4,822 research outputs found
Resource management and the effects of trade on vulnerable places and people : lessons from six case studies
Lessons from six case studies illustrate the complex relationships between international trade, vulnerable ecologies and the poor. The studies, taken from Africa, Asia and Latin America and conducted by local researchers, are set in places where the poor live in close proximity to ecologies that are important to global conservation efforts, and focus on the cascading consequences of trade policy for local livelihoods and environmental services. Collectively, the studies show how under-valued common resources are often poorly protected and consequently subject to shifting economic incentives, including those that arise from trade. The studies provide examples where trade works to accelerate the use of natural resources and to exacerbate unsustainable dependencies by the poor, and other examples where trade has the opposite effect. An important conclusion is that local livelihood and technology choices have important consequences for how environmental resources are used and should be taken into account when designing policies to safeguard fragile ecologies.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Emerging Markets,Labor Policies,Population Policies
Reverse graded relaxed buffers for high Ge content SiGe virtual substrates
An innovative approach is proposed for epitaxial growth of high Ge content, relaxed Si1−xGex buffer layers on a Si(001) substrate. The advantages of the technique are demonstrated by growing such structures via chemical vapor deposition and their characterization. Relaxed Ge is first grown on the substrate followed by the reverse grading approach to reach a final buffer composition of 0.78. The optimized buffer structure is only 2.8 µm thick and demonstrates a low surface threading dislocation density of 4×106 cm−2, with a surface roughness of 2.6 nm. The buffers demonstrate a relaxation of up to 107%
Reactions of selected pupils on inquiry forms and by personal interviews seeking to discover present interests and attitudes in the science of their own age level
Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityThesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit
Establishing a proactive safety and health risk management system in the fire service
BACKGROUND: Formalized risk management (RM) is an internationally accepted process for reducing hazards in the workplace, with defined steps including hazard scoping, risk assessment, and implementation of controls, all within an iterative process. While required for all industry in the European Union and widely used elsewhere, the United States maintains a compliance-based regulatory structure, rather than one based on systematic, risk-based methodologies. Firefighting is a hazardous profession, with high injury, illness, and fatality rates compared with other occupations, and implementation of RM programs has the potential to greatly improve firefighter safety and health; however, no descriptions of RM implementation are in the peer-reviewed literature for the North American fire service. METHODS: In this paper we describe the steps used to design and implement the RM process in a moderately-sized fire department, with particular focus on prioritizing and managing injury hazards during patient transport, fireground, and physical exercise procedures. Hazard scoping and formalized risk assessments are described, in addition to the identification of participatory-led injury control strategies. Process evaluation methods were conducted to primarily assess the feasibility of voluntarily instituting the RM approach within the fire service setting. RESULTS: The RM process was well accepted by the fire department and led to development of 45 hazard specific-interventions. Qualitative data documenting the implementation of the RM process revealed that participants emphasized the: value of the RM process, especially the participatory bottom-up approach; usefulness of the RM process for breaking down tasks to identify potential risks; and potential of RM for reducing firefighter injury. CONCLUSIONS: As implemented, this risk-based approach used to identify and manage occupational hazards and risks was successful and is deemed feasible for U.S. (and other) fire services. While several barriers and challenges do exist in the implementation of any intervention such as this, recommendations for adopting the process are provided. Additional work will be performed to determine the effectiveness of select controls strategies that were implemented; however participants throughout the organizational structure perceived the RM process to be of high utility while researchers also found the process improved the awareness and engagement in actively enhancing worker safety and health.This item is part of the UA Faculty Publications collection. For more information this item or other items in the UA Campus Repository, contact the University of Arizona Libraries at [email protected]
