13,444 research outputs found
Analysis of a spherical shell with a non-axisymmetric boundary
Spherical shell problem formulated in terms of stress functions, and applied to nonaxisymmetric boundar
Local status and power in area-based health improvement partnerships
This is the authors' PDF version of an article published in Health© 2014. The definitive version is available at http://hea.sagepub.comArea-based initiatives (ABIs) have formed an important part of public policy towards more socio-economically deprived areas in many countries. Co-ordinating service provision within and across sectors has been a common feature of these initiatives. Despite sustained policy interest in ABIs, little empirical work has explored relations between ABI providers and partnership development within this context remains under-theorised. This paper addresses both of these gaps by exploring partnerships as a social and developmental process, drawing on concepts from figurational sociology to explain how provider relations develop within an ABI. Qualitative methods were used to explore, prospectively, the development of an ABI targeted at a town in the north west of England. A central finding was that, although effective delivery of ABIs is premised on a high level of coordination between service providers, the pattern of interdependencies between providers limits the frequency and effectiveness of cooperation. In particular, the interdependency of ABI providers with others in their organisation (what is termed here âorganisational pullâ) constrained the ways in which they worked with providers outside of their own organisations. âLocalâ status, which could be earned over time, enabled some providers to exert greater control over the way in which provider relations developed during the course of the initiative. These findings demonstrate how historically constituted social networks, within which all providers are embedded, shape partnership development. The theoretical insight developed here suggests a need for more realistic expectations among policy makers about how and to what extent provider partnerships can be managed. Keywords: partnership, collaboration, community services, area-based initiatives, organisational pull, figurational sociologyNational Health Service (NHS
It Remains Unknown Whether Filaggrin Gene Mutations Evolved to Increase Cutaneous Synthesis of Vitamin D
About 8-10% of normal Northern Europeans are heterozygous carriers of common FLG mutations, while only 1-4% of southern Europeans display these mutations, and only very rarely are mutations detected in African populations. Although mutations are found in Asians, they are different from those encountered in Northern Europeans. Importantly, FLG mutation carriers have 10% increased serum vitamin D concentrations compared to controls. Based on these observations, we have proposed that this latitude-dependent gradient of FLG mutations across Europe, Asia and Africa could have provided an evolutionary advantage for heterozygous FLG mutation carriers, residing at northern latitudes, depletion of the FLG downstream product, trans-urocanic acid, would facilitate the intracutaneous synthesis of vitamin D3 by allowing increased transcutaneous absorption of UVB photons. Such loss-of-function FLG mutations would have provided an evolutionary advantage for modern humans, living in the far North of Europe, where little UV-B penetrates the atomosphere. In a recent article, it was concluded not only that the UVB-Vitamin D3 hypothesis is invalid, but also that FLG genetic variations, including loss-of-function variants, provide little or no impact on the fitness of modern humans. While we welcome studies that reassess our hypothesis, their conclusions are not valid for reasons explained in this letter
Draft Genome Sequence for Desulfovibrio africanus Strain PCS.
Desulfovibrio africanus strain PCS is an anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) isolated from sediment from Paleta Creek, San Diego, CA. Strain PCS is capable of reducing metals such as Fe(III) and Cr(VI), has a cell cycle, and is predicted to produce methylmercury. We present the D. africanus PCS genome sequence
Norbert Eliasâs extended theory of community: from established/outsider relations to the gendered weâI balance
A multi-proxy reconstruction from Lutomiersk-KoziĂłwki, Central Poland, in the context of early modern hemp and flax processing.
