Marine exploration

Less than 50 years ago knowledge of the geology of the UK continental shelf (UKCS) was extremely limited. The BGS marine geoscience programme began about 40 years ago in response to the development of the UK oil and gas industry. The BGS was funded by the then Department of Energy to carry out a national mapping programme based on geophysical data, seabed samples and boreholes. By the 1990s, geological maps at a scale of 1:250 000 were published for the shelf regions showing seabed sediments, Quaternary geology and bedrock. The deeper water areas to the north and west continue to be explored with support from the oil industry. A series of regional reports, the offshore equivalent of the BGS regional guides, were published and reports for the Atlantic Margin will be published in 2010. MAREMAP is a new multidisciplinary environmental mapping programme designed to underpin the new marine industries and environmental issues

(Karakterisasi Listeria monocytogenes yang Diisolasi dari Pabrik Makanan Segar

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram positive rod-shape bacteria. Other foodborne pathogens, mostly, may cause typical symptoms of gastroenteritis. Unlike these microorganisms, Listeria monocytogenes infection may result in more serious symptoms, usually take in the form of meningitis or septicaemia. People with vulnerable immune system are in a bigger risk of being exposed. Furthermore, the bacterium is also severer than any other bacteria found in the food, with more resistant to heat, drying, or salty environment. This research was purposed to identify and characterize a sample named LM 25722248, which was isolated from fresh food factory in a city of United Kingdom. The isolate was characterized as a Gram positive bacterium, showed tumbling motility, and gave positive result for catalase test and haemolysin assay. Moreover, benefiting from molecular technology, it was possible to reveal that the isolate was Listeria monocytogenes.Listeria monocytogenes adalah bakteri Gram positif berbentuk batang. Patogen penyebab penyakit yang dibawa oleh makanan umumnya menimbulkan gejala khas gatroenteritis. Hal ini berbeda dengan Listeria monocytogenes yang dapat menyebabkan gejala yang lebih serius seperti meningitis atau septikemia. Dengan demikian orang yang memiliki sistem imun lemah akan lebih rentan terpapar cemaran bakteri tersebut. Listeria monocytogenes juga lebih sulit dihilangkan dibanding bakteri lain yang ditemukan dalam makanan, karena lebih resisten terhadap pemanasan, pengeringan, atau lingkungan yang mengandung garam. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melakukan identifikasi dan karakterisasi sampel bakteri yang diisolasi dari pabrik makanan segar yang berlokasi di salah satu kota di United Kingdom. Dengan metode biokimia, sampel yang disebut dengan LM 25722248 tersebut merupakan bakteri Gram positif, bersifat motil (tumbling motility), dan memberikan hasil positif terhadap uji katalase dan uji hemolisin. Lebih jauh lagi, dengan memanfaatkan teknologi molekuler maka dapat dinyatakan bahwa isolat LM 25722248 adalah Listeria monocytogenes

2D:4D digit ratio and religiosity in university student and general population samples

The ratio of index to ring finger length (2D:4D) is used as a proxy for prenatal sex hormone exposure. It has been hypothesised to correlate with religiosity, though no published research has explored this possibility. Here, we initially examined 2D:4D in relation to self-reported religious affiliation and questionnaire measures of general religiosity, spirituality, religious fundamentalism, and religious commitment in male (N = 106) and female (N = 105) university students (Study 1). Although no significant correlations were observed between 2D:4D and the questionnaire measures, females who affiliated with organised religions had higher right and left hand digit ratios compared to agnostic or atheist females. Study 2 attempted to replicate these findings in an adult general population sample (N = 172 males, N = 257 females), but did not observe significant effects in either sex. Overall, these findings suggest that high 2D:4D may be relatively-specifically associated with increased religious affiliation in young, highly-educated, females.This work was supported by a Student Research Grant from the European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association (EHBEA), and an Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) Grindley Grant awarded to GR. The work was partially undertaken within the Medical Research Council UK Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (MR/L010305/1). The funders played no role in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit the article for publication

