Spectroscopic Analysis and Xray Diffraction of Zinnwaldite

This paper describes an X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic study, including infrared, near-infrared and Raman spectroscopy of some selected zinnwaldites. In general, zinnwaldite forms a member of the trioctahedral true micas with characteristically Li in the octahedral positions and low iron contents. Although the infrared spectrum of zinnwaldite has been described before, near infrared and Raman spectroscopy have not been used so far to study this mineral. X-ray diffraction showed that all the samples reported in this study have the 1M structure. The Raman spectra are characterised by a strong band at 700-705 cm-1 plus a broad band associated with the SiO modes around 1100 cm-1. Less intense bands are observed around 560, 475, 403 and 305 cm-1. The corresponding IR spectra show strong overlapping SiO modes around 1020 cm-1 plus less intense bands around 790, 745, 530, 470-475 and 440 cm-1. Two overlapping OH-stretching modes can be observed around 3550-3650 cm-1, in agreement with a broad band in the IR around 3450 cm-1 and a complex band around 3630 cm-1. The near-IR spectra basically reflect combination and overtone bands associated with protons in the zinnwaldite structure. A very broad band observed around 5230 cm-1 is characteristic for adsorbed water while bands around 4530, 4435 and 4260 cm-1 can be ascribed to metal-hydroxyl groups

Effects of Prenatal Environment Are Revealed by Post-natal Challenges: Embryonic Hormone Exposure, Adrenocortical Function and Food in Seabird Chicks

The interaction between prenatal environments and postnatal environments is an important source of phenotypic variability. We examined the ability of prenatal steroid exposure and postnatal energy restriction to explain adrenocortical function and fledging age in captive seabird chicks. We proposed and tested two hypotheses: (1) the strength of prenatal effects is attenuated by challenging postnatal environments (postnatal override) and (2) the strength of prenatal effects increases with the severity of postnatal challenges (postnatal reveal). We reared common murre (Uria aalge) chicks and measured prenatal exposure to corticosterone (CORT) and testosterone (T) from allantoic waste. Adrenocortical function was assessed after 10 d of ad lib. feeding and then after 5 and 10 d on controlled diets. Postnatal override predicts that prenatal steroids will explain more phenotypic variation before implementation of energy restriction; postnatal reveal predicts that the contribution of prenatal steroids will increase with duration and severity of energy restriction. Energy restriction increased secretion of baseline CORT and the adrenocortical response to the standardized stressor of handling and restraint. The ability of prenatal steroids to explain baseline CORT increased with duration of energy restriction, and for day 20 free baseline CORT, there was a significant interaction between kilojoules per day and prenatal CORT levels; severity of restriction strengthened the relationship between prenatal hormone levels and postnatal hormone levels. Both maximum CORT at day 20 and fledging age were best explained by diet treatment and day 15 or day 20 baseline CORT, respectively. Overall, prenatal CORT increased fledging age and baseline secretion of CORT, while prenatal T decreased them. However, prenatal effects on adrenocortical function were apparent only under the energy restriction conditions. Thus, we found some support for the postnatal reveal hypothesis; our results suggest that some prenatal effects on phenotype may be more likely to manifest in challenging postnatal environments

A Decade On, How Has the Visibility of Energy Changed? Energy Feedback Perceptions from UK Focus Groups

The Smart Meter Rollout Programme in the UK has required energy suppliers to offer new smart meters to customers to provide near real-time energy use information and enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system. The provision was expected to result in meaningful energy reductions, but recent estimates suggest that these reductions may be as low as 2%. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the effectiveness of smart meters and in-home energy displays by providing insights on energy feedback perceptions from a series of focus groups with postgraduate consumers. In addition to domestic energy use, the study investigated how participants perceived their energy use at work and how they perceived the energy reduction efforts of their institutions and employers. A laddered and projective methodology was used to more deeply question participant perceptions and reveal their attitudes. The analysis of responses revealed a limited awareness around energy efficiency strategies and opportunities for more visual, mobile, engaging and target-driven interfaces for energy data. The findings also agree with previous observations that environmental concerns are not a key driver of energy reduction behaviours. This was shown by laddered questioning, not to be due to a lack of environmental concern, but rather the perception that reducing energy consumption would have negligible impact. A decade after in-home energy displays enabled a means of providing ‘visibility’ to ‘invisible’ energy consumption, little appears to have changed in the perception and experience of energy feedback

The characterisation of AOP2: a gene associated with the biosynthesis of aliphatic alkenyl glucosinolates in Arabidopsis thaliana

