Synthesis of isotope-labelled methoxypyrazine compounds as internal standards and quantitative determination of aroma methoxypyrazines in water and wines by solid-phase extraction with isotope dilution-GC-MS /

An efficient way of synthesizing the deuterium labelled analogues of three methoxypyrazine compounds: 2-d3-methoxy-3-isopropylpyrazine, 2-d3-methoxy-3- isobutylpyrazine, and 2-d3-methoxy-3-secbutylpyrazine, has been developed. To confirm that the deuterium labels had been incorporated into the expected positions in the molecules synthesized, the relevant characterization by NMR, HRMS and GC/MS analysis was conducted. Another part of this work involved quantitative determination of methoxypyrazines in water and wines. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) proved to be a suitable means for the sample separation and concentration prior to GC/MS analysis.Such factors as the presence of ethanol, salt, and acid have been investigated which can influence the recovery by SPE for the pyrazines from the water matrix. Significantly, in this work comparatively simple fractional distillation was attempted to replace the conventional steam distillation for pre-concentrating a sample with a relatively large volume prior to SPE. Finally, a real wine sample spiked with the relevant isotope-labelled methoxypyrazines was quantitatively analyzed, revealing that the wine with 10 beetles per litre contained 138 ppt of 2-methoxy-3-isopropylpyrazine. Interestingly, we have also found that 2-methoxy-3-secbutylpyrazine exhibits an extremely low detection limit in GC/MS analysis compared with the detection limit of the other two methoxypyrazines: 2- methoxy-3-isopropylpyrazine and 2-methoxy-3-isobutylpyrazine.

A case study of the Ottawa Valley whitewater rafting industry : standards and risks

This qualitative case study identifies and discusses the standards and risk management practices of the Ottawa Valley whitewater rafting industry and the impacts of the government enforced Special-purpose Vessels Regulations are discussed. Data collection occurred using a single case study design, which included interviews and document analysis. This study found that internal, industry, and actual standards are influenced through a variety of sources. These standards were found to affect the risk management practices of commercial whitewater rafting providers. In general, these standards promoted a high level of risk management within the Ottawa Valley rafting industry. The Special-purpose Vessels Regulations were found to be non-influential in raising the risk management standards of the Ottawa Valley whitewater rafting industry.

Fitness to stand trial : how discourses of rationality, reasonableness and culpability inform the law and psychiatry to create standards of normal

The objective of this thesis is to demonstrate the importance of the concepts of rationality, reasonableness, culpability and autonomy that inform and support our conception of both the person and the punishable subject. A critical discourse analysis tracing these concepts through both the law and psychological tools used to evaluate the fitness of a person reveals that these concepts and their implied values are inconsistently applied to the mentally disordered who come into conflict with the law. I argue that the result of this inconsistency compromises a person's autonomy which is a contradiction to this concept as a foundational principle of the law. Ultimately, this thesis does not provide a solution to be employed in policy making, but its analysis leaves open possibilities for further exploration into the ways legal and social justice can be reconciled.

Canadian Federation of University Women--St. Catharines fonds, 1921-2013

The University Women’s Club of St. Catharines was founded in 1921, two years after the formation of its national affiliate, the Canadian Federation of University Women. Membership was limited to women with university degrees. In early 2000 the constitution was expanded to include professions that now require university or college degrees. Associate members (non-voting) and student members were also accepted in 2007 by our local club. The purposes of the club are to assist in maintaining high standards of education in Canada, to stimulate members’ interest and participation in public affairs, to provide an opportunity for collective action, and to facilitate intellectual and social pursuits among members. The club takes an active interest in the status of women, provides scholarships at the university and high school levels, encourages reading in the formative years, makes charitable donations to support women and children’s services. In 1988 our club changed its name to Canadian Federation of University Women – St. Catharines at the direction of the National Office of CFUW.

On Implementing Joins, Aggregates and Universal Quantifier in Temporal Databases using SQL Standards

A feasible way of implementing a temporal database is by mapping temporal data model onto a conventional data model followed by a commercial database management system. Even though extensions were proposed to standard SQL for supporting temporal databases, such proposals have not yet come across standardization processes. This paper attempts to implement database operators such as aggregates and universal quantifier for temporal databases, implemented on top of relational database systems, using currently available SQL standards.

