Physio-chemical assessment of beauty leaf (Calophyllum inophyllum) as second-generation biodiesel feedstock

Recently, second-generation (non-vegetable oil) feedstocks for biodiesel production are receiving significant attention due to the cost and social effects connected with utilising food products for the production of energy products. The Beauty leaf tree (Calophyllum inophyllum) is a potential source of non-edible oil for producing second-generation biodiesel because of its suitability for production in an extensive variety of atmospheric condition, easy cultivation, high fruit production rate, and the high oil content in the seed. In this study, oil was extracted from Beauty leaf tree seeds through three different oil extraction methods. The important physical and chemical properties of these extracted Beauty leaf oils were experimentally analysed and compared with other commercially available vegetable oils. Biodiesel was produced using a two-stage esterification process combining of an acid catalysed pre-esterification process and an alkali catalysed transesterification process. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles and important physicochemical properties were experimentally measured and estimated using equations based on the FAME analysis. The quality of Beauty leaf biodiesels was assessed and compared with commercially available biodiesels through multivariate data analysis using PROMETHEE-GAIA software. The results show that mechanical extraction using a screw press produces oil at a low cost, however, results in low oil yields compared with chemical oil extraction. High pressure and temperature in the extraction process increase oil extraction performance. On the contrary, this process increases the free fatty acid content in the oil. A clear difference was found in the physical properties of Beauty leaf oils, which eventually affected the oil to biodiesel conversion process. However, Beauty leaf oils methyl esters (biodiesel) were very consistent physicochemical properties and able to meet almost all indicators of biodiesel standards. Overall this study found that Beauty leaf is a suitable feedstock for producing second-generation biodiesel in commercial scale. Therefore, the findings of this study are expected to serve as the basis for further development of Beauty leaf as a feedstock for industrial scale second-generation biodiesel production.

Only Connect?: Aspects of Intertextuality in Zadie Smith's On Beauty

Tutkielma käsittelee intertekstuaalisuuden eri muotoja Zadie Smithin romaanissa On Beauty (suom. Kauneudesta). Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on osoittaa kuinka oleellisesti intertekstuaalisuuden teoria on vaikuttanut kirjallisuustieteen metodeihin ja postmoderniin kirjallisuuskäsitykseen, sekä käsitellä sen soveltuvuutta nykykirjallisuuden tutkimiseen analysoimalla teorian sisäistä monimuotoisuutta ja ristiriitoja. Tutkimusmateriaalina käytetään Smithin romaanin lisäksi E. M. Forsterin romaania Howards End (suom. Talo jalavan varjossa), johon On Beauty tietoisesti viittaa. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä tutkielmassa toimii Gérard Genetten teoksessa Palimpsests sekä Roland Barthesin esseessä Tekijän kuolema esille tuodut kirjallisuusteoreettiset käsitykset. Valittu metodologia antaa mahdollisuuden hahmottaa intertekstuaalisuus kahdella eri tavalla: Genetten strukturalistinen lähestymistapa soveltuu teosten välisten viittaussuhteiden tutkimiseen, kun taas Barthesin jälkistrukturalistinen diskurssi auttaa ymmärtämään tekstienvälisyyden osana merkityksen jatkuvaa epävakautta. Tutkielman ensimmäinen osio keskittyy analysoimaan lähiluvun keinoin romaanien On Beauty ja Howards End välistä strukturalistista suhdetta vertailemalla teosten eroja ja yhtäläisyyksiä Genetten intertekstuaalisuusteorian valossa. Vertailussa kiinnetetään erityisesti huomiota teosten juoneen, rakenteeseen, aikaan ja paikkaan, sekä uudelleenkirjoitusten yleiseen tendenssiin päivittää alkuperäistä tarinaa kohdeyleisölle paremmin sopivaksi. Toisessa osiossa tutkimusta esille nousee jälkistrukturalistinen näkemys intertekstuaalisuudesta osana lukijan tuottaman merkityksen tulkinnanvaraisuutta. Osiossa käsitellään Rembrandtin taideteosten roolia Smithin romaanissa ja analysoidaan hahmojen tulkintoja sekä suhtautumista Rembrandtin tuotantoon Barthesin teoreettisten käsitteiden kautta. Keskeiseksi analyysin kohteeksi nousee lukija sekä lukijan tuottamat tulkinnat ja niiden merkitys Smithin romaanin tematiikassa. Tutkielmassa osoitetaan kuinka intertekstuaalisuus ei ole niin yksinkertainen termi kuin sen laaja käyttö niin kirjallisuustieteessä kuin mediassakin antaa ymmärtää, sekä selvitetään intertekstuaalisuuden teorian kehitystä 60-luvulta nykypäivään. Vaikka strukturalistisessa muodossa käsite soveltuu etenkin kahden toisiinsa kytkeytyneen teoksen tutkimiseen, vertaileva analyysi kuitenkin osoittaa, että On Beauty ei ole pelkkä uudelleenkirjoitus, vaan romaanin tulkintaan tarvitaan myös jälkistrukturalistisen dekonstruktion käsitteitä, jotta laajemmat tekstuaalisuuden verkostot aukeavat lukijalle. Romaanissa esiintyvä taitelijakuva myös osoittaa, että Smith itse on hyvin tietoinen kirjallisuusteoreettisesta keskustelusta.

