Judicial Specialization Through Environment Courts: A Case Study of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

This is the text of a speech given at the International Symposium on Environmental Courts and Tribunals, hosted by Pace Law School and the International Judicial Institute for Environmental Adjudication (IJIEA), on April 1, 2011

Testes size, testosterone production and reproductive behaviour in a natural mammalian mating system

1. Testosterone (T) is a key mediator in the expression of numerous morphological and behavioural traits in mammals, but the factors underlying individual variation in circulating T levels are poorly understood. 2. The intimate structural integration of sperm and T production within the testes, alongside the dependency of sperm production on high levels of T, suggests that T requirements for spermatogenesis could be an important driver of individual differences in T. 3. To test this hypothesis, we examine how male capacity for sperm production ( as indicated by their testes size) is associated with T levels in a feral population of Soay sheep, resident on St. Kilda, Scotland, during their rutting season. 4. We found a strong positive relationship between an individual's testes size ( as measured before their seasonal enlargement) and the levels of circulating T during their rut, suggesting that T requirements for spermatogenesis has a prominent influence on the production of this androgen. 5. In contrast, body condition and competitive ability did not independently predict T levels, findings that are inconsistent with conventional 'condition-dependent' and 'challenge' hypotheses of T production. 6. This influence of male's capacity for sperm production on T appeared to be substantial enough to be biologically relevant, as testes size also predicted male aggression and mate-seeking behaviour. 7. Our results suggest that a male's inherent capacity for sperm and T production is tightly phenotypically integrated, with potential consequences for a wide range of other T-mediated reproductive traits

Second-Generation Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer

A report discusses an early phase in the development of the MISR-2 C, a second, improved version of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), which has been in orbit around the Earth aboard NASA's Terra spacecraft since 1999. Like the MISR, the MISR-2 would contain a pushbroom array of nine charge-coupled- device (CCD) cameras one aimed at the nadir and the others aimed at different angles sideways from the nadir. The major improvements embodied in the MISR-2 would be the following: A new folded-reflective-optics design would render the MISR-2 only a third as massive as the MISR. Smaller filters and electronic circuits would enable a reduction in volume to a sixth of that of the MISR. The MISR-2 would generate images in two infrared spectral bands in addition to the blue, green, red, and near-infrared spectral bands of the MISR. Miniature polarization filters would be incorporated to add a polarization-sensing capability. Calibration would be performed nonintrusively by use of a gimbaled tenth camera. The main accomplishment thus far has been the construction of an extremely compact all-reflective-optics CCD camera to demonstrate feasibility

The sperm of aging male bustards retards their offspring's development.

9 pagesInternational audienceUnderstanding whether the sperm of older males has a diminished capacity to produce successful offspring is a key challenge in evolutionary biology. We investigate this issue using 10 years of reproductive data on captive long-lived houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata), where the use of artificial insemination techniques means parents can only influence offspring quality via their gametes. Here we show that paternal aging reduces both the likelihood that eggs hatch and the rate at which chicks grow, with older males producing the lightest offspring after the first month. Surprisingly, this cost of paternal aging on offspring development is of a similar scale to that associated with maternal aging. Fitting with predictions on germline aging, the sperm of immature males produce the fastest growing offspring. Our findings thus indicate that any good genes benefit that might be offered by older 'proven' males will be eroded by aging of their germline DNA

SkyMapper Southern Survey: First Data Release (DR1)

We present the first data release (DR1) of the SkyMapper Southern Survey, a hemispheric survey carried out with the SkyMapper Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. Here, we present the survey strategy, data processing, catalogue construction and database schema. The DR1 dataset includes over 66,000 images from the Shallow Survey component, covering an area of 17,200 deg$^2$ in all six SkyMapper passbands $uvgriz$, while the full area covered by any passband exceeds 20,000 deg$^2$. The catalogues contain over 285 million unique astrophysical objects, complete to roughly 18 mag in all bands. We compare our $griz$ point-source photometry with PanSTARRS1 DR1 and note an RMS scatter of 2%. The internal reproducibility of SkyMapper photometry is on the order of 1%. Astrometric precision is better than 0.2 arcsec based on comparison with Gaia DR1. We describe the end-user database, through which data are presented to the world community, and provide some illustrative science queries.Comment: 31 pages, 19 figures, 10 tables, PASA, accepte

