Halogenated 1'-methyl-1,2'-bipyrroles (MBPs) in the northwestern Atlantic

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution September 2009Halogenated 1’-methyl-1,2’-bipyrroles (MBPs) are a distinctive class of marine organic compounds. They are naturally produced, they have a unique carbon structure, they are highly halogenated, and they bioaccumulate in upper trophic levels. MBPs share many characteristics with persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and may prove to be useful natural analogues for these anthropogenic compounds. Further, their unique structure suggests that their biosynthetic organism(s) may have new genes to add to current knowledge of biosynthetic chemistry. The objectives of this dissertation were to further clarify the environmental distribution of MBPs, to examine whether MBPs biomagnify, and to investigate possible origins of these compounds through their stable nitrogen isotopic signatures. Results from these investigations have shown that over 40 highly brominated MBP congeners are present in marine mammals, fish, and squid from the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean. The most abundant MBPs do appear to biomagnify through the food web to reach the concentrations observed in marine mammals. This additional evidence affords greater confidence in the use of MBPs as natural analogues for POPs. However, differences in the environmental chemistry of MBPs and anthropogenic compounds are also evident, and may be due to these compounds’ different origins, or to the capacity of degradative enzymes to act upon them. Finally, compound-specific nitrogen isotope analyses on MBPs isolated from dolphin blubber show that these compounds are dramatically enriched in 15N relative to other biosynthetic organic compounds. This enrichment is likely a signal imparted during biosynthesis, and may assist in elucidating the organism(s) and mechanism(s) responsible for the biosynthesis of MBPs.This dissertation was made possible with funding provided by the National Science Foundation, through their Graduate Research Fellowship Program and OCE grant number 0550486 (PI: Dr. Christopher M. Reddy), and by The Seaver Institute, the J. Seward Johnson Fund, the Virginia Walker Smith Fund, and the WHOI Ocean Ventures Fund

Review of George Eliot: A Reference Guide, 1972-87

Karen L. Pangallo attempts to fill a gap in reference works on Eliot with this guide. Entries are arranged by years and then alphabetized by author. There are an Index of Authors, an Index of Secondary Titles, and an Index of Subjects (which would be helped by more detail). In the preface Pangallo states that she has attempted to compile a complete bibliography of references to George Eliot, and she cites Dissertations Abstracts International, the MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modem Languages and Literatures, and a variety of other sources. The volume does seem to include all doctoral dissertations and all books on Eliot during these years. However, in comparing the Qulik to the MLA Bibliography, it is clear that a large percentage of articles have been omitted from the Qulik. The basis for exclusion is not clear, although it is generally articles in collections or in less well known journals that are omitted. The only mention of The George Eliot Fellowship Review is a 1972 entry for the review itself. No Review articles are included. Also omitted are many articles from the Victorian Newsletter, the Victorians Institute Journal, and a variety of other publications

3D Design Models to Construction (Data Centric Approach)

One aspect of e-Construction is reducing paper use, and many DOTs have successfully reduced their use of paper documents. INDOT wants to take this further by adding a data-centric approach, which focuses on the transfer of data from 3D design models to construction and then to asset management. In this presentation we discuss this initiative

The manual, communicative and quantitative abilities of native and foreign workers according to their level of education in Italy

Many studies address the labour market consequences of immigration flows. A branch of them argues that native workers respond to immigration by specializing in jobs where they have a comparative advantage, thus protecting themselves from labour market competition and possible wage losses. In order to examine this dynamic in the Italian labour market, we analysed the characteristics of jobs in Italy in terms of skills and tasks performed. The results show that foreigners hold more manual jobs, while natives hold jobs with more communicative and quantitative content

INDOT Intelligent Road Design and Construction Using 3D Models

This presentation provides an update on INDOT’s e-construction and Intelligent Design and Construction initiatives. This will include a discussion of INDOT’s efforts over the past year to move toward 3D CAD models for roadway design, advancements in digital/electronic construction inspection including further development and refining of inspection checklists, continued development and testing of a mobile inspection application, and demonstration projects for e-ticketing of HMA materials delivery

INDOT Intelligent Design and Construction (IDC)

This presentation provides an update on INDOT’s e-construction initiatives. Advancements in roadway design include efforts to move toward 3D CAD models for roadway design and 3D subsurface utility design and analysis (SUDA); advancements in digital/electronic construction include the development of inspection checklists, piloting a mobile inspection application, and investigating e-ticketing for materials delivery

The Critical Response to George Eliot

The appearance of a new anthology of George Eliot criticism would need to justify its place on the shelf beside the indispensable collections of essays assembled by Gordon S. Haight, D.R. Carroll, William Baker, Barbara Hardy and K.M. Newton. However, so much valuable and interesting Eliot criticism has been published in the past two decades that there is still room for a critical revaluation of this work. Karen Pangallo\u27s George Eliot: A Reference Guide, 1972-1987 (Boston: G .K. Hall, 1990), is evidence of her knowledge in this area. However, the gap for a good selection of recent Eliot criticism is not filled by her new compilation. The volume\u27s title suggests that it is a comprehensive reference work; instead it contains mostly undistinguished recent essays on some of George Eliot\u27s best known novels (the book does not cover Scenes of Clerical Life, Impressions of Theophrastus Such, or any of the poetry), complemented by a selection of extracts taken from contemporary reviews and The George Eliot Letters. The only quotations from George Eliot are minor excerpts from the letters, and some background about the correspondents would be useful to those readers who are unfamiliar with Eliot\u27s life. The exclusion of Eliot\u27s own essays, reviews and translations is also to be regretted. In her introduction, Pangallo explains that her book attempts to demonstrate how Eliot\u27s contemporaries and critics of the 1970s to the 1990s all respond to the same theme, \u27the self within society and its interconnections\u27 (1). This is so general a theme as to cover more or less everything; Eliot\u27s readers find her novels interesting for more specific reasons than this. Pangallo\u27s justification for the principle on which her book is organized is that her theme \u27speaks to Eliot\u27s readers then and today\u27 (7). This is limp beside the vitality of the books themselves

Resilience Through the Lens of Interactionism: A Systematic Review

This systematic review presents findings from a conceptual and methodological review of resilience measures using an interactionist theoretical framework. The review is also intended to update findings from previous systematic reviews. Two databases (EBSCOHost and Scopus) were searched to retrieve empirical studies published up until 2013, with no lower time limit. All articles had to meet specific inclusion criteria, which resulted in 17 resilience measures selected for full review. Measures were conceptually evaluated against an interactionist framework and methodologically reviewed using Skinner's (1981) validity evidence framework. We conclude that inconsistencies associated with the definition and operationalization of resilience warrant further conceptual development to explain resilience as a dynamic and interactive phenomenon. In particular, measures of resilience may benefit from a greater focus on within-person variance typically associated with behavioral consistency across situations. The use of alternative measurement modalities to self-report scales, such as situational judgment tests, is proposed as a way of advancing knowledge in this area