North Caucasus: the Russian Gordian knot. The key problems and conflicts in the region and the effect thereof on the future of Russia; Putin after re-election: The Kremlin's policy in Vladimir Putin's second term. OSW Study 16/2004

North Caucasus: North Caucasus is the most instable part of the Russian Federation: since the early 90's, there has been going on the military conflict in Chechnya, which is gradually spilling over into the other republics of the region, terrorism seems to have occupied its regular position in the political life of Caucasus, organized crime is flourishing, the tension persists there and military incidents and attacks are breaking out every now and again. During the recent year, the destabilization of the region, which affects many fields of Russian political and social life, has grown to an alarming size. Putin after re-election: Vladimir Putin's first term as President was a period of submitting political, regional and economic lobbies to the Kremlin. The actions Putin has taken since being re-elected are aimed at consolidating the Kremlin's control over the political, economic and social spheres. Further liquidation of political and informational pluralism, an increase of the ruling group's control over state and private property, and an intensification of state propaganda aimed at generating social support for the Kremlin's initiatives have all proceeded apace. These processes reinforce authoritarian tendencies and strengthen the emerging monocentric political system, with the President's strong domination over political, economic and social life.

Temporal Control of Leaf Complexity by miRNA-Regulated Licensing of Protein Complexes

The tremendous diversity of leaf shapes has caught the attention of naturalists for centuries. In addition to interspecific and intraspecific differences, leaf morphologies may differ in single plants according to age, a phenomenon known as heteroblasty. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the progression from the juvenile to the adult phase is characterized by increased leaf serration. A similar trend is seen in species with more complex leaves, such as the A. thaliana relative Cardamine hirsuta, in which the number of leaflets per leaf increases with age. Although the genetic changes that led to the overall simpler leaf architecture in A. thaliana are increasingly well understood, less is known about the events underlying age-dependent changes within single plants, in either A. thaliana or C. hirsuta. Here, we describe a conserved miRNA transcription factor regulon responsible for an age-dependent increase in leaf complexity. In early leaves, miR319-targeted TCP transcription factors interfere with the function of miR164-dependent and miR164-independent CUC proteins, preventing the formation of serrations in A. thaliana and of leaflets in C. hirsuta. As plants age, accumulation of miR156-regulated SPLs acts as a timing cue that destabilizes TCP-CUC interactions. The destabilization licenses activation of CUC protein complexes and thereby the gradual increase of leaf complexity in the newly formed organs. These findings point to posttranslational interaction between unrelated miRNA-targeted transcription factors as a core feature of these regulatory circuits.

Phase relationships between orbital forcing and the composition of air trapped in Antarctic ice cores

Orbital tuning is central for ice core chronologies beyond annual layer counting, available back to 60 ka (i.e. thousands of years before 1950) for Greenland ice cores. While several complementary orbital tuning tools have recently been developed using δ¹⁸Oatm, δO₂⁄N₂ and air content with different orbital targets, quantifying their uncertainties remains a challenge. Indeed, the exact processes linking variations of these parameters, measured in the air trapped in ice, to their orbital targets are not yet fully understood. Here, we provide new series of δO₂∕N₂ and δ¹⁸Oatm data encompassing Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5 (between 100 and 160 ka) and the oldest part (340–800 ka) of the East Antarctic EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice core. For the first time, the measurements over MIS 5 allow an inter-comparison of δO₂∕N₂ and δ¹⁸Oatm records from three East Antarctic ice core sites (EDC, Vostok and Dome F). This comparison highlights some site-specific δO₂∕N₂ variations. Such an observation, the evidence of a 100 ka periodicity in the δO₂∕N₂ signal and the difficulty to identify extrema and mid-slopes in δO2∕N2 increase the uncertainty associated with the use of δO₂∕N₂ as an orbital tuning tool, now calculated to be 3–4 ka. When combining records of δ¹⁸Oatm and δO₂∕N₂ from Vostok and EDC, we find a loss of orbital signature for these two parameters during periods of minimum eccentricity (∼ 400 ka, ∼ 720–800 ka). Our data set reveals a time-varying offset between δO₂∕N₂ and δ¹⁸Oatm records over the last 800 ka that we interpret as variations in the lagged response of δ¹⁸Oatm to precession. The largest offsets are identified during Terminations II, MIS 8 and MIS 16, corresponding to periods of destabilization of the Northern polar ice sheets. We therefore suggest that the occurrence of Heinrich–like events influences the response of δ¹⁸Oatm to precession.

L'effet des enrochements sur l'utilisation de l'espace par les communautés de poissons dans les Basses-Terres du Saint-Laurent.

Ce mémoire a été effectué dans le cadre d'une étude pour le Ministère des Transports.

