Using meta-patterns to construct patterns

International audienceThe pattern notion defines techniques allowing the existing knowledge reuse. Usually, the knowledge encapsulated in these patterns is stored in classic library repositories that quickly become overcrowded. To solve this problem, [1] proposes the use of process maps in order to organize and select them. But the completeness of the maps is a very important problem that has to be solved in order to offer a useful guidance to the method engineer. This paper proposes a guideline pattern construction technique guiding engineers when creating the maps

Globalization, the ambivalence of European integration and the possibilities for a post-disciplinary EU studies

Using the work of Manuel Castells as a starting point, this article explores the ambivalent relationship between globalization and European integration and the variety of ways in which the mainstream political science of the EU has attempted to deal with this issue. The analysis here suggests that various 'mainstreaming' disciplinary norms induce types of work that fail to address fully the somewhat paradoxical and counter-intuitive range of possible relationships between globalization and European integration. The article explores critically four possible analytical ways out of this paradox—abandonment of the concept of globalization, the development of definition precision in globalization studies, the reorientation of work to focus on globalization as discourse, and inter- and post-disciplinarity. The argument suggests that orthodox discussions of the relationship require a notion of social geography that sits at odds with much of the literature on globalization and while greater dialogue between disciplines is to be welcomed, a series of profound epistemological questions need to be confronted if studies of the interplay between global and social process are to be liberated from their disciplinary chains

Acoustic observations of vertical and horizontal swimming velocities of a diel migrator

A strong sound scattering layer which underwent diel vertical migration was observed over 176 days using a bottom-mounted 600 kHz ADCP at a depth of approximately 285 m on the upper continental slope. Average observed descent times of the scatterers were within 12 minutes of sunrise and average ascent times were within 13 minutes of sunset. Average ascent speeds progressively increased away from the bed and approached 6 cm/s. Average descent speeds similarly reached a maximum of ∼6 cm/s. Horizontal velocities of the scatterers during vertical migration were found to be smaller than ambient velocities (by up to 3 cm/s), and it is inferred that the migrators were swimming horizontally against the flow. Horizontal velocities of the scatterers during time intervals when the layer was near the seafloor were found to be southwest (up to 3 cm/s), and onshelf (up to 1.7 cm/s) relative to the flow above the layer. Swimming velocities were independent of alongshelf flow direction, counter to the hypothesis that the scatterers sought to maintain their position by swimming against the flow

“It’s safer to ...” Parent consulting and clinician antibiotic prescribing decisions for children with respiratory tract infections:an analysis across four qualitative studies.

AbstractThis paper reports a cross-study analysis of four studies, aiming to understand the drivers of parental consulting and clinician prescribing behaviour when children under 12 years consult primary care with acute respiratory tract infections (RTI). Qualitative data were obtained from three primary studies and one systematic review. Purposeful samples were obtained for (i) a focus group study of parents' information needs and help seeking; (ii) an interview study of parents' experiences of primary health care (60 parents in total); and (iii) an interview study of clinicians' experiences of RTI consultations for children (28 clinicians). The systematic review synthesised parent and clinician views of prescribing for children with acute illness. Reoccurring themes and common patterns across the whole data set were noted. Through an iterative approach involving re-examination of the primary data, translation of common themes across all the studies and re-organisation of these themes into conceptual groups, four overarching themes were identified. These were: the perceived vulnerability of children; seeking safety in the face of uncertainty; seeking safety from social disapproval; and experience and perception of safety. The social construction of children as vulnerable and normative beliefs about the roles of parents and clinicians were reflected in parents' and clinicians' beliefs and decision making when a child had an RTI. Consulting and prescribing antibiotics were both perceived as the safer course of action. Therefore perception of a threat or uncertainty about that threat tended to lead to parental consulting and clinician antibiotic prescribing. Clinician and parent experience could influence the perception of safety in either direction, depending on whether previous action had resulted in perceived increases or decreases in safety. Future interventions aimed at reducing unnecessary consulting or antibiotic prescribing need to consider how to make the desired action fit with social norms and feel safer for parents and clinicians

The Use of a Plant-Based Biostimulant Improves Plant Performances and Fruit Quality in Tomato Plants Grown at Elevated Temperatures.

