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Sir William Jones's Indian botany: visual archive, natural history collections, and worldmaking in the British empire
Get PDFIn 1784, Sir William Jones arrived in India to serve on the Supreme Court in Calcutta, where he developed his long-standing interest in botany. This resulted in a plan for a treatise on Indian plants which remained unfulfilled due to his untimely death in 1794. Examining Jones's botanical endeavours, much less known compared to his literary, linguistic, and judicial overtures, helps us explore his colonial worldmaking. My article addresses this gap in scholarship with a focus on Jones's visual archive, specifically a collection of botanical illustrations by Indian artists whom he never acknowledged in his work. Presently at the Royal Asiatic society in London, these illustrations demonstrate how visuality was central to natural historical investigation and facilitated the extraction of India's vegetal world for the British Empire. Situating Jones as a ‘centre of calculation’, this article highlights the complexities of the relationship between science and society, as entangled with questions of race, power, and political authority. Jones's colonial worldmaking was paralleled by a process of ‘worldlessness’ in the marginalisation of local expertise. This double-movement, in turn, brings into sharper relief the differential premises of colonial knowledge formation, with implications for life and politics in late eighteenth-century India
Stratospheric impacts on weather regimes following the 2018 and 2019 sudden stratospheric Warmings
Get PDFMajor disruptions of the stratospheric polar vortex can improve subseasonal forecast skill for surface climate, as negative North Atlantic Oscillation-like (NAO−) states can follow sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Yet most insights come from observational studies or large operational forecast archives. Here we use Stratospheric Nudging And Predictable Surface Impacts (SNAPSI) project experiments, which applies stratospheric nudging to forecasts of two SSWs (2018 and 2019) followed by differing tropospheric evolutions. We show that SSWs systematically shift the atmosphere toward negative NAO-like regimes (stronger Greenland anticyclone) in both the North Atlantic-European and North American regions. Comparisons among nudged, free, and control runs quantify the benefits of improving and removing SSW representation in diagnosing tropospheric regime shifts. In 2018, accurate stratospheric representation improved weather regime forecasts. However, in 2019, despite persistent observed ridged regimes, nudged SSWs still induced negative NAO-like patterns, implying that subseasonal models sometimes underrepresent other teleconnections and overrepresent stratosphere-troposphere coupling
The validity and enforceability of mediation clauses: a comparative analysis
No full textIn a comparison between Palestine and other selected Arab countries (especially the UAE,
Qatar, Jordan, and Morocco), and England, this study explores the implications of mediation
clauses in commercial contracts, whereby the parties agree to amicable dispute resolution
(ADR) before seeking recourse in the courts or arbitration. Specifically, the overarching aim of
this research is to reveal any deficiencies in Palestine’s mediation framework. Thus, the nature,
use and outcomes of mediation clauses in both jurisprudence and case law were examined
through doctrinal analysis of the relevant legal provisions. Consequently, the nature of the
mediation clause as a form of ADR was explored, together with its validity and enforceability.
A review of the extant literature revealed several significant research gaps regarding the
reliability of mediation clauses in all the countries under study. A number of sub-issues also
arose, namely, the role of good faith during negotiation, the certainty requirement, and the costs
award as a means of enforcing mediation clauses in English commercial contracts.
