Conservative Elements Research Articles

Copper concentration in the vineyard and forest topsoils. A comparative study with individual pollution indices

The study objectives were to evaluate the soil pollution with Copper (Cu) for different land uses, namely the cultivated and abandoned vineyards, the stripped soil from the abandoned vineyard, and the topsoil under forest vegetation, using individual pollution indices. Soil samples were systematically collected from the A horizon in both cultivated and abandoned vineyards, and from the local forest, and from three soil profiles. To assess the soil quality, the Enrichment Factor (EF), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), and Pollution Index (PI) were calculated based on values obtained from soil sample analysis and various thresholds or guideline values. The individual pollution indices reveal the following sequence for Cu concentration: stripped soil in the abandoned vineyard > soil in the abandoned vineyard > soil in the cultivated vineyard > soil in the forest. When using Romanian or Finnish standards, the PI shows more variability than EF and Igeo indices, leading to different soil contamination classifications. Indices based on conservative elements and local geochemical background provide more stable results, especially for cultivated soils. The volume of treatments applied can explain the higher concentration of Cu in the abandoned vineyard compared to the cultivated one (ampelographic collection). The Specific Pollution Index provides a two-dimensional assessment of pollution through the difference in Cu concentration in the upper part of the soil in two ecosystems (viticulture and forestry), adjusted to the content of the same element in the local geochemical background.

Applying/Misapplying Gramsci's Passive Revolution to Latin America

Steve Ellner deconstructs the argument that Pink Tide governments elected since 2018 are in a state of "passive revolution," having betrayed their progressive roots through concessions to conservative elements and capital. This analysis, Ellner finds, fails to capture the material impacts of Pink Tide governments, their strategic importance, or their potential to pull societies toward a more radical leftist future.

Influence of temperature and dry density coupled effects on HTO, 36Cl, 85Sr and 133Ba diffusion through compacted bentonite

This study investigated the combined impact of temperature (from 25 to 80 °C) and dry density of bentonite (from 1.2 to 1.65 g·cm−3) on the apparent diffusion coefficient, Da, of four radionuclides (HTO, 36Cl, 85Sr and 133Ba) in a Ca-Mg bentonite. In this study, the different porewater chemistry, present under the specific experimental conditions -- a factor often overlooked in diffusion studies -- was explicitly considered. As a support to diffusion studies, batch sorption tests were carried out at different temperatures (25, 40, 60, and 80 °C) with the sorbing elements (85Sr and 133Ba).The planar source method was used for the determination of apparent diffusion coefficients, Da, which demonstrated its efficacy for both conservative (HTO and Cl) and sorbing elements. For all the investigated radionuclides, Da values decreased with increasing the clay dry density and increased with increasing temperature. Notably, the highest Da value (1·10−9 m2 s−1) was attained for HTO diffusion in the clay at 1.2 g cm−3 and 80 °C, while the lowest Da (3.6·10−12 m2 s−1) value was determined for Ba diffusion at 1.65 g cm−3 and 25 °C.The experimental Da values were analysed employing the Arrhenius law and the Stokes-Einstein equations. Results revealed that diffusion data are in a reasonable agreement with Arrhenius behaviour, but deviations from the Stokes-Einstein equation were observed for compaction densities higher than 1.4 g cm−3.

The mass- and energy-conserving relaxation virtual element method for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation

This paper develops a conservative relaxation virtual element method for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation on polygonal meshes. The advantage of this method is to build the virtual element space where the basis functions do not need to be explicitly defined for each local element, and the bilinear forms and nonlinear terms can be computed by using elementwise polynomial projections and pre-defined degrees of freedom. Furthermore, the constructed schemes ensure the conservation of both mass and energy in discrete senses. By using the Brouwer fixed point theorem, we prove the unique solvability of the fully discrete scheme. Finally, some numerical experiments are implemented to verify the theoretical results.

