that these blends are different from previously constructed blends for northern fly populations that infest domestic apple (Malus domestica), downy hawthorn (Crataegus mollis), and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). Here, we show by using coupled gas chromatography and electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD), gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and flight tunnel bioassays, that two additional southern hawthorn fly populations infesting C. viridis (green hawthorn) and C. brachyacantha (blueberry hawthorn) also can discriminate between volatile blends for each host fruit type. A 9-component blend was developed for C. viridis (3-methylbutan-1-ol [5%], butyl butanoate [19.5%], propyl hexanoate [1.5%], butyl hexanoate [24%], hexyl butanoate [24%], pentyl hexanoate [2.5%], 1-octen-3-ol [0.5%], pentyl butanoate [2.5%], and (3E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT) [20.5%]) and an 8-component blend for C. brachyacantha (3-methylbutan-1-ol [0.6%], butyl acetate [50%], pentyl acetate [3.5%], butyl butanoate [9%], butyl hexanoate [16.8%], hexyl butanoate [16.8%], 1-octen-3-ol [0.3%], and pentyl butanoate [3%]). Crataegus viridis and C. brachyacantha-origin flies showed significantly higher levels of upwind oriented flight to their natal blend in flight tunnel assays compared to the alternate, non-natal blend and previously developed northern host plant blends. The presence of DMNT in C. viridis and butyl acetate in C. brachyacantha appeared to be largely responsible for driving the differential response. This sharp behavioral distinction underscores the diversity of odor response phenotypes in the southern USA, points to possible host race formation in these populations, and despite the presence of several apple volatiles in both blends, argues against a functional apple race existing on southern host plants prior to the introduction of apple to North Americ

The Real World of Interdependence of Governments and Corporations: What We Know vs. What We Teach

Once we better understand this interdependence, we can more carefully ask how the public and private sectors can and should collaborate, for what purposes, and to whose benefit. The real world political questions are not whether it will be done or how such things could happen. A more constructive real world politics will focus on how we will manage the interdependence of governments and corporations, and whose interests and values will be served by policy choices about the patterns and practices of collaboration. If we organize our public life around these questions in 2020, American politics will be much more productive and satisfying