Pacific Horizons: The Transformation of European Perceptions of Paradise, 1880-1900

Since the publication of Bernard Smith’s European Vision in the South Pacific in the 1960s, an immense amount of literature has been produced about how European exploration in the Pacific Ocean affected explorers, national governments, elite classes, and indigenous peoples. However, there is little scholarship about how the interactions between Europeans and Pacific Islanders in the 19th century influenced the perceptions of readers on the continent. This project will fill in this gap by showing how colonial and imperial literature affected European readers’ perception of what constitutes an ideal society between 1880 and 1900. To explore these changes, I will analyze the relationship between the wealth of Pacific travel literature and its European audience at the end of the 19th century

Cytological evidence for gametophytic self-incompatibility in the genus Veronica

The self-incompatibility (SI) of 3 Middle East Veronica species (V. filiformis, V. gentianoides, V. teucrium) is studied, for the first time, by pollination and pollen tube growth experiments. Cytological observations of the self-pollen tubes within the pistils permit a conclusion about the presence of a gametophytic SI system in the first 2 species. The investigated population of the third is self-compatible and confirms the facultative trait of its self-sterility. The presence of a gametophytic SI system in 2 of them suggests the putative conservation of this SI system within the genus Veronica (Plantaginaceae) and could be related to the well-known gametophytic SI system present in the other Plantaginaceae genus, Antirrhinum

A new estimation method for employment trend

In this study, we propose the use a refined version of the Kalman filter to estimate the trend component of employment. In a first step, we retrieve the trend of labor force by applying the Kalman filter to a model where the measurement equation is augmented with several structural variables, which we expect to carry useful information on the cycle, as the retirement laws and the population growth. Then, we put our estimate of trend employment and compute the trend of the employment rate. Our investigation has at least two key implications for future studies: first, the development of a more reliable measure of employment trend could be the base of new empirical investigations on the role of shocks in the jobs creation process (which would be better approximated by a measure of employment rate than by the unemployment rate, as we illustrated above). Second, it will give us a second measure of trends in job market, which could be used to enhance our knowledge on the hysteresis process. Finally, this new trend variable will be helpful to evaluate the robustness of the investigations based on the NAIRU. This is a crucial issue since the NAIRU has been criticized on both theoretical and empirical ground

Early suppression of lymphoproliferative response in dogs with natural infection by Leishmania infantum.

Dogs are the domestic reservoirs of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum. Early detection of canine infections evolving to clinically patent disease may be important to leishmaniasis control. In this study we firstly investigated the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) response to leishmanial antigens and to polyclonal activators concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen, of mixed-breed dogs with natural L. infantum infection, either in presymptomatic or in patent disease condition, compared to healthy animals. Leishmania antigens did not induce a clear proliferative response in any of the animals examined. Furthermore, mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation was found strongly reduced not only in symptomatic, but also in presymptomatic dogs suggesting that the cell-mediated immunity is suppressed in progressive canine leishmaniasis. To test this finding, naive Beagle dogs were exposed to natural L. infantum infection in a highly endemic area of southern Italy. Two to 10 months after exposure all dogs were found to be infected by Leishmania, and on month 2 of exposure they all showed a significant reduction in PBMC activation by mitogens. Our results indicate that suppression of the lymphoproliferative response is a common occurrence in dogs already at the beginning of an established leishmanial infection. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Transport properties of isospin effective mass splitting

We investigate in detail the momentum dependence ($MD$) of the effective in medium Nucleon-Nucleon ($NN$) interaction in the isovector channel. We focus the discussion on transport properties of the expected neutron-proton ($n/p$) effective mass splitting at high isospin density. We look at observable effects from collective flows in Heavy Ion Collisions ($HIC$) of charge asymmetric nuclei at intermediate energies. Using microscopic kinetic equation simulations nucleon transverse and elliptic collective flows in $Au+Au$ collisions are evaluated. In spite of the reduced charge asymmetry of the interacting system interesting $isospin-MD$ effects are revealed. Good observables, particularly sensitive to the $n/p$-mass splitting, appear to be the differences between neutron and proton flows. The importance of more exclusive measurements, with a selection of different bins of the transverse momenta ($p_t$) of the emitted particles, is stressed. In more inclusive data a compensation can be expected from different $p_t$-contributions, due to the microscopic $isospin-MD$ structure of the nuclear mean field in asymmetric matter.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure

Mechanistic species distribution modeling reveals a niche shift during invasion

Niche shifts of nonnative plants can occur when they colonize novel climatic conditions. However, the mechanistic basis for niche shifts during invasion is poorly understood and has rarely been captured within species distribution models. We quantified the consequence of between-population variation in phenology for invasion of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) across Europe. Ragweed is of serious concern because of its harmful effects as a crop weed and because of its impact on public health as a major aeroallergen. We developed a forward mechanistic species distribution model based on responses of ragweed development rates to temperature and photoperiod. The model was parameterized and validated from the literature and by reanalyzing data from a reciprocal common garden experiment in which native and invasive populations were grown within and beyond the current invaded range. It could therefore accommodate between-population variation in the physiological requirements for flowering, and predict the potentially invaded ranges of individual populations. Northern-origin populations that were established outside the generally accepted climate envelope of the species had lower thermal requirements for bud development, suggesting local adaptation of phenology had occurred during the invasion. The model predicts that this will extend the potentially invaded range northward and increase the average suitability across Europe by 90% in the current climate and 20% in the future climate. Therefore, trait variation observed at the population scale can trigger a climatic niche shift at the biogeographic scale. For ragweed, earlier flowering phenology in established northern populations could allow the species to spread beyond its current invasive range, substantially increasing its risk to agriculture and public health. Mechanistic species distribution models offer the possibility to represent niche shifts by varying the traits and niche responses of individual populations. Ignoring such effects could substantially underestimate the extent and impact of invasions

Effects of momentum-dependent symmetry potential on heavy-ion collisions induced by neutron-rich nuclei

Using an isospin- and momentum-dependent transport model we study effects of the momentum-dependent symmetry potential on heavy-ion collisions induced by neutron-rich nuclei. It is found that symmetry potentials with and without the momentum-dependence but corresponding to the same density-dependent symmetry energy $E_{sym}(\rho)$ lead to significantly different predictions on several $E_{sym}(\rho)$-sensitive experimental observables especially for energetic nucleons. The momentum- and density-dependence of the symmetry potential have to be determined simultaneously in order to extract the $E_{sym}(\rho)$ accurately. The isospin asymmetry of midrapidity nucleons at high transverse momenta is particularly sensitive to the momentum-dependence of the symmetry potential. It is thus very useful for investigating accurately the equation of state of dense neutron-rich matter.Comment: The version to appear in Nucl. Phys. A. A paragraph and a figure on neutron and proton effective masses in neutron-rich matter are adde

Isospin Dynamics in Heavy Ion Collisions: EoS-sensitive Observables

Heavy Ion Collisions (HIC) represent a unique tool to probe the in-medium nuclear interaction in regions away from saturation and at high nucleon momenta. In this report we present a selection of reaction observables particularly sensitive to the isovector part of the interaction, i.e. to the symmetry term of the nuclear Equation of State (EoS) At low energies the behavior of the symmetry energy around saturation influences dissipation and fragment production mechanisms. Predictions are shown for deep-inelastic and fragmentation collisions induced by neutron rich projectiles. Differential flow measurements will also shed lights on the controversial neutron/proton effective mass splitting in asymmetric matter. The high density symmetry term can be derived from isospin effects on heavy ion reactions at relativistic energies (few AGeV range), that can even allow a ``direct'' study of the covariant structure of the isovector interaction in the hadron medium. Rather sensitive observables are proposed from collective flows and from pion/kaon production. The possibility of the transition to a mixed hadron-quark phase, at high baryon and isospin density, is finally suggested. Some signatures could come from an expected ``neutron trapping'' effect.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; espcrc1 style; IX Int.Conf. on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions, Rio de Janeiro Aug.2006; to appear in Nucl.Phys.

Late tamoxifen in patients previously operated for breast cancer without postoperative tamoxifen: 5-year results of a single institution randomised study

BACKGROUND: A population of breast cancer patients exists who, for various reasons, never received adjuvant post-operative tamoxifen (TAM). This study was aimed to evaluate the role of late TAM in these patients. METHODS: From 1997 to 2003, patients aged 35 to 75 years, operated more than 2 years previously for monolateral breast cancer without adjuvant TAM, with no signs of metastases and no contraindication to TAM were randomized to TAM 20 mg/day orally for 2 years or follow-up alone. Events were categorized as locoregional relapse, distant metastases, metachronous breast cancer, tumours other than breast cancer and death from any causes, whichever occurred first. The sample size (197 patients per arm, plus 10% allowance) was based on the assumption of a 30% decrease in the number of events occurring at a rate of 5% annually in the 10 years following randomization. Four hundred and thirty-three patients were randomized in the study (TAM 217, follow-up 216). Patients characteristics (TAM/follow-up) included: median age 55/55 years, median time from surgery 25/25 months (range, 25-288/25-294), in situ carcinoma 18/24, oestrogen receptor (ER) positive in 75/68, negative in 70/57, unknown in 72/91 patients. Previous adjuvant treatment included chemotherapy in 131/120 and an LHRH analogue in 11/13 patients. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients prematurely discontinued TAM after a median of 1 month, mostly because of subjective intolerance. Eighty-three events (TAM 39, follow-up 44) occurred: locoregional relapse in 10/8, distant metastases in 14/16, metachronous breast cancer in 4/10, other tumours in 11/10 patients. Less ER-positive secondary breast cancers occurred in the TAM treated patients than in follow-up patients (1 vs 10, p = 0.005). Event-free survival was similar in both groups of patients. CONCLUSIONS: This 5-year analysis revealed significantly less metachronous ER-positive breast cancers in the TAM treated patients. No other statistically significant differences have emerged thus far