Stability and change in fertility intentions in Britain, 1991-2007

The very low fertility experienced in several European countries in recent decades in the presence of higher intended family sizes has renewed interest in fertility intentions data. While the overall level of childbearing in Britain over the past few decades has remained relatively stable and high in comparison with many other European countries, we have seen sizeable increases in the age at which childbearing starts. This study uses data from the 1991 to 2007 General Household Surveys to examine trends in family intentions data in an attempt to arrive at a better understanding of these recent fertility developments. First, time trends in intended family size are compared with trends in observed fertility. Next, aggregate changes in intentions regarding the level and timing of fertility across the life course for cohorts are investigated together with the extent to which these aggregate intentions are matched by the subsequent childbearing of cohorts. Finally, both change across the life course and uncertainty in family intentions are examined. We conclude by discussing what these findings might tell us about contemporary reproductive decision making.     

MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION MAKING： DISCORDANT PREFERENCES AND PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

There are many practical decision problems where decision makers＇ preferences may be inconsistent and contradictory. In this paper, new methods for ordering and classifying multi-attribute objects by discordant collective preferences are suggested. These methods are based on the theory of multiset metric spaces. The proposed techniques are applied to ranking companies and a competitive selection of projects, which are estimated by several experts upon multiple qualitative criteria.     

Creating Action Research Quality in Organization Development: Rigorous,Reflective and Relevant

The purpose of the paper is to present a framework that enables action researchers to create quality action research projects within the organization development (OD) domain using the broad criteria of being rigorous, reflective and relevant and so contribute to the realm of practical knowing. What constitutes good quality action research within OD is a difficult question, given the broad range of approaches that operates in a wide variety of settings and with great diversity. It advances specific dimensions by which action researchers can create, review and assess quality in action research work. This integrative framework and criteria are practical tools to enable action researchers to create quality action research in OD.     

Giant magneto resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance in Sm0.55Sr0.30Ag0.15MnO3 perovskite

Silver ions substituted samarium strontium manganite (Sm0.55Sr0.30Ag0.15MnO3) pervoskite was synthesized by using respective oxides in stoichiometric ratio through solid state reaction. The as-prepared sample was characterized by various analytical techniques to confirm its formation and understand the effect of monovalent silver ions in pervoskite lattice. X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the single phase formation while grain morphology in SEM image indicates good connectivity among the grains. The enhancement in metal to insulator transition temperature shows quenched disorder and magnetoresistance phenomena. The magnetoresistance (MR) and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) emerge from grain growth factor and homogeneity induced by Ag+ ions in the lattice. The reduction in hysteresis loss resulted from antiferromagnetic - ferromagnetic (TN) and ferromagnetic - paramagnetic (Tc) transitions reveals the removal of disorder in perovskite lattice by Ag+ ions substitution. This increases the magnetic moment across distinct ions on the applying magnetic field. The rise in MR% (~99%) with silver doping emerging from smooth spin tunneling of the grains across the boundary and suppression of the disordered magnetic fluctuations with increase in magnetic field has been reported. The present compound exhibits the first order nature of magnetism and observed first time the highest value of TCR ~ 95%.     

假高粱、黑高梁和高粱细胞学指标比较及其生态学意义

假高粱(Sorghum halepense(L.)Pers.)是世界十大恶性杂草之一.黑高粱(S.almum Parodi)和高粱(S.bicolor(L.)Moench)是假高粱的两种近缘种,其中黑高粱有入侵性,高粱则为栽培植物,不表现出入侵性.为了解影响植物入侵能力的生物学因素,比较了高粱属3种植物根尖分生组织细胞的染色体、细胞核、细胞大小和细胞有丝分裂指数.结果表明,高粱染色体平均投影面积最大,其次是黑高粱,假高粱的最小;就细胞和细胞核大小而言,都是高粱最大、其次是黑高粱和假高粱;在25~35℃的温度范围内,高粱根尖分生区细胞的有丝分裂速率最低,假高粱的最高.3种植物的种子(颖果)以高粱最大,黑高粱和假高粱的显著小,幼苗相对生长速率以高粱最小,假高粱的最高.3种植物的细胞分裂速率与其染色体、细胞核、细胞和种子大小存在显著相关,表明入侵性植物往往具有较小的分生组织细胞、细胞核和种子,但是有相对高的细胞分裂速率和幼苗相对干重.因此,根尖分生组织细胞学指标在高粱属植物入侵能力评估上有潜在应用价值.     