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glucosinolates, a group of nitrogen and sulfur containing compounds associated with plant-insect interactions, are produced by a number of important <it>Brassicaceae </it>crop species. In <it>Arabidopsis </it>the <it>AOP2 </it>gene plays a role in the secondary modification of aliphatic (methionine-derived) glucosinolates, namely the conversion of methylsulfinylalkyl glucosinolates to form alkenyl glucosinolates, and also influences aliphatic glucosinolate accumulation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study characterises the primary structural variation in the coding sequences of the <it>AOP2 </it>gene and identifies three different <it>AOP2 </it>alleles based on polymorphisms in exon two. To help determine the regulatory mechanisms mediating <it>AOP2 </it>expression amongst accessions, <it>AOP2 </it>5' regulatory regions were also examined however no major differences were identified. Expression of the <it>AOP2 </it>gene was found to be most abundant in leaf and stem tissue and was also found to be light dependent, with a number of light regulatory elements identified in the promoter region of the gene. In addition, a study was undertaken to demonstrate that the <it>Arabidopsis AOP2 </it>gene product is functional <it>in planta</it>. The over-expression of a functional <it>AOP2 </it>allele was found to successfully convert the precursor methylsulfinyl alkyl glucosinolate into the alkenyl form.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The expression of the <it>AOP2 </it>gene has been found to be influenced by light and is most highly expressed in the photosynthetic parts of the <it>Arabidopsis </it>plant. The level of <it>AOP2 </it>transcript decreases rapidly in the absence of light. <it>AOP2 </it>exists as at least three alleles in different <it>Arabidopsis </it>accessions and we have demonstrated that one of these, <it>AOP2-2</it>, is functionally able to convert methylsulfinyl glucosinolates into the alkenyl form. The demonstration of the <it>in planta </it>functionality of the <it>Arabisopsis AOP2 </it>gene is an important step in determining the feasibility of engineering glucosinolate profiles in food plants.</p

Non-equilibrium Gross-Pitaevskii dynamics of boson lattice models

Motivated by recent experiments on trapped ultra-cold bosonic atoms in an optical lattice potential, we consider the non-equilibrium dynamic properties of such bosonic systems for a number of experimentally relevant situations. When the number of bosons per lattice site is large, there is a wide parameter regime where the effective boson interactions are strong, but the ground state remains a superfluid (and not a Mott insulator): we describe the conditions under which the dynamics in this regime can be described by a discrete Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We describe the evolution of the phase coherence after the system is initially prepared in a Mott insulating state, and then allowed to evolve after a sudden change in parameters places it in a regime with a superfluid ground state. We also consider initial conditions with a "pi phase" imprint on a superfluid ground state (i.e. the initial phases of neighboring wells differ by pi), and discuss the subsequent appearance of density wave order and "Schrodinger cat" states.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; (v2) added reference

Desperately seeking fixedness: practitioners accounts of 'becoming doctoral researchers

We draw upon the concept of liminality to explore the experiences of practitioners enrolled on a UK Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme. We analyse twenty practitioners’ reflective journals to detail how the DBA liminal space was negotiated. More specifically, we describe how practitioners deal with their struggles of identity incoherence or ‘monsters of doubt’ which are amplified in the DBA context owing to the complex nature of the separation phase of liminality. We identify three broad methods deployed in this endeavour: ‘scaffolding’; ‘putting the past to work’ and ‘bracketing’- which evidence practitioners ‘desperately seeking fixedness’. We make three contributions – first, we provide empirical insights into the experiences of the increasingly significant, but still under researched, DBA student. Second, we develop our understandings of monsters of doubt through illustrating how these are negotiated for learning to progress. Finally, we contribute to wider discussions of ‘becoming’ to demonstrate the simultaneous and paradoxical importance of movement and fixedness in order to learn and become

The impact of parent-created motivational climate on adolescent athletes' perceptions of physical self-concept

This is a preliminary version of this article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below.Grounded in expectancy-value model (Eccles, 1993) and achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1989), this study examined the perceived parental climate and its impact on athletes' perceptions of competence and ability. Hierarchical regression analyses with a sample of 237 British adolescent athletes revealed that mothers and fathers' task- and ego-involving climate predicted their son's physical self-concept; the father in particular is the strongest influence in shaping a son's physical self-concept positively and negatively. It was also found that the self-concept of the young adolescent athlete is more strongly affected by the perceived parental-created motivational climate (both task and ego) than the older adolescent athlete's self-concept. These findings support the expectancy-value model assumptions related to the role of parents as important socializing agents, the existence of gender-stereotyping, and the heavy reliance younger children place on parents' feedback