Automated microorganism Sample Collection Module

Modified Gelman Sampler obtains representative sample of microorganism population. Proposed Sample Collection Module is based on direct inoculation of selected solid growth media encased in a cartridge at all times except during inoculation. Cartridge can be handled with no danger of contamination to sample or operator

Binarity at the L/T brown dwarf transition

Current atmospheric models cannot reproduce some of the characteristics of the transition between the L dwarfs with cloudy atmospheres and the T dwarfs with dust-depleted photospheres. It has been proposed that a majority of the L/T transition brown dwarfs could actually be a combinaison of a cloudy L dwarf and a clear T dwarf. Indeed binarity seems to occur more frequently among L/T transition brown dwarfs. We aim to refine the statistical significance of the seemingly higher frequency of binaries. Co-eval binaries would also be interesting test-beds for evolutionary models. We obtained high-resolution imaging for six mid-L to late-T dwarfs, with photometric distances between 8 and 33pc, using the adaptive optics systems NACO at the VLT, and the Lick system, both with the laser guide star. We resolve none of our targets. Combining our data with published results, we obtain a frequency of resolved L/T transition brown dwarfs of (31+21-15)%, compared to (21+10-7)% and (14+14-7)% for mid-L and T dwarfs (90% of confidence level). These fractions do not significantly support, nor contradict, the hypothesis of a larger binary fraction in the L/T transition. None of our targets has companions with effective temperatures as low as 360-1000K at separations larger than 0.5".Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by A&

Victim-offender mediation and social work: focus groups with mediators in Flanders

The role of social work in the restorative justice field remains largely unexplored. This article reports on the findings of focus groups conducted with mediators of juvenile and adult mediation practices in Flanders (Belgium) to gain more insight into how mediators perceive their professional role and to what extent they refer to individual and structural dimensions of social work practice. Implications for future social work involvement and research are made

Multiplicity of very low-mass objects in the Upper Scorpius OB association: a possible wide binary population

We report the initial results of a VLT/NACO high spatial resolution imaging survey for multiple systems among 58 M-type members of the nearby Upper Scorpius OB association. Nine pairs with separations below 100 have been resolved. Their small angular separations and the similarity in the brightness of the components (DMagK <1 for all of them), indicate there is a reasonable likelihood several of them are true binaries rather than chance projections. Follow-up imaging observations with WHT/LIRIS of the two widest binaries confirm that their near-infrared colours are consistent with physical very low mass binaries. For one of these two binaries, WHT/LIRIS spectra of each component were obtained. We find that the two components have similar M6-M7 spectral types and signatures of low-gravity, as expected for a young brown dwarf binary in this association. Our preliminary results indicate a possible population of very low-mass binaries with semimajor axis in the range 100 AU 150 AU, which has not been seen in the Pleiades open cluster. If these candidates are confirmed (one is confirmed by this work), these results would indicate that the binary properties of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs may depend on the environment where they form.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table, 7 figures, request high resolution copies to [email protected]

Resolved Hubble Space spectroscopy of ultracool binary systems

Using the low-resolution mode of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard the \emph{Hubble Space Telescope} (HST), we have obtained spatially resolved spectra of 20 ultracool dwarfs. 18 of them belong to 9 known very low-mass binary systems with angular separations in the range 0.37-0.098 arcseconds. We have derived spectral types in the range dM7.5 to dL6 from the PC3 index, and by comparing our STIS spectra with ground-based spectra of similar spectral resolution from Mart{\'\i}n et al. (1999). We have searched for H$_\alpha$ emission in each object but it was clearly detected in only 2 of them. We find that the distribution of H$_\alpha$ emission in our sample is statistically different from that of single field dwarfs, suggesting an intriguing anticorrelation between chromospheric activity and binarity for M7--M9.5 dwarfs. We provide measuments of the strength of the main photospheric features and the PC3 index, and we derive calibrations of spectral subclasses versus F814W and K-band absolute magnitudes for a subset of 10 dwarfs in 5 binaries that have known trigonometric parallaxes.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

Morality tales: young women's narratives on offending, self-worth and desistance

This article emerges from a study of female offenders’ participation in police-facilitated restorative justice in one county in England. The qualitative study, presented here, is based on life history interviews with twelve women and focuses on three morality tales that emerged through narrative analysis: ‘offending as play,’ ‘the strong woman’ and ‘work and a normal life.’ The women used these tales to protect self-worth and justify ‘bad’ behavior in order to counter professional responses which they viewed as stigmatising. The paper concludes with implications for practice with girls and women who offend, which may benefit police, probation and social workers

Properties and crystallization of a genetically engineered, water-soluble derivative of penicillin-binding protein 5 of Escherichia coli K12

Derivatives of the Escherichia coli penicillin-binding protein 5 (PBP5) with truncated carboxyl terminals were obtained by altering the carboxyl-coding end of the dacA gene. After cloning the modified dacA gene into a runaway-replication-control plasmid, one clone that overproduced and excreted the desired protein into the periplasm was used as a source for the isolation of a water-soluble PBP5 (i.e. PBP5S). In PBP5S the carboxyl-terminal 21-amino-acid region of the wild-type protein was replaced by a short 9-amino-acid segment. Milligram amounts of PBP5S were purified by penicillin affinity chromatography in the absence of detergents or of chaotropic agents. PBP5S was stable and possessed DD-carboxypeptidase activity without added Triton X-100. Upon reaction with [14C]benzylpenicillin it was converted into a rather short-lived acyl-enzyme complex, as observed with PBP5. Both PBP5 and PBP5S were crystallized. In contrast to PBP5, PBP5S yielded enzymatically active, well-formed prismatic crystals suitable for X-ray analysis