Resident Aliens? Explaining Minority Disaffection with Democratic Politics in the Baltic States

Commentators and scholars alike recognize the important role political dissatisfaction plays in the process of regime change. A considerable body of literature has used dissatisfaction with a regime and distrust in political institutions to explain political dynamics during democratization's initial phase, yet these indicators are rarely used to assess disaffection with politics in established democratic regimes. Recent research on the post-communist region has established that citizens demonstrate high levels of political alienation, and that ethnic minority communities in particular are widely dissatisfied with democratic politics, institutions and regimes. This paper uses the 2004 data from the New Baltic Barometer to analyse individual-level disaffection with politics among the minorities in the Baltic States and explores the structural roots of such disaffection. The paper draws upon interviews with political representatives of minority communities in order to understand their perceptions of opportunities to participate in decision-making. Building on quantitative and qualitative analysis, the paper concludes that disaffection with politics among both the mass of ethnic minorities and their elite groups is best explained by the misrepresentation of minority interests in post-communist Baltic polities.

Centres, Peripheries and Party Systems: nested secession processes in Great Britain and Ireland

The seminal work of Lipset and Rokkan, which explores how party systems evolved organically from nineteenth-century roots, has generally been applied in states which have enjoyed a long-standing territorial identity. Their model's emphasis on stability and predictability can, however, be reconciled with circumstances where the very identity of the state itself is an issue. This article explores the capacity of the model to explain party divisions in three nested contexts: the pre-1922 United Kingdom, which encountered problems with its Celtic peripheries, and especially with Ireland; independent Ireland, where a unique party system developed, largely in response to a broader historical and geographical context; and Northern Ireland, where party politics fossilised in the 1880s, and began to unfreeze only in the 1970s. The article argues that the Lipset–Rokkan model casts valuable light on these processes, which in turn contribute to the theoretical richness of the model.

The social construction of illness:Key insights and policy implications.

The social construction of illness is a major research perspective in medical sociology. This article traces the roots of this perspective and presents three overarching constructionist findings. First, some illnesses are particularly embedded with cultural meaning--which is not directly derived from the nature of the condition--that shapes how society responds to those afflicted and influences the experience of that illness. Second, all illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level, based on how individuals come to understand and live with their illness. Third, medical knowledge about illness and disease is not necessarily given by nature but is constructed and developed by claims-makers and interested parties. We address central policy implications of each of these findings and discuss fruitful directions for policy-relevant research in a social constructionist tradition. Social constructionism provides an important counterpoint to medicine's largely deterministic approaches to disease and illness, and it can help us broaden policy deliberations and decisions.

The (Soft) Power of Commitment:The EU and Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland

This paper examines the potential of international actors to contribute to conflict resolution by analysing the evolving role of the European Union (EU) in embedding Northern Ireland's peace process. Scrutiny of the EU's approach to conflict resolution in Northern Ireland offers useful insights into the scope and potential of soft power for facilitating behavioural change from governmental to grass-roots levels. This paper traces the development of the EU's approach to conflict resolution in Northern Ireland from one concentrated on encouraging state-level agreement, to nurturing peace through multilevel funding, through now to consolidating the peace by facilitating regional-level empowerment. The core argument is that, in sum, the most critical element of the EU's contribution to peace in Northern Ireland has been, quite simply, that of enduring commitment.

Indigenous Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Assemblages Protect Grassland Host Plants from Pathogens

Plant roots can establish associations with neutral, beneficial and pathogenic groups of soil organisms. Although it has been recognized from the study of individual isolates that these associations are individually important for plant growth, little is known about interactions of whole assemblages of beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms associating with plants. We investigated the influence of an interaction between local arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal and pathogenic/saprobic microbial assemblages on the growth of two different plant species from semi-arid grasslands in NE Germany (Mallnow near Berlin). In a greenhouse experiment each plant species was grown for six months in either sterile soil or in sterile soil with one of three different treatments: 1) an AM fungal spore fraction isolated from field soil from Mallnow; 2) a soil pathogen/saprobe fraction consisting of a microbial community prepared with field soil from Mallnow and; 3) the combined AM fungal and pathogen/saprobe fractions. While both plant species grew significantly larger in the presence of AM fungi, they responded negatively to the pathogen/saprobe treatment. For both plant species, we found evidence of pathogen protection effects provided by the AM fungal assemblages. These results indicate that interactions between assemblages of beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms can influence the growth of host plants, but that the magnitude of these effects is plant species-specific.

Are power laws that estimate fractal dimension a good descriptor of soil structure and its link to soil biological properties?

