Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Hostile soils"

Subsoil physicochemical constraints such as primary salinity and high boron (B) can significantly reduce grain yields across wide areas of Australia. Financially viable amelioration options are limited for cropping systems on these soils, which has raised interest in ‘genetic solutions’. Increasing the tolerance of crops to high salinity and boron that typically co-exist within alkaline soils offers the potential for substantial yield benefits. To assess the contribution that genetic variation can make to crop yield, closely related genotypes differing in B and/or Na+ tolerance of bread and durum wheat, barley, and lentil were compared by growing the different lines in intact soil cores of 2 Calcarosol profiles differing in level of subsoil constraints (‘hostile’/’benign’). The hostile profile had salinity increasing to EC1 : 5 ~1.2 dS/m and B ~18 mg/kg to 0.60 m, whereas in the benign soil EC1 : 5 did not exceed ~0.6 dS/m and B ~11 mg/kg. Grain yields were significantly less on the hostile soil than the benign soil for barley (34%), bread wheat (20%), durum wheat (31%), and lentil (38%). Accumulation of B in shoots was significantly lower on the hostile soil across all crop species, indicating high sodium within the soil was associated with inhibited uptake of B in plants. In contrast, accumulation of Na+ was greater for all cereal crops in the hostile soil compared with the benign soil. Lentil plants with reputed sodium tolerance (CIPAL415) produced a significant yield benefit on both the benign and hostile soil over the commercial line, Nugget. The lentil line with combined Na+ and B tolerance (02-355L*03Hs005) also produced an additional yield increase over CIPAL415 on the hostile soil; however, yield was equivalent on the benign soil. For durum wheat, 2 genotypes differing in Na+ tolerance, containing either the Nax1 or Nax2 genes, accumulated less sodium in the straw than the parent cv. Tamaroi within the hostile soil; however, this did not translate to a yield advantage. For barley, there was no difference in either grain yield or B uptake in either the grain or straw between the B-tolerance line 03_007D_087 and its parent cv. Buloke. Similarly, there was no difference in either grain yield or B uptake between the bread wheat Schomburgk and its B-tolerant near-isogenic line BT-Schomburgk. This study suggests that of the cereal lines tested, there was no obvious benefit in lines with potentially improved tolerance for a single, specific subsoil constraint on alkaline soils where multiple potential constraints exist. In contrast, in lentils, incorporating tolerance to Na+ and B did show promise for increased adaptation to soils with subsoil constraints.

Plants and their microbiomes, including plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), can work as a team to reduce the adverse effects of different types of stress, including drought, heat, cold, and heavy metals stresses, as well as salinity in soils. These abiotic stresses are reviewed here, with an emphasis on salinity and its negative consequences on crops, due to their wide presence in cultivable soils around the world. Likewise, the factors that stimulate the salinity of soils and their impact on microbial diversity and plant physiology were also analyzed. In addition, the saline soils that exist in Mexico were analyzed as a case study. We also made some proposals for a more extensive use of bacterial bioinoculants in agriculture, particularly in developing countries. Finally, PGPB are highly relevant and extremely helpful in counteracting the toxic effects of soil salinity and improving crop growth and production; therefore, their use should be intensively promoted.

The Antarctic continent is widely considered to be one of the most hostile biological habitats on Earth. Despite extreme environmental conditions, the ice-free areas of the continent, which constitute some 0.44% of the total continental land area, harbour substantial and diverse communities of macro-organisms and especially microorganisms, particularly in the more “hospitable” maritime regions. In the more extreme non-maritime regions, exemplified by the McMurdo Dry Valleys of South Victoria Land, nutrient cycling and ecosystem servicing processes in soils are largely driven by microbial communities. Nitrogen turnover is a cornerstone of ecosystem servicing. In Antarctic continental soils, specifically those lacking macrophytes, cold-active free-living diazotrophic microorganisms, particularly Cyanobacteria, are keystone taxa. The diazotrophs are complemented by heterotrophic bacterial and archaeal taxa which show the genetic capacity to perform elements of the entire N cycle, including nitrification processes such as the anammox reaction. Here, we review the current literature on nitrogen cycling genes, taxa, processes and rates from studies of Antarctic soils. In particular, we highlight the current gaps in our knowledge of the scale and contribution of these processes in south polar soils as critical data to underpin viable predictions of how such processes may alter under the impacts of future climate change.