Let sleeping doggerel lie?: James Joyce's "The Death of Parnell" and the challenges of addressing 'bad' verse in translation

Eterio Pajares, Raquel Merino y José Miguel Santamaría (eds.)

Awakening a sleeping giant: The riddle of Latino political participation

For some time now, the Latino voice has been gradually gaining strength in American politics, particularly in such states as California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas, where large numbers of Latino immigrants have settled and large numbers of electoral votes are at stake. Yet the issues public officials in these states espouse and the laws they enact often do not coincide with the interests and preferences of Latinos. The fact that Latinos in California and elsewhere have not been able to influence the political agenda in a way that is commensurate with their numbers may reflect their failure to participate fully in the political process by first registering to vote and then consistently turning out on election day to cast their ballots.

To understand Latino voting behavior, I first examine Latino political participation in California during the ten general elections of the 1980s and 1990s, seeking to understand what percentage of the eligible Latino population registers to vote, with what political party they register, how many registered Latinos to go the polls on election day, and what factors might increase their participation in politics. To ensure that my findings are not unique to California, I also consider Latino voter registration and turnout in Texas for the five general elections of the 1990s and compare these results with my California findings.

I offer a new approach to studying Latino political participation in which I rely on county-level aggregate data, rather than on individual survey data, and employ the ecological inference method of generalized bounds. I calculate and compare Latino and white voting-age populations, registration rates, turnout rates, and party affiliation rates for California's fifty-eight counties. Then, in a secondary grouped logit analysis, I consider the factors that influence these Latino and white registration, turnout, and party affiliation rates.

I find that California Latinos register and turn out at substantially lower rates than do whites and that these rates are more volatile than those of whites. I find that Latino registration is motivated predominantly by age and education, with older and more educated Latinos being more likely to register. Motor voter legislation, which was passed to ease and simplify the registration process, has not encouraged Latino registration . I find that turnout among California's Latino voters is influenced primarily by issues, income, educational attainment, and the size of the Spanish-speaking communities in which they reside. Although language skills may be an obstacle to political participation for an individual, the number of Spanish-speaking households in a community does not encourage or discourage registration but may encourage turnout, suggesting that cultural and linguistic assimilation may not be the entire answer.

With regard to party identification, I find that Democrats can expect a steady Latino political identification rate between 50 and 60 percent, while Republicans attract 20 to 30 percent of Latino registrants. I find that education and income are the dominant factors in determining Latino political party identification, which appears to be no more volatile than that of the larger electorate.

Next, when I consider registration and turnout in Texas, I find that Latino registration rates are nearly equal to those of whites but that Texas Latino turnout rates are volatile and substantially lower than those of whites.

Low turnout rates among Latinos and the volatility of these rates may explain why Latinos in California and Texas have had little influence on the political agenda even though their numbers are large and increasing. Simply put, the voices of Latinos are little heard in the halls of government because they do not turn out consistently to cast their votes on election day.

