Gender and Democracy

This briefing paper addresses the ?gender? dimension of democracy and focuses on the democratic representation and participation of women. Beyond this primary focus, paper examines the language of gender and questions of identity, theories of gender and how women are understood in society in general, and the role of women in democracy. The paper shows that as of 2010, women still only make up a little over 19% of all parliaments around the world, but this average conceals a range from a high of over 55% in Rwanda to a low of 16% in the United States. In light of this variation, the paper discusses the arguments and mechanisms for increased participation of women, as well as the empirical findings about women?s participation that will be of interests to policy makers and practitioners interested in the gendered dimensions of democracy

Global deposition of total reactive nitrogen oxides from 1996 to 2014 constrained with satellite observations of NO2 columns

Reactive nitrogen oxides (NOy) are a major constituent of the nitrogen deposited from the atmosphere, but observational constraints on their deposition are limited by poor or nonexistent measurement coverage in many parts of the world. Here we apply NO2 observations from multiple satellite instruments (GOME, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2) to constrain the global deposition of NOy over the last 2 decades. We accomplish this by producing top-down estimates of NOx emissions from inverse modeling of satellite NO2 columns over 1996–2014, and including these emissions in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to simulate chemistry, transport, and deposition of NOy. Our estimates of long-term mean wet nitrate (NO3−) deposition are highly consistent with available measurements in North America, Europe, and East Asia combined (r = 0.83, normalized mean bias  = −7%, N = 136). Likewise, our calculated trends in wet NO3− deposition are largely consistent with the measurements, with 129 of the 136 gridded model–data pairs sharing overlapping 95% confidence intervals. We find that global mean NOy deposition over 1996–2014 is 56.0TgNyr−1, with a minimum in 2006 of 50.5TgN and a maximum in 2012 of 60.8TgN. Regional trends are large, with opposing signs in different parts of the world. Over 1996 to 2014, NOy deposition decreased by up to 60% in eastern North America, doubled in regions of East Asia, and declined by 20% in parts of western Europe. About 40% of the global NOy deposition occurs over oceans, with deposition to the North Atlantic Ocean declining and deposition to the northwestern Pacific Ocean increasing. Using the residual between NOx emissions and NOy deposition over specific land regions, we investigate how NOx export via atmospheric transport has changed over the last 2 decades. Net export from the continental United States decreased substantially, from 2.9TgNyr−1 in 1996 to 1.5TgNyr−1 in 2014. Export from China more than tripled between 1996 and 2011 (from 1.0 to 3.5TgNyr−1), before a striking decline to 2.5TgNyr−1 by 2014. We find that declines in NOx export from some western European countries have counteracted increases in emissions from neighboring countries to the east. A sensitivity study indicates that simulated NOy deposition is robust to uncertainties in NH3 emissions with a few exceptions. Our novel long-term study provides timely context on the rapid redistribution of atmospheric nitrogen transport and subsequent deposition to ecosystems around the world.This work was supported by NSERC and Environment and Climate Change Canada. We acknowledge the free use of tropospheric NO2 column data from the GOME, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2 sensors from www.temis.nl. We further acknowledge the NADP, CAPMoN, EMEP, and EANET regional monitoring networks as well as the World Data Centre for Precipitation Chemistry for access to wet deposition data. (NSERC; Environment and Climate Change Canada)https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/10071/2017/acp-17-10071-2017.pdfhttps://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/10071/2017/acp-17-10071-2017.pdfhttps://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/10071/2017/acp-17-10071-2017.pdfPublished versionPublished versio

Global deposition of total reactive nitrogen oxides from 1996 to 2014 constrained with satellite observations of NO2 columns

Reactive nitrogen oxides (NOy) are a major constituent of the nitrogen deposited from the atmosphere, but observational constraints on their deposition are limited by poor or nonexistent measurement coverage in many parts of the world. Here we apply NO2 observations from multiple satellite instruments (GOME, SCIAMACHY, and GOME-2) to constrain the global deposition of NOy over the last two decades. We accomplish this by producing top-down estimates of NOx emissions from inverse modeling of satellite NO2 columns over 1996–2014, and including these emissions in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to simulate chemistry, transport, and deposition of NOy. Our estimates of long-term mean wet nitrate (NO3−) deposition are highly consistent with available measurements in North America, Europe, and East Asia combined (r = 0.83, normalized mean bias = −7 %, N = 136). Likewise, our calculated trends in wet NO3− deposition are largely consistent with the measurements, with 129 of the 136 gridded model-data pairs sharing overlapping 95 % confidence intervals. We find that global mean NOy deposition over 1996–2014 is 56.0 Tg N yr−1, with a minimum in 2006 of 50.5 Tg N and a maximum in 2012 of 60.8 Tg N. Regional trends are large, with opposing signs in different parts of the world. Over 1996 to 2014, NOy deposition decreased by up to 60 % in eastern North America, doubled in regions of East Asia, and declined by 20 % in parts of Western Europe. About 40 % of the global NOy deposition occurs over oceans, with deposition to the North Atlantic Ocean declining and deposition to the northwestern Pacific Ocean increasing. Using the residual between NOx emissions and NOy deposition over specific land regions, we investigate how NOx export via atmospheric transport has changed over the last two decades. Net export from the continental United States decreased substantially, from 2.9 Tg N yr−1 in 1996 to 1.5 Tg N yr−1 in 2014. On the other hand, export from China more than tripled between 1996 and 2011 (from 1.0 Tg N yr−1 to 3.5 Tg N yr−1), before a striking decline to 2.5 Tg N yr−1 by 2014. We find that declines in NOx export from some Western European countries have counteracted increases in emissions from neighbouring countries to the east. A sensitivity study indicates that simulated NOy deposition is robust to uncertainties in NH3 emissions with a few exceptions. Our novel long-term study provides timely context on the rapid redistribution of atmospheric nitrogen transport and subsequent deposition to ecosystems around the world.https://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/acp-2016-1100/acp-2016-1100.pdfhttps://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/acp-2016-1100/acp-2016-1100.pdfhttps://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/acp-2016-1100/acp-2016-1100.pdfPublished versionPublished versio