Interannual and spatial variations in acid-soluble trace elements in snow: comparison with the mineralogy of dusts from open pit bitumen mining

There is ongoing concern about trace element (TE) emissions to the global environment from the dusts generated by open pit mining of coal, iron ore, stone quarries, and aggregate extraction. However, the chemical composition and acid solubility of these dusts is highly variable. Here, TEs were determined in snow collected in 2016 and 2017 in the vicinity of open-pit bitumen mines in northern Alberta, Canada. Acid solubility was assessed quantitatively by comparing TE concentrations in leachates and acid digests. The mineralogical composition of the particles extracted from the snow was examined using SEM-EDS. The data is reproducible from one year to the next. TE concentrations were greater throughout the industrial zone compared to the reference location (UTK), with the midpoint between the two central upgraders being especially impacted. Regardless of their geochemical class (lithophile: Al, Be, Cs, La, Li, Sr, Th; chalcophile: As, Cd, Pb, Sb, Tl; or enriched in bitumen: Mo, Ni, V), all TEs showed strong, positive correlations with Y, a conservative element which serves as a surrogate for the abundance of mineral particles. The ratio V:Ni in the snow is less than the corresponding values for bitumen and petcoke, but similar to that of local road dust. The ratio La:Al in snow is elevated, relative to the earth's crust, suggesting an enrichment of heavy minerals monazite and zircon. The predominance of quartz and other stable silicates helps to explain the limited chemical solubility of the dusts, and predicts a low bioaccessibility of these TEs in the environment.

Such a Thing as Society: The Conservative Party, Social Liberalism, and the One Nation Tradition since the Cameron Era

AbstractAs factionalism becomes increasingly prominent within the Conservative Party, understanding the worldviews of the respective groupings has become key to understanding the party itself. This is especially true regarding the one nation group which is the most numerous in Parliament. From the Cameron era, the term ‘one nation’ expressed leaders’ attempts to modernise the party, reckon with the Thatcherite social legacy, and carve out a distinct centre‐right identity which contained both socially liberal and distinctly conservative elements. However, reconciling ‘modern’ and ‘conservative’ views has been singularly difficult. Whilst bridging the two rhetorically and intellectually has been possible, leaders have struggled to translate such a synthesis into a viable governmental agenda that unites the party. Underlying this difficulty is fierce disagreement on immigration, sovereignty, nationhood and cosmopolitanism, resulting in one nation conservatism becoming a signal of intra‐party disagreement rather than unifying leadership.

Leontiev and Napoleon III: Two Conservatism Tendencies of the Same Century

The subject of the study is the dispute between the Russian philosopher, K. Leontiev, and the French emperor, Napoleon III, regarding the meaning and orientation of historical events. The topicality of the study is determined by the importance of the problem of progress in the modern world and the need to take into account the entire range of previous approaches to it. The novelty is defined by the absence of works in which a comparison of the two analyzed approaches would be presented. The article uses the following methods: hermeneutic, phenomenological, and comparative historical. The policy of Napoleon III is characterized in the artistic works of Leontiev as well as in the works in philosophical and publicistic genres. In the novel Odysseus Polychroniades, the Second French Empire appears as a mechanical structure devoid of a spiritual core. In the autobiographical work Egyptian pigeon, the emperor appears as a usurper. In his philosophical and political writings, Leontiev focuses on the theory of cultural types. Napoleon III's France in this context serves as an illustration of the period of secondary mixing and simplification in the lives of civilizations. But its history is also important to Leontiev as a kind of reference point in the historical coordinate system, which allows us to compare the Western path with the fate of Russia. The Russian thinker strongly emphasized the connection between the history of his country and Byzantine principles. He saw its future in their preservation and support. Leontiev considered France, which rushed along the path of liberal egalitarianism, a decaying state characterized by decomposition and loss of originality and religiosity, as well as by the transition from complexity to a more primitive organization. Napoleon III, on the contrary, considered France the vanguard of civilization, and the principle of nationalities proclaimed by him was seen as the only reliable basis for international politics. Although Leontiev and Napoleon III do not have the same interpretations of progress, in their understanding of the general meaning of history and the laws of civilizational development both considered it necessary to introduce conservative elements into public life. The forecasts of the Russian philosopher regarding the future give more reason to name him (rather than the emperor) a prophet.

