Fear of crime: testing alternative hypotheses

This paper examines the spatial and social distribution of the fear of crime and the relationships of such fear with aspects of the environment. Through an analysis of a questionnaire survey conducted in a variety of areas in Stoke-on-Trent in the English Midlands, it considers both the causes of the fear of crime and the associations that have been identified with other dimensions shaping vulnerability. It concludes by offering some guidance on how to address the differences between those populations who fear crime most and those who are most vulnerable.     

The continuing saga of Sakurai's object (V4334 Sgr): dust production and helium line emission

We report further UKIRT spectroscopic observations of Sakurai's object (V4334 Sgr) made in 1999 April/May in the 1–4.75 μm range, and find that the emission is dominated by amorphous carbon at T _d~600 K. The estimated maximum grain size is 0.6 μm, and the mass lower limit is 1.7±0.2×10⁻⁸ M_⊙ to 8.9±0.6×10⁻⁷ M_⊙ for distances of 1.1–8 kpc. For 3.8 kpc the mass is 2.0±0.1×10⁻⁷ M_⊙.
We also report strong He  i emission at 1.083 μm, in contrast to the strong absorption in this line in 1998. We conclude that the excitation is collisional, and is probably caused by a wind, consistent with the P Cygni profile observed by Eyres et al. in 1998.     

In vivo and in vitro effects of benzothiazole on sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus).

Benzothiazole, a common chemical associated with tire manufacturing and industrial wastewater, is a principal component of both fresh water and estuarine tire leachate, a neurotoxicant to larval sheepshead minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus) in in vivo estuarine studies. The neurotoxic potential of benzothiazole was investigated following in vivo and in vitro exposure of sheepshead minnows to 3.75, 7.5, 15, 30 and 60 mg/l benzothiazole. Following benzothiazole exposure, fish were evaluated for survival, growth and histological alterations. Fish mortality occurred after 5 days of exposure to 60 mg/l (LC50 = 41.9). Significant decreases in larval growth were noted at all concentrations. Histologically, gills had cellular alterations but the central nervous system lacked the severe cellular damage seen in previous tire leachate exposure studies. Benzothiazole cytotoxicity to primary cultures of brain cells from sheepshead minnow and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and two epithelial cell lines was evaluated using a tetrazolium salt assay (MTT) at 1 and 4 days. In vitro results indicate primary cultures of brain cells are less sensitive to benzothiazole than epithelial cell lines. Significant cytotoxicity to the epithelial cell lines was noted at 30 and 60 mg/l concentrations. Histologically and cytotoxicologically, the present study indicates that benzothiazole is a gill toxicant and not a neurotoxicant.     

Benthic foraminifera and sediment grain size variability at intermediate water depths in the Northeast Atlantic during the late Pliocene–early Pleistocene

Sedimentological and faunal records from the transitional period marking the onset of widespread northern hemisphere glaciation have been investigated at Ocean Drilling Program Site 984. The late Pliocene interglacial sediments of the northeast Atlantic are carbonate rich and show evidence of vigorous bottom water circulation at intermediate water depths. Contrasting this, the late Pliocene glacial sediments are characterised by carbonate dissolution and slower bottom current velocities. Weak or “leaky” Norwegian Sea overflows, undersaturated with respect to carbonate, influenced this region during the late Pliocene glacials. The early Pleistocene pattern of intermediate water circulation appears to have changed radically in the northeast Atlantic. At this time, interglacial carbonate values and inferred bottom current velocities are low. This suggests slow-flowing, undersaturated Norwegian Sea water bathing the site. The overflow increased during the early Pleistocene interglacials as the exchange between the Atlantic and Norwegian-Greenland Seas improved. The most significant feature of the early Pleistocene glacials is the increase in inferred bottom current velocity. These changes reflect a switch in deep North Atlantic convection to shallower depths during glacial periods, possibly in a manner similar to the increasing contribution of glacial intermediate water to the North Atlantic during the late Pleistocene glacials. Our results suggest that the late Pleistocene climate variability of the North Atlantic is a pervasive feature of the late Pliocene–early Pleistocene record.     

The seismic anomaly beneath Iceland extends down to the mantle transition zone and no deeper

A 3-D teleseismic tomography image of the upper mantle beneath Iceland of unprecedented resolution reveals a subvertical low wave speed anomaly that is cylindrical in the upper 250 km but tabular below this. Such a morphological transition is expected towards the bottom of a buoyant upwelling. Our observations thus suggest that magmatism at the Iceland hotspot is fed by flow rising from the mantle transition zone. This result contributes to the ongoing debate about whether the upper and lower mantles convect separately or as one. The image also suggests that material flows outwards from Iceland along the Reykjanes Ridge in the upper 200 km, but is blocked in the upper 150 km beneath the Tjornes Fracture Zone. This provides direct observational support for the theory that fracture zones dam lateral flow along ridges.     

Geophysical and structural signatures of syntectonic batholith construction: the South Mountain Batholith, Meguma Terrane, Nova Scotia

The Late Devonian South Mountain Batholith is a very large (7000 km²) composite peraluminous granitoid complex situated within the Meguma Terrane of the northern Appalachians. It is made up of two suites of granodioritic to leucogranitic plutons emplaced at approximately 380–370 Ma during the Acadian Orogeny, i.e. during the collision of Gondwana with the eastern margin of North America. A significant geophysical and geological database makes the South Mountain Batholith a type example of a very large syntectonic batholith emplaced within a collisional orogen. Gravity models reveal the plutons have flat or gently dipping floors at approximately 7.0 km depth and aspect ratios >6:1. They are underlain by deeper (>10 km) elongate northeast–southwest-trending roots that may indicate magma feeder zones. Dyke transport of granitic magma and the progressive construction of plutons by sheet injections are supported by field observations and by mapping of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility at the pluton scale. The very narrow deformation aureole within the country rocks suggests lateral spreading of the plutons was not the main space creation mechanism during emplacement; space was mostly created by vertical displacements of country rocks. The data are consistent with a laccolithic model for syntectonic batholith assembly. The laccolithic plutons may have been emplaced at the base of the Meguma Supergroup metasedimentary rocks, suggesting a maximum thickness of approximately 7.0 km for the supracrustal rocks in the Meguma Terrane.     

Creation of Temperate-Climate Intertidal Mudflats: Factors Affecting Colonization and Use by Benthic Invertebrates and their Bird Predators

Colonization of a recreated area of intertidal land by marine invertebrates and their bird predators was studied from April 1993 to August 1997. The most important food of large shorebirds, the ragworm Nereis diversicolor, did not reappear until late summer 1995 and did not become abundant until the following autumn. Annual attempts at colonization by the crustacean Corophium volutator, the main food of several small shorebird species, failed until summer 1996 when animals survived through the subsequent winter for the first time. Colonization by the mud-snail Hydrobia ulvae took place a year after flooding of the site, but densities in 1997 were still well below those found elsewhere on the adjacent estuary.

The delay in successful colonization by Nereis and Corophium may be attributable in part to the compaction of the intertidal muds caused by the earthmoving equipment used to contour the site. The slow increase in Hydrobia density may be a consequence of low organic content of the mud. Bird use is concentrated chiefly during the hours when the adjacent estuarine mudflats (with unrestricted tidal flow) are covered by the tide, since the new site then provides a supplementary feeding area. Peak daytime usage occurs during the migratory passage periods when birds need to feed for longer periods than usual, in order to refuel for their migrations; high usage is also anticipated in cold winters.

On this evidence, creation of intertidal areas in mitigation for any lost nearby to industrial or other development should take place at least three years before the losses, in order to make the new areas profitable for feeding waterfowl.     

Climate Change and Agricultural Soils: Impacts and Adaptation

This article reviews the current state of knowledge on the response of soils to climate change, and the implications such changes have for agriculture. The article is based on the material reported in the IPCC second assessment report (Watson et al., 1996) and updated with more recent information, where appropriate. The review highlights the importance of understanding the dynamics of soil processes when addressing climate change impacts on agriculture. Rapid soil responses to climate change (e.g. soil water, organic carbon and erodibility) have been widely investigated and reported in the literature. However, it is important that longer-term processes (e.g. pedogenesis) are not ignored by the research community because these have potentially important implications for long-term agricultural land use and are often irreversible. The use of good land management practices, as currently understood, provides the best strategy for adaptation to the impact of climate change on soils. However, it appears likely that farmers will need to carefully reconsider their management options, and land use change is likely to result from different crop selections that are more appropriate to the changing conditions. Perhaps the greatest impact of climate change on soils will arise from climate-induced changes in land use and management.     

Color in solar granulation

Pairs of spectra exposed simultaneously in the yellow and ultraviolet show exactly the same solar granulation in the two colors. This is contrary to Vassilyeva's earlier results. The difference is probably due to her neglect of atmospheric dispersion.     

16–40 Å coronal X-ray emission during the 12 November 1966 eclipse

The solar eclipse of 12 November 1966 was used to study the coronal emission near the limbs in selected emission lines between 16 and 40 Å. Eight fixed-wavelength, curved crystal spectrometers were carried in each of 3 rocket launches to an altitude of 290 km and monitored the flux in each of eight narrow-wavelength intervals encompassing the principal emission lines from the hydrogen-like and helium-like ions of C, N, and O. At totality the emissions dropped to background levels of 1% or less of the full sun values, showing that on the solar limbs on that day there was very little emission above 17000 km in these lines.Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.