Two new methods to increase the contrast of track-etch neutron radiographs

In one method, fluorescent dye is deposited into tracks of radiograph and viewed under ultraviolet light. In second method, track-etch radiograph is placed between crossed polaroid filters, exposed to diffused light and resulting image is projected onto photographic film

Platelet Collapse Model of Pulsar Glitches

A platelet collapse model of starquakes is introduced. It displays self-organized criticality with a robust power-law behavior. The simulations indicate a near-constant exponent, whenever scaling is present.Comment: Figures available by sending request to Ivan Schmidt: [email protected]

Policy Lessons from the Fifth EWCS: The Pursuit of More and Better Jobs

[Excerpt] This report examines the evidence and policy lessons that can be drawn from the findings of the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) carried out in 2010. The focus is on the links between working conditions and labour market participation in the light of the EU’s longstanding policy pursuit of more and better jobs. The report also assesses how the EWCS is valued by policy users and researchers, and where its further development or usage could enhance EU policy on employment and social developments. The contribution of the fifth EWCS was assessed on the basis of the mix of evidence available to policymakers, including: the extent to which EWCS data or findings are cited or used by representatives of European and national authorities, research centres and researchers; secondary analyses of EWCS data and other research which addresses current policy concerns; interviews with key users of EWCS data, especially those working in EU-level policymaking and research centres. The current economic and social policy concerns and objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy are not dramatically different from those in earlier times. However, there has been a steady increase in the level of cooperation between Member States around a mutual learning and target-based approach, supported by greater use of monitoring indicators. While the EWCS initially focused on evidence on working conditions, it has progressively developed its coverage. Today it embraces a range of issues including workplace organisation and innovation, patterns of working time and job quality. The EWCS has been particularly successful in highlighting trends, convergences and divergences through the development of indicators of policy concerns such as the quality of jobs or workplace risks (physical or psychological). It has provided new insights and understanding – often through innovative multidisciplinary research – on matters such as the relationship between different aspects of life at the workplace, and between the workplace and the household

Investigating the evolutionary changes in Crabtree-negative yeasts during a long-term evolution experiment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

The Crabtree effect is a metabolic strategy that allows yeast to ferment in the presence of oxygen. This is of interest as not all yeasts display this strategy, and nearly 100 years after its discovery it is still unclear what the overall benefit is. Two key theories attempt to explain the emergence of this phenomenon, the make-accumulate-consume theory and the rate/yield trade-off theory. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether a trade-off between rate and yield develops in Crabtree-negative yeasts over the course of 1500 generations in a high sugar environment. Chapter Two demonstrates that growth rate is more likely to increase than decrease while growth yield is more likely to decrease than increase in the isolate-derived populations of yeast. We find that species that started out relatively fast, changed little while the slower species had more significant gains in growth rate. With growth yield, the species with initially high yield lost more significantly than the already low yield species. This could suggest there is an overall optimum growth rate and growth yield, that the species are evolving towards. In Chapter Three, ethanol production was measured using colorimetric tests and no change was observed to support the development of the Crabtree effect in these populations after 1500 generations. In Chapter Four growth yield was investigated using flow cytometry and it was found that several yeast populations both increased in cell size and decreased in growth yield. This is an interesting observation that has been observed in several previous experimental evolution experiments. In Chapter Five, as cell size is often associated with ploidy changes, DNA content was measured using DAPI and SYTOX DNA stains, detected by flow cytometry. This did not provide any statistically significant conclusions but highlighted the importance of employing further techniques to analyse the DNA content of these populations. This thesis has illustrated the importance of studying the competitive behaviours of microorganisms in isolation, where selfish traits appear to thrive

Reforming the Contested Convention: Rethinking the Presidential Nomination Process

The presidential nomination process could be substantially improved through a few minor tweaks that would reduce unnecessary uncertainty, bolster its democratic underpinnings, and improve the connections among its various components. First, certain fundamental rules governing national conventions should be determined well in advance of the presidential nominating process, before any primaries or caucuses are held or delegates selected, and not be subject to change or suspension at the convention itself. Second, parties should enhance the democratic moorings of their national conventions by requiring presidential candidates to win a greater number of presidential preference votes to be placed into nomination. Third, state parties should tie the various components of the presidential nomination process more closely together by adopting a blend of the Democratic and Republican Parties’ current approaches. When a candidate is allotted national convention delegates based on the results of a presidential preference vote, the candidate should have a voice in selecting those delegates, and those delegates in turn should be bound to vote for that candidate, at least during the first round of voting at the national convention

Success factors for Indigenous entrepreneurs and community-based enterprises

Introduction: This resource sheet reviews the available literature on the key factors that have underpinned successful Indigenous entrepreneurs and community-based enterprises. It also explores the different characteristics of Indigenous entrepreneurs and community-based enterprises. Where possible, it also looks at the outcomes of government programs that have aimed to help these different types of Indigenous businesses. For the purposes of this resource sheet, the term ‘Indigenous entrepreneurialism’ (or ‘entrepreneur’) has been used to refer to Indigenous-owned private and commercial businesses that are run for a profit. Likewise, the term ‘community-based enterprise’ has been used to refer to businesses that have a more communal purpose (they are also known as ‘community-managed’ and ‘social’ enterprises). The two terms used in this resource sheet are defined below and were selected for convenience and because they were commonly used in the literature. Indigenous economic development is defined as the involvement by Indigenous people in employment, business, asset and wealth creation in the communities and regions where they live. One key aspect of improving Indigenous economic development is through Indigenous people operating their own private businesses or community-based enterprises (refer to the definition above). In the case of successful Indigenous entrepreneurs, self-employment and ownership of enterprises is believed to help individuals, families and communities improve self-sufficiency and decrease reliance on government welfare. This resource sheet is based on a literature review of approximately 30 sources. The review process used various search terms (for example, Indigenous economic development/Indigenous business; social enterprises, entrepreneurship) and research databases containing peer reviewed articles (AIFS Library catalogue; all of the EBSCO and Informit databases and collections) and general online resources from government or Indigenous community organisations