Old basalts, young soils ‐ Age constraints for the Golan Heights plateau volcanic soils

AbstractThe Golan Heights plateau in northern Israel is underlaid by volcanic rocks ranging in age from ~5.5 to 0.1 Ma. Throughout the Golan Heights, these rocks are covered by shallow soils that rarely exceed 0.5 m in depth. The soils are generally assumed to form a chronosequence, in which their ages correspond to those of the basalts they cover. Such age correspondence would imply that the soils have been slowly accumulating over hundreds of thousands to a few million years, suggesting a generally stable system. The ages of these soils and their temporal correlation to the basalts, however, have never been determined or tested.Here, we present age constraints for the soils of the Golan Heights. Soils were surveyed and sampled with their corresponding basalt bedrock. Mass balance calculations based on conservative immobile elements, coupled with 36Cl‐based basalt denudation rates, suggest that the soil ages are decoupled from the ages of the underlying basalts, and represent up to a few thousand years of soil production, at most. This time frame is orders of magnitude shorter than the basalt age, challenging the prevalent assumption that the soils form a chronosequence.Our findings strongly suggest that erosion is a significant factor controlling soil formation and accumulation on the plateau, despite the generally flat morphology of the Golan Heights. The erosion is associated with tectonic activity along the Dead Sea transform, with the development of the Kinarot and Hula valleys, and with the consequential development of drainage systems of various sizes on the plateau. Throughout the Golan Heights, the timing of volcanic activity in relation to the development of the valleys and drainage systems also appears to strongly affect soil development and accumulation.

An upwind-mixed volume element method on changing meshes for compressible miscible displacement problem

Numerical simulation of oil-water miscible displacement is discussed in this paper, and a compressible problem of energy mathematics is solved potentially. The mathematical model defined by a nonlinear system includes mainly two partial differential equations (PDEs): a parabolic equation for the pressure and a convection-diffusion equation for the saturation. The pressure is obtained by a conservative mixed finite volume element method (MFVE). The computational accuracy is improved for Darcy velocity. A conservative upwind mixed finite volume element method (UMFVE) is applied to compute the saturation on changing meshes. The diffusion is discretized by a mixed finite volume element method, and the convection is computed by upwind differences. The upwind method can solve convection-dominated diffusion equations accurately and avoids numerical dispersion and nonphysical oscillation. The saturation and the adjoint vector function are obtained simultaneously. An optimal order error estimates is obtained. Finally, numerical examples are provided to show the accuracy, efficiency and possible applications.

МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ОСНОВЫ СТРУКТУРНОЙ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИИ ЭКОНОМИКИ АРКТИЧЕСКИХ РЕГИОНОВ

The article examines the problem of structural transformation of the Russian Federation Arctic zone’s economy as a unique subject of the national economy and a specific object in the national economic management system. The authors propose using the methodology of international and national management standards of the quality management system (QMS) as tools for structural transformation of this macroregion’s economy. In this regard, the process of structural transformation of the regional economy is considered from the perspective of reforming the management structure as the most conservative element of the management system and training competent managers at all levels as a subject implementing the goals of structural transformation.

Spatio-temporal variations in dissolved trace elements in peat bog porewaters impacted by dust inputs from open-pit mining activities in the Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) region

Considerable volumes of dust are generated from open-pit bitumen mining operations in northern Alberta, Canada. The reactive mineral phases of these dust particles can potentially dissolve in acidic (pH < 4) bog waters. Their dissolution could release trace elements (TEs), which could eventually alter these bog ecosystems. The impact of dust dissolution on the abundance of TEs in the dissolved (<0.45 μm) fraction of porewaters from excavated pits (30–40 cm deep) in the ombrogenic zone of five peatlands was evaluated. Porewaters were collected from four bogs situated within 70 km of mines and upgraders in the Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) region, Alberta, Canada, and from a reference bog situated 264 km away. Over two consecutive years, the dissolved concentrations of some conservative (Al, Th, Y) and mobile lithophile elements (Fe, Li, Mn, Sr), as well as the metals enriched in bitumen (V, Ni, Mo), all increased with proximity to the mining area, in the ABS region. These trends reflect the observed increase in dust deposition with proximity to the mining area from independent studies of snow, lichens, and Sphagnum moss. Contrarily, the impact of dust dissolution on the concentration of potentially toxic TEs (As, Cd, Pb, Sb, and Tl) was negligible. Thus, the elements which are more abundant in the porewaters near industry are either ecologically benign (e.g. Li and Sr) or essential micronutrients (e.g. Fe, Mn, Ni, and Mo). Manganese was the only element which was enriched by more than 10x at all sites near the mining area, compared to its concentration at the reference site. The enrichments of all other elements were <10x, indicating that anthropogenic dust emissions from mining areas have had only a modest effect on the TEs abundance in peat porewaters.