The study of interrelationships between soil structure and its functional properties is complicated by the fact that the quantitative description of soil structure is challenging. Soil scientists have tackled this challenge by taking advantage of approaches such as fractal geometry, which describes soil architectural complexity through a scaling exponent (D) relating mass and numbers of particles/aggregates to particle/aggregate size. Typically, soil biologists use empirical indices such as mean weight diameters (MWD) and percent of water stable aggregates (WSA), or the entire size distribution, and they have successfully related these indices to key soil features such as C and N dynamics and biological promoters of soil structure. Here, we focused on D, WSA and MWD and we tested whether: D estimated by the exponent of the power law of number-size distributions is a good and consistent correlate of MWD and WSA; D carries information that differs from MWD and WSA; the fraction of variation in D that is uncorrelated with MWD and WSA is related to soil chemical and biological properties that are thought to establish interdependence with soil structure (e.g., organic C, N, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi). We analysed observational data from a broad scale field study and results from a greenhouse experiment where arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and collembola altered soil structure. We were able to develop empirical models that account for a highly significant and large portion of the correlation observed between WSA and MWD but we did not uncover the mechanisms that underlie this correlation. We conclude that most of the covariance between D and soil biotic (AMF, plant roots) and abiotic (C. N) properties can be accounted for by WSA and MWD. This result implies that the ecological effects of the fragmentation properties described by D and generally discussed under the framework of fractal models can be interpreted under the intuitive perspective of simpler indices and we suggest that the biotic components mostly impacted the largest size fractions, which dominate MWD, WSA and the scaling exponent ruling number-size distributions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Iron plaque formation, arsenic uptake and speciation in different genotypes of mature rice plants (Oryza sativa L.)

A compartmented soil-glass bead culture system was used to investigate characteristics of iron plaque and arsenic accumulation and speciation in mature rice plants with different capacities of forming iron plaque on their roots. X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra and extended X-ray absorption fine structure were utilized to identify the mineralogical characteristics of iron plaque and arsenic sequestration in plaque on the rice roots. Iron plaque was dominated by (oxyhydr)oxides, which were composed of ferrihydrite (81-100%), with a minor amount of goethite (19%) fitted in one of the samples. Sequential extraction and XANES data showed that arsenic in iron plaque was sequestered mainly with amorphous and crystalline iron (oxyhydr)oxides, and that arsenate was the predominant species. There was significant variation in iron plaque formation between genotypes, and the distribution of arsenic in different components of mature rice plants followed the following order:? iron plaque > root > straw > husk > grain for all genotypes. Arsenic accumulation in grain differed significantly among genotypes. Inorganic arsenic and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were the main arsenic species in rice grain for six genotypes, and there were large genotypic differences in levels of DMA and inorganic arsenic in grain. A compartmented soil-glass bead culture system was used to investigate characteristics of iron plaque and arsenic accumulation and speciation in mature rice plants with different capacities of forming iron plaque on their roots. X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra and extended X-ray absorption fine structure were utilized to identify the mineralogical characteristics of iron plaque and arsenic sequestration in plaque on the rice roots. Iron plaque was dominated by (oxyhydr)oxides, which were composed of ferrihydrite (81-100%), with a minor amount of goethite (19%) fitted in one of the samples. Sequential extraction and XANES data showed that arsenic in iron plaque was sequestered mainly with amorphous and crystalline iron (oxyhydr)oxides, and that arsenate was the predominant species. There was significant variation in iron plaque formation between genotypes, and the distribution of arsenic in different components of mature rice plants followed the following order:? iron plaque > root > straw > husk > grain for all genotypes. Arsenic accumulation in grain differed significantly among genotypes. Inorganic arsenic and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were the main arsenic species in rice grain for six genotypes, and there were large genotypic differences in levels of DMA and inorganic arsenic in grain.

Spatial distribution of arsenic and temporal variation of its concentration in rice

P>In order to gain insights into the transport and distribution of arsenic (As) in intact rice (Oryza sativa) plants and its unloading into the rice grain, we investigated the spatial distribution of As and the temporal variation of As concentration in whole rice plants at different growth stages. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such a study has been performed.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-ICP-MS were used to analyze total As concentration and speciation. Moreover, synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (SXRF) was used to investigate in situ As distribution in the leaf, internode, node and grain.

Total As concentrations of vegetative tissues increased during the 2 wk after flowering. The concentration of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in the caryopsis decreased progressively with its development, whereas inorganic As concentration remained stable. The ratios of As content between neighboring leaves or between neighboring internodes were c. 0.6. SXRF revealed As accumulation in the center of the caryopsis during its early development and then in the ovular vascular trace.