Collection and Assets Management: One University Library’s Journey to the Future

Academic libraries worldwide have witnessed a number of trends and paradigm shifts over the last decade. It is vital for university libraries to develop a collection of high standards to satisfy academics and researchers for supporting the vision and mission of a university. The area of collection development and management is the most important part of any library. This paper reports on the problems and prospects of collection and asset management of the University Library of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). The insight for the paper comes from the authors’ first-hand experience supported by literature review. Detailed information regarding the purchase of books, serials, policies regarding the acquisition, and changing trends and problems were collected from the official records with the help of a structured data sheet. The study discovers the current trends in collection and asset management in CUSAT and point out the changes likely to be adopted in future.

A Triple-mode Sigma-delta Modulator Design for Wireless Standards

This work presents a triple-mode sigma-delta modulator for three wireless standards namely GSM/WCDMA and Bluetooth. A reconfigurable ADC has been used to meet the wide bandwidth and high dynamic range requirements of the multi-standard receivers with less power consumption. A highly linear sigma-delta ADC which has reduced sensitivity to circuit imperfections has been chosen in our design. This is particularly suitable for wide band applications where the oversampling ratio is low. Simulation results indicate that the modulator achieves a peak SNDR of 84/68/68 dB over a bandwidth of 0.2/3.84/1.5 MHz with an oversampling ratio 128/8/8 in GSM/WCDMA/Bluetooth modes respectively

Fishery Commodity Chain Trap vis-à-vis Global Quality Standards: An Analysis of the Kerala Marine Fishery

The article examines the commodity chain trap of marine fishery in Kerala, at both material and value terms, and its ramifications in the globalised fishery chains. The marketing chains both material and value, are very complex in nature since they involve many types of markets and large number of intermediaries and participants. The article also scrutinizes the sensitivity of consumers’ and country’s responses in terms of dietary and hygienic standards relating to seafood trade. In addition, it discusses the devastating effect about the recent stipulations like the US Bio- Terrorism Act and Shrimp anti-dumping duty on the Kerala fishery products

Grammar success 4 : raising writing standards.

Cumple con los requisitos que establece el National Literacy Strategy (NLS) para los niños de primaria en cuanto a la comprensión de textos y el aprendizaje de la gramática y la escritura. Los distintos tipos de textos utilizados para la lectura abarcan desde la poesía, hasta la ficción y la no ficción, y permiten la práctica en clase, en grupos y en sesiones individuales.

The children that time forgot: Reframing housing standards to incorporate children's needs

This paper presents the findings from a recent study funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examining the housing and neighbourhood needs of 44 visually impaired children. Our research found that disabled people’s needs have been too narrowly based on ‘accessibility’ criteria, which do not take into account the health and safety issues so important for children. Indeed, the home environment is the main site of accidental death or injury for young children under 4 years, and children from low income families are particularly susceptible to burns, scalds, falls, swallowing foreign objects or poisonous substances within it (CRDU 1994). As disabled children are statistically more likely to be in low income families, this places them at high risk. If ‘accessibility’ is to be reconceived as design for usability throughout the lifecourse, this challenges us to move beyond the pragmatic but limited application of design prescriptions for disabled people as a separate and adult group, and to re-think all of the dimensions of the housing quality framework in the light of this expanded approach.

Uneven playing field or falling standards? Chinese students' competence in English.

This paper explores student and teacher perspectives of challenges relating to the levels of competence in English of Chinese students studying overseas from the perspective of critical pedagogy. It draws on two complementary studies undertaken by colleagues at the University of Reading. The first—a research seminar attended by representatives from a wide range of UK universities—presents the views of teachers and administrators; the second draws on four case studies of the language learning of Chinese postgraduate students during their first year of study in the UK, and offers the student voice. Interview and focus group data highlight the limitations of current tests of English used as part of the requirements for university admission. In particular, university teachers expressed uncertainty about whether the acceptance of levels of written English which fall far short of native-speaker competence is an ill-advised lowering of standards or a necessary and pragmatic response to the realities of an otherwise uneven playing field. In spite of this ambivalence, there is evidence of a growing willingness on the part of university teachers and support staff to find solutions to the language issues facing Chinese students, some of which require a more strategic institutional approach, while others rely on greater flexibility on the part of individuals. Although the studies reported in this paper were based on British universities, the findings will also be of interest to those involved in tertiary education in other English-speaking countries which are currently attracting large numbers of Chinese students.