(Table T1) Ice rafted debris characteristics of ODP Site 177-1092

We have carried out a multiphase analysis of samples from ODP Site 177-1092, Meteor Rise, subantarctic South Atlantic. Samples were analyzed for ice-rafted debris (IRD [see Table T1]) and stable isotopes from benthic foraminifera [see Murphy et al., 2002, doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(01)00495-3]. Both analyses were performed on the same samples. Additional work was performed to identify the paleomagnetic stratigraphy. The analyzed samples range in age from about 2.6(?) Ma to 4.6 Ma, a time span that saw considerable global warmth, but witnessed overall global refrigeration and the transition to truly bipolar glaciations. IRD arrived frequently during the Early and early Late Pliocene, but only as 'background rafting' (occasional grains per sample). The first identifiable IRD above background rafting is associated with marine isotope stage (MIS) KM4 (~3.18 Ma). Successive IRD peaks become larger, the same pattern as noted at nearby Site 114-704. A very large peak near the top of the record, approximately 2.8 Ma, is considered to represent a hiatus. Peaks below 51.3 meters composite depth (mcd) coincide with positive excursions of the oxygen isotopic record, and with negative excursions of the carbon isotopic curve, a pattern also noted at Site 114-704. However, the reasonably large IRD peak at 51 mcd (tentatively identified with MIS G11) coincides with a positive excursion on the carbon isotopic curve and negative excursion on the oxygen isotopic curve. This relationship suggests a northern hemisphere interglacial, rising sea level, destabilization of the Antarctic margin, and delivery of Antarctic icebergs to the Southern Ocean. Such a mechanism has recently been suggested by Kanfoush et al. (2000, doi:10.1126/science.288.5472.1815) for latest Pleistocene stadial/interstadial oscillations. Here we suggest that such a mechanism may have been in place on glacial/interglacial time scales as early as the Late Pliocene.

Age model, radiocarbon dates and dinoflagellate cyst measurements from sediment core DA06-139G

A marine sediment core from Vaigat in Disko Bugt, West Greenland, has been analysed in terms of lithology, dinoflagellate cysts and foraminifera in order to evaluate the influence of oceanographic variability on West Greenland glacier stability. The data show that during the past 5200 years the Atlantic foraminiferal abundance in the subsurface waters of the West Greenland Current (WGC) episodically increased, indicating periods of increases in the inflow of subsurface warm Atlantic water at 2000 - 1500 cal. yr BP and 1300 cal. yr BP as well as periods of less pronounced increased bottom-water temperatures around 4700 - 4000 cal. yr BP, 3100 - 2800, 2600, 1000 - 800, 500 - 400, and at 200 cal. yr. The sedimentological and dinoflagellate cyst data indicate that these episodes with enhanced advection of Irminger Sea-derived waters are accompanied by increased iceberg rafting, which we link to increased iceberg calving in relation to destabilization of the Jakobshavn Isbrae. The long-term trend in the data documents the end of a late-Holocene Thermal Maximum between 5200 and 4300 cal. yr BP and a final onset of the Neoglaciation at 3500 cal. yr BP. Increased responses of the iceberg rafting after 3500 cal. yr BP, reflects a westward/seaward advance of the glacier margin in relation to onset of Neoglaciation and a development of the glacier into a floating tongue after 2000 cal. yr BP. A comparison of our record with a record from the eastern North Atlantic indicates that a NAO-like anomaly pattern between subsurface waters in West Greenland and atmospheric temperature in the Eastern North Atlantic may have been operating during most of the late Holocene. However, during the past 1000 years the NAO signal may have weakened as some other mode of climate variability overprints the anti-phase climate signal in this region.

Composition of sedimentary rocks from the Shapkina River valley, Bolshezemelskaya Tundra

A facies-genetic and stratigraphic subdivision of the Quaternary sequence in the Shapkina River valley has been accomplished. The riverbank shows outcrops of three glacial complexes with different mineralogical-petrographic compositions and structural characteristics, which can be correlated and stratificated. Datings of intermoraine horizons (alluvial, marine, lacustrine, and lacustrine-boggy sediments) have been based on palynological and paleomicrotheriological data. The Middle Neopleistocene section can be divided into two till horizons corresponding to two autonomous glaciations (Pechora and Vychegda). They are separated by a member of subaqueous Rodionov sediments. The Pechora till formed in the course of glacier motions from the northeast. Glacial horizons are mainly composed of the Vychegda till transported from the Northwest terrigenous provenance. Lithology of the Upper Neopleistocene Polyarnyi till testifies to its formation in the upper course of the river from material transported from the Northeast terrigenous-mineralogical provenance in the upper course of the river and from the Fennoscandian glaciation center in the lower course of the river. The paper presents the first lithological investigation and substantiation of genesis of various facies of Neopleistocene intermoraine marine sediments (sediments of the beach and fore-beach zones and shallow-water shelf).

