The Seventeenth Century, a.d 1603–1714.

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The 'Memoirs' of Sir Richard Bulstrode

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Friend or foe? The role of state and mutual Fund ownership in the split share structure reform in China

The recent split share structure reform in China involves the nontradable shareholders proposing a compensation package to the tradable shareholders in exchange for the listing rights of their shares. We find that state ownership (the major owners of nontradable shares) has a positive effect on the final compensation ratio. In contrast, mutual fund ownership (the major institutional owner of tradable shares) has a negative effect on the compensation ratio and especially in state-owned firms. The evidence is consistent with our predictions that state shareholders have incentives to complete the reform quickly and exert political pressure on mutual funds to accept the terms without a fight. Copyright © 2010 Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington.published_or_final_versio

Initial investigation of cryogenic wind tunnel model filler materials

Various filler materials are being investigated for applicability to cryogenic wind tunnel models. The filler materials will be used to fill surface grooves, holes and flaws. The severe test environment of cryogenic models precludes usage of filler materials used on conventional wind tunnel models. Coefficients of thermal expansion, finishing characteristics, adhesion and stability of several candidate filler materials were examined. Promising filler materials are identified

Large optical gain from four-wave mixing instabilities in semiconductor quantum wells

Based on a microscopic many-particle theory, we predict large optical gain in the probe and background-free four-wave mixing directions caused by excitonic instabilities in semiconductor quantum wells. For a single quantum well with radiative-decay limited dephasing in a typical pump-probe setup we discuss the microscopic driving mechanisms and polarization and frequency dependence of these instabilities

Which doctors and with what problems contact a specialist service for doctors? A cross sectional investigation

Background: In the United Kingdom, specialist treatment and intervention services for doctors are underdeveloped. The MedNet programme, created in 1997 and funded by the London Deanery, aims to fill this gap by providing a self-referral, face-to-face, psychotherapeutic assessment service for doctors in London and South-East England. MedNet was designed to be a low-threshold service, targeting doctors without formal psychiatric problems. The aim of this study was to delineate the characteristics of doctors utilising the service, to describe their psychological morbidity, and to determine if early intervention is achieved. Methods: A cross-sectional study including all consecutive self-referred doctors (n = 121, 50% male) presenting in 2002–2004 was conducted. Measures included standardised and bespoke questionnaires both self-report and clinician completed. The multi-dimensional evaluation included: demographics, CORE (CORE-OM, CORE-Workplace and CORE-A) an instrument designed to evaluate the psychological difficulties of patients referred to outpatient services, Brief Symptom Inventory to quantify caseness and formal psychiatric illness, and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results: The most prevalent presenting problems included depression, anxiety, interpersonal, self-esteem and work-related issues. However, only 9% of the cohort were identified as severely distressed psychiatrically using this measure. In approximately 50% of the sample, problems first presented in the preceding year. About 25% were on sick leave at the time of consultation, while 50% took little or no leave in the prior 12 months. A total of 42% were considered to be at some risk of suicide, with more than 25% considered to have a moderate to severe risk. There were no significant gender differences in type of morbidity, severity or days off sick. Conclusion: Doctors displayed high levels of distress as reflected in the significant proportion of those who were at some risk of suicide; however, low rates of severe psychiatric illness were detected. These findings suggest that MedNet clients represent both ends of the spectrum of severity, enabling early clinical engagement for a significant proportion of cases that is of importance both in terms of personal health and protecting patient care, and providing a timely intervention for those who are at risk, a group for whom rapid intervention services are in need and an area that requires further investigation in the UK

EU-Rotate_N – a decision support system – to predict environmental and economic consequences of the management of nitrogen fertiliser in crop rotations

A model has been developed which assesses the economic and environmental performance of crop rotations, in both conventional and organic cropping, for over 70 arable and horticultural crops, and a wide range of growing conditions in Europe. The model, though originally based on the N_ABLE model, has been completely rewritten and contains new routines to simulate root development, the mineralisation and release of nitrogen (N) from soil organic matter and crop residues, and water dynamics in soil. New routines have been added to estimate the effects of sub-optimal rates of N and spacing on the marketable outputs and gross margins. The model provides a mechanism for generating scenarios to represent a range of differing crop and fertiliser management strategies which can be used to evaluate their effects on yield, gross margin and losses of nitrogen through leaching. Such testing has revealed that nitrogen management can be improved and that there is potential to increase gross margins whilst reducing nitrogen losses

2016 International Orthoptic Congress Burian Lecture: folklore or evidence?

The theme of the 2016 Burian Lecture is how our understanding of strabismus has been changed by the research carried out in our laboratory in Reading over the years. Accommodation and convergence are fundamental to Orthoptics, but actual responses have often been very different to what we had expected. This paper outlines how our laboratory’s understanding of common issues such as normal development of accommodation and convergence, their linkage, intermittent strabismus, anisometropia, orthoptic exercises and risk factors for strabismus have changed. A new model of thinking about convergence and accommodation may help us to better understand and predict responses in our patients

A Memory of Early Life Physical Activity Is Retained in Bone Marrow of Male Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet

Studies have reported opposing effects of high-fat (HF) diet and mechanical stimulation on lineage commitment of the bone marrow stem cells. Yet, how bone marrow modulates its gene expression in response to the combined effects of mechanical loading and a HF diet has not been addressed. We investigated whether early-life (before onset of sexual maturity at 6 weeks of age) voluntary physical activity can modulate the effects of a HF diet on male Sprague Dawley rats. In the bone marrow, early-life HF diet resulted in adipocyte hypertrophy and a pro-inflammatory and pro-adipogenic gene expression profile. The bone marrow of the rats that undertook wheel exercise while on a HF diet retained a memory of the early-life exercise. This memory lasted at least 60 days after the cessation of the voluntary exercise. Our results are consistent with the marrow adipose tissue having a unique response to HF feeding in the presence or absence of exercise