Optical assessment of impact and recovery of sedimentary pH profiles in ocean acidification and carbon capture and storage research

Available methods for measuring the impact of ocean acidification (OA) and leakage from carbon capture and storage (CCS) on marine sedimentary pH profiles are unsuitable for replicated experimental setups. To overcome this issue, a novel optical sensor application is presented, using off-the-shelf optode technology (MOPP). The application is validated using microprofiling, during a CCS leakage experiment, where the impact and recovery from a high CO2 plume was investigated in two types of natural marine sediment. MOPP offered user-friendliness, speed of data acquisition, robustness to sediment type, and large sediment depth range. This ensemble of characteristics overcomes many of the challenges found with other pH measuring methods, in OA and CCS research. The impact varied greatly between sediment types, depending on baseline pH variability and sediment permeability. Sedimentary pH profile recovery was quick, with profiles close to control conditions 24 h after the cessation of the leak. However, variability of pH within the finer sediment was still apparent 4 days into the recovery phase. Habitat characteristics need therefore to be considered, to truly disentangle high CO2 perturbation impacts on benthic systems. Impacts on natural communities depend not only on the pH gradient caused by perturbation, but also on other processes that outlive the perturbation, adding complexity to recovery.

4. Nomenclature and syntaxonomy of castellano-cantabrian Thymus mastigophorus communities

Rivas Goday, Borja & Izco (Anales Inst. Bot. Cavanilles 26: 153 et seq. including table 2; 1970) described a Thymus mastigophorus association found on the «páramos» of Masa and La Brújula in the province of Burgos, Spain.

Descriptions and validation of the names of some high-rank syntaxa in the European Asplenietea trichomanis and Polypodietea

The paper presents the description of one new order (Asplenietalia septentrionalo-cuneifolii) and two new alliances (Arenarion bertolonii and Physoplexido comosae- Saxifragion petraeae). In addition, the syntaxon Asplenietalia lanceolato-obovati is here formally raised to the order level and the name Hypno-Polypodietalia vulgaris is validated.

Validations and descriptions of European syntaxa of vegetation dominated by lichens, bryophytes and algae

Fourty-two high-rank syntaxa and seven associations of the thallophyte system of syntaxa are either described as new or validated in this paper. Among those, there are the following nine classes: Aspicilietea candidae, Caulerpetea racemosae, Desmococcetea olivacei, Entophysalidetea deustae, Gloeocapsetea sanguineae, Mesotaenietea berggrenii, Naviculetea gregariae, Porpidietea zeoroidis, Roccelletea phycopsis. Eleven orders and ten alliances as well as three associations are described or validated: the Aspicilietalia verruculosae (incl. Aspicilion mashiginensis and Teloschistion contortuplicati), the Caulerpetalia racemosae (incl. Caulerpion racemosae), the Desmococcetalia olivacei (incl. Desmococcion olivacei), the Dirinetalia massiliensis, the Fucetalia vesiculosi (incl. Ascophyllion nodosi), the Gloeocapsetalia sanguineae, the Lecideetalia confluescentis (incl. Lecideion confluescentis), the Mesotaenietalia berggrenii (incl. Mesotaenion berggrenii, Mesotaenietum berggrenii and Chloromonadetum nivalis), the Naviculetalia gregariae (incl. Oscillatorion limosae and Oscillatorietum limosae), the Porpidietalia zeoroidis (incl. Porpidion zeoroidis), and the Roccelletalia fuciformis (incl. Paralecanographion grumulosae). Further, five orders, seven alliances and four associations, classified in known classes, were described as well. These include: the Bacidinetalia phacodis, the Agonimion octosporae and the Dendrographetalia decolorantis (all in the Arthonio radiatae-Lecidelletea elaeochromae), the Staurothelion solventis (in the Aspicilietea lacustris), the Pediastro duplicis-Scenedesmion quadricaudae and the Pediastro duplicis-Scenedesmetum quadricaudae (both in the Asterionelletea formosae), the Peccanion coralloidis and the Peltuletalia euplocae (both in the Collematetea cristati), the Laminarion hyperboreae, the Saccorhizo polyschidi-Laminarietum and the Alario esculenti-Himanthalietum elongatae (all in the Cystoseiretea crinitae), the Delesserietalia sanguinei, the Delesserion sanguinei and the Delesserietum sanguineae (all in the Lithophylletea soluti), as well as the the Rinodino confragosae-Rusavskietalia elegantis and the Rhizocarpo geographici-Rusavskion elegantis (both in the Rhizocarpetea geographici).

