Diamondoid diacids ('O4' species) in oil sands process-affected water.

RATIONALE: As a by-product of oil sands extraction, large volumes of oil sands process water (OSPW) are generated, which are contaminated with a large range of water-soluble organic compounds. The acids are thought to be derived from hydrocarbons via natural biodegradation pathways such as α- and β-oxidation of alkyl substituents, which could produce mono- and diacids, for example. However, while several monoacids ('O2' species) have been identified, the presence of diacids (i.e. 'O4' species) has only been deduced from results obtained via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance high-resolution mass spectrometry (FTICR-HRMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H-NMR) spectroscopy and the structures have never been confirmed. METHODS: An extract of an OSPW from a Canadian tailings pond was analysed and the retention times and the electron ionization mass spectra of some analytes were compared with those of bis-methyl esters of authentic diacids by gas chromatography × gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC/TOFMS) in nominal and accurate mass configurations. RESULTS: Two diamondoid diacids (3-carboxymethyladamantane-1-carboxylic acid and adamantane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid) were firmly identified as their bis-methyl esters by retention time and mass spectral matching and several other structural isomers were more tentatively assigned. Diacids have substantially increased polarity over the hydrocarbon and monoacid species from which they probably derive: as late members of biodegradation processes they may be useful indicators of weathering and ageing, not only of OSPW, but potentially of crude oil residues more generally. CONCLUSIONS: Structures of O4 species in OSPW have been identified. This confirms pathways of microbial biodegradation, which were only postulated previously, and may be a further indication that remediation of OSPW toxicity can occur by natural microbial action. The presence and abundance of these diacids might therefore be useful as a measure of biodegradation and weathering

Being there and being then: Ideal presence and historical tourism

Should history be affecting? Should we engage with it emotionally? These concerns were central to eighteenth and nineteenth century historiography and remain relevant to historians, especially public historians. Eighteenth century historians like Godwin were highly exercised by the effect of history on the reader, particularly the moral effect. Relatedly, eighteenth and nineteenth historians speculated constantly on the extent to which the reader ought to be proximate to and engaged with their subject(s) and the extent to which they should be detached and maintain a distance from them. There is a tension here – some say a choice – between history as a primarily affective and aesthetic discipline and history as a cognitive, objective, scientific discipline. That history thus has a “curious doubleness” is a perennial observation, going back to Herodotus and Thucydides. But assuming the ongoing, central place of affect in History, I have to account for the general lack of affect on me of the historical place. This seems to put me at odds with most people though not, I suspect, all historians. In what follows I would like to reflect on a recent personal experience of historical tourism in Mexico. I am not an historian of Mexico: I have never formally studied Mexican history nor written about it. Yet I have been fascinated with it since being exposed to parts of William Prescott’s classic History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843) as a young boy. Nearly forty years later I managed to travel to Mexico and visit some of the places about which I had enjoyed such a profound literary-historical experience. In terms of Mexican history I was an amateur historian; above all, I was a tourist

William Godwin and the puritan legacy

This essay’s analysis of Godwin’s engagement with his (and Britain’s) puritan and Dissenting legacy is significant in two respects. First, it offers a reading of two of Godwin’s lesser known, later writings and thus contributes to our appreciation of a thinker whose activity and influence in the nineteenth century is still poorly understood. Second, this topic offers a unique point of entry into the bewildering complex of religious, political and historiographical tensions comprising the intersection of Britain’s long eighteenth and long nineteenth centuries. This pivotal period saw the emergence of a radically reformed British polity, an important element of which addressed long-standing issues of religious profession and allegiance. In this context, it is surely helpful to engage the extensive historical reflections of one of English letters’ most productive and generically versatile practitioners

A matrix generalization of a theorem of Fine

In 1947 Nathan Fine gave a beautiful product for the number of binomial coefficients $\binom{n}{m}$, for $m$ in the range $0 \leq m \leq n$, that are not divisible by $p$. We give a matrix product that generalizes Fine's formula, simultaneously counting binomial coefficients with $p$-adic valuation $\alpha$ for each $\alpha \geq 0$. For each $n$ this information is naturally encoded in a polynomial generating function, and the sequence of these polynomials is $p$-regular in the sense of Allouche and Shallit. We also give a further generalization to multinomial coefficients.Comment: 9 pages; publication versio

Parks for All: Building a More Inclusive System of Parks and Public Lands for the National Park Service's Centennial

In the 100th year of the National Park Service, or NPS, America's parks and public lands are more popular than ever. Visits to national parks have reached record-breaking levels, with more than 307 million visitors in 2015. That number is expected to grow substantially this year, as NPS puts its centennial celebration at the forefront of an aggressive advertising and outreach campaign. But the national parks are not alone—nearly all public lands, including national forests and lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management—have also seen their visitation numbers reach new highs in recent years.Parks and public lands are also incredibly popular even among those who do not visit regularly. A poll conducted in January 2016 by Hart Research Associates for the Center for American Progress found that 77 percent of Americans believe that the United States benefits a great deal or fair amount from national parks. This number is consistent regardless of political affiliation. Furthermore, 55 percent of voters believe they personally benefit a great deal or fair amount from the country's parks and public lands. These levels of public support for a federal government program are remarkable at a time when only 19 percent of Americans say they trust the government.With U.S. demographics rapidly changing, it is more important than ever to develop and advance a forward-thinking and inclusive centennial policy agenda for the nation's public lands. The viability and relevance of America's national parks depend on the ability to connect more Americans to their public lands. Land management agencies have not kept pace in reflecting America's diverse population or in engaging new generations to visit and explore the historic, cultural, and environmental resources available through public lands. The parks need the buy-in of all Americans to continue to grow and stay relevant

History, Memory, and Moral Knowledge: William Godwin's Essay on Sepulchres (1809)

In 1809 the radical English philosopher, novelist, and historian William Godwin published Essay on Sepulchres—a proposal to mark the burial sites of the morally great with a simple wooden cross. This paper explores Godwin's essay in terms of his evolution as moral philosopher and historian. While Godwin is commonly renowned as a utilitarian rationalist given to optimistic assertions on human perfectibility, this essay demonstrates the extent to which his moral theory depended on emotion and intuition and how he came to posit an alternative mode of historical perception which queried the progressivist assumptions of 'Enlightenment' historiography