Gender-specific local labour market areas in England and Wales

Local labour market areas (LLMAs) are usually defined on the basis of total commuting flows between constituent ‘building block’ areas. Indeed the 1984 revision of Travel-To-Work Areas (TTWAs) was based on aggregate flows between 1981 Census wards. It is widely recognized, however, that various sub-groups of the population have distinctive commuting patterns. TTWAs therefore represent the outcome of an ‘averaging’ of the journey-to-work patterns of different gender, socio-economic and occupational groups. In this preliminary review, the self-containment of TTWAs in England and Wales, which have been generated using aggregate data, is assessed at the simplest level of disaggregation of the commuting data: disaggregation by gender. In accordance with expectations, it is found that TTWAs defined on the basis of total commuting flows are generally more self-contained for females than for males, and that those TTWAs which are insufficiently self-contained to be considered as LLMAs for males are overwhelmingly concentrated in the most urbanized regions. These findings are reinforced by the results of re-running the TTWA regionalization algorithm against 1981 flow data for males and females in order to create gender-specific TTWAs; disparities between Male and Female TTWAs are greatest in the most urbanized regions. Such differences are investigated in greater detail for two Metropolitan Regions (MRs): the combined Liverpool and Manchester MRs in the north-west and the London MR in the south-east.     

Detection of the Kuiper bands in the spectrum of Titan

3ew spectra of Titan centered at 7500 Å, at resolutions of 4 and 1 Å are presented. Weak absorptions coincident with features observed in the spectra of Uranus and Neptune are found. This observation suggests methane abundances in excess of 1 km-am, thereby emphasizing the complexity of line formation in Titan's atmosphere. The question of the total atmospheric pressure of Titan must be reexamined.     

Water Materialities and Citizen Engagement: Testing the Implications of Water Access and Quality for Community Engagement in Ghana and South Africa

We analyze the relationship between perceptions of domestic water access, and quality, in relation community engagement. While others have suggested linkages between material conditions of water access and engagement (e.g., that poor water access might spur engagement), to date there have been no studies those test these relationships using statistical methods. Based on a quantitative analysis of survey data from underserved sites in Accra, Ghana, and Cape Town, South Africa, our results show that water access and quality are both predictive of community engagement. The analysis also makes a strong case that there are different dimensions when considering the material conditions of water—in this case, water access and quality each condition engagement in opposite directions. Furthermore, consistent with other studies, our study also shows different demographics (notably gender) mediate these relationships in important ways.     

GMRT detection of HI 21 cm-line absorption from the peculiar galaxy in Abell 2125

Using the recently completed Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope, we have detected the HI 21 cm-line absorption from the peculiar galaxy C153 in the galaxy cluster Abell 2125. The HI absorption is at a redshift of 0.2533, with a peak optical depth of 0.36. The full width at half minimum of the absorption line is 100 km s⁻¹. The estimated column density of atomic Hydrogen is 0.7×10²²(T _s /100) cm⁻². The HI absorption is redshifted by ∼400km s⁻¹ compared to the [OIII] emission line from this system. We attribute this to an infalling cold gas or to an out-flowing ionised gas, or to a combination of both as a consequence of tidal interactions of C153 with either a cluster galaxy or the cluster potential.     

Dissolution of hausmannite (Mn3O4) in the presence of the trihydroxamate siderophore desferrioxamine B

That microbial siderophores may be mediators of Mn(III) biogeochemistry is suggested by recent studies showing that these well known Fe(III)-chelating ligands form very stable Mn(III) aqueous complexes. In this study, we examine the influence of desferrioxamine B (DFOB), a trihydroxamate siderophore, on the dissolution of hausmannite, a mixed valence Mn(II, III) oxide found in soils and freshwater sediments. Batch dissolution experiments were conducted both in the absence (pH 4-9) and in the presence of 100 μM DFOB (pH 5-9). In the absence of the ligand, there is a sharp decrease in the extent of proton-promoted dissolution above pH 5 and no appreciable dissolution above pH 8. The resulting aqueous Mn²⁺ activities were in good agreement with previous studies, indirectly supporting the accepted two-step mechanism involving the formation of manganite and reprecipitation of hausmannite. Desferrioxamine B enhanced hausmannite dissolution over the entire pH range investigated, both via the formation of a Mn(III) complex and through surface-catalyzed reductive dissolution. Above pH 8, non-reductive ligand-promoted dissolution dominated, whereas below pH 8, dissolution was non-stoichiometric with respect to DFOB. Concurrent proton-promoted, ligand-promoted, reductive, and induced dissolution was observed, with Mn release by either reductive or induced dissolution increasing linearly with decreasing pH. The fast kinetics of the DFOB-promoted dissolution of hausmannite, as compared to iron oxides, suggest that the siderophore-promoted dissolution of Mn(III)-bearing minerals may compete with the siderophore-promoted dissolution of Fe(III)-bearing minerals.     

Clionid sponge surveys on the Florida Reef Tract suggest land-based nutrient inputs

Bioerosion by Cliona delitrix and Cliona lampa was assessed at 43 sites along the Florida Reef Tract, USA, in the summer of 2001. Sponge abundances were estimated using rapid visual assessment. Tissue samples of sponges were taken for analysis of delta15N. Comparison samples were taken from Belize. Annual trends in sponge abundance were estimated from archived videos covering the period from 1996 to 2001. Sites with the greatest boring sponge size and cover were in the Backcountry and Lower Keys, where total nitrogen, ammonium, and delta15N levels were highest. The sites with the largest relative increase of C. delitrix and C. lampa over the 5 year period were in the Upper Keys, where the greatest relative decline in stony coral cover has occurred. Florida sponge delta15N values were 5.2(+/-0.1)%, suggesting the influence of human waste; in comparison, offshore Belize samples were 2.1(+/-0.1)%. These results suggest sewage contamination of the Florida Reef Tract, shifting the carbonate balance from construction to destruction.