Organizational professionalism in globalizing law firms.

Are the challenges of globalization, technology and competition exercising a dramatic impact on professional practice whilst, in the process, compromising traditional notions of professionalism, autonomy and discretion? This paper engages with these debates and uses original, qualitative empirical data to highlight the vast areas of continuity that exist even the largest globalizing law firms. Whilst it is undoubted that growth in the size of firms and their globalization bring new challenges, these are resolved in ways that are sensitive to professional values and interests. In particular, a commitment to professional autonomy and discretion still characterises the way in which these firms operate and organize themselves. This situation is explained in terms of the development of an organizational model of professionalism, whereby the large organization is increasingly emerging as a primary locus of professionalization and whereby professional priorities and objectives are increasingly supported by organizational logics, systems and initiatives

Sound comparisons: a new online database and resource for research in phonetic diversity

Sound Comparisons hosts over 90,000 individual word recordings and 50,000 narrow phonetic transcriptions from 600 language varieties from eleven language families around the world. This resource is designed to serve researchers in phonetics, phonology and related fields. Transcriptions follow new initiatives for standardisation in usage of the IPA and Unicode. At soundcomparisons.com, users can explore the transcription datasets by phonetically-informed search and filtering, customise selections of languages and words, download any targeted data subset (sound files and transcriptions) and cite it through a custom URL. We present sample research applications based on our extensive overage of regional and sociolinguistic variation within major languages, and also of endangered languages, for which Sound Comparisons provides a rapid first documentation of their diversity in phonetics. The multilingual interface and user-friendly, ‘hover-tohear’ maps likewise constitute an outreach tool, where speakers can instantaneously hear and compare the phonetic diversity and relationships of their native languages

Sound comparisons: A new online database and resource for research in phonetic diversity

Sound Comparisons hosts over 90,000 individual word recordings and 50,000 narrow phonetic transcriptions from 600 language varieties from eleven language families around the world. This resource is designed to serve researchers in phonetics, phonology and related fields. Transcriptions follow new initiatives for standardisation in usage of the IPA and Unicode. At soundcomparisons.com, users can explore the transcription datasets by phonetically-informed search and filtering, customise selections of languages and words, download any targeted data subset (sound files and transcriptions) and cite it through a custom URL. We present sample research applications based on our extensive overage of regional and sociolinguistic variation within major languages, and also of endangered languages, for which Sound Comparisons provides a rapid first documentation of their diversity in phonetics. The multilingual interface and user-friendly, ‘hover-tohear’ maps likewise constitute an outreach tool, where speakers can instantaneously hear and compare the phonetic diversity and relationships of their native languages

Theories for influencer identification in complex networks

In social and biological systems, the structural heterogeneity of interaction networks gives rise to the emergence of a small set of influential nodes, or influencers, in a series of dynamical processes. Although much smaller than the entire network, these influencers were observed to be able to shape the collective dynamics of large populations in different contexts. As such, the successful identification of influencers should have profound implications in various real-world spreading dynamics such as viral marketing, epidemic outbreaks and cascading failure. In this chapter, we first summarize the centrality-based approach in finding single influencers in complex networks, and then discuss the more complicated problem of locating multiple influencers from a collective point of view. Progress rooted in collective influence theory, belief-propagation and computer science will be presented. Finally, we present some applications of influencer identification in diverse real-world systems, including online social platforms, scientific publication, brain networks and socioeconomic systems.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figure

The regenerative therapies of the ankle degeneration; A focus on multipotential mesenchymal stromal cell application

The ankle degeneration ranging from focal osteochondral lesions to osteoarthritis (OA) can cause a total joint function loss. With rising life-expectancy and activity of the patients, various regenerative therapies were introduced aiming to preserve the joint function via the induction of cartilage and bone repair. Here, biological events and mechanical changes of the ankle degeneration were discussed. The regenerative therapies were reviewed versus the standard surgical treatment. We especially focused on the use of multipotential mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) highlighting their dual functions of regeneration and cell modulation with the focus on the emerging MSC-based clinical studies. Being at an early step, more basic and clinical research is needed to optimize the applications of all ankle regenerative therapies including MSC-based method

Infection Parameters in the Sand Fly Vector That Predict Transmission of Leishmania major

To identify parameters of Leishmania infection within a population of infected sand flies that reliably predict subsequent transmission to the mammalian host, we sampled groups of infected flies and compared infection intensity and degree of metacyclogenesis with the frequency of transmission. The percentage of parasites within the midgut that were metacyclic promastigotes had the highest correlation with the frequency of transmission. Meta-analysis of multiple transmission experiments allowed us to establish a percent-metacyclic “cutoff” value that predicted transmission competence. Sand fly infections initiated with variable doses of parasites resulted in correspondingly altered percentages of metacyclic promastigotes, resulting in altered transmission frequency and disease severity. Lastly, alteration of sand fly oviposition status and environmental conditions at the time of transmission also influenced transmission frequency. These observations have implications for transmission of Leishmania by the sand fly vector in both the laboratory and in nature, including how the number of organisms acquired by the sand fly from an infection reservoir may influence the clinical outcome of infection following transmission by bite

