A reappraisal of 'International Stratigraphic Lexicon' and the need for the creation named units critical catalogues

Analysis of stratigraphic terminology and classification, shows that time-related stratigraphic units, which by definition have a global extent, are the concern of international cornrnissions and committees of the intemational Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) . In contrast, lithostratigraphic, and other closely related units, are regional in extent and are catalogued in the International Stratigraphic Lexicon (ISL), the last volume of which, was published in 1987. Tlie intemational Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) is currently attempting to revitalize the publication of ISL, given that the information contained in published volumes has never been updated, and that there has been a significant increase in stratigraphic research in recent decades. The proliferation of named units in the South Pyrenean and Ebro Basin Paleogene is evaluated to illustrate the extent of the problem. Moreover, new approaches to stratigraphic analysis have led to the naming of genetic units according to similar guidelines followed in the naming of descnptive or lithostratigraphic units. This has led to considerable confusion. The proposal to revitalize the ISL is accepted as part of the solution, that should also include the publication of critica1 catalogues, and the creation of norms for genetic unit terminology.

On the automatic application of inequality indexes in the analysis of the international distribution of environmental indicators

In recent years traditional inequality measures have been used to quite a considerable extent to examine the international distribution of environmental indicators. One of its main characteristics is that each one assigns different weights to the changes that occur in the different sections of the variable distribution and, consequently, the results they yield can potentially be very different. Hence, we suggest the appropriateness of using a range of well-recommended measures to achieve more robust results. We also provide an empirical test for the comparative behaviour of several suitable inequality measures and environmental indicators. Our findings support the hypothesis that in some cases there are differences among measures in both the sign of the evolution and its size. JEL codes: D39; Q43; Q56. Keywords: international environment factor distribution; Kaya factors; Inequality measurement

Effect of biological surlie ageing on the sparkling wines’ quality and elaoration

Report for the scientific sojourn at the Université de Bourgogne, France, from July until October 2007..Surlie ageing after second fermentation is a fundamental operation in the production of quality sparkling wine like Cava and Champagne. Recently, the importance of the interaction between wine and lees cell surface has been reported. Cell surface properties depending on wall biochemical composition are major determinants in microbial interactions, having important repercussions in several technological aspects. Sorption and flocculation are especially important in sparkling wine production, and are governed by distinct cell surface properties. The aim of the present research carried out during the four months of the stage was to know the implication of lees surface modifications occurring during surlie ageing in sparkling wine quality and elaboration. The relationship between physico-chemical properties such as hydrophobicity, charge and electron-donor characteristics, and the yeast surface sorption capacities, we determined these factors in a model system. Then, real industrial lees samples were investigated. The surface properties of sparkling wine lees from the same strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were characterized according to the time of surlie ageing, and their possible influence on lees sorption and flocculation capacity was evaluated. Surlie ageing after second fermentation is a fundamental operation in the production of quality sparkling wine like Cava and Champagne. Recently, the importance of the interaction between wine and lees cell surface has been reported. Cell surface properties depending on wall biochemical composition are major determinants in microbial interactions, having important repercussions in several technological aspects. Sorption and flocculation are especially important in sparkling wine production, and are governed by distinct cell surface properties. The aim of the present research carried out during the four months of the stage was to know the implication of lees surface modifications occurring during surlie ageing in sparkling wine quality and elaboration. The relationship between physico-chemical properties such as hydrophobicity, charge and electron-donor characteristics, and the yeast surface sorption capacities, we determined these factors in a model system. Then, real industrial lees samples were investigated. The surface properties of sparkling wine lees from the same strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were characterized according to the time of surlie ageing, and their possible influence on lees sorption and flocculation capacity was evaluated.

Towards a Union of Citizens and States: Negotiating Transnational Democracy in Europe

Aquest article dóna un cop d'ull més de prop com les qüestions de legitimitat democràtica es van negociar durant la primera de les tres etapes de la redacció de la Constitució, en la Convenció sobre el Futur d'Europa (febrer de 2002-juliol 2003), i per la posterior Conferència Intergovernamental (juliol de 2003 a juny de 2004). L'objectiu d'aquesta anàlisi és avaluar el grau en què els redactors de la Comissió Europea s'han resolt els problemes de disputes sobre la democràcia postnacional que es van debatre en la Convenció

Open minded and open access: introducing NeoBiota, a new peer-reviewed journal of biological invasions

