Observations on the ecology and conservation status of Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata (Haloragaceae) in southern New South Wales

Haloragis exalata F. Muell. subspecies exalata (family Haloragaceae), a perennial forb, is currently listed as Vulnerable, under both national and New South Wales threatened species conservation legislation. Very few herbarium records existed until recently. Recent discoveries of Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata in new sites on the NSW South Coast and Southern Tablelands prompted us to carry out surveys for the two varieties of the taxon, var. exalata and var. laevis. Our surveys in 2004– 2007 aimed to relocate historical collection sites and target areas of potentially suitable habitat in these areas. Our work has substantially increased the number of known localities for Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata var. exalata. It can be locally abundant. Ecologically it appears to function as a gap species whose populations are almost invariably found at sites where disturbance through temporary inundation, physical disturbance, or fire, has exposed bare earth with higher levels of light at ground level than would be present when the local vegetation community is intact. There are morphological differences between populations in disjunct areas. Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata var. laevis is much more restricted. As a result, the conservation status of Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata may need revision, considering that a) var. exalata is more widespread than previously known, but that b) there is only one known extant population of var. laevis, and that c) the population from Geehi area may be a distinct taxon

An investigation of selected soil properties influencing the management and playability of New Zealand cricket pitches : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Horticultural Science in soil science, Massey University

The 1980's has been a period of growth for New Zealand cricket. The advent of the one day game plus international success has developed spectator interest and support to an unprecedented level. Cricket is certainly one game where player performance is very much dependent on the surface provided. It is perhaps fair to say that the standard of many New Zealand first class pitches has not allowed the development of entertaining cricket. As a result, pitches have been the target of increasing criticism from spectators, administrators, and players 'alike. Cricket pitch preparation has been said to be an 'art'. But the groundsman has limited scope to practice the art if the suitability of the soil used for pitch preparation is wanting. In an attempt to gain an understanding of the contribution of soil properties to good pitch preparation, the New Zealand Cricket Council and Soil Bureau of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) provided funding for a research programme. It was hoped that improved playability and pitch performance could be achieved by combining the 'art' of pitch preparation with sound scientific principles. The objectives of the research programme were: 1. To develop and standardise a set of laboratory procedures aimed at selecting soils and characterizing their suitability for cricket pitches. 2. To establish a comprehensive inventory of physical and chemical soil properties for a number of current pitch soils which can be used as a reference for selection of new pitch soils. 3. To relate sound scientific principles to field management techniques and pitch performance in an attempt to assist the groundsman with pitch preparation. 4. To investigate the contributions of playability, and their interactions with soil properties. 5. To elucidate the value of the nuclear moisture-density method for in situ measurement of pitch soil water content and bulk density. 6. To develop and implement a soil monitoring system for groundsmen who can then use it to evaluate changes in soil properties during pitch preparation. This would allow the development of specific management programmes for individual venues. 7. To suggest areas for future research. To meet these objectives a preliminary study (Cameron-Lee, 1984) was carried out to identify three soil parameters, namely clay content, clay type, and pitch soil profile, which affect pitch performance. An expansion of the findings of the preliminary study form the basis of this research programme. This investigation incorporated a field trial using four soils commonly known as the Palmerston North1 , St John, Ward, and Kakanui. The soils have different chemical and physical properties. They are all currently in use throughout New Zealand on first class pitches. In addition, three pitch soils, namely the Marton, Redhill and Naike were evaluated, along with the field trial soils in the laboratory to provide a greater comparative analysis of pitch soil properties