Mining causes massive damage to landscape and biological components of an ecosystem. Due to extensive and unmanaged coal mining in the southern part of Nokrek Biosphere Reserve of Meghalaya, the area has been turned into degraded land since nutrient deficient sandy spoils are hostile for the growth and regeneration of plant communities. Soil is sandy to sandy loam and red, brown to dark brown in colour. The physico-chemical properties of the soil were greatly affected due to coal mining. There is an increased acidity i.e. from 6.00 in the undisturbed forest (control site) to 3.50 in the coal mine spoil since abandoned mine spoil discharge acidic water that are enriched with iron and other metals and metalloids. Apart from this, soil nutrients are greatly depleted. The core zone soils are rich in organic matter and nutrients whereas coalmine spoils show sign of degradation especially in the nutrient content.

Landscape alteration in view of soil protection from water erosion - an example of the Mielnica watershed The paper pertains to landscape management in eroded areas. Erosion processes, especially water erosion of soils, change the existing landscapes and make them less attractive or even hostile to people. Such situation calls for protective actions e.g. an appropriate management of agricultural landscape to minimise negative consequences of such phenomena. The paper presents a concept of counter-erosion measures to be implemented in the Trzebnickie Hills and comments their effect on the landscape. The concept was applied to an agricultural watershed of the Mielnica River. Particular attention was paid to visual aspect of this landscape and to functioning of its elements. Changes in the landscape were visualised and set up with the present status of the watershed.

Phytodepuration occurs in the plant-mediated remediation processes exploited to remove pollutants from wastewater, and Phragmites australis is one of the most used plants. This goal is achieved using constructed wetlands (CW), which are engineered systems designed to mimic the natural processes of pollutants removal. The aim of this work was to characterize the bacterial communities associated to P. australis, soils, and permeates of the CW of Calice (Prato, Italy), to evaluate the possible effect of wastewaters on the CW bacterial communities, through a next-generation sequencing-based approach. A total of 122 samples were collected from different tissues of P. australis (i.e., roots, aerial parts, and stem), soil (i.e., rhizospheric and bulk soil), and permeates, and analyzed. All samples were collected during five sampling campaigns, with the first one performed before the activation of the plant. Obtained results highlighted a specific microbiota of P. australis, conserved among the different plant tissues and during time, showing a lower alpha diversity than the other samples and not influenced by the more complex and variable environmental (soils and permeates) bacterial communities. These data suggest that P. australis is able to select and maintain a defined microbiota, a capacity that could allow the plant to survive in hostile environments, such as that of CW.

In the most recent scientific reports based on the DNA or RNA-analyses a widespread presence of the filamentous fungi, Mortierella in various environments has been shown. Some strains of this genus belong to the plant growth-promoting fungi (PGPF) and are found in the bulk soil, rhizosphere and plants tissues. These microorganisms are also often found in the extremely hostile environments, responsible for improving access to the bioavailable forms of P and Fe in the soils, the synthesis of phytohormones and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, and last but not least the protection of agricultural plants from pathogens. Furthermore, earlier reports classified Mortierella spp. as the saprotrophic microorganisms isolated from the forest litter, and nowadays their status as a very valuable decomposers in the agricultural soils was confirmed. The key features like the ability to survive under very unfavorable environmental conditions and the utilization of carbon sources contained in polymers like cellulose, hemicellulose, chitin make these fungi efficient as the agricultural inoculants. The growing interest in the application of Mortierella spp. is mainly due to the potential use of this genus in the increase of the nutrient uptake efficiency, positive effect in crop protection against adverse conditions, and reduction of chemical fertilizers and pesticides applied. Moreover, activities of Mortierella species selected from the wild or cultivated plants influence the soil microbiota and support the performance of the beneficial microorganisms enhancing significantly crop yield.

The wastes of metalliferous mining activities produce a substrate that is generally unfavourable for normal plant establishment and growth. However, metallophytes have evolved to grow in hostile environments that are rich in metals. They possess key properties that commend them for revegetation of mines and metal-contaminated sites. This field survey aimed to identify native metallophytes occurring on minerals wastes and mineralised outcrops in Broken Hill (New South Wales, Australia). Foliar concentrations of minerals were very high compared with non-mineralised soils but within the range expected for plants in such environments. Neither hyperaccumulators nor obligate metallophytes have been found, but they may be present on isolated mineralised outcrops in the wider Broken Hill area; however, a range of facultative metallophytes was identified in this study. These species could be introduced onto mining leases if establishment protocols for such species were developed.

