text:
\section{Introduction}
\label{sec: Introduction}
At a polarized $e^+e^-$ collider, $A_e$ is given by the left-right asymmetry $A_{LR}$ in the total rate for $Z$ production,
\begin{equation}
A_e=A_{LR} \equiv \frac{\sigma_L-\sigma_R}{\sigma_L+\sigma_R},
\end{equation}
where $\sigma_L$ and $\sigma_R$ are the cross section for 100\% polarized $e^{-}_{L}e^{+}_{R}$ and $e^{-}_{R}e^{+}_{L}$ initial states. This $A_{LR}$ is important for the electroweak study, and it induces corrections to the $e^+e^-\to Zhh$, $e^+e^-\to Zh$, and $e^+e^-\to Z$ ($Z$-pole) processes.
Therefore, it can provide a very useful constraint for operators $c_{HL}$, $c_{HL}^{\prime}$, and $c_{HE}$ in the global SMEFT fit \cite{001}\cite{002}\cite{003}\cite{004}.

It turned out that the precision of the $A_{LR}$ measurement performed with the SLD detector at the SLAC Linear Collider (SLC), being at around 1.5\% \textit{i.e.}\,$A_{LR} = 0.1514 \pm 0.0019 \, (stat) \pm 0.0011 \, (syst)$\,\cite{lepslc}, is not precise enough for the global fit.
There were 2 dominant systematic errors in the measurement of $A_{LR}$ in the SLD: uncertainty of beam $E_{CM}$ and uncertainty of beam polarization.
At the ILC 250, we can use the radiative return process, $e^+e^-\to \gamma Z$, to measure the $A_{LR}$ and it has roughly 150 times more statistics than the SLC had.
There is a fast detector simulation study available for this reaction \cite{Alr}. Then we tried to perform full detector simulation study to get more realistic estimations including systematic errors.

\section{Detector Simulation}
\label{Detector Simulation}
We performed full simulation including $e^+e^- \to \gamma Z$ and possible background processes.
The whole set of software programs used in this analysis is packaged as iLCSoft version v02-02\,\cite{iLCSoft}\,\cite{s3}\,\cite{s6}.
Events were generated using Whizard 2.85\,\cite{s6} based on full tree-level helicity amplitudes for a given final state including non-resonant diagrams. Interactions of generated particles with the detector material are simulated with a full detector simulator based on GEANT4\,\cite{Geant4} using DD4hep (Detector Description for HEP)\,\cite{dd4hep}, which is the common detector geometry description for iLCSoft, including the 14 mrad crossing angle, IP smearing and offset depending on initial particles.
The event reconstruction programs are implemented as event processors in the framework of Marlin\,\cite{Marlin}.
The event simulation for this analysis has been done at the center-of-mass energy of 250\,GeV. The assumed integrated luminosity is $\int Ldt = 900\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ each for the two beam polarizations $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ and $(+0.8, -0.3)$.
In our analysis, all particles are forced to be clustered into 2 jets and the jet with higher reconstructed energy is defined as ``jet 1" and the other as ``jet 2".

\section{Signal Definition and Background}
The signal for our analysis is $e^+ e^- \to \gamma Z$ and $Z \to q\bar{q}$ process satisfying $80\,\mathrm{GeV} < M_{q\bar{q}} $(MC truth)$ < 120\,\mathrm{GeV}$. As the radiative return photons are so collinear with the $e^-/e^+$ beam that they go into the beam pipe in most events (Fig.\,\ref{FA03}) and all the events which contain only 2 jets in the final state can be background, \textit{e.g.}\,those shown in Fig.\,\ref{FA04}. Our $e^+ e^- \to q\bar{q}$ samples contain events in which the $Z$ is far from the mass shell and we need to distinguish those events from the signal.\\
 \begin{figure}[ht]
  \centering
   \begin{tabular}[c]{cc}
    \includegraphics[width=0.8\columnwidth] {F01.pdf}
 \end{tabular}
    \caption{Photon angle and invariant mass of $Z$ boson distributions in the $e^+ e^- \to q\bar{q}$ samples. Each vertical axis is absolute value of cosine of polar angle of the signal photon. Left plot corresponds to $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ case and right plot corresponds to $(+0.8, -0.3)$ case. Signal corresponds to $80\,\mathrm{GeV} < M_{q\bar{q}} $(MC truth)$ < 120\,\mathrm{GeV}$ region and most photons are going very forward.}
  \label{FA03}
\end{figure}
 \begin{figure}[ht]
  \centering
   \begin{tabular}[c]{cc}
    \includegraphics[width=0.8\columnwidth] {F02.pdf}
 \end{tabular}
    \caption{Potential background processes for the $e^+ e^- \to \gamma Z$ and $Z \to q\bar{q}$ process with abbreviated processes names.}
  \label{FA04}
\end{figure}
The considered background samples have a final state of two leptons ``2f\_l", two quarks ``2f\_h", four leptons ``4f\_l", two quarks and two leptons ``4f\_sl", and four quarks ``4f\_h". In order to suppress background events, background exclusion cuts are defined as follows by considering distributions of several useful observables.\\
\\
Cut 1\, $N_{\gamma (E> 50\,\mathrm{GeV})} = 0$\\
Cut 2\, $120\,\mathrm{GeV} < E_{vis}< 160\,\mathrm{GeV}$\\
Cut 3\, $|\cos \theta_{2j}| > 0.95$\\
Cut 4\, $N^{charged}_{J1} + N^{charged}_{J2} > 4$\\
Cut 5\, $N^{total}_{J1} + N^{total}_{J2} > 10$\\
Cut 6\, $50\,\mathrm{GeV} < M_{2j} < 160\,\mathrm{GeV}$\\
Cut 7\, $\cos \theta_{12} > -0.99$ or $\frac{E_{J1} - E_{J2}}{E_{J1} + E_{J2}} > 0.5$\\
\\
Here, $N_{\gamma (E> 50\,\mathrm{GeV})}$, $E_{vis}$, $|\cos \theta_{2j}|$, $N^{charged}_{J1}$, $N^{charged}_{J2}$,  $N^{total}_{J1}$, $N^{total}_{J2}$, $M_{2j}$,$\cos \theta_{12}$, $E_{J1}$, and $E_{J2}$ stands for the number of isolated photon with the energy more than 50 GeV, total visible energy, total momentum direction of the 2-jet system, the number of detected charged particles in jet 1, the number of detected charged particles in jet 2, the sum of the numbers of detected charged and neutral particles in jet 1, the sum of the numbers of detected charged and neutral particles in jet 2, the invariant mass of the 2-jet system, opening angle of two jets, energy of jet 1, and energy of jet 2, respectively.
Tables\,\ref{TA01} and \ref{TA02} show the luminosity normalized expected number of remaining events after each cut for $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ and $(+0.8, -0.3)$ polarization, respectively at the ILC 250. A stack plot for the signal and background events after Cuts 1 through 7 is shown as a function of the reconstructed invariant mass of the 2-jet system $M_{2j}$ in Fig.\,\ref{FA05}.
\begin{table}[hbtp]
  \caption[Reduction table for signal and each background processes for $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ polarization]{Reduction table for signal and each background processes for $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ polarization, assuming $\int Ldt = 900\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$.}
  \label{TA01}
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{lllllllll}
    \hline
    $\times 10^6$ events  & Signal & Signal (Core) & 2f\_l & 4f\_l & 4f\_sl & 4f\_h & 2f\_h & Bkg. Total\\
    \hline \hline
    Expected  &46.0& 32.5 & 12.7       &     9.34    & 17.2    & 15.1        & 23.6 & 78.1  \\
    Cut 1  &32.7& 31.1       & 10.1        & 5.96       & 16.0     & 14.8        & 21.6 & 68.3 \\
    Cut 2  &24.6& 24.4         & 2.55      & 1.46       & 3.22     & 0.00422  & 1.09& 8.32 \\
    Cut 3  &24.5& 24.4       & 1.93        & 0.366     & 0.526   & 0.00352  & 1.04 & 3.87 \\
    Cut 4  &24.4& 24.3        &  0.299  & 0.0574 & 0.523   & 0.00352  & 1.00 & 1.88 \\
    Cut 5  &24.3& 24.2      & 0.0651   & 0.0102 & 0.520   & 0.00352  & 0.977 & 1.58 \\
    Cut 6  &24.2& 24.2        & 0.0571   & 0.00807  & 0.470  & 0.00210 & 0.694 & 1.23\\
    Cut 7  &24.2& 24.1        & 0.0534   & 0.00647  & 0.463  & 0.00204  & 0.682 & 1.21\\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}
\begin{table}[hbtp]
  \caption[Reduction table for signal and each background processes for $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (+0.8, -0.3)$ polarization]{Reduction table for signal and each background processes for $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (+0.8, -0.3)$ polarization, assuming $\int Ldt = 900\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$.}
  \label{TA02}
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{lllllllll}
    \hline
    $\times 10^6$ events  & Signal & Signal (Core) & 2f\_l & 4f\_l & 4f\_sl & 4f\_h& 2f\_h & Bkg. Total\\
    \hline \hline
    Expected  &30.5& 21.6 & 9.84      & 5.50        & 2.56 & 1.41                    &10.6& 29.9  \\
    Cut 1  &21.7& 20.6       & 7.77       & 2.33       & 1.86 & 1.38                    &9.37& 22.7 \\
    Cut 2  &16.3& 16.2       & 1.83       & 0.378     & 0.370       & 0.00137      &1.04& 3.62  \\
    Cut 3  &16.3& 16.2       & 1.37       & 0.259     & 0.106       & 0.00124       &1.03& 2.77 \\
    Cut 4  &16.2& 16.1       &  0.212    & 0.0357  & 0.104         & 0.00124     &0.985& 1.34 \\
    Cut 5  &16.2& 16.1       & 0.0454   & 0.00603  & 0.102      & 0.00124      &0.958& 1.11 \\
    Cut 6  &16.1& 16.0      & 0.0396   & 0.00468  & 0.0934     & 0.000986    &0.616& 0.754\\
    Cut 7  &16.1& 16.0       & 0.0372  & 0.00320  & 0.0900    & 0.000967     &0.609& 0.740\\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

 \begin{figure}[ht]
  \centering
   \begin{tabular}[c]{cc}
    \includegraphics[width=0.8\columnwidth] {FA05.pdf}
 \end{tabular}
    \caption{Stack plot of the invariant mass of 2-jet system $M_{2j}$ for the signal and background events for $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ and $(+0.8, -0.3)$ polarization. Left plots are $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ and right plots are $(+0.8, -0.3)$ polarization respectively after Cut 1 to 7. They are show in linear scale in top plots and in log scale in bottom plots.}
  \label{FA05}
\end{figure}

According to Tables\,\ref{TA01} and \ref{TA02}, signal selection efficiencies are $0.52678 \pm 0.00017$ and $0.52715 \pm 0.00016$ for $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ and $(+0.8, -0.3)$ polarizations, respectively,
where we assumed the error on the efficiency is binomial. Background-to-signal ratios are 0.0499 and 0.0461 for $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ and $(+0.8, -0.3)$ polarizations respectively after applying the seven cuts.