Qualidade e Segurança Alimentar em unidades fabris produtoras de enchidos no Alentejo
Portugal, tal como outros paĂses do MediterrĂąneo, tem uma grande diversidade de enchidos secos fermentados. A produção tradicional de enchidos Ă© muito diversa e os produtos possuem caraterĂsticas organolĂ©ticas muito particulares que agradam aos consumidores. Estas caraterĂsticas sensoriais estĂŁo relacionadas nĂŁo sĂł com os processos de fabrico, mas tambĂ©m com a flora microbiana autĂłctone. Por outro lado, a segurança dos produtos fermentados nem sempre se atinge com facilidade uma vez que no seu processamento nĂŁo existe uma etapa que elimine os agentes patogĂ©nicos. Neste tipo de produtos estĂŁo normalmente presentes bactĂ©rias benĂ©ficas como estafilococos coagulase negativos e bactĂ©rias do ĂĄcido lĂĄtico (BAL). Estes grupos bacterianos sĂŁo responsĂĄveis pelo sabor e aroma caraterĂsticos dos enchidos e tambĂ©m por aumentarem o seu tempo de vida de prateleira. De um modo geral, as estirpes dos referidos grupos bacterianos tĂȘm um papel muito importante para a segurança alimentar porque, se bem adaptados aos substratos, por exclusĂŁo competitiva condicionam o crescimento de microrganismos patogĂ©nicos e alterantes. As BAL sĂŁo particularmente Ășteis pela sua capacidade produtora de ĂĄcido lĂĄctico e, em alguns casos, de bacteriocinas geralmente ativas contra agentes patogĂ©nicos, tais como Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes e Salmonella spp., enquanto os estafilococos coagulase negativos sĂŁo principalmente redutores de nitratos, contribuindo assim para o desenvolvimento da cor. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a ocorrĂȘncia de Salmonella spp., L. monocytogenes e E. coli em diferentes superfĂcies (parede da sala de enchimento, picadora, misturadora e enchedora) de trĂȘs fĂĄbricas, bem como em enchidos tradicionais Portugueses em diferentes fases de cura: massa, meio da cura e produto final. Adicionalmente foram avaliados o nĂșmero de microrganismos mesĂłfilos em cada superfĂcie e produto, bem como o nĂșmero de estafilococos coagulase negativos e BAL. Em geral as superfĂcies apresentavam-se higienizadas, no entanto algumas mostraram nĂveis baixos de contaminação com L. monocytogenes e E. coli. NĂŁo foi detetada qualquer contaminação com Salmonella spp. nos diversos produtos analisados, independentemente do estado de cura, mas foram encontrados diferentes nĂveis de contaminação com L. monocytogenes e E. coli. O nĂșmero de BAL Ă© geralmente superior ao de estafilococos coagulase negativos.
Agradecimentos
Este trabalho foi financiado por Fundos FEDER atravĂ©s do Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade â COMPETE e por Fundos Nacionais atravĂ©s da FCT â Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologia no Ăąmbito do projeto PTDC/AGR-ALI/119075/2010 e dos Projetos EstratĂ©gicos PEst-C/AGR/UI0115/2011 e PEst-OE/AGR/UI0115/2014. Os autores agradecem Ă empresa PALADARES ALENTEJANOS, Lda. a colaboração prestada no Ăąmbito do projeto PRODER 13.021 (QREN/PRODER/Medida 4.1)
The absolute infrared magnitudes of type Ia supernovae
The absolute luminosities and homogeneity of early-time infrared (IR) light
curves of type Ia supernovae are examined. Eight supernovae are considered.
These are selected to have accurately known epochs of maximum blue light as
well as having reliable distance estimates and/or good light curve coverage.
Two approaches to extinction correction are considered. Owing to the low
extinction in the IR, the differences in the corrections via the two methods
are small. Absolute magnitude light curves in the J, H and K-bands are derived.
Six of the events, including five established ``Branch-normal'' supernovae show
similar coeval magnitudes. Two of these, SNe 1989B and 1998bu, were observed
near maximum infrared light. This occurs about 5 days {\it before} maximum blue
light. Absolute peak magnitudes of about -19.0, -18.7 and -18.8 in J, H & K
respectively were obtained. The two spectroscopically peculiar supernovae in
the sample, SNe 1986G and 1991T, also show atypical IR behaviour. The light
curves of the six similar supernovae can be represented fairly consistently
with a single light curve in each of the three bands. In all three IR bands the
dispersion in absolute magnitude is about 0.15 mag, and this can be accounted
for within the uncertainties of the individual light curves. No significant
variation of absolute IR magnitude with B-band light curve decline rate, Delta
m_{15}(B), is seen over the range 0.87<Delta m_{15}(B)<1.31. However, the data
are insufficient to allow us to decide whether or not the decline rate relation
is weaker in the IR than in the optical region. IR light curves of type Ia
supernovae should eventually provide cosmological distance estimates which are
of equal or even superior quality to those obtained in optical studies.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, MNRAS in press (includes Referee's changes
Windsurfing : an extreme form of material and embodied interaction?
This paper makes reference to the development of water based board sports in the world of adventure or action games. With a specific focus on windsurfing, we use Parlebas (1999) and Warnier's (2001) theoretical interests in the praxaeology of physical learning as well as Mauss' (1935) work on techniques of the body. We also consider the implications of Csikzentimihalyi's notion of flow (1975). We argue that windsurfing equipment should not merely be seen as protection but rather as status objects through which extreme lifestyles are embodied and embodying
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