High Mas

High Mas: Carnival and the Poetics of Caribbean Culture explores Caribbean identity through photography, criticism, and personal narrative. Taking a sophisticated and unapologetically subjective Caribbean point of view, the author delves into Mas--a key feature of Trinidad performance--as an emancipatory practice. The photographs and essays here immerse the viewer in carnival experience as never before. Kevin Adonis Browne divulges how performers are or wish to be perceived, along with how, as the photographer, he is implicated in that dynamic. The resulting interplay encourages an informed, nuanced approach to the imaging of contemporary Caribbeanness. The first series, "Seeing Blue," features Blue Devils from the village of Paramin, whose performances signify an important revision of the post-emancipation tradition of Jab Molassie (Molasses Devil) in Trinidad. The second series, "La Femme des Revenants," chronicles the debut performance of Tracey Sankar's La Diablesse, which reintroduced the "Caribbean femme fatale" to a new audience. The third series, "Moko Jumbies of the South," looks at Stephanie Kanhai and Jonadiah Gonzales, a pair of stilt-walkers from the performance group Touch de Sky from San Fernando in southern Trinidad. "Jouvay Reprised," the fourth series, follows the political activist group Jouvay Ayiti performing a Mas in the streets of Port of Spain on Emancipation Day in 2015. Troubling the borders that persist between performer and audience, embodiment and spirituality, culture and self-consciousness, the book interrogates what audiences understand about the role of the participant-observer in public contexts. Representing the uneasy embrace of tradition in Trinidad and the Caribbean at large, the book probes the multiple dimensions of vernacular experience and their complementary cultural expressions. For Browne, Mas performance is an exquisite refusal to fully submit to the lingering traumas of slavery, the tyrannies of colonialism, and the myths of independence.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is Singapore's central bank and integrated financial regulator. As a central bank, MAS promotes sustained, non-inflationary economic growth through the conduct of monetary policy and close macroeconomic surveillance and analysis. It manages Singapore's exchange rate, official foreign reserves, and liquidity in the banking sector. As an integrated financial supervisor, MAS fosters a sound financial services sector through its prudential oversight of all financial institutions in Singapore — banks, insurers, capital market intermediaries, financial advisors and financial market infrastructures. It is also responsible for well-functioning financial markets, sound conduct, and investor education. MAS also works with the financial industry to promote Singapore as a dynamic international financial centre. It facilitates the development of infrastructures, adoption of technology, and upgrading of skills in the financial industry.This 50th anniversary compilation provides convenient access to the thinking behind MAS' policies and strategies as they have evolved, through 50 landmark statements by its leaders.

Global climate change, reductions in arable land, and food security demands that plant breeding will continue to play an imperative role in feeding 9 billion people sustainably by 2050. In order to face this challenge, modern plant breeding will necessitate the adoption of new technologies and practices to boost production of cultivated plants by capturing or generating more favorable genetic diversity. In crop plants, the majority of agronomically important traits are quantitatively inherited, controlled by multiple genes each with a small effect (quantitative trait loci, QTLs). The most common approach to pre-breeding is to use genetic mapping to identify QTLs for key phenotypic variation followed by introgressing those QTLs into the elite gene pool with marker-assisted selection (MAS), which can enhance the selection criteria of phenotypes comparing to conventional breeding with the selection of genes. As the cost of genotyping continues to decline, the use of genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technologies or whole genome re-sequencing, coupled with the release of the genome sequences of plant species have permitted the development of dense arrays of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering the entire genome, which have in turn paved the way to genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Meanwhile, fine mapping guided by genome sequences of many plant species have facilitated the exploration of functional genes; in addition, pan-genomes constructed from various available resources such as the reference sequence and its variants, raw reads and haplotype reference panels provide a new perspective on QTL locations and potential molecular targets for plant breeding. Similarly, new approaches to marker-trait association analyses such as quantitative trait locus sequencing (QTL-seq) and quantitative trait gene sequencing (QTG-seq) that are based on bulked-segregant analysis (BSA) and whole-genome resequencing will help accelerate QTL fine-mapping and identification of the causal genes. In conclusion, the tools and strategies for MAS in modern plant breeding have been expanding in recent years. By embracing a broad array of conventional and new molecular techniques, modern plant breeding has a bright future in delivering new crop cultivars to keep our food, fiber and biobased economy diverse and safe.

Biochemistry of Metal Micronutrients in the Rhizosphere focuses on chemical factors and biological activities that control the uptake and translocation of essential metal micronutrients by plants and microorganisms. Emphasis is placed on current proposals describing the roles of microorganisms in controlling the biological activities of metal micronutrients in the rhizosphere. Coverage includes basic principles of siderophore-mediated Fe acquisition by microorganisms, siderophores as important regulators of Fe availability to plants and rhizosphere microorganisms, and microbial control of metal micronutrient supply to plants. The book evaluates plant uptake processes of Fe, Mn, and Zn in solution cultures and integrates this information with a rapidly developing understanding of rhizosphere events. Important consideration is given to the roles of metal ion chelation and soil chemistry in these biological activities. The current understanding of the biochemical events associated with Fe-deficiency in plants is discussed, including how these activities mediate micronutrient availability to both plants and soil microorganisms. This unique mixture of detailed coverage of the events that control biological activities of Fe, Mn, and Zn in the rhizosphere makes this book an essential reference.

This third edition of the Encyclopedia of Spectroscopy and Spectrometry, Three Volume Set provides authoritative and comprehensive coverage of all aspects of spectroscopy and closely related subjects that use the same fundamental principles, including mass spectrometry, imaging techniques and applications. It includes the history, theoretical background, details of instrumentation and technology, and current applications of the key areas of spectroscopy. The new edition will include over 80 new articles across the field. These will complement those from the previous edition, which have been brought up-to-date to reflect the latest trends in the field. Coverage in the third edition includes: Atomic spectroscopy Electronic spectroscopy Fundamentals in spectroscopy High-Energy spectroscopy Magnetic resonance Mass spectrometry Spatially-resolved spectroscopic analysis Vibrational, rotational and Raman spectroscopies The new edition is aimed at professional scientists seeking to familiarize themselves with particular topics quickly and easily. This major reference work continues to be clear and accessible and focus on the fundamental principles, techniques and applications of spectroscopy and spectrometry. Incorporates more than 150 color figures, 5,000 references, and 300 articles for a thorough examination of the field Highlights new research and promotes innovation in applied areas ranging from food science and forensics to biomedicine and health Presents a one-stop resource for quick access to answers and an in-depth examination of topics in the spectroscopy and spectrometry arenas

Thoroughly revised, with critical reviews of new findings on how to interpret the MMPI, and a new chapter on its psychometric properties and use with subjects different from those on whom it was standardized.