Source Material (source + material)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Source Material: "Does This Constitute a Press Conference?"

PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2003
Defining, Tabulating Modern Presidential Press Conferences
The presidential press conference has demonstrated the way in which both sides have adapted to their own environments. By studying the frequency, format, location, and participants, we can see the ways in which a president responds to reporters'needs for information and the president's own need to present himself and his programs but to do so in an environment where the risk level is manageable. In this article, the author is looking at the variations in the basic elements of the press conference as seen in the modern era conferences of Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. This piece is restricted to looking at the at the classification of press conferences and exploring their variety as expressed in the number of the locations where they are held and the assortment of participants in addition to the president. [source]


Alcohol research and the alcoholic beverage industry: issues, concerns and conflicts of interest

ADDICTION, Issue 2009
Thomas F. Babor
ABSTRACT Aims Using terms of justification such as ,corporate social responsibility' and ,partnerships with the public health community', the alcoholic beverage industry (mainly large producers, trade associations and ,social aspects' organizations) funds a variety of scientific activities that involve or overlap with the work of independent scientists. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the ethical, professional and scientific challenges that have emerged from industry involvement in alcohol science. Method Source material came from an extensive review of organizational websites, newspaper articles, journal papers, letters to the editor, editorials, books, book chapters and unpublished documents. Results Industry involvement in alcohol science was identified in seven areas: (i) sponsorship of research funding organizations; (ii) direct financing of university-based scientists and centers; (iii) studies conducted through contract research organizations; (iv) research conducted by trade organizations and social aspects/public relations organizations; (v) efforts to influence public perceptions of research, research findings and alcohol policies; (vi) publication of scientific documents and support of scientific journals; and (vii) sponsorship of scientific conferences and presentations at conferences. Conclusion While industry involvement in research activities is increasing, it constitutes currently a rather small direct investment in scientific research, one that is unlikely to contribute to alcohol science, lead to scientific breakthroughs or reduce the burden of alcohol-related illness. At best, the scientific activities funded by the alcoholic beverage industry provide financial support and small consulting fees for basic and behavioral scientists engaged in alcohol research; at worst, the industry's scientific activities confuse public discussion of health issues and policy options, raise questions about the objectivity of industry-supported alcohol scientists and provide industry with a convenient way to demonstrate ,corporate responsibility' in its attempts to avoid taxation and regulation. [source]


Human and climatic impact on late Quaternary deposition in the Sparta Basin Piedmont: Evidence from alluvial fan systems

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 7 2003
Richard J. J. Pope
The evolution of four alluvial fans in the Evrotas Valley, southern Greece, was examined using a combination of geomorphological and sedimentological techniques. Source material for the fans is derived largely from the Taygetos Mountains, and thus the fan deposits provide proxy evidence for erosion of upland landscapes. Stratigraphic sequences exposed in the fanhead trenches suggest a progressive change in depositional style down-fan. Within the St. Johns, North Anogia, and North Xilocambi fans, debris flow deposits are gradually replaced by gravel-dominated hyperconcentrated flow deposits and then fine-grained hyperconcentrated flow deposits. Within the Kalivia Sokas fan, gravel-dominated hyperconcentrated flow deposits give way to fine-grained hyperconcentrated flow deposits, and finally to fluvial gravels. Mineral magnetic studies combined with thermoluminescence dating suggest that sedimentation also occurred over a similar time scale. Deposition cycles during the late Pleistocene appear to be climatically driven, with proximal and medial fan segments developing during stadial phases of the Riss/Würm and Würm, respectively. Distal segments aggraded during the Holocene. During interstadial episodes of the late Pleistocene, fan entrenchment occurred. Holocene accretion is likely to be related to human activity and appears to be concentrated in the early/middle Helladic and the Hellenistic periods, when population levels, indicated by increased numbers of archaeological sites, were rising. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


The Physical Context of Creativity

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2004
Tore Kristensen
Creative processes are complex and consist of sub-processes, e.g. value creation, scaffolding, imagination and materialization. Creativity takes place in a physical context, i.e. in a confined space. Such space restricts and enables the free flow of sensory experiences and proximity of other people. The confinements may make certain sensory experiences available, e.g. vision of source material, sight and sound (including noise). This framing allows certain cognitive processes and restricts others. This may induce emotions that, in turn, facilitate or reduce the enhancement of creativity. Physical space affects the well-being of people, the channels of information, the availability of knowledge tools and sets the stage for coherence and continuity, which may contribute to competitive advantages. [source]


