'Outside Architecture': lecture at The British School at Rome

Renshaw and Donszelmann lecture on their projects for the collaborative group 'Outside Architecture' this was part of a series of papers on the subject of architecture and art curated by The British School at Rome

Visual information capture during fixations in reading for children and adults

Two experiments were undertaken to examine whether there is an age-related change in the speed with which readers can capture visual information during fixations in reading. Children’s and adults’ eye movements were recorded as they read sentences that were presented either normally or as “disappearing text”. The disappearing text manipulation had a surprisingly small effect on the children, inconsistent with the notion of an age-related change in the speed with which readers can capture visual information from the page. Instead, we suggest that differences between adults and children are related to the level of difficulty of the sentences for readers of different ages.

Plenary Lecture 2: Milk and dairy produce and CVD: new perspectives on dairy and cardiovascular health

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. One of the key dietary recommendations for CVD prevention is reduction of saturated fat intake. Yet despite milk and dairy foods contributing on average 27 % of saturated fat intake in the UK diet, evidence from prospective cohort studies does not support a detrimental effect of milk and dairy foods on risk of CVD. This paper provides a brief overview of the role of milk and dairy products in the diets of UK adults, and will summarise the evidence in relation to the effects of milk and dairy consumption on CVD risk factors and mortality. The majority of prospective studies and meta-analyses examining the relationship between milk and dairy product consumption and risk of CVD show that milk and dairy products, excluding butter, are not associated with detrimental effects on CVD mortality or risk biomarkers, that include serum LDL cholesterol. In addition, there is increasing evidence that milk and dairy products are associated with lower blood pressure and arterial stiffness. These apparent benefits of milk and dairy foods have been attributed to their unique nutritional composition, and suggest that the elimination of milk and dairy may not be the optimum strategy for CVD risk reduction.

The calculative turn in land value capture: lessons from the English planning system

For over three decades, negotiated planning obligations have been the primary form of land value capture in England. Diffusing and evolving over the last decade, a significant policy innovation has been the use of financial calculations to estimate the extent to which policies on planning obligations for actual, proposed development projects and in plan making affect the financial viability of development. This paper assesses the extent to which the use of financial appraisals has provided a robust, just and practical procedure to support land value capture. It is concluded that development viability appraisals are saturated with intrinsic uncertainty and that land value capture that is based on such calculations is, to some extent, capricious. In addition, clear incentives for developers and land owners to bias viability calculations, the economic dependence of many viability consultants on developers and land owners, a lack of transparency, contested or ambiguous guidance and the opportunities created by input uncertainty for bias are further failings. It is argued that how viability calculations are applied has been, is being and will continue to be shaped by power relations.

On the ability of statistical wind-wave models to capture the variability and long-term trends of the North Atlantic winter wave climate

A dynamical wind-wave climate simulation covering the North Atlantic Ocean and spanning the whole 21st century under the A1B scenario has been compared with a set of statistical projections using atmospheric variables or large scale climate indices as predictors. As a first step, the performance of all statistical models has been evaluated for the present-day climate; namely they have been compared with a dynamical wind-wave hindcast in terms of winter Significant Wave Height (SWH) trends and variance as well as with altimetry data. For the projections, it has been found that statistical models that use wind speed as independent variable predictor are able to capture a larger fraction of the winter SWH inter-annual variability (68% on average) and of the long term changes projected by the dynamical simulation. Conversely, regression models using climate indices, sea level pressure and/or pressure gradient as predictors, account for a smaller SWH variance (from 2.8% to 33%) and do not reproduce the dynamically projected long term trends over the North Atlantic. Investigating the wind-sea and swell components separately, we have found that the combination of two regression models, one for wind-sea waves and another one for the swell component, can improve significantly the wave field projections obtained from single regression models over the North Atlantic.

High-throughput phenotyping (HTP) identifies seedling root traits linked to variation in seed yield and nutrient capture in field-grown oilseed rape (Brassica napusL.)

