146,590 research outputs found
Absence in Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus of the sequence-specific deoxyribonucleic acid methylation that is conferred in Escherichia coli K-12 by the dam and dcm enzymes
No full textDreiseikelmann B, Wackernagel W. Absence in Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus of the sequence-specific deoxyribonucleic acid methylation that is conferred in Escherichia coli K-12 by the dam and dcm enzymes. Journal of Bacteriology. 1981;147(1):259-261.Restriction analysis of plasmid pHV14 deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from Escherichia coli K-12, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus with restriction endonucleases MboI, Sau3AI, and EcoRII was used to study the methylation of those nucleotide sequences which in E. coli contain the major portions of N6-methyladenine and 5-methylcytosine. The results showed that neither B. subtilis nor S. aureus methylates deoxyribonucleic acid at the same sites and nucleotides which are recognized and methylated by dam and dcm enzymes in E. coli K-12
Does Small Dam Removal Affect Local Property Values? An Empirical Analysis
No full textThis paper uses hedonic analysis to examine the impact of small dam removal on property values in South-central Wiscosin. Data on residential property sales were obtained for three categories of sites: those where a dam is intact, those where a dam was recently removed, and those where the stream has been free-flowing for at least 20 years. The primary conclusions that emerge from the data are that residential property located in the vicinity of a free-flowing stream is more valuable than identical property in the vicinity of a small impoundment, and that shoreline frontage along small impoundments confers no increase in residential property value compared to frontage along free-flowing streams.
Interaction of Chinese institutions with host governments in dam construction: the Bui Dam in Ghana
No full textThe study analyses the role of Chinese companies and financing institutions and Ghanaian governmental agencies in planning and constructing the Bui Dam. The analysis focuses on the division of responsibilities between Sinohydro and China Exim Bank on the one side and the Ghanaian government on the other side. The findings show that environmental and resettlement planning for Bui was commissioned and financed by the Government of Ghana without Sinohydro’s involvement. The obligation of the firm is to abide by the environmental regulations that are monitored by the regulatory authorities. The role of Sinohydro consists in building the dam, maintaining the construction site, contracting workers, and providing for workers’ health and safety. The firm has no role in resettlement, which is carried out by the Bui Power Authority. While there is clear evidence that the Bui Power Authority does not follow the recommendations of the Resettlement Planning Framework, Sinohydro appears to abide largely by the conditions set out in the Environmental Impact Assessment study whose implementation is monitored by the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency and the Ghanaian Water Resources Commission
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Sustainable dam development in China between global norms and local practices
No full textThe paper explores reforms of China’s environmental and resettlement policies and the influence of domestic and external actors on Chinese dam-related legislation. It also analyses the impact of these reforms on the Nu River Project and the Xiaolangdi Multipurpose Dam Project. The analysis starts with an overview of the strategic role of hydropower in the economic development plans of central and local government. The paper then analyses decision-making processes in the Chinese dam bureaucracy and the role allotted to civil society. By singling out the environmental impact assessment and resettlement the paper examines legal changes and the reasons for them. <br/
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Where Is the Power? Transnational Networks, Authority and the Dispute over the Xayaburi Dam on the Lower Mekong Mainstream
No full textAccounts of hydro-hegemony and counter hydro-hegemony provide state-based conceptions of power in international river basins. However, authority should be seen as transnationalized as small states develop coping strategies to augment their authority over decision-making processes. The article engages Rosenau’s spheres of authority concept to argue that hydro-hegemony is exercised by actors embedded in spheres of authority that reshape actor configurations as they emerge. These spheres consist of complex networks challenging customary notions of the local-global dichotomy and hydro-hegemony. Hydro-hegemony is therefore not fixed. The article examines these processes by analysing the dispute over the Xayaburi Dam in the Mekong Basin
EVALUATION OF ECONOMIC BENEFITS AND IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED REMOVAL OF THE MARION DAM IN OSCEOLA COUNTY MICHIGAN
No full textIn recent years the removal of dams that pose environmental hazards has been seen as a river restoration and management tool. The ecological benefits of removing dams, such as the restoration of water temperatures and fish passage, have been well documented. However, fewer studies have evaluated the economic benefits and impacts of removing dams. This study uses the proposed removal of the Marion Dam in Osceola County Michigan as a case study to evaluate recreational fishing benefits and economic impacts associated with removing the dam. The major objective of this research study was to estimate the recreational fishing benefits and economic impacts of removing the Marion Dam and restoring the Middle Branch River (MBR) and Marion Mill Pond (MMP). Both recreational fishing benefits and economic impacts were evaluated at the county (Osceola), Muskegon River Watershed (MRW) and the state of Michigan regional levels. Recreational fishing benefits were estimated using the Michigan Angling