Correspondingly, this study presents some of the ways in which contractual mediation clauses
have been enforced by the courts in the selected jurisdictions, prior to commencing legal
proceedings. Additionally, it looks at the extent to which those courts can stay proceedings to
facilitate ADR. Therefore, this thesis considers the application and validity requirements of
mediation clauses in practice. By implication, the obligations of the parties and the distinction
between jurisdiction and admissibility are discussed. Meanwhile, the effects of a party’s refusal
to participate in mediation, issues such as separability, the matter of competence, and the
judicial supervision of mediation clauses are compared and analysed. Hence, the Palestinian
mediation system is evaluated in light of recent international documents and the mediation
framework in its comparators, leading to appropriate recommendations
Israel and the United Nations: understanding the responses to October 7th
No full textSince October 7, 2023, the United Nations has been perhaps more politicized about Israel than almost any time in its nearly 80-year existence. The way that Israel was treated from the day after the Hamas atrocities can only be understood within the historical context of how, throughout the UN’s history, the organization has been biased against Israel. The UN treats the State of Israel, the one Jewish country in the world, as different from all other sovereign nations. That begins with denying Jews’ right of self-determination—their right to govern themselves. It also includes denying Israel the right to self-defense, to security for her citizens, and to have effective borders around her land. And it includes holding Israel to different standards from those applied to all other sovereign states, denying its right to equality with all other nations. This paper explores some of those responses, situating them within the legal and political history of the UN and Israel and documenting and explaining how the UN has treated Israel and how Israel has responded to the antizionism that has dominated and politicized all parts of the UN
The Europeanisation of policy preferences: cross-national similarity and convergence 2014–2024
Get PDFCross-national differences in policy preferences across the European Union (EU) are allegedly too large to warrant further political integration. The progressive deepening of economic and policy ties across EU member States, together with the deepening of the European public sphere in the years since the Eurozone crisis might have, however, catalysed convergence in the policy preferences of EU citizens. Are cross-country differences in policy issue positions large, and did they appreciably decrease across the EU in the last decade? The study uses the EES Voter Studies of 2014, 2019 and 2024 to examine over-time trends in policy issue positions across EU member States. It leverages mean tests, analyses of variance, dyadic distributional comparisons via the Earth Mover's Distance measure, as well as analyses of prediction accuracy scores from ‘leave-one-country-out’ random forest models. By introducing the first evidence of Europeanisation of policy issue positions, the study shows that the potential for a supranational political demos – and for majoritarian decision-making – is there for a number of policy domains
Reproducibility of HERMES-measured GABA+ and glutathione in the mesial temporal lobe
Get PDFBackground
There is growing interest in using Hadamard Encoding and Reconstruction for MEGA-Edited Spectroscopy (HERMES) within the mesial temporal lobe (MTL). For cross-sectional group comparisons and longitudinal repeated measures designs, an understanding of the internal and test-retest validity of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA+) and glutathione (GSH) is critical. We therefore evaluated the reproducibility of the consensus recommended semi-localization by adiabatic selective refocusing (sLASER) localization for edited-MRS acquisitions in a challenging region, the MTL.
New method
Data were acquired in 15 participants. Single voxel HERMES was collected in the left MTL (two acquisitions) and the right MTL (one acquisition). Participants were repositioned between the two left HERMES acquisitions. An ANOVA was used to assess differences between acquisitions. To assess measurement variation in the repeated left of GABA+ and GSH measures within the left MTL difference values and coefficients of variation (CVs) were calculated.
Results
There were no significant differences in metabolite values between any of the acquisitions. The mean difference between the metabolite measures from the repeated left acquisitions centred close to zero, and the average CVs were 14.09 % for GABA+ and 18.94 % for GSH.
Comparison with existing methods
The CVs of GABA+ and GSH in the MTL obtained from a HERMES acquisition were comparable to GABA+ or GSH-edited acquisitions in this region, and to data from cortical voxels using HERMES acquisitions.
Conclusions
This supports the use of HERMES in the MTL, a challenging region for MRS. However, larger samples and caution in interpretation may be required in repeated-measures designs
Domestication of Amazonian forest-savanna ecosystems by the Bolivian pre-Columbian Casarabe Culture
No full textDespite nearly a century of debate, scholars continue to disagree about how extensively pre-Columbian (pre- 1492 CE) societies modified and ‘domesticated’ the landscapes of Amazonia.
Some view Amazonia as one of the Earth’s last true wildernesses, whereas others argue that
pre-Columbian societies have altered its landscapes so extensively that little remains
untouched today. Some of the strongest evidence for Amazonian landscape domestication
comes from the seasonally flooded savannas of lowland Bolivia, where the pre-Columbian
‘Casarabe Culture’ constructed hundreds of habitation mounds, interconnected by a dense
causeway-canal network. Research indicates this culture sustained itself by practicing intensive
maize-based agriculture, but little is known about how they utilised the surrounding forest and
savanna ecosystems. Employing a dual data-modelling approach that combines agent-based
modelling with traditional palaeoecological techniques, this thesis aims to constrain the impact
of the Casarabe Culture’s activities on these ecosystems.
Agent-based modelling outputs suggest that, while the Casarabe Culture was capable of
developing into a large, sedentary society with an estimated population of 10,000 – 100,000,
their environmental impact appears to have been relatively localised. This restricted impact
stemmed not from an inability to convert land, but rather from the relative availability of
farmable land, and their preference for intensively cultivating the most desirable areas. The
results of palaeoecological analysis at Laguna Loma Suarez, a small oxbow lake adjacent to one
of the Casarabe Culture’s mounds, provides additional evidence of local-scale human land use.