Wheat is the third most widely consumed crop after rice and maize globally. The Green Revolution increased the Indian wheat production tremendously since the 1960s using semi-dwarf wheat varieties and subsequent trait-based breeding under non-hostile soils. In addition to grain yield, wheat is an important source of dietary zinc (Zn) and other mineral elements in many countries. Dietary Zn deficiency is widespread, especially in developing countries, and there are wide scale efforts to breed wheat with increased grain Zn concentrations in South Asia. It is not clear if further grain yield and quality traits such as grain Zn concentration improvements can be sustained due to 1) narrow genetic diversity in modern wheat, and 2) limited land availability e.g., many soils are marginal due to salinity, alkalinity, acidity and mineral nutrient imbalances. The first aim of this thesis was to quantify grain yield and yield components, including juvenile root traits, and grain Zn concentration of a panel of 36 Indian diverse wheat genotypes to explore the potential for site specific trait selection for hostile soils and characterise the baseline effect of genotype (G), site (E), and genotype x site interaction (G*E) under a wide range of soil conditions. Mean grain yields ranged from 1.0 to 5.5 t ha-1 at hostile and non-hostile sites, respectively. G*E interactions affected many yield and component traits, which support the value of site-specific traits selection for hostile soils. The mean grain Zn concentration of 36 genotypes ranged from 25 to 35 mg kg-1. Despite a relatively small overall contribution of G to the overall variation in grain Zn concentration, biofortifying wheat through breeding is likely to be effective at scale given that some genotypes (e.g. Kharchia 65) performed consistently across diverse soil types. Root angle and lateral root traits were associated with grain yield and some mineral composition traits. The second aim of this thesis was to study the performance of eight amphidiploids derived from Thinopyrum bessarabicum, a tall wheat grass, for yield, yield components and grain Zn concentration under saline soils. Reduction in GYD in amphidiploids were less than in Indian genotypes under saline soils and grain Zn concentration ranged from 36-43 mg kg-1. The third aim of this thesis was to explore wild wheat relatives, non-relatives and their derivatives to increase the genetic diversity for grain Zn concentration. The mean grain Zn concentration of 225 wild wheat accession ranged from 47 to 178 mg kg-1. Notably, Amblyopyrum muticum, derived amphidiploids and double haploid lines could be useful sources of grain Zn variation that can be used in breeding programmes to increase the grain Zn concentration in modern wheat varieties to alleviate the dietary Zn deficiency.