Seasonality and Prevalence of Leishmania major Infection in Phlebotomus duboscqi Neveu-Lemaire from Two Neighboring Villages in Central Mali

Phlebotomus duboscqi is the principle vector of Leishmania major, the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), in West Africa and is the suspected vector in Mali. Although found throughout the country the seasonality and infection prevalence of P. duboscqi has not been established in Mali. We conducted a three year study in two neighboring villages, Kemena and Sougoula, in Central Mali, an area with a leishmanin skin test positivity of up to 45%. During the first year, we evaluated the overall diversity of sand flies. Of 18,595 flies collected, 12,952 (69%) belonged to 12 species of Sergentomyia and 5,643 (31%) to two species of the genus Phlebotomus, P. duboscqi and P. rodhaini. Of those, P. duboscqi was the most abundant, representing 99% of the collected Phlebotomus species. P. duboscqi was the primary sand fly collected inside dwellings, mostly by resting site collection. The seasonality and infection prevalence of P. duboscqi was monitored over two consecutive years. P. dubsocqi were collected throughout the year. Using a quasi-Poisson model we observed a significant annual (year 1 to year 2), seasonal (monthly) and village effect (Kemena versus Sougoula) on the number of collected P. duboscqi. The significant seasonal effect of the quasi-Poisson model reflects two seasonal collection peaks in May-July and October-November. The infection status of pooled P. duboscqi females was determined by PCR. The infection prevalence of pooled females, estimated using the maximum likelihood estimate of prevalence, was 2.7% in Kemena and Sougoula. Based on the PCR product size, L. major was identified as the only species found in flies from the two villages. This was confirmed by sequence alignment of a subset of PCR products from infected flies to known Leishmania species, incriminating P. duboscqi as the vector of CL in Mali

KSAC, a Defined Leishmania Antigen, plus Adjuvant Protects against the Virulence of L. major Transmitted by Its Natural Vector Phlebotomus duboscqi

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease caused by the Leishmania parasite and transmitted by the bite of an infective sand fly. Despite the importance of this disease there is no vaccine available for humans. Studies have shown that vector-transmitted infections are more virulent, promoting parasite establishment and abrogating protection observed against needle-injected parasites in vaccinated mice. KSAC and L110f, derived from Leishmania-based polyproteins, protected mice against the needle-injected parasites. Here, we tested the two molecules for their capacity to protect mice against cutaneous leishmaniasis transmitted by an infective sand fly. Our results show that KSAC, but not L110f, confers protection against Leishmania transmitted by sand fly bites where protection was correlated to a strong immune response to Leishmania antigens by memory T cells before and after sand fly transmission of the parasite. This is the first report of a Leishmania-based vaccine that confers protection against a virulent sand fly challenge. Our results support the importance of screening Leishmania vaccine candidates using infective sand flies before moving forward with the costly steps of vaccine development

First Detection of Leishmania major DNA in Sergentomyia (Spelaeomyia) darlingi from Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Foci in Mali

Leishmania major complex is the main causative agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in the Old World. Phlebotomus papatasi and Phlebotomus duboscqi are recognized vectors of L. major complex in Northern and Southern Sahara, respectively. In Mali, ZCL due to L. major is an emerging public health problem, with several cases reported from different parts of the country. The main objective of the present study was to identify the vectors of Leishmania major in the Bandiagara area, in Mali. Methodology/Principal Findings: An entomological survey was carried out in the ZCL foci of Bandiagara area. Sandflies were collected using CDC miniature light traps and sticky papers. In the field, live female Phlebotomine sandflies were identified and examined for the presence of promastigotes. The remaining sandflies were identified morphologically and tested for Leishmania by PCR in the ITS2 gene. The source of blood meal of the engorged females was determined using the cyt-b sequence. Out of the 3,259 collected sandflies, 1,324 were identified morphologically, and consisted of 20 species, of which four belonged to the genus Phlebotomus and 16 to the genus Sergentomyia. Leishmania major DNA was detected by PCR in 7 of the 446 females (1.6%), specifically 2 out of 115 Phlebotomus duboscqi specimens, and 5 from 198 Sergentomyia darlingi specimens. Human DNA was detected in one blood-fed female S. darlingi positive for L. major DNA. Conclusion: Our data suggest the possible involvement of P. duboscqi and potentially S. darlingi in the transmission of ZCL in Mali