The term "identity politics" was coined by the Combahee River Collective in 1978. Today, the concept is under attack from all sides—even among critical theorists. Despite this, the United States just ...witnessed the largest political protests in its history, organized around Black identity. It is important to return to the Combahee River Collective Statement, in conversation with Stuart Hall's The Fateful Triangle: Race, Ethnicity, Nation, to explore a concept of identity politics that recognizes the power of identities while remaining open to how notions of identity change in response to shifting relations of power and politics.
We identified and characterized the largest (536) RR Lyrae (RRL) sample in a Milky Way dSph satellite (Sculptor) based on optical photometry data collected over ∼24 years. The RRLs display a spread ...in V-magnitude (∼0.35 mag) which appears larger than photometric errors and the horizontal branch (HB) luminosity evolution of a mono-metallic population. Using several calibrations of two different reddening free and metal independent period–Wesenheit relations we provide a new distance estimate μ = 19.62 mag (σμ = 0.04 mag) that agrees well with literature estimates. We constrained the metallicity distribution of the old population, using the M
I period–luminosity relation, and we found that it ranges from −2.3 to −1.5 dex. The current estimate is narrower than suggested by low and intermediate spectroscopy of RGBs (Δ Fe/H≤ 1.5). We also investigated the HB morphology as a function of the galactocentric distance. The HB in the innermost regions is dominated by red HB stars and by RRLs, consistent with a more metal-rich population, while in the outermost regions it is dominated by blue HB stars and RRLs typical of a metal-poor population. Our results suggest that fast chemical evolution occurred in Sculptor, and that the radial gradients were in place at an early epoch.
Arctic regions are known to be places where climate shift yields the most visible consequences. In this context, glaciers and their environment are highly subject to global warming effects. New ...dynamics are observed and the behaviour of arctic systems (such as glaciers, moraines, beaches, etc.) changes at rates visible over yearly observations. According to recent works on climate change impacts on the cryosphere, short/violent events are recently observed and are one characteristic of these changes. As a consequence, an accelerating rate of glacial and pro-glacial activity is observed, especially at the end of each hydrological season (early fall). As an example, many phases of streamflow increase/decrease are observed, transforming glacier outflows, moraine morphology, and re-organizing intra-moraine processes. Within only a few days, the morphology of some parts of the moraine can be completely changed. In order to observe and quantify these processes, reactive methods of survey are needed. That is why the use of commercial off the shelf - DJI Phantom3 Professional - unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for aerial photography acquisition combined with structure from motion analysis and digital elevation model computation were chosen. The robust architecture of this platform makes it well suited as a reliable picture acquisition system for high resolution (sub-decimetre) imaging. These increasingly popular methods, at a convergence of technologies including inertial guidance systems, long lasting batteries, and available computational power (both embedded and for image processing), allow to fly and to acquire data whatever the conditions of cloud cover. Furthermore, data acquisition is much more flexible than traditional satellite imagery: several flights can be performed in order to obtain the best conditions/acquisitions at a high spatiotemporal resolution. Moreover, the low-flying UAV yielding high picture resolution allows to generate high-resolution digital elevation models, and therefore, to measure accurately dynamics on the field with decimetre resolution in all three directions. Our objective is to show an experimental campaign of small UAV data acquisition in an arctic basin (Austre Lovén glacier, Svalbard, 78°N) separated by a few days. Knowing the changing conditions at this period, similar UAV flights have been reiterated in order to catch moraine dynamics. This allowed us to select two sets of images whose processing highlights and quantifies morphological changes into the moraine while a rain event occurred between two cold periods.
There are three sorts of issues associated with genetic engineering and, by implication, with xenotransplantation. These are dangers associated with the technology, animal welfare issues, and the ...claim that genetic engineering represents a technology that humans should not embark upon. Using the hearts of pigs for humans in need of transplants has been a major issue in xenotransplantation. There are dangers associated with such use, such as immunological rejection of the organ, endogenous viruses infecting the recipients, and issues of privacy. In addition, the issue of fair distribution of organs arises. Animal welfare issues also arise, most notably the living conditions of the donor animals, issues notably present in confinement agriculture. A major issue emerges from animals’ being kept under conditions that fail to meet the needs dictated by the animals’ biological and psychological natures. Xenotransplantation animals will be kept under deprived laboratory conditions that similarly fail to meet the animals’ natures. This is a significant concern for society in general. There are also issues of “bad ethics” arising from scientists’ disavowal of ethical concerns in science. This in turn, coupled with societal ignorance of science, creates a climate for proliferation of religious and other non-rational concerns, such as the claim that xenotransplantation violates God’s will. These spurious concerns can only be ameliorated when public understanding of science improves, and scientific understanding of ethics increases.
