Sedimentary structures from the Carbondale Formation (Middle Pennsylvanian) of Northern Illinois / Charles W. Shabica --.

v.33:no.29(1978)

Lymnaea columella: two new Brazilian localities in the states of Amazonas and Bahia

The occurrence of Lymnaea columella is recorded in Tefé, Amazonas state, where it was found together with Drepanotrema anatinum, Physa marmorata and pomacea sp. L. columella was also collected in Salvador, Bahia state, at the dique do Tororó, an urban lake formely mentioned (as "lac Baril") by Moricand (1853) as a breeding-place of Biomphalaria glabrata, Drepanotrema cimex, D. depressissimum, Pomacea lineata, P. decussata and Ancylus moricandi. The four first-mentioned species, as well as physa cubensis and Hemisinus brasiliensis, were also collected now. This is the first record of a lymnaeid in the Northeastern region of Brazil.

“Policy Scepticism” and the Impact of Northern Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on their Host Region: Accounting for Regional Budget Constraints

This paper replicates the analysis of Scottish HEIs in Hermannsson et al (2010b) for the case of Northern Ireland. The motivation is to provide a self-contained analysis that is readily accessible by those whose primary concern is with the regional impacts of Northern Irish HEIs. A comparative analysis will follow in due course. A “policy scepticism” has emerged that challenges the results of conventional regional HEI impact analyses. This denial of the importance of the expenditure impacts of HEIs appears to be based on a belief in either a binding regional resource constraint or a regional public sector budget constraint. In this paper we provide a systematic critique of this policy scepticism. However, while rejecting the extreme form of policy scepticism, we argue that it is crucial to recognise the importance of the public sector expenditure constraints that are binding under devolution. We show how conventional impact analyses can be augmented to accommodate regional public sector budget constraints. While our results suggest that conventional impact studies overestimate the expenditure impacts of HEIs, they also demonstrate that the policy scepticism that treats these expenditure effects as irrelevant neglects some key aspects of HEIs, in particular their export intensity.

Modelling Breaks and Clusters in the Steady States of Macroeconomic Variables

Macroeconomists working with multivariate models typically face uncertainty over which (if any) of their variables have long run steady states which are subject to breaks. Furthermore, the nature of the break process is often unknown. In this paper, we draw on methods from the Bayesian clustering literature to develop an econometric methodology which: i) finds groups of variables which have the same number of breaks; and ii) determines the nature of the break process within each group. We present an application involving a five-variate steady-state VAR.

Stable stationary states of non-local interaction equations

"Vegeu el resum a l'inici del document del fitxer adjunt."

RQIA Governance Review of Northern Ireland Breast Screening Programme (PDF 700 KB)

RQIA Governance Review of the Northern Ireland Breast Screening Programme (March 2006)

Quinquennial Review of the Fire Authority of Northern Ireland Stage II Report

Quinquennial Review of the Fire Authority of Northern Ireland Stage II Report

The Triatomines of Northern Peru, with Emphasis on the Ecology and Infection by Trypanosomes of Rhodnius ecuadoriensis (Triatominae)

Information on the distribution and synanthropic behaviour of triatomines is essential for Chagas disease vector control. This work summarises such information from northern Peru, and presents new data on Rhodnius ecuadoriensis - an important local vector infesting 10-35% of dwellings in some zones. Three species are strongly synanthropic and may be suitable targets for chemical control of domestic/peridomestic bug populations. Panstrongylus herreri, the main domestic vector in the area, is probably present in sylvatic ecotopes in the Marañón river system. R. ecuadoriensis and Triatoma dimidiata seem exclusively domestic; biogeographical and ecological data suggest they might have spread in association with humans in northern Peru. Confirmation of this hypothesis would result in a local eradication strategy being recommended. Presence of trypanosome natural infection was assessed in 257 R. ecuadoriensis; Trypanosoma rangeli was detected in 4% of bugs. Six further triatomine species are potential disease vectors in the region (T. carrioni, P. chinai, P. rufotuberculatus, P. geniculatus, R. pictipes, and R. robustus), whilst Eratyrus mucronatus, E. cuspidatus, Cavernicola pilosa, Hermanlentia matsunoi, and Belminus peruvianus have little or no epidemiological significance. A strong community-based entomological surveillance system and collaboration with Ecuadorian public health authorities and researchers are recommended.

