Mapping Ocean Wealth

This document describes a major new initiative to develop detailed and spatially explicit accounting of the value of marine ecosystem services at different scales. This information will inform key decision-makers in sectors ranging from international development to insurance and extractive industries to engineering. The Nature Conservancy's vision is to change perception and utilization of marine and coastal ecosystems. Working with stakeholders, it will catalyse a transformation in ocean management toward a paradigm based on explicit understanding of how and where "ocean wealth" is built, stored and generated

Managing an arts institutional repository

The article describes the background to UCA Research Online which originated from the Kultur project of 2007-2009 and then goes onto detail the management of the institutional repository at UCA

The Dominican Republic-- After the Caudillos

The Dominican Republic played a major role in the early history of NACLA, and it is therefore fitting that the country be re-examined in one of NACLA\u27s thirtieth anniversary issues. It was largely in response to the 1965 U.S. invasion and occupation of the island that a group of academics, clergy and radical activists organized a 1966 conference called the North American Congress on Latin America. The congress stayed together beyond the conference, and in February, 1967, began publishing the NACLA Newsletter, which evolved into today\u27s NACLA Report on the Americas

Early Excitation of Spin-Orbit Misalignments in Close-in Planetary Systems

Continued observational characterization of transiting planets that reside in close proximity to their host stars has shown that a substantial fraction of such objects posses orbits that are inclined with respect to the spin axes of their stars. Mounting evidence for the wide-spread nature of this phenomenon has challenged the conventional notion that large-scale orbital transport occurs during the early epochs of planet formation and is accomplished via planet-disk interactions. However, recent work has shown that the excitation of spin-orbit misalignment between protoplanetary nebulae and their host stars can naturally arise from gravitational perturbations in multi-stellar systems as well as magnetic disk-star coupling. In this work, we examine these processes in tandem. We begin with a thorough exploration of the gravitationally-facilitated acquisition of spin-orbit misalignment and analytically show that the entire possible range of misalignments can be trivially reproduced. Moreover, we demonstrate that the observable spin-orbit misalignment only depends on the primordial disk-binary orbit inclination. Subsequently, we augment our treatment by accounting for magnetic torques and show that more exotic dynamical evolution is possible, provided favorable conditions for magnetic tilting. Cumulatively, our results suggest that observed spin-orbit misalignments are fully consistent with disk-driven migration as a dominant mechanism for the origin of close-in planets.Comment: 12 pages, 6 pdf figures, Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal (2014

Tropical Markov dynamics and Cayley cubic

We study the tropical version of Markov dynamics on the Cayley cubic, introduced by V.E. Adler and one of the authors. We show that this action is semi-conjugated to the standard action of $SL_2(\mathbb Z)$ on a torus, and thus is ergodic with the Lyapunov exponent and entropy given by the logarithm of the spectral radius of the corresponding matrix.Comment: Extended version, accepted for publication in "Integrable Systems and Algebraic Geometry" (Editors: R. Donagi, T. Shaska), Cambridge Univ. Press: LMS Lecture Notes Series, 201

Resonant Removal of Exomoons During Planetary Migration

Jupiter and Saturn play host to an impressive array of satellites, making it reasonable to suspect that similar systems of moons might exist around giant extrasolar planets. Furthermore, a significant population of such planets is known to reside at distances of several Astronomical Units (AU), leading to speculation that some moons thereof might support liquid water on their surfaces. However, giant planets are thought to undergo inward migration within their natal protoplanetary disks, suggesting that gas giants currently occupying their host star's habitable zone formed further out. Here we show that when a moon-hosting planet undergoes inward migration, dynamical interactions may naturally destroy the moon through capture into a so-called "evection resonance." Within this resonance, the lunar orbit's eccentricity grows until the moon eventually collides with the planet. Our work suggests that moons orbiting within about 10 planetary radii are susceptible to this mechanism, with the exact number dependent upon the planetary mass, oblateness and physical size. Whether moons survive or not is critically related to where the planet began its inward migration as well as the character of inter-lunar perturbations. For example, a Jupiter-like planet currently residing at 1AU could lose moons if it formed beyond 5AU. Cumulatively, we suggest that an observational census of exomoons could potentially inform us on the extent of inward planetary migration, for which no reliable observational proxy currently exists.Comment: 6 Figures, Accepted for Publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Thrice weekly nocturnal in-centre haemodiafiltration: a 2-year experience

Background: Adequate control of plasma phosphate without phosphate binders is difficult to achieve on a thrice-weekly haemodialysis schedule. The use of quotidian nocturnal dialysis is effective but not practical in the in-centre setting. This quality improvement project was set up as an exercise allowing the evaluation of small-solute clearance by combining convection with extended-hour dialysis in a thrice-weekly hospital setting. Methods: A single-centred, prospective analysis of patients' electronic records was performed from August 2012 to July 2014. The duration of haemodiafiltration was increased from a median of 4.5 to 8 h. Dialysis adequacy, biochemical parameters and medications were reviewed on a monthly basis. A reduction in plasma phosphate was anticipated, so all phosphate binders were stopped. Results: Since inception, 14 patients have participated with over 2,000 sessions of dialysis. The pre-dialysis phosphate level fell from a mean of 1.52 ± 0.4 to 1.06 ± 0.1 mmol/l (p < 0.05). The average binder intake of 3.26 ± 2.6 tablets was eliminated. A normal plasma phosphate range has been maintained with increased dietary phosphate intake and no requirement for intradialytic phosphate supplementation. Conclusion: Phosphate control can be achieved without the need for binders or supplementation on a thrice-weekly in-centre haemodiafiltration program

Atlas of Ocean Wealth

The Atlas of Ocean Wealth is the largest collection to date of information about the economic, social and cultural values of coastal and marine habitats from all over the world. It is a synthesis of innovative science, led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with many partners around the world. Through these efforts, they've gathered vast new datasets from both traditional and less likely sources.The work includes more than 35 novel and critically important maps that show how nature's value to people varies widely from place to place. They also illustrate nature's potential. These maps show that one can accurately quantify the value of marine resources. Further, by enumerating such values, one can encourage their protection or enhancement for the benefit of people all around the world. In summary, it clearly articulates not just that we need nature, but how much we need it, and where