Waterfowl Populations in Eastern Lancaster Sound and Western Baffin Bay

The seasonal distributions of oldsquaws (Clangula hyemalis), common eiders (Somateria mollissima) and king eiders (S. spectabilis) were determined through aerial surveys in eastern Lancaster Sound (1976, 1978 and 1979) and northwest Baffin Bay (1978, 1979). Sightings of geese are summarized in an Appendix. The major spring influx of both eiders occurs about the second week of May but most oldsquaws do not arrive until the first half of June. In spring, all three species are rare in offshore areas, are most abundant along coasts in the northern half of the study area, and tend to depart to nesting areas during the last week of June. Oldsqaws molt along coasts of Lancaster Sound and northwest Baffin Bay, but both species of eiders undertake molt migrations. Three waves of eider out-migration were detected in 1976 and 1978. Distribution and movements within the study area are related to probable migrations routes and ice conditions.Key words: oldsquaw, king eider, common eider, geese, aerial surveys, distribution, molt migration, eastern Arctic, Baffin Bay, Lancaster Soun

Spring Migration and Habitat Use by Seabirds in Eastern Lancaster Sound and Western Baffin Bay

The status and distribution, during spring and early summer, of northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis), black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) were studied during aerial surveys in eastern Lancaster Sound (1976, 1978, 1979) and western Baffin Bay (1978, 1979). Fulmars were present in the study area by early May but most undertook a pre-laying exodus in late May before returning in early June to nest. During June and the first half of July, they were common along coasts and in offshore areas throughout the region. Kittiwakes returned in late May and numbers increased through June, both along coasts and offshore. Numbers offshore decreased after nesting, which begins in mid- to late June. Murres returned to the study area around mid-May and were abundant during June, especially near their colonies. Densities were generally highest along fast ice edges. Guillemots returned to the study area in the last half of May and were widespread along coasts, ice edges and in offshore areas during June. Densities were much lower after nesting, which commences in late June. Densities of fulmars, murres and guillemots were much higher along fast ice edges than along ice-free coasts: the opposite was true of kittiwakes. Offshore, fulmars and kittiwakes preferred waters with little or no pack ice, whereas murres and guillemots preferred moderate to heavy pack ice. These habitat preferences affected the distributions of the species within the region. Ice conditions in eastern Lancaster Sound were markedly different during each of the three years of study. Effects of different ice conditions on the species' distributions are assessed. Seabird distributions in six parts of the region are summarized.Key words: fulmar, kittiwake, murre, guillemot, distribution, habitat use, Lancaster Sound, Baffin Ba

Seabird Concentrations in Late Summer Along the Coasts of Devon and Ellesmere Islands, N.W.T.

The presence of large concentrations of northern fulmars and black-legged kittiwakes along coasts of Devon and Ellesmere islands was documented in 1976 and 1978 by aerial surveys. Fulmars were present along these coasts from late July until mid-September, with peaks in late August and early September along Devon Island, and mid-September along Ellesmere Island. Black-legged kittiwakes were abundant along Devon Island after mid-September, but common along Ellesmere Island from late August to late September. Densities of both species were significantly higher in front of glaciers than along coastlines.Key words: northern fulmar, black-legged kittiwake, arctic distribution, late summer, glacier front, Devon Island, Ellesmere Islan

Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) Distribution in Late Summer and Autumn in Eastern Lancaster Sound and Western Baffin Bay

Ivory gulls in western Baffin Bay and eastern Lancaster Sound were studied in 1976, 1978 and 1979 using aerial surveys. During September and October concentrations of hundreds of ivory gulls occurred along glacier fronts on southeast Ellesmere and northeast and southeast Devon islands, and where offal was available near the settlements of Grise Fiord and Pond Inlet. Dispersal (= southward migration) from coastal to offshore areas proceeded as pan ice cover increased in offshore areas, usually in late September or early October in Lancaster Sound and in mid-October in Baffin Bay east of Baffin Island. Lancaster Sound and northwest Baffin Bay may be a major autumn migration route for ivory gulls that breed in the central and eastern High Arctic and winter in southern Davis Strait and areas to the south.Key words: ivory gull, Pagophila eburnea, autumn status, migration, Baffin Bay, Lancaster Sound, glacier fronts, aeriel survey

The Dovekie, Alle alle, as a Spring Migrant in Eastern Lancaster Sound and Western Baffin Bay

The distribution and numbers of dovekies during spring migration were studied by aerial surveys of eastern Lancaster Sound (1976, 1978, 1979) and western Baffin Bay (1978, 1979). Dovekies that nest in northwest Greenland migrated north through the study area during May. Extrapolations of recorded densities indicate that a peak of ~14 million dovekies may have been present in eastern Lancaster Sound and northwest Baffin Bay in mid-May 1978: fewer were present in May 1979, although the migration was more protracted and total numbers migrating through these areas may have been similar. Dovekies preferred offshore pack ice habitats with moderate to heavy ice cover. Possible reasons for the highly variable distributions in the three years are discussed.Key words: dovekie, Alle alle, spring migration, Lancaster Sound, Baffin Bay, aerial survey

Evaluating lithium diffusion mechanisms in the complex spinel Li2NiGe3O8

Lithium-ion diffusion mechanisms in the complex spinel Li2NiGe3O8 have been investigated using solid-state NMR, impedance, and muon spectroscopies. Partial occupancy of migratory interstitial 12d sites is shown to occur at lower temperatures than previously reported. Bulk activation energies for Li+ ion hopping range from 0.43 ± 0.03 eV for powdered samples to 0.53 ± 0.01 eV for samples sintered at 950 °C for 24 h, due to the loss of Li during sintering at elevated temperatures. A lithium diffusion coefficient of 3.89 × 10−12 cm2 s−1 was calculated from muon spectroscopy data for Li2NiGe3O8 at 300 K