Woody perennials exist in diverse conditions across arid and semi-arid regions and they bring enormous ecological, environmental and economic benefits – yet their establishment remains unreliable and expensive. A great deal of research has gone into cultural methods to improve establishment yet the edaphic factors have been largely ignored, and this is seen as a serious limitation. Without a good understanding of the interactions between plants and (often hostile) soil conditions, improved cultural methods can generate only limited progress. This study reviewed the literature associated with establishing woody perennial species on hostile soils in arid and semi-arid regions (Chapter 2, published in Plant and Soil as a review paper) and concluded that two of the most important soil properties limiting woody plant growth were high soil strength and low soil aeration. It also concluded that because some species grow well in hard soils while others grow well in waterlogged soils, there must be considerable genetic variation among woody perennials in the way they adapt to edaphic conditions. On this basis, the research reported in this thesis was conducted in four separate studies (each published or submitted for publication) to understand the variation in inherent root growth pressures that different woody species can exert on the soil (Chapter 3), the response of different species to compaction (Chapter 4), the response of different species to poor soil aeration (Chapter 5), and the response of different species to these conditions in the field (Chapter 6). Cultural methods were included as variables, and model crops (either Pisum sativum or Hordium vulgare) were included for comparison. The establishment and survival of woody perennials on hard, dry soil was postulated to depend inter alia upon their ability to exert high maximum axial root growth pressures, σmax [max subscript] (Pa), which enable them to establish deep root systems. Values of σmax [max subscript] have been published for crop plants in the past but not for a wide range of woody perennials. In Chapter 3, six small-seeded Eucalyptus species from two different habitats were grown in a glasshouse for 3-4 months until their root systems developed into a root-bound ‘plug’. They were then repotted into larger vessels to reproduce a new set of lateral roots over 3-4 days. The maximum axial root growth force, Fmax [max subscript] (N), was then measured on lateral root axes using a recognized apparatus (Misra 1997, Plant Soil 188,161-170). Fmax [max subscript] was also measured on the primary root axes of 3-4-day old seedlings of the large-seeded woody perennial, Acacia salicina, and the crop plant, Pisum sativum. Values of σmax [max subscript] were calculated from Fmax [max subscript] and the corresponding root diameter (d, m) using the relation: σmax [max subscript] = 4Fmax [max subscript] / πd² . The primary and lateral roots of all woody perennials were found to be considerably smaller than the primary roots of P. sativum yet they exerted a similar mean Fmax [max subscript]. The mean σmax [max subscript] varied between 0.15 and 0.25 MPa and the species: E. leucoxylon, E. loxophleba and A. salicina exerted the greatest pressures among the woody perennials, which were comparable to those exerted by the crop plant, P. sativum. Seedling age appear to influence the value of σmax [max subscript] for primary roots of the trees, so a separate experiment was conducted to measure Fmax [max subscript] for A. salicina and P. sativum over a period of 2- 10 days after germination. The value of σmax [max subscript] for the primary roots of A. salicina seedlings increased with time such that it became greater than that for P. sativum. The value of P. sativum did not change with time. In Chapter 4, four species that exerted low, medium, or high σmax [max subscript] in Chapter 3 were selected to evaluate their performance in compacted soils containing no cracks or biopores. All species were grown by direct seeding in a loamy sand compacted to obtain a range of soil penetration resistance, SR, ranging between 0.3 and 5 MPa. The seedlings of the Eucalyptus species were too small to be handled so they were grown for 3-months then transplanted into soil having the same range of SR values. Root diameter, elongation rate, total length and distribution of roots with the soil depth were measured. The SR value at which the rate of root elongation was halved, SR0.5, was determined from a plot of elongation rate versus soil resistance. The diameter of the primary roots of A. salicina increased more consistently and this species maintained higher rate of root elongation and had higher SR₀.₅ value than those of the direct seeded eucalyptus species and P. sativum. However, the lateral roots of transplanted Eucalyptus species elongated faster and had greater values of SR₀.₅ than the primary roots of all species. The lateral roots of transplanted E. camaldulensis were more strongly negatively affected by compaction than those of the other transplanted eucalyptus species. Irrespective of compaction, P. sativum grew most its roots in the top 5 cm of soil, whereas tree roots were more uniformly distributed with depth. These variations in root growth behaviour in response to varying compaction were only found to moderately correlate (R² = 0.79 and P = 0.11) with the ability of their roots to exert σmax [max subscript] (measured in earlier experiments) when the soil was severely compacted. It has been reported that many compacted and uncompacted soils in arid and semi-arid regions suffer from permanent or temporary waterlogging. Root zone of such soil lacks sufficient aeration and oxygen supply. In Chapter 5, the performance of woody perennials from previous experiments were evaluated under a range of soil aeration, εair [air subscript], between totally waterlogged and highly aerated (i.e. 0 < εair [air subscript] < 0.20 m³m⁻³). Hordium vulgare was included for comparison because it is known to survive temporary waterlogged soil conditions. All species were direct seeded and grown for 21 days. The concentration of soil oxygen was measured directly in each soil, and the diameter, total length of roots, mass of shoots and roots, as well as water use and water use efficiency were measured or calculated. The soil oxygen concentration was severely depressed in soil where εair ≤ 0.10 m³m⁻³ but there was considerable variation among plant species in their response. Root and shoot growth as well as the water use by the young seedlings of E. camaldulensis were virtually unaffected by soil aeration status, while the other four species showed different responses. E. kochii, for example, was highly sensitive to declining εair [air subscript], while H. vulgare and A. salicina were somewhat less sensitive. In terms of water use efficiency, the two large seeded species, A. salicina and H. vulgare, were significantly more efficient than the eucalyptus species. In Chapter 6, the above findings from the laboratory and glasshouse experiments, which suggested the ability of roots to either exert high σmax [max subscript] or to maintain a high rate of root elongation might be important for establishment and survival of these woody perennials, were tested under field conditions. A field survey was conducted near Monarto, South Australia, where soil physical properties and the success of woody perennials were thought to be related to differences in land management. A planting experiment was also conducted nearby where several woody perennials were established using two different planting methods. The large-seeded acacias were more successful than the small-seeded eucalypts when both were planted from seeds. Among the small-seeded species, transplanting of 90 day-old-seedlings was more successful than direct-seeding. Differences in success rates of various tree species and planting methods in the field corroborated well with the performance of these woody perennial seedlings in the laboratory. The findings from this research can be used by land managers and revegetation agencies to select superior woody perennials and planting methods to maximize the outcomes of their revegetation efforts in arid and semi-arid regions. The key findings from this research were: i. There were significant differences between woody perennials in their ability to exert high root growth pressures; some tree roots exert comparable pressures to those of an annual species. ii. Roots of older seedlings can exert higher pressures than those of younger seedlings, and when compacted conditions persist for up to 10 days, a woody perennial (i.e. A. salicina) can continue to exert root growth pressures that exceed those of an annual species (i.e. P. sativum). iii. There are significant differences between woody perennial seedlings in their ability to penetrate soils by their roots under varying soil strength which can be justified by differences in their respective habitats. Among the direct seeded woody perennial, large-seeded species have comparatively higher SR₀.₅ than those of small-seeded ones. iv. There are significant differences in the ability of roots of young seedlings planted by different methods. The lateral roots of transplanted eucalyptus seedlings generally elongate faster at all levels of compaction and they have significantly greater SR₀.₅ values than those of their direct-seeded counterparts. v. In highly compacted soil (e.g. SR > 4 MPa) there is a strong correlation between the ability of species to exert high root growth pressures and their ability to continue to grow in very hard soils. vi. The effect of soil aeration on plant growth varies widely among species. Some woody perennials are better able to grow and use water in poorly aerated soils than others (probably by moving oxygen from the shoots to the roots). There appears to be no single critical value of εair [air subscript] to which all woody perennials respond. Some decline as soon as εair [air subscript] < 0.20 m³m⁻³, while others either don’t respond at all or do not decline until εair [air subscript] < 0.15 m³m⁻³. Furthermore, no single plant response universally indicates plant performance under waterlogging conditions – in some cases only root or shoot growth is affected while in other cases a more integrated response occurs (e.g. water use efficiency). vii. The laboratory and glasshouse observations can be used to predict the success of young woody perennial seedlings and planting methods in real field conditions.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 2013

