The development of low-cost and high-performance electrocatalysts remains a challenge for the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in alkaline membrane fuel cells. Here, we have reported novel Ni@h-BN core– shell nanocatalysts consisting of nickel nanoparticles encapsulated in few-layer h-BN shells. The Ni@hBN catalysts exhibit an improved HOR performance compared with the bare Ni nanoparticles. I...

Staphylococci that acquire the mecA gene are usually resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics (methicillin or oxacillin resistance). mecA encodes a penicillin-binding protein (PBP 2a) that has a reduced affinity for beta-lactams. In some isolates with methicillin or oxacillin resistance, only a small proportion (< or =0.1%) of the population expresses resistance to > or =10 microg of oxacillin per ...

It is now widely recognised that wetlands provide many important goods and services to human societies. Examples include drinking water, flood mitigation, water quality control, fish products and recreational and residential opportunities. The non-use values that society attributes to wetland species and ecosystems can also be significant (Turner et al., 1998a). Wetland ecosystems are, however,...

This report is an attempt to use Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) to relate scaling properties of ground-based ULF magnetic field data to occurrence of earthquakes. The magnetic field data are from the South European Geo-magnetic Array (SEGMA) (Vellante et al., 2002). Several moderate earthquakes (4.3 < M < 5.5) occurred in the Adriatic region during November-December 2004. Thus a seven mon...

Higher-Order Theories of Consciousness: An Anthology, edited by Rocco J. Gennaro, brings together fourteen new essays exploring the relative merits of and problems with higher-order representation (HOR) theories of consciousness. The anthology is divided into two parts. Part I contains articles by proponents of HOR theories arguing for their favorite version of the theory (Rosenthal, Gennaro, V...

Our research group have been working on transistion metal complexes and their activity in the biology field, especially antimicrobial and anticancer properties. Novel pseudohalide ligands with orotic acid and its metal salt Ni(II) have been synthesized and evaluated for their antimicrobial activities by disc diffusion method. The complexes have been characterized by IR, SEM, Raman, P-Xrd and UV...

divine control reduce earthly punishment Kristin Laurin1,*,†, Azim F. Shariff 2,†, Joseph Henrich3 and Aaron C. Kay4 Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, BC, Canada N2L 3G1 Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403 USA Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4 Department of Psychology and Neuroscience,...

Wetlands provide habitat for a diverse array of aquatic and semiaquatic species, many of which provide direct economic and recreational value (Woodward and Wui 2001). Despite the provided by wetland fauna and flora, ecosystem services historical wetland loss has been dramatic. Wetland loss was >50% in the U.S. and 60-70% in Europe by the 1980s, with most losses resulting from agriculture and ur...

Plants that accumulate a small percentage of metals in constructed treatment wetlands can contribute to remediation of acidic, metal contaminated runoff waters from coal mines or processing areas. We examined root and shoot concentrations of elements in four perennial wetland species over two seasons in mesocosm wetland systems designed to remediate water from a coal pile runoff basin. Deep wet...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains are characterized by a heterogeneous expression of resistance. We have previously shown in clinical oxacillin-susceptible, mecA-positive MRSA strains that selection from a very heterogeneous (HeR) to highly homogeneous (HoR) resistant phenotype was mediated by acquisition of mutations through an oxacillin-induced SOS response. In the pr...