\section{Evaluation of the Error}
\label{Evaluation of the Error}
The error on $A_{LR}$ can be evaluated as below.
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\label{MA22}
\left(\frac{\Delta A_{LR}}{A_{LR}}\right)^2=\left(\frac{\Delta A_{LRobs}}{A_{LRobs}}\right)^2+\left(\frac{\Delta f}{f}\right)^2\\
\end{split}
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\label{MA23}
\left(\frac{\Delta f}{f}\right)^2=\left(\frac{|P_{-}|(1+|P_{+}|)(1-|P_{+}|)}{(|P_{-}|+|P_{+}|)(1+|P_{-}||P_{+}|)}\right)^2 \left(\frac{\Delta |P_{-}|}{|P_{-}|}\right)^2+\left(\frac{|P_{+}|(1+|P_{-}|)(1-|P_{-}|)}{(|P_{-}|+|P_{+}|)(1+|P_{-}||P_{+}|)}\right)^2\left(\frac{\Delta |P_{+}|}{|P_{+}|}\right)^2.
\end{split}
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
\label{MA26}
\left(\frac {\Delta A_{LRobs}}{A_{LRobs}}\right)^2 &=\left(\frac{1}{2A_{LRobs}}\left(1-A_{LRobs}^2\right)\right)^2 \left(\left(\frac{\Delta \alpha}{\alpha}\right)^2 + \left(\frac{\Delta \beta}{\beta}\right)^2 + \left(\frac{\Delta N_{-}}{N_{-}}\right)^2 + \left(\frac{\Delta N_{+}}{N_{+}}\right)^2 \right).
\end{split}
\end{equation}

Here we assume the real experimental case of electron polarization $P_{-}$ being $|P_{-}| = 0.8$ and positron polarization $P_{+}$ being $|P_{+}| = 0.3$.
$A_{LRobs}$ is the asymmetry of the $Z$ production in $(P_{e^-}, P_{e^+}) = (-0.8, +0.3)$ and $(+0.8, -0.3)$ and $f$ is the polarization factor
\begin{equation}
\label{MA16}
f =  \frac{1+|P_{-}|| P_{+}|}{|P_{-}| + |P_{+}| },\\
\end{equation}
$N_{\pm}$ is the number of $Z$ production events for the eLpR and eRpL polarization, respectively,
and $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are the product of selection efficiency and luminosity for the eLpR and eRpL polarizations, respectively.

First, we estimated the statistical error
\begin{equation}
\label{MA14}
A_{LR} = 0.22810 \pm 0.00018\,(stat).
\end{equation}
This error is almost identical in the cases with and without background events, which confirms the number of background is sufficiently small.\\
The derived $A_{LR}$ value (\ref{MA14}) does not agree with the simulation setting which is 0.219.
This discrepancy was caused by the $e^+ e^- \to \gamma \to q\bar{q}$ diagram contamination in our sample.
However, we can cancel the deviation by taking appropriate $M_{q\bar{q}}$ range as our signal region.

We have so far been assuming that the polarization $|P_{-}|$ and $|P_{+}|$, selection efficiency $\eta$, and integrated luminosity $L$ have no errors. However, these have errors and the errors can cause further systematic error on $A_{LR}$. \\
When including the predicted polarization error of $\frac{\Delta |P_{-}|}{|P_{-}|} = \frac{\Delta |P_{+}|}{|P_{+}|} = 0.001$ into (\ref{MA23})\,\cite{whitepaper}, the total absolute error on $A_{LR}$ is estimated to be $0.000216$.\\
Next, errors on $\alpha$ and $\beta$ will be considered. Most of the error on $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are correlated because $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are evaluated in the same setup and we showed that the effect from this correlated part can be canceled out.
Therefore, the dominant source of the systematic error can be regarded as polarization error.
If $\frac{\Delta \alpha}{\alpha} = \frac{\Delta \beta}{\beta} = 0.00016$ (\textit{i.e.}\,0.016\%),
the total systematic error on $A_{LR}$ from polarization, selection efficiency, and luminosity is estimated to be $0.000174$, comparable to the statistical error $0.000178$.
In this case, total absolute error on $A_{LR}$ is $0.00025$, $8.8$ times better precision than that from the SLC ($0.00219$).

\section{Conclusion}
For the precision study at the ILC 250, measurement of $A_{LR}$ is important as it can constrain SMEFT parameters. We can use the $e^+ e^- \to \gamma Z$ process at the ILC to evaluate this observable. We performed a full simulation study including various background processes to assess by how much we can improve the precision of $A_{LR}$.
We considered cut-based event selection to suppress various background processes.
The resultant statistical error on $A_{LR}$ is $1.8 \times 10^{-4}$.
When considering a relative polarization error as 0.001 for each polarization, the total absolute error on $A_{LR}$ is estimated to be $0.000216$.
If the integrated luminosity is adjusted to satisfy the product of luminosity and selection efficiency is the same for both polarization combinations, the correlated part of the error on this product would disappear.
Then we need to think about only uncorrelated parts.
If $\frac{\Delta \alpha}{\alpha} = \frac{\Delta \beta}{\beta} = 0.00016$ (\textit{i.e.}\,0.016\%),
the total systematic error on $A_{LR}$ from polarization, selection efficiency, and luminosity is estimated to be $0.000174$, comparable to the statistical error $0.000178$.
In this case, the total absolute error on $A_{LR}$ is $0.00025$, $8.8$ times better precision than that from the SLC ($0.00219$).

\bigskip  \bigskip \begin{center} \begin{large}
                      \bf AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
\end{large} \end{center}
We would like to thank the LCC generator working group and the ILD software working group for providing the simulation and reconstruction tools and producing the Monte Carlo samples used in this study.
This work has benefited from computing services provided by the ILC Virtual Organization, supported by the national resource providers of the EGI Federation and the Open Science GRID.
This work is supported in part by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under the Grants- in-Aid for Science Research 16H02173.