Antonio Gramsci’s impact on critical pedagogy

This paper provides an account of Antonio Gramsci’s impact on the area of critical pedagogy. It indicates the Gramscian influence on the thinking of major exponents of the field. It foregrounds Gramsci's ideas and then indicates how they have been taken up by a selection of critical pedagogy exponents who were chosen on the strength of their identification and engagement with Gramsci's ideas, some of them even having written entire essays on Gramsci. The essay concludes with a discussion concerning an aspect of Gramsci's concerns, the question of powerful knowledge, which, in the present author's view, provides a formidable challenge to critical pedagogues.peer-reviewe

Elevation of iron storage in humans attenuates the pulmonary vascular response to hypoxia

Sustained hypoxia over several hours induces a progressive rise in pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP). Administration of intravenous iron immediately prior to the hypoxia exposure abrogates this effect, suggesting that manipulation of iron stores may modify hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Iron (ferric carboxymaltose) administered intravenously has a plasma half-life of 7-12 hours. Thus, any therapeutic use of intravenous iron would require its effect on PASP to persist long after the iron-sugar complex has been cleared from the blood. To examine this, we studied PASP during sustained (6-h) hypoxia on four separate days (days 0, 1, 8 and 43) in 22 participants. On day 0, the rise in PASP with hypoxia was well matched between the iron and saline groups. On day 1, each participant received either 1 g of ferric carboxymaltose or saline in a double-blind manner. After administration of intravenous iron, the rise in PASP with hypoxia was attenuated by ~50%, and this response remained suppressed on both days 8 and 43 (p<0.001). Following administration of intravenous iron, values for ferritin concentration, transferrin saturation and hepcidin concentration rose significantly (p<0.001, p <0.005 and p<0.001, respectively) and values for transferrin concentration fell significantly (p<0.001). These changes remained significant at day 43. We conclude that the attenuation of the pulmonary vascular response to hypoxia by elevation of iron stores persists long after the artificial iron-sugar complex has been eliminated from the blood. The persistence of this effect suggests that intravenous iron may be of benefit in some forms of pulmonary hypertension

Electric Power Infrastructure Reliability and Security (EPIRS) Reseach and Development Initiative

Power systems have become increasingly complex and face unprecedented challenges posed by population growth, climate change, national security issues, foreign energy dependence and an aging power infrastructure. Increased demand combined with increased economic and environmental constraints is forcing state, regional and national power grids to expand supply without the large safety and stability margins in generation and transmission capacity that have been the rule in the past. Deregulation, distributed generation, natural and man-made catastrophes and other causes serve to further challenge and complicate management of the electric power grid. To meet the challenges of the 21st century while also maintaining system reliability, the electric power grid must effectively integrate new and advanced technologies both in the actual equipment for energy conversion, transfer and use, and in the command, control, and communication systems by which effective and efficient operation of the system is orchestrated - in essence, the 'smart grid'. This evolution calls for advances in development, integration, analysis, and deployment approaches that ultimately seek to take into account, every step of the way, the dynamic behavior of the system, capturing critical effects due to interdependencies and interaction. This approach is necessary to better mitigate the risk of blackouts and other disruptions and to improve the flexibility and capacity of the grid. Building on prior Navy and Department of Energy investments in infrastructure and resources for electric power systems research, testing, modeling, and simulation at the Florida State University (FSU) Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS), this project has continued an initiative aimed at assuring reliable and secure grid operation through a more complete understanding and characterization of some of the key technologies that will be important in a modern electric system, while also fulfilling an education and outreach mission to provide future energy workforce talent and support the electric system stakeholder community. Building upon and extending portions of that research effort, this project has been focused in the following areas: (1) Building high-fidelity integrated power and controls hardware-in-the-loop research and development testbed capabilities (Figure 1). (2) Distributed Energy Resources Integration - (a) Testing Requirements and Methods for Fault Current Limiters, (b) Contributions to the Development of IEEE 1547.7, (c) Analysis of a STATCOM Application for Wind Resource Integration, (d) Development of a Grid-Interactive Inverter with Energy Storage Elements, (e) Simulation-Assisted Advancement of Microgrid Understanding and Applications; (3) Availability of High-Fidelity Dynamic Simulation Tools for Grid Disturbance Investigations; (4) HTS Material Characterization - (a) AC Loss Studies on High Temperature Superconductors, (b) Local Identification of Current-Limiting Mechanisms in Coated Conductors; (5) Cryogenic Dielectric Research; and (6) Workshops, education, and outreach

A gene signature for post-infectious chronic fatigue syndrome

Background: At present, there are no clinically reliable disease markers for chronic fatigue syndrome. DNA chip microarray technology provides a method for examining the differential expression of mRNA from a large number of genes. Our hypothesis was that a gene expression signature, generated by microarray assays, could help identify genes which are dysregulated in patients with post-infectious CFS and so help identify biomarkers for the condition. Methods: Human genome-wide Affymetrix GeneChip arrays (39,000 transcripts derived from 33,000 gene sequences) were used to compare the levels of gene expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of male patients with post-infectious chronic fatigue (n = 8) and male healthy control subjects (n = 7). Results: Patients and healthy subjects differed significantly in the level of expression of 366 genes. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes indicated functional implications in immune modulation, oxidative stress and apoptosis. Prototype biomarkers were identified on the basis of differential levels of gene expression and possible biological significance Conclusion: Differential expression of key genes identified in this study offer an insight into the possible mechanism of chronic fatigue following infection. The representative biomarkers identified in this research appear promising as potential biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment