Maxwell’s Methodological Odyssey in Electromagnetism

In addition to his scientific achievements, James Clerk Maxwell was an innovator in methodologies in physics. In fact, in his hands methodology and theory mutually inform one another, an aspect of his work that has not been properly appreciated. We examine closely from a methodological perspective Maxwell’s contributions to electromagnetism and uncover a trajectory of great interest, which we call Maxwell’s methodological odyssey. There are four principal stations along the fifteen-year trajectory of Maxwell’s published writings devoted to electromagnetism. These contributions form a sequence of different methodologies which culminated in 1873 in his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism. Tracing the path leading to his magnum opus yields novel insights into the various methodologies which Maxwell applied in the course of constructing his epoch-making electrodynamic theory. Indeed, we claim that the framework of the theory is just as important as the empirical facts in this physical domain. Thus, we are persuaded that Maxwell's formulation and application of novel scientific methodologies is no less a feat than proposing a fundamental theory

Organisational culture, national culture and performance in international joint ventures based in Israel.

International Joint Ventures (IJV) capitalise on localised skills, knowledge and capabilities. Moreover, the internationalisation of markets offers scope to innovate, develop and market new products benefiting from international collaborations. Nonetheless, some IJV fail and many do not achieve satisfactory performance. One reason proposed is cultural differences, most often the differences in partners' national cultures or differences between corporate. We examine 66 Israeli IJV to establish the impact of national and organisational cultures. We found that neither organisational nor national culture had much impact on performance or the perception of performance. However, trust seems to play an important mediating role

Blood transfusion in critical care

Blood transfusion is frequent in critical care. Transfusion raises the mass of transfused blood components and is lifesaving in acute hemorrhage. In massive transfusion (>10 units of red blood cells), early attempts to restore coagulation function appear helpful. Transfusion in non-bleeding patients is largely prophylactic, is seldom evidence-based, and may be deleterious. In hemodynamically stable critical care patients, level I evidence suggests that a hemoglobin of >7 g/dL and platelet counts of >10,000/μL are well tolerated

The biogeography of the Plastisphere : implications for policy

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 13 (2015): 541–546, doi:10.1890/150017.Microplastics (particles less than 5 mm) numerically dominate marine debris and occur from coastal waters to mid-ocean gyres, where surface circulation concentrates them. Given the prevalence of plastic marine debris (PMD) and the rise in plastic production, the impacts of plastic on marine ecosystems will likely increase. Microscopic life (the “Plastisphere”) thrives on these tiny floating “islands” of debris and can be transported long distances. Using next-generation DNA sequencing, we characterized bacterial communities from water and plastic samples from the North Pacific and North Atlantic subtropical gyres to determine whether the composition of different Plastisphere communities reflects their biogeographic origins. We found that these communities differed between ocean basins – and to a lesser extent between polymer types – and displayed latitudinal gradients in species richness. Our research reveals some of the impacts of microplastics on marine biodiversity, demonstrates that the effects and fate of PMD may vary considerably in different parts of the global ocean, and suggests that PMD mitigation will require regional management efforts.This work was supported by a US National Science Foundation (NSF) collaborative grant to LAA-Z (OCE-1155571), ERZ (OCE-1155379), and TJM (OCE-1155671), and was partially funded by an NSF TUES grant (DUE-1043468) to LAA-Z and ERZ, and by the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation to TJM. GP was funded through the OCE-1155379 grant and assisted with identification of plastic resins via ATR-FTIR

Residual plaque burden in patients with acute coronary syndromes after successful percutaneous coronary intervention

Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize and evaluate the clinical impact of untreated atherosclerotic disease after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Background: Residual atherosclerotic disease after successful PCI may predispose future major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), angiography underestimates the presence and severity of coronary artery disease. Methods: Following successful PCI of all clinically significant lesions in 697 patients with ACS, 3-vessel grayscale and radiofrequency IVUS was performed. Lesions were prospectively characterized, and patients were followed for a median of 3.4 years. A total of 3,229 untreated lesions (4.89 ± 1.98 lesions/patient) were identified by IVUS, with mean plaque burden (PB) of 49.6 ± 4.2%. Results: By angiography these nonculprit lesions were mild, with mean diameter stenosis of 38.9 ± 15.3%. At least 1 lesion with a PB <70% (PB70 lesion) was found in 220 (33%) patients. By multivariable analysis, a history of prior PCI and angiographic 3-vessel disease were independent predictors of PB70 lesions. Patients with PB70 lesions had greater total percent plaque volume, normalized PB, fibroatheromas, thin-cap fibroatheromas, and normalized volumes of necrotic core and dense calcium. Patients with PB70 lesions had greater 3-year rates of MACE due to untreated nonculprit lesions (20.8% vs. 7.7%, p < 0.0001). Among imaged nonculprit lesions, the proportion of PB70 lesions causing MACE was significantly greater than non-PB70 lesions (8.7% vs. 1.0%, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: After successful PCI of all angiographically significant lesions, overall untreated atherosclerotic burden remains high, and PB70 lesions are frequently present in the proximal and mid-coronary tree. Patients with PB70 lesions have greater atherosclerosis throughout the coronary tree, have more thin-cap fibroatheromas, and are at increased risk for future cardiovascular events. (PROSPECT: An Imaging Study in Patients With Unstable Atherosclerotic Lesions; NCT00180466