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Bikes of the Bunch: Santa Cruz Stigmata CC gravel machine
Just about every cyclist has woken up unreasonably early on occasion to head out for a ride. But for Nico Toutenhoofd, rolling out the door at 5am isn't the exception; it's the norm. And as he's strayed further away from the beaten path, his choice in bikes has adapted to suit …
Toutenhoofd was like many avid amateur racers 12 years ago, cramming in as many hours in the saddle as he could in between running his own web development business and spending time with his wife. By his estimates, he logged 15-20 hours of training per week, mostly in the evenings after work and on weekends.
"I'd get on the bike at 5:00pm or 5:30pm, or sometimes get out of work early and do 4 or 4:30," he recounted. "So I would ride until maybe 7pm or 8pm."
But then he and his wife decided to have kids.
Toutenhoofd says he does a lot of "long, short rides," covering a relatively short amount of distance but a lot of climbing.
As any cycling parent can attest, raising small children and bike riding doesn't exactly make for an ideal pairing. Toutenhoofd was nevertheless determined to maintain some semblance of his previous cycling life, but he also wasn't willing to sacrifice his family time to do it. And then one day, in the early-morning hours as he was soothing his daughter back to sleep, the idea dawned on him.
"My wife and I had this routine where we would alternate who would get up with the crying baby," he said. "If the baby woke up at 4am, I would just walk around the house and sing to her until she fell asleep, and then I was just awake. I couldn't fall back asleep so I would often just work. At a certain point, I was like, 'Well, I might as well ride now.' I sort of just fell into the routine."
Once Toutenhoofd could reliably count on his one, then two, young children sleeping for the rest of the night (there'd be no point in heading out for a ride at 4am if it just meant his wife still wouldn't get any rest, after all), he started dabbling with that early-morning schedule — once a week, then twice, then three times.
The meaty carbon fork boasts a 15mm thru-axle and post-mount disc brake tabs.
"I remember it being much colder than I thought it'd be, and I remember that my light was fine for going uphill — but nearly bright enough for going downhill — and I remember having this little worry the whole time that the babies were going to wake up while I was gone."
Those solo pre-dawn rides quickly grew to a consistent group of three — all with similar situations at home — and what once felt ludicrously early quickly began to feel normal. When most people are just waking up in the morning, Toutenhoofd has already logged 1,000 meters of climbing.
It also didn't take long before he realized that riding at that time of day was also much safer. Not only is there far less vehicular traffic on the road to contend with, but with lights blazing, it's easier for drivers to see him — and for him to see approaching vehicles.
"A lot of people think it's dangerous to ride in the dark, but I think it's far safer. Cars see you better, and I can see a car coming from a long way away. People aren't grumpy yet [at that time of day] — it's the after-work or morning rush hour where people have road rage, and I miss both of them."
"I adore the rear radar. Ninety percent of the time I hear a car before it beeps, but that ten percent of the time that I don't makes it totally worth it."
As he increasingly relished that peaceful serenity, Toutenhoofd eventually replaced his faithful titanium-and-carbon fiber Ritchey Breakaway road bike with a Santa Cruz Stigmata CC gravel setup.
"It was two years ago that I got that bike, and it just removes all stress," he recalled. "My goal is to have as little traffic as possible. I actually feel like I descend faster on it — the big tires at low pressure just feel so grippy — and I don't worry about little cracks in the road when it's dark. When I know a car is coming, I'll often just go right off the shoulder whereas on my skinny-tired road bike, I wouldn't tend to do that. I probably ride that bike five out of six rides."
That switch to a gravel bike has also expanded Toutenhoofd's repertoire of routes. While there are countless canyon roads that fan out westward from Boulder, many can only be linked by using non-paved connectors that were previously off-limits.
The Teravail Cannonball tires' slick center tread and knobby shoulder works for the mixed terrain Toutenhoofd regularly trains on. "I'm a complete road tubeless guy now. I think I get one flat per year."
"A lot of these things I maybe knew were there on my mountain bike, but I've learned many more. It's a fun thing for me to go and use Google Maps to plot out a new ride and try to find dirt."
It's now been 12 years since Toutenhoofd embarked on his unconventional training schedule, and with his kids now demanding far less attention, it's safe to say that he doesn't have to continue on this path. But yet he does – to the tune of 10-15 hours per week – although for reasons that even cyclists without children can easily understand.
"My goal was to take as little time out of our family life as possible, and I don't have to do this anymore, but I actually prefer it. I find that the later in the day I say I'm going to ride, the less likely I am to do it. When I wake up at 4:15am, I'm tired; coffee is my carrot to get me out of bed and then I'm like, 'What else am I going to do?'.
"That's the whole reason I got up, so I always go ride. If it's one of those things where I have a flexible Saturday, those days I might only be 50/50 as to whether I ride. When I have a really short window, then I always get it done."
https://www.instagram.com/p/_Hb2rTq8jH/?taken-by=toutenhoofd
And Toutenhoofd certainly is getting it done. He won the prestigious Mount Washington Auto Road Hillclimb in 2010 (other winners include Ned Overend, Phil Gaimon, Tyler Hamilton, and Tom Danielson), is a perennial favorite at local masters events, and is the current US masters national team time trial champion. Perhaps not by coincidence, two of those teammates are regular partners on those early-morning training rides.
There's even one additional bonus that perhaps transcends all the other benefits of Toutenhoofd's regimen.
"I get to see pretty much every sunrise, every day."
Want to see some of those sunrises through Nico's eyes? Check out his Instagram feed here.
The bright paint job absolutely pops against the blue Colorado sky – but ironically, this bike doesn't see much daylight.
This bike regularly sees more use before dawn than most bikes see all day.
Santa Cruz primarily bills the Stigmata CC as a cyclocross bike, but it still works well as a gravel machine.
Underneath the bright paintwork is a straighforward frame design.
Most of the tubes have slab sides on the Santa Cruz Stigmata.
Off in the distant background is where this bike plays most often.
The Enve M50 carbon wheels are intended for mountain bike use, but with easy tubeless compatibility, good durability, and very low weight, they're an easy pick for a high-performance gravel setup.
Toutenhoofd adores the Garmin Vario headlight, which adjusts its intensity based on speed information provided by the Garmin Edge 520 computer head.
Toutenhoofd dabbled with ultralight componentry before, but now opts for more dependable gear.
The drivetrain blends parts from Shimano, SRAM, Quarq, and Enduro.
A Quarq Elsa power meter helps keep Toutenhoofd's training goals on track.
Shimano R785 Di2 levers are mounted to Zipp's carbon fiber Contour SL handlebar. "There was no Dura-Ace Di2 hydro when I bought the bike, and the existing Dura-Ace at the time could only officially handle up to a 28T cog in the rear. The recently announced Dura-Ace 9170 hydro, which officially goes up to a 30T in the rear and will likely work with a 32T, is on my shopping list; it's just not available in stores yet."
"Shimano doesn't make a lightweight 11-32T [cassette]. They make an Ultegra 11-32T, which in all honesty shifts better than what I have, but SRAM's 11-32T is way lighter."
Finned brake pads help shed excess heat on Colorado's long downhills.
DT Swiss 180 hubs anchor both wheels.
Enduro's TorqTite bottom bracket helps keep creaking at bay.
Casual observers might be surprised to find such low gears on a bike ridden by such a talented climber, but Toutenhoofd says it's the best option for the type of riding he does. "On steep paved roads, I am fine with a 34-28T as my low gear, but that's mostly because I can stand up if my cadence gets too slow. On dirt, however, standing up generally makes one's rear tire lose traction, so sitting down with a lower gear means I can ride up crazy steep dirt roads and trails."
The Garmin computer mount looks a bit chunky, but it's the cleanest option available that works with both the Garmin Edge computer and the Garmin Varia headlight.
The only questionable component on the bike is this ultralight Schmolke carbon fiber seatpost. But Toutenhoofd says it works fine in this application, plus he already had it in his bin of spare parts when he purchased the frameset.
Toutenhoofd uses 140mm-diameter rotors at both ends.
Gravel riders will often use mountain bike pedals, but seeing as how Toutenhoofd is rarely on foot when riding his Santa Cruz Stigmata CC, his usual Look KeO Blades work just fine.
The matching Blackburn Camber CF bottle cages are a nice touch.
#Bikes of the Bunch
#Nico Toutenhoofd
#Santa Cruz
#Stigmata
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Bikes of the Bunch - Stoemper

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


yes thats correct, i have two monitors setup... one of them has my windows 10 box on it, and the other has the xbox one on it..
I just want to post my experience just in case anyone is still curious. I run my xbox one with my XIM 3 with the streaming method. Works great. I do what some one else that posted in here also does. I get my xbox on, then connect my computer, set streaming setting to lowest quality and then swap the xbox one input to my main monitor and it works flawlessly. No latency in the inputs or anything. Going to try and get this going on a laptop so i dont have to tie my desktop up with such a silly task.
Xim 3 on Xbox One and Windows 10 via Xbox app - Strict NAT?
Thanks for posting this information. I would never have thought to stream to my PC.
To be honest I'd prefer to play on my Windows PC due to my monitor stretching a 1080p input - my monitor is 2560x1600 (16:10) and doesn't letterbox the image direct from the xbox. When I play on my PC the image is displayed correctly as 16:9.
I've got a second NIC card in my PC and have connected the Xbox One to my PC and have shared (not bridged) the main NIC that is wired to my router.
Everything is good except the NAT is now 'strict'. It was previously 'Open' when directly connected to my router. I'm running Kaspersky Internet Security on my desktop, if that has anything to do with it.


Some people have a perpetual negative outlook on everything. The weather is awful. The food is terrible. Everything is ugly. Even if you aren't normally a glass is half-empty person, if you spend enough time around someone who is you will soon start feeling the same way.
Do you have people like that at work or in your family? You can let them infect you with their gloomy attitude, or you can try to keep away from them.
If you are the resilient type, you can ask what's wrong.
Sometimes if you dig a little deeper, you might find the source of the black outlook. Chronic pain? Grief? Poor self esteem?
There are tons of reasons why people can be so negative.
If you are constantly around people who are obnoxiously moody, try telling them their bad mood affects you too. Hopefully they'll think it over and agree with you. Life is too short to be a sourpuss.
Just as bad moods are contagious, positive vibes and sunny dispositions can spread too.
Do what you can to keep your emotions healthy.
Stay clear of bad moods. Stay close to good ones.
And remember to walk on the sunny side of the street.
Awesome is an excellent word. So is amazing. But don't you agree they're over used?
I had an awesome time. That movie was amazing. How ya doing?
I like to use the A words reverently, sparsely, when no other words will do.
Maybe you'd like some alternate words to use too? Try These 10 gramazing stand-in words. They're fun, and just as powerful. Sprinkle them in your writing or in your feedback to others.
Kryptonian You reached kryptonian heights with that speech!
Fly That car is so fly!
Kickass Those are some kickass moves!
Wicked That sequel was wicked!
Transcendent I am blown away by his transcendent writing.
Capital You did a capital job on the presentation!
Magnificent The hotel was simply magnificent!
Rawk That song is so rawk!
The honey pot The finale was the honey pot – a sweet ending to a perfect day.
Double rainbow brilliant Are you kidding me? That was double rainbow brilliant!
Why not try your hand at coming up with your own sparkling wordage to describe something really impressive?
go ahead and use awesome.


text:
Review – Jane Eyre
Since Charlotte Bronte put pen to paper in the 1800s, the novel 'Jane Eyre' has been dissected by critics and hailed a classic. Meanwhile, high school students have endeavored to find the best film adaptation to avoid having to flip a single page. Fans of the book and academic slobs can now rejoice, as director Carey Fukunaga has delivered a movie that will satisfy the needs of both groups.
Jane (Mia Wasikowska) survives a harsh upbringing after being orphaned, and sets off into the world as a governess. She lands a job at Thronfield Hall under the employment of the abrupt Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender). A relationship develops, but a dark secret threatens to rip the lovebirds apart.
When adapting classic novels, the main goal of any filmmaker has to be making the story relevant for the audience. An alarming trend is to make one of the main characters a vampire or a ditzy socialite. Fukunaga has taken the traditional approach, and given the setting a gothic feel that adds authenticity to the story.
Making 'Jane Eyre' stand out from other adaptations is the haunting vibe that runs through the film. It puts you on edge and the tension is wound tight.
The cast is outstanding – Wasikowska has maturity beyond her years and gives a lot of strength to her character, which is important when playing one of the first literary feminist icons. Fassbender continues his golden run (see 'X-Men: First Class' and 'Inglorious Basterds') and solidifies his leading man status as the tormented Mr. Rochester. Providing fine support are Jamie Bell, Sally Hawkins and Judi Dench.
The run time is a problem, as two hours is way too long and the material could have been punchier with finer editing. The pacing is slow and, unless you're a big fan of the source material, you may struggle to engage with the story and have to stifle a few yawns.
'Jane Eyre' is a good adaptation that will keep Jane Eyre-hards happy, but it never rises to the claims of greatness lavished upon the book.
Category : movie reviews, movies, Reviews
← Trailer of the week
Review – The Greatest Movie Ever Sold →


text:
Q: Why does size of UIImageView change on scroll? I have a UIImageView set to fill a UICollectionViewCell. Here is the code:
// Note: image is a UIImage
// Note: cell is a UICollectionViewCell
let imageView = UIImageView(image: image)
imageView.contentMode = .ScaleAspectFill
imageView.frame = cell.bounds
imageView.clipsToBounds = true
cell.contentView.addSubview(imageView)

