Building with Scottish Stone.

Building with Scottish Stone aims to encourage more use of stone sourced from Scotland’s working quarries and to provide a better understanding of those mineralogical properties which give each stone its distinctive quality. The nation’s architectural history is synonymous with the use of natural stone, and the principles of construction developed over generations in response to Scotland’s particular climatic conditions still find relevance today in the design and detailing of new buildings. Equally, an understanding of the ways in which stone is extracted and processed is as fundamental to its contemporary use as having up-to-date knowledge of the continuously changing legislation that affects its specification and procurement. Building with Scottish Stone is a stimulating introduction to these and many other factors to be considered when using this richly-varied and timeless resource in the design of new buildings.

LISA SERGIO: HOW MUSSOLINI'S "GOLDEN VOICE" OF PROPAGANDA CREATED AN AMERICAN MASS COMMUNICATION CAREER

In 1937 Lisa Sergio, "The Golden Voice" of fascist broadcasting from Rome, fled Italy for the United States. Though her mother was American, Sergio was classified as an enemy alien once the United States entered World War II. Yet Sergio became a U.S. citizen in 1944 and built a successful career in radio, working first at NBC and then WQXR in New York City in the days when women's voices were not thought to be appropriate for news or "serious" programming. When she was blacklisted as a communist in the early 1950s, Sergio compensated for the loss of radio employment by becoming principally an author and lecturer in Washington, D.C., until her death in 1989. This dissertation, based on her personal papers, is the first study of Sergio's American mass communication career. It points out the personal, political and social obstacles she faced as a woman in her 52-year career as a commentator on varied aspects of world affairs, religion and feminism. This study includes an examination of the FBI investigations of Sergio and the anti-communist campaigns conducted against her. It concludes that Sergio's success as a public communicator was predicated on both her unusual talents and her ability to transform her public image to reflect ideal American values of womanhood in shifting political climates.

Should governments use a declining discount rate in project analysis?

At a workshop held at Resources for the Future in September 2011, twelve of the authors were asked by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide advice on the principles to be used in discounting the benefits and costs of projects that affect future generations. Maureen L. Cropper chaired the workshop. Much of the discussion in this article is based on the authors' recommendations and advice presented at the workshop. © The Author 2014.

Online and Traditional Lectures: Evaluating Effects of Social Presence and Learner Control

Online courses are rapidly replacing traditional, face-to-face lectures in American universities (Allen & Seaman, 2011). As technology improves, this trend will likely continue and accelerate. Researchers must evaluate the impact of online courses compared to their traditional counterparts. This two-part study quantifies the effect of two variables – social presence and learner control – on students’ recall, application and perceived learning levels in different lecture formats. Students in introductory courses at a four-year, public, American university were randomly assigned into three groups to view distinct lecture formats, one in a traditional classroom and two via the Internet. Upon viewing the single lecture, the students were asked to fill out a test and survey to quantify teacher immediacy, recall and application, and perceived learning levels across lecture formats. The study found that different levels of social presence and learner control affected students’ perceived learning levels but did not impact recall or application.

Predictive immunomonitoring-The COST ENTIRE initiative

SCOPUS: ed.j

Survival of Swiss-Webster mouse cerebellar granule neurons is promoted by a combination of potassium channel blockers

Cultured cerebellar granule neurons (CGN) are commonly used to assess neurotoxicity, but are routinely maintained in supraphysiological (25 mM) extracellular K⁺ concentrations [K⁺]_o. We investigated the effect of potassium channel blockade on survival of CGN derived from Swiss-Webster mice in supraphysiological (25 mM) and physiological (5.6 mM) [K⁺]_o. CGN were cultured for 5 days in 25 mM K⁺, then in 5.6 mM K⁺ or 25 mM K⁺ (control). Viability, assayed 24 h later by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction and by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, was ∼50% in 5.6 mM K⁺ versus 25 mM K⁺ (p < .001). Potassium channel blockers, 2 mM 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), 2 mM tetraethylammonium (TEA) or 1 mM Ba²⁺, individually afforded limited protection in 5.6 mM K⁺. However, survival in 5.6 mM K⁺ with a combination of 4-AP, TEA and Ba²⁺ was similar to survival in 25 mM K⁺ without blockers (p < .001 versus 5.6 mM K⁺ alone). CGN survival in 25 mM K⁺ was attenuated 25% by 2 μM nifedipine (p > .001), but nifedipine did not attenuate neuroprotection by K⁺ channel blockers. Together, these results suggest that the survival of CGN depends on the K⁺ permeability of the membrane rather than the activity of a particular type of K⁺ channel, and that the mechanism of neuroprotection by K⁺ channel blockers is different from that of elevated [K⁺]_o.