Shirley Gut, Massachusetts: channel between Point Shirley and Deer Island; survey.

Cover title.

Report

Mode of access: Internet.

The many faces of slavery

This is an overview of the history of slavery in South Carolina featuring petitions that influenced the laws and peoples affected by the institution.

Da Oriente al Nord Europa, dalla piazza alla tavola. Lo studio dei registri dei dazi come fonte per la storia dell'alimentazione. Il caso delle "vacchette" della città di Bologna (XIV-XV secolo)

Questo progetto di ricerca si pone l'obiettivo di gettare luce sul commercio delle spezie nel Medioevo, a partire dai preziosi dati contenuti nei registri del dazio di Bologna (1388-1448), nei quali venivano raccolti tutti i prodotti afferenti al cosiddetto "dazio della mercanzia" che transitavano in città per poi proseguire il viaggio verso altre destinazioni. Nel Medioevo, Bologna rappresentava un importante snodo per collegare i principali empori del mare Adriatico (prima fra tutti Venezia) con i mercati della Toscana, come Firenze, Pisa e il suo sbocco marittimo, Porto Pisano, da cui le spezie salpavano in direzione di altre regioni europee, come la Francia, l'Inghilterra, la penisola iberica e le Fiandre. I quantitativi di spezie giornalieri, mensili, annuali e totali costituiscono un dato inedito ed inaspettato: infatti, un prodotto tradizionalmente descritto dalla storiografia come raro, prezioso e difficile da reperire, affluiva in realtà con sorprendente costanza e raggiungendo volumi molto elevati. Considerando che Bologna, nonostante la sua importanza nel panorama italiano, rappresentava pur sempre uno snodo "minore" nella complessa rete di circuiti commerciali su cui erano solite viaggiare le spezie (come le grandi rotte marittime, per esempio), questi quantitativi tanto elevati di spezie ci obbligano a riflettere su quanto detto sino ad ora sul commercio di questi prodotti nel Medioevo e a mettere i dati bolognesi a confronto con quelli provenienti da altre fonti. Affiancando al tradizionale metodo storiografico un approccio "empirico", che tenga conto delle caratteristiche materiali ed organolettiche delle spezie, nonché delle informazioni provenienti da un ampio numero di fonti – non necessariamente legate al periodo preso in esame – è possibile riaprire il dibattito attorno a questo tema, che ha ancora molto da offrire alla ricerca storico alimentare.

Star formation history of Canis Major R1 I. Wide-Field X-ray study of the young stellar population

Aims. The CMa R1 star-forming region contains several compact clusters as well as many young early-B stars. It is associated with a well-known bright rimmed nebula, the nature of which is unclear (fossil HII region or supernova remnant). To help elucidate the nature of the nebula, our goal was to reconstruct the star-formation history of the CMa R1 region, including the previously unknown older, fainter low-mass stellar population, using X-rays. Methods. We analyzed images obtained with the ROSAT satellite, covering similar to 5 sq. deg. Complementary VRI photometry was performed with the Gemini South telescope. Colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams were used in conjunction with pre-main sequence evolutionary tracks to derive the masses and ages of the X-ray sources. Results. The ROSAT images show two distinct clusters. One is associated with the known optical clusters near Z CMa, to which similar to 40 members are added. The other, which we name the ""GU CMa"" cluster, is new, and contains similar to 60 members. The ROSAT sources are young stars with masses down to M(star) similar to 0.5 M(circle dot), and ages up to 10 Myr. The mass functions of the two clusters are similar, but the GU CMa cluster is older than the cluster around Z CMa by at least a few Myr. Also, the GU CMa cluster is away from any molecular cloud, implying that star formation must have ceased; on the contrary (as already known), star formation is very active in the Z CMa region.

Life-History Evolution on Tropidurinae Lizards: Influence of Lineage, Body Size and Climate

The study of life history variation is central to the evolutionary theory. In many ectothermic lineages, including lizards, life history traits are plastic and relate to several sources of variation including body size, which is both a factor and a life history trait likely to modulate reproductive parameters. Larger species within a lineage, for example tend to be more fecund and have larger clutch size, but clutch size may also be influenced by climate, independently of body size. Thus, the study of climatic effects on lizard fecundity is mandatory on the current scenario of global climatic change. We asked how body and clutch size have responded to climate through time in a group of tropical lizards, the Tropidurinae, and how these two variables relate to each other. We used both traditional and phylogenetic comparative methods. Body and clutch size are variable within Tropidurinae, and both traits are influenced by phylogenetic position. Across the lineage, species which evolved larger size produce more eggs and neither trait is influenced by temperature components. A climatic component of precipitation, however, relates to larger female body size, and therefore seems to exert an indirect relationship on clutch size. This effect of precipitation on body size is likely a correlate of primary production. A decrease in fecundity is expected for Tropidurinae species on continental landmasses, which are predicted to undergo a decrease in summer rainfall.

