Comparing the Applicability of Weight-Length Relationships, the Relative Condition Index and Morphometric Criteria to Assess Larval Condition: A Test Case with Striped Bass

We compared the applicability of using a weight-length relationship, the relative condition index (Kn) and morphometric criteria to provide insight on the nutritional condition and recruitment potential of larvae of the striped bass Morone saxatilis collected in the Potomac River, MD in 1980-1982 and 1986. Morphometric data indicate that relatively high numbers of larvae In poor condition were present In samples taken prior to mid-May In all years except 1986, but especially In 1980 and 1981. Results of ANCOVA on a subset of data from the first 2 weeks of May In each of the 4 years Indicated significant differences in weight-length regression equations. Larvae In the 1980 and 1981 samples were in poorer condition than in 1982 and 1986, based on regressions coefficients. Estimates of relative condition (Kn) were high in all years except 1986. The morphometric criteria and the regression parameter estimates concurred with an Index of striped bass year class strength, but only after a careful consideration of the assumptions of those condition indices, requiring a reduction in sample size that excluded larger larvae (\u3e 12 mm, morphometric criteria) or averaging data over several larval cohorts (regression parameters)

RECURSOS SOCIOECONÔMICOS, CAPITAL SOCIO-CULTURAL E CONHECIMENTO POLÍTICO COMO DETERMINANTES DA FORMULAÇÃO DE POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS LOCAIS NO BRASIL

O artigo analisa a relação entre a distribuição de recursos sociais em uma comunidade, o comportamento eleitoral de seus eleitores e a adoção, pelos seus líderes políticos, de políticas sociais reformistas. Com a promulgação da Constituição de 1988, muitos centros urbanos brasileiros melhoraram a qualidade de suas políticas sociais, redirecionaram os gastos públicos para beneficiar os mais pobres e democratizaram o processo através do qual as prioridades sobre os gastos são decididas. No entanto, tais mudanças ocorreram de forma diferente nos espaços urbanos. Através da análise dos resultados das eleições municipais de 2000 em Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre e Salvador, o artigo demonstra que os recursos sociais, particularmente graus de extrema pobreza e níveis agregados de conhecimento político do eleitor, têm papel determinante na decisão de uma dada comunidade sobre como usar suas oportunidades eleitorais para pressionar por reformas nas políticas públicas locais, tal como propugna a teoria da democracia. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: eleições municipais, clientelismo, conhecimento político, política pública local. SOCIO-ECONOMIC RESOURCES, SOCIO-CULTURAL CAPITAL, AND POLITICAL SOPHISTICATION AS DETERMINANTS OF URBAN POLICYMAKING IN BRAZIL This article investigates the relationship between a community’s distribution of social resources, its voters’ electoral behavior, and the extent to which its political leaders have adopted social policy reforms. Following the adoption of the 1988 Constitution, many urban centers in Brazil improved the quality of their social policies, retargeted expenditures to the benefit of the disadvantaged, and democratized the process by which public policy spending priorities are set. Nevertheless, such improvements are uneven across urban settings. Through an analysis of the 2000 municipal elections in Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and Salvador, the article demonstrates that social resources – especially rates of extreme poverty and aggregate levels of political knowledge – play a decisive role in whether a given community 285 will use its electoral opportunities to demand policy reform in ways that are consistent with democratic theory. KEY WORD: municipal elections, clientelism, political knowledge, local public policy. RESSOURCES SOCIO-ECONOMIQUES, CAPITAL SOCIOCULTUREL ET CONNAISSANCE POLITIQUE EN TANT QUE FACTEURS DETERMINANTS POUR LA FORMULATION DES POLITIQUES PUBLIQUES LOCALES AU BRÉSIL L’article analyse la relation entre la distribution des ressources sociales dans une communauté, le comportement électoral de ses électeurs et l’adoption par ses dirigeants politiques de politiques sociales réformistes. Avec la promulgation de la Constitution de 1988, plusieurs centres urbains brésiliens ont amélioré la qualité de leurs politiques sociales, réorienté les dépenses publiques afin d’en faire bénéficier les plus pauvres et démocratisé le processus de décision des priorités concernant les dépenses. Cependant, de tels changements ont eu lieu de manière différente dans les espaces urbains. Avec l’analyse des résultats des élections municipales de 2000 à Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre et Salvador, l’article montre que les ressources sociales, en particulier à un degré de pauvreté extrême et à des niveaux agrégés de connaissance politique des électeurs, ont un rôle déterminant dans la décision d’une communauté donnée sur la façon d’utiliser ses opportunités électorales pour faire pression afin d’obtenir des réformes politiques publiques au niveau local, tel que le défend la théorie de la démocratie. MOTS-CLES: élections municipales, clientélisme, connaissance politique, politique publique locale. Publicação Online do Caderno CRH: http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.b

Kinetic and transport modeling in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The improvement of PEMFC performance and durability requires a quantitative understanding of the processes that cause performance losses. In this dissertation, two models are developed incorporating new processes that have been poorly described or neglected in previous literature sources (catalyst oxide layer, hardware effects, enhanced vapor diffusion, and interfacial saturation). In simulations of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), the kinetic effect of the catalyst oxide layer is found to cause a large, low-frequency inductive loop in agreement with experiments. Accounting for the inductive loop unifies steady-state measurements of resistance with EIS measurements, solving a long-standing barrier to accurate interpretation of EIS. Furthermore, flooding losses due to two-phase water transport are one of the most poorly understood losses and are a major area for improvement. The addition of an interfacial saturation effect is found to provide the best explanation of flooding. Heat transfer is shown to be the controlling factor in the performance of PEMFCs under certain flooded conditions. The advancements of this dissertation in the modeling of the oxide layer and two-phase transport phenomena represent significant steps towards the goals of EIS analysis by physics-based model and a mathematical understanding of performance degradation due to carbon corrosion and flooding.Ph.D

Theoretical and Experimental Investigations of the Interaction of Proteins and Nanoparticles with Biological Membranes

Biomolecular processes related to the interaction of proteins, AuNPs and biological membranes are studied in this thesis. In particular, computational methods were developed, implemented and validated. To characterize the influence of antimicrobial peptides and AuNPs on a membrane, black lipid bilayer experiments were performed. To understand interactions of certain AuNPs with the hERG ion channel, complex formation between these two was studied using atomistic simulations

Measurements of total cross sections for positron scattering by uracil molecules

We present measurements of total cross sections for 1 to 30 eV positrons scattered by uracil molecules. The measurements are done using a beam transmission technique on a setup adjusted to accommodate the nature of uracil and we discuss possibilities of future experiments studying positron interactions with more complicated targets. These and future investigations of positron interactions with biomolecules have potential relevance to various biomedical applications

Women voted for Donald Trump for the same reasons men did - racism and sexism

On Election Day 2016, 40 percent of American women voted for Donald Trump, despite his well-known history of sexual misconduct. In new research, Mark Setzler and Alixandra B. Yanus examine the attitudes of Trump's women voters to try to understand more about why so many voted for the now-President. They find that the attitudes of Trump's women voters were no different than men’s: even more than partisanship, both groups were influenced by sexism and racial resentment