How remote are Vietnam's ethnic minorities? An analysis of spatial patterns of poverty and inequality

This paper investigates whether physical accessibility or ethnicity is a stronger determinant of poverty in Vietnam. Spatially disaggregated welfare indexes for population subgroups show that overall inequality is shaped by an urban-rural welfare divide, closely followed in importance by sharp welfare differences between ethnic groups. Accessibility to urban areas is a weaker determinant of poverty. The findings have important implications for the targeting of rural development investments. Addressing the factors isolating ethnic minorities from the mainstream economy is likely to be a more useful strategy in reducing rural poverty and inequality than simple geographic targetin

The Influence of Molecular Architecture on the Macroscopic Lubrication Properties of the Brush-Like Co-polyelectrolyte Poly(L-lysine)- g -poly(ethylene glycol) (PLL- g -PEG) Adsorbed on Oxide Surfaces

The co-polymer poly(L-lysine)-g-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLL-g-PEG) has been investigated as a potential biomimetic boundary-lubrication additive for aqueous lubrication systems. In this work, the influence of the co-polymer's architecture on its tribological performance has been investigated. The architectural parameters investigated comprise side-chain (PEG) length, Lys/PEG grafting ratio and backbone chain (PLL) length. The tribological approaches applied in this work include ultra-thin-film interferometry, the mini-traction machine (MTM), and pin-on-disk tribometry. Both an increase in the molecular weight of the PEG side chains and a reduction in the grafting ratio result in an improvement in the lubricating properties of aqueous PLL-g-PEG solution at low speeds. MTM measurements show that an increase in the molecular weight of the PLL backbone results in an increase of the coefficient of frictio

Model-theoretic properties of nilpotent groups and Lie algebras

We give a systematic study of the model theory of generic nilpotent groups and Lie algebras. We show that the Fra\"iss\'e limit of 2-nilpotent groups of exponent $p$ studied by Baudisch is 2-dependent and NSOP$_{1}$. We prove that the class of $c$-nilpotent Lie algebras over an arbitrary field, in a language with predicates for a Lazard series, is closed under free amalgamation. We show that for $2 < c$, the generic $c$-nilpotent Lie algebra over $\mathbb{F}_{p}$ is strictly NSOP$_{4}$ and $c$-dependent. Via the Lazard correspondence, we obtain the same result for $c$-nilpotent groups of exponent $p$, for an odd prime $p > c$

Modeling the Miocene Climatic Optimum: Ocean Circulation

Ocean circulation is investigated using the Community Climate System Model 3 (CCSM3) forced with early to middle Miocene (∼20–14 Ma) topography, bathymetry, vegetation and modern CO2. Significant bottom water formation is modeled in the Weddell Sea along with intermediate North Component Water formation in the North Atlantic. This is attributed primarily to stronger- and weaker-than-modern convective preconditioning in the Weddell and Labrador Seas, respectively. Global meridional overturning and gyre circulation is weaker in the Miocene due to weaker midlatitude westerlies in the southern hemisphere, caused by lowering of the meridional surface temperature gradient, in addition to regional influences on convection. Subsurface temperatures in the Miocene are significantly higher in the far North Atlantic, Greenland-Norwegian Seas and Arctic basin compared to the present. Ocean heat transport is symmetrical about the equator and resembles that simulated for late Cretaceous and early Cenozoic climates, suggesting the northern hemisphere dominated ocean heat transport active today developed after the middle Miocene. Simulated deep water warming in the Miocene is more than an order of magnitude lower than indicated by proxies. This discrepancy is not reconciled by higher CO2 due to the persistence of sea-ice at sites of deep water formation. This suggests that either the CCSM3 is insufficiently sensitive to Miocene boundary conditions, greater greenhouse forcing existed than is currently reconstructed, or that proxy records of warming are exaggerated. Given the diversity of global Miocene proxy records and their near-unanimous estimate of a significantly warmer Earth, the first two options are more likely

Identification of type II toxin-antitoxin modules in Burkholderia pseudomallei

© 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reservedThis is an open access article that is freely available in ORE or from the publisher's web site. Please cite the published version.Type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are believed to be widely distributed amongst bacteria although their biological functions are not clear. We have identified eight candidate TA systems in the genome of the human pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei. Five of these were located in genome islands. Of the candidate toxins, BPSL0175 (RelE1) or BPSS1060 (RelE2) caused growth to cease when expressed in Escherichia coli, whereas expression of BPSS0390 (HicA) or BPSS1584 (HipA) (in an E. coli ΔhipBA background) caused a reduction in the number of culturable bacteria. The cognate antitoxins could restore growth and culturability of cells.Wellcome Trus

The influence of molecular architecture on the macroscopic lubrication properties of the brush-like co-polyelectrolyte poly(L-lysine)-g-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLL-g-PEG) adsorbed on oxide surfaces

ISSN:1023-8883ISSN:1573-271

The small RNA locus map for Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Small (s)RNAs play crucial roles in the regulation of gene expression and genome stability across eukaryotes where they direct epigenetic modifications, post-transcriptional gene silencing, and defense against both endogenous and exogenous viruses. It is known that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a well-studied unicellular green algae species, possesses sRNA-based mechanisms that are distinct from those of land plants. However, definition of sRNA loci and further systematic classification is not yet available for this or any other algae. Here, using data-driven machine learning approaches including Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and clustering, we have generated a comprehensively annotated and classified sRNA locus map for C. reinhardtii. This map shows some common characteristics with higher plants and animals, but it also reveals distinct features. These results are consistent with the idea that there was diversification in sRNA mechanisms after the evolutionary divergence of algae from higher plant lineages

Cenozoic Uplift of south Western Australia as constrained by river profiles

The relative tectonic quiescence of the Australian continent during the Cenozoic makes it an excellent natural laboratory to study recent large-scale variations in surface topography, and processes that influence changes in its elevation. Embedded within this topography is a fluvial network that is sensitive to variations in horizontal and vertical motions. The notion that a river acts as a 'tape recorder' for vertical perturbations suggests that changes in spatial and temporal characteristics of surface uplift can be deduced through the analysis of longitudinal river profiles. We analyse 20 longitudinal river profiles around the Australian continent. Concave upward profiles in northeast Australia indicate an absence of recent surface uplift. In contrast, the major knickzones within longitudinal profiles of rivers in southwest Australia suggest recent surface uplift. Given the lack of recent large-scale tectonic activity in that region, this uplift requires an explanation. Applying an inverse algorithm to river profiles of south Western Australia reveals that this surface uplift started in the Eocene and culminated in the mid-late Neogene. The surface uplift rates deduced from this river profile analysis generally agree with independent geological observations including preserved shallow-marine sediment outcrops across the Eucla Basin and south Western Australia. We show that the interplay between global sea level and long-wavelength dynamic topography associated with south Western Australia's plate motion path over the remnants of an ancient Pacific slab is a plausible mechanism driving this surface uplift.Comment: 33 pages including 7 figures. Published in Tectonophysics, please see final manuscript ther