This record reveals that while some subsistence activities were practiced in a variety of
environmental settings (e.g., maize-based agriculture), others varied spatially (e.g., the
utilisation of fire).
These results highlight the vital role played by human agency in shaping the human-environment interactions taking place on a landscape. It is not sufficient to merely determine if
humans could modify their surroundings; understanding their underlying motivations is also
essential
Public-private partnerships for seed industry development in developing countries: lessons from MasAgro maize in Mexico
Get PDFPublic-private partnerships (PPPs) are globally recognized for their potential to accelerate genetic improvement and delivery of new high-yielding seed varieties in developing countries. However, despite the strong advocacy for PPPs in crop improvement, there is little empirical evidence about their performance, capacities, and contribution to the development of seed industries and the promotion of competitive seed markets. This paper uses the experience of the MasAgro maize consortium, a PPP in Mexico, to examine crop variety innovation and delivery through PPPs, assess PPPs’ capacities to commercialize public germplasm-based varieties, and derive lessons for the design and implementation of future PPPs. Drawing on a combination of multiple data sources, we examined the PPP’s performance in the generation, dissemination, and commercialization of new maize hybrids. Our examination over the period 2011–2019 shows that the consortium was successful in maintaining a substantial flow of agronomically competitive maize hybrids, which compared favourably with the number of new varieties generated by national and international seed companies and the public sector. The partnership also contributed to refreshing and rejuvenating the variety portfolios of the consortium companies, which appear to have succeeded in bringing MasAgro varieties quickly into the market. However, seed sales achieved by MasAgro hybrids over this period remained small and multinational companies consistently maintained their leadership in the maize seed market. Our analysis shows that PPPs have strong capacities for the development of competitive seed varieties, but they face significant challenges in scaling up the uptake and adoption of these innovations in highly concentrated markets. To succeed in their objective of delivering affordable, high-quality seed on a large scale to smallholder farmers in developing countries, PPPs need to urgently incorporate a commercial and market-oriented perspective along all steps of the plant breeding and dissemination process
Efficient proton transport modelling for proton beam therapy and biological quantification
Get PDFIn this work, we present a fundamental mathematical model for proton transport, tailored to capture the key physical processes underpinning Proton Beam Therapy (PBT). The model provides a robust and computationally efficient framework for exploring various aspects of PBT, including dose delivery, linear energy transfer, treatment planning and the evaluation of relative biological effectiveness. Our findings highlight the potential of this model as a complementary tool to more complex and computationally intensive simulation techniques currently used in clinical practice
Development of updated maintenance energy requirements of cattle using calorimeter data of growing cattle and suckler cows
No full textAn accurate prediction of maintenance energy requirement is essential for rationing growing cattle and suckler cows for improved production efficiency and reduced environmental footprint. There is evidence that the current UK energy feeding system (Agricultural and Food Research Council,1993) underpredicts maintenance energy requirement for growth of modern cattle. The objective of the present study was to develop updated maintenance energy requirements for growing cattle. Data used were collated from calorimeter chamber studies (each with digestibility measurements) undertaken at the Agri-Food Biosciences Institute (n = 249) and the University of Reading (n = 48) between 1993 and 2015. The dataset comprises data from 176 growing dairy and beef steers, 88 growing Holstein-Friesian heifers and 34 dry mature suckler cows. Cattle were offered diets containing either forage only (n = 81) or a mixture of forage and concentrates (n = 211) at various feeding levels. Energy intake and outputs were measured using indirect open-circuit respiration calorimeter chambers and digestibility trials. Linear and multiple linear regressions between retained energy (RE) and ME intake (MEI) were used to determine the net energy (NEm) and metabolisable energy (MEm) requirements for maintenance of body tissue energy without loss or gain. Data were analysed using a linear mixed model (restricted maximum likelihood estimation method), with animal gender, live weight, forage type and dietary forage proportion fitted as additional fixed effects while research centre, experiment and chamber number as random effects. The NEm derived from the linear relationship between RE and MEI was 0.42 MJ/kg0.75 of live weight (equivalent to 0.40 MJ/kg0.75 of calculated empty body weight). The MEm values were determined to be 0.53 and 0.55 MJ/kg0.75 of live weight (equivalent to 0.50 and 0.52 MJ/kg0.75 of calculated empty body weight) using multiple linear regressions of MEI against metabolic live weight and positive and negative RE. The present NEm or MEm values are 24% or 13% and 17% higher than those recommended by AFRC (1993). The present result indicates that use of AFRC (1993) to ration modern growing cattle underestimates their maintenance energy requirements