The production of school numbers (1871-1931): contributions to a critical approach to statistical sources in History of Education

This article intends to contribute to the reflection on the Educational Statistics as being source for the researches on History of Education. The main concern was to reveal the way Educational Statistics related to the period from 1871 to 1931 were produced, in central government. Official reports - from the General Statistics Directory - and Statistics yearbooks released by that department were analyzed and, on this analysis, recommendations and definitions to perform the works were sought. By rending problematic to the documental issues on Educational Statistics and their usual interpretations, the intention was to reduce the ignorance about the origin of the school numbers, which are occasionally used in current researches without the convenient critical exam.

Life history of Proctolaelaps bulbosus feeding on the coconut mite Aceria guerreronis and other possible food types occurring on coconut fruits

Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae) is a major pest of coconut fruits (Cocos nucifera L.) in many countries of the Americas, Africa, and parts of Asia. Considerable attention has been given to studies of biological control agents of A. guerreronis. Proctolaelaps bulbosus Moraes, Reis and Gondim Jr. is a predator recently discovered in association with A. guerreronis. Nothing is known about its biology. The aim of this study was to determine suitable food sources for P. bulbosus, among items commonly found on coconut fruits, including A. guerreronis. Food sources evaluated included the mites A. guerreronis, Steneotarsonemus concavuscutum Lofego and Gondim Jr., and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank), the fungus Rhizopus aff. stolonifer (Ehrenb.) Vuill and coconut pollen; the mite Tetranychus urticae Koch was also included in the assessments, for being a commonly used prey for mass production and laboratory rearing of predatory mites. Proctolaelaps bulbosus was able to develop up to adulthood when fed A. guerreronis, R. aff. stolonifer and T. putrescentiae. It had the highest population growth rates when feeding on the former (R (o) = 17.5; r (m) = 0.392). These results indicate that A. guerreronis is the most suitable food for P. bulbosus among the possible food sources found on coconut fruits and that P. bulbosus can survive in the absence of eriophyid using R. aff. stolonifer as a food source.

Os mass media como agentes educadores para a saúde

Dissertação de mestrado em Ciências da Comunicação (área de especialização em Informação e Jornalismo)

High mass microquasars and low latitude gamma-ray sources

Population studies of unidentified EGRET sources suggest that there exist at least three different populations of galactic gamma-ray sources. One of these populations is formed by young objects distributed along the galactic plane with a strong concentration toward the inner spiral arms of the Galaxy. Variability, spectral and correlation analysis indicate that this population is not homogeneous. In particular, there is a subgroup of sources that display clear variability in their gamma-ray fluxes on timescales from days to months. Following the proposal by Kaufman Bernad\'o et al. (2002), we suggest that this group of sources might be high-mass microquasars, i.e. accreting black holes or neutron stars with relativistic jets and early-type stellar companions. We present detailed inhomogeneous models for the gamma-ray emission of these systems that include both external and synchrotron self-Compton interactions. We have included effects of interactions between the jet and all external photon fields to which it is exposed: companion star, accretion disk, and hot corona. We make broadband calculations to predict the spectral energy distribution of these objects from radio up to GeV energies. The results and predictions can be tested by present and future gamma-ray instruments like INTEGRAL, AGILE, and GLAST.

L'oeuvre latine attribuée à Jacotin dans les sources des XVe et XVIe siècles : transcription critique et analyse

La version intégrale de cette thèse est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (http://www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU).

History pictures : using visual sources to build better history lessons.

Constituye una guía práctica sobre la utilización de las fuentes visuales en las clases de historia en la etapa 3 (key stage 3) y en el General Certificate Secondary Education (GCSE). Además, proporciona técnicas para animar a los alumnos a observar con detenimiento y a saber utilizar las imágenes para investigar en las interpretaciones históricas, entre estas imágenes se encuentran las caricaturas políticas. Incluye actividades en hojas de recursos para fotocopiar.

Global estimates of snow water equivalent from passive microwave instruments: history, challenges and future developments

Snow properties have been retrieved from satellite data for many decades. While snow extent is generally felt to be obtained reliably from visible-band data, there is less confidence in the measurements of snow mass or water equivalent derived from passive microwave instruments. This paper briefly reviews historical passive microwave instruments and products, and compares the large-scale patterns from these sources to those of general circulation models and leading reanalysis products. Differences are seen to be large between the datasets, particularly over Siberia. A better understanding of the errors in both the model-based and measurement-based datasets is required to exploit both fully. Techniques to apply to the satellite measurements for improved large-scale snow data are suggested.