Women at work—experiences and identity in rural East Germany

The economic restructuring since German unification has produced gender-differentiated patterns in the rural workplace. Most studies of East German labour market changes have illustrated the nature of such patterns in quantitative terms whilst neglecting their impact on everyday life. The relationship between the significance of work for women's quality of life and self-identification, and women's withdrawal from the public has, however, remained under-explored. Based on data obtained through correspondence and in-depth interviews in Mecklenburg-Westpommerania, this paper aims to address this relationship by discussing women's work-related experiences before and since unification.     

Experimental evidence for an effect of early-diagenetic interaction between labile and refractory marine sedimentary organic matter on nitrogen dynamics

In most natural sedimentary systems labile and refractory organic material (OM) occur concomitantly. Little, however, is known on how different kinds of OM interact and how such interactions affect early diagenesis in sediments. In a simple sediment experiment, we investigated how interactions of OM substrates of different degradability affect benthic nitrogen (N) dynamics. Temporal evolution of a set of selected biogeochemical parameters was monitored in sandy sediment over 116 days in three experimental set-ups spiked with labile OM (tissue of Mytilus edulis), refractory OM (mostly aged Zostera marina and macroalgae), and a 1:1 mixture of labile and refractory OM. The initial amounts of particulate organic carbon (POC) were identical in the three set-ups. To check for non-linear interactions between labile and refractory OM, the evolution of the mixture system was compared with the evolution of the simple sum of the labile and refractory systems, divided by two. The sum system is the experimental control where labile and refractory OM are virtually combined but not allowed to interact. During the first 30 days there was evidence for net dissolved-inorganic-nitrogen (DIN) production followed by net DIN consumption. (Here ‘DIN’ is the sum of ammonium, nitrite and nitrate.) After  30 days a quasi steady state was reached. Non-linear interactions between the two types of OM were reflected by three main differences between the early-diagenetic evolutions of nitrogen dynamics of the mixture and sum (control) systems: (1) In the mixture system the phases of net DIN production and consumption commenced more rapidly and were more intense. (2) The mixture system was shifted towards a more oxidised state of DIN products [as indicated by increased (nitrite + nitrate)/(ammonium) ratios]. (3) There was some evidence that more OM, POC and particulate nitrogen were preserved in the mixture system. That is, in the mixture system more particulate OM was preserved while a higher proportion of the decomposed particulate N was converted into inorganic N. It can be concluded that during the first days and weeks of early diagenesis the magnitude and composition of the flux of decompositional dissolved N-compounds from sediments into the overlying water was influenced by non-linear interactions of OM substrates of different degradability. Given these experimental results it is likely that the relative spatial distributions of OM of differing degradability in sediments control the magnitude and composition of the return flux of dissolved N-bearing compounds from sediments into the overlying water column.     

Colloidal Stability and Toxicity of Gold Nanoparticles and Gold Chloride on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlamydomonas reinhardtii</Emphasis>

Here we have examined interactions of gold nanoparticles differing in primary particle size and coating with the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as function of the colloidal stability of the particles in the experimental media used for toxicity studies. Interactions of dissolved Au³⁺ ions with algae were also examined. Included endpoints were photosynthetic yield and algal growth. Morphological and structural effects were examined microscopically and by flow cytometry. The results indicate no significant toxicity of gold nanoparticles to C. reinhardtii. Analysis of published data suggests toxicity of gold nanoparticles on algal growth to relate rather to particular coatings than to the gold core.     

Pyroxenite xenoliths from Marsabit (Northern Kenya): evidence for different magmatic events in the lithospheric mantle and interaction between peridotite and pyroxenite

Garnet-bearing and garnet-free pyroxenite xenoliths from Quaternary basanites of Marsabit, northern Kenya, were analysed for microstructures and mineral compositions (major and trace elements) to constrain the thermal and compositional evolution of the lithospheric mantle in this region. Garnet-bearing rocks are amphibole-bearing websterite with ~5–10 vol% orthopyroxene. Clinopyroxene is LREE-depleted and garnet has high HREE contents, in agreement with an origin as cumulates from basaltic mantle melts. Primary orthopyroxene inclusions in garnet suggest that the parental melts were orthopyroxene-saturated. Rock fabrics vary from weakly to strongly deformed. Thermobarometry indicates extensive decompression and cooling (~970–1,100°C at ~2.3–2.6 GPa to ~700–800°C at ~0.5–1.0 GPa) during deformation, best interpreted as pyroxenite intrusion into thick Paleozoic continental lithosphere subsequently followed by continental rifting (i.e., formation of the Mesozoic Anza Graben). During continental rifting, garnet websterites were decompressed (garnet-to-spinel transition) and experienced the same P–T evolution as their host peridotites. Strongly deformed samples show compositional overlaps with cpx-rich, initially garnet-bearing lherzolite, best explained by partial re-equilibration of peridotite and pyroxenite during deformation and mechanical mingling. In contrast, garnet-free pyroxenites include undeformed, cumulate-like samples, indicating that they are younger than the garnet websterites. Major and trace element compositions of clinopyroxene and calculated equilibrium melts suggest crystallisation from alkaline basaltic melt similar to the host basanite, which suggests formation in the context of alkaline magmatism during the development of the Kenya rift. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The Basic Formal Ontology as a Reference Framework for Modeling the Evolution of Administrative Units

