Responsible government

An article on the granting of responsible government in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) by the British Imperial Government in 1923.The granting of Responsible Government to Southern Rhodesia in 1923 was perhaps one of the most extraordinary acts of the Imperial Government in the twentieth century. Winston Churchill, who had been Secretary of State for the Colonies at the crucial point in the negotiations, remarked in 1927 to a future Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia, Godfrey Huggins, ‘You had — how many did you say? — only 30 000 Europeans when I gave you your constitution; I still don’t know why I did it.’* If Churchill was retrospectively surprised, the Colonial Office had been even more doubtful at the prospect of handing over almost a million Blacks to thirty thousand Whites. As Sir Henry Lambert had minuted in 1919: ‘To give responsible government to 30 000 whites ruling a million blacks is not only without precedent, but the example of Natal... right up to 1910 shows how great the difficulties would be.’* The question why the Colonial Office, on the eve of the Devonshire Declaration, was prepared to abdicate its responsibilities in this way is one that has never been adequately answered

African labour in the chartered company period

A journal article on forced labour of the native inhabitants in the British colony of Rhodesia.A constant refrain runs through all early published work on Rhodesia, through official documents of the Southern Rhodesian administration or of the Colonial Office in London, through any private or semi-official correspondence of the chartered period: the labour problem. Again and again it was said that the development of Southern Rhodesia was being retarded by the reluctance of the African population to go to work. In consequence many extraordinary schemes were got up to try to provide labour. Firstly there were attempts to increase the African population of Southern Rhodesia. The Fingoes were invited by Rhodes himself to immigrate from the Cape.1 Tribes from Portuguese East Africa, from the Northern Transvaal and from Bechuanaland were encouraged, sometimes in some secrecy, to cross the border into Rhodesia.2 The Chamber of Mines requested a policy of encouraging the many thousands of labourers who migrated from Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to bring their families with them and settle permanently in Southern Rhodesia, although they did not specify whether this permanent settlement would be in reserves or in urban locations.3 In 1917 when a serious rebellion broke out in the Barue district of Portuguese East Africa, thousands of refugees crossed into the Inyanga District.4 These people were invited to settle permanently and were indeed immediately integrated into the labour force by the provision of grain to the wives and children on condition that the able bodied men went out to work

Researching suicidal behaviours by offenders serving community based sentences: a near-lethal approach

Suicide, a global problem, affects individuals from diverse backgrounds. Higher at-risk groups include vulnerable populations, such as offenders and prisoners. Most suicide research focuses on prisoners with little focus on probation populations. The lived experiences of probation clients who have made suicide attempts has not previously been explored. Furthermore, research on experiences of probation staff managing suicidal offenders is limited. Consequently, the current research explored the experiences of probation clients who made near-lethal attempts, as well as the experiences of staff managing these clients, and strategies to prevent suicide. Study 1 explored probation staff experiences of managing suicidal clients through in-depth interviews. Findings indicate that staff felt inadequate in managing these issues, but training and experience facilitated better management techniques. Studies 2a & 2b explored the perspective of individuals serving probation sentences who had made near-lethal attempts. Findings suggest that the suicidal state was experienced in relation to perceived loss of control, which often related to their probation process. Clients felt that non-judgmental listening prevented suicide attempts. However, disclosure was sometimes unlikely due to a fear of being judged or lacking trust in others. Study 3 employed 3-6 month follow-up interviews to explore changes in clients’ perspectives. Findings suggest that following reflection on their attempts, clients’ time perception fluctuated. For example, time leading up to the attempt was perceived as slow whilst the actual attempt was quick and impulsive, and following the attempt time slowed down. This slowness in time prior to the suicide attempt could be an opportunity for interventions. Findings highlight the need for extra support regarding negative coping strategies in order to prevent offending and suicide. Moreover, clients receiving support for their suicidal feelings and maladaptive coping mechanisms did not make further attempts. Study 4 compared the experiences and views of probation clients with staff. Findings demonstrate similar views in terms of when and why suicides occur, and what can be done to prevent suicide. However, poor communication between the two parties was a barrier to suicide management. The unique contribution of this program of research lies in its understanding of suicide from the perspectives of probation clients who have experienced it; providing unique understandings about clients at high risk of suicide, ways of preventing suicide, and what barriers exist for clients who need help