Protected areas (PAs) are key elements for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. Brazil has the largest PA system in the world, covering approximately 220 million ha. This system expanded ...rapidly in the mid‐1990s to the mid‐2000s. Recent events in Brazil, however, have led to an increase in PA downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD). Does this reflect a shift in the country's PA policy? We analyzed the occurrence, frequency, magnitude, type, spatial distribution, and causes of changes in PA boundaries and categories in Brazil. We identified 93 PADDD events from 1981 to 2012. Such events increased in frequency since 2008 and were ascribed primarily to generation and transmission of electricity in Amazonia. In Brazilian parks and reserves, 7.3 million ha were affected by PADDD events, and of these, 5.2 million ha were affected by downsizing or degazetting. Moreover, projects being considered by the Federal Congress may degazette 2.1 million ha of PA in Amazonia alone. Relaxing the protection status of existing PAs is proving to be politically easy in Brazil, and the recent increase in frequency and extension of PADDD reflects a change in governmental policy. By taking advantage of chronic deficiencies in financial and personnel resources and surveillance, disputes over land tenure, and the slowness of the Brazilian justice, government agencies have been implementing PADDD without consultation of civil society. If parks and reserves are to maintain their integrity, there will need to be investments in Brazilian PAs and a better understanding of the benefits PAs provide. Degradación, Reajuste, Eliminacióm de las Listas y Reclasificación de Áreas Protegidas en Brasil
Artificial nest boxes for solitary bees and other cavity-nesting Hymenoptera are increasingly used for a variety of purposes, including ecological research, crop pollination support and public ...outreach. Their attractivity and colonization success by cavity-nesting solitary bees depend on their design and placement, including hole dimensions, orientation and the neighboring habitats and available resources. While most bee nest boxes are made of wooden materials, we assessed here the suitability of perennial, concrete nest boxes for cavity-nesting bees. We carried out a three-year nesting survey of 52 custom-made nest boxes located in 11 different sites throughout France and totaling 2912 available holes of 6, 8, 10 or 12 mm in diameter. Concrete nest boxes successfully attracted reproductive females of solitary bee species and supported successful larval development until the emergence of new individuals. Preferred cavities were the smallest ones (6-8 mm), located at the lowest tested positions above ground (31-47 cm) and oriented southward. Local bee populations established in nest boxes steadily increased throughout the three successive seasons in nearly all study sites. The cavity-nesting bee communities were mostly composed of rather common and generalist species, but also comprised a foraging specialist. Additionally, two cleptoparasitic bee species were detected. All species belonged to the Megachilidae. We further discuss the effects of neighboring urban and natural habitats as potential source or sink of nesting bees, as well as opportunities of concrete nest boxes as tools for urban agriculture and more generally for the new biomimetic urban designs to restore local ecosystem services in cities.
Among ‘empirical’ methods of estimating oxygen abundances in extragalactic H ii regions, the use of the ratio of nebular lines of O iii and N ii, first introduced by Alloin et al., is reappraised ...with modern calibration data and shown to have certain advantages over R23≡ (O ii+O iii)/Hβ and N2 ≡N iiλ6583/Hα, particularly when applied to star-forming galaxies at high redshifts.
Euthanasia is a double-edged sword in veterinary medicine. It is a powerful and ultimately the most powerful tool for ending the pain and suffering. Demand for its use for client convenience is ...morally reprehensible and creates major moral stress for ethically conscious practitioners. But equally reprehensible and stressful to veterinarians is the failure to use it when an animal faces only misery, pain, distress, and suffering. Finding the correct path through this minefield may well be the most important ethical task facing the conscientious veterinarian.
The first people of African descent to live in what is now South Carolina, enslaved people living in the sixteenth century Spanish settlements of San Miguel de Gualdape and Santa Elena, arrived even ...before the first permanent English settlement was established in 1670. For more than 350 years South Carolina's African American population has had a significant influence on the state's cultural, economic, and political development. 101 African Americans Who Shaped South Carolina depicts the long presence and profound influence people of African descent have had on the Palmetto State. Each entry offers a brief description of an individual with ties to South Carolina who played a significant role in the history of the state, nation, and, in some cases, world. Drawing upon the landmark text The South Carolina Encyclopedia, edited by Walter Edgar, the combined entries offer a concise and approachable history of the state and the African Americans who have shaped it. A foreword is provided by Walter Edgar, Neuffer Professor of Southern Studies Emeritus and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at the University of South Carolina.
The incorporation of aluminum in magnesium silicate hydrate (M-S-H) phases was investigated. Magnesium (alumino) silicate hydrate (M-(A-)S-H) with Mg/Si ratios equal to 1.1 or 1.7 and Al/Si ranging ...from 0 to 0.2 were synthetized in batch experiments and equilibrated at 20, 50 and 70 °C. pH values between 9 and 10.5 were observed and aluminum up to Al/Si ~0.15–0.18 was incorporated in M-(A-)S-H. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), 29Si and 27Al MAS NMR data showed that the M-(A-)S-H phases formed were similar to M-S-H with limited coherent size and a comparable polymerization degree of the tetrahedral silicates. Aluminum was incorporated in both tetrahedral and octahedral sites of M-S-H, while no aluminum was present as exchangeable cation on the surface sites.
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