Monuments, mobility and Medieval perceptions of designed landscapes: The Pleasance, Kenilworth

The Pleasance was a ’virandarium’ or pleasure garden, constructed by Henry V in the grounds of his castle at Kenilworth. Despite its high academic profile and the survival of well-preserved earthwork remains, the Pleasance has never previously been subjected to a programme of detailed archaeological survey and investigation. This article discusses the results of a new analytical earthwork survey undertaken by staff from English Heritage in 2012. It considers the contribution that these new findings make to the wider debate on medieval designed landscapes, with a particular focus on mobility and its role in unlocking the meaning and symbolism embedded in elite landscapes.

Characterisation of anthracyclines from a cosmomycin D-producing species of Streptomyces by collisionally-activated dissociation and ion mobility mass spectrometry

Cultures of cosmomycin D-producing Streptomyces olindensis ICB20 that were propagated for many generations underwent mutations that resulted in production of a range of related anthracyclines by the bacteria. The anthracyclines that retained the two trisaccharide chains of the parent compound were separated by HPLC. Exact mass determination of these compounds revealed that they differed from cosmomycin D (CosD) in that they contained one to three fewer oxygen atoms (loss of hydroxyl groups). Some of the anthracyclines that were separated by HPLC had the same mass. The location from which the hydroxyl groups had been lost relative to CosD (on the aglycone and/or on the sugar residues) was probed by collisionally-activated dissociation using an electrospray ionisation linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. The presence of anthracyclines with the same mass, but different structure, was confirmed using an electrospray ionisation travelling wave ion mobility mass spectrometer.

Integer and fractional microwave induced resistance oscillations in a 2D system with moderate mobility

We report on integer and fractional microwave-induced resistance oscillations in a 2D electron system with high density and moderate mobility, and present results of measurements at high microwave intensity and temperature. Fractional microwave-induced resistance oscillations occur up to fractional denominator 8 and are quenched independently of their fractional order. We discuss our results and compare them with existing theoretical models. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Mobility of Chondroitin Sulfate in Articular and Artificial Cartilage Characterized by (13)C Magic-Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy

We have studied the molecular dynamics of one of the major macromolecules in articular cartilage, chondroitin sulfate. Applying (13)C high-resolution magic-angle spinning NMR techniques, the NMR signals of all rigid macromolecules in cartilage can be suppressed, allowing the exclusive detection of the highly mobile chondroitin sulfate. The technique is also used to detect the chondroitin sulfate in artificial tissue-engineered cartilage. The tissue-engineered material that is based on matrix producing chondrocytes cultured in a collagen gel should provide properties as close as possible to those of the natural cartilage. Nuclear relaxation times of the chondroitin sulfate were determined for both tissues. Although T(1) relaxation times are rather similar, the T(2) relaxation in tissue-engineered cartilage is significantly shorter. This suggests that the motions of chondroitin sulfate in data:rat and artificial cartilage different. The nuclear relaxation times of chondroitin sulfate in natural and tissue-engineered cartilage were modeled using a broad distribution function for the motional correlation times. Although the description of the microscopic molecular dynamics of the chondroitin sulfate in natural and artificial cartilage required the identical broad distribution functions for the correlation times of motion, significant differences in the correlation times of motion that are extracted from the model indicate that the artificial tissue does not fully meet the standards of the natural ideal. This could also be confirmed by macroscopic biomechanical elasticity measurements. Nevertheless, these results suggest that NMR is a useful tool for the investigation of the quality of artificially engineered tissue. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 93: 520-532, 2010.

The role of HBF(4) in electro-catalysis: Arsenic contamination and anion adsorption

We present in this work a comprehensive investigation of the role played by dissolved tetrafluoroboric acid on the electrochemical response of a polycrystalline platinum electrode in acidic media. HBF(4) from two different suppliers was employed and characterized in terms of the amount of arsenic contamination by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy. The effect of different amounts of HBF(4) on the voltammetric profile of the Pt vertical bar HClO(4)(aq) interface was investigated by means of electrochemical quartz crystal nanobalance (EQCN). Despite the comparable cyclic voltammograms, the presence of arsenic in one of the two HBF(4) used resulted in dramatic variations in the mass change profile, which evidences the deposition/dissolution of arsenic prior to the surface oxidation. For the arsenic-free HBF(4), its effect on the mass change profile was mainly associated to anion adsorption. The impact of dissolved HBF(4) on the electro-oxidation of formic acid was rationalized in terms of two contributions: current enhancement at low potentials due to the arsenic-assisted formic acid electro-oxidation and inhibition at high potentials due to anion adsorption. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The determinants of internationalstudent mobility : An empirical study on U.S. Data

The increase in foreign students in countries such as the US, the UK and Francesuggests that the international ‘education industry’ is growing in importance. Thepurpose of this paper is to investigate the empirical determinants of internationalstudent mobility. A secondary purpose is to give tentative policy suggestions to hostcountry, source country and also to provide some recommendations to students whowant to study abroad. Using pooled cross-sectional time series data for the US overthe time period 1993-2006, we estimate an econometric model of enrolment rates offoreign students in the US. Our results suggest that tuition fees, US federal support ofeducation, and the size of the ‘young’ generation of source countries have asignificant influence on international student mobility. We also consider other factorsthat may be relevant in this context.