These results indicate that there are different controls on the unloading of inorganic As and DMA; the latter accumulated mainly in the caryopsis before flowering, whereas inorganic As was mainly transported into the caryopsis during grain filling. Moreover, nodes appeared to serve as a check-point in As distribution in rice shoots.

Influences of phosphorus starvation on OsACR2.1 expression and arsenic metabolism in rice seedlings

The effects of phosphorus (P) status on arsenate reductase gene (OsACR2.1) expression, arsenate reductase activity, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) content, and arsenic (As) species in rice seedlings which were exposed to arsenate after -P or +P pretreatments were investigated in a series of hydroponic experiments. OsACR2.1 expression increased significantly with decreasing internal P concentrations; more than 2-fold and 10-fold increases were found after P starvation for 30 h and 14 days, respectively. OsACR2.1 expression exhibited a significant positive correlation with internal root H(2)O(2) accumulation, which increased upon P starvation or exposure to H(2)O(2) without P starvation. Characterization of internal and effluxed As species showed the predominant form of As was arsenate in P-starved rice root, which contrasted with the +P pretreated plants. Additionally, more As was effluxed from P-starved rice roots than from non-starved roots. In summary, an interesting relationship was observed between P-starvation induced H(2)O(2) and OsACR2.1 gene expression. However, the up-regulation of OsACR2.1 did not increase arsenate reduction in P-starved rice seedlings when exposed to arsenate.

Arsenic, cadmium, and lead pollution and uptake by rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown in greenhouse

Purpose: Hunan province is well-known for its extensive base-metal extraction and smelting industries. However, the legacies of excavation operations, transportation, and selective smelting activities within Hunan have resulted in the generation of large quantities of mine wastes, which will become the sources of metal contamination in the environment. Thus, there is an increasingly important health issue underlying the study of arable land pollution and transfer of As, Cd, and Pb in the paddy soil–rice system.
Materials and methods: Paddy soils collected from mining- and smelting-impacted areas in Hunan province and rice seed (Oryza sativa L. cv Jia Hua-1) were used for pot experiments under greenhouse conditions. One 30-day-old seedling was transplanted into one pot containing 5.0 kg pretreated soil. At harvest, rice grains and shoots were washed with distilled water to remove surface soil, and oven-dried at 65°C for 96 h until a constant weight was reached. Roots were washed carefully with distilled water for the next process of extracting iron plaque using dithionite–citrate–bicarbonate solution. Total concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb in soil and rice plant tissues were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer.
Results and discussion: Total concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb in the soils collected from 12 mining- and smelting-impacted areas in Hunan province were much higher than Hunan background values and exceeded the maximum concentration limit for soils set by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The yields of rice grain from Pb/Zn mining and smelting sites were negatively correlated to overall pollution scores. Distributions of As, Cd, and Pb in rice plant followed: root >> shoot > husk > whole grain. About 30.1–88.1% of As, 11.2–43.5% of Cd, and 14.0–33.9% of Pb were accumulated in iron plaque on root surfaces.
Conclusions: High concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb are observed in paddy soils from mining- and smelting-impacted areas in Hunan province, indicating those paddy soils suffer serious combined heavy metal contamination. In particular, Cd is the dominant contaminant followed by As and Pb in paddy soils from most locations. The distributions of As, Cd, and Pb in rice tissue were: root >> shoot > husk > whole grain. Concentrations of Pb in all whole grain and of As and Cd in 50% of whole grain samples exceeded Chinese Hygienic Standard values for food.

The Caspase-Related Protease Separase (EXTRA SPINDLE POLES) Regulates Cell Polarity and Cytokinesis in Arabidopsis

Vesicle trafficking plays an important role in cell division, establishment of cell polarity, and translation of environmental cues to developmental responses. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating vesicle trafficking remain poorly understood. Here, we report that the evolutionarily conserved caspase-related protease separase (EXTRA SPINDLE POLES [ESP]) is required for the establishment of cell polarity and cytokinesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. At the cellular level, separase colocalizes with microtubules and RabA2a (for RAS GENES FROM RAT BRAINA2a) GTPase-positive structures. Separase facilitates polar targeting of the auxin efflux carrier PIN-FORMED2 (PIN2) to the rootward side of the root cortex cells. Plants with the radially swollen4 (rsw4) allele with compromised separase activity, in addition to mitotic failure, display isotropic cell growth, perturbation of auxin gradient formation, slower gravitropic response in roots, and cytokinetic failure. Measurements of the dynamics of vesicle markers on the cell plate revealed an overall reduction of the delivery rates of KNOLLE and RabA2a GTPase in separase-deficient roots. Furthermore, dissociation of the clathrin light chain, a protein that plays major role in the formation of coated vesicles, was slower in rsw4 than in the control. Our results demonstrate that separase is a key regulator of vesicle trafficking, which is indispensable for cytokinesis and the establishment of cell polarity.