Growth of ZnO crystals by vapour transport: Some ways to act on physical properties

CRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 8 2006
R. Tena-Zaera
Abstract Nowadays, the growth of ZnO by vapor transport in silica ampoules is generally made in presence of graphite. As it has been already shown, this means that the growth process is carried out in presence of a Zn excess. In order to control that and act, as a consequence, on the physical properties of crystals we have performed a systematic study of the growth process in a wide range of Zn excess compositions using well defined experimental conditions. As a preliminary characterization, optical absorption and electrical properties have been analyzed at room temperature. The results show how some physical properties of as-grown ZnO crystals can be changed in a controlled way by an adequate combination of different growth conditions such as graphite covering of inner ampoule walls, thermal difference between source material and crystallization zone and additional gas (composition and pressure). In this frame some post-growth annealing processes can be avoided reducing the time and cost of processes. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Preparation and characterization of electrodeposited indium selenide thin films

CRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 6 2005
S. Gopal
Abstract Indium Selenide (InSe) thin films were deposited from a mixture of Indium chloride and selenium dioxide in aqueous solution by electrodeposition technique on Indium Tin oxide coated glass substrates. The effects of the parameters during deposition such as current density, deposition potential versus saturated calomel electrode, pH value and concentration of source material were studied. X-ray diffraction studies were carried out on the films to analyze the microstructure using an x-ray diffractometer and were examined by RAMAN spectroscopy. The Raman peak position did not change much with chemical concentrations. Raman scattering due to the (LO) phonon was observed at 211 cm,1. Optical absorption studies were performed with a double beam ultra violet-visible ,NIR spectrophotometer in the wavelength 300,1100 nm. The surface morphology of the layer was examined using a scanning electron micrograph. The composition of the films was studied using an Energy Dispersive Analysis by X-Rays (EDAX). [source]


Delinquent Pedigrees: Revision, Lineage, and Spatial Rhetoric in The Duchess of Malfi

ENGLISH LITERARY RENAISSANCE, Issue 3 2009
Michelle M. Dowd
Locating John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi within a cluster of early seventeenth-century concerns about legitimacy and hereditary succession, this essay traces the ways in which Webster strategically alters his primary narrative source, William Painter's The Palace of Pleasure, so as to expose rather than to suppress the indeterminacy of patrilineality. Webster's tragedy focuses specifically on a remarrying widow and her children, a particular social problem that makes visible the contradictions inherent to the early modern system of patrilineal inheritance. The action of the play thus stages the tensions between the dominant legal form of patrilineality and the material practices shaping and changing it. Drawing in part on the theories of Michel de Certeau, this essay takes a fresh critical approach to the play by placing particular emphasis on the distinctively spatialized aspects of Webster's dramaturgical rendering of his source material and noting the ways in which he uses the ideological and physical spaces of the stage to highlight the inscrutability of the succession. In addition, in its focus on Webster's revisions of Painter, the essay considers how drama as a genre can spatially reimagine the social relationships and possibilities for agency that are produced through patterns of hereditary succession. As such, The Duchess of Malfi serves as a useful case study for theorizing the narrative and dramaturgical methods by which patriarchy is constructed, contested, and reformulated in early modern English culture (M.M.D.). [source]


Impact of Kerogen Heterogeneity on Sorption of Organic Pollutants.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 8 2009

Abstract The overall goal of the present study was to establish correlations between organic pollutant sorption and physicochemical properties of kerogen materials. Three coal samples, each representing a typical kerogen type, were used as the starting materials. A thermal technique was employed to treat the kerogen materials under seven different temperatures ranging from 200 to 500C to simulate different diagenetic history. These samples were systematically characterized for their chemical compositions, functionalities, physical rigidity, and optical properties. The results showed that the chemical, spectroscopic, and optical microscopic properties of each kerogen series changed consistently as a function of treatment temperature or kerogen maturation. The oxygen-to-carbon atomic ratio decreased from 0.29, 0.12, and 0.07 for the original lignite (XF0), fusinite (HZ0), and lopinite (LP0) samples, respectively, to 0.07, 0.06, and 0.04 for XF7, HZ7, and LP7, respectively, that underwent the highest temperature treatment. The hydrogen-to-carbon atomic ratio exhibited similar reducing trend, which is consistent with the aromaticity increasing from 45 to 58% of the original samples to 76 to 81% of highly mature samples. Under the fluorescence microscope, the organic matrix changed from yellow (original lignite sample) and red-brown (original lopinite sample) to colorless for the samples of higher maturation. The measured reflecting index increased from the original samples to the highly mature samples. Moreover, the original and the slightly matured samples exhibited very different chemical compositions and structural units among the three types due to the difference in their source materials. As the kerogen maturation increased, such differences decreased, indicating highly mature kerogen became homogenized regardless of the source material. [source]