Test stimulus characteristics determine the perceived speed of the dynamic motion aftereffect

Using a speed-matching task, we measured the speed tuning of the dynamic motion aftereVect (MAE). The results of our Wrst experiment, in which we co-varied dot speed in the adaptation and test stimuli, revealed a speed tuning function. We sought to tease apart what contribution, if any, the test stimulus makes towards the observed speed tuning. This was examined by independently manipulating dot speed in the adaptation and test stimuli, and measuring the eVect this had on the perceived speed of the dynamic MAE. The results revealed that the speed tuning of the dynamic MAE is determined, not by the speed of the adaptation stimulus, but by the local motion characteristics of the dynamic test stimulus. The role of the test stimulus in determining the perceived speed of the dynamic MAE was conWrmed by showing that, if one uses a test stimulus containing two sources of local speed information, observers report seeing a transparent MAE; this is despite the fact that adaptation is induced using a single-speed stimulus. Thus while the adaptation stimulus necessarily determines perceived direction of the dynamic MAE, its perceived speed is determined by the test stimulus. This dissociation of speed and direction supports the notion that the processing of these two visual attributes may be partially independent.

Reception and schooling of children in schools in Catalonia: Beyond Educational Welcome Facilities

The ways of incorporating newcoming students into schools and colleges have been at the center of debate in most OECD countries in recent years. In Spain, the set of measures developed for the reception of immigrant pupils in different Autonomous Communities has also been the subject of specific research, pointing out the similarities and contradictions between pedagogic discourses and school practices. This article takes into account these considerations and presents the reflections from the results of research on the Educational Welcome Facilities (and specifically the EBE) conducted during the school years 2008-2010. This device was created in Catalonia to attend newcomers before enrolling them in the school. It was a pilot project which took place in Vic and Reus for two consecutive years. The research of the EBE has enabled us to explain the relationship between educational assessment that schools made about this facility and reception processes that schools were implementing. The conclusions that emerge from this analysis allowed us to establish relationships between educational host practices of the seven centers analyzed with three different conceptual and educational frameworks of reception.

How teachers of Geography and History of Secondary Education assess?

The purpose of this article is to analyse the assessment procedures and instruments used by teachers of Geography and History of Compulsory Secondary School (ESO) in the Region of Murcia (Spain). The data have been extracted implementing a survey technique proceeded by a descriptive analysis. The results show that teachers generally have a traditional conception of assessment, reflected in the fact that they think that assessment should not change when teaching strategies are changed or when they innovate. On the other hand, although they consider that is necessary to employ a variety of instruments to assess well and to prevent school failure, they still use exams as the most objective and essential instrument in the assessment, while they don’t apply continuous assessment, only tests in a continuous way. The implementation of similar research in other areas or in other subjects shows the existence of contrasts in teacher assessment practices.

The design and performance of a 2.5-GHz telecommand link for wireless biomedical monitoring

This paper details the implementation and operational performance of a minimum-power 2.45-GHz pulse receiver and a companion on-off keyed transmitter for use in a semi-active duplex RF biomedical transponder. A 50-Ohm microstrip stub-matched zero-bias diode detector forms the heart of a body-worn receiver that has a CMOS baseband amplifier consuming 20 microamps from +3 V and achieves a tangential sensitivity of -53 dBm. The base transmitter generates 0.5 W of peak RF output power into 50 Ohms. Both linear and right-hand circularly polarized Tx-Rx antenna sets were employed in system reliability trials carried out in a hospital Coronary Care Unit, For transmitting antenna heights between 0.3 and 2.2 m above floor level, transponder interrogations were 95% reliable within the 67-m-sq area of the ward, falling to an average of 46 % in the surrounding rooms and corridors. Overall, the circular antenna set gave the higher reliability and lower propagation power decay index.