This book explores the geography, ecology, and antiquity of ‘open ecosystems’, which include grasslands, savannas, and shrublands. They occur in climates that can support closed forest ecosystems and often form mosaics with forest patches. With the aid of remote sensing, it is now clear that open ecosystems are a global phenomenon and occur over vast areas in climates that could also support forests. This book goes beyond regional narratives and seeks general explanations for their existence. It develops the theme of open ecosystems as being widespread and ancient, with a distinct biota from that of closed forests. It examines hypotheses for their maintenance in climate zones favouring the development of forests, including soils hostile for tree growth, fire, and vertebrate herbivory.

War captivity is an ideal observatory to address three interrelated questions. First, I argue that in order to understand what a prisoner of war was in the eighteenth century, from a legal viewpoint, we must forget what we know about this notion, as it has been shaped by twentieth-century international conventions. In the eighteenth century, the distinction between a prisoner of war, a hostage, a criminal and a slave was not always clear-cut, in theory and even more so in practice. Second, war captivity tells us something important about the eighteenth-century state, how it transformed itself, and why it endured. The third approach is a social history of international relations. The aim here is to understand how eighteenth-century societies were impacted by war: how the detention of foreign enemies on home soil revealed and challenged social values, representations, hierarchies, and practices. The book’s argument hinges on the experience of prisoners of war as the pivot of social relations within and outside the prison, between Britons and French and between prisoners and host communities. War does not simply destroy society, but it also creates new sorts of social ties.The book addresses a wide range of topics, such as the ethics of war, philanthropy, forced migrations, the sociology of the prison and the architecture of detention places. One of its strengths is the sheer magnitude and diversity of the archival material used, in English and in French, most of which have been little explored by other historians.