K-Ar age determination, whole-rock and oxygen isotope geochemistry of the post-collisional Bizmi,en and Çalt, plutons, SW Erzincan, eastern Central Anatolia, Turkey

GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005
Ayten Önal
Abstract Post-collisional granitoid plutons intrude obducted Neo-Tethyan ophiolitic rocks in central and eastern Central Anatolia. The Bizmi,en and Çalt, plutons and the ophiolitic rocks that they intrude are overlain by fossiliferous and flyschoidal sedimentary rocks of the early Miocene Kemah Formation. These sedimentary rocks were deposited in basins that developed at the same time as tectonic unroofing of the plutons along E,W and NW,SE trending faults in Oligo-Miocene time. Mineral separates from the Bizmi,en and Çalt, plutons yield K-Ar ages ranging from 42 to 46,Ma, and from 40 to 49,Ma, respectively. Major, trace, and rare-earth element geochemistry as well as mineralogical and textural evidence reveals that the Bizmi,en pluton crystallized first, followed at shallower depth by the Çalt, pluton from a medium-K calcalkaline, I-type hybrid magma which was generated by magma mixing of coeval mafic and felsic magmas. Delta 18O values of both plutons fall in the field of I-type granitoids, although those of the Çalt, pluton are consistently higher than those of the Bizmi,en pluton. This is in agreement with field observations, petrographic and whole-rock geochemical data, which indicate that the Bizmi,en pluton represents relatively uncontaminated mantle material, whereas the Çalt, pluton has a significant crustal component. Structural data indicating the middle Eocene emplacement age and intrusion into already obducted ophiolitic rocks, suggest a post-collisional extensional origin. However, the pure geochemical discrimination diagrams indicate an arc origin which can be inherited either from the source material or from an upper mantle material modified by an early subduction process during the evolution of the Neo-Tethyan ocean. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


'Du Tag, wann wirst du sein...': Quotation, Emancipation and Dissonance in Straub/Huillet's Der Bräutigam, die Komödiantin und der Zuhälter

GERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 3 2000
Martin Brady
Taking as its starting point the radical potential ascribed to cinematic montage by Walter Benjamin, ans his concept of it's subversive 'Chockwirking', this article focuses on the thematic and structural use of dissonance, quotation and translation in Jean-Marie Straub's and Danièle Huillet's Der Bräutigam, dir Komösiantin und der Zuhälter(1968, 23 mins) in order to identify its utopian aspects. Described by Straub as their most aleatory and political work, it is an elliptical montage of literary, cinematic and musical quotations, a 'document of documents', or 'document-fiction', which evolved out of their stage production of Ferdinand Bruckner's Krankheit der Jugend in Fassbinder's Munich 'action-theater'. Ser agasinst the back-drop of the Paris revolts of 1968, the film presents models of emancipatory political action. Der Bräutigam is also a cinematic manifesto, a compressed documentary essay on cinema itself, distilling the debris of film history into a diamectical sequence of cinematic quotations which itself lays claim to being the apotheosis of that history. The article examines the ways in which the film transforms ots literary, musical, and cinematic source material into 'Jetztzeit;, making Der Bräutigama commentary on the political potential of 'Literaturverfilmung' or '-dokumentierung' to liberate and actualisr pre-existing texts in the here and now. [source]


Henry VII in Context: Problems and Possibilities

HISTORY, Issue 307 2007
STEVEN GUNN
Clearer understanding of Henry VII's reign is hindered not only by practical problems, such as deficiencies in source material, but also by its liminal position in historical study, at the end of the period conventionally studied by later medievalists and the beginning of that studied by early modernists. This makes it harder to evaluate changes in the judicial system, in local power structures, in England's position in European politics, in the rise of new social groups to political prominence and in the ideas behind royal policy. However, thoughtful combination of the approaches taken by different historical schools and reflection on wider processes of change at work in Henry's reign, such as in England's cultural and economic life, can make a virtue out of Henry's liminality. Together with the use of more unusual sources, such an approach enables investigation for Henry's reign of many themes of current interest to historians of the later Tudor period. These include courtly, parliamentary and popular politics, political culture, state formation and the interrelationships of different parts of the British Isles and Ireland. [source]


