How Was It For You? The Oligarchic Structure of International Relations and Feminist Theory

It is my purpose to show that radical humanist and feminist theorising have much to offer each other. Central to this article’s thesis is the oligarchic structure of international relations; that is, a small, oligarchic clique of states exercising power in its own interests to the detriment of the overwhelming majority of the world’s population. The core position and borders of radical humanist theorising are examined, along with an assessment of some of the major the theoretical divergences between radical humanist and feminist theorising. Areas for theoretical alliance are also located which indicate the necessity of an inter-disciplinary approach that takes into account Third World liberation and the Green movement. A review of world government literature is noted, along with a review of contemporary examples of mainstream International Relations publications - which continue to avoid the feminist standpoint, or relegate feminism to a subsidiary position – and the faulty theoretical positions of Anthony Giddens and the pro-polyarchy perspective. The conclusion considers the benefits of cross-theoretical dialogue between feminist theory and radical humanist theory

Search for the Heliospheric Termination Shock (TS) and Heliosheath (HS)

Voyager 1 continues to measure the very distant Heliospheric Magnetic Field (HMF) beyond 95 AU at ~35 North latitude. The MAG instrument data covers more than a full 22 years solar magnetic cycle. The magnitude of the observed HMF is well described, on average, by Parker's Archimedean spiral structure if due account is made for time variations of the source field strength and solar wind velocity. The V1 magnetic field observations do not provide any evidence for a field increase associated with entry into a subsonic solar wind region, such as the heliosheath is expected to be, nor an exit from this regime. We see no evidence for crossing of the Termination Shock (TS) as has been reported at ~85 AU by the LECP instrument. Merged Interaction Regions are identified by an increased HMF and associated decreases in the flux of >70 MeV/nuc cosmic rays which are then followed by a flux recovery. This CR-B relationship has been identified in V1 data and studied since 1982 when V1 was at 11 AU. The variance of HMF, a direct measure of the energy**1/2 in the HMF fluctuations, shows no significant changes associated with the alleged TS crossings in 2002–2003. Thus, the absence of any HMF increase at the entry into the heliosheath appears not to be due to the onset of mesoscale turbulence as proposed by Fisk. The TS has yet to be directly observed in-situ by the V1 MAG experiment in data through 2003

Risk of root intrusion by tree and shrub species into sewer pipes in Swedish urban areas

Blockages in sewer pipes caused by roots are very common and several tree and shrub species are reported to be particularly likely to cause root intrusion. This study examined the relative ability of roots of different species to intrude into urban sewer pipes. Data on root-intruded pipes and the woody plants surrounding these pipes were collected from two Swedish cities, Malmö and Skövde. Plant material, location data and closed-circuit television (CCTV) inspections on root-intruded pipes with a total length of 33.7 km, containing 2180 different points of root intrusion, were examined. An inventory of 4107 woody plants was compiled. The results showed that broad-leaved trees dominated as a cause of root intrusion, but that conifers and a number of shrubs, e.g. the genera Ligustrum, Spiraea and Syringa, were also likely to have caused root intrusion. Malus floribunda Van Houtte was found to have the highest mean share of root intrusions per estimated number of pipe joints when all joints and all root intrusions within a 10 m radius from trees were calculated (0.694, maximum number of intrusions per joint 1.0), while Populus canadensis ‘Robusta’ Moench had the second highest, with 0.456 intrusions per estimated joint. However, other Malus and Populus species and cultivars had a much lower mean share of root intrusions. Most species seemed capable of causing root intrusion, and not only species of the genera Populus and Salix that were previously seen as the species most likely to cause damage to stormwater and sewer systems. There were differences in the frequency of joint intrusion by roots of different species, but the reasons for these differences were not identified and further research in the area is needed

