A Study of the Dissolution of Pyrolusite in Sulphuric Acid

With an eye to the future development of its re­sources, the large deposits of low-grade manganese ore within Montana\u27s boundaries show great promise of developing an important industry. With the pre­sent war demands and the possibility of a future mar­ket it is essential that work expended to utilize this important mineral

Reviewing the science on 50 years of conservation: Knowledge production biases and lessons for practice

Drawing on 662 studies from 102 countries, we present a systematic review of published empirical studies about site-level biodiversity conservation initiated between 1970 and 2019. Within this sample, we find that knowledge production about the Global South is largely produced by researchers in the Global North, implying a neocolonial power dynamic. We also find evidence of bias in reported ecological outcomes linked to lack of independence in scientific studies, serving to uphold narratives about who should lead conservation. We explore relationships in the sample studies between conservation initiative types, the extent of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ influence in governance, and reported social and ecological outcomes. Findings reveal positive ecological and social outcomes are strongly associated with higher levels of influence of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their institutions, implying equity in conservation practice should be advanced not only for moral reasons, but because it can enhance conservation effectiveness

Is it just conservation? A typology of Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ roles in conserving biodiversity

As conservation initiatives expand in response to biodiversity loss, there remains limited understanding about what forms of governance and roles for different actors produce the best ecological outcomes. Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ (IPs & LCs) roles extend beyond participation to more equitable governance based on relative control and recognition of their values and institutions, but the relationship with conservation outcomes remains unclear. We review 648 empirical studies to develop a typology of IP & LC roles in governance and, for a subsample of 170, analyze relationships with reported ecological outcomes. Findings reveal that more equitable governance, based on equal partnership or primary control for IPs & LCs, are associated with significantly more positive ecological outcomes. This carries important implications, including for actions towards the Global Biodiversity Framework targets, suggesting a need to elevate the role of IPs & LCs to conservation leaders, while respecting their rights and customary institutions

Genetics and Plant Development

There are only three grand theories in biology: the theory of the cell, the theory of the gene, and the theory of evolution. Two of these, the cell and gene theories, originated in the study of plants, with the third resulting in part from botanical considerations as well. Mendel's elucidation of the rules of inheritance was a result of his experiments on peas. The rediscovery of Mendel's work in 1900 was by the botanists de Vries, Correns, and Tschermak. It was only in subsequent years that animals were also shown to have segregation of genetic elements in the exact same manner as had been shown in plants. The story of developmental biology is different – while the development of plants has long been studied, the experimental and genetic approaches to developmental mechanism were developed via experiments on animals, and the importance of genes in development (e.g., Waddington, 1940) and their use for understanding developmental mechanisms came to botanical science much later – as late as the 1980s

Symplasmic transport and phloem loading in gymnosperm leaves

Despite more than 130 years of research, phloem loading is far from being understood in gymnosperms. In part this is due to the special architecture of their leaves. They differ from angiosperm leaves among others by having a transfusion tissue between bundle sheath and the axial vascular elements. This article reviews the somewhat inaccessible and/or neglected literature and identifies the key points for pre-phloem transport and loading of photoassimilates. The pre-phloem pathway of assimilates is structurally characterized by a high number of plasmodesmata between all cell types starting in the mesophyll and continuing via bundle sheath, transfusion parenchyma, Strasburger cells up to the sieve elements. Occurrence of median cavities and branching indicates that primary plasmodesmata get secondarily modified and multiplied during expansion growth. Only functional tests can elucidate whether this symplasmic pathway is indeed continuous for assimilates, and if phloem loading in gymnosperms is comparable with the symplasmic loading mode in many angiosperm trees. In contrast to angiosperms, the bundle sheath has properties of an endodermis and is equipped with Casparian strips or other wall modifications that form a domain border for any apoplasmic transport. It constitutes a key point of control for nutrient transport, where the opposing flow of mineral nutrients and photoassimilates has to be accommodated in each single cell, bringing to mind the principle of a revolving door. The review lists a number of experiments needed to elucidate the mode of phloem loading in gymnosperms

Dyslexia and technology

This article is not available on ChesterRepChantal Worsdell considers the pros and cons of cutting-edge technology for dyslexia diagnosis/support, and whether concepts of embodied cognition can help ECEC settings embrace technological innovation

Corporate Corruption: Individual Discretion and Corporate Financial Integrity in Portugal

This thesis presents the analysis, findings, contributions and potential implications of the empirical data that emerged from a primary qualitative investigation into how senior managers of Portuguese Multinational Corporations (MNC) perceive and respond to corporate corruption. Through an original systematic approach to analysis, data was subjected to two decision and economic theories: Cooperative Game Theory (Binmore, 1994, 1998b) and the Risk, Uncertainty and Profit Theory (Knight, 1921; Watkins and Knight, 1922). In combination the key concepts from these theories, which are the unique advantages gained from cooperation in formal rules-based games and the differentiation between risk and uncertainty in probability judgements, make up one dimension of an a priori thematic template that considers interviewee responses within two informational environments: the states of clarity and ambiguity. Conducted in Portugal, this research identifies how individuals in business struggle to adequately match complex rule-based standards with informational ambiguity. It seeks to avoid simply defining or highlighting recent examples of corporate corruption but expands on how agents respond to ambiguity through heuristic interpretations of their environment that may be in breach of the pre-agreed rules. Study elucidates why the demands for rule adherence, based on an assumption of perfect information and logical deductive rationality, are in contradiction to how individual agents commonly make judgements. Key findings draw attention to the need for a greater reliance on individual discretion in the face of observed asymmetry between formal and informal approaches to maintaining organisational financial integrity. From these findings two conceptual frameworks, which can both contribute to theory and practice, are presented as a way to better understand how each system is influenced. It is presented that without acknowledging the important role of individual discretion within formal systems, and without greater efforts to align these two systems, the threat of corporate corruption is likely to persist