Aecidium macowanianum; Form Genera

Aecidium macowanianum f. conyzae-pinnatilobatae f. conyzae-pinnatilobatae Thum.

Effect of particle hydrophobicity on particle and water transport across a flotation froth

Froth recovery measurements have been conducted in both the presence (three-phase froth) and absence (two-phase froth) of particles of different contact angles in a specially modified laboratory flotation column. Increasing the particle hydrophobicity increased the flow rate of particles entering the froth, while the recovery of particles across the froth phase itself also increased for particle contact angles to 63 and at all vertical heights of the froth column. However, a further increase in the contact angle to 69 resulted in lower particle recovery across the froth phase. The reduced froth recovery for particles of 69 contact angle was linked to significant bubble coalescence within the froth phase. The reduced froth recovery occurred uniformly across the entire particle size range, and was, presumably, a result of particle detachment from coalescing bubbles. Water flow rates across the froth phase also varied with particle contact angle. The general trend was a decrease in the concentrate flow rate of water with increasing particle contact angle. An inverse relationship between water flow rate and bubble radius was also observed, possibly allowing prediction of water flow rate from bubble size measurements in the froth. Comparison of the froth structure, defined by bubble size, gas hold-up and bubble layer thickness, for two- and three-phase froths, at the same frother concentration, showed there was a relationship between water flow rate and froth structure. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

RESILIÊNCIA, VALORES HUMANOS E PERCEPÇÃO DE SUPORTE SOCIAL EM PROFISSIONAIS DA SAÚDE

A perspectiva atual da ciência psicológica, somada aos aspectos da psicologia positiva e da saúde, permite estudar o fenômeno da resiliência, transformando velhas questões em novas possibilidades de compreensão, permitindo um olhar positivo dos seres humanos, focando ao invés de aspectos negativos, os aspectos virtuosos, tais como: resiliência, felicidade, otimismo, altruísmo, esperança, como sendo recursos favoráveis para manutenção e promoção da saúde. A percepção do suporte social protege os indivíduos contra a desestabilização, e os valores humanos contribuem na tomada de decisão e nas escolhas para a resolução de conflitos. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar se valores humanos e percepção de suporte social predizem resiliência em profissionais da saúde. Participaram 127 brasileiros, profissionais da saúde, sendo 76% do sexo feminino, com idade média de 38 anos, em sua maioria, casados. Os instrumentos utilizados para a coleta de dados foram um questionário de dados sociodemográficos, a Escala de Avaliação de Resiliência, o Questionário de Perfis de Valores QPV e Escala de Percepção de Suporte Social EPSS. Foram calculadas estatísticas descritivas, testes t e análises de regressão lineares múltiplas padrão. Os resultados revelaram que os participantes possuem bons níveis de resiliência, percebem que recebem mais suporte afetivo e movem e guiam suas ações e comportamentos pelo bem-estar dos outros. Resultados das análises de regressão revelaram que apenas valores humanos são preditores de resiliência. Estes achados contribuem para a compreensão do constructo de resiliência como um estado ou processo, portanto, como um fenômeno dinâmico que leva em consideração o contexto onde o ser humano está inserido, mas revela também a importância das características individuais na explicação deste fenômeno. Tendo em vista as limitações deste estudo e considerando que não foi encontrado nenhum estudo empírico acerca da influencia dos valores humanos sobre a resiliência, os resultados indicam a necessidade de desenvolvimentos de mais estudos para melhor compreensão dos preditores de resiliência e uma agenda de pesquisa é sugerida ao final das conclusões.

Cellular interaction with novel biomaterials

The objective of this thesis is to report the behaviour of mammalian cells with biocompatible synthetic polymers with potential for applications to the human body. Composite hydrogel materials were tested as possible keratoprosthetic devices. It was found that surface topography is an important consideration, pores, channels and fibres exposed on the surface of the hydrogels tested can have significant effects on the extent of cell adheson and proliferation. It is recommended that the core component is fabricated out of one of the following to provide a non cell adhesive base; A8, A11, A13, A22, A23. The haptic periphery fabricated out of one of the following would provide a cell adhesive composite; A16, A30, A33, A37, A38, A42, A43, A44. The presence of vitronectin in the ocular tissue appears to lead to higher cell adhesion to the posterior surface of a contact lens when compared to the anterior surface. Group IV contact lenses adhere more cells than Group II contact lenses - this may indicate that more protein (including vitronectin) is able to adhere to the contact lens due to the Group IV contact lenses high water content and ionic hydrogel matrix. Artificial lung surfactant analogues were found to be non cytotoxic but also decreased cell proliferation when tested at higher concentrations. Poly(lysine ethyl ester adipamide) [PLETESA] had the most favourable response on cell proliferation and commercial styrene/maleic anhydride (pMA/STY sp2) the most pronounced inhibitory response. The mode of action that decreases cell proliferation appears to be through membrane destabilization. Tissue culture well plates coated with PLETESA allowed cells to adhere in a concentration dependent manner, multilaminar liposomes possibly of PLETESA were observed in solution in PLETESA coated wells. Polyhydroxybutryate (PHB) and polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) blends that contained hydroxyapatite were found to be the most cell adhesive material of those materials tested. The blends that were most susceptible to degradation adhered the most cells in initial stages of degradation. The initial slight increase in cell adhesion may be due to the increased rugosity of the material. As the degradation continued the number of cells adhering to the samples decreased, this may indicate that the polarity was inhibitory to cell adhesion during the later stages of degradation.

