Riboflavin, Flavin Mononucleotide and Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide in Human Plasma and Erythrocytes at Baseline and after Low-Dose Riboflavin Supplementation.

Background: Vitamin B2 exists in blood as riboflavin and its cofactors, flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and FAD. The erythrocyte glutathione reductase activation coefficient (EGRAC) has traditionally been used to assess vitamin B2 status in humans. We investigated the relationships of EGRAC and plasma and erythrocyte concentrations of riboflavin, FMN, and FAD in elderly volunteers and their responses to riboflavin administration. Methods: EGRAC and plasma and erythrocyte concentrations of riboflavin, FMN, and FAD were determined in 124 healthy individuals with a mean age of 69 years. The same measurements were made in a subgroup of 46 individuals with EGRAC 1.20 who participated in a randomized double-blind 12-week intervention study and received riboflavin (1.6 mg/day; n = 23) or placebo (n = 23). Results: Median plasma concentrations were 10.5 nmol/L for riboflavin, 6.6 nmol/L for FMN, and 74 nmol/L for FAD. In erythrocytes, there were only trace amounts of riboflavin, whereas median FMN and FAD concentrations were 44 and 469 nmol/L, respectively. Erythrocyte FMN and FAD correlated with each other and with EGRAC and plasma riboflavin (P

Stokes imaging, Doppler mapping and Roche tomography of the AM Herculis system V834 Cen

We report on new simultaneous phase-resolved spectroscopic and polarimetric observations of the polar (AM Herculis star) V834 Cen during a high state of accretion. Strong emission lines and high levels of variable circular and linear polarization are observed over the orbital period. The polarization data are modelled using the Stokes imaging technique of Potter et al. The spectroscopic emission lines are investigated using the Doppler tomography technique of Marsh and Horne and the Roche tomography technique of Dhillon and Watson. Up to now, all three techniques have been used separately to investigate the geometry and accretion dynamics in cataclysmic variables. For the first time, we apply all three techniques to simultaneous data for a single system. This allows us to compare and test each of the techniques against each other and hence to derive a better understanding of the geometry, dynamics and system parameters of V834 Cen.

The Right to Self-Defence in National and International Law: The Role of the Imminence Requirement

This article explores the doctrine of self-defence within the context of the challenges directed at the imminence requirement, from the perspective of both national and international law. The article will attempt to illustrate that the requirement of imminence underlines the political character of the self-defence doctrine wherein private force may only be resorted to in the absence of institutional protection. This study will argue that the imminence rule can not merely be regarded as a "proxy" for establishing necessity; rather, the elements of imminence, necessity, and proportionality are inextricably connected to ensure that defensive force is only resorted to when national or international authorities are not in a position to prevent an illegal aggression, and that the defensive lethal force is not abused.

Application of Internet techniques into online collaborative design and manufacture

A research project in Web-enabled collaborative design and manufacture has been conducted. The major tasks of the project include the development of a Web-enabled environment for collaboration, online collaborative CAD/CAM, remote execution of large size programs (RELSP), and distributed product design. The tasks and Web/Internet techniques involved are presented first, followed by detail description of two approaches developed for implementation of the research: (1) a client-server approach for RELSP, where the following Internet techniques are utilized: CORBA, Microsoft’s Internet information server, Tomcat server, JDBC and ODBC; (2) Web-Services supported collaborative CAD which enables geographically dispersed designers jointly conduct a design task in the way of speaking and seeing each other and instantaneously modifying the CAD drawing online.

Whose play is it anyway?: Theatre Studies, Translation Studies and translation for the stage

This article explores the historical neglect of translation as a consideration in the study and practice of theatre in the United States and Europe. While the study of literature is fairly strictly divided between English-language and Comparative Literature departments, theatre and drama have shown little concern about language as a barrier to reception of the dramatic text. Arguably, this discrepancy may be traced to a fundamental gap between the perceived status of the novel as a completed work of art and the playtext as work of art in progress, waiting to find its completion in performance.

Reproductive Patterns and Tidal Effects on Spat Settlement of Mytilus Edulis Populations in Dundrum Bay, Northern Ireland

The gametogenic and spat settlement patterns of two Mytihis edulis beds were studied in Dundrum Inner Bay, Northern Ireland. There was evidence of gonad development throughout the year with the main development period between November and March. Spawning was protracted, lasting from May to November. Slight inter-annual and inter-population differences in the riming of the phases were observed but the cycles at both beds were broadly similar to each other and to those of other British and Irish sites. Settlement occurred throughout the year and there was evidence of both primary and secondary spat settlement at both sites. Although the reproductive cycles were similar, distinct seasonal and inter-site differences in spatfall were apparent. At the Downshire Bridge bed, settlement peaked during summer and was dominated by spat in the 0•;5-1•0 mm size range. At Ballykinler, settlement levels were highest in the winter months and larger (>1 mm) spat dominated the samples. The orientation of spat collection pads also significantly affected numbers of the larger (>1 mm) spat. Collectors facing the flood tide attracted significantly more secondary settlers than ebb-facing collectors. This effect varied seasonally and was greater at the Ballykinler bed. It is suggested that hydrodynamic regimes may be an important factor in the differences in settlement patterns of M. edulis.

