Globalization and its methodological discontents: Contextualizing globalization through the study of HIV/AIDS

There remains considerable discontent between globalization scholars about how to conceptualize its meaning and in regards to epistemological and methodological questions concerning how we can come to understand how these processes ultimately operate, intersect and transform our lives. This article argues that to better understand what globalization is and how it affects issues such as global health, we must take a differentiating approach, which focuses on how the multiple processes of globalization are encountered and informed by different social groups and with how these encounters are experienced within particular contexts. The article examines the heuristic properties of qualitative field research as a means to help better understand how the intersections of globalization are manifested within particular locations. To do so, the article focuses on three recent case studies conducted on globalization and HIV/AIDS and explores how these cases can help us to understand the contextual permutations involved within the processes of globalization

An imaging vector magnetograph for the next solar maximum

Researchers describe the conceptual design of a new imaging vector magnetograph currently being constructed at the University of Hawaii. The instrument combines a modest solar telescope with a rotating quarter-wave plate, an acousto-optical tunable prefilter as a blocker for a servo-controlled Fabry-Perot etalon, CCD cameras, and on-line digital image processing. Its high spatial resolution (1/2 arcsec pixel size) over a large field of view (5 by 5 arcmin) will be sufficient to significantly measure, for the first time, the magnetic energy dissipated in major solar flares. Its millisecond tunability and wide spectral range (5000 to 7000 A) enable nearly simultaneous vector magnetic field measurements in the gas-pressure-dominated photosphere and magnetically-dominated chromosphere, as well as effective co-alignment with Solar-A's X ray images. Researchers expect to have the instrument in operation at Mees Solar Observatory (Haleakala) in early 1991. They have chosen to use tunable filters as wavelength-selection elements in order to emphasize the spatial relationships between magnetic field elements, and to permit construction of a compact, efficient instrument. This means that spectral information must be obtained from sequences of images, which can cause line profile distortions due to effects of atmospheric seeing

Globalization, Global Governance and the Social Determinants of Health: A review of the linkages and agenda for action

The Globalization Knowledge Network (GKN) was formed in 2005 with the purpose of examining how contemporary globalization was influencing social determinants of health. It was one of nine Knowledge Networks providing evidence-informed guidance to the work of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2005-2008): like most of the Knowledge Networks, its operations were financed by an external funder (in this case, the International Affairs Directorate of Health Canada, Canada’s national ministry of health). The GKN conducted two face-to-face meetings to debate, discuss, outline and review its work, and produced thirteen background papers and a Final Report. These papers and the Final Report underwent extensive internal and external peer review to ensure that their findings and policy inferences accurately reflected available evidence and scholarship. This GKN publication series was prepared under the general editorship of Ronald Labonté, with assistance from Vivien Runnels and copy-editing provided by Wayne Harding. All views expressed are exclusively those of the authors. A complete list of titles in the publication series appears on the inside back cover of this monograph

Brownian dynamics approach to interacting magnetic moments

The question how to introduce thermal fluctuations in the equation of motion of a magnetic system is addressed. Using the approach of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem we calculate the properties of the noise for both, the fluctuating field and fluctuating torque (force) representation. In contrast to earlier calculations we consider the general case of a system of interacting magnetic moments without the assumption of axial symmetry. We show that the interactions do not result in any correlations of thermal fluctuations in the field representation and that the same widely used formula can be used in the most general case. We further prove that close to the equilibrium where the fluctuation-dissipation theorem is valid, both, field and torque (force) representations coincide, being different far away from it

Fluxes in H\alpha and Ca II H and K for a sample of Southern stars

The main chromospheric activity indicator is the S index, which is esentially the ratio of the flux in the core of the Ca II H and K lines to the continuum nearby, and is well studied basically for stars from F to K. Another usual chromospheric proxy is the H\alpha line, which is beleived to be tightly correlated with the Ca II index. In this work we characterize both chromospheric activity indicators, one associated with the H and K Ca II lines and the other with H\alpha, for the whole range of late type stars, from F to M. We present periodical medium-resolution echelle observations covering the complete visual range, which were taken at the CASLEO Argentinean Observatory. These observations are distributed along 7 years. We use a total of 917 flux-calibrated spectra for 109 stars which range from F6 to M5. We statistically study these two indicators for stars of different activity levels and spectral types. We directly derive the conversion factor which translate the known S index to flux in the Ca II cores, and extend its calibration to a wider spectral range. We investigate the relation between the activity measurements in the calcium and hydrogen lines, and found that the usual correlation observed is basically the product of the dependence of each flux with stellar colour, and not the product of similar activity phenomena.Comment: 12 pages, including 11 figures and 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Exploring the genomic basis of traits relevant to evolution and ecology of chestnuts (Castanea) using high-throughput DNA sequencing and bioinformatics.