Conserved Chromosomal Positions of Dual Domains of the ets Protooncogene in Cats, Mice, and Humans
The mammalian protooncogene homologue of the avian v-ets sequence from the E26 retrovirus consists of two sequentially distinct domains located on different chromosomes. Using somatic cell hybrid panels, we have mapped the mammalian homologue of the 5\u27 v-ets-domain to chromosome 11 (ETS1) in man, to chromosome 9 (Ets-1) in mouse, and to chromosome D1 (ETS1) in the domestic cat. The mammalian homologue of the 3\u27 v-ets domain was similarly mapped to human chromosome 21 (ETS2), to mouse chromosome 16 (Ets-2), and to feline chromosome C2 (ETS2). Both protooncogenes fell in syntenic groups of homologous linked loci that were conserved among the three species. The occurrence of two distinct functional protooncogenes and their conservation of linkage positions in the three mammalian orders indicate that these two genes have been separate since before the evolutionary divergence of mammals
Shallow Water ’06 : a joint acoustic propagation/nonlinear internal wave physics experiment
Author Posting. © Oceanography Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 20, 4 (2007): 156-167.Since the end of the Cold War,
the US Navy has had an increasing interest
in continental shelves and slopes as
operational areas. To work in such areas
requires a good understanding of ocean
acoustics, coastal physical oceanography,
and, in the modern era, autonomous
underwater vehicle (AUV) operations
The Zero Temperature Chiral Phase Transition in SU(N) Gauge Theories
We investigate the zero temperature chiral phase transition in an SU(N) gauge
theory as the number of fermions is varied. We argue that there exists a
critical number of fermions , above which there is no chiral symmetry
breaking or confinement, and below which both chiral symmetry breaking and
confinement set in. We estimate and discuss the nature of the phase
transition.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX, version published in PR
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Separation of the minor actinides americium(III) and curium(III) by hydrophobic and hydrophilic BTPhen ligands: exploiting differences in their rates of extraction and effective separations at equilibrium
The complexation and extraction of the adjacent minor actinides Am(III) and Cm(III) by both hydrophobic and hydrophilic pre-organized 2,9-bis(1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline (BTPhen) ligands has been studied in detail. It has been shown that Am(III) is extracted more rapidly than Cm(III) by the hydrophobic CyMe4-BTPhen ligand into different organic diluents under non-equilibrium extraction conditions, leading to separation factors for Am over Cm (SFAm/Cm) as high as 7.9. Furthermore, the separation of Am(III) from Cm(III) can be tuned through careful choice of the extraction conditions (organic diluent, contact time, mixing speed, ligand concentration). This ‘kinetic’ effect is attributed to the higher presumed kinetic lability of the Am(III) aqua complex towards ligand substitution. A dependence of the Am(III)/Cm(III) selectivity on the structure of the alkyl groups attached to the triazine rings is also observed, and BTPhens bearing linear alkyl groups are less able to separate Am(III) from Cm(III) than CyMe4-BTPhen. Under equilibrium extraction conditions, hydrophilic tetrasulfonated BTPhen ligands complex selectively Am(III) over Cm(III) and prevent the extraction of Am(III) from nitric acid by the hydrophobic O-donor ligand N,N,N’,N’-tetraoctyldiglycolamide (TODGA), giving separation factors for Cm(III) over Am(III) (SFCm/Am) of up to 4.6. These results further underline the utility of the BTPhen ligands for the extremely challenging separation of the chemically similar minor actinides Am(III) and Cm(III) in future processes to close the nuclear fuel cycle
The Phase Structure of an SU(N) Gauge Theory with N_f Flavors
We investigate the chiral phase transition in SU(N) gauge theories as the
number of quark flavors, , is varied. We argue that the transition takes
place at a large enough value of so that it is governed by the infrared
fixed point of the function. We study the nature of the phase
transition analytically and numerically, and discuss the spectrum of the theory
as the critical value of is approached in both the symmetric and broken
phases. Since the transition is governed by a conformal fixed point, there are
no light excitations on the symmetric side. We extend previous work to include
higher order effects by developing a renormalization group estimate of the
critical coupling.Comment: 34 pages, 1 figure. More references adde
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