Plants served as main staple for humanity since time immemorial. Plant roots science is a fascinating domain that offers a window to the complex world of plants-microorganisms relationship. Plant roots were used throughout human history both as a food source particularly in times of food scarcity as well as for medicinal purposes aid in the treatment of various human disorders. Root vegetables are excellent sources of fiber and antioxidants and are low in calories and lipids—being indispensable in human diet. There is an increasing interest in the biochemical processes occurring in the rhizosphere between root tissues and the bacterial/fungal colonizers especially in soils where there is a deficiency in minerals such as iron, phosphorus and selenium or there is higher load of toxic metals such as aluminum, cadmium, nickel and lead. That interest stems from the need to improve crop yields in hostile environmental conditions such as drought and low nutrient availability in soils. In this chapter, we will focus on the typical edible plant roots as well as bulbs (are not proper roots) looking at their nutrient content as well as their use as health enhancers.

This chapter details the experience of flight from Poland to Germany and what it meant in real terms to be a Jewish refugee on the roads of central Europe. This is a crucial issue because that kind of forced travel is such a fundamental part of what refugees have to endure that unless it is examined, they themselves cannot be understood. Though the whole refugee experience was fraught with danger and terror, the most difficult moments for many came right at the beginning, when the individuals or small groups of refugees had to evade the enemy troops from whom they were fleeing. Even if refugees managed to evade the hostile soldiers, their lives remained in danger from people acting out of hatred of Jews, simply wanting to rob them, or both. Nighttime was particularly dangerous, especially if Jews were staying at an inn run by a non-Jew. The chapter then highlights the personal chronicle of Yuda ben Ephraim Ḥayim of Piła in Great Poland, who fled to Silesia during 1656 to avoid being attacked by the forces of Stefan Czarniecki.

Terrestrial soil is a complex part of the ecosystem hosting bacteria, fungi, protists, animals, and huge source of nutrients to plants. These soil-dwelling organisms exhibit an array of interactions with plants to span the full range of ecological possibilities. In the 19th century, many different bacterial strains were described as having plant growth favouring potential like Pseudomonas, Azospirillum, and even crop seeds were coated with bacterial cultures to improve growth and yield. The soil microbial community also recognized their considerable role to improve the soil health via energy transfer, catalyzing reactions, and nutrient mineralization. Thus, soil microorganisms and enzymatic process are generally regarded as rate-limiting steps in decomposition and nutrient cycling.

This chapter studies refugee settlement in the Holy Roman Empire's eastern regions. The Swedish invasion of Poland began during the first week of July of 1655, sparking a flight of refugees across the Commonwealth's western border to the neighboring region of Silesia. Even before the Swedish army arrived, a group of Jews from Great Poland wrote to the Holy Roman Emperor, the Habsburg Ferdinand III, asking permission to enter his territory. However, the Swedish army got to them before Ferdinand's response, so they were forced to cross into Silesia without permission. Once there, they wrote a second letter to the emperor in which they gave a moving description of their sufferings. The emperor gave them the permission they wanted on August 22. These two documents—the Jews' letter and the emperor's response—deepen one's understanding of the refugee experience in the mid-1650s in a number of ways. The Jews' letter suggests that even in cases where a central authority in the Commonwealth was willing to allow the Jewish refugees to return, there were still hostile local forces trying to prevent them from doing so. Meanwhile, the emperor's response indicates that the refugees' choice to make for Silesia, Bohemia, and Moravia as safe havens was a function not only of those regions' geographical proximity to Poland but of the generous terms of travel and settlement that Jews were granted there.

This chapter examines how the state used the housing market to regulate family reunification. The state required candidates for family reunification to have “sufficient housing” but largely failed to act against landlords who charged foreigners more than Germans. The state also reacted to the development of “foreign” neighborhoods on German soil with a national policy declaring certain cities and neighborhoods off-limits to further foreign settlement. This policy was in effect nationally from 1975 to 1977 and in West Berlin from 1975 to 1989. Both policies placed the burden of dispersal and “integration” on migrant families seeking to navigate a hostile housing market. Migrants unable to find state-approved housing often resorted to registering in false addresses or otherwise misrepresenting their living circumstances, placing many in the situation of being “residentially illegal” and thus vulnerable to deportation.