In information systems, ontologies promise advantages such as enhanced interoperability, knowledge sharing, and integration of data sources. In this article, we show that the upper ontology Basic Formal Ontology can facilitate the modeling of an evolution of administrative units. This is demonstrated by creating a spatiotemporal ontology for the administrative units of Switzerland. The ontology tackles the problem that the geometric data is typically captured by taking snapshots at regular intervals while the thematic data is continually updated. The ontology presented merges time‐stamped geometries with a formally described history of administrative units, allowing for complex spatiotemporal queries neither standard approach would support. The resulting populated knowledge base was evaluated against a set of spatiotemporal test queries. The evaluation showed that this knowledge base supports a wide range of queries on the evolution of the administrative units of Switzerland between 1960 and 2010.     

The role of collective groundwater institutions in the implementation of direct groundwater regulation measures in Minqin County, China

Direct groundwater regulation (e.g. registration of abstraction points, permits and concessions) has been much advocated world-wide; however, few successful cases have been reported. The development of groundwater use in Minqin County, Gansu Province, China, is described, with analyses of the situation before and after the implementation of direct groundwater regulation measures in 2007. Based on a survey carried out in 2010, it is argued that the regulation measures, which were part of a broader water-policy reform, were successfully implemented due to their integration with pre-existing collective groundwater institutions. In addition to the regulation measures—the closure of wells and per capita water use restriction—all villages had to form water users’ associations (WUAs) which were assigned to implement the new regulations. These WUAs were found to have the same structure as the existing collective groundwater institutions. Through the water-policy reform, the function of the pre-existing groundwater institutions was transformed from managing “water exploitation” to managing “water conservation”.     

Preliminary Interlaboratory Trial for ISO/DIS 12010: Determination of Short Chain Polychlorinated Alkanes (SCCP) in Water

A first preliminary interlaboratory trial was planned to prepare ISO/DIS 12010: Water quality – determination of short chain polychlorinated alkanes (SCCP) in water – method using GC/MS and electron capture negative ionisation (ECNI). The task was to determine the sum of short chain polychlorinated n‐alkanes with carbon chain lengths of C₁₀–C₁₃ and a chlorine content between 49 and 67% in water by GC‐ECNI‐MS and quantification by multiple linear regression described in ISO/DIS 12010 as the compulsory method. Distributed samples were obtained from a real water extract spiked with a target concentration of 0.4 µg/mL sum of SCCP, i.e. the environmental quality target level according to the Water Framework Directive. The interlaboratory trial included the calibration, a column chromatographic clean up, a concentration step and an integration of chromatographic unresolved humps as well as the quantification with multiple linear regression. Reproducibility standard deviations between 21.5 and 22.9% were achieved by 17 participating laboratories from four countries. The method outlined no significant difference of the results between the standard solution and a real water matrix extract. On the basis of this succeeded preliminary interlaboratory trial the final interlaboratory trial for validation of ISO 12010 was prepared in autumn 2010.     

A fragmentation criterion for highly viscous bubbly magmas estimated from shock tube experiments

When a highly viscous bubbly magma is sufficiently decompressed, layer-by-layer fracturing propagates through the magma at a certain speed (fragmentation speed). On the basis of a recent shock tube theory by Koyaguchi and Mitani [Koyaguchi, T., Mitani, N. K., 2005. A theoretical model for fragmentation of viscous bubbly magmas in shock tubes. Journal of Geophysical Research 110 (B10), B10202. doi:10.1029/2004JB003513.], gas overpressures at the fragmentation surface are estimated from experimental data on fragmentation speed in shock tube experiments for natural volcanic rocks with various porosities. The results show that gas overpressure at the fragmentation surface increases as initial sample pressure increases and sample porosity decreases. We propose a new fragmentation criterion to explain the relationship between the gas overpressure at the fragmentation surface, the initial pressure and the porosity. Our criterion is based on the idea that total fragmentation of highly viscous bubbly magmas occurs when the tensile stress at the midpoint between bubbles exceeds a critical value. We obtain satisfactory agreement between our simulation and experiment when we assume that the critical value is inversely proportional to the square root of bubble wall thickness. This fragmentation criterion suggests that long micro-cracks or equivalent flaws (e.g., irregular-shaped bubbles) that reach the midpoints between bubbles are a dominant factor to determine the bulk strength of the bubbly magma.