Eco-crime and freshwater

The unsustainable and exploitative use of one of the most important but scarce resources on the planet - freshwater - continues to create conflict and human dislocation on a grand scale. Instead of witnessing nation-states adopting more equitable and efficient conservation strategies, powerful corporations are permitted to privatise and monopolise diminishing water reservoirs based on flawed neo-liberal assumptions and market models of the ‘global good’. The commodification of water has enabled corporate monopolies and corrupt states to exploit a fundamental human right, and in the process have created new forms of criminality. In recent years, affluent industrialised nations have experienced violent rioting as protestors express opposition to government ‘freshwater taxes’ and to corporate investors seeking to privatise drinking water. These water conflicts have included unprecedented clashes with police and deaths of innocent civilians in South Africa (BBC News, 2014a); the United Nations intervention in Detroit USA after weeks of public protest (Burns, 2014); and the hundreds of thousands of people protesting in Ireland (BBC News, 2014,b; Irish Times 2015). Subsequently, the commodification of freshwater has become a criminological issue for water-abundant rich states, as well as for the highly indebted water-scarce nations.

Factor 5 in eco-cement: Zeobond Pty Ltd

Cement production is estimated to be responsible for approximately 6 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most promising alternatives to common Portland cement is geopolymer cement, and Australian company Zeobond is a bone fide leader in its manufacture.

Crystal structure of poly[[di-mu2-aqua-aquasodium] 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropyridine-2-carboxylate trihydrate], the sodium salt of the herbicide picloram

In the structure of the title complex [[Na(H2O)3]+ (C6H2Cl3N2O2)-^ . 3(H2O)]n, the Na salt of the herbicide picloram, the cation is a polymeric chain structure, based on doubly water-bridged NaO5 trigonal bipyramidal complex units which have in addition, a singly-bonded monodentate water molecule. Each of the bridges within the chain which lies along the a cell direction is centrosymmetric with Na...Na separations of 3.4807(16) and 3.5109(16)Ang. In the crystal, there are three water molecules of solvation and these, as well as the coordinated water molecules and the amino group of the 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinate anion are involved in extensive inter-species hydrogen-bonding interactions with carboxyl and water O-atoms as well as the pyridine N-atom. Among these association is a centrosymmetric cyclic tetra-water R4/4(8) ring , resulting in an overall three-dimensional structure.

How to choose a healthy, eco-friendly childcare centre

The early years have been recognized as a “natural starting point” for education for sustainability. ECEfS is a newly emerging area and Australian educators, teacher educators, and researchers are leaders in this field. Indeed, there is a growing list of exemplary kindergartens, child care centres, preschools, and preps across the country engaged in EfS focusing on a range of topics that include, for example, water education, reducing energy use, recycling, growing gardens, and cleaning up parks and creeks. Some centres focus more on the social dimensions of sustainability – strengthening Indigenous communities, working with the elderly, supporting the unemployed, fostering gender equality in their communities, being more socially inclusive. There is mounting evidence that early lessons in sustainability help reshape adult sustainability actions in homes, schools and communities.

Beta-Turn Conformations In Crystal-Structures Of Model Peptides Containing Alpha,Alpha-Di-N-Propylglycine And Alpha,Alpha-Di-N-Butylglycine

The crystal state conformations of three peptides containing the alpha, alpha-dialkylated residues, alpha,alpha-di-n-propylglycine (Dpg) and alpha,alpha-di-n-butylglycine (Dbg), have been established by x-ray diffraction. Boc-Ala-Dpg-Ala-OMe (I) and Boc-Ala-Dbg-Ala-OMe (III) adopt distorted type II beta-turn conformations with Ala (1) and Dpg/Dbg (2) as the corner residues. In both peptides the conformational angles at the Dxg residue (I: phi = 66.2 degrees, psi = 19.3 degrees; III: phi = 66.5 degrees, psi = 21.1 degrees) deviate appreciably from ideal values for the i + 2 residue in a type II beta-turn. In both peptides the observed (N...O) distances between the Boc CO and Ala(3) NH groups are far too long (I: 3.44 Angstrom; III: 3.63 Angstrom) for an intramolecular 4 --> 1 hydrogen bond. Boc-Ala-Dpg-Ala-NHMe (II) crystallizes with two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. Both molecules IIA and IIB adopt consecutive beta-turn (type III-III in IIA and type III-I in IIB) or incipient 3(10)-helical structures, stabilized by two intramolecular 4 --> 1 hydrogen bonds. In all four molecules the bond angle N-C-alpha-C' (tau) at the Dxg residues are greater than or equal to 110 degrees. The observation of conformational angles in the helical region of phi,psi space at these residues is consistent with theoretical predictions.