Valence Quark Distribution in A=3 Nuclei

We calculate the quark distribution function for 3He/3H in a relativistic quark model of nuclear structure which adequately reproduces the nucleon approximation, nuclear binding energies, and nuclear sizes for small nuclei. The results show a clear distortion from the quark distribution function for individual nucleons (EMC effect) arising dominantly from a combination of recoil and quark tunneling effects. Antisymmetrization (Pauli) effects are found to be small due to limited spatial overlaps. We compare our predictions with a published parameterization of the nuclear valence quark distributions and find significant agreement.Comment: 18pp., revtex4, 4 fig

The Use of Modified Atmoshere Packaging and Phosphate-Citric Acid dip to Extend the Shelf life of Fresh Catfish, \u3cem\u3eIctalurus punctatus\u3c/em\u3e

Ninety market size catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) 1 - 2 pounds live weight were slaughtered, dipped in one of three solutions (phosphate, phosphate + citric acid, no dip) then packaged in one of three atmospheres (100% CO2, 70% CO2 + 5% O2 + 25% N, Air) and were stored at 1oC or 5oC. The catfish were evaluated for aerobic plate count, anaerobic plate count, lactic acid count, coliform count, pH, oxidation, drip loss, color and odor at 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 days. The 100% CO2 and 70% CO2 atmospheres effectively reduced the rates of microbial growth compared to control samples stored in air. The microbial counts on fish stored at 1oC were 1 log lower than at 5oC. Color and odor scores deteriorated more rapidly for samples stored in air than in the CO2 containing atmospheres. Phosphate or phosphate + citric acid dips were not effective in reducing drip loss or microbial growth. TBA values although quite low for all treatments tended to increase steadily with time of storage

The Settlement of Scottish Immigrants in Nova Scotia, 1770-1830

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Nova Scotia became a major destination for Scottish emigrants, to the extent that Scots made a very significant contribution to the peopling of the province, and the present study investigates the establishment of a distinctive Scottish society in Nova Scotia. Initially, theoretical and methodological considerations pertaining to the general phenomenon of human migration are discussed in terms of several interrelated academic disciplines, and models such as chain migration and cultural pluralism are selected to form the basis of a conceptual framework. Then, in order to supplement the more usual sources with the direct evidence of a wide selection from the immigrant body itself, personal information provided in over 4,000 petitions for land in Nova Scotia is subjected to manipulation by a computer . This aggregation of diverse individual experience is then used throughout to complement other available evidence. The Scottish background is reviewed in terms of environment, economy and society as a necessary preliminary to the detailed consideration of the Scottish colonization of Nova Scotia. Then the general course of the Scottish emigration movement between 1770 and 1830 is described, followed by a review of circumstances in other prominent destination areas. The bulk of this movement comprised members of the peasant society of small landholders in the Highlands and Islands. This society was subjected to Increasing socio-economic pressures during this period, and it is argued that developments such as moor colonisation were often spontaneous attempts to maintain valued social norms on the traditional basis of near universal land occupancy. As this became more difficult, overseas migration offered alternative opportunities, and the strength of this factor is reflected in the prevalence of group migration and settlement fostered by transferred bonds of kinship and locale. A review of the Nova Scotia background in terms of environment, economy and society reveals a combination of circumstances peculiarly favourable to its development as a field for Scottish colonization during this period of substantial emigration, and a detailed discussion of immigration and settlement documents the diversity of Scottish source areas and socio-economic backgrounds, together with evidence of settlement throughout the province. The outstanding feature of the movement, though, was the development of large areas of homogeneous Highland settlement as Highland immigrants enjoyed relatively unrestricted access to the large undeveloped tracts of the northern mainland and Gape Breton Island. Although other groups were represented in this area of concentrated settlement, any significant numbers were concentrated In restricted localities and. did not seriously impinge on the developing network of Highland communities; and essential elements of the society of origin were preserved as the immigrants arranged themselves in accordance with transferred bonds of kinship and locale. This relatively rapid and successful colonization by Highland groups exerted such a powerful attractive influence that Nova Scotia maintained its great popularity as a destination during this period in the face of growing competition from the developing interior up the St. Lawrence. This was to prove a particularly successful and durable transplantation of Highland society. Of fundamental importance were physiographic and economic factors which fostered the development of an economy closely akin to that which had sustained the accustomed social order in the homeland. In the Hew World, then, as In the Old, a peripheral, economically marginal rural area served to promote cultural retention. However, environmental constraints and economic change had far-reaching effects in the new context also, and, in many ways, the Highland Scots who settled in Nova Scotia only postponed the effects of the general forces of socio-economic change which were disrupting their way of life In Scotland