UK Food Standards Agency cis-monounsaturated fatty acid workshop report

The UK Food Standards Agency convened a group of expert scientists to review current research investigating the optimal dietary intake for n-9 cis-monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). The aim was to review the mechanisms underlying the reported beneficial effects of MUFA on CHD risk, and to establish priorities for future research. The issue of optimal MUFA intake is contingent upon optimal total fat intake; however, there is no consensus of opinion on what the optimal total fat intake should be. Thus, it was recommended that a large multi-centre study should look at the effects on CHD risk of MUFA replacement of saturated fatty acids in relation to varying total fat intakes; this study should be of sufficient size to take account of genetic variation, sex, physical activity and stage of life factors, as well as being of sufficient duration to account for adaptation to diets. Recommendations for studies investigating the mechanistic effects of MUFA were also made. Methods of manipulating the food chain to increase MUFA at the expense of saturated fatty acids were also discussed.

UK Food Standards Agency alpha-linolenic acid workshop report

The UK Food Standards Agency convened a group of expert scientists to review current research investigating whether n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from plant oils (a-linolenic acid; ALA) were as beneficial to cardiovascular health as the n-3 PUFA from the marine oils, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The workshop also aimed to establish priorities for future research. Dietary intake of ALA has been associated with a beneficial effect on CHD; however, the results from studies investigating the effects of ALA supplementation on CHD risk factors have proved equivocal. The studies presented as part of the present workshop suggested little, if any, benefit of ALA, relative to linoleic acid, on risk factors for cardiovascular disease; the effects observed with fish-oil supplementation were not replicated by ALA supplementation. There is a need, therefore, to first prove the efficacy of ALA supplementation on cardiovascular disease, before further investigating effects on cardiovascular risk factors. The workshop considered that a beneficial effect of ALA on the secondary prevention of CHD still needed to be established, and there was no reason to look further at existing CHD risk factors in relation to ALA supplementation. The workshop also highlighted the possibility of feeding livestock ALA-rich oils to provide a means of increasing the dietary intake in human consumers of EPA and DHA.

MOLES3: implementing an ISO standards driven data catalogue

ISO19156 Observations and Measurements (O&M) provides a standardised framework for organising information about the collection of information about the environment. Here we describe the implementation of a specialisation of O&M for environmental data, the Metadata Objects for Linking Environmental Sciences (MOLES3). MOLES3 provides support for organising information about data, and for user navigation around data holdings. The implementation described here, “CEDA-MOLES”, also supports data management functions for the Centre for Environmental Data Archival, CEDA. The previous iteration of MOLES (MOLES2) saw active use over five years, being replaced by CEDA-MOLES in late 2014. During that period important lessons were learnt both about the information needed, as well as how to design and maintain the necessary information systems. In this paper we review the problems encountered in MOLES2; how and why CEDA-MOLES was developed and engineered; the migration of information holdings from MOLES2 to CEDA-MOLES; and, finally, provide an early assessment of MOLES3 (as implemented in CEDA-MOLES) and its limitations. Key drivers for the MOLES3 development included the necessity for improved data provenance, for further structured information to support ISO19115 discovery metadata export (for EU INSPIRE compliance), and to provide appropriate fixed landing pages for Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) in the presence of evolving datasets. Key lessons learned included the importance of minimising information structure in free text fields, and the necessity to support as much agility in the information infrastructure as possible without compromising on maintainability both by those using the systems internally and externally (e.g. citing in to the information infrastructure), and those responsible for the systems themselves. The migration itself needed to ensure continuity of service and traceability of archived assets.