Characterization and optimization of bilosomes for oral vaccine delivery

Oral vaccines offer significant benefits due to the ease of administration, better patient compliance and non-invasive, needle-free administration. However, this route is marred by the harsh gastro intestinal environment which is detrimental to many vaccine formats. To address this, a range of delivery systems have been considered including bilosomes; these are bilayer vesicles constructed from non-ionic surfactants combined with the inclusion of bile salts which can stabilize the vesicles in the gastro intestinal tract by preventing membrane destabilization. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of formulation parameters on bilosome carriers using Design of Experiments to select an appropriate formulation to assess in vivo. Bilosomes were constructed from monopalmitoylglycerol, cholesterol, dicetyl phosphate and sodium deoxycholate at different blends ratios. The optimized bilosome formulation was identified and the potential of this formulation as an oral vaccine delivery system were assessed in biodistribution and vaccine efficacy studies. Results showed that the larger bilosomes vesicles (~6 µm versus 2 µm in diameter) increased uptake within the Peyer's patches and were able to reduce median temperature differential change and promote a reduction in viral cell load in an influenza challenge study. © 2013 Informa UK, Ltd.

Two-dimensional viscoelastic discrete triangular system with negative-stiffness components

Potential applications of high-damping and high-stiffness composites have motivated extensive research on the effects of negative-stiffness inclusions on the overall properties of composites. Recent theoretical advances have been based on the Hashin-Shtrikman composite models, one-dimensional discrete viscoelastic systems and a two-dimensional nested triangular viscoelastic network. In this paper, we further analyze the two-dimensional triangular structure containing pre-selected negative-stiffness components to study its underlying deformation mechanisms and stability. Major new findings are structure-deformation evolution with respect to the magnitude of negative stiffness under shear loading and the phenomena related to dissipation-induced destabilization and inertia-induced stabilization, according to Lyapunov stability analysis. The evolution shows strong correlations between stiffness anomalies and deformation modes. Our stability results reveal that stable damping peaks, i.e. stably extreme effective damping properties, are achievable under hydrostatic loading when the inertia is greater than a critical value. Moreover, destabilization induced by elemental damping is observed with the critical inertia. Regardless of elemental damping, when the inertia is less than the critical value, a weaker system instability is identified.

Multi-media filtration for removal of petroleum contamination

A pilot scale multi-media filtration system was used to evaluate the effectiveness of filtration in removing petroleum hydrocarbons from a source water contaminated with diesel fuel. Source water was artificially prepared by mixing bentonite clay and tap water to produce a turbidity range of 10-15 NTU. Diesel fuel concentrations of 150 ppm or 750 ppm were used to contaminate the source water. The coagulants used included Cat Floc K-10 and Cat Floc T-2. The experimental phase was conducted under direct filtration conditions at constant head and constant rate filtration at 8.0 gpm. Filtration experiments were run until the filter reached its clogging point as noted by a measured peak pressure loss of 10 psi. The experimental variables include type of coagulant, oil concentration and source water. Filtration results were evaluated based on turbidity removal and petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) removal efficiency as measured by gas chromatography. Experiments indicated that clogging was controlled by the clay loading on the filter and that inadequate destabilization of the contaminated water by the coagulant limited the PHC removal. ^

The impact of solid and liquid wastes from a rural town on the Chorobamba River Oxapampa, Peruvian Amazon

The goal of this study was to determine the instantaneous vs. integrated effects of waste on the water quality of the Chorobamba River. I sampled 9 stations upstream and downstream of the Town of Oxapampa, Peru during the dry season (June-August) of 2004. I measured in-situ parameters such as pH, DO, temperature, etc. as well as vegetation, riverbank erosion, nutrients (N03, NH4, P04), coliform bacteria and macroinvertebrate communities to determine the current conditions of the river, as well as the integrated effects of pollution. Although water quality conditions remained stable, high fecal coliform concentrations and macroinvertebrate communities indicate deterioration in river health over a longer period of time. If riparian areas along the Chorobamba continue to decrease and if inputs of sewage into the rivers continue to increase, as a function of population, then, conditions will continue to deteriorate in the coming years.