However when the keyboard dismisses and the view scrolls up, the size of the images seem to change with the scroll. Here are two videos at different animation speeds so you can see the problem:

(source: giphy.com)
Why are they resizing like that? I just want them to be a constant size.
You can see in the normal speed one that when you scroll up manually there is no issue, but when you tap the "Done" button and the keyboard dismisses the resizing happens.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Why Spring doesn't scan my controller I want to learn something about Spring. I'm trying to configure it but there is something I don't get because it seems that Spring doesn't recognize my controller.
This is my web.xml
  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<web-app xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee" xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_3_1.xsd" id="WebApp_ID" version="3.1">
  <display-name>dispatcher</display-name>
  <welcome-file-list>
    <welcome-file>index.jsp</welcome-file>
  </welcome-file-list>
  <servlet>
    <servlet-name>dispatcher</servlet-name>
         <servlet-class>
            org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet
        </servlet-class>
    <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
  </servlet>
  <servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>dispatcher</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
  </servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

and this one is the servlet
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
    xmlns:mvc="http://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc" xmlns:context="http://www.springframework.org/schema/context"
    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:schemaLocation="
        http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
        http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
        http://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc
        http://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc/spring-mvc.xsd
        http://www.springframework.org/schema/context
        http://www.springframework.org/schema/context/spring-context.xsd">

    <context:component-scan base-package="it.mexpenses.controller" />
    <mvc:annotation-driven />

    <bean id="viewResolver" class="org.springframework.web.servlet.view.InternalResourceViewResolver">
        <property name="prefix" value="/WEB-INF/jsp/"/>
        <property name="suffix" value=".jsp"/>
        <property name="order" value="1" />
    </bean>
</beans>

Controller:
package it.mexpenses.controller;

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.ModelAndView;

@Controller
public class LoginController {

    @GetMapping("/login")
    public ModelAndView login() {
        User user = loginService.login(username, password);
        return new ModelAndView("welcome", "currentUser", null);
    }
}

A: In a typical spring MVC app you will find that there are two spring configuration files, a file that configures the application context usually started with the Spring context listener.
<listener>
    <listener-class>org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener</listener-class>
</listener>

And a Spring MVC configuration file usually started with the Spring dispatcher servlet. For example.
<servlet>
        <servlet-name>main</servlet-name>
        <servlet-class>org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet</servlet-class>
        <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
    </servlet>
    <servlet-mapping>
        <servlet-name>main</servlet-name>
        <url-pattern>/</url-pattern>
    </servlet-mapping>

I strongly suggest the use of annotations for the Spring configuration. It makes life much easier and is much more modern ...
You can also generate a project with spring boot and make your life easier: https://start.spring.io/
Refs: Spring MVC: difference between <context:component-scan> and <annotation-driven /> tags?


text:
Poor asthma control in pregnancy linked to serious adverse outcomes
Parents' fertility may influence child's asthma risk
Women using short-acting asthma relievers can take 20% longer to conceive
Toddler and maternal fructose intake linked to asthma
Preterm birth linked to asthma and wheeze
GPs reminded of need for tight asthma control in pregnancy
Review highlights risk of adverse maternal and foetal outcomes when asthma poorly controlled
Ingrid Torjesen
Good asthma management during pregnancy is vital because poor asthma control can have adverse effects on maternal and foetal outcomes, warns a review published today in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (TOG).
Asthma affects around 10% of pregnant women, making it the most common chronic condition in pregnancy.
The severity of asthma during pregnancy remains unchanged, worsens or improves in equal proportions. For women with severe asthma, control is more likely to deteriorate (around 60% of cases) compared to women with mild asthma (around 10% of cases). But the review concludes that all pregnant women with asthma need to be closely reviewed throughout pregnancy, irrespective of disease severity.
National guidelines recommend the management and treatment for asthma in pregnant women should be generally the same as for non-pregnant women, with the intensity of antenatal maternal and foetal surveillance to be based on the severity of their condition.
However, the review notes that poor asthma control can lead to adverse effects on maternal and foetal outcomes. Previous studies have suggested that poor asthma control is associated with hypertension in pregnancy, a higher frequency of caesarean section and low birth weight.
Many mothers and some healthcare providers are concerned about the potential adverse effects that asthma drugs can have on both the mother and their babies during pregnancy, but the review concludes that it is still safer for women to use asthma therapy in pregnancy to avoid uncontrolled asthma.
Furthermore, the review says, asthma does not usually affect labour or delivery, with less than a fifth of women experiencing an exacerbation during labour. Additionally, in the postpartum period there is no increased risk of asthma exacerbations and within a few months after delivery a woman's asthma severity typically reverts to its pre-pregnancy level.
Professor Chris Brightling, professor of respiratory medicine and honorary consultant physician at the University Hospitals of Leicester and a co-author of the review said:
"Asthma is a widespread condition and poor management during pregnancy can lead to adverse maternal and foetal outcomes.
"Good asthma management to maintain tight control is vital and standard therapy may be safely used in pregnancy to achieve this along with close surveillance from midwives, obstetricians and for women with severe asthma a respiratory physician."
Jason Waugh, TOG Editor-in-chief added: "Any women who have concerns about their asthma management and management during pregnancy should contact their GP or midwife for further advice."
Goldie MH , Brightling CE . Asthma in pregnancy . The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2013 ; DOI: 10.1111/tog.12048.
Professional regulator to determi...
Government clampdown on short-ter...