Larval biometry of Simulium rubrithorax (Diptera: Simuliidae) and size comparison between populations in the states of Minas Gerais and Roraima, Brazil

The number of larval instars of Simulium (Hemicnetha) rubrithorax Lutz (Diptera: Nematocera) was determined using the lateral length of the head capsule. In this study 1,035 larvae, of different sizes, were measured (639 from the state of Roraima and 396 from the state of Minas Gerais). A frequency distribution analysis was carried out on the measurements of the lateral length of the head capsule to determine the number of larval instars. The limits of each instar were defined by the lower frequency of the measurements falling in a range of values, by the presence of the "egg burster" that characterizes the first larval instar, and by the developmental stage of the gill histoblast. The determination of the instar number was tested using a Student's t-test (p < 0.05), the Dyar rule and the Crosby growth rule. The results indicate the existence of 7 larval instars for this species, although this result was not in accordance to the Crosby rule. Last-instar larvae from two widely separated geographical populations (Roraima and Minas Gerais), collected in habitats with different water temperature were compared and no differences (p > 0.05) were observed between them.

Simulium lobatoi, new species of blackfly (Diptera: Simuliidae) from the states of Mato Grosso and Goiás, Central Brazil

During studies on the taxonomy of the Simuliidae of Brazil, a new species of Simulium was found. Full descriptions of the adults and pupae of this species are described here, its affinities with other species are discussed and its distribution, biology, and medical importance in Brazil are recorded.

Aedes aegypti resistance to temephos during 2001 in several municipalities in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe, and Alagoas, Brazil

For more than 30 years temephos, an organophosphate insecticide, has been the sole larvicide used in Brazil in the control of Aedes aegypti. Organophosphates were also used for adult control, being replaced by pyrethroids since l999. In this same year, the Brazilian Health Foundation started the coordination of the Ae. aegypti Insecticide Resistance Monitoring Program. In the context of this program, our group was responsible for the detection of temephos resistance in a total of 12 municipalities in the states of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Alagoas (AL), and Sergipe (SE) during 2001. In each municipality, a pool of mosquitoes collected from different districts was used, with the exception of Rio de Janeiro city, where eight districts have been separately evaluated. Exposure of larvae to the diagnostic dose of temephos revealed resistance in all localities examined, with mortality levels ranging from 4% (Pilares district, Rio de Janeiro, RJ) to 61.9% (Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ). Quantification of mortality showed resistance ratios from 6.1 (Aracaju, SE) to 16.8 (São Gonçalo, RJ and Penha district, Rio de Janeiro, RJ). The national dengue control program is presently using these data to subside insecticide resistance management.

Ku-deficient yeast strains exhibit alternative states of silencing competence.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, efficient silencer function requires telomere proximity, i.e. compartments of the nucleoplasm enriched in silencing factors. Accordingly, silencers located far from telomeres function inefficiently. We show here that cells lacking yKu balance between two mitotically stable states of silencing competence. In one, a partial delocalization of telomeres and silencing factors throughout the nucleoplasm correlates with enhanced silencing at a non-telomeric locus, while in the other, telomeres retain their focal pattern of distribution and there is no repression at the non-telomeric locus, as observed in wild-type cells. The two states also differ in their level of residual telomeric silencing. These findings indicate the existence of a yKu-independent pathway of telomere clustering and Sir localization. Interestingly, this pathway appears to be under epigenetic control.

Baseline Survey of Northern Ireland Public Awareness of Cancer Signs and Symptoms

In May 2014, the Public Health Agency (the PHA) commissioned Social Market Research (www.socialmarketresearch.co.uk) to undertake a baseline survey on public awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer. The survey is based on face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of 1,000 adults plus an additional booster sample (n=410) of men and women aged 50+.

Northern Ireland Registry of Self-Harm Western Area. Supplement 2: Recommended Next Care Following Hospital Treated Self-Harm in the Western Area of Northern Ireland, 2007-2012

In February 2015 the Public Health Agency (PHA) launched a six year review on the incidence of self-harm in the Western Health & Social Care Trust (WHSCT) area of Northern Ireland (NI). This was the fourth report to emerge from the Northern Ireland (NI) Registry of Self-Harm and the first to report on long-term trends (2007 to 2012).