Associations between digit ratio (2D:4D) and locus of control

The relative lengths of the index and ring fingers (2D:4D), as well as the directional asymmetry between the right and left hands [D(R–L)], are putative measures of prenatal sex hormone exposure. The 2D:4D ratio has been associated with a number of personality traits including neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, and openness to experience. The current study therefore aimed to build on these findings by investigating 2D:4D in relation to Rotter’s (1966) Locus of Control Questionnaire (LoCQ). Significant positive correlations were observed between LoCQ scores in females and right hand 2D:4D and D(R–L), though no such relationships emerged in males. The findings suggest that differences in concentration and/or sensitivity to prenatal sex hormones may play a role in the development of an individual’s locus of control

The dark side of political marketing

Purpose This article discusses exploratory research into the perceptions of British Muslims towards Islamist ideological messaging to contribute to the general debate on ‘radicalisation'. The article discusses the findings of discussion groups in the light of research previously undertaken in the propaganda/psychology fields, from the perspective of Reversal Theory. Methodology/approach Four focus groups were undertaken with a mixture of Bangladeshi and Pakistani British Muslims who were shown a selection of Islamist propaganda media clips, garnered from the internet. The research is intended to provide exploratory indications of how British Muslims receive Islamist communication messages in order to provoke further research in this critical field. Findings We propose that Islamist communications focus on eliciting change in emotional states, specifically inducing the paratelic-excitement mode, by focusing around a meta-narrative of Muslims as a unitary grouping self- defined as victim to Western aggression. Early indicators are that some genres of Islamist propaganda may be more effective than others in generating these emotional change states (e.g. cartoons) and some groupings appear to be more susceptible than others. We conclude that our British Muslim respondents were unsympathetic to the Islamist ideological messaging contained in our sample of propaganda clips. Research limitations/implications The research highlights the difficulties in undertaking research in such a sensitive field. We propose a series of four testable propositions to guide future research looking specifically at whether those subjects who are more likely to be excited by Islamist communication include those with weakly held identities, younger males, those feeling contempt for Western culture, and the use of specific media genre formats. Originality/value of paper The article provides an insight into how British Muslims might respond to Islamist communications, indicating that whilst most are not susceptible to inducement of paratelic-excitement, others are likely to be, dependent on which genre of clip is used, the messages contained therein, and who that clip is targeted at

Comparison of H+ and He+ Plasmapause Locations Based on Resurrected and Reevaluated OGO-5 Ion Composition Data Base

Orbiting Geophysical Observatory 5 (OGO 5) magnetospheric ion-composition data (H+, He+ and O+) from an ion spectrometer (Sharp, 1969) have been retrieved from old magnetic tapes archived at the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC). The highly compressed binary format was converted into a user-friendly ASCII format and these data have been made available online. We have inspected reliability and consistency of this data set in state of the art current knowledge. Comparing with the climatological model IRI-2012 and the mathematical model FLIP a shift of absolute and relative ion densities with time was revealed. We have suggested a correction procedure of individual H+, He+ and O+ ion densities. Using the corrected data set, we investigated plasmapause locations based on density gradient in H+, and He+. Correlation coefficient of both locations was determined as approx. 0.886 and the typical difference (Delta)L approx. 0.1. The electron density at the He+ plasmapause location for all cases is >100/cu cm

ScotGrid: Providing an Effective Distributed Tier-2 in the LHC Era

ScotGrid is a distributed Tier-2 centre in the UK with sites in Durham, Edinburgh and Glasgow. ScotGrid has undergone a huge expansion in hardware in anticipation of the LHC and now provides more than 4MSI2K and 500TB to the LHC VOs. Scaling up to this level of provision has brought many challenges to the Tier-2 and we show in this paper how we have adopted new methods of organising the centres, from fabric management and monitoring to remote management of sites to management and operational procedures, to meet these challenges. We describe how we have coped with different operational models at the sites, where Glagsow and Durham sites are managed "in house" but resources at Edinburgh are managed as a central university resource. This required the adoption of a different fabric management model at Edinburgh and a special engagement with the cluster managers. Challenges arose from the different job models of local and grid submission that required special attention to resolve. We show how ScotGrid has successfully provided an infrastructure for ATLAS and LHCb Monte Carlo production. Special attention has been paid to ensuring that user analysis functions efficiently, which has required optimisation of local storage and networking to cope with the demands of user analysis. Finally, although these Tier-2 resources are pledged to the whole VO, we have established close links with our local physics user communities as being the best way to ensure that the Tier-2 functions effectively as a part of the LHC grid computing framework..Comment: Preprint for 17th International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics, 7 pages, 1 figur