Landfill cap models under simulated climate change precipitation::Impacts of cracks and root growth

Desiccation crack formation is a key process that needs to be understood in assessment of landfill cap performance under anticipated future climate change scenarios. The objectives of this study were to examine: (a) desiccation cracks and impacts that roots may have on their formation and resealing, and (b) their impacts on hydraulic conductivity under anticipated climate change precipitation scenarios. Visual observations, image analysis of thin sections and hydraulic conductivity tests were carried out on cores collected from two large-scale laboratory trial landfill cap models (∼80 × 80 × 90 cm) during a year of four simulated seasonal precipitation events. Extensive root growth in the topsoil increased percolation of water into the subsurface, and after droughts, roots grew deep into low-permeability layers through major cracks which impeded their resealing. At the end of 1 year, larger cracks had lost resealing ability and one single, large, vertical crack made the climate change precipitation model cap inefficient. Even though the normal precipitation model had developed desiccation cracks, its integrity was preserved better than the climate change precipitation model.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for the isolation of bioactive naphthoquinones from plant extracts

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) targeting shikonin, a potent antioxidant and wound healing agent, have been prepared using methacrylic acid (MAA) and 2-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DEAEMA) as functional monomers. An investigation of solution association between shikonin and both acidic and basic functional monomers by UV-Vis titrations, suggested stronger affinity towards the basic functionality. Strong inhibition of the co-polymerisation reaction of such basic monomers was observed, but was overcome by reduction of the amount of template used during polymer synthesis. Polymer morphology was severely impacted by the template’s radical scavenging behaviour as demonstrated by solid state NMR spectroscopy measurements. HPLC evaluation of the final materials in polar conditions revealed limited imprinting effects and selectivity, with the MAA polymers exhibiting marginally better performance. During application of the polymers as MI-SPE sorbents in non-polar solvents it was found that the DEAEMA based polymer was more selective towards shikonin compared to the MAA counterpart, while shikonin recoveries of up to 72% were achieved from hexane solutions of a commercial sample of shikonin, hexane extract of Alkanna tinctoria roots and a commercial pharmaceutical ointment.

Realist evaluation - promise, problems and practicalities

Realist evaluation is an innovative, multi-method approach to evaluating the effectiveness of complex health care interventions that is having an increasing impact on the research community. Drawing on their experience doing four realist evaluations in diverse areas of healthcare, the authors offer a comprehensive overview and critique of essential theory and practice. The first paper (Realist review and realist evaluation: an introduction) introduces the main components of the approach and shows how realist review can support realist evaluation. The second paper (Concepts and methodology for realist evaluation: help or hindrance?) provides further detail on the key concepts, shows how they can be operationalised, and discusses the advantages and difficulties of using these ideas. Following these two papers introducing and illustrating the major concepts, the third paper (Realist Evaluation: a critical realist critique) takes a step back to re-consider realist evaluation in relation to its critical realist roots, asking whether it leads to evaluators abandoning the attempt to understand (and if necessary challenge) the underlying values of health care interventions and contenting themselves merely with explicating the factors that help or hinder implementation. The fourth and final paper (Data analysis and theory development in realist evaluation) plunges back into the tangled undergrowth of multiple-method data collection and shows how disparate forms of data can be synthesised for theory development, and the results presented in a form that is useful to practitioners and policy-makers.

“Do You Want to See My Hornpipe?”: The Traditional Irish Dancing Body at Play in the Work of Jean Butler and Colin Dunne.

This chapter considers the radical re-imaginings of traditional Irish step dance in the recent works of Jean Butler and Colin Dunne. In Butler's Does She Take Sugar (2007) and Dunne's Out of Time (2008), the Irish step dancing body is separated from its historical roots in nationalism, from the exhibitionism required by the competitive form, and from the spectacularization of the commercialized theatrical format. In these works, which are both solo pieces performed by the choreographers themselves, the traditional form undergoes a critical interrogation in which the dancers attempt to depart from the determinacy of the traditional technique, while acknowledging its formation of their corporealities; the Irish step dance technique becomes a springboard for creative experimentation. In order to consider the importance of the creative potential revealed by these works, this chapter will contextualize them within the dance background from which they emerged, outlining the history of competitive step dancing in Ireland, the "modernization" of traditional Irish dance with the emergence of Riverdance (1994), and the experiments of Ireland's national folk theatre, Siamsa Tíre.