The Editorial presents the focus, scope, policies, and the inaugural issue of NeoBiota, a new open access peer-reviewed journal of biological invasions. The new journal NeoBiota is a continuation of the former NEOBIOTA publication series. The journal will deal with all aspects of invasion biology and impose no restrictions on manuscript size neither on use of color. NeoBiota implies an XML-based editorial workflow and several cutting-edge innovations in publishing and dissemination, such as semantic markup of and enhancements to published texts, data publication, and extensive cross-linking within the journal and to external sources

New Radicals and new applications of Dynamic Nuclear Polarization of biological systems

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) is an emerging technique that could revolutionize the NMR study of small molecules at very low concentrations by the increase in sensitivity that results from transfer of polarization between electronic and nuclear spins. Although the underlying physics has been known for a long time, in the last few years there has been a lot of excitement on the chemistry and biology NMR community caused by the demonstration that the highly polarized nuclei that are prepared in solid state at very low temperatures (1-2 K) could be rapidly transferred to liquid samples at room temperature and studied in solution by conventional NMR techniques. In favorable cases several order of magnitude increases in sensitivity have been achieved. The technique is now mature enough that a commercial instrument is available. The efficiency of DNP depends on two crucial aspects: i) the efficiency of the nuclear polarization process and ii) the efficiency of the transfer from the initial solid state to the fluid state in which NMR is measured. The preferred areas of application (iii) will be dictated by situations in which the low concentration of the sample or its intrinsic low receptivity are the limiting factors .

The international competitiveness of cava : success of a particular firm or the district?

[spa] En primer lugar el autor se pregunta qué es lo que exactamente significa la palabra éxito aplicada al caso de la evolución reciente de la industria catalana del cava. La comparación de las trayectorias seguidas por la industria italiana del spumante y la del más reputado vino espumoso del mundo, el champagne, muestran una trayectoria muy positiva del volumen de producción y de las exportaciones. En segundo lugar el papel se pregunta por el agente responsable de este éxito. ¿Se debe a una empresa en particular o, por el contrario, al distrito en su conjunto, atendiendo que nos hallamos ante un sector muy concentrado geográficamente en torno a Sant Sadurní d’Anoia? La concentración de las exportaciones en más de dos tercios en manos de una sola empresa justificaría atribuir a dicha empresa el éxito. Sin embargo el análisis histórico de la formación del distrito industrial del cava en la zona del Penedés muestra como los productores se han podido beneficiar de las economías externas marshallianas inherentes a este tipo de concentraciones. El papel muestra que el éxito de la empresa exportadora líder se explica por la existencia de este tipo de ventajas invisibles derivadas de la concentración.

The international competitiveness of cava : success of a particular firm or the district?

[spa] En primer lugar el autor se pregunta qué es lo que exactamente significa la palabra éxito aplicada al caso de la evolución reciente de la industria catalana del cava. La comparación de las trayectorias seguidas por la industria italiana del spumante y la del más reputado vino espumoso del mundo, el champagne, muestran una trayectoria muy positiva del volumen de producción y de las exportaciones. En segundo lugar el papel se pregunta por el agente responsable de este éxito. ¿Se debe a una empresa en particular o, por el contrario, al distrito en su conjunto, atendiendo que nos hallamos ante un sector muy concentrado geográficamente en torno a Sant Sadurní d’Anoia? La concentración de las exportaciones en más de dos tercios en manos de una sola empresa justificaría atribuir a dicha empresa el éxito. Sin embargo el análisis histórico de la formación del distrito industrial del cava en la zona del Penedés muestra como los productores se han podido beneficiar de las economías externas marshallianas inherentes a este tipo de concentraciones. El papel muestra que el éxito de la empresa exportadora líder se explica por la existencia de este tipo de ventajas invisibles derivadas de la concentración.

A fully validated method for the determination of arsenic species in rice and infant cereal products

A full validation of inorganic arsenic (iAs), methylarsonic acid (MA), and dimethyl arsinic acid (DMA) in several types of rice and rice-based infant cereals is reported. The analytical method was developed and validated in two laboratories. The extraction of the As species was performed using nitric acid 0.2 % and hydrogen peroxide 1 %, and the coupled system liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LCICP-MS) was used for speciation measurements. Detection limit (DL), quantification limit, linearity, precision, trueness, accuracy, selectivity, as well as expanded uncertainty for iAs, MA, and DMA were established. The certified reference materials (CRMs) (NMIJ 7503a, NCS ZC73008, NIST SRM 1568a) were used to check the accuracy. The method was shown to be satisfactory in two proficiency tests (PTs). The broad applicability of the method is shown from the results of analysis of 29 samples including several types of rice, rice products, and infant cereal products. Total As ranged from 40.1 to 323.7 μg As kg1. From the speciation results, iAs was predominant, and DMA was detected in some samples while MA was not detected in any sample.