The chigger and its control in Missouri

Caption title.Digitized 2006 AES MoU."October, 1941.""In Missouri, the. common chigger is the most troublesome pest of man during the summer months. One can scarcely venture outdoors during the chigger season without becoming infested. Tourists, particularly from the northern states, who come to the playgrounds in the Ozarks, may have some restless nights and uncomfortable days if precautions are not taken to escape its bite. While some persons may suffer only slightly from the chigger, no one is entirely free from its attack, and those with thin skin, who are especially susceptible to insect poisons, suffer most from the bites."--Page 1

On the origin of the O and B-type stars with high velocities II Runaway stars and pulsars ejected from the nearby young stellar groups

We use milli-arcsecond accuracy astrometry (proper motions and parallaxes) from Hipparcos and from radio observations to retrace the orbits of 56 runaway stars and nine compact objects with distances less than 700 pc, to identify the parent stellar group. It is possible to deduce the specific formation scenario with near certainty for two cases. (i) We find that the runaway star zeta Ophiuchi and the pulsar PSR J1932+1059 originated about 1 Myr ago in a supernova explosion in a binary in the Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Sco OB2 association. The pulsar received a kick velocity of about 350 km/s in this event, which dissociated the binary, and gave zeta Oph its large space velocity. (ii) Blaauw & Morgan and Gies & Bolton already postulated a common origin for the runaway-pair AE Aur and mu Col, possibly involving the massive highly-eccentric binary iota Ori, based on their equal and opposite velocities. We demonstrate that these three objects indeed occupied a very small volume \sim 2.5Myr ago, and show that they were ejected from the nascent Trapezium cluster. We identify the parent group for two more pulsars: both likely originate in the 50 Myr old association Per OB3, which contains the open cluster alpha Persei. At least 21 of the 56 runaway stars in our sample can be linked to the nearby associations and young open clusters. These include the classical runaways 53 Arietis (Ori OB1), xi Persei (Per OB2), and lambda Cephei (Cep OB3), and fifteen new identifications, amongst which a pair of stars running away in opposite directions from the region containing the lambda Ori cluster. Other currently nearby runaways and pulsars originated beyond 700 pc, where our knowledge of the parent groups is very incomplete.Comment: Accepted for publication in the A&A. 29 pages, 19 figure

Two step ejection of massive stars and the issue of their formation in isolation

In this paper we investigate the combined effect of massive binary ejection from star clusters and a second acceleration of a massive star during a subsequent supernova explosion. We call this the "two-step-ejection" scenario. The main results are: i) Massive field stars produced via the two-step-ejection process can not in the vast majority of cases be traced back to their parent star clusters. These stars can be mistakenly considered as massive stars formed in isolation. ii) The expected O star fraction produced via the two-step-ejection process is of the order of 1-4 per cent, in quantitative agreement with the observed fraction of candidates for isolated-O-star formation. iii) Stars ejected via the two-step-ejection process can get a higher final velocity (up to 1.5-2 times higher) than the pre-supernova velocity of the massive-star binary.Comment: Accepted by MNRA

N-body simulations of stars escaping from the Orion nebula

We study the dynamical interaction in which the two single runaway stars AE Aurigae and mu Columbae and the binary iota Orionis acquired their unusually high space velocity. The two single runaways move in almost opposite directions with a velocity greater than 100 km/s away from the Trapezium cluster. The star iota Ori is an eccentric (e=0.8) binary moving with a velocity of about 10 km/s at almost right angles with respect to the two single stars. The kinematic properties of the system suggest that a strong dynamical encounter occurred in the Trapezium cluster about 2.5 Myr ago. Curiously enough, the two binary components have similar spectral type but very different masses, indicating that their ages must be quite different. This observation leads to the hypothesis that an exchange interaction occurred in which an older star was swapped into the original iota Orionis binary. We test this hypothesis by a combination of numerical and theoretical techniques, using N-body simulations to constrain the dynamical encounter, binary evolution calculations to constrain the high orbital eccentricity of iota Orionis and stellar evolution calculations to constrain the age discrepancy of the two binary components. We find that an encounter between two low eccentricity (0.4<e<0.6) binaries with comparable binding energy, leading to an exchange and the ionization of the wider binary, provides a reasonable solution to this problem.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Comparison of stainless and mild steel welding fumes in generation of reactive oxygen species

