SOME ISSUES OF THE THEORY OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND PRACTICE OF MEGA-REGIONAL AGREEMENTS

The author gives a definition of mega-agreements and outlines their qualitative characteristics such as versatility, extra regionality, large scale, regulatory questions which do not fall in WTO competence. Quantitative criteria of mega-integration (a cumulative share of alliance in the world trade, GWP, world investments, market capacity) and their threshold values are offered. It is proved that mega- agreements’ practice does not conform to the majority of requirements for the linearly-stadial model devised by B. Balassa. Specific features of TTP and TTIP are revealed on the basis of the hub-and-spoke model

Salt extraction by poulticing : an NMR study

The crystallization of salts is widely recognized as one of the most significant causes of damage to many cultural objects consisting of porous materials, such as monuments, sculptures, historic buildings, wall paintings, etc. A common response to salt damage problems are treatments aimed at reducing the salt content of the affected object, most typically through the application of poultices. Poultices are applied to porous materials in order to extract soluble salts. The process of poulticing is relatively simple in theory, but in practice the efficiency of the salt extraction is more difficult to predict. This study aims to develop a better understanding of the physical principles of the salt and moisture transport by which poultices function. A desalination treatment by poultice includes two main phases. The first is the wetting phase: water is transported from the poultice into the wall, where it starts to dissolve the salts. The second phase is the salt extraction. The dissolved salt ions travel in the form of an aqueous saline solution from the substrate into the poultice. This salt migration can be the result of two different processes. The first is generated by the existence of a concentration gradient between the substrate and the poultice. In this case the salt ions diffuse through the solution. The other one is realized by the capillary water flow from the substrate to the poultice (generally resulting from drying). In this case the salt ions are transported by the moving solution (advection). If salt ions are advected from the substrate into the poultice by capillary moisture flow, a concentration gradient will be established. Because of this salt concentration an osmotic pressure will develop. One of the aims of this study was to investigate the potential contribution of osmotic pressure to salt extraction during drying of the poultice. For this purpose we have conducted a series of experiments to investigate the influence of osmotic pressure on ion transport processes. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques were used to obtain information on the water and salt distribution in the poultice/substrate system during desalination. The results of the experiments show that the contribution of the osmotic pressure can have a significant influence on the desalination process. Poultices which contain different mixes of clay and sand were studied in order to understand the influence of each component on the drying behavior of the poultice. Desalination experiments in controlled environmental conditions were carried out on substrates with well known pore size distributions. NMR was used to obtain information on the water and salt distribution in the poultice/ substrate system during desalination. The study demonstrates the relation between salt extraction and pore structure parameters of the poultice/substrate system. It also shows the influence of some additional factors, such as an interventional layer between substrate and poultice, on the salt extraction during the desalination treatment

The 19th Century Tombstone Database Project Records, 1790-1890 (non-inclusive)

The 19th Century Tombstone Database project was funded by the program Federal Summer Youth Employment scheme in the summer of 1982 and led by Dr. David W. Rupp, a Professor at the Classics Department, Brock University. The main goal of the project was to collect information related to various cemeteries in Niagara region and burials that took place from 1790-1890. Data was collected and presented in the form of data summary forms of persons, tombstone sketches, photographs of tombstones, maps, and computer printouts. The materials created as a result of a research completed for the 19th Century Tombstone Database project are important as a number of the tombstones have been damaged or gone missing since the research was finished. Before Dr. Rupp retired from Brock University, he donated project materials to the Brock University Special Collections and Archives.This collection consists of materials related to research focusing on 19th century tombstones; includes data summary forms of persons, tombstone sketches, photographs of tombstones for various cemeteries in Grantham, Louth and Thorold Townships, maps, computer data printouts and handwritten notes