NMR Investigations on Di- and Tri-Azanaphthalenes Oriented in Liquid Crystals

Proton NMR spectra of 1,3-diazanaphthalene and 1,2,4-triazanaphthalene have been investigated in the nematic phase of three liquid crystals. The spectral analysis provided direct dipole-dipole couplings which have been used to derive the molecular structure. Geometry of the phenyl ring in both the molecules deviates from the regular hexagonal structure. Signs of the order parameter of the largest magnitude are opposite in liquid crystals with positive diamagetic anisotropies.

L'ecfrasis nel Piacere di Gabriele D'Annunzio

Tutkielman aiheena on ekfrasis Gabriele D'Annunzion romaanissa Il Piacere (1889). Lähtökohtana on selvittää, millaisissa muodoissa ekfrasis esiintyy romaanissa sekä miten ekfrasis vaikuttaa teoksen tulkintatradition esille tuomaan tematiikkaan. Pyrkimyksenä on myös selkeyttää ekfrasiksen käsitettä, jonka ongelmana ovat sanaan eri aikakausina liitetyt eri merkitykset. Tärkeimpiä lähdeteoksia ovat James A.W. Heffernanin Museum of Words (1993) ja W.J.T. Mitchellin Picture Theory (1994), Marinella Cantelmon Il Piacere dei leggitori: D'Annunzio e la comunicazione letteraria (1996) sekä John Hollanderin artikkeli "The Poetics of Ekphrasis" (1988). Tutkielman avainkäsitteenä on Heffernanin määritelmä, jonka mukaan ekfrasis on sanallinen esitys kuvallisesta esityksestä. Määritelmää sovellettaessa on otettu huomioon representaatiokäsityksen avautuminen, jolloin vastaanottaja, ympäristö etc. ovat osa esitystä. Korpuksen muodostavat tapahtumaympäristöä, taideteoksia, esineistöä ja henkilöhahmoja kuvaavat ekfrastiset katkelmat. Luokittelussa toimivat alakäsitteinä Valerie Robillardin kuvaileva, attributiivinen ja assosiatiivinen ekfrasis sekä Tamar Yacobin ekfrastinen vertaus. Analyysi osoittaa, että kuvaileva ekfrasis on yleisin, mutta vain kuvitteellisten teosten yhteydessä. Katkelmissa on näkyvissä ekfrasikselle luonteenomainen kerronnallinen impulssi. Ekfrasis osallistuu tunnetun ja uuden elementin vuoropuheluun ankkuroimalla kuvitteelliset taideteokset lukijalle tuttuun ympäristöön, jolloin myös uusi tulee toden kaltaiseksi. Attributiivinen ekfrasis takaa välittömän tunnistettavuuden. Henkilöhahmot, erityisesti keskeiset naishahmot, on määritelty ekfrastisten vertausten kautta. Ekfrasis ilmentää osaltaan naishahmojen vaihdettavuuden tematiikkaa. Kyseessä on myös toiseuden haltuunotto. Kuvallisen viittaussuhteen ansiosta ekfrasis toimii tehokeinona. Tekstuaalisena strategiana ekfrasis luo siteitä tapahtumien välille ja rytmittää teoksen vaiheita. Ekfrastiset katkelmat tarjoavat myös väylän vaihtoehtoiselle tulkinnalle haastamalla tekstin totuuskäsityksen. Kuvallinen ja sanallinen esitys tuovat tekstiin omat merkityksensä, jolloin merkityskenttä laajenee. Il Piacere on intertekstuaalinen kollaasi, jossa kokonaiskuva muodostuu eri elementtien vuorovaikutuksesta. D'Annunzion mielestä kauneus on taiteen ensisijainen tarkoitus, ja ekfrasis retorisena keinona on osa pyrkimystä tavoittaa täydellinen muoto.

Synthesis and Reactions of Binuclear Diolefin Rhodium(I) Compounds bridged by Nitrogen Heterocycles, Crystal Structure of Dichloro-Di-1,5-Cyclooctadiene(Mu-Pyrazine)-Dirhodium(I) [[Rh(1,5-C8h12)Cl]2(Mu-C4h4n2)]

Binuclear complexes of rhodium(I) of the type [(dien)(X)Rh(μ-N-N)Rh(X)(dien)] (dien = 1,5-cyclooctadiene or norbornadiene; N-N = pyrazine, 4,4′-bipyridine or Phenazine and X = Cl or Br) with bridging heterocycles have been isolated and their reactions with carbon monoxide, 2,2′-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline investigated. The crystal structure of [(COD)(Cl)Rh(μ-pyrazine)Rh(Cl)(COD)] has been determined.