Towards a critical pedagogy of global citizenship: Breaking the silence as a trained dancer in post-apartheid South Africa

AbstractThis article reveals a reflective journey of a dancer through unpacking two performances experienced over the course of two years. It examines and navigates ways of decolonizing oppressive dominance and investigating the ramifications of indoctrination in dance. It depicts how a trained dancer evolved and became more conscious by breaking the “culture of silence” and changed in becoming a more critical reflective dancer in a post-apartheid South Africa. This project aligns itself with global citizenship education (GCE) as it re/imagines traditional forms of civic and citizenship education in a more critical and decolonial perspective. In writing this paper, we are reminded of “the myriad shifts of thinking, strategies and back-and-forth debating” with each other and can also see our “encounters as a dance” (Waghid in Dancing with doctoral encounters: Democratic education in motion, African Sun Media, 2015). In breaking the silence surrounding dance and its conservative elements, we question the technocratic practices and accepted norms in the performance arts and the dancing arena. How does a classical dancer redress the colonial past in a performance arts classroom? The significance of this paper lies in the argument that decolonization becomes an imperative within GCE if one is striving for social justice and intends to commit oneself to a more equitable society where crossing borders must be a seamless act.

Synthesis of urban real estate development processes

The wave of new industrialization in the Russian Federation, associated with the restoration of a number of industries localized on the territory of the country, as well as the creation of production facilities of a new technological order, required a reassembly of financial and industrial policy and, accordingly, a conceptual rethinking of investment and construction processes. The great importance of cities in solving these problems is undeniable. The dangerous trends of the excessive growth of the service sector and the contraction of the production sector actually nullify the role of cities in solving the priority tasks of the country's development. It becomes obvious that there is a need for the recovery growth of the industrial real estate sector of cities. Despite the fact that the real estate sector is perhaps the most conservative element of the urban environment, that can become a brake on the new industrial wave. In order to prevent this situation, the investment and construction processes of urban development cannot be considered in isolation, they must be predicted, planned and implemented in a synthesized form. The author offers practice-oriented approaches to the synthesis of urban real estate development processes.

Spatial variation and chemical reactivity of dusts from open-pit bitumen mining using trace elements in snow

The chemical reactivity of trace elements (TEs) in dusts from bitumen mining, upgrading and related industrial activities in the Athabasca Bituminous Sands region (ABS), Alberta, Canada, was evaluated using the acid-soluble fraction of snow. Samples were collected at 14 sites along the Athabasca River (AR) and its tributaries, and at 3 remote locations. Following metal-free, ultra-clean procedures for processing and analysis, samples were leached with nitric acid (pH < 1), filtered (<0.45 μm), and analyzed using ICP-MS. Insoluble particles (>0.45 μm) were examined using SEM-EDS. Along the river, acid-soluble concentrations of TEs varied by 6 orders of magnitude, from 1 mg/L (Al) to less than 1 ng/L (Tl). Conservative (Al, Y, La, Th) and mobile (Li, Be, Cs, Sr) lithophile elements, those enriched in bitumen (V, Ni, Mo), and potentially toxic chalcophile elements (As, Cd, Pb, Sb, Tl) showed considerable spatial variation. Normalizing the concentrations of TEs in samples collected near industry to the corresponding concentrations in snow from the reference site (UTK), resulted in enrichments of V and most of the lithophile elements. Dust reactivity, quantified as the ratio of acid-soluble to total concentrations, was less than 50% suggesting limited bioaccessibility. The large differences in behaviour between Cd and Pb versus Ni and V could be due to the occurrence of the former pair in carbonate or sulfide minerals, versus acid-insoluble petcoke particles for the latter couple. Spatial variations in the reactivity of TEs most likely reflect the range in diversity and chemical stability of dust particles, and variations in their abundance in primary source areas. The leaching conditions employed here are extreme (pH < 1) and intended to identify an upper limit of chemical reactivity, with far less dust dissolution expected when these dusts encounter natural waters of the area which range in pH from 4 to 8.

