Predatory nature of the littoral amphipod Echinogammarus marinus: gut content analysis and effects of alternative food and substrate heterogeneity

Interspecific interactions are major structuring forces in marine littoral communities; however, it is unclear which of these interactions are exhibited by many key-component species. Gut content analysis showed that the ubiquitous rocky/cobble shore amphipod Echinogammarus marinas, often ascribed as a mesograzer, consumes both algae and macroinvertebrates. Further, laboratory experiments showed that E. marinus is an active predator of such macroinvertebrates, killing and consuming the isopod Jaera nordmanni and the oligochaete Tubificoides benedii. Predatory impacts of E. marinus were not alleviated by the presence of alternative food in the form of alga discs. However, in the presence of prey, consumption of alga by E. marinus was significantly reduced. Further, survival of prey was significantly higher when substrate was provided, but predation remained significant and did not decline with further increases in substrate heterogeneity. We conclude that such amphipods can have pervasive predatory impacts on a range of species, with implications for community structure, diversity and functioning.

Rapid forensic analysis and identification of "lilac" architectural finishes using Raman spectroscopy

The potential of Raman spectroscopy to discriminate between architectural finishes (household paint) has been investigated using a test set of 51

Microsatellite analysis for determination of the mutagenicity of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields and ionising radiation in vitro.

Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) have been reported to induce lesions in DNA and to enhance the mutagenicity of ionising radiation. However, the significance of these findings is uncertain because the determination of the carcinogenic potential of EMFs has largely been based on investigations of large chromosomal aberrations. Using a more sensitive method of detecting DNA damage involving microsatellite sequences, we observed that exposure of UVW human glioma cells to ELF-EMF alone at a field strength of 1 mT (50 Hz) for 12 h gave rise to 0.011 mutations/locus/cell. This was equivalent to a 3.75-fold increase in mutation induction compared with unexposed controls. Furthermore, ELF-EMF increased the mutagenic capacity of 0.3 and 3 Gy gamma-irradiation by factors of 2.6 and 2.75, respectively. These results suggest not only that ELF-EMF is mutagenic as a single agent but also that it can potentiate the mutagenicity of ionising radiation. Treatment with 0.3 Gy induced more than 10 times more mutations per unit dose than irradiation with 3 Gy, indicating hypermutability at low dose.

SO and CS observations of molecular clouds - II. Analysis and modelling of the abundance ratios - probing O-2/CO with SO/CS?

We here analyse the observational SO and CS data presented in Nilsson ct al. (2000). The SO/CS integrated intensity ratio maps are presented for 19 molecular clouds, together with tables of relevant ratios at strategic positions, where we have also observed (SO)-S-34 and/or (CS)-S-34. The SO/CS abundance ratio as calculated from an LTE analysis is highly varying within and between the sources. Our isotopomer observations and Monte Carlo simulations verify that this is not an artifact due to optical depth problems. The variation of the maximum SO/CS abundance ratio between the clouds is 0.2-7. The largest variations within a cloud are found for the most nearby objects, possibly indicating resolution effects. We have also performed time dependent chemical simulations. We compare the simulations with our observed SO/CS abundance ratios and suggest a varying oxygen to carbon initial abundance, differing temporal evolution, density differences and X-ray sources associated with young stellar objects as possible explanations to the variations. In particular, the observed variation of the maximum SO/CS abundance ratio between the clouds can be explained by using initial O/C+ abundance ratios in the range 1.3-2.5. We finally derive a relationship between the SO/CS and O-2/CO abundance ratios, which may be used as a guide to find the most promising interstellar O-2 search targets.

A time-domain approach to the analysis and modeling of on-body propagation characteristics using synchronized measurements at 2.45 GHz

Modeling of on-body propagation channels is of paramount importance to those wishing to evaluate radio channel performance for wearable devices in body area networks (BANs). Difficulties in modeling arise due to the highly variable channel conditions related to changes in the user's state and local environment. This study characterizes these influences by using time-series analysis to examine and model signal characteristics for on-body radio channels in user stationary and mobile scenarios in four different locations: anechoic chamber, open office area, hallway, and outdoor environment. Autocorrelation and cross-correlation functions are reported and shown to be dependent on body state and surroundings. Autoregressive (AR) transfer functions are used to perform time-series analysis and develop models for fading in various on-body links. Due to the non-Gaussian nature of the logarithmically transformed observed signal envelope in the majority of mobile user states, a simple method for reproducing the failing based on lognormal and Nakagami statistics is proposed. The validity of the AR models is evaluated using hypothesis testing, which is based on the Ljung-Box statistic, and the estimated distributional parameters of the simulator output compared with those from experimental results.

The nonformative elements of religious life: questioning the ‘sociology of spirituality’ paradigm

Sociological assertions of religious vitality in Euro-American societies have developed a paradigm of spirituality in which, following earlier studies of the New Age, a distinction is drawn between external authority and self-authority. Methodologically and theoretically problematic, this paradigm diverts attention from people’s social practices and interactions, especially in relation to multiple religious authorities. Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork with an English religious network, and building upon the work of Pierre Bourdieu, this paper considers situations in which multiple authorities tend to relativize each other. Conceptualizing this in terms of nonformativeness - the lack of authorities’ abilities formatively to shape religious identity, habitus, and competition over religious capital - a new understanding of individual secularization emerges that questions assertions of vitality.

Strategy in a religious network: A bourdieuian critique of the sociology of spirituality

Within the sociology of religion there has emerged a discourse on spirituality that views contemporary developments as involving the assertion of individuals’ self-authority. This perspective’s theoretical roots have been persistently criticised for their conceptualisation of agency; in contrast, this paper draws upon Bourdieu’s concept of strategy to examine action in an English religious network of the sort often classified ‘New Age’. In particular, one informant is discussed in order to provide focus for an understanding of what Lahire calls sociology at the level of the individual. Her actions, better explained as strategic improvisations than as choices made on the basis of self-authority, help to illuminate the peculiarities of this religious setting, which is characterised in terms of ‘nonformativeness’. By emphasising social contextualisation, this approach addresses people’s meaningful actions in a way that may be applied not only more widely within the religious field but also in other fields of action.

Analysis and comparison of displacement granular pile anchors

Granular piles can resist only compressive and shear loads owing to their inherent nature. By a simple modification of providing a pedestal/geogrid at the bottom and attaching a cable to the same, they are made to resist pullout/uplift forces. This paper presents an analysis of granular pile anchor (GPA), considering it and the in situ soil to behave linearly and the in situ ground to be semi-infinite. A parametric study presents results in the form of variations of normalised shear stress, displacement influence coefficient and axial uplift force with depth with relative stiffness factor. Two methods for the estimation of deformation moduli of the GPA and the in situ soil are proposed. Based on the estimated values of the moduli, the displacements of GPA were estimated and the results compared with test results of Kumar (2002). The predicted displacements compare well with the measured ones.