Cultural Memory and Media: Spanish Republicans and the Spanish Civil War

This project examines the interplay between memory, history, and politics relating to Spanish Republican memories of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the following authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939-1975). In my analysis of this relationship, I focus on the years around the passage of the Law of Historical Memory in 2007; I explore how Spaniards used several forms of media, namely books, graphic narratives, and interviews, to relay their messages regarding the recovery, preservation, and passage of the memories of the defeated Republicans. The authors in each medium, despite telling different stories, both real and fictional, portrayed the act of recovering memory with a sense of closure and healing for those telling the stories. Similarly, they all emphasize the importance of creating an intergenerational memory, with older Spaniards, namely the former Spanish Republicans and those that lived during the war and dictatorship, passing their memories along to younger generations for posterity’s sake. Before this, however, this project also introduces the reader to the Spanish Civil War as an event, as well as giving an overview of memory studies, showing how both are complex subjects and how their scholars discuss them. Similarly, I also discuss the forces that worked against the Republican memory, namely the harsh repression of this group enacted during Franco’s dictatorship and the silencing tactics and agreements of the post-Franco democracy

Chemistry and Interconversion of Complex Trichothecenes

The trichothecenes are a ubiquitous group of toxic fungal sesquiterpenoids. Previous studies have shown that the 12,13-epoxide present in the trichothecenes may be crucial for biological activity. To gain further insight into the biological role of the epoxide, successful employment of the Sharpless deoxygenation protocol has been achieved after extensive model studies. This procedure gave the 12,13-exomethylene compounds (119) and (121) from the corresponding epoxytrichothecenes, namely triacetoxyscirpene (63) and triacetyldeoxynivalenol (120). In an extension to this work, Sharpless deoxygenation furnished the key intermediate, olefin (124), which was used to synthesise the 12,13-epi-epoxytrichothecene (128) via ozonolysis and reaction of the derived norketone (125) with dimethylsulphonium methylide. Both the Sharpless deoxygenation product (119) and the epi-epoxytrichothecene (128) were found to be essentially non-toxic, thus demonstrating for the first time the necessary presence of the epoxide and its stereochemical definition. Further work has led to methodology for the provision of less readily available trichothecenes. To this end, deoxynivalenol (23) has been successfully synthesised from one of our culture products, anguidine (9), via another naturally occurring trichothecene, calonectrin (5). This methodology involved selective removal of the C-4 oxygen functionality, selective allylic oxidation at C-8, to establish the enone system, and introduction of the C-7 hydroxyl moiety

Theoretical description of PIV measurement errors

The study has been supported by three UKRI grants,"Bed friction in rough-bed free-surface flows: a theoretical framework, roughness regimes, and quantification" (EPSRC EP/ K041088/1); "Secondary currents in turbulent flows over rough walls" (EPSRC EP/V002414/1); and "Field Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (FSPIV) system for high-resolution in-situ studies of freshwater and marine ecosystems" (NERC NE/T009004/1). Thanks to Professor Vladimir Nikora for his helpful comments on the final draft of this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Radial Masa in a Free Group Factor is Maximal Injective

The radial (or Laplacian) masa in a free group factor is the abelian von Neumann algebra generated by the sum of the generators (of the free group) and their inverses. The main result of this paper is that the radial masa is a maximal injective von Neumann subalgebra of a free group factor. We also investigate tensor products of maximal injective algebras. Given two inclusions $B_i\subset M_i$ of type $\mathrm{I}$ von Neumann algebras in finite von Neumann algebras such that each $B_i$ is maximal injective in $M_i$, we show that the tensor product $B_1\ \bar{\otimes}\ B_2$ is maximal injective in $M_1\ \bar{\otimes}\ M_2$ provided at least one of the inclusions satisfies the asymptotic orthogonality property we establish for the radial masa. In particular it follows that finite tensor products of generator and radial masas will be maximal injective in the corresponding tensor product of free group factors.Comment: 25 Pages, Typos corrected and exposition improve

Double-averaged velocity and stress distributions for hydraulically-smooth and transitionally-rough turbulent flows