This chapter examines the inter-relationship of sport and diplomacy with specific reference to the 1960 Winter Olympic Games (held in Squaw Valley, California). More specifically, it evaluates State Department involvement in the ongoing issue of the recognition of the “Two China’s” during the Cold War, with specific reference to international sport. Despite long-standing official non-involvement in international sporting matters, hosting the 1960 Games focussed US diplomatic attention on the opportunities and problems presented by the Olympics within the wider Cold War. Crucially, the State Department extended considerable behind-the-scenes efforts both before and during the Squaw Valley Games in an attempt ensure Nationalist Chinese participation. Overall, this chapter will demonstrate that despite claims of non-involvement, the State Department specifically utilised international sport – and particularly the Olympics – as a tool of diplomacy during the Cold War. This was drawn into particularly sharp focus when the Games were being hosted on American soil, as they were in Squaw Valley in 1960.

No city in the ancient world both benefited and suffered from its location more than Corinth. Situated on the main north-south route between northern and southern Greece, and with two good ports that linked it to Italy on the west and Asia Minor on the east, Corinth quickly became a center for commerce. But the location of Corinth also had its downside. The city often found itself caught in the middle between hostile neighbors, Athens to the north and Sparta to the south. Armies crisscrossed its streets as often as merchants, and more than once the city had to arise from ashes and rubble. Today only Athens attracts more interest in Greece for its historic antiquities than Corinth. It ranks as a must-see location for every traveler to Greece. Ancient Corinth is located less than two hours south of Athens. Tours run often from local hotels. Likewise, a rental automobile gives easy access and makes it possible to see nearby sites of interest not on the usual tours. The great city of Corinth prospered for many reasons. In addition to its prominence as a center for trade and commerce, agriculture also flourished in the area. The soil around the city was thin and rocky, but just to the west, along the Nemean River, a rich plain produced heavy harvests of grain and other crops. Raisins were first developed there, and the word currant is a medieval corruption of Corinth. Tourism was another important source of income. The famous Isthmian Games, second only to the Olympic Games and more prestigious than those held in Delphi and Nemea, brought thousands of tourists to Corinth every two years and further added to its fame and fortune. During its early period Corinth also attracted many travelers to its famous (or notorious) Temple of Aphrodite atop the Acrocorinth (“high Corinth,” or upper Corinth, the portion of the city atop the 1,900-foot mountain to the southeast of the city). Additionally, according to Plutarch, these multiple sources of wealth caused Corinth to become one of the three great banking centers of Greece, along with Athens and Patrae.

The single most important feature of American history after 1945 was the United States’s assumption of hegemonic leadership. Europeans had noted America’s enormous potential since at least the nineteenth century. After the Civil War the United States had one of the largest economies in the world, but, as noted earlier in this book, in geopolitical terms it remained a surprisingly minor player. By 1900 the United States was playing a more significant political role. But it was only after 1945 that the nation’s potential on the world stage was fully realized. Victory in the Second World War left the United States in an enviable position. Unlike the Soviet Union, which endured devastating fighting on its territory and lost tens of millions of citizens, the United States had experienced only one major attack on its soil. Thanks to its actions in the war America had great influence in Europe. And the national economy emerged surprisingly vibrant from the years of conflagration, easily dominant over any conceivable rival or set of rivals. When the First World War ended the United States ultimately chose to return to its hemispheric perch. It declined to join the new League of Nations, and rather than maintaining engagement with the great powers of the day, America generally turned inward. The years following the Second World War were quite different. In addition to championing—and hosting—the new United Nations, the United States quickly established a panoply of important institutions aimed at maintaining and organizing international cooperation in both economic and security affairs. Rising tensions with the Soviet Union, apparent to many shortly after the war’s end, led the United States to remain militarily active in both Europe and Asia. The intensifying Cold War cemented this unprecedented approach to world politics. The prolonged occupations of Germany and Japan were straightforward examples of this newly active global role. In both cases the United States refashioned a conquered enemy into a democratic, free-market ally—a significant feat. The United States did not, however, seek a formal empire in the wake of its victory.