Demand Model (MADM). Economic impacts were evaluated using IMPLAN an input-output modeling software. The MADM predicted an increase in recreational fishing trips to Osceola County and the MRW of 2,051 and 1,390 total user days respectively. Analysis of a 16 mile change in the MBR from secondary quality to top quality resulted in a statewide increase in welfare of about 4,287,500 was factored in. Although the dam removal cost outweighed the estimated recreational fishing benefits, this does not imply that the project is economically unjustifiable because recreational fishing benefits are only one of the many benefits associated with removing the dam. Other benefits such as enhanced property values, potential improvements in boating, swimming and non-use benefits were not estimated. Impact analysis using IMPLAN showed a minor ongoing increase in the total industry income and output to Osceola County and the MRW as a result of increased recreational fishing trip expenditures. When recreational fishing expenditures go up the most impacted industry sectors were shown to be Eating and Drinking, General Merchandise Stores and Domestic Trade. One time economic impacts of the proposed Marion dam removal and restoration of the MBR and MMP were estimated to result in some increases employment, value addition and output to the three regional economies. In particular, the project was estimated to create 55 annual part time and full time jobs, with 21 jobs coming from the MRW, 5 from Osceola County and the rest coming from outside the watershed. Some of the most impacted industry sectors due to the dam removal, river and pond restoration project were found to be Domestic Trade; New Utility Structures and Engineering-Architectural Services. Although the impact analysis results may predict increases in employment and income, it is important to note that such gains are usually offset by reductions elsewhere in the economy. Reductions and increases in employment and income are usually transfers in economic activity at the national level.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,
Uncertainty in the determination of soil hydraulic parameters and its influence on the performance of two hydrological models of different complexity
No full textData of soil hydraulic properties forms often a limiting factor in unsaturated zone modelling, especially at the larger scales. Investigations for the hydraulic characterization of soils are time-consuming and costly, and the accuracy of the results obtained by the different methodologies is still debated. However, we may wonder how the uncertainty in soil hydraulic parameters relates to the uncertainty of the selected modelling approach. We performed an intensive monitoring study during the cropping season of a 10 ha maize field in Northern Italy. The data were used to: i) compare different methods for determining soil hydraulic parameters and ii) evaluate the effect of the uncertainty in these parameters on different variables (i.e. evapotranspiration, average water content in the root zone, flux at the bottom boundary of the root zone) simulated by two hydrological models of different complexity: SWAP, a widely used model of soil moisture dynamics in unsaturated soils based on Richards equation, and ALHyMUS, a conceptual model of the same dynamics based on a reservoir cascade scheme. We employed five direct and indirect methods to determine soil hydraulic parameters for each horizon of the experimental profile. Two methods were based on a parameter optimization of: a) laboratory measured retention and hydraulic conductivity data and b) field measured retention and hydraulic conductivity data. The remaining three methods were based on the application of widely used Pedo-Transfer Functions: c) Rawls and Brakensiek, d) HYPRES, and e) ROSETTA. Simulations were performed using meteorological, irrigation and crop data measured at the experimental site during the period June – October 2006. Results showed a wide range of soil hydraulic parameter values generated with the different methods, especially for the saturated hydraulic conductivity <i>K</i><sub>sat</sub> and the shape parameter &alpha; of the van Genuchten curve. This is reflected in a variability of the modeling results which is, as expected, different for each model and each variable analysed. The variability of the simulated water content in the root zone and of the bottom flux for different soil hydraulic parameter sets is found to be often larger than the difference between modeling results of the two models using the same soil hydraulic parameter set. Also we found that a good agreement in simulated soil moisture patterns may occur even if evapotranspiration and percolation fluxes are significantly different. Therefore multiple output variables should be considered to test the performances of methods and models
Chinese hydropower companies and environmental norms in countries of the global South: the involvement of Sinohydro in Ghana’s Bui Dam
No full textThe paper examines the role of environmental norms in Chinese overseas investment in hydropower dams, exemplified by Sinohydro’s involvement in the Bui Dam in Ghana. While the investment of Western companies in hydropower dams in the global South is decreasing owing to changing notions of sustainability in the West, the investment of Chinese companies in hydro dams in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America is accelerating at great speed. The emergence of Chinese companies in international markets in the context of China’s Going Abroad strategy has sparked a debate on whether China can be considered a norm-changer in international development. The paper considers this question in the context of the status of environmental norms in Sinohydro’s investment in Ghana’s Bui Dam. The paper argues that the role of international norms in Chinese investment is dependent on two factors: the contractual arrangements under which Chinese companies operate abroad and the political institutions of host countries
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