Expanding the diversity of chemical protein modification allows post-translational mimicry

One of the most important current scientific paradoxes is the economy with which nature uses genes. In all higher animals studied, we have found many fewer genes than we would have previously expected. The functional outputs of the eventual products of genes seem to be far more complex than the more restricted blueprint. In higher organisms, the functions of many proteins are modulated by post-translational modifications (PTMs). These alterations of amino-acid side chains lead to higher structural and functional protein diversity and are, therefore, a leading contender for an explanation for this seeming incongruity. Natural protein production methods typically produce PTM mixtures within which function is difficult to dissect or control. Until now it has not been possible to access pure mimics of complex PTMs. Here we report a chemical tagging approach that enables the attachment of multiple modifications to bacterially expressed (bare) protein scaffolds: this approach allows reconstitution of functionally effective mimics of higher organism PTMs. By attaching appropriate modifications at suitable distances in the widely-used LacZ reporter enzyme scaffold, we created protein probes that included sensitive systems for detection of mammalian brain inflammation and disease. Through target synthesis of the desired modification, chemistry provides a structural precision and an ability to retool with a chosen PTM in a manner not available to other approaches. In this way, combining chemical control of PTM with readily available protein scaffolds provides a systematic platform for creating probes of protein-PTM interactions. We therefore anticipate that this ability to build model systems will allow some of this gene product complexity to be dissected, with the aim of eventually being able to completely duplicate the patterns of a particular protein's PTMs from an in vivo assay into an in vitro system.     

Discovery of 40Mg and 42Al suggests neutron drip-line slant towards heavier isotopes

A fundamental question in nuclear physics is what combinations of neutrons and protons can make up a nucleus. Many hundreds of exotic neutron-rich isotopes have never been observed; the limit of how many neutrons a given number of protons can bind is unknown for all but the lightest elements, owing to the delicate interplay between single particle and collective quantum effects in the nucleus. This limit, known as the neutron drip line, provides a benchmark for models of the atomic nucleus. Here we report a significant advance in the determination of this limit: the discovery of two new neutron-rich isotopes--40Mg and 42Al--that are predicted to be drip-line nuclei. In the past, several attempts to observe 40Mg were unsuccessful; moreover, the observation of 42Al provides an experimental indication that the neutron drip line may be located further towards heavier isotopes in this mass region than is currently believed. In stable nuclei, attractive pairing forces enhance the stability of isotopes with even numbers of protons and neutrons. In contrast, the present work shows that nuclei at the drip line gain stability from an unpaired proton, which narrows the shell gaps and provides the opportunity to bind many more neutrons.     

South-polar features on Venus similar to those near the north pole

Venus has no seasons, slow rotation and a very massive atmosphere, which is mainly carbon dioxide with clouds primarily of sulphuric acid droplets. Infrared observations by previous missions to Venus revealed a bright 'dipole' feature surrounded by a cold 'collar' at its north pole. The polar dipole is a 'double-eye' feature at the centre of a vast vortex that rotates around the pole, and is possibly associated with rapid downwelling. The polar cold collar is a wide, shallow river of cold air that circulates around the polar vortex. One outstanding question has been whether the global circulation was symmetric, such that a dipole feature existed at the south pole. Here we report observations of Venus' south-polar region, where we have seen clouds with morphology much like those around the north pole, but rotating somewhat faster than the northern dipole. The vortex may extend down to the lower cloud layers that lie at about 50 km height and perhaps deeper. The spectroscopic properties of the clouds around the south pole are compatible with a sulphuric acid composition.     

Structural basis for cofactor-independent dioxygenation in vancomycin biosynthesis

Enzyme-catalysed oxidations are some of the most common transformations in primary and secondary metabolism. The vancomycin biosynthetic enzyme DpgC belongs to a small class of oxygenation enzymes that are not dependent on an accessory cofactor or metal ion. The detailed mechanism of cofactor-independent oxygenases has not been established. Here we report the first structure of an enzyme of this oxygenase class in complex with a bound substrate mimic. The use of a designed, synthetic substrate analogue allows unique insights into the chemistry of oxygen activation. The structure confirms the absence of cofactors, and electron density consistent with molecular oxygen is present adjacent to the site of oxidation on the substrate. Molecular oxygen is bound in a small hydrophobic pocket and the substrate provides the reducing power to activate oxygen for downstream chemical steps. Our results resolve the unique and complex chemistry of DpgC, a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of an important class of antibiotics. Furthermore, mechanistic parallels exist between DpgC and cofactor-dependent flavoenzymes, providing information regarding the general mechanism of enzymatic oxygen activation.     

Silicon in the Earth's core

Small isotopic differences between the silicate minerals in planets may have developed as a result of processes associated with core formation, or from evaporative losses during accretion as the planets were built up. Basalts from the Earth and the Moon do indeed appear to have iron isotopic compositions that are slightly heavy relative to those from Mars, Vesta and primitive undifferentiated meteorites (chondrites). Explanations for these differences have included evaporation during the 'giant impact' that created the Moon (when a Mars-sized body collided with the young Earth). However, lithium and magnesium, lighter elements with comparable volatility, reveal no such differences, rendering evaporation unlikely as an explanation. Here we show that the silicon isotopic compositions of basaltic rocks from the Earth and the Moon are also distinctly heavy. A likely cause is that silicon is one of the light elements in the Earth's core. We show that both the direction and magnitude of the silicon isotopic effect are in accord with current theory based on the stiffness of bonding in metal and silicate. The similar isotopic composition of the bulk silicate Earth and the Moon is consistent with the recent proposal that there was large-scale isotopic equilibration during the giant impact. We conclude that Si was already incorporated as a light element in the Earth's core before the Moon formed.