A Pragmatic Guide to Qualitative Historical Analysis in the Study of International Relations

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 4 2002
Cameron G. Thies
Researchers using qualitative methods, including case studies and comparative case studies, are becoming more self,conscious in enhancing the rigor of their research designs so as to maximize their explanatory leverage with a small number of cases. One aspect of qualitative research that has not received as much attention is the use of primary and secondary source material as data or evidence. This essay explores the potential problems encountered by political scientists as they conduct archival research or rely on secondary source material produced by historians. The essay also suggests guidelines for researchers to minimize the main problems associated with qualitative historical research, namely, investigator bias and unwarranted selectivity in the use of historical source materials. These guidelines should enable advanced undergraduates and graduate students to enhance the quality of their historically minded political science scholarship. [source]


Continental basalts in the accretionary complexes of the South-west Japan Arc: Constraints from geochemical and Sr and Nd isotopic data of metadiabase

ISLAND ARC, Issue 1 2000
Hiroo Kagami
Abstract The Ryoke Belt is one of the important terranes in the South-west Japan Arc (SJA). It consists mainly of late Cretaceous granitoid rocks, meta-sedimentary rocks (Jurassic accretionary complexes) and mafic rocks (gabbros, metadiabases; late Permian,early Jurassic). Initial ,Sr (+ 25, + 59) and ,Nd (, 2.1,,5.9) values of the metadiabases cannot be explained by crustal contamination but reflect the values of the source material. These values coincide with those of island arc basalt (IAB), active continental margin basalt (ACMB) and continental flood basalt (CFB). Spiderdiagrams and trace element chemistries of the metadiabases have CFB-signature, rather than those of either IAB or ACMB. The Sr,Nd isotope data, trace element and rare earth element chemistries of the metadiabases indicate that they result from partial melting of continental-type lithospheric mantle. Mafic granulite xenoliths in middle Miocene volcanic rocks distributed throughout the Ryoke Belt were probably derived from relatively deep crust. Their geochemical and Sr,Nd isotopic characteristics are similar to the metadiabases. This suggests that rocks, equivalent geochemically to the metadiabases, must be widely distributed at relatively deep crustal levels beneath a part of the Ryoke Belt. The geochemical and isotopic features of the metadiabases and mafic granulites from the Ryoke Belt are quite different from those of mafic rocks from other terranes in the SJA. These results imply that the Ryoke mafic rocks (metadiabase, mafic granulite) were not transported from other terranes by crustal movement but formed in situ. Sr,Nd isotopic features of late Cretaceous granitoid rocks occurring in the western part of the Japanese Islands are coincident with those of the Ryoke mafic rocks. Such an isotopic relation between these two rocks suggests that a continental-type lithosphere is widely represented beneath the western part of the Japanese Islands. [source]


Identification of a Brevibacterium marker gene specific to poultry litter and development of a quantitative PCR assay

JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
J.L. Weidhaas
Abstract Aim:, To identify a DNA sequence specific to a bacterium found in poultry litter that was indicative of faecal contamination by poultry sources. Methods and Results:, Faecally contaminated poultry litter and soils were used as source material for the development of a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method targeting the 16S rRNA gene of a Brevibacterium sp. The identified sequence had 98% nucleotide identity to the 16S rRNA gene of Brevibacterium avium. The qPCR method was tested on 17 soiled litter samples; 40 chicken faecal samples; and 116 nontarget faecal samples from cattle, swine, ducks, geese, and human sewage collected across the United States. The 571-bp product was detected in 76% of poultry-associated samples, but not in 93% of faecal samples from other sources. Marker concentrations were 107,109 gene copies per gram in soiled litter, up to 105 gene copies per gram in spread-site soils, and 107 gene copies per litre in field run-off water. Results were corroborated by a blinded study conducted by a second laboratory. Conclusion:, The poultry-specific PCR product is a useful marker gene for assessing the impact of faecal contamination as a result of land-applied poultry litter. Significance and Impact of the Study:, This study describes the first quantitative, sensitive and specific microbial source tracking method for the detection of poultry litter contamination. [source]


Nutshells as granular activated carbons: physical, chemical and adsorptive properties,