Peer reviewedPreprin

A Proof-of-Concept Study for an Elastohydrodynamic Seal Design

Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles are superior to traditional water based, air-breathing, direct-fired, open Brayton cycles or indirect-fired, closed Rankine cycles in terms of efficiency and equipment size. They hold great potential in fossil fuel power plants, nuclear power production, solar power, geothermal power, and ship propulsion. To unlock the potential of sCO2 power cycles, utilized technology must withstand 10–600 MWe and at sCO2 temperatures and pressures of 350–700℃ and 20–35 MPa for nuclear industries. Amongst many challenges at the component level, the lack of suitable shaft seals for sCO2 operating conditions needs to be addressed. So far, conventional seals all suffer from the incapability of handling sCO2 pressures and temperatures in one way or another. These seals suffer from high leakage rates, bristle wear, and scalability constraints. There is a worldwide effort to develop effective sealing technologies for sCO2 turbomachinery. This research focuses on creating a proof-of-concept alternative seal design that can potentially be used in sCO2 turbomachinery. The seal will be demonstrated on a larger scale; utilizing water flowing through a chamber and studying how the pressure gradient and seal deflection affects the performance of the seal. Under these conditions, if the pressures at the top and bottom of the seal are constant and decreasing along the flow path, respectively, then the seal will deform in a way that forms a throat towards the root of the seal. In this work, an experimental methodology has been developed, including the instrumentation and fabrication of the components

Great hopes, good jobs, affordable investments, and becoming a real person: education decisions of the urban poor in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Urban poverty is rising as economic development is accompanied by rural-urban migration and the majority of the world’s population becomes urbanised. Policymakers and researchers are only now coming to grips with the implications for education. Educational deprivation still tends to be seen as a primarily rural problem, especially in a historically rural economy such as Bangladesh’s. Little is known about educational access and outcomes for the urban poor, what resources they need to use to get children admitted to school and keep them there, and what benefits they can expect to get in return. This thesis examines how poor households living in slums of Dhaka city, Bangladesh, make decisions about their children’s education. In particular it asks what aspects of education are valued by parents and children; what the costs of education are; and how these costs and valued outcomes combine to influence the decisions that parents and children make with regard to school. The study is based on a survey of 1599 households and in-depth interviews with 34. Quantitative methods are used to examine associations of different household and individual characteristics with educational outcomes, and qualitative methods to explain the underlying processes. The data show that the slum environment is far from being an easy one to live in, and most households live below the poverty line. They face high rents and food prices, are time-pressed, and have limited support from friends and relatives. Households had to draw on their resources to cover the costs of school, support their children’s learning, and manage the relationship with the school. Direct financial costs of education were substantial compared to income. More than half of children in primary school took private tuition, despite the low incomes of their parents. There were also important opportunity costs. Children could work instead of going to school, especially at older ages. Parents and children valued a range of aspects of education. They aspired to professional or formal-sector employment and saw education as key to this, but were ambivalent about whether a small amount of primary education would bring substantial benefits. School education was enjoyed in its own right and also seen as the way that one ‘becomes a real person,’ respected in the community and by a future spouse, with correct moral and social behaviours. It was seen as useful, if not strictly necessary, for a girl to marry and fulfil her expected future role as a wife and mother. Households had to balance these valued benefits of education against the resources they needed to use for it, and the resulting decisions – to enrol in school, to stay in or drop out, to spend more, and to go to a government, non-government organisation, or private school – were strongly influenced by the wealth, location, social connections, and education of the parents. Children from wealthier households tended to stay in school longer, but location was also important, probably reflecting the different availability of schools in different slums. Drop-out decisions were sometimes made by children themselves, especially for boys. The thesis concludes by summarizing the findings, reflecting on the conceptual model used, and putting forward policy implications. It argues that the framework based on a mixture of livelihoods and human capital theory is broadly a useful one for considering education decisions. Among the priority areas for education policy for the urban poor, it highlights the lack of government provision of school places, problems caused by evictions and uncertain legal status of slum dwellers, poor coordination between government and non-government organizations, and the inequitable effects of widespread private tuition