Current account and capital mobility hypothesis: Evidence from the G-7

This paper investigates an intertemporal optimization model in order to analyze the current account of the G-7 countries, measured as the present value of the future changes in net output. The study compares observed and forecasted series, generated by the model, using Campbell & Shiller’s (1987) methodology. In the estimation process, the countries are considered separately (with OLS technique) as well as jointly (SURE approach), to capture contemporaneous correlations of the shocks in net output. The paper also proposes a note on Granger causality and its implications to the optimal current account. The empirical results are sensitive to the technique adopted in the estimation process and suggest a rejection of the model in the G-7 countries, except for the USA and Japan, according to some papers presented in the literature.

Mobilidades Urbanas - Skating over thin ice: Mobility pioneers and the risk society

Em uma conjuntura de expansão urbana, intensificação do consumo, mudança climática e escassez de petróleo, o tema das mobilidades assume inquestionável importância econômica, social e ambiental. O seminário internacional "Mobilidades Urbanas: Alicerces para Pesquisas Transnacionais" volta-se, por um lado, para a fomentação do debate em torno do paradigma das novas mobilidades - envolvendo mobilidade espacial e socioeconômica, entre outras - e de sua aplicabilidade no contexto brasileiro; por outro, para a capacitação de pesquisadores cujas investigações tematizam os processos de mobilidade social e espacial a partir de perspectivas comparativas e transnacionais.

Mobility, targeting and private school vouchers

This paper uses general equilibrium simulations to explore the role ofresidential mobility in shaping the impact of different types of private school voucher policies. In particular, general vouchers available to all residents in the state are compared to vouchers specifically targeted to either underprivileged school districts or underprivileged households. The simulations are derived from a three-community mo deI of low, middle and high income school districts (calibrated to New York data), where each school district is composed of multiple types of neighborhoods that may vary in house quality as well as the leveI of neighborhood extemalities. Households that differ in both their income and in the ability leveI of their children choose between school districts, between neighborhoods within their school district, and between the local public school or a menu of private school altematives.Local public school quality within a district is endogenously determined bya combination of the average peer quality of public school attending children as well as local property and state income tax supported spending. Financial support (above a required state minimum) is set by local majority rule. Finally, there exists the potential for a private school market composed of competitive schools that face production technologies similar to those ofpublic schools but who set tuition and admissions policies to maximize profits. In tbis model, it is demonstrated that school district targeted vouchers are similar in their impact to non-targeted vouchers but vastIy different from vouchers targeted to low income households. Furthermore, strong migration effects are shown to significantly improve the likely equity consequences of voucher programs.

Do borrowing constraints decrease intergenerational mobility? evidence from Brazil

In this paper, we find evidence that suggests that borrowing constraints may be an important determinant of intergenerational mobility in Brazil. This result contrasts sharply with studies for developed countries, such as Canada and the US, where credit constraints do not seem to play an important role in generating persistence of inequality. Moreover, we find that the social mobility is lower in Brazil in comparison with developed countries. We follow the methodology proposed by Grawe (2001), which uses quantile regression, and obtain two results. First, the degree of intergenerational persistence is greater for the upper quantiles. Second, the degree of intergenerational persistence declines with income at least for the upper quantiles. Both findings are compatible with the presence of borrowing constraints affecting the degree of intergenerational persistence, as predicted by the theory.

Mobility, information, and bequest : the other side of the equal division puzzle

There is substantial empirical evidence that parental bequests to their children are typically equal in the US – a regularity inconsistent with the predictions of standard optimizing bequest models. The prior explanation for this puzzle is parents’ desire to signal equal affection given children’s incomplete information of parental preferences. However, parents also have incomplete information regarding children and the implications of this side of the information set have not previously been considered. Using a strategic bequest framework we show that when parents have sufficient uncertainty regarding children’s returns to relocation a separating equilibrium in which parents reward attentive heirs with larger bequests is precluded. We argue that such uncertainty is consistent with conditions in the contemporary US.