Is silt the most influential soil grain size fraction?

The contribution of individual grain size fractions (2000–500, 500–250, 250–63, 63–2 and < 2 μm) to bulk soil surface area and reactivity is discussed with reference to mineralogical and oxalate and dithionite extractions data. The 63–2 μm fraction contributed up to 56% and 67% of bulk soil volume and BET surface area, respectively. Consideration of these observations and the mineralogy of this fraction suggest that the 63–2 μm fraction may be the most influential for the release of elements via mineral dissolution in the bulk soil.

Marks, spaces and boundaries

Dictionary compilers and designers use punctuation to structure and clarify entries and to encode information. Dictionaries with a relatively simple structure can have simple typography, and simple punctuation; as dictionaries grew more complex, and encountered the space constraints of the printed page, complex encoding systems were developed, using punctuation and symbols. Two recent trends have emerged in dictionary design: to eliminate punctuation, and sometimes to use a larger number of fonts, so that the boundaries between elements are indicated by font change, not punctuation.

In vitro fermentation characteristics of whole grain wheat flakes and the effect of toasting on prebiotic potential

Population studies have shown a positive correlation between diets rich in whole grains and a reduced risk of developing metabolic diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. However, little is known about the mechanisms of action, particularly the impact different fermentable components of whole grains have on the human intestinal microbiota. The modulation of microbial populations by whole grain wheat flakes and the effects of toasting on digestion and subsequent fermentation profile were evaluated. Raw, partially toasted, and toasted wheat flakes were digested using simulated gastric and small intestinal conditions and then fermented using 24-hour, pH-controlled, anaerobic batch cultures inoculated with human feces. Major bacterial groups and production of short-chain fatty acids were compared with those for the prebiotic oligofructose and weakly fermented cellulose. Within treatments, a significant increase (P<.05) in bifidobacteria numbers was observed upon fermentation of all test carbohydrates, with the exception of cellulose. Toasting appeared to have an effect on growth of lactobacilli as only fermentation of raw wheat flakes resulted in a significant increase in levels of this group.

Redefining the outer boundaries of EU Law: the Zambrano, McCarthy and Dereci trilogy

In its three recent rulings in the cases of Zambrano, McCarthy, and Dereci, the Court appears to have been determined to redefine the external boundaries of EU law, in cases involving the family reunification rights of Union citizens.These three judgments can be read as an indication that for Article 20 TFEU to apply, there is no longer a requirement of a cross-border element on the facts of the case, and that it is sufficient if the contested national measure has the effect of ‘depriving citizens of the Union of the genuine enjoyment of the substance’ of their rights (the ‘Zambrano principle’).The cases can, at the same time, also be read as a confirmation that the free movement provisions do – still – require a cross-border element and, in particular, the exercise of inter-State movement, in order to apply. Though the result in these cases has not been entirely unexpected, especially in the aftermath of the Rottmann ruling, it is rather problematic in that, although it is obvious that the Court wishes to redraw the line dividing the national and EU spheres of competence, it does not make it entirely clear where this line now lies and leaves many essential questions unanswered, which will obviously require some time to be resolved. EU lawyers are consequently, once more, left with having to decipher as best as they can the real intentions of the Court in this new line of case-law, which has been further complicated by the fact that what the Court seems to have given with one hand in Zambrano (and before that in Rottmann), has taken it back to a large extent through its rulings in McCarthy and Dereci, which appear to confine the former two cases to their own exceptional facts.6 Moreover, the ‘reverse discrimination Pandora’s box’, the opening of which appears to have been the real target of these references, remains untouched: instead of providing a direct solution to this problem, the Court has chosen to – once again – broaden the scope of the Treaty provisions in order to include within it as many situations as possible and, thus, prevent the emergence of this type of differential treatment on a case-by-case basis.As will be explained, nonetheless, this is by no means an appropriate solution to the reverse discrimination conundrum.