Identifying the source and fate of boron in geothermal water: Evidence from B/Na and B isotopes

High level dissolved B, which poses risks to human health, has been widely observed in geothermal water. In the Guide Basin, NW China, a series of geothermal water samples along a fault show a wide range of B contents ranging from 3.14 to 8.33 mg/L, which are higher than the WHO Guideline value equaling 2.4 mg/L in drinking water. To identify the sources and fate of B, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of hydrochemistry and stable isotopes (D, 18O and 11B) of three thermal fields representing three stages of hydrogeochemical evolution (stages I, II and III). From stage I to III, there are trends of increasing mineral dissolution, which is supported by increasing mean reservoir temperature and concentrations of conservative elements (Cl, Na, K, Li and Si). Geothermal water in stage I with meteoric origin and the lowest reservoir temperature has the highest B/Na resulting from silicate dissolution and falls on the mixing line between granitoids and cold water on the plot of δ11B versus 1/B, showing the control of silicate dissolution. However, geothermal water in stage III has lower Ca, B Sr and B/Na than that in stage II. Because of the occurrence of other processes, geothermal water in stages II and III deviates from the LMWL. Compared with geothermal water in stage I, the increased Sr/Ca and decreased B/Ca show that B are removed by both coprecipitation and vapor separation. With the aid of B isotopes, we find vapor separation dominates in stage II, whereas carbonate precipitation dominates in stage III. Overall, a combined use of three isotopes (H, O and B) and three element ratios (B/Na, B/Ca and Sr/Ca) leads to a complete understanding of B cycle and hydrogeochemical evolution in hydrothermal systems.

Oyster shell element composition as a proxy for environmental studies

The use of mollusks' shell as a proxy for long-term trend prediction in the variability of coastal zones has been used as an attempt to understand the consequences that environmental changes may cause to the functioning of coastal ecosystems. This study exploited the elemental concentration, elemental ratios and mineralogy of oyster shells of the genus Crassostrea to infer spatial variations in the environment of the animal's growth. Modern oyster shell samples of the Crassostrea brasiliana and Crassostrea mangle species were analyzed by neutron activation analysis, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Data normalization by the enrichment factor relative to lanthanum (La), considered as a conservative element in seawater, and statistical multivariate analyses indicate that the elemental composition and trace element ratios differ when comparing oyster shells from different regions. The results showed that the performed analyses may be useful for the characterization of the environment in which oysters grow.

Investigating Broadchurch as a terrain of struggle: The cultural and political potential of British television crime drama

British television crime drama offers fertile ground for discussion by reflecting on the politics of crime, society, family, environment, marketing and tourism. Broadchurch (2013–17) playfully engages with the conventions of the popular genre of the whodunit. Cashing in on the series’ popularity, screen tourism zooms in on a heritage space that disregards and ignores any unsettling social concerns. It is indeed sobering, if not disillusioning, to realize that today’s reconfigurations of the whodunit continue to uphold a nostalgic longing for an idealized past. However, in a cultural studies project, it is too easy a solution and too simplistic an argument to claim that the whodunit falls short of dismantling any such conservative ideology. Bearing in mind Stuart Hall’s statement that the popular is a terrain of struggle between both radical and conservative elements, the reconfigured whodunit is simultaneously escapist and topical. Television crime drama proves so popular in current times of political instability, economic inequality and social polarization precisely because it both fulfils the viewers’ desire for comfort and closure, and engages them in public debate about pressing sociopolitical issues.