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2001
H Wartelle
Abstract Nutshells from seven different sources (pistachio, hazelnut, almond, black walnut, English walnut, macadamia nut, pecan) were converted to granular activated carbons (GACs) by carbon dioxide activation. A portion of the GACs were oxidized with compressed air and the physical (yield, surface area, attrition), chemical (pH, surface charge) and adsorptive (organics uptake, metal ion uptake) properties of both oxidized and non-oxidized carbons were determined. Differences in uptake of organics, especially of polar compounds, were found between GACs made from almond shells, the group consisting of black walnut shells, English walnut shells and pecan shells, and macadamia nutshells. Oxidation had its greatest effects on pH, surface charge and uptake of metal ions. The changes due to oxidation were found to be independent of carbon source material. GACs with specific properties can be produced with judicious selection of carbon precursor and oxidative treatment. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


SOURCE ROCK EVALUATION AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF CONDENSATES AND NATURAL GASES, OFFSHORE NILE DELTA, EGYPT

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2003
L. M. Sharaf
Geochemical analyses of mudstones from wells in the NE offshore Nile Delta suggest that the Early Miocene Qantara Formation has "good" potential to generate hydrocarbons at the studied locations. Its generating capability and oil-proneness increase northwards, towards areas where better organic-matter preservation and a greater contribution from marine source material can be expected. By contrast, the Middle Miocene Sidi Salem Formation has "poor to fair" potential to generate mixed gas and oil, while the overlying Wakar and Kafr El Sheikh Formations have "poor" capability to generate gas with minor oil. Based on pyrolysis Tmax and thermal alteration index assessments, the Wakar and Kafr El Sheikh Formations are immature in the study area. The Sidi Salem and Qantara Formations are immature in the southern part of the study area, but are within the oil window in the north, around well Temsah-4. Biomarker distributions based on GC-MS analyses of two condensate samples from the Wakar and Sidi Salem Formations indicate that hydrocarbons are derived from siliciclastic source rocks containing significant terrestrial material and limited marine organic matter. The condensates were generated during early maturation of Type III kerogen from deeper and more mature source rocks than those encountered in the drilled wells. Geochemical and isotopic data from natural gas produced from the Kafr El Sheikh Formation suggest mixed biogenic and thermogenic sources. [source]


Analytical aspects of pharmaceutical grade chondroitin sulfates

JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 12 2007
Nicola Volpi
Abstract Chondroitin sulfate is a very heterogeneous polysaccharide in terms of relative molecular mass, charge density, chemical properties, biological and pharmacological activities. It is actually recommended by EULAR as a symptomatic slow acting drug (SYSADOA) in Europe in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis based on meta-analysis of numerous clinical studies. Chondroitin sulfate is also utilized as a nutraceutical in dietary supplements mainly in the United States. On the other hand, chondroitin sulfate is derived from animal sources by extraction and purification processes. As a consequence, source material, manufacturing processes, the presence of contaminants, and many other factors contribute to the overall biological and pharmacological actions of these agents. The aim of this review is to evaluate new possible more specific analytical approaches to the determination of the origin and purity of chondroitin sulfate preparations for pharmaceutical application and in nutraceuticals, such as the evaluation of the molecular mass values, the constituent disaccharides, and the specific and sensitive agarose-gel electrophoresis technique. Furthermore, a critical evaluation is presented, together with a discussion of the limits of these analytical approaches. Finally, the necessity for reference standards having high specificity, purity and well-known physico-chemical properties useful for accurate and reproducible quantitative analyses will be discussed. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 96: 3168,3180, 2007 [source]


Quality of different chondroitin sulfate preparations in relation to their therapeutic activity

JOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY: AN INTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE, Issue 10 2009
Prof. Nicola Volpi
Abstract Objectives Chondroitin sulfate is currently recommended by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) as a SYSADOA (symptomatic slow acting drug for osteoarthritis) in Europe in the treatment of knee and hand osteoarthritis based on research evidence and meta-analysis of numerous clinical studies. Furthermore, recent clinical trials demonstrated its possible structure-modifying effects. Chondroitin sulfate, alone or in combination with glucosamine or other ingredients, is also utilized as a nutraceutical in dietary supplements in Europe and the USA. However, it is derived from animal sources by extraction and purification processes. As a consequence, source material, manufacturing processes, the presence of contaminants and many other factors contribute to the overall biological and pharmacological actions of these agents. We aim to review the quality control of chondroitin sulfate in pharmaceutical-grade preparations and nutraceuticals. Key findings Pharmaceutical-grade formulations of chondroitin sulfate are of high and standardized quality, purity and properties, due to the stricter regulations to which this drug is subjected by local national health institutes as regards production and characteristics. On the contrary, as several published studies available in literature indicate, the chondroitin sulfate quality of several nutraceuticals is poor. Additionally, there are no definite regulations governing the origin of the ingredients in these nutraceuticals and the origin of the ingredients in natural products is the most important factor ensuring quality, and thus safety and efficacy, in particular for chondroitin sulfate, due to its extraction from different sources. Conclusions Due to the poor chondroitin sulfate quality of some nutraceuticals, we conclude that stricter regulations regarding their quality control should be introduced to guarantee the manufacture of high quality products for nutraceutical utilization and to protect customers from low-quality, ineffective and potentially dangerous products. There is a need for specific and accurate analytical procedures, which should be enforced to confirm purity and label claims both for raw materials and finished chondroitin sulfate products, and also to govern the origin of ingredients. Until these stricter regulations are in place, then it is strongly recommended that pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulfate is used rather than food supplements. [source]