Structure-reactivity correlation in inclusion complexes: deoxycholic acid di-tert-butyl thioketone

Ultraviolet irradiation of crystalline molecular inclusion complexes of deoxycholic acid with di-tert-butyl thioketone results in no reaction. The structure of the above complex has been determined via X-ray diffraction. The absence of expected photoreactions. namely, photoreduction and photooxidation, is rationalized on the basis of the X-ray structure analysis of the complex.

Structure of the K12 capsule containing 5,7-di-N-acetylacinetaminic acid from Acinetobacter baumannii isolate D36

The repeat unit of the K12 capsular polysaccharide isolated from the Acinetobacter baumannii global clone 1 clinical isolate, D36, was elucidated by means of chemical and spectroscopical methods. The structure was shown to contain N-acetyl-D-galactosamine (D-GalpNAc), N-acetyl-D-fucosamine and N-acetyl-L-fucosamine linked together in the main chain, with the novel sugar, 5,7-diacetamido-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-L-glycero-L-altro-non-2-ulosonic acid (5,7-di-N-acetylacinetaminic acid or Aci5Ac7Ac), attached to D-GalpNAc as a side branch. This matched the sugar composition of the K12 capsule and the genetic content of the KL12 capsule gene cluster reported previously. D-FucpNAc was predicted to be the substrate for the initiating transferase, ItrB3, with the Wzy polymerase making a α-D-FucpNAc-(1 → 3)-D-GalpNAc linkage between the repeat units. The three glycosyltransferases encoded by KL12 are all retaining glycosyltransferases and were predicted to form specific linkages between the sugars in the K12 repeat unit.

Detection of nitrogen deficiency in wheat from spectral reflectance indices and basic crop eco-physiological concepts

We tested the capacity of several published multispectral indices to estimate the nitrogen nutrition of wheat canopies grown under different levels of water supply and plant density and derived a simple canopy reflectance index that is greatly independent of those factors. Planar domain geometry was used to account for mixed signals from the canopy and soil when the ground cover was low. A nitrogen stress index was developed, which adjusts shoot %N for plant biomass and area, thereby accounting for environmental conditions that affect growth, such as crop water status. The canopy chlorophyll content index (CCCi) and the modified spectral ratio planar index (mSRPi) could explain 68 and 69% of the observed variability in the nitrogen nutrition of the crop as early as Zadoks 33, irrespective of water status or ground cover. The CCCi was derived from the combination of 3 wavebands 670, 720 and 790 nm, and the mSRPi from 445, 705 and 750 nm, together with broader bands in the NIR and RED. The potential for their spatial application over large fields/paddocks is discussed.

Predicting a new phase (T′′) of two-dimensional transition metal di-chalcogenides and strain-controlled topological phase transition

Single layered transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted tremendous research interest due to their structural phase diversities. By using a global optimization approach, we have discovered a new phase of transition metal dichalcogenides (labelled as T′′), which is confirmed to be energetically, dynamically and kinetically stable by our first-principles calculations. The new T′′ MoS2 phase exhibits an intrinsic quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect with a nontrivial gap as large as 0.42 eV, suggesting that a two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator can be achieved at room temperature. Most interestingly, there is a topological phase transition simply driven by a small tensile strain of up to 2%. Furthermore, all the known MX2 (M = Mo or W; X = S, Se or Te) monolayers in the new T′′ phase unambiguously display similar band topologies and strain controlled topological phase transitions. Our findings greatly enrich the 2D families of transition metal dichalcogenides and offer a feasible way to control the electronic states of 2D topological insulators for the fabrication of high-speed spintronics devices.

Hydrogen bonding with mono- and di-carbonyls

The electronic absorption and i.r. spectroscopic studies are reported for the hydrogen bonding systems involving alcohol and various ketones. It is shown that the hydrogen bonding abilities of ketones are determined by the extent of delocalization of the lone pair electrons in their non-bonding molecular orbitals. Evidence for the formation of very weak intermolecular hydrogen bonds between alcohol and the π-electron part of the dicarbonyls has also been presented from the i.r. studies in the 3400–3700 cm−1 region.

Cossi Detto Tempio Di Vesta flooded; Rome Street Scenes

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