Localizing Gravity on a 3-brane in Higher Dimensions

We present metric solutions in six and higher dimensions with a bulk cosmological constant, where gravity is localized on a 3-brane. The corrections to four-dimensional gravity from the bulk continuum modes are power-law suppressed. Furthermore, the introduction of a bulk ``hedgehog'' magnetic field leads to a regular geometry, and can localize gravity on the 3-brane with either positive, zero or negative bulk cosmological constant.Comment: 3 pages, Talk given at DPF 2000, Columbus, Ohio, 9-12 Aug 200

Anion transporter: highly cell-type-specific expression of distinct polypeptides and transcripts in erythroid and nonerythroid cells

Affinity-purified antibodies and cDNA probes specific for the chicken erythrocyte anion transporter (also referred to as band 3) have been used to demonstrate that this protein is expressed in a highly cell- type-specific manner in the avian kidney. Indirect immunofluorescence analysis indicates that this polypeptide is present in only a small subset of total kidney cells and is predominantly localized to the proximal convoluted tubule of this organ. Chicken erythrocytes synthesize and accumulate two structurally and serologically related band 3 polypeptides. The polypeptide that accumulates in kidney membranes has an apparent molecular weight greater than either of its erythroid counterparts. This diversity is also reflected at the RNA level, as the single band 3 mRNA species detected during various stages of erythroid development is distinct in size from that found in kidney cells. Genomic DNA blot analysis suggests that both the erythroid and kidney band 3 RNAs arise from a single gene. Furthermore, of the adult tissues we have examined that are known to express ankyrin and spectrin polypeptides, only kidney accumulates detectable levels of the band 3 mRNA and polypeptide. These observations suggest that a subset of kidney cells use an anion transport mechanism analogous to that of erythrocytes and that band 3 is expressed in a noncoordinate manner with other components of the erythroid membrane skeleton in nonerythroid cells

Cosmology and Hierarchy in Stabilized Warped Brane Models

We examine the cosmology and hierarchy of scales in models with branes immersed in a five-dimensional curved spacetime subject to radion stabilization. When the radion field is time-independent and the inter-brane spacing is stabilized, the universe can naturally find itself in the radiation-dominated epoch. This feature is independent of the form of the stabilizing potential. We recover the standard Friedmann equations without assuming a specific form for the bulk energy-momentum tensor. In the models considered, if the observable brane has positive tension, a solution to the hierarchy problem requires the presence of a negative tension brane somewhere in the bulk. We find that the string scale can be as low as the electroweak scale. In the situation of self-tuning branes where the bulk cosmological constant is set to zero, the brane tensions have hierarchical values. In the case of a polynomial stabilizing potential no new hierarchy is created.Comment: Version to appear in PL

Formation of matter-wave soliton trains by modulational instability

Nonlinear systems can exhibit a rich set of dynamics that are inherently sensitive to their initial conditions. One such example is modulational instability, which is believed to be one of the most prevalent instabilities in nature. By exploiting a shallow zero-crossing of a Feshbach resonance, we characterize modulational instability and its role in the formation of matter-wave soliton trains from a Bose-Einstein condensate. We examine the universal scaling laws exhibited by the system, and through real-time imaging, address a long-standing question of whether the solitons in trains are created with effectively repulsive nearest neighbor interactions, or rather, evolve into such a structure

Bulk Higgs Boson Decays in Brane Localized Gravity

We embed the Standard Model in the Randall-Sundrum model of 5 dimensional brane localized gravity. The SM gauge and chiral fermion fields are restricted on the 4D visible brane whereas the Higgs and the right-handed neutrino are assumed to be 5D bulk fields. We calculate the effective couplings of the lowest mass Higgs field to the SM fermions and to the gauge bosons and find that the couplings are enhanced. Furthermore, the invisible decay width of a bulk Higgs of mass 150 GeV is shown to be large.Comment: 14 pages, 2 postscript figures, minor typos corrected, two references added, to appear in Physics Letters