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Welding fumes consist of a wide range of complex metal oxide particles which can be deposited in all regions of the respiratory tract. The welding aerosol is not homogeneous and is generated mostly from the electrode/wire. Over 390,000 welders were reported in the U.S. in 2008 while over 1 million full-time welders were working worldwide. Many health effects are presently under investigation from exposure to welding fumes. Welding fume pulmonary effects have been associated with bronchitis, metal fume fever, cancer and functional changes in the lung. Our investigation focused on the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species from stainless and mild steel welding fumes generated by a gas metal arc robotic welder. An inhalation exposure chamber located at NIOSH was used to collect the welding fume particles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results show that hydroxyl radicals (^.OH) were generated from reactions with H₂O₂and after exposure to cells. Catalase reduced the generation of <b>^.</b>OH from exposed cells indicating the involvement of H₂O₂. The welding fume suspension also showed the ability to cause lipid peroxidation, effect O₂consumption, induce H₂O₂generation in cells, and cause DNA damage.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Increase in oxidative damage observed in the cellular exposures correlated well with <b>^.</b>OH generation in size and type of welding fumes, indicating the influence of metal type and transition state on radical production as well as associated damage. Our results demonstrate that both types of welding fumes are able to generate ROS and ROS-related damage over a range of particle sizes; however, the stainless steel fumes consistently showed a significantly higher reactivity and radical generation capacity. The chemical composition of the steel had a significant impact on the ROS generation capacity with the stainless steel containing Cr and Ni causing more damage than the mild steel. Our results suggest that welding fumes may cause acute lung injury. Since type of fume generated, particle size, and elapsed time after generation of the welding exposure are significant factors in radical generation and particle deposition these factors should be considered when developing protective strategies.</p

Voyager 2 Observations Near the Heliopause

This paper discusses plasma characteristics in the heliosheath region before the heliopause (HP), at the HP, and in the very local interstellar medium (VLISM). The Voyager 2 (V2) HP was a sharp boundary where the radial plasma currents went to background levels. The radial flow speeds derived from 53-85 keV (V1) and 28-43 keV (V2) ion data decreased about 2 years (8 AU) before the HP at V1 and V2. A speed decrease was not observed by the V2 plasma instrument until 160 days (1.5 AU) before the HP crossing when V2 entered the plasma boundary layer where the plasma density and 28-43 keV ion intensity increased. We determine the HP orientation based on the plasma flow and magnetic field data and show these observations are consistent with models predicting a blunt HP. Variations are observed in the currents observed in the VLISM; roll data from this region clearly show the plasma instrument observes the interstellar plasma and may be consistent with larger than expected VLISM temperatures near the HP

Voyager 2 Observations Near the Heliopause

This paper discusses plasma characteristics in the heliosheath region before the heliopause (HP), at the HP, and in the very local interstellar medium (VLISM). The Voyager 2 (V2) HP was a sharp boundary where the radial plasma currents went to background levels. The radial flow speeds derived from 53-85 keV (V1) and 28-43 keV (V2) ion data decreased about 2 years (8 AU) before the HP at V1 and V2. A speed decrease was not observed by the V2 plasma instrument until 160 days (1.5 AU) before the HP crossing when V2 entered the plasma boundary layer where the plasma density and 28-43 keV ion intensity increased. We determine the HP orientation based on the plasma flow and magnetic field data and show these observations are consistent with models predicting a blunt HP. Variations are observed in the currents observed in the VLISM; roll data from this region clearly show the plasma instrument observes the interstellar plasma and may be consistent with larger than expected VLISM temperatures near the HP