text:
Justia Patents Calcium ContainingUS Patent for Magnesium-substituted hydroxyapatites Patent (Patent # 8,337,904)
Magnesium-substituted hydroxyapatites
Apr 27, 2010 - Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
A stable, phase-pure magnesium-substituted crystalline hydroxyapatite containing from about 2.0 to about 29 wt % magnesium, wherein at least 75 wt % of the magnesium content is substituted for calcium ions in the hydroxyapatite lattice structure.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. §121 as a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/089,745 filed Mar. 25, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,529, which is a Divisional of U.S. patent application ser. No. 09/800,127 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,544, which was filed on Mar. 6, 2001 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The disclosure of each application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to methods for magnesium substitution of crystalline hydroxyapatites that provide heretofore unobtained levels of magnesium incorporation into the hydroxyapatite lattice structure. The present invention also relates to phase-pure magnesium-substituted crystalline hydroxyapatites obtained thereby.
Hydroxyapatite (HAp, chemical formula Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) has attracted the attention of researchers over the past thirty years as an implant material because of its excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity. HAp has been extensively used in medicine for implant fabrication. It is commonly the material of choice for the fabrication of dense and porous bioceramics. Its general uses include biocompatible phase-reinforcement in composites, coatings on metal implants and granular fill for direct incorporation into human tissue. It has also been extensively investigated for non-medical applications such as a packing material/support for column chromatography, gas sensors and catalysts, as a host material for lasers, and as a plant growth substrate. All properties of HAp, including bioactivity, biocompatibility, solubility and adsorption properties can be tailored within a wide range by controlling qualitatively and quantitatively the ions substituted for Ca2+, PO43− and OH− in the HAp lattice structure.
Magnesium has been known as one of the cationic substitutes for calcium in the HAp lattice structure. Magnesium-substituted HAp can be expressed by the simplified chemical formula:
Ca10−xMgx(PO4)6(OH)2
with x/10 representing atom-percent substitution of magnesium ions for calcium ions.
Magnesium is also one of the predominant substitutes for calcium in biological apatites. Enamel, dentin, and bone contain respectively 0.44 wt %, 1.23 wt % and 0.72 wt % magnesium. Accordingly, magnesium-substituted HAp materials (Mg-HAp) are expected to have excellent biocompatibility and properties that can be favorably compared with those of hard tissue. U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,742 and WO 00/03747, for example, disclose the use of Mg-HAp as bone substitutes and for dental applications, respectively.
Increasing concentration of MG in HAp has the following effects on its properties: (a) gradual decrease in crystallinity, (b) increase HPO4 incorporation, and (c) increase in extent of dissolution. Magnesium is closely associated with mineralization of calcified tissues, and indirectly influences mineral metabolism. It has been suggested that magnesium directly stimulates osteoblast proliferation with an effect comparable to that of insulin (a known growth factor for osteoblast). Thus, it becomes possible to tailor the physicochemical properties of HAp, as well as its biocompatibility and bioactivity, by controlling the Mg substitution of the HAp lattice structure.
Because the optimum amounts of magnesium in artificial HAp ceramics can vary with different applications, the capability to control precisely the amounts of magnesium in HAp in the widest possible range by controlling the synthesis procedure is of primary importance. Mg-HAp powders have been prepared by precipitation and hydrolysis methods with the replacement of calcium by magnesium limited to no more than 0.3 wt %.
Bigi et al., J. Inorg. Biochem, 49, 69-78(1993) disclosed the synthesis of crystalline Mg-HAp powders with up to about 30 atom-percent (about 7.5 wt %) of magnesium under hydrothermal conditions at 120° C. Above this level of magnesium substitution the product was reported to be completely amorphous. At most, 7 atom-percent (about 1.7 wt %) of magnesium ions were reported to be capable of substitution for calcium in the HAp lattice structure.
A need exists for crystalline Mg-HAp powders with a higher magnesium content, a higher degree of magnesium-substitution in the HAp lattice structure, as well as a simple and inexpensive synthesis of Mg-HAp.
This need is met by the present invention. It has now been discovered that hybrid mechanochemical-hydrothermal synthesis techniques may be employed to produce magnesium-substituted HAp with not only heretofore unobtained magnesium levels, but also with levels of magnesium incorporation into the HAp lattice structure that was not believed possible until now.
Mechanochemical powder synthesis is a solid-state synthesis method that takes advantage of the perturbation of surface-bonded species by pressure to enhance thermodynamic and kinetic reactions between solids. Pressure can be applied at room temperature by milling equipment ranging from low-energy ball mills to high-energy stirred mills. The main advantages of the mechanochemical synthesis of ceramic powders are simplicity and low cost. Therefore, a variety of chemical compounds have been already prepared by this technique, for example CaSiO3, PbTiO3, and 0.9Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.1PbTiO3, etc. Since the mechanochemical synthesis involves only solid-state reactions, it is clearly distinguished from the mechanochemical-hydrothermal synthesis (sometimes called "wet" mechanochemical), which takes advantage of the presence of an aqueous solution in the system. An aqueous solution can actively participate in the mechanochemical reaction by acceleration of dissolution, diffusion, adsorption, reaction rate and crystallization (nucleation and growth). The mechanochemical activation of slurries can generate local zones of high temperatures (up to 450-700° C.) and high pressure due to friction effects and adiabatic heating of gas bubbles (if present in the slurry), while the overall temperature is close to the room temperature.
The mechanochemical-hydrothermal technique is thus located at the intersection of hydrothermal and mechanochemical processing. The mechanochemical-hydrothermal route produces comparable amounts of HAp powder as the hydrothermal processing but it requires lower temperature, i.e., room temperature, as compared to typically 90-200° C. for the hydrothermal processing. Perhaps the biggest advantage of the room-temperature mechanochemical-hydrothermal processing is that there is no need for a pressure vessel and no need to heat the reaction mixture. The reaction is thus conducted either as a comminuting or stirred tank reaction process.
Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention, a stable, phase-pure magnesium-substituted crystalline hydroxyapatite is provided containing from about 2.0 to about 29 wt % magnesium, wherein at least 75 wt % of the magnesium content is substituted for calcium ions in the hydroxyapatite lattice structure. The Mg-HAp of the present invention forms as crystal agglomerates. The present invention therefore also includes particles of the Mg-HAp of the present invention having a particle size between about 5 mm and about 100 microns.
The high magnesium content and high degree of magnesium substitution in the HAp lattice structure is attributable to the combined use of mechanochemical and hydrothermal process steps. Therefore, according to another aspect of the present invention, a method for the preparation of Mg-HAp is provided, which includes the step of mechanochemically reacting in a stoichiometric ratio selected to provide a predetermined level of magnesium substitution, a source of calcium ions, a source of magnesium ions, a source of phosphate ions and a source of hydroxide ions, at least one of which is soluble in water, in an aqueous reaction medium until Mg-HAp is formed. One material may serve as a multiple ion source. For example, magnesium hydroxide may be employed as a source of both magnesium and hydroxide ions, or calcium hydrogen phosphate may be employed as a source of calcium and phosphate ions.
The preferred source of phosphate ions is diammonium hydrogen phosphate, which is highly water soluble. Hydroxides of calcium and magnesium are preferred sources of these two cations. With magnesium hydroxide, at higher levels of magnesium substitution, unreacted magnesium hydroxide should be removed, preferably by washing the Mg-HAp in ammonium citrate aqueous solution so that the unreacted magnesium hydroxide preferentially dissolves therein.
The ammonium citrate washing step represents a novel approach to increasing the level of hydroxyapatite lattice-incorporated magnesium relative to the total magnesium content, as well as relative to the lattice-incorporated calcium. Therefore, according to another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for increasing the magnesium content in the lattice structure of magnesium-substituted crystalline hydroxyapatite relative to the calcium content of the lattice structure and to the non-lattice magnesium content, in which the magnesium-substituted hydroxyapatite is washed with an aqueous ammonium citrate solution.
The Mg-HAp of the present invention more closely resembles biological apatites than conventional HAp ceramics. Therefore, according to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a biocompatible hard tissue implant containing the Mg-HAp of the present invention. For example, metal or polymeric hard tissue implants may be created that are coated with the Mg-HAp of the present invention, as well as implants that are formed from metal or polymeric Mg-HAp composite materials. The present invention also includes a granular fill for direct incorporation into human or animal tissues containing the Mg-HAp of the present invention, as well as dentifrice compositions, such as toothpaste, metal or polymeric composites for filling dental cavities, and bone cements containing the Mg-HAp of the present invention.
The easy to control stoichiometry makes the Mg-HAp of the present invention ideal for use as a packing material for chromatography columns and gas sensors, as well as a support for catalytic materials or a plant growth substrate. Stoichiometric optimization can provide the end use properties needed for each end-use application.
