Keating and Forbes families and reminiscences of C. A. Keating, 1758-1920.

Mode of access: Internet.

A novel aerobic-anoxic biological filter for nitrogen removal from UASB effluent using biogas compounds as electron donors for denitrification

The performance of a new trickling filter (TF) configuration composed of an upper compartment for nitrification and a lower compartment for denitrification of effluent from a UASB reactor treating domestic sewage was evaluated. The TF was packed with new plastic material characterized by its durability and high percentage of void spaces. The feasibility of using the reduced compounds present in the biogas produced by a UASB reactor as electron donor for denitrification was also evaluated. Efficient nitrification and denitrification was achieved for the mean hydraulic (5.6 m(3) m(-2) d(-1)) organic (0.26 kg COD m(-3) d(-1)) and ammonia-N (0.08 kg m(-3) d(-1)) loading rates applied, resulting in ammonia-N removal ranging from 60 to 74%. The final effluent presented ammonia-N lower than 13 mg L(-1). Despite the presence of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the denitrification compartment, its performance was considered quite satisfactory and final nitrate concentrations were lower than 10 mg L(-1). The results indicate that methane was the main electron donor used for denitrification. Additionally, denitrification can probably be improved by avoiding high DO concentration in the denitrification compartment and by enhancing biogas transfer in the anoxic zone.

Application of thermal sums concept to estimate the time to harvest new banana hybrids for export

Application of the thermal sum concept was developed to determine the optimal harvesting stage of new banana hybrids to be grown for export. It was tested on two triploid hybrid bananas, FlhorBan 916 (F916) and FlhorBan 918 (F918), created by CIRAD`s banana breeding programme, using two different approaches. The first approach was used with F916 and involved calculating the base temperature of bunches sampled at two sites at the ripening stage, and then determining the thermal sum at which the stage of maturity would be identical to that of the control Cavendish export banana. The second approach was used to assess the harvest stage of F918 and involved calculating the two thermal parameters directly, but using more plants and a longer period. Using the linear regression model, the estimated thermal parameters were a thermal sum of 680 degree-days (dd) at a base temperature of 17.0 degrees C for cv. F916, and 970 dd at 13.9 degrees C for cv. F918. This easy-to-use method provides quick and reliable calculations of the two thermal parameters required at a specific harvesting stage for a given banana variety in tropical climate conditions. Determining these two values is an essential step for gaining insight into the agronomic features of a new variety and its potential for export. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Book review of Mark McGillivray and Gary Smith's (eds.) "Australia and Asia", Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1997. vii + 248 pp

The political capital invested in Australia's engagement with Asia over the past decade has sparked a lively discussion in the Australian academic community. The back cover of the book under review suggests that there are 'few bigger contemporary issues facing Australia than its relationship with Asia'. If the volume of scholarly material being produced on this issue is any indication, they are right. Like a number of similar works covering the shift in Australian foreign, defence, and trade policies towards Asia over the last decade, this book acknowledges a particular debt of gratitude to the Keating government for establishing regional engagement at the forefront of our national consciousness. Unlike some others however, this book seeks to place Australia's more recent 'discovery' of Asia into a broader historical framework.

The ambivalent practices of reflexivity

Reflexivity involves turning one's reflexive gaze oil discourse-turning language back on itself to see the Work it does in constituting the world. The subject/researcher sees simultaneously the object of her or his gaze and the means by which the object (which may include oneself as subject) is being constituted. The consciousness of self that reflexive writing sometimes entails may be seen to slip inadvertently into constituting the very (real) self that seems to contradict a focus on the constitutive power of discourse. This article explores this site of slippage and of ambivalence. In a collective biography oil the topic of reflexivity, the authors tell and write stories about reflexivity and in a doubled reflexive arc, examine themselves at work during the workshop. Examining their own memories and reflexive practices, they explore this place of slippage and provide theoretical and practical insight into what is going on in reflexive research and writing.

Mutations in the DLG3 gene cause nonsyndromic X-linked mental retardation

We have identified truncating mutations in the human DLG3 ( neuroendocrine dlg) gene in 4 of 329 families with moderate to severe X-linked mental retardation. DLG3 encodes synapse-associated protein 102 (SAP102), a member of the membrane-associated guanylate kinase protein family. Neuronal SAP102 is expressed during early brain development and is localized to the postsynaptic density of excitatory synapses. It is composed of three amino-terminal PDZ domains, an src homology domain, and a carboxyl-terminal guanylate kinase domain. The PDZ domains interact directly with the NR2 subunits of the NMDA glutamate receptor and with other proteins responsible for NMDA receptor localization, immobilization, and signaling. The mutations identified in this study all introduce premature stop codons within or before the third PDZ domain, and it is likely that this impairs the ability of SAP102 to interact with the NMDA receptor and/or other proteins involved in downstream NMDA receptor signaling pathways. NMDA receptors have been implicated in the induction of certain forms of synaptic plasticity, such as long-term potentiation and long-term depression, and these changes in synaptic efficacy have been proposed as neural mechanisms underlying memory and learning. The disruption of NMDA receptor targeting or signaling, as a result of the loss of SAP102, may lead to altered synaptic plasticity and may explain the intellectual impairment observed in individuals with DLG3 mutations.