While these findings suggest that there may not be any short-term or quick fixes to Latino participation, they also suggest that Latinos should be encouraged to participate more fully in the political process and that additional education may be one means of achieving this goal. Candidates should speak more directly to the issues that concern Latinos. Political parties should view Latinos as crossover voters rather than as potential converts. In other words, if Latinos were "a sleeping giant," they may now be a still-drowsy leviathan waiting to be wooed by either party's persuasive political messages and relevant issues.

Sleeping sites, sleeping trees, and sleep-related behaviors of black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor jingdongensis) at Mt. Wuliang, central Yunnan, China

Data on sleep-related behaviors were collected for a group of central Yunnan black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor jingdongensis) at Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan, China from March 2005 to April 2006. Members of the group usually formed four sleeping units (adult male and juvenile, adult female with one semi-dependent black infant, adult female with one dependent yellow infant, and subadult male) spread over different sleeping trees. Individuals or units preferred specific areas to sleep; all sleeping sites were situated in primary forest, mostly (77%) between 2,200 and 2,400 m in elevation. They tended to sleep in the tallest and thickest trees with large crowns on steep slopes and near important food patches. Factors influencing sleeping site selection were (1) tree characteristics, (2) accessibility, and (3) easy escape. Few sleeping trees were used repeatedly by the same or other members of the group. The gibbons entered the sleeping trees on average 128 min before sunset and left the sleeping trees on average 33 min after sunrise. The lag between the first and last individual entering the trees was on average 17.8 min. We suggest that sleep-related behaviors are primarily adaptations to minimize the risk of being detected by predators. Sleeping trees may be chosen to make approach and attack difficult for the predator, and to provide an easy escape route in the dark. In response to cold temperatures in a higher habitat, gibbons usually sit and huddle together during the night, and in the cold season they tend to sleep on ferns and/or orchids.

SSF Guidelines: the beauty of the small

An examination of the role of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication in the context of the small-sale fishery of Kerala, India.

Group Size and Composition of Black．and．White Snub．nosedMonkey(rhinopithecus)Estimated by Faecesof Sleeping Sites at Baima Snow Mountain

介绍了应用过夜地粪便来估计白马雪山黑白仰鼻猴群大小和组成的一种方法。该物种以单雄多雌单 元和全雄组的形式在树上过夜。粪粒根据其大小可分为3种类型：成年雄性的(最大)、成年雌性的(中等大小)和 未成年个体的(最小)。2000一2001年，搜集了滇西北白马雪山国家级自然保护区北部南任村(99。04 7E，28。34 7N) 附近黑白仰鼻猴群每个季节2个过夜地的粪粒。根据2001年11月猴群通过开阔地的数据来确定猴群组成。每个 季节，由于单雄多雌单元的成年个体数与其粪粒数正相关，所以二者回归直线的斜率可以看作是每个个体每晚 的平均排便量。由于该物种的栖息地主要为高山峡谷，而且能见度较低，因此，利用过夜地粪便比以前通过猴群 活动痕迹来估计猴群大小和组成相对准确、可靠。从估计成年雌性个体数的角度看，利用粪粒来估计种群大约有 9．4％的偏差。导致偏差的可能原因有杂草和灌丛对粪粒准确计数的影响、个体排粪率的差异以及成年雄性最小 粪粒与成年雌性最大粪粒的混淆等。该方法适应于栖息地和主要食物与本文研究种群相似的其他种群。

Sleeping sites of Rhinopithecus bieti at Mt. Fuhe, Yunnan

Data on sleeping site selection were collected for a group of black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti; around 80) at Mt. Fuhe, Yunnan, China (99degrees20'E, 26degrees25'N, about 3,000 m asl) from November 2000 to January 2002. At the site mainly three vegetation types were present in an elevation-ascending order: deciduous broad leaf forest, mixed coniferous and broad leaf forest, and dark coniferous forest. In addition, bamboo forest presented in areas burned in 1958. Sleeping sites (n = 10) were located in the coniferous forest, where trees were the tallest, bottommost branches were the highest, the diameter of crowns was the second largest, and the gradient of the ground was the steepest. Monkeys usually kept quiet during entering and staying at a sleeping site. The site choice and the quietness may be tactics to avoid potential predators. In the coniferous forest, however, monkeys did not sleep in the valley bottom where trees were the largest, but frequently slept in the middle of the slope towards the east/southeast, in the shadow of ridges in three other directions, to avoid strong wind and to access sunshine; in winter-spring, they ranged in a more southern and lower area than in summer-autumn. These may be behavioral strategies to minimize energy stress in the cold habitat. Monkeys often slept in the same sleeping site on consecutive nights, which reflected a reduced pressure of predation probably due to either the effectiveness of anti-predation through sleeping site selection, or the population decline of predators with increasing human activities in the habitat. The group's behavioral responses to interactive and sometimes conflicting traits of the habitat are site-specific and conform to expectations for a temperate zone primate.