Therefore, accordingly to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a packing material for use in a chromatography column or gas sensor, or as a support for a catalytic material, containing the Mg-HAp of the present invention. The present invention also provides host materials for luminescent applications containing the Mg-HAp of the present invention, as well as plant growth substrates containing the Mg-HAp of the present invention.
The present invention thus provides a means by which levels of magnesium substitution in HAp may be controlled by changing the ratio of calcium and magnesium ions in the source materials to tailor the end-product to specific end-use applications. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are more readily apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments set forth below.
The magnesium-substituted hydroxyapatites of the present invention are prepared by a combined mechanochemical-hydrothermal process. A source of magnesium ions, a source of calcium ions, a source of phosphate ions and a source of hydroxide ions are mechanochemically reacted in an aqueous reaction medium. At least one ion source is water-soluble.
For purposes of the present invention, "water-soluble" ion sources are defined as being materials having a solubility in water of at least about 2.0 g/L. A solubility greater than about 20 g/L is preferred.
Examples of magnesium ion sources include magnesium hydroxide, magnesium carbonate, magnesium acetate, magnesium halides, magnesium oxide, magnesium nitrate, magnesium phosphate, and the like. Magnesium hydroxide is preferred. Similarly, examples of calcium ion sources include calcium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, calcium acetate, calcium halides, calcium oxide, calcium nitrate, calcium phosphate, and the like. Calcium hydroxide is preferred.
Examples of phosphate ion sources include ammonium phosphates, calcium phosphates, magnesium phosphates, Group I phosphates such as potassium and sodium phosphates, and the like. A water-soluble phosphate ion source is preferred, with diammonium hydrogen phosphate being particularly preferred.
Hydroxide ion sources include hydroxide-containing compounds such as ammonium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and the like, and compounds that generate hydroxide ion in aqueous solution, such as ammonia, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, and the like.
Depending upon the end-use application, other ion sources may be included as well, of a quality and quantity that do not disrupt the hydroxyapatite lattice structure. Thus, quantities of source materials may be employed that introduce up to about 25 wt % into the Mg-HAp lattice structure, depending upon the ions, of one or more cations, for example, sodium, lithium, barium, strontium, zinc, cadmium, lead, vanadium, silicon, germanium, iron, arsenic, manganese, aluminum, rare earth elements, cobalt, silver, chromium, antimony, and the like, or one or more anions, for example, carbonate, halides, oxygen, sulfur and the like. Suitable additional ion sources and appropriate quantities thereof are readily determined by those of ordinary skill in the art without undue experimentation.
Preferably, at least one ion source is water-insoluble or reacts to form an insoluble apatite phase precursor. This provides a substrate medium for the application of mechanochemical force at the same time that the hydrothermal process steps are being carried out.
Stoichiometric quantities of the ion sources are employed, selected to provide the desired ratio of individual HAp lattice components, especially the ratio of calcium to magnesium and the ration cations occupying the calcium sites to phosphorous. Water-soluble ion sources are dissolved in the aqueous reaction medium, with a slurry being formed of the non-water-soluble ion sources. The preferred aqueous medium is essentially pure distilled water, that more preferably has been deionized and/or demineralized. Up to about 40 wt % of the combined amounts of the ion sources may be added to the aqueous reaction medium, at a temperature maintained between about 8 and 35° C., and preferably between about 25 and about 35° C., until Mg-HAp is formed. External sources of heat are not needed, with sufficient heat being supplied by milling friction. Instead, external cooling may be needed because the molecular activation of the slurry can generate local zones of high temperature (up to 450-700° C.) and corresponding pressures due to friction and adiabatic heating of gas bubbles.
With stirring of the aqueous slurry/solution, the ion sources are mechanochemically reacted, typically by the application of physical force to the water-insoluble ion sources or insoluble apatite precursors that are suspended as a slurry in the aqueous reaction medium containing the water-soluble ion sources. Preferred mechanochemical reaction processes comminute the ion source slurry particles, preferably by milling or grinding the water insoluble ion source particles with heating of the aqueous reaction medium into which the water-soluble ion source has been dissolved. Preferred methods at the same time frictionally heat the aqueous reaction medium/slurry while the slurry particles are being milled or ground, so that the mechanochemical and hydrothermal process step are performed simultaneously.
Multi-ring media mills are preferred. The grinding mechanism consists of a central rotating stainless steel shaft, which drives a plurality of stainless steel sub-shafts (sleeve-lined with zirconia-toughened alumina) that are connected symmetrically to the central shaft. Each sub-shaft contains a plurality of stacked zirconia rings, which rotate eccentrically around each sub-shaft. When the central shaft is rotating, the zirconia rings on the sub-shafts are moved by the centrifugal force radially outwards, applying force on the inner wall of the milling vessel, which is ceramic lined. Solid slurry particles located between the rotating rings and the liner wall are consequently comminuted.
The comminuting step is performed at rotation speeds between 800 and 1500 r.p.m. (for the multi-ring media mill), or higher for higher solid content slurries for at least 1 hour, and preferably from between about 1 and about 10 hours, with the temperature of the aqueous slurry maintained between about 25 and about 35° C. for the duration. The solid phase is then recovered and washed with distilled water, preferably repeatedly. The solid phase is then once again isolated and excess water is removed, preferably by first centrifuging the material followed by oven drying at a temperature between about 40 and 200° C. Lyophilization may also be employed to remove excess water. If desired, dry grinding may be performed to reduce the powder particle size.
The inventive method advantageously employs environmentally benign ion sources in an aqueous reaction medium at mild temperatures. The elevated temperatures associated with prior art calcination processes are thereby avoided.
When all of the ion sources are water-soluble a solution-phase reaction is first performed, followed by heating to drive off the aqueous phase to recover a powder material that is milled while wet through to dryness to complete the mechanochemical reaction. However, a slurry-based reaction is preferred in which one of the ion sources is water-insoluble. Or two water-soluble material may be employed that form an insoluble apatite precursor that is then milled while wet through to dryness to complete the mechanochemical reaction. Under certain circumstances understood by those skilled in the art, Mg-HAp's of present invention may be produced solely by dry milling.
With water-insoluble magnesium ion sources, such as magnesium hydroxide, magnesium oxide, magnesium phosphates, and the like, for higher levels of magnesium substitution, unreacted quantities of the magnesium ion source will remain that have to be removed by selective washing of the Mg-HAp. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the Mg-HAp is washed with ammonium citrate aqueous solution, into which the unreacted magnesium ion source will preferentially dissolve. After this washing step, the purified Mg-HAp is washed, preferably repeatedly, with distilled water and then dried.
In a preferred procedure Mg-HAp powders are prepared by suspending a mixture of calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide powders in water and subsequently adding a soluble diammonium hydrogen phosphate powder, quantities as required by stoichiometry. The mechanochemical-hydrothermal synthesis is then performed by placing the slurry into a multi-ring media mill and then grinding the slurry. The resulting powder is washed using water to remove soluble salts with an ammonium citrate aqueous solution washing step performed first for reactions employing higher levels of magnesium substitution. Following the water washing, the Mg-HAp is then dried.
The inventive method provides crystalline Mg-HAp powders in which at least 75 wt % of the magnesium content is substituted for calcium ions in the hydroxyapatite lattice structure. Crystalline Mg-HAp in which essentially all of the magnesium content is substituted for calcium ions in the hydroxyapatite lattice structure can be readily obtained without undue effort. Accordingly, substitution levels between about 80 wt % and 98 wt % can be readily obtained by the ordinarily skilled artisan following the teachings of the present specification.
The crystalline Mg-HAp will have a magnesium content between about 2.0 and about 29 wt %, with levels between about 3.5 and about 28.4 wt % being preferred. Levels between about 5 and about 25 wt % are even more preferred, with a level of at least 10 wt % being most preferred. The crystalline Mg-HAp of the present invention forms crystals agglomerates having an approximate particles ranging in size between about 5 nm and about 10 microns.
The crystalline Mg-HAp of the present invention is useful in the preparation of compounds for use as granular fill for direct incorporation into the hard tissues of humans or other animals, and as bone implantable materials. The present invention thus includes granular fill compounds, bone implant materials, tooth filling compounds, bone cements and dentifrices containing the Mg-HAp of the present invention. The products are formulated and prepared by substituting the Mg-HAp of the present invention for HAp in conventional HAp-based products. The compounds may be prepared from metallic and polymeric Mg-HAp composites.
The Mg-HAp of the present invention may also be substituted for the HAp in support materials for gas sensors and chromatography columns. It may also be substituted for HAp and other support substrates and hosts in catalytic supports, plant growth substrates and in host materials for luminescent applications. Therefore, the present invention also includes packing materials for chromatography columns and gas sensors, catalytic supports, plant growth substrates and host materials for luminescent applications containing the Mg-HAp of the present invention.