Multiple superoxide dismutase 1/splicing factor serine alanine 15 variants are associated with the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy:the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications Genetics study

Despite familial clustering of nephropathy and retinopathy severity in type 1 diabetes, few gene variants have been consistently associated with these outcomes.

Low power field programmable gate array implementation of fast digital signal processing algorithms: characterisation and manipulation of data locality

Dynamic power consumption is very dependent on interconnect, so clever mapping of digital signal processing algorithms to parallelised realisations with data locality is vital. This is a particular problem for fast algorithm implementations where typically, designers will have sacrificed circuit structure for efficiency in software implementation. This study outlines an approach for reducing the dynamic power consumption of a class of fast algorithms by minimising the index space separation; this allows the generation of field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementations with reduced power consumption. It is shown how a 50% reduction in relative index space separation results in a measured power gain of 36 and 37% over a Cooley-Tukey Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)-based solution for both actual power measurements for a Xilinx Virtex-II FPGA implementation and circuit measurements for a Xilinx Virtex-5 implementation. The authors show the generality of the approach by applying it to a number of other fast algorithms namely the discrete cosine, the discrete Hartley and the Walsh-Hadamard transforms.

Kinetic and thermodynamics of chromium ions adsorption onto low-cost dolomite adsorbent

The chromium bearing wastewater in this study was used to simulate the low concentration discharge from a major aerospace manufacturing facility in the UK. Removal of chromium ions from aqueous solutions using raw dolomite was achieved using batch adsorption experiments. The effect of; initial Cr(VI) concentration, amount of adsorbent, solution temperature, dolomite particle size and shaking speed was studied. Maximum chromium removal was found at pH 2.0. A kinetic study yielded an optimum equilibrium time of 96 h with an adsorbent dose of 1 g/L Sorption studies were conducted over a concentration range of 5-50 mg/L Cr(VI) removal decreased with an increase in temperature (q(max): 20 degrees C = 10.01 mg/g; 30 degrees C = 8.385 mg/g; 40 degrees C = 6.654 mg/g; and 60 degrees C = 5.669 mg/g). Results suggest that the equilibrium adsorption was described by the Freundlich model. The kinetic processes of Cr(VI) adsorption onto dolomite were described in order to provide a more clear interpretation of the adsorption rate and uptake mechanism. The overall kinetic data was acceptably explained by a pseudo first-order rate model. Evaluated Delta G degrees and Delta H degrees specify the spontaneous and exothermic nature of the reaction. The adsorption takes place with a decrease in entropy (Delta S degrees is negative). (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diffraction-limited performance and focusing of high harmonics from relativistic plasmas

When a pulse of light reflects from a mirror that is travelling close to the speed of light, Einstein's theory of relativity predicts that it will be up-shifted to a substantially higher frequency and compressed to a much shorter duration. This scenario is realized by the relativistically oscillating plasma surface generated by an ultraintense laser focused onto a solid target. Until now, it has been unclear whether the conditions necessary to exploit such phenomena can survive such an extreme interaction with increasing laser intensity. Here, we provide the first quantitative evidence to suggest that they can. We show that the occurrence of surface smoothing on the scale of the wavelength of the generated harmonics, and plasma denting of the irradiated surface, enables the production of high-quality X-ray beams focused down to the diffraction limit. These results improve the outlook for generating extreme X-ray fields, which could in principle extend to the Schwinger limit.

Is everybody happy? The politics and measurement of national wellbeing

This article explores the political and intellectual influences behind the growth of interest in happiness and the emergence of the new 'science of happiness'. It offers a critique of the use of subjective wellbeing indicators within indexes of social and economic progress, and argues that the proposed United Kingdom's National Well-being Index is over-reliant on subjective measures. We conclude by arguing that the mainstreaming of happiness indicators reflects and supports the emergence of 'behavioural social policy'.