Sleeping sites of black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) at Baima Snow Mountain, China

Data on sleeping sites of a group of black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus bieti (Colobinae, Primates) were collected between April-July and September-December 2001 to try to determine the factors affecting site selection at Nanren (99 degrees

Twitching in sensorimotor development from sleeping rats to robots.

It is still not known how the 'rudimentary' movements of fetuses and infants are transformed into the coordinated, flexible and adaptive movements of adults. In addressing this important issue, we consider a behavior that has been perennially viewed as a functionless by-product of a dreaming brain: the jerky limb movements called myoclonic twitches. Recent work has identified the neural mechanisms that produce twitching as well as those that convey sensory feedback from twitching limbs to the spinal cord and brain. In turn, these mechanistic insights have helped inspire new ideas about the functional roles that twitching might play in the self-organization of spinal and supraspinal sensorimotor circuits. Striking support for these ideas is coming from the field of developmental robotics: when twitches are mimicked in robot models of the musculoskeletal system, the basic neural circuitry undergoes self-organization. Mutually inspired biological and synthetic approaches promise not only to produce better robots, but also to solve fundamental problems concerning the developmental origins of sensorimotor maps in the spinal cord and brain.

Society, theatre and Social Work: beauty will save us

Three different worlds, sometimes concentric and often intersecting —society, theatre and the art of performance— and social work. Diverse worlds that live, reflect and self-reflect and interact, and can also afford an opportunity for meeting, misunderstanding and confrontation, and above all offer the possibility of profound change.This article considers the experience of a theatre company that has spent more than three years moving at the limits of these three universes. To these three worlds can be added an infinite number of words that fill them with meaning and significance: territory, meeting, diversity and search. An artistic experience that has chosen to focus on creating scenarios for debate and to examine the difficulties, the human contradictions and the constant and inexhaustible confrontation with human experience. At the heart of this theatrical activity is all of this, seeking the balance between narration, meeting, investigation and the artistic dimension. This meeting between society, theatre and social work also contains the search for sustainability of this cultural business, in an Italy that has been destroyed by a crisis that is not merely economic, but also of values and, above all, of role models. The guiding theme, though not always made explicit, is always present and essential: the search for beauty.

Sleeping site selection by the golden-handed tamarin Saguinus midas midas: The role of predation risk, proximity to feeding sites, and territorial defence

Tamarin monkeys, of the genus Saguinus, spend over half their lives at arboreal sleeping sites. The decision as to which site to use is likely to have considerable fitness consequences. These decisions about sleeping sites by three troops of golden-handed tamarin Saguinus midas midas were examined over a 9-mo period at a rainforest site in French Guiana. Data are presented on the physical nature of sleeping sites, their number, position within home ranges, and pattern of use and reuse, aspects of behaviour at retirement and egress, and predation attempts on the study troops. Cumulative plot analysis indicated that a tamarin troop used 30-40 sleeping sites in a 100-day period, approximately half of which were used very infrequently, so that consecutive reuse was never greater than three nights. Sleeping trees were superior in architectural parameters and liana weight to non-sleeping trees. There were no more sleeping sites than expected within the home range boundary region of the tamarins or in areas of overlap with the home ranges of neighbouring troops. Tamarins selected sleeping sites nearest to the last feeding site of the day on 25% of occasions. The study troops engaged in a number of activities that may reduce predation risk; raptor attacks on the study troops over 9 mo were frequent but unsuccessful. Tamarins often visited a sleeping site several hours before arrival, and were more likely to visit a site before use if they had not used it recently. The decision to select a sleeping site therefore involved knowledge of the previous frequency of use of that site.