Optical fiber sensors embedded in flexible polymer foils

In traditional electrical sensing applications, multiplexing and interconnecting the different sensing elements is a major challenge. Recently, many optical alternatives have been investigated including optical fiber sensors of which the sensing elements consist of fiber Bragg gratings. Different sensing points can be integrated in one optical fiber solving the interconnection problem and avoiding any electromagnetical interference (EMI). Many new sensing applications also require flexible or stretchable sensing foils which can be attached to or wrapped around irregularly shaped objects such as robot fingers and car bumpers or which can even be applied in biomedical applications where a sensor is fixed on a human body. The use of these optical sensors however always implies the use of a light-source, detectors and electronic circuitry to be coupled and integrated with these sensors. The coupling of these fibers with these light sources and detectors is a critical packaging problem and as it is well-known the costs for packaging, especially with optoelectronic components and fiber alignment issues are huge. The end goal of this embedded sensor is to create a flexible optical sensor integrated with (opto)electronic modules and control circuitry. To obtain this flexibility, one can embed the optical sensors and the driving optoelectronics in a stretchable polymer host material. In this article different embedding techniques for optical fiber sensors are described and characterized. Initial tests based on standard manufacturing processes such as molding and laser structuring are reported as well as a more advanced embedding technique based on soft lithography processing.

David Hicks and Cathie Holden (eds.) (2007). Teaching The Global Dimension. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 212 pages.

Teaching The Global Dimension (2007) is intended for primary and secondary teachers, pre-service teachers and educators interested in fostering global concerns in the education system. It aims at linking theory and practice and is structured as follows. Part 1, the global dimension, proposes an educational framework for understanding global concerns. Individual chapters in this section deal with some educational responses to global issues and the ways in which young people might become, in Hick’s terms, more “world-minded”. In the first two chapters, Hicks presents first, some educational responses to global issues that have emerged in recent decades, and second, an outline of the evolution of global education as a specific field. As with all the chapters in this book, most of the examples are drawn from the United Kingdom. Young people’s concerns, student teachers’ views and the teaching of controversial issues, comprise the other chapters in this section. Taken collectively, the chapters in Part 2 articulate the conceptual framework for developing, teaching and evaluating a global dimension across the curriculum. Individual chapters in this section, written by a range of authors, explore eight key concepts considered necessary to underpin appropriate learning experiences in the classroom. These are conflict, social justice, values and perceptions, sustainability, interdependence, human rights, diversity and citizenship. These chapters are engaging and well structured. Their common format consists of a succinct introduction, reference to positive action for change, and examples of recent effective classroom practice. Two chapters comprise the final section of this book and suggest different ways in which the global dimension can be achieved in the primary and the secondary classroom.

Reply to the discussion by Karen Johannesson on “Rare earth element geochemistry of scleractinian coral skeleton during meteoric diagenesis: a sequence through neomorphism of aragonite to calcite” by Webb et al., Sedimentology, 56, 1433-1463

Webb et al. (2009) described a late Pleistocenecoral sample wherein the diagenetic stabilization of original coral aragonite to meteoric calcite was halted more or less mid-way through the process, allowing direct comparison of pre-diagenetic and post-diagenetic microstructure and trace element distributions. Those authors found that the rare earth elements (REEs) were relatively stable during meteoric diagenesis, unlike divalent cations such as Sr,and it was thus concluded that original, in this case marine, REE distributions potentially could be preserved through the meteoric carbonate stabilization process that must have affected many, if not most, ancient limestones. Although this was not the case in the analysed sample, they noted that where such diagenesis took place in laterally transported groundwater, trace elements derived from that groundwater could be incorporated into diagenetic calcite, thus altering the initial REE distribution (Banner et al., 1988). Hence, the paper was concerned with the diagenetic behaviour of REEs in a groundwater-dominated karst system. The comment offered by Johannesson (2011) does not question those research results, but rather, seeks to clarify an interpretation made by Webb et al. (2009) of an earlier paper, Johannesson et al. (2006).

Identification of vitronectin as a novel insulin-like growth factor-II binding protein

We have previously reported the presence of a 70 kDa insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II-specific binding protein in chicken serum using Western ligand blotting approaches. In order to ascertain the identity of this 70 kDa IGF-II binding species, the protein has been purified from chicken serum using a combination of ion-exchange and gel-permeation chromatography. Interestingly, amino acid sequencing of the purified protein revealed that it has the same N-terminal sequence as chicken vitronectin (VN). The protein has the ability to specifically bind IGF-II and not IGF-I as determined by ligand blotting, cross-linking and competitive binding assay approaches. In addition, the protein binds 125I-des(l-6)-IGF-II, suggesting that the interaction with IGF-II is different to those with other characterized IGF-binding proteins. Importantly, we have ascertained that both human and bovine VN also specifically bind IGF-II. These results are particularly relevant in the light of the recent report that the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, a protein that also binds VN, has been shown to associate with the cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate/GF-II receptor and suggest a possible role for IGF-II in cell adhesion and invasion.