Bone, a key part of the paleontological and archeological records, can provide insight into the biology, ecology and the environment of ancient vertebrates. Bone is a composite material in which the nanomechanical properties are dependent on the local organic content, mineral content, and microstructural organization. However it is unclear as to how these properties are affected by burial, environmental influences, temperature, or time. The acidity of volcanic soils causes resorption of the bone mineral and may result in demineralization of the bone. As such, very few bone remains are found in volcanic soils and this rare sample can provide insight into the preservation under such extreme conditions. While the effects of volcanic soils on bone are unknown, exposure to hostile environmental conditions increases the potential for dramatic alteration of the mechanical behavior. In this study, a human long bone from around 600 A.D. and a modern human femur were studied using nanoindentation. Testing, performed in both longitudinal and transverse directions, revealed preservation of bone’s natural anisotropy. Additionally, the preserved bone’s lower modulus values suggest the dissolution of bone mineral.

As oil and gas reserves become more hostile and more remote, the associated flowline mechanical design faces increasing challenges. The trend is that longer, larger diameter, hotter, and lighter (with increased insulation requirements, and minimal stability issues in deep water) flowlines are required. Global buckling is therefore an increasingly prevalent part of the design process of modern field developments. In order to ensure a robust global buckling design, all potential buckle triggers must be considered. A challenge for this is that imperfections introduced by pipelay can not be known until installation is complete. A common approach is therefore to consider high quality survey data from previous projects to characterise the severity of pipelay features for future projects. This paper considers the effect of pipelay catenary length, pipe-soil interaction, pipeline bending stiffness and vessel motion on the as-laid horizontal imperfections, and consequently details the interrelationship between the causes and effects of the imperfection. Further, there is an interrelationship between the severity of the feature, its resistance to buckling and the level of strain in the post-buckled state. An integrated approach is therefore advocated, to obtain a robust design range of imperfection sizes in a deterministic fashion.

Traditionally, on-bottom stability requirement of offshore subsea pipelines is often determined based on simplified forcebalance methods. Despite its’ relative ease of application and quick result time, the predicted requirement for stabilisation in shallow water and/or hostile environment can be overbearing and the practicality to install such pipes and subsequent cost becomes a major issue. This paper describes the approach of using dynamic on-bottom stability analysis as pre-requisite to achieve the requirement for stability of subsea pipeline. It was adopted for the determination of concrete coating weight requirements of a 24-inch pipeline in shallow water offshore Sabah, Malaysia, a maiden application of this approach in Malaysian waters. Citing the above as a case study, several key differences in this approach as opposed to traditional methods will be discussed such as the use of a simulated random sea-state in time-domain, advanced pipe-soil interaction modelling, realtime update of hydrodynamic forces and effects of pipeline stiffness on its overall response. The merits of a dynamic stability design approach will also be highlighted in terms of the final stabilisation requirements and its impact on installation and cost.

Venice can be regarded as a test bed for any preservation strategy. From its very origins, the city has always had to withstand hostile environmental conditions, such as unstable soil, overflowing tides, and rising damp. Hence traditional materials and techniques are the result of a thousand-year-old selection aimed at improving their durability. Since the end of the nineteenth century, however, historical surfaces have been progressively replaced by new short-lasting plasters, following the trend of systematic refurbishment meant to maximize economic output with disregard for good practices. As tourism became the driving force of a social, cultural, and architectural transformation, a sharp decrease in local population and craftsmanship has caused the loss of traditional know-how, leading to irreversible decline and low-quality interventions. All this makes it necessary to reconsider the use of traditional materials and building skills, trusting, once again, in the Venetian craftsmen who are the repositories of local material culture and in the intangible know-how that can be crucial in protecting the city’s tangible built heritage. Joint efforts between the Iuav and local craftsmen are now underway in this regard. This synergy is making it possible to readdress an operational approach in which preservation is understood as the broadest possible care-for practice capable of providing continuous maintenance and control over architectural variances. Urgent too is the need to transfer traditional know-how from the elder custodians to the younger generations who will have the cultural and operational task of safeguarding Venice’s future. Finally, fostering traditional good practices may also help develop local, cost-effective, site-specific efforts capable of promoting positive economic-and-social reversion. Reintroducing traditional high-quality materials and artisan skills, together with controlled, compatible innovation, should be regarded as a sort of living idea of tradition, connecting past and future in protecting Venice’s material authenticity – its main tangible resource and a specific requisite for a UNESCO World Heritage Site.