The following non-limiting examples set forth herein below illustrates certain aspects of the invention. All parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise noted and all temperatures are in degrees Celsius. Stoichiometric values in HAp and Mg-HAp formulas are approximate.
EXAMPLES Example 1 Mechanochemical-Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ca8Mg2(PO4)6(OH)2
Calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide and solid diammonium hydrogen phosphate (analytical grade, Alfa Aesar, Ward Hill, Mass.) were used as reactants for the synthesis of Mg-HAp. First, a suspension containing a powder mixture of 22.170 g calcium hydroxide and 4.557 g magnesium hydroxide in 350 mL deionized water was prepared inside a 500 ml glass beaker. Subsequently, 29.410 g of diammonium hydrogen phosphate powder was slowly added to the same beaker at constant vigorous stirring using a magnetic stirrer for about 10 minutes. The (Ca+Mg)\P molar ratio in the starting slurry was 1.67. The presence of water adsorbed on all reactants was measured by thermogravimetry to maintain the targeted stoichiometry. The pH of the slurry was about 10.3, measured using a glass electrode connected to a small pH-meter (ACCUMET™ Model 805 MP, Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, Pa.) and calibrated with respect to a buffer solution (pH=10.00, Fisher Scientific). The mechanochemical-hydrothermal synthesis was performed by placing the slurry into a laboratory scale mill (Model MIC-0, NARA Machinery Co., Tokyo, Japan) equipped with a zirconia liner and a zirconia ring grinding media. Grinding of the slurry was carried out in air, initially at a rotation speed of 1500 rpm for one hour and then at 800 rpm for four hours. Temperature during the grinding was measured using a thermocouple and determined to be 33° C. at 1500 rpm and 28° C. at 800 rpm.
Washing of the solid phase after the mechanochemical-hydrothermal synthesis was accomplished by four cycles of shaking the solid with distilled water in 250 mL HDPE bottles using a hand shaker machine Model M37615, Barnstead/Thermolyne, Dubuque, Iowa) followed by centrifuging at 4500 rpm for 30 minutes (Induction Drive Centrifuge, Model J2-21M, Beckman Instruments, Fullerton, Calif.). The washed solid phase was dried in an oven at 70° C. for 24 hours (ISOTEMP™ Oven, Model 230G Fisher Scientific) and ground into powder.
The synthesized Mg-HAp powder contained a fraction of unreacted magnesium hydroxide. Therefore, it was suspended in a 0.2 M ammonium citrate aqueous solution. The ammonium citrate solution was prepared in a 200 mL glass beaker by dissolving 3.843 g of solid citric acid (reagent grade, Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.) in 100 mL of distilled water and subsequently slowly adding ammonia solution (reagent grade, Fisher Scientific) to yield a pH between 8 and 10. 1.0 g of the Mg-HAp containing unreacted magnesium hydroxide was then suspended in the solution. The dissolution of the magnesium hydroxide was accomplished under a vigorous stirring using a magnetic stirrer for 12 hours, after which the prior distilled water washing, centrifuging and drying steps were repeated.
Phase pure crystalline Mg-HAp essentially free of unreacted magnesium hydroxide and having a magnesium content of approximately 10 wt % in which essentially all of the magnesium content was substituted for calcium ions in the hydroxyapatite lattice structure was confirmed by x-ray defraction, Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and chemical analysis.
Dynamic light scattering revealed the particle size distribution of the Mg-HAp to be between about 130 and about 2100 nm with a specific surface area of about 129 m2/g, indicating agglomeration. Scanning Electron Microscopy confirmed agglomerates of nanosized Mg-HAp crystals.
Example 2 Mechanochemical-Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ca7Mg3(PO4)6(OH)2
Ca(OH), MG(OH)2 and solid (NH4)2HPO4 (analytical grade, Alfa Aesar, Ward Hill, Mass.) were used as reactants for the synthesis of Mg-HAp. First, a suspension containing a powdered mixture of 19.150 g Ca(OH)2 and 6.717 g Mg(OH)2 in 350 mL of deionized water was prepared inside a 500 mL glass beaker. Subsequently, 29.028 g of (NH4)2HPO4 powder was slowly added to the same beaker at constant vigorous stirring using a magnetic stirrer for about 10 min. The (Ca+Mg)/P molar ratio in the starting slurry was 1.67. The presence of water adsorbed on all reactants was measured by thermogravimetry to maintain the targeted stoichiometries. The pH of the slurry was about 10.2, measured using a glass electrode connected to a pH-meter (Accumet Model 805 MP, Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, Pa.) and calibrated with respect to a buffer solution (pH=10.00, Fisher Scientific).
The mechanochemical-hydrothermal synthesis was performed by placing the slurry into a laboratory-scale mill (model MIC-0, NARA Machinery Co., Tokyo, Japan) equipped with a zirconia liner and zirconia ring grinding media. Grinding of the slurry was carried out in air, initially at a rotation speed of 1500 rpm for 1 h and then at 800 rpm for 4 h. Temperature during the grinding was measured using a thermocouple and was determined to be 33° C. at 1500 rpm and 28° C. at 800 rpm. Washing of the solid phase after the mechanochemical-hydrothermal synthesis was accomplished by 2-6 cycles of shaking the solid with distilled water in 2-6 HDPE 250 mL bottles using a hand shaker machine (Model M37615, Barnstead/Thermolyne, Dubuque, Iowa) followed by centrifuging at 4500 rpm for 30 min. (Induction Drive Centrifuge, Model J2-21M, Beckman Instruments, Fullerton Calif.).
The washed solid phase was dried in an oven at 70° C. for 24 h (Isotemp oven, model 230G, Fisher Scientific) and ground into powder. The synthesized MG-HAp powder contained a fraction of unreacted Mg(OH)2. Therefore, it was suspended in 0.2 M-ammonium citrate aqueous solution. The ammonium citrate solution was prepared in a 250 mL glass beaker by dissolving 3.843 g of solid citric acid (reagent grade, Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.) in 200 mL of distilled water and subsequently slowly adding ammonia solution (reagent grade, Fisher Scientific) to yield a pH of 10. 1.0 g of the Mg-HAp containing unreached Mg(OH)2 was then suspended in the solution. The dissolution of the Mg(OH)2 was accomplished under a vigorous stirring using a magnetic stirrer for 24 h. This procedure was repeated once under the same conditions, in order to completely remove the Mg(OH)2 phase.
Properties: Mg content: 15 wt %, particle size distribution: 250-4500 nm, SSA: 115 m2/g.
Comparative Example
Example 1 was repeated substituting 2-propanol (C3H7OH, histological grade, Fisher Scientific) for water, so that the reaction conditions were purely mechanochemical. Under otherwise equivalent conditions, no Mg-HAp was observed to form. This emphasizes the importance of the hydrothermal conditions provided by the aqueous reaction medium in which at least one of the ion sources is soluble, and which thus actively participates in the synthesis reaction by dissolving one of the reactants.
The present invention thus provides for the reproducible and low-cost fabrication of high-quality Mg-HAp powders in large batch sizes. The foregoing examples and description of the preferred embodiment should be taken as illustrating, rather than as limiting the present invention as defined by the claims. As will be readily appreciated, numerous variations and combinations of the features set forth above can be utilized without departing from the present invention as set forth in the claims. Such variations are not regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such variations are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
1. A host material for luminescent applications comprising a stable, phase-pure magnesium-substituted crystalline hydroxyapatite comprising from about 10 to about 29 wt % magnesium, wherein at least 80 wt % of the magnesium content is substituted for calcium ions in the hydroxyapatite lattice structure.
2. The host material of claim 1, wherein said magnesium-substituted hydroxyapatite is made by a process comprising the step of mechanochemically comminuting and dissolving while hydrothermally reacting without external heating a source of calcium ions, at least one of which is soluble in water, in an aqueous reaction medium until said magnesium substituted hydroxyapatite is formed, wherein at least one of said source of calcium ions, source of magnesium ions, source of phosphate ions and source of hydroxide ions is water-insoluble or forms a water insoluble apatite precursor.
3. The host material of claim 1, wherein essentially all of the magnesium content is substituted for calcium ions in the hydroxyapatite lattice structure.
4. The host material of claim 1, wherein the phase-pure magnesium-substituted crystalline hydroxyapatite comprises crystal agglomerates having a particle size between about 5 nm and about 100 microns.
4097935 July 4, 1978 Jarcho
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Bertoni, et al. "Nanocrystals of magnesium and fluoride substituted hydroxyapatite," J. Inorg. Biochem. 72(1): 29-35. (1998).
Yasukawa, et al. "Preparation—MG CaHAP," J. Mater. Chem. 6(8): 1401-1405. (1996).
Bigi, et al. "Magnesium Influence of Hydroxyapatite Crystalization," J. Inorg. Biochem. 49: 69-78. (1993).
Patel, P. N. "Magnesium Calcium Hydroxyapatite Solid Solutions," J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem. 42: 1129-1132. (1980).
Liao, et al. "Synthesis of Ca-Ma Apatite via Mechanochemical Hydrothermal Process," J. Mater. Synth. Process 8(5-6) 305-311. (2000).
Yokogawa, et al. "Synthesis of Calcium-Strontium, Calcium-Magnesium, Magnesium-Strontium Apatite Through Mechanchemical Method," Report of National Industrial REsearch Institute of Nagoya 45(4): 161-166. (1996).
Filed: Apr 27, 2010
Date of Patent: Dec 25, 2012
Assignees: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (Brunswick, NJ), Ethicon, Inc. (Somerville, NJ)
Inventors: Richard E. Riman (Belle Mead, NJ), Wojciech Suchanek (Solon, OH), Pavel Shuk (Copley, OH), Kevor S. TenHuisen (Boulder, CO), Chun-Wei Chen (East Brunswick, NJ)
Primary Examiner: Neil Levy
Attorney: Fox Rothschild LLP
Current U.S. Class: Calcium Containing (424/602); Metal Or Ammonium Containing (423/305); Hydrogen Containing (423/307); Aluminum, Calcium Or Magnesium Element, Or Compound Containing (424/682); Oxide Or Hydroxide (424/688); Magnesium Hydroxide Or Oxide (424/692); Particulate Matter (e.g., Sphere, Flake, Etc.) (428/402); All Metal Or With Adjacent Metals (428/544); And Phosphorus Compound (501/111)
International Classification: A61K 33/42 (20060101);