A decoupled, unconditionally energy-stable and conservative finite element algorithm for a constrained transport model of the incompressible MHD equations

This article mainly considers numerical approximation for a constrained transport magnetohydrodynamic (CT-MHD) model in three dimensions. The superiority of the algorithm is that the magnetic field and current density naturally satisfy divergence-free at the discrete level, the divergence of velocity is improved simultaneously, and the electromagnetic field and the fluid field are decoupled. Finally, we rigorously prove the unconditional energy stability of the proposed algorithm and display five simulations to confirm its accuracy and validity.

Geochemical fingerprinting to determine sediment source contribution and improve contamination assessment in mining-impacted floodplains in the Philippines

Constraining the main sediment sources and pathways across landscapes impacted by anthropogenic activity is essential to limit the dispersal of sediment-borne contaminants, especially in global conservation priority areas. This study examined the provenance, partitioning, and enrichment of metals in the floodplain of the mining-affected Santa Cruz catchment, The Philippines. Composite geochemical fingerprinting of fine sediment samples (n = 36) was performed using a stepwise statistical screening procedure (range test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, discriminant function analysis) to derive the optimum set of tracers. Using a standard unmixing model, flood deposits downstream of the mining areas were shown to be predominantly mining-induced (71.9 ± 7.7 %), followed by natural erosion from gullies and stream banks (15.1 ± 11.0 %) and agricultural sediment (13.0 ± 5.1 %). Element partitioning data (Log Kd = 1.3–6.6) during a high flow event indicated that metals are dominantly associated and transported via suspended particulate matter. Background concentrations of Ni and Cr were found to be orders of magnitude higher than the threshold values set by international sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), emphasizing the need for site-specific SQGs in mineralised areas. Enrichment factor values indicated low to significant contamination of flood deposits relative to natural and agricultural sediment (EF 1.0–5.5). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that using different conservative elements could considerably influence the enrichment factor calculation. Based on tracer screening tests, Th was shown to be the most suitable reference element. The findings provide new insights on the application of geochemical tracers in a mining setting and integrating fingerprinting approaches with traditional assessment techniques to improve the reliability of contamination risk assessment in other areas facing similar sediment pollution problems.

Geochemical and H–O–Sr–B isotope signatures of Yangyi geothermal fields: implications for the evolution of thermal fluids in fracture-controlled type geothermal system, Tibet, China

High-temperature hydrothermal systems are mainly distributed in the north–south graben systems of southern Tibet as an important part of the Mediterranean–Tethys Himalayan geothermal belt in mainland China. As the largest unit capacity and second stable operating geothermal power station in China, Yangyi is the fracture-controlled type geothermal field in the center of Yadong–Gulu Graben. In this paper, hydrogeological and hydrochemical characteristics, isotope composition (δD and δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr and δ11B) of borehole water, hot springs, and surface river samples were analyzed. From the conservative elements (such as Cl− and Li+) and δD and δ18O values, the geothermal water of the Yangyi high-temperature geothermal field is estimated to be of meteoric origin with the contributions of chemical components of the magmatic fluid, which is provided by partially molten granite as a shallow magmatic heat source. According to logging data, the geothermal gradient and terrestrial heat flow value of the Yangyi high-temperature geothermal field are 6.48 ℃/100 m and 158.37 mW m−2, respectively. Combining the hydrothermal tracer experiment, 87Sr/86Sr and δ11B ratios obtained with gradually decreasing reservoir temperatures from the Bujiemu stream geothermal zone to Qialagai stream geothermal zone, we suggested the deep geothermal waters were mixed with local cold groundwater and then flow northeastward, forming the shallow reservoir within the crushed zone and intersect spot of faults in the Himalayan granitoid. Furthermore, in the process of ascent, the geothermal water is enriched in K+, Na+, and HCO3− during the interaction with underlying Himalayan granitoid and pyroclastic rocks that occur as wall rocks. The detailed description and extensive discussion are of great significance for the further exploitation and utilization of north–south trending geothermal belts in Tibet.