Mark Webb Survey Exhibition

The exhibiton brought together a diverse group of works using an array of presentational strategies, which critically facilitate a dialogue across the material and conceptual aspects of my practice over 25 years. It focussed on my ongoing explorations into art as a model for research, as a site for intermediary exchange between different discursive forms and as a space to engage the politics of the everyday.

Francis Nicosia Collection.

Two photos of Nicosia.

Benedict-Webb-Rubin equation of state constants for N2O4 ⇄ 2NO2,NO,and O2

Benedict-Webb-Rubin equation of state constants for NO, O2, and the equilibrium mixture N2O4 ⇄ 2NO2 are reported.

Francis Watsonin teologinen hermeneutiikka

Tämän tutkimuksen tehtävänä on selvittää Francis Watsonin käsitys teologisesta hermeneutiikasta. Tutkielmassa käytetään kolmea tarkentavaa tutkimuskysymystä: Miten Watson hahmottaa tieteellisen raamatuntutkimuksen ja Raamatun teologisen tulkinnan suhteen? Miten Watson näkee raamatuntutkimuksessa historiallisen ja kirjallisen lähestymistavan suhteen toisiinsa? Miten Watson suhtautuu postmodernismiin teologisessa hermeneutiikassaan? Tutkimusmetodina on systemaattinen analyysi. Watsonin teologista hermeneutiikkaa ei ole tutkittu suomeksi ennen tätä työtä ja kansainvälistäkin tutkimusta aiheesta on hyvin vähän. Sen vuoksi tutkimuksessa on pyritty käsittelemään Watsonin teologista hermeneutiikkaa mahdollisimman kattavasti, mutta samalla on jouduttu rajaamaan työn ulkopuolelle osa Watsonin käsittelemistä teemoista, kuten Raamatun feministinen kritiikki ja VT:n ja UT:n suhde. Tutkimuksen päälähteinä ovat Watsonin kirjat Text, Church and World ja Text and Truth, joissa hän analysoi modernia historiallis-kriittistä raamatuntutkimusta, postmodernismia ja kirjallista lähestymistapaa Raamattuun. Watson kritisoi niissä näkemiään ongelmia ja kritiikkinsä pohjalta rakentaa omaa teologista hermeneutiikkaansa. Toissijaisina lähteinä tutkimuksessa on useita Watsonin artikkeleja, jotka tuovat lisävalaistusta Watsonin hermeneuttiseen ajatteluun. Päälähteiksi valitut teokset ja toissijaisiksi lähteiksi valitut artikkelit kattavat laajasti Watsonin hermeneutiikkaa käsittelevät kirjoitukset. Johdannon ja loppukatsauksen lisäksi tutkimus on jaettu neljään päälukuun. Tutkielman toisessa luvussa selvitetään Watsonin näkemys tieteellisen raamatuntutkimuksen ja Raamatun teologisen tulkinnan suhteesta ja havaitaan, että Watsonin mukaan raamatuntutkimuksen tulisi palvella teologista tulkintaa. Watson näkee ongelmallisena modernin raamatuntutkimuksen taipumuksen pitää erillään raamatuntutkimus ja -tulkinta ja luoda vastakkainasetteluja yliopiston ja kirkon, eksegetiikan ja systemaattisen teologian sekä neutraalin ja teologisen tulkinnan välille. Kolmannessa luvussa tarkastellaan Watsonin kritiikkiä historiallis-kriittistä tutkimusta kohtaan ja hänen perustelujaan päätökselle käyttää raamatuntulkinnassa ensisijaisesti tekstien lopullista, kanonista muotoa. Watson tukeutuu perusteluissaan Brevard Childsin kanoniseen lukutapaan ja tekstien yhteisölliseen käyttöön. Havaitaan, että Watson kuitenkin kritisoi kanonista lukutapaa sekä formalismista että sen teologisista sidonnaisuuksista. Watson hakee tukea myös Hans Frein narratiivisesta lähestymistavasta, jota Watson samalla kritisoi totuuskysymyksen ohittamisesta. Lopuksi käsitellään Watsonin yritystä liittää tekstin maailma ja sen taustalla oleva sosio-poliittinen todellisuus toisiinsa. Neljännessä luvussa käsitellään Watsonin yritystä yhdistää historiallinen ja kirjallisuustieteellinen lähestymistapa Raamatun teksteihin. Havaitaan, että Watsonin mielestä historiallis-kriittinen tutkimus polkee paikallaan ja siksi tarvitaan kirjallinen lähestymistapa, joka painottaa tekstin lopullista muotoa. Luvussa osoitetaan, ettei Watson kuitenkaan halua korvata puhtaasti historiallista lähestymistapaa puhtaasti kirjallisuustieteellisellä lähestymistavalla, sillä hän näkee ongelmallisena myös narratiivisen kritiikin taipumuksen käsitellä raamatunkertomuksia fiktiivisinä narratiiveina. Watson pyrkii ratkaisemaan ongelman yhdistämällä historiallisen ja kirjallisuustieteellisen lähestymistavan toisiinsa käsittelemällä evankeliumeja kerrottuna historiana. Viidennessä luvussa selvitetään miten Watson suhtautuu postmodernismiin teologisessa hermeneutiikassaan. Siinä havaitaan, että Watson näkee postmodernismin tarjoavan hyödyllisiä näkökulmia useissa hermeneuttisissa kysymyksissä. Samalla Watson vastustaa postmodernismin näkemystä, ettei teksteillä ole yhtä määrättyä merkitystä ja postmodernin teologian taipumusta viedä Raamatun kertomukselta sen universaali merkitys. Luvussa kuitenkin osoitetaan, että Watsonin antama kuva George Lindbeckin ja Stanley Hauerwasin postmodernista teologiasta on yksipuolinen ja osittain virheellinen.