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Paradoxical priorities in biodiversity conservation
By Matthew Zylstra @eyes4earth · On July 9, 2012
A recent survey of scientists' opinions on the state of global biodiversity and its management provides insight into the values which drive the conservation agenda. However, the findings raise an uncomfortable question: Are these opinions actually detrimental in fostering conservation outcomes?
The results, published in the Conservation Biology journal, were designed to elicit opinions of conservation scientists. The author, Rudd (2011:1165), summarizes the key findings as follows:
With regard to conservation strategies, scientists most often viewed understanding how people and nature interact in certain contexts and the role of biological diversity in maintaining ecosystem function as their priorities. Protection of biological diversity for its cultural and spiritual values and because of its usefulness to humans were low priorities, which suggests that many scientists do not support the utilitarian concept of ecosystem services.
Paradoxical Priorities
There are a number of striking contradictions amongst the survey results. Primarily, it rests on prevailing beliefs concerning human-nature interaction.
Scientists were in highest agreement with the statement: Conservation planning needs to understand how people and nature interact in particular places (Ranking 1st of 32 statements; No. times Most Agreed with (MA) = 55.7%; No. times Least Agreed with (LA) = 4.2%; No. times statement shown to respondents (n) = 1166).
Yet only a minority found agreement with: Biological diversity should be conserved because of its cultural and spiritual value. (27th ; MA = 9.1%; LA = 30.9%; n = 1161).
This immediately alerts us to somewhat of a dichotomy. As stated by Cocks et al (2012:1):
Conservation is not merely a matter of appropriate conservation technologies and management processes. It is a process that is inextricably bound up with people's values and world views on nature.
In certain contexts, that interaction is fuelled by cultural and spiritual values, traditionally often in favour of biodiversity protection (Cocks et al. 2012). And yet scientists widely scored these values as low priority, even though international treaties and documents (e.g. CBD, IUCN and UNESCO) all recognize the importance of "biocultural diversity" (Cocks et al. 2012).
What does this potential paradox suggest? Does it mean scientists are willing to go to great lengths to understand people's interactions with nature but, should it not align with their views on why we should conserve, it will subsequently be deemed unimportant or low priority?
Scientists were in high agreement to the statement: "Biological diversity should be conserved because it sustains ecosystem function." (2nd ; MA = 52.1%; LA = 6.4%; n = 1166).
In stark contrast – and ranking second to last and third to last respectively – was widespread disagreement to: "The value of biological diversity depends on its usefulness to people". (31st; MA = 7.6%; LA = 58.1%; n = 1157) and "Biological diversity should be conserved because of the beauty of nature" (30th ; MA = 5.9%; LA = 45.5%; n = 1164).
Given that alternative interpretation of the statements may be possible. these results are understandable. But paradoxically they may provide a disturbing indictment on the current state of conservation affairs.
These results are predictable in the sense that the general public's preoccupation with nature's aesthetics and its usefulness is the bane (and fuels the disdain) of many conservation scientists, and is perceived to be at odds with efforts to preserve biodiversity.
This can be illustrated with the management of alien (exotic) invasive species: stands of 'beautiful' pine trees, 'grand' eucalypts or 'cuddly' introduced/extralimital fauna are embraced because of their aesthetics or the fact that they satisfy a human need (though what constitutes a 'need' or 'want' could be debated).
Similarly, funding is poured into the protection of large charismatic species at the expense of those which may play a greater role in a functioning ecosystem.
Yet it is bizarre and even naive to remain in a state of denial about the primacy of beauty appreciation to the human urge. It motivates people's engagement with nature and desire to conserve. Likewise, to suggest that people would somehow look beyond nature's usefulness to them in rationalizing its value is folly. How can we respond to repeated calls for conveying the importance, wonder and relevance of biodiversity to the general public (see e.g. Nabhan 1995; Miller 2005) if nature's conservation value is to be viewed as being so separated from human identity, needs, and aspirations?
Conservation scientists may spurn the concept of ecosystem services on the one hand but yet seemingly overlook the fact that these are more than a limited set of provisioning and regulating services. They include all benefits from nature, wherein cultural services – e.g. recreation and health, aesthetic appreciation, heritage, artistic and spiritual values – are integral to many people's lives, scientists included.
Cultural services also include education and scientific values. Have conservation scientists forgotten that biological diversity is valuable in its usefulness to sustaining our own professions and research? As detached scientists, do we see ourselves separate from the people who rely daily on ecosystem services, use the recreation value of nature as places to spend time with family or to seek inspiration for our writing, or to make a living conducting field research?
Agreed, the beauty of nature should not be the sole reason for conserving biodiversity. Neither should its usefulness to humans – inclusive of the derived cultural and spiritual dimensions – solely determine the value of biodiversity. This view would be equally disastrous for biodiversity (assuming current ethical orientations remain unchanged).
Despite humanity's circular efforts to continuously seek out 'all or nothing' scenarios or 'silver bullet' solutions, the answer is always one of balance and blend. And it is always dependent on context.
Context is Critical
In this respect, the usefulness of some insights derived from Rudd's (2011) study could be questioned, and indeed the value of all such global studies which seek to find broad-scale trends and generalizations. Inevitably, the context and reasoning for why scientists agreed for statements in the way they did is non-transparent and thus open to misinterpretation.
Responses to the survey statements are likely to be highly dependent on the respondent's own reference context. Opinions will vary according to whether one's point of reference is in semi-urban North America or semi-rural Southern Africa.
Indeed, in answering some of the survey statements, it would be easy to say "Well, it depends…" That is not fence-sitting – it is an appreciation of context as a determinant of opinion regarding conservation solutions, especially those where values and moral judgement are involved (is that all of them?). Naturally, there are general principles which might underpin particular strategies but, in most cases, context prevails. To be fair, Rudd's study appears to have found a high level of importance given to context–dependent understanding of how people and nature interact.
Context is tricky. For example, was the global shift to whale conservation primarily motivated by knowledge of the whale's role in supporting ecosystem function? Was it because of its usefulness to humans? Was it the whale's beauty? Was it their cultural or spiritual value? It might have been all this and more – and emphasis would have shifted across cultures, countries and demographics.
Alien (exotic) invasive species, arguably the world's most severe conservation issue, is another example. Their historic introduction was largely based on their perceived usefulness (utility), beauty and cultural value to humans. Objections to their removal are often contested on the same grounds. Many people have also developed meaningful interactions with this exotic nature (e.g. pine trees on South Africa's Table Mountain), yet in many cases such species are highly disruptive to ecosystem function. Clearly, multiple values and priorities are at play, which are again context-specific.
Rhinos and lions are slaughtered for their horns and genitals to satisfy a utilitarian 'need' as aphrodisiacs. Yet the same utilitarianism packaged as tourist appreciation or existence value supports their conservation. When it comes to saving species, particularly charismatic ones, ecosystem function is a hard sell. Yet, in the case of the less trendy dung beetle, it may be the best argument we have.
In promoting conservation, we need to let context inform which values need to be engaged and to equally recognize that reframing environmental messages to be aligned with those people's values may tap into unexplored opportunities for conservation and pro-environmental behaviour (Schultz & Zelezny 2003; Cocks et al. 2012).
From Part of the Problem…
The extent to which we should be alarmed by the outcomes of Rudd's (2011) survey is dependent on interpretations for conservation policy and practice. On the one hand, the overall results indicate a biocentric value orientation amongst conservation scientists which, in the interest of global biodiversity, appears positive.
On the other hand, the results may be indicative of a failure of conservation science to appreciate which values and motivations are more likely to foster environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB) in society. Equally, it may infer a tacit resistance to value systems which do not conform to their own, despite a cognitive desire to remain value-free and objective. Science is a culture with its own norms, values, beliefs and taboos.
Do scientists' opinions provide evidence to support the uncomfortable notion that, even as conservationists, we may be ironically part of the same perceptual disconnect which we regularly write about as being at the heart of the biodiversity crisis? Do we not see ourselves as part of nature? Do we not see our own everyday actions connected to – and contributing toward – the very biodiversity loss which concerns us?
Bizarrely, one-third of surveyed scientists disagreed that "Biodiversity should be conserved to ensure human survival" (23rd ; MA = 19.3%; LA = 32.8%; n = 1162). How does that work exactly? Does that mean as the selfless scientist we are ready to sacrifice our own survival for the benefit of biodiversity? Do we see ourselves immune from human die out? Or is it a question of numbers, scale and who is involved?
Conservation initiatives fail when people feel alienated (Pyle 2003). Given that Rudd's (2011) results appear to distance motivating human values, they provide little confidence that the conservation sciences are likely to rapidly adopt more participatory and inclusive approaches which are open to a plurality of values and which will engage our constituencies. Furthermore, without tapping into these human (cultural, spiritual and utilitarian) dimensions, we are less likely to convince the public about whether conservation should be supported at all (cf. Zaradic et al. 2009)
There may be hope. Rudd (2011) concludes that given the relative consensus on the severity of the loss of biological diversity, "scientists may be willing to discuss potentially contentious conservation options". We can only anticipate that those alternatives will emerge from broader worldviews than exhibited in the survey's findings, such that "contentious" extends to giving greater weight to the anthro- and eco-centric dimensions of the social-ecological system and how they might be utilised to change human behaviour. Will the conservation mainstream recognise that, in some cases, cultural and spiritual values may be the best motivation we have for encouraging holistic biodiversity conservation?
…To Part of the Solution
The scientists were in significant agreement with the statement "People be should be made to change their behaviour to conserve species and ecosystem" (11th , MA = 31.1%, LA = 18.9%; n = 1169).
Conservation is about behaviour (Schultz 2011). And in this there is much agreement. Collectively, society needs to dramatically modify their actions toward the natural environment. But can people be "made" to change their behaviour? This appears to be an antiquated assertion which fails to recognize that coercion is rarely a recipe for long-term conservation success.
People interact with nature in important ways which are either poorly understood or unrecognized. Motivations for why people desire to conserve biodiversity are as complex as they are diverse. A willingness to understand these factors across specific contexts is critical, as is a willingness to remain open to guiding motivations which may not align with our own.
If people do not see nature as being beneficial to themselves, then why would they care to conserve it? We know of few public conservation donors, volunteers, or other enthusiasts who would state that their motivation and commitment to biodiversity is because it sustains ecosystem function. Can they be "made" to believe that it is of importance to them? For better or worse, we are conversely driven by emotion, meaning, utility and the experiential elements of our interactions with nature, regardless of whether we consider that to be morally correct.
Improved education and awareness is needed to redress the balance and improve eco-literacy as a basis for understanding of ecological systems, their functioning and the interconnections between biodiversity. But we cannot expect that such knowledge will ever displace the more affective and sensorial dimensions from which we derive satisfaction, security, and well-being. The cognitive and affective dimensions are two sides of the same coin – the ying and yang. In addition, in the absence of scientific eco-literacy and education (i.e. unavailable to most of the global populace), cultural, spiritual and utilitarian values may be all we can rely on to motivate conservation.
The ecosystem service concept has flaws in its current application, particularly an overemphasis on economic valuation and/or measuring the ecological capacity of ecosystems to provide services. Additionally, the public does not know what it means. However, the concept holds potential in communicating the fundamental links between nature and human well-being to broader society. It has value in making explicit that biodiversity is not stand alone but is the fabric which underpins human existence and the everyday benefits derived.
Greater efforts need to be directed toward communicating ecosystem services in the mainstream, though nuanced toward multiple value orientations. Chiefly, the inextricable interconnectedness of our social-ecological systems at multiple scales must be accentuated at every opportunity.
Meaningful Nature Experience: A Way Forward?
Value is a human construct. However, even if we can argue that value of biodiversity is not necessarily dependent on people, we must acknowledge that but biodiversity conservation is. The greater the value people attach to it, the greater its chance of survival. This is the critical distinction that needs to be made. Value is accumulated and cultivated through direct meaningful lived experience.
If we are to understand how people and nature interact in particular places, we have to be equally open to the fact that interaction may have a spiritual or cultural dimension.
For example, studies have found that peak experience in wilderness areas fosters spiritual expression through valuing the natural environment as sacred as well as in formulating new meaning and perceived connections with the powerful hidden forces of wild nature (McDonald et al. 2008). These links are considered important to both individual wilderness users (in promoting health, happiness and wellbeing) (McDonald et al. 2008) and for providing experiential justification for why conservation of those areas and others should be supported at all (Zaradic et al. 2009).
These experiences surpass an intellectual interest in nature; they create an affective bond which allows people to feel an interconnected part of nature. When one truly feels part of nature, one appreciates the integrity of the implicit and unbroken wholeness of the social-ecological system. This includes equal appreciation for utilitarian benefits alongside the ecological function. One comes to know that every piece of biological diversity plays an important part in the process, humans included. Connectedness with nature fuels pro-conservation behaviour.
Such notions often tend to sound fanciful and far-fetched as realistic ways forward. But the fact is global conservation is at impasse with respect to how to enact change – and seemingly exhausting most conventional 'solutions'. It would be reassuring to think that "scientists may be willing to discuss potentially contentious conservation options" (Rudd 2011). Only then, can we agree with Rudd's (2011) further conclusion that "we could be on the cusp of a period of evolution in thinking about how conservation goals might be redefined."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Managers who are trained in the physical and biological sciences may be inclined to ignore or discount the spiritual values of people who oppose their management efforts, because such values seem inconsistent with a scientific understanding of the resources. There is a tendency to regard spiritual value as a recreational "amenity" — a somewhat frivolous side issue next to the "real" concerns of hard science and economics. Arguing that spiritual values do not have a basis in traditional science does not, however, in any way diminish their power to motivate people… a threat to the existence of wild nature is a threat to the central spiritual value of many people's lives." (Schroeder 1991: 5)
Citation/Written by:
Zylstra, M. J. 2012. Paradoxical scientific priorities and values in biodiversity conservation. eyes4earth.org. URL: http://eyes4earth.org/paradoxical-priorities/
Excerpts of this text will be refined for inclusion in Zylstra's PhD thesis on meaningful nature experiences.
Rudd, M. A. 2011. Scientists' Opinions on the Global Status and Management of Biological Diversity. Conservation Biology 25:1165-1175.
Cocks, M. T.M. Dold and S. Vetter. 2012. "God is my forest" – Xhosa cultural values provide untapped opportunities for conservation. South African Journal Of Science 108:Art#880, 1-8.
McDonald, M. G., S. Wearing, and J. Ponting. 2009. The Nature of Peak Experience in Wilderness. The Humanistic Psychologist 37:370-385. Routledge.
Miller, J. R. 2005. Biodiversity conservation and the extinction of experience. TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution 20:430-434.
Nabhan, G. P. 1995. The dangers of reductionism in biodiversity conservation. Conservation Biology 9:479–481.
Pyle, R. M. 2003. Nature matrix: reconnecting people and nature. Oryx 37:206–214.
Schroeder, H. W. 1991. The spiritual aspect of nature: a perspective from depth psychology. Proceedings of the Northeastern Recreation Research Conference. Saratoga Springs, NY.
Schultz, P. W. & Zelezny, L. (2003). Reframing environmental messages to be congruent with American values. Human Ecology Review, 10(2): 126–136.
Schultz, P. W. 2011. Conservation Means Behavior. Conservation Biology 25:1080-1083.
Zaradic, P. A., O. R. W. Pergams, and P. Kareiva. 2009. The Impact of Nature Experience on Willingness to Support Conservation. PLoS ONE 4:e7367.
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Matthew Zylstra
Matthew Zylstra, PhD is an ecologist, lecturer and facilitator focusing on human~nature connectedness. His transdisciplinary research has entwined ecology, environmental psychology, and education in support of deep learning and wellbeing. He is a keen naturalist, especially in coastal and marine ecosystems. Matthew's PhD dissertation on meaningful nature experience, nature connectedness and its role in transformative education is freely available for download here »
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Charles Darwin University's Research Webportal Home
GIS Applications for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in Eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste
Rohan Fisher (Editor), Bronwyn Myers (Editor), M Sanam (Editor), V Tarus (Editor)
Charles Darwin University Press
Fisher, R., Myers, B., Sanam, M., & Tarus, V. (Eds.) (2009). GIS Applications for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in Eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste. (1 ed.) Charles Darwin University Press.
Fisher, Rohan (Editor) ; Myers, Bronwyn (Editor) ; Sanam, M (Editor) ; Tarus, V (Editor). / GIS Applications for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in Eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste. 1 ed. Darwin : Charles Darwin University Press, 2009.
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editor = "Rohan Fisher and Bronwyn Myers and M Sanam and V Tarus",
publisher = "Charles Darwin University Press",
Fisher, R, Myers, B, Sanam, M & Tarus, V (eds) 2009, GIS Applications for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in Eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste. 1 edn, Charles Darwin University Press, Darwin.
GIS Applications for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in Eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste. / Fisher, Rohan (Editor); Myers, Bronwyn (Editor); Sanam, M (Editor); Tarus, V (Editor).
1 ed. Darwin : Charles Darwin University Press, 2009.
T1 - GIS Applications for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in Eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste
A2 - Fisher, Rohan
A2 - Myers, Bronwyn
A2 - Sanam, M
A2 - Tarus, V
M3 - Edited Book
BT - GIS Applications for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in Eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste
PB - Charles Darwin University Press
CY - Darwin
Fisher R, (ed.), Myers B, (ed.), Sanam M, (ed.), Tarus V, (ed.). GIS Applications for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in Eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste. 1 ed. Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press, 2009.