TIME-RESOLVED RESONANCE RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY OF TRIPLET-STATE METALATED AND FREE-BASE TETRAARYLPORPHYRINS

Resonance Raman spectra of the T-1 excited states of Zn and free-base tetra-4-sulfonatophenylporphyrin (TPPS) have been recorded at room temperature in aqueous solution using two-colour time-resolved methods. The spectra of both sulfonated molecules are very similar to their tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) analogues, which have been recorded in THF solution using the same pump-probe conditions, but they have higher signal-to-noise ratios because interference from strong solvent bands is reduced. Although two different T-1 spectra of Zn(TPP) have been reported these spectra differ slightly from each other and from the spectrum reported here, which has band positions very close (+/-6 cm(-1)) to those of Zn(TPPS). The high S/N ratios obtainable for the water-soluble porphyrins have allowed reliable polarization data to be recorded for their S-0 and T-1 states. This data set allows a realistic comparison of the changes in bonding associated with excitation of both free-base and Zn tetraarylporphyrins to the T-1 state.

Different rooms, different voices: double-breasting, multi-channel representation and the managerial agenda

Double-breasting has been identified as where companies run union voice and non-union voice mechanisms across different plants. While research has focused on the incidence of such arrangements, there is a dearth of evidence into the dynamics of it. This article seeks to complement existing research by examining the contours of double-breasting in a case study organisation. The findings suggest that more research is necessary into the dynamics of double-breasting in terms of how voice in sites affects each other and the extent to which running different regimes affects the managerial agenda.

How Porosity and Permeability Vary Spatially With Grain Size, Sorting, Cement Volume, and Mineral Dissolution In Fluvial Triassic Sandstones: The Value of Geostatistics and Local Regression

Although it is well known that sandstone porosity and permeability are controlled by a range of parameters such as grain size and sorting, amount, type, and location of diagenetic cements, extent and type of compaction, and the generation of intergranular and intragranular secondary porosity, it is less constrained how these controlling parameters link up in rock volumes (within and between beds) and how they spatially interact to determine porosity and permeability. To address these unknowns, this study examined Triassic fluvial sandstone outcrops from the UK using field logging, probe permeametry of 200 points, and sampling at 100 points on a gridded rock surface. These field observations were supplemented by laser particle-size analysis, thin-section point-count analysis of primary and diagenetic mineralogy, quantitiative XRD mineral analysis, and SEM/EDAX analysis of all 100 samples. These data were analyzed using global regression, variography, kriging, conditional simulation, and geographically weighted regression to examine the spatial relationships between porosity and permeability and their potential controls. The results of bivariate analysis (global regression) of the entire outcrop dataset indicate only a weak correlation between both permeability porosity and their diagenetic and depositional controls and provide very limited information on the role of primary textural structures such as grain size and sorting. Subdividing the dataset further by bedding unit revealed details of more local controls on porosity and permeability. An alternative geostatistical approach combined with a local modelling technique (geographically weighted regression; GWR) subsequently was used to examine the spatial variability of porosity and permeability and their controls. The use of GWR does not require prior knowledge of divisions between bedding units, but the results from GWR broadly concur with results of regression analysis by bedding unit and provide much greater clarity of how porosity and permeability and their controls vary laterally and vertically. The close relationship between depositional lithofacies in each bed, diagenesis, and permeability, porosity demonstrates that each influences the other, and in turn how understanding of reservoir properties is enhanced by integration of paleoenvironmental reconstruction, stratigraphy, mineralogy, and geostatistics.

Applying an International Human Rights Framework to State Budget Allocations: Rights and Resources

Human rights based budget analysis projects have emerged at a time when the United Nations has asserted the indivisibility of all human rights and attention is increasingly focused on the role of non-judicial bodies in promoting and protecting human rights. This book seeks to develop the human rights framework for such budget analyses, by exploring the international law obligations of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in relation to budgetary processes. The book outlines international experiences and comparative practice in relation to economic and social rights budget analysis and budgeting.

The book sets out an ICESCR-based methodology for analysing budget and resource allocations and focuses on the legal obligation imposed on state parties by article 2(1) of ICESCR to progressively realise economic and social rights to 'the maximum of available resources'. Taking Northern Ireland as a key case study, the book demonstrates and promotes the use of a ‘rights-based’ approach in budgetary decision-making.

The book will be relevant to a global audience currently considering how to engage in the budget process from a human rights perspective. It will be of interest to students and researchers of international human rights law and public law, as well as economic and social rights advocacy and lobbying groups.