Background and Aims Root traits can be selected for crop improvement. Techniques such as soil excavations can be used to screen root traits in the field, but are limited to genotypes that are well-adapted to field conditions. The aim of this study was to compare a low-cost, high-throughput root phenotyping (HTP) technique in a controlled environment with field performance, using oilseed rape (OSR; Brassica napus) varieties. Methods Primary root length (PRL), lateral root length and lateral root density (LRD) were measured on 14-d-old seedlings of elite OSR varieties (n = 32) using a ‘pouch and wick’ HTP system (∼40 replicates). Six field experiments were conducted using the same varieties at two UK sites each year for 3 years. Plants were excavated at the 6- to 8-leaf stage for general vigour assessments of roots and shoots in all six experiments, and final seed yield was determined. Leaves were sampled for mineral composition from one of the field experiments. Key Results Seedling PRL in the HTP system correlated with seed yield in four out of six (r = 0·50, 0·50, 0·33, 0·49; P < 0·05) and with emergence in three out of five (r = 0·59, 0·22, 0·49; P < 0·05) field experiments. Seedling LRD correlated positively with leaf concentrations of some minerals, e.g. calcium (r = 0·46; P < 0·01) and zinc (r = 0·58; P < 0·001), but did not correlate with emergence, general early vigour or yield in the field. Conclusions Associations between PRL and field performance are generally related to early vigour. These root traits might therefore be of limited additional selection value, given that vigour can be measured easily on shoots/canopies. In contrast, LRD cannot be assessed easily in the field and, if LRD can improve nutrient uptake, then it may be possible to use HTP systems to screen this trait in both elite and more genetically diverse, non-field-adapted OSR.

Radiative capture of nucleons at astrophysical energies with single-particle states

Radiative capture of nucleons at energies of astrophysical interest is one of the most important processes for nucleosynthesis. The nucleon capture can occur either by a compound nucleus reaction or by a direct process. The compound reaction cross sections are usually very small, especially for light nuclei. The direct capture proceeds either via the formation of a single-particle resonance or a non-resonant capture process. In this work we calculate radiative capture cross sections and astrophysical S-factors for nuclei in the mass region A < 20 using single-particle states. We carefully discuss the parameter fitting procedure adopted in the simplified two-body treatment of the capture process. Then we produce a detailed list of cases for which the model works well. Useful quantities, such as spectroscopic factors and asymptotic normalization coefficients, are obtained and compared to published data. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A typical lecture room

This illustrates a typical lecture room at the New York Trade School taken during a class. Black and white photograph.

Electrical Lecture

Students fill a lecture room at the New York Trade School. The illustration on the board indicates that this is probably a lecture in the Electrical Department. Black and white photograph.

Le poète errant à Port-au-Prince : Une lecture de _Parias_ de Magloire Saint-Aude

Cet article offre une analyse de la figure du flâneur dans Parias: documentaire de l’écrivain haïtien Magloire-Saint-Aude (1912-1971). Étudiant la façon dont il se réapproprie de ce trope surréaliste dans un cadre port-au-princien, le but est de montrer que l’auteur essaie de repenser le sujet haïtien. L’article démontre que Magloire-Saint-Aude se sert d’un chronotope urbain double, d’abord les rues pauvres où les personnages déambulent sans but fixe et ensuite les salons bourgeois où naît le désir. Son flâneur haïtien subit un processus complexe de subjectivation qui s’articule dans la tension de ces deux chronotopes urbains. Même si le héros saint-audien essaye de se libérer par le biais de l’amour pour une Française il est à jamais attaché à l’espace exigu de Port-au-Prince. Cela vient rompre avec une tradition d’affirmation héroïque du sujet (masculin) haïtien. ”Exilé de l’intérieur,” Malgoire-Saint-Aude explore un sujet insaisissable qui garde ouverte sa part à l’altérité.

De "l'ermite" à "zone" : une lecture d'alcools de Guillaume Apollinaire

Resumo não disponível.

La nation et ses mutations : une lecture d'une paix royale, roman belge francophone contemporain de Pierre Mertens

O presente estudo tem como objeto final a análise do romance belga francófono contemporâneo Une paix royale, publicado em 1995 por Pierre Mertens. No que diz respeito a um espaço nacional sem conformidade com o modelo canônico do Estadonação, quer-se evidenciar o estatuto de uma poética romanesca no seu processo de invenção do mito da nação e as peculiaridades da representação nacional que essa poética contribui a gerar. Tal abordagem do texto literário tem como pressuposto um estudo teórico sobre o conceito de nação, do qual são apresentadas uma história e uma definição. Também é levada em consideração a natureza das relações que a ficção romanesca estabelece com o mito da nação: a invenção do mesmo – que pode incluir sua desconstrução - utiliza uma linguagem específica da qual o romance e o campo literário em geral são enunciadores privilegiados. Essas considerações teóricas abrem caminho para um método interpretativo de textos francófonos que são os portadores contemporâneos do mito da nação belga, ou seja, manifestos publicados por intelectuais e por escritores entre 1976 e 2003, e o romance Une paix royale. A tese manifesta o papel criativo das Letras belgas francófonas na renovação da nação, que conserva uma atualidade

Physiological response of American bullfrog tadpoles to stressor conditions of capture and hypoxia

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)