Introduced pests and pathogens have devastated forest ecosystems in the temperate zone; in eastern North America, introduced pests and pathogens have led to the elimination of most mature elms (Ulmus), ashes (Fraxinus), hemlocks (Tsuga) and chestnuts (Castanea) over large areas where these genera were formerly abundant and important for local ecosystems. The restoration of species affected by introduced pests and pathogens requires the development and propagation of trees that possess heritable resistance. High-throughput DNA sequencing and genomics provide opportunities for researchers to identify resistance gene candidates, screen germplasm, and develop markers for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs, with the goal of restoring ecologically important wild trees to the landscape. American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is currently the focus of a major research effort that intends to restore the species by incorporating blight resistance from Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima), a species that is generally resistant to chestnut blight. I investigated several aspects of chestnut genomics and blight resistance with the goal of aiding the blight resistance breeding program for American chestnut. I tested a detached-leaf assay for chestnut blight resistance and learned that it may not be useful for screening advanced backcross (BC3) progeny in chestnut blight resistance breeding programs (Chapter 2). Utilizing a recent draft assembly of the Chinese chestnut reference genome, I analyzed patterns of genetic variation across regions associated with chestnut blight resistance, and found that several loci associated with blight resistance show markedly elevated nucleotide diversity in the most resistant Chinese chestnuts relative to more susceptible trees. At other blight-associated loci, genetic diversity was low in all C. mollissima (Chapter 3). This indicates that while maintaining high allelic diversity at blight resistance loci is desirable for a resistance breeding program, it may not be essential. Assessing potential unintended effects of hybrid breeding on the ecological behavior of restored chestnuts, I found that several genetic loci in third backcross (BC3) chestnut appear to affect caching decisions by squirrels due to inheritance of C. mollissima alleles that influence seed traits (Chapter 4). The reason for backcrossing in the American chestnut breeding program is to avoid the short, branchy mature form of C. mollissima. By sequencing the genomes of wild and orchard-derived Chinese chestnuts, I showed that some genomic loci under selection in orchard chestnuts (i.e., artificially selected by humans) may influence crown form (Chapter 5). This work should provide the basis for further investigations that validate the phenotypic effects of the proposed candidate genes, and utilize information on genetic polymorphisms identified here to accelerate chestnut improvement programs

Case Study of an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Service in Australia: Universal, Rights-Based, Publicly Funded Comprehensive Primary Health Care in Action

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Universal health coverage provides a framework to achieve health services coverage but does not articulate the model of care desired. Comprehensive primary health care includes promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative interventions and health equity and health as a human right as central goals. In Australia, Aboriginal community-controlled health services have pioneered comprehensive primary health care since their inception in the early 1970s. Our five-year project on comprehensive primary health care in Australia partnered with six services, including one Aboriginal community-controlled health service, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. Our findings revealed more impressive outcomes in several areas—multidisciplinary work, community participation, cultural respect and accessibility strategies, preventive and promotive work, and advocacy and intersectoral collaboration on social determinants of health—at the Aboriginal community-controlled health service compared to the other participating South Australian services (state-managed and nongovernmental ones). Because of these strengths, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress’s community-controlled model of comprehensive primary health care deserves attention as a promising form of implementation of universal health coverage by articulating a model of care based on health as a human right that pursues the goal of health equity

Does the Babcock--Leighton Mechanism Operate on the Sun?

The contribution of the Babcock-Leighton mechanism to the generation of the Sun's poloidal magnetic field is estimated from sunspot data for three solar cycles. Comparison of the derived quantities with the A-index of the large-scale magnetic field suggests a positive answer to the question posed in the title of this paper.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to apper in Astronomy Letter

Design for ground beetle abundance and diversity sampling within the National Ecological Observatory Network

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will monitor ground beetle populations across a network of broadly distributed sites because beetles are prevalent in food webs, are sensitive to abiotic factors, and have an established role as indicator species of habitat and climatic shifts. We describe the design of ground beetle population sampling in the context of NEON's long-term, continentalscale monitoring program, emphasizing the sampling design, priorities, and collection methods. Freely available NEON ground beetle data and associated field and laboratory samples will increase scientific understanding of how biological communities are responding to land-use and climate change.Peer reviewe

Genetic variation among sweetpotatoes propagated through nodal and adventitious sprouts

Genetic uniformity was assessed among sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas ) clones propagated through adventitious and nodal procedures. A single sprout each of \u27Jewel.\u27 \u27Sumor,\u27 and L87-95 was used as source of clonal plants that were simultaneously propagated through conventional adventitious procedures and a tissue culture-based nodal culture technique. A sample of 15 decamer primers generated 64 scorable amplified fragments in a PCR-based assay. 29 of which were putatively polymorphic across n = 60 samples ( 10 each of nodal and adventitiously derived plants/genotype). Within adventitiously derived materials, putative polymorphisms ranged from 4.7 \u3c7r to\u3e3U\u3c£ depending on the genotypic class. In contrast, putative polymorphisms ranged from 0.0\u3c£ to 3.1 **• among nodally derived samples. Marker loci differen-tiated genotypes as well as putative marker phenotype variants through a multidimensional scaling analysis of the genetic similarity matrix. An \u27analysts of molecular variance\u27 shows that genotypic effects accounted for 88.7°«• of the total molecular marker variability, w hue propagation effects ( within genotypic groups I accounted for 1U4T. Results confirm that clonal plants derived from preexisting meristematic regions arc more genetically uniform than plants propagated from adventitious origins