Conserved amino acids within the N-terminus of the West Nile virus NS4A protein contribute to virus replication, protein stability and membrane proliferation

AbstractThe West Nile virus strain Kunjin virus (WNVKUN) NS4A protein is a multifunctional protein involved in many aspects of the virus life-cycle and is a major component of the WNVKUN replication complex (RC). Previously we identified a conserved region in the C-terminus of NS4A regulating proteolytic processing and RC assembly, and now investigate key conserved residues in the N-terminus of NS4A and their contribution to WNVKUN replication. Mutation of P13 completely ablated replication, whereas, mutation of P48 and D49, near the first transmembrane helix, and G66 within the helix, showed variable defects in replication, virion secretion and membrane proliferation. Intriguingly, the P48 and G66 NS4A mutants resulted in specific proteasome depletion of NS4A that could in part be rescued with a proteasome inhibitor. Our results suggest that the N-terminus of NS4A contributes to correct folding and stability, essential for facilitating the essential roles of NS4A during replication

Superconducting Upper Critical Field Near a 2D Van Hove Singularity

The superconducting upper critical field $H_{c2}(T)$ of a two dimensional BCS superconductor is calculated in the vicinity of a van-Hove singularity. The zero temperature upper critical field is strongly enhanced at weak coupling when the Fermi contour coincides with van-Hove points, scaling as $H_{c2}(0) \propto T_c^{\sqrt{2}}$ compared to the usual result $H_{c2}(0) \propto T_c^{2}$. The result can be interpreted in terms of the non-Fermi liquid decay of normal state pair correlations in the vicinity of a van-Hove point.Comment: 4 pages, Latex 2.09 (revtex), 3 postscript figures appended (tar-compressed and uuencoded using `uufiles'

Exogenous tannase improves feeding value of a diet containing field beans (Vicia faba) when fed to broilers

A total of 72 male Ross 308 broilers were used in a study to investigate the effect of dietary tannase on apparent metabolisable energy (AME), coefficients of dry matter retention (DMR) and nitrogen retention (NR) and fat digestibility (FD) of a diet containing 300 g/kg field beans (Vicia faba). Growth performance variables and gastrointestinal tract development were also measured. Two treatments were used in this study: control (C) and C + 3400 tannase units (TU) per kg feed. Diets were formulated to be nutritionally adequate with the exception that the AME was lower than recommended (12.65 vs 12.97 MJ/kg, respectively). Inclusion of tannase increased AME by 0.4 MJ/kg DM. Tannase supplementation improved dietary DMR, NR and FD by 2.8%, 3.2% and 6.5%, respectively. Birds given tannase had 4.4% reduction in feed intake and 2.6% improvement in gain to feed ratio (P < 0.05). Compared to control diet, birds given tannase had reduced relative to body weight (%BW) proventriculus and gizzard and pancreas weights, 3.29% vs 3.09% and 0.47% vs 0.44%, respectively. The mechanisms of action of the studied enzyme require further elucidation

Nutritional value of raw and micronised field beans (Vicia fabaL. var.minor) with and without enzyme supplementation containing tannase for growing chickens