Generation of biological association networks: A novel strategy to detect new targets in cancer therapy

The aim of this work was to design a novel strategy to detect new targets for anticancer treatments. The rationale was to build Biological Association Networks from differentially expressed genes in drug-resistant cells to identify important nodes within the Networks. These nodes may represent putative targets to attack in cancer therapy, as a way to destabilize the gene network developed by the resistant cells to escape from the drug pressure. As a model we used cells resistant to methotrexate (MTX), an inhibitor of DHFR. Selected node-genes were analyzed at the transcriptional level and from a genotypic point of view. In colon cancer cells, DHFR, the AKR1 family, PKC¿, S100A4, DKK1, and CAV1 were overexpressed while E-cadherin was lost. In breast cancer cells, the UGT1A family was overexpressed, whereas EEF1A1 was overexpressed in pancreatic cells. Interference RNAs directed against these targets sensitized cells towards MTX.

Structures of ethylenediaminetetraacetato (3-) metal complexes. I complexes with Co, Mg and Cd metals

(I): Hexaaquacobalt(II) aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]cobaltate(II) dihydrate, [Co(H2O)6][Co(C10H13N2O8)(H2O)]2.2H2O (Ibis): Hexaaquamagnesium(II) aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]magnesiate(II) dihydrate, [Mg(H2O)6][Mg(C10H13N2O8)(H2O)]2.2H2O (II):Tetraaquabis{aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]cadmium(II)-O-O'}Cadmium(II) tetrahydrate

Structures of ethylenediaminetetraacetato (3-) metal complexes. I complexes with Co, Mg and Cd metals

(I): Hexaaquacobalt(II) aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]cobaltate(II) dihydrate, [Co(H2O)6][Co(C10H13N2O8)(H2O)]2.2H2O (Ibis): Hexaaquamagnesium(II) aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]magnesiate(II) dihydrate, [Mg(H2O)6][Mg(C10H13N2O8)(H2O)]2.2H2O (II):Tetraaquabis{aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]cadmium(II)-O-O'}Cadmium(II) tetrahydrate

Structures of ethylenediaminetetraacetato (3-) metal complexes. I complexes with Co, Mg and Cd metals

(I): Hexaaquacobalt(II) aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]cobaltate(II) dihydrate, [Co(H2O)6][Co(C10H13N2O8)(H2O)]2.2H2O (Ibis): Hexaaquamagnesium(II) aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]magnesiate(II) dihydrate, [Mg(H2O)6][Mg(C10H13N2O8)(H2O)]2.2H2O (II):Tetraaquabis{aqua[ethylenediaminetetraacetato(3-)]cadmium(II)-O-O'}Cadmium(II) tetrahydrate

The international epidemiology of child sexual abuse: a continuation of Finkelhor

Objective: The purpose of this paper was to compare the prevalence rates of child sexual abuse reported by [Finkelhor, D. (1994). The international epidemiology of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18 (5), 409-417] with those found in recent publications in order to confirm the widespread prevalence of child sexual abuse. Methods: Relevant articles about prevalence of child sexual abuse were identified through searches of computerized databases and a handsearch of Child Abuse & Neglect and the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse. Results: Thirty-eight independent articles were identified, corresponding to 39 prevalence studies; these articles report the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in 21 different countries, ranging from 0 to 53% for women and 0 to 60% for men. Conclusions: Comparison of the present study with that of [Finkelhor, D. (1994). The international epidemiology of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18 (5), 409-417] shows a similarity between prevalence distributions; there appears to be a general pattern that remains more or less constant over the years, especially in women. Practice implications: Twelve years after the first revision study about the international prevalence of child sexual abuse, there is still a need for new data about this topic. The present study shows child sexual abuse is still a widespread problem in the society. In this research, carried out on 38 independent studies, there is new data for 21 countries over the world, being especially relevant the results obtained from other countries different from those pertaining toNorth America or Europe. It is important to point out the high prevalence found in most of the countries, so this information could be a new warning to make society and governments aware of this problem and undertake actions to prevent sexual abuse in childhood.