Assessing spatio-temporal patterns of groundwater salinity in small coral islands in the Western Indian Ocean

We investigated groundwater salinity as a key element in both the short and long-term evolution of the island of Grande Glorieuse. Firstly, we demonstrated that its evolution involved the integration of the whole range of variables forcing climate change. Piezometric surveys designed to sample the salinity of the subsoil waters of Grande Glorieuse could therefore provide an objective indicator of the environment’s evolution. Then, based on information from geoelectrical investigations, we proved that the spatial distribution of salinity is strongly dependent on the geological structure of the island. Structural heterogeneities can influence vulnerability of the island environment to salinization of the freshwater lens. Thus, characterization and monitoring of the freshwater lens will provide a reliable means of observing and managing anticipated climate changes on small islands. [Join J.-L., Banton O., Comte J.-C., Leze J., Massin F., Nicolini E. (2011), Assessing spatio-temporal patterns of groundwater salinity in small coral islands in the Western Indian Ocean, Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 10(1), 1-12]

The Implications of Bach's Introduction of New Fugal Techniques and Procedures in the Well-Tempered Clavier Book Two

Among the fugues of the WTC II, there are some fugal techniques and procedures that were not explored in the first book. Here, the ‘fugal techniques’ include parallel entries (as used in the fugues in D-sharp minor, G minor and B-flat minor) and double counterpoint at the tenth or twelfth as well as fifteenth (as used in the fugues in G minor and B major). The ‘fugal procedures’, on the other hand, refer to meticulously planned multi-exposition architecture (as seen in the fugues in F-sharp minor exploiting two subsidiary subjects, and B-flat minor exploiting inversion and stretto) and a form in which the appearance of the subsidiary subject is gradually predicted in the fugal discourse (viz. C-sharp minor, G-sharp minor and B major). All these new ideas helped Bach to write more dramatic, more profound fugues for WTC II. The paper will consider how Bach came to acquire the new techniques and to use them in such ways, and what motivated him to adopt these new compositional approaches. Do they offer any clues for our better understanding of why Bach compiled the WTC II?

Internet Use and Psychological Well-being among 10-year-old and 11-year-old Children

This paper uses data from the 2009 Kids’ Life and Times Survey, involving 3657 children aged 10 or 11 years old in Northern Ireland. The survey indicated high levels of use of Internet applications, including social-networking sites and online games. Using the KIDSCREEN-27 instrument, the data indicate that the use of social-networking sites and online games is related to poorer psychological well-being among girls, but not boys. Boys and girls who experience “cyberbullying” have poorer psychological well-being. This association between psychological well-being and some Internet applications merits more attention in future research and policy development.

Electric Vehicles - a well to wheel analysis

The European Union has set a target for 10% renewable energy in transport by 2020, which will be met using both biofuels and electric vehicles. In the case of biofuels, for the purposes of meeting the target, the biofuel must achieve greenhouse gas savings of 35% relative to the fossil fuel replaced. For biofuels, greenhouse gas savings can be calculated using life cycle analysis, or the European Union default values. In contrast, all electricity used in transport is considered to be the same, regardless of the source or the type of electric vehicle. However, the choice of the electric vehicle and electricity source will have a major impact on the greenhouse gas savings. This paper examines different electric-vehicle scenarios in terms of greenhouse gas savings, using a well-to-wheel life cycle analysis.

Effects of active on-call hours on physicians' turnover intentions and well-being

Objectives This study examined whether active on-call hours and the co-occurrence of lifestyle risk factors are associated with physicians' turnover intentions and distress.

Happiness and Well-Being of Young Carers: Extent, Nature and Correlates of Caring Among 10 and 11 Year Old School Children

Young carers often take on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. For many of these children and young people, caring has been shown to have a detrimental effect on their lives. For example, caring at a young age appears to be associated with poor health and well-being, bullying and poorer educational outcomes. However, previous research has tended to be retrospective, carried out using small surveys of secondary school-aged children or to use qualitative methods with young people associated with caring projects. In contrast, little is known about the extent and nature of caring undertaken by younger children. This paper reports findings from a random sample survey of 10 and 11 year old children in the final year of their primary school education. 4,192 children completed the Kids’ Life and Times (KLT) online survey in 2011. Twelve percent of respondents to KLT said they helped look after someone in their household who was sick, elderly or disabled. Supporting previous qualitative research, this survey showed that children who were carers had poorer health and well-being, reported less happiness with their lives, were more likely to be bullied at school and had poorer educational aspirations and outcomes than their peers who were not carers. These findings suggest that teachers need to discuss the issue of caring with children in the classroom in a general and supportive way so that young carers feel able to confide in them and seek support if they need it.

Haematite in Lateritic Soils Aids Groundwater Disinfection

Microbiologically contaminated water severely impacts public health in low-income countries, where treated water supplies are often inaccessible to much of the population. Groundwater represents a water source that commonly has better microbiological quality than surface water. A 2-month intensive flow and quality monitoring programme of a spring in a densely settled, unsewered parish of Kampala, Uganda, revealed the persistent presence of high chloride and nitrate concentrations that reflect intense loading of sewage in the spring’s catchment. Conversely, thermotolerant coliform bacteria counts in spring water samples remained very low outside of periods of intense rainfall. Laboratory investigations of mechanisms responsible for this behavior, achieved by injecting a pulse of H40/1 bacteriophage tracer into a column packed with locally derived granular laterite, resulted in near-total tracer adsorption. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed the laterite to consist predominantly of quartz and kaolinite, with minor amounts (<5%) of haematite. Batch studies comparing laterite adsorption capacity with a soil having comparable mineralogy, but with amorphous iron oxide rather than haematite, showed the laterite to have a significantly greater capacity to adsorb bacteriophage. Batch study results using pure haematite confirmed that its occurrence in laterite contributes substantially to micro-organism attenuation observed and serves to protect underlying groundwater.

A specificity-enhanced time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay for zeranol employing the dry reagent all-in-one-well principle

A simple dry chemistry time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TR-FIA) method was developed for the measurement of zeranol in bovine urine samples. The samples were purified by immunoaffinity chromatography and a specificity-enhanced zeranol antibody was employed in the immunoassay. This resulted in a highly selective method, which had only negligible reactivity with Fusarium spp, toxins. The all-in-one-well dry chemistry concept made the assay very simple to use because all the assay-specific reagents were already present in the reaction wells in dry form. Only the addition of diluted sample extract was required to perform the competitive one-step TR-FIA and the results were available in less than 1 h. The analytical limit of detection (mean + 3s) for the immunoassay was 0.16 ng ml(-1) (n=12) and the functional limit of detection for the whole method, estimated by the analysis of zeranol-free samples, was 1.3 ng ml(-1) (n=20). The recovery of zeranol at the level of 2 ng ml(-1) was 99% (n=18) and the within-assay variation ranged between 4.5 and 9.0%.