An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between similar to 40,000 and similar to 53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of similar to 19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of similar to 4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965): a Preeminent Fishery Biologist of the Early and Mid Twentieth Century

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965) was a preeminent fishery scientist of the early to mid twentieth century. Educated at Stanford University in California (B.A. 1911, Ph.D. 1930), Thompson conducted pioneering research on the Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis, from 1914 to 1917 for the British Columbia Provincial Fisheries Department. He then directed marine fisheries research for the State of California from 1917 to 1924, was Director of Investigations for the International Fisheries Commission from 1924 to 1939, and Director of the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission from 1937 to 1942. He was also Director of the School of Fisheries, University of Washing-ton, Seattle, from 1930 to 1947. Thompson was the founding director in 1947 of the Fisheries Research Institute at the University of Washington and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1958. He was a dominant figure in fisheries research of the Pacific Northwest and influenced a succession of fishery scientists with his yield-based analysis of fishery stocks, as opposed to studying the fishes’environment. Will Thompson was also a major figure in education, and many of his former students attained leadership positions in fisheries research and administration.

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965) and His Pioneering Studies of the Pacific Halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965), as a temporary employee of the British Columbia Provincial Fisheries Department, was assigned in 1914 to under-take full-time studies of the Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis. The fishery was showing signs of depletion, so Thompson undertook the inquiry into this resource, the first intensive study on the Pacific halibut. Three years later, Thompson, working alone, had provided a basic foundation of knowledge for the subsequent management of this resource. He published seven land-mark papers on this species, and this work marked the first phase of a career in fisheries science that was to last nearly 50 years.

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965) and the Dawn of Marine Fisheries Research in Californ

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965), an early fishery biologist, joined the California Fish and Game Commission in 1917 with a mandate to investigate the marine fisheries of the state. He initiated studies on the albacore tuna, Thunnus alalunga, and the Pacific sardine, Sardinops sagax, as well as studies on other economically important marine organisms. Thompson built up a staff of fishery scientists, many of whom later attained considerable renown in their field, and he helped develop, and then direct, the commission’s first marine fisheries laboratory. During his tenure in California, he developed a personal philosophy of research that he outlined in several publications. Thompson based his approach on the yield-based analysis of the fisheries as opposed to large-scale environmental studies. He left the state agency in 1925 to direct the newly formed International Fisheries Commission (now the International Pacific Halibut Commission). William Thompson became a major figure in fisheries research in the United States, and particularly in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, during the first half of the 20th cent

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965) and His Pioneering Studies of the Pacific Halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965), as a temporary employee of the British Columbia Provincial Fisheries Department, was assigned in 1914 to under-take full-time studies of the Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis. The fishery was showing signs of depletion, so Thompson undertook the inquiry into this resource, the first intensive study on the Pacific halibut. Three years later, Thompson, working alone, had provided a basic foundation of knowledge for the subsequent management of this resource. He published seven land-mark papers on this species, and this work marked the first phase of a career in fisheries science that was to last nearly 50 years.

Poems by Matthew Francis

Matthew, Francis, 'Poems By Matthew Francis', Poetry Wales (2007) 42.4 RAE2008