An experiment examined the effects of two field bean cultivar samples with different tannin contents, the effect of heat treatment (micronising) and the effect of dietary supplementation of a proprietary enzyme preparation containing tannase, pectinase, and xylanase activities on metabolisable energy (ME), total tract dry matter digestibility (DMD) and ether extract digestibility (EED), nitrogen retention (NR), tannin degradability, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, and endogenous mucin losses excretion in broiler chickens. The Control diet contained per kg 221 g crude protein and 12.83 MJ ME. Four additional diets contained 300 g/kg of each of the two untreated or micronised experimental field bean cultivar samples. Each diet was then split into two batches and one of them was supplemented with 3400 units tannase per kg diet resulting in 10 diets in total. Each diet was fed to seven pens with two randomly selected male broilers each. Birds fed the high tannin bean sample had a lower weight gain (p < 0.001), and a lower determined apparent ME (p < 0.05), and DMD (p < 0.001) but a higher tannin degradability (p < 0.001). Compared to the Control diet, feeding field beans increased (p < 0.001) the weights of the proventriculus and gizzard of the birds, and also increased endogenous mucin losses (p < 0.05). Supplementing diets with the tannase-containing enzyme preparation improved dietary ME (p < 0.001), DMD (p < 0.001), NR (p < 0.001) and DEE (p < 0.05), but did not change tannin degradability. Heat treatment of the beans reduced the degradability of condensed tannins and increased endogenous mucin losses (p < 0.05). The differences in the feeding value of the different field bean samples were not improved by heat treatment, but enzyme supplementation improved the feeding value of all diets regardless of the bean samples or heat treatment. Further research is warranted to study the effectiveness of tannase supplementation in poultry diet formulations by dose response trials with purified tannase preparations

Linear Field Dependence of the Normal-State In-Plane Magnetoresistance of Sr2RuO4

The transverse and longitudinal in-plane magnetoresistances in the normal state of superconducting Sr2RuO4 single crystals have been measured. At low temperatures, both of them were found to be positive with a linear magnetic-field dependence above a threshold field, a result not expected from electronic band theory. We argue that such behavior is a manifestation of a novel coherent state characterized by a spin pseudo gap in the quasi-particle excitation spectrum in Sr2RuO4.Comment: 4 pages + 5 figure

Variability of physical factors relevant to fisheries production in the Mediterranean Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea

Recent publications have shown that river runoff and wind mixing are two major environmental factors affecting productivity of fish populations in subtropical and tropical areas, as opposed to water temperature in colder waters. In the present paper, we compare the variability of seawater temperature, river runoff and wind mixing in three different seas: a subtropical sea (the Mediterranean) and two cold seas (the North Sea and the Baltic). Temperature variability decreased from colder to warmer areas. The highest temporal variability in the river runoff corresponded to rivers flowing into the Mediterranean, and the lowest corresponded to rivers flowing into the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The variability in the wind mixing index (cube of the wind speed) depended on the area under consideration, and attained maximum values in the Cap Béar station (northwestern Mediterranean). The effect of these regional variability differences in environmental factors on fisheries production is briefly discussed.Investigaciones recientes demuestran que las descargas fluviales y los vientos son factores ambientales clave para la productividad de las poblaciones explotadas en zonas subtropicales y tropicales, mientras que en mares fríos la temperatura del agua constituye el factor ambiental más importante para la productividad pesquera. Este estudio compara las diferencias geográficas en la variabilidad temporal de tres factores físicos (temperatura del agua, aportes fluviales y velocidad del viento) en un mar subtropical (Mediterráneo) y dos mares fríos (Mar del Norte y Báltico). La variabilidad temporal de la temperatura del agua es mayor en los dos mares fríos que en el subtropical. Así mismo, los ríos que desembocan en el Mediterráneo presentan mayor variabilidad temporal en cuanto a los aportes fluviales que los ríos que desembocan en el Mar del Norte y el mar Báltico. La variabilidad temporal en el índice de mezcla del viento (velocidad del viento al cubo) es distinta según la zona que se considere, y es máxima en la estación de Cap Béar (Mediterráneo noroccidental). Finalmente, se discuten los efectos de esta variabilidad ambiental geográfica sobre las poblaciones explotadas.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Vortex lattice stability in the SO(5) model

We study the energetics of superconducting vortices in the SO(5) model for high-$T_c$ materials proposed by Zhang. We show that for a wide range of parameters normally corresponding to type II superconductivity, the free energy per unit flux \FF(m) of a vortex with $m$ flux quanta is a decreasing function of $m$, provided the doping is close to its critical value. This implies that the Abrikosov lattice is unstable, a behaviour typical of type I superconductors. For dopings far from the critical value, \FF(m) can become very flat, indicating a less rigid vortex lattice, which would melt at a lower temperature than expected for a BCS superconductor.Comment: 4 pp, revtex, 5 figure