Microtextural analysis of a glacially ,deformed' bedrock: implications for inheritance of preferred clast orientations in diamictons,

JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 3 2008
Emrys Phillips
Abstract Although analysis of clast macrofabrics has been used to differentiate between different types of glacial diamictons and to determine palaeo-ice flow directions, no account appears to have been made of preferred clast orientations inherited from the parental source material. Clast macrofabrics in tills are typically interpreted as having developed in response to an imposed subglacial deformation and as such provide a link between the sedimentary record and glacier dynamics. They rely on the assumption that any preferred clast orientation is a result of deformation/flow. The results of the micromorphological study of the Langholm Till exposed at North Corbelly near Dumfries (southwestern Scotland) clearly demonstrate that bedrock structure can influence clast orientation (macrofabric) within diamictons. In the lower part of the till, the orientation of elongate clasts preserves the geometry of the tectonic cleavage present within the underlying bedrock. The intensity of this steeply inclined, ,inherited' clast fabric decreases upward through the till, to be replaced by a more complex pattern of successive generations of clast microfabrics developed in response to deformation/flow. These results indicate potential limitations of applying clast macrofabric or microfabric analysis in isolation to establish till genesis or palaeo ice-flow directions. Consequently, due account should be made of other glacial palaeo-environmental and ice flow indicators, as well as rockhead depth and morphology in relation to the selection of fabric measurements sites. © British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2007. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The inhibition of blood coagulation by heparins of different molecular weight is caused by a common functional motif,the C-domain

JOURNAL OF THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS, Issue 5 2003
R. Al Dieri
Summary.,Background:,Heparins in clinical use differ considerably as to mode of preparation, molecular weight distribution and pharmacodynamic properties. Objectives:,Find a common basis for their anticoagulant action. Methods:,In 50 fractions of virtually single molecular weight (Mr), prepared from unfractionated heparin (UFH) and four low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWH), we determined: (i) the molar concentration of material (HAM) containing the antithrombin binding pentasaccharide (A-domain); (ii) the specific catalytic activity in thrombin and factor Xa inactivation; (iii) the capacity to inhibit thrombin generation (TG) and prolong the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). We also calculated the molar concentration of A-domain with 12 sugar units at its non-reducing end, i.e. the structure that carries antithrombin activity (C-domain). Results:,The antithrombin activity and the effects on TG and APTT are primarily determined by the concentration of C-domain and independent of the source material (UFH or LMWH) or Mr. High Mr fractions (>15 000) are less active, probably through interaction with non-antithrombin plasma proteins. Anti-factor Xa activity is proportional to the concentration of A-domain, it is Ca2+ - and Mr-dependent and does not determine the effect on TG and APTT. Conclusion:,For any type of heparin, the capacity to inhibit the coagulation process in plasma is primarily determined by the concentration of C-domain, i.e. the AT-binding pentasaccharide with 12 or more sugar units at its non-reducing end. [source]


Clearwater East impact structure: A re-interpretation of the projectile type using new platinum-group element data from meteorites

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 3 2002
Iain McDonald
This is at odds with recent chromium isotope analyses that suggest ordinary chondrite-type material is present. The present study reviews and reinterprets the available PGE data in the light of new PGE data from meteorites and concludes that the PGE ratios in the impact melt are most consistent with ordinary (possibly type-L) chondrite source material, not carbonaceous chondrites. Therefore the structure was most probably formed by the impact of an asteroid composed of material similar to ordinary chondrites. [source]


Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Bemisia tabaci

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES, Issue 1 2003
P. J. De Barro
Abstract Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a haplo-diploid species with a global distribution demonstrating strong geographical structure with eight recognizable genetic groups. Fifteen microsatellite loci (335 alleles, 6,44 alleles per locus) were derived from four of the eight groups and were then screened across 33 populations. These loci clearly differentiate the populations. The microsatellites amplified best in individuals from genetic groups rep-resenting the Mediterranean, Middle East, Asia (three groups) and Australasia/Oceania and amplified less well with populations from sub-Saharan Africa and the New World. This differential amplification pattern is a direct result of the relatedness to the microsatellite source material. [source]


Nationalism and the cultivation of culture

NATIONS AND NATIONALISM, Issue 4 2006
JOEP LEERSSEN
ABSTRACT. On the basis of an extensive sample of European source material, the article investigates the meaning and importance of ,culture' in cultural nationalism. The author argues that European cultural nationalism in the nineteenth century followed a separate dynamic and chronology from political nationalism. Cultural nationalism involved an intense cross-border traffic of ideas and intellectual initiatives, and its participating actors often operated extraterritorially and in multi-national intellectual networks. This means that cultural nationalism needs to be studied on a supranational comparative basis rather than country-by-country, concentrating on the exchange and transfer of ideas and activities. A working model is proposed which may serve to bring these ideas and activities into focus. [source]


Isolation and characterisation of selected germander diterpenoids from authenticated Teucrium chamaedrys and T. canadense by HPLC, HPLC-MS and NMR

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 4 2006
P. Ramnathan Sundaresan
Abstract Teucrium species, such as germander, are rich in neo -clerodane diterpenoids and have been used in traditional folk medicine for their stimulant, diuretic, antipyretic and antiseptic properties. However, the furano neo -clerodane diterpenoids present in germander have been implicated in the in vivo hepatotoxicity of this botanical. In this study, authenticated germander (Teucrium chamaedrys L. and Teucrium canadense L.) was used as the source material. Methanol extracts of powdered plant material were prepared and analysed by HPLC using Synergi® Max-RP columns with monitoring at 220 nm. Limited amounts of teucrin A and other diterpenoid standards were analysed on a Synergi Max-RP column in order to determine their retention times and to generate calibration curves. The same standards were subjected to concurrent mass spectral analysis. Teucrin A and diterpenoids such as dihydroteugin, teuflin, teuflidin and teucvidin were tentatively identified in the plant extracts by HPLC-MS and 1H-NMR experiments. For the isolation of teucrium diterpenoids on a semipreparative scale, a solid-phase extraction method was developed for the first time using styrene divinylbenzene and strata-X sorbents for teucrin A and teuflin, respectively. Semi-preparative HPLC of the methanol extract of the powdered aerial parts of Teucrium plants was carried out on a semipreparative Synergi Max-RP column with photodiode array detection in order to confirm the identities of some diterpenoids by HPLC-MS and NMR. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Wheat leaf rust resistance gene Lr59 derived from Aegilops peregrina

PLANT BREEDING, Issue 4 2008
G. F. Marais
Abstract An Aegilops peregrina (Hackel in J. Fraser) Maire & Weiller accession that showed resistance to mixed leaf rust (Puccinia triticina Eriks.) inoculum was crossed with, and backcrossed to, hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). During backcrossing a chromosome segment containing a leaf rust resistance gene (here designated Lr59) was spontaneously translocated to wheat chromosome 1A. Meiotic, monosomic and microsatellite analyses suggested that the translocated segment replaced most of, or the complete, 1AL arm, and probably resulted from centromeric breaks and fusion. The translocation, of which hexaploid wheat line 0306 is the appropriate source material, provided seedling leaf rust resistance against a wide range of South African and Canadian pathotypes. [source]


Values of protagonists in best pictures and blockbusters: Implications for marketing

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 5 2009
Douglas Charles Beckwith
Understanding the personal values of protagonists in films can provide a foundation upon which to build film marketing campaigns. The research discussed below focused on the personal values of protagonists in 93 films comprising three samples released in the United States between 1996 and 2005 noteworthy for their eminent creativity and/or high profitability. The method used was content analysis with coding based on the adaptations of the Rokeach value descriptors. The most important personal values related to goals were determined to be family security, self-respect, a sense of accomplishment, and true friendship (in all three samples); mature love and wisdom (in two samples); and inner harmony and national security (in one sample each). The most important personal values related to desirable behaviors were being ambitious, capable, courageous, helpful, loving, and responsible (in all three samples); and being honest (in one sample). Longitudinal analyses of the value hierarchies that changed in significance from beginning to end of the films indicated a shift from selfconcern and materialism to societal concerns and altruism. The content analysis methodology used in this study has implications for marketing professionals in that it reveals means of analyzing popular films as source material to garner insights into the personal values of the consumers who attend the films. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Transplant Survivorship of Bryophyte Soil Crusts in the Mojave Desert

RESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
Christina Cole
Patches of the dominant biological soil crust moss (Syntrichia caninervis) in the Mojave Desert were subjected to transplant experiments to test the survivability of crustal transplantation due to source or destination microhabitat. After a period of 27 months, all the reciprocally transplanted and replanted sections had survived. However, percent cover of the reciprocally transplanted patches declined 20,50% relative to initial cover compared to a decline in cover of 36,52% for the replanted patches. Similarly, shoot density declined an average of 26% in the transplants and replants. Shoot mortality was essentially negligible through the first 21 months of the study and then declining across all treatments to approximately 5,10 dead shoots/cm2. However, this shoot death was also observed in equivalent densities in the host patches, indicative of a community-wide decline in plant health that was probably related to a regional rainfall deficit over this period. A tendency existed for plants moved from a shaded site to have reduced shoot density in the new site, and plants moved into exposed sites lost significantly more cover than plants moved into shaded sites. These seemingly conflicting trends result from one of the transplant treatments, the shaded to exposed, exhibiting a greater loss in shoot density and decline in cover than its reciprocal transplant, exposed to shaded. For soil restoration of disturbed bryophyte crusts, we recommend using as source material both the exposed and the shaded portions of the crust but avoiding moving Syntrichia from a shaded site into an exposed site. [source]


Staging Shi'ites in Silesia: Andreas Gryphius's Catharina von Georgien

THE GERMAN QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2010
Bethany Wiggin
This essay slices through the thicket of confessional politics which has long informed scholarship on Gryphius's famous baroque Trauerspiel, Catharina von Georgien. Taking its cue from a late Gryphian sonnet, it instead explores the implications of Gryphius's citation of his own Shah Abbas, the Georgian queen Catharina's tormenter, to document his thunderous erudition. Expanding the geography of our critical gaze, the article argues, enables us to see Gryphius's highly strategic citations from his extensive source material. Studded with a wealth of material culled from the most recent and well-informed travel narratives of his day, Gryphius quite consciously effaces differences between Shi'ite Persia and the Sunni Ottoman Empire. Drawing on representations of "the Turk" soaked in imperial envy, this collapse simultaneously enables more local confessional differences to be blurred. Against a monolithic East, Gryphius projects a Christianity made whole. [source]


Applying forest restoration principles to coral reef rehabilitation

AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 5 2003
N. Epstein
Abstract 1.Forest restoration through silviculture (gardening) programs revives productivity, biodiversity, and stability. As in silviculture approaches, the coral ,gardening' strategy is based on a two-step protocol. 2.The first step deals with the establishment of in situ and/or ex situ coral nurseries in which corals are farmed (originating from two types of source material: asexual [ramets, nubbins], and sexual [planula larvae, spat] recruits). 3.The second is the reef rehabilitation step, where maricultured colonies are transplanted into degraded sites. 4.We compare here the rationale of forest restoration to coral reef ecosystem restoration by evaluating major key criteria. As in silviculture programs, a sustainable mariculture operation that focuses on the prime structural component of the reef (,gardening' with corals) may promote the persistence of threatened coral populations, as well as that of other reef taxa, thus maintaining genetic diversity. In chronically degrading reef sites this may facilitate a halt in biodiversity depletion. 5.Within the current theoretical framework of ecosystem restoration, the recovery of biodiversity indices is considered a core element since a rich species diversity provides higher ecosystem resilience to disturbances. 6.The gardening measure may also be implemented worldwide, eliminating the need to extract existing colonies for transplantation operations. At degraded reef sites, the coral gardening strategy can assist in managing human and non-human stakeholders' requirements as is done in forest management. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


THE IMMACULATE BODY IN THE SISTINE CEILING

ART HISTORY, Issue 2 2009
KIM E. BUTLER
A new reading of textual evidence roots the imagery of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling frescoes in contemporary theological commitment to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. The cluster of abstract metaphors contained in a sermon written by Pope Sixtus IV, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, and the liturgical and devotional texts the sermon inspired, offers foundational source material for the ceiling programme. It is proposed that such an Immaculacy message exists alongside and mutually supports Incarnationist and Eucharistic ones, all rooted in a metaphor of bodily perfection that Michelangelo ,figures' at the level of gender as well. [source]