Abiotic stresses can cause a substantial decline in fruit quality due to negative impacts on plant growth, physiology and reproduction. The objective of this study was to verify if the use of a biostimulant based on plant and yeast extracts, rich in amino acids and that contains microelements (boron, zinc and manganese) can ensure good crop yield and quality in tomato plants grown at elevated temperatures (up to 42 C). We investigated physiological responses of four di↵erent tomato landraces that were cultivated under plastic tunnel and treated with the biostimulant CycoFlow. The application of the biostimulant stimulated growth (plants up to 48.5% taller) and number of fruits (up to 105.3%). In plants treated with the biostimulant, antioxidants contents were higher compared to non-treated plants, both in leaves and in fruits. In particular, the content of ascorbic acid increased after treatments with CycoFlow. For almost all the traits studied, the e↵ect of the biostimulant depended on the genotype it was applied on. Altogether, the use of the biostimulant on tomato plants led to better plant performances at elevated temperatures, that could be attributed also to a stronger antioxidant defence system, and to a better fruit nutritional quality

Nuclear Resonance Vibrational Spectroscopy of Iron Sulfur Proteins

Nuclear inelastic scattering in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations has been applied for the identification of vibrational modes of the high-spin ferric and the high-spin ferrous iron-sulfur center of a rubredoxin-type protein from the thermophylic bacterium Pyrococcus abysii

Measured Sensitivity of the First Mark II Phased Array Feed on an ASKAP Antenna

This paper presents the measured sensitivity of CSIRO's first Mk. II phased array feed (PAF) on an ASKAP antenna. The Mk. II achieves a minimum system-temperature-over-efficiency $T_\mathrm{sys}/\eta$ of 78 K at 1.23 GHz and is 95 K or better from 835 MHz to 1.8 GHz. This PAF was designed for the Australian SKA Pathfinder telescope to demonstrate fast astronomical surveys with a wide field of view for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Electromagnetics in Advanced applications (ICEAA), 2015 International Conference o

An Information Theoretic perspective on perceptual structure: cross-accent vowel perception

Analytical tools from Information Theory were used to quantify behaviour in cross-accent vowel perception by Australian, London, New Zealand, Yorkshire and Newcastle UK listeners. Results show that Australian listeners impose expected patterns of perceptual similarity from their own accent experience on unfamiliar accents, regardless of the actual phonetic distance between accents

Maintaining hepatic stem cell gene expression on biological and synthetic substrata

The liver is a highly resilient organ that possesses enormous regenerative capacity. This is mediated mainly through the most abundant cell type found in the liver, the hepatocyte. When the regenerative capacity of the hepatocyte is compromised, during chronic or acute liver injury, hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) are activated to replace the damaged tissue. The HPC resides in a laminin-rich environment; as HPCs differentiate toward a hepatic or biliary fate, the extracellular matrix (ECM) composition changes, influencing cell behavior. To assess the impact that the biological ECM and the synthetic ECM have on the maintenance of hepatic stem cell gene expression, a murine hepatic stem cell line was employed. We demonstrate that hepatic stem cell gene expression could be maintained using a biological or synthetic substratum, but not on plastic alone

Gill's model of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, revisited: the role of latitudinal variations in wind stress

Adrian Gill’s (1968) model of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is reinterpreted for a stratified, reduced-gravity ocean, where the barotropic streamfunction is replaced by the pycnocline depth, and the bottom drag coefficient by the Gent and McWilliams eddy diffusivity. The resultant model gives a simple description of the lateral structure of the ACC that is consistent with contemporary descriptions of ACC dynamics. The model is used to investigate and interpret the sensitivity of the ACC to the latitudinal profile of the surface wind stress. A substantial ACC remains when the wind jet is shifted north of the model Drake Passage, even by several thousand kilometers. The integral of the wind stress over the circumpolar streamlines is found to be a useful predictor of the magnitude of the volume transport through the model Drake Passage, although it is necessary to correct for basin-wide zonal pressure gradients in order to obtain good quantitative agreement