336 research outputs found
Human Factors Certification of Advanced Aviation Technologies
Proceedings of the Human Factors Certification of Advanced Aviation Technologies Conference held at the Chateau de Bonas, near Toulouse, France, 19-23 July 1993
Together forever? Explaining exclusivity in party-firm relations
Parties and firms are the key actors of representative democracy and capitalism respectively and the dynamic of attachment between them is a central feature of any political economy. This is the first article to systematically analyse the exclusivity of party-firm relations. We consider exclusivity at a point in time and exclusivity over time. Does a firm have a relationship with only one party at a given point in time, or is it close to more than one party? Does a firm maintain a relationship with only one party over time, or does it switch between parties? Most important, how do patterns of exclusivity impact on a firm’s ability to lobby successfully? We propose a general theory, which explains patterns of party-firm relations by reference to the division of institutions and the type of party competition in a political system. A preliminary test of our theory with Polish survey data confirms our predictions, establishing a promising hypothesis for future research
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Severe Biallelic Loss-of-function Mutations in Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Adenylyltransferase 2 (NMNAT2) in Two Fetuses with Fetal Akinesia Deformation Sequence
The three nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NMNAT) family members synthesize the electron carrier nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and are essential for cellular metabolism. In mammalian axons, NMNAT activity appears to be required for axon survival and is predominantly provided by NMNAT2. NMNAT2 has recently been shown to also function as a chaperone to aid in the refolding of misfolded proteins. Nmnat2 deficiency in mice, or in its ortholog dNmnat in Drosophila, results in axon outgrowth and survival defects. Peripheral
nerve axons in NMNAT2-deficient mice fail to extend and innervate
targets, and skeletal muscle is severely underdeveloped. In addition,
removing NMNAT2 from established axons initiates axon death by Wallerian degeneration. We report here on two stillborn siblings with fetal
akinesia deformation sequence (FADS), severely reduced skeletal muscle
mass and hydrops fetalis. Clinical exome sequencing identified compound
heterozygous NMNAT2 variant alleles in both cases. Both protein variants
are incapable of supporting axon survival in mouse primary neuron cultures when overexpressed. In vitro assays demonstrate altered protein
stability and/or defects in NAD+ synthesis and chaperone functions. Thus,
both patient NMNAT2 alleles are null or severely hypo-morphic. These data indicate a previously unknown role for NMNAT2 in human neurological development and provide the first direct molecular evidence to support the involvement of Wallerian degeneration in a human axonal disorder.Funding for the project comes from the NIH (R.W.S. R01NS085023; R.G.Z. R56NS095893), the UK Medical Research Council grant (J.G. MR/N004582/1), the John and Lucille van Geest Foundation (M.C.) and the Taishan Scholar Project of Shandong Province, China (R.G.Z.)
Intonation and Compensation of Fretted String Instruments
In this paper we present mathematical and physical models to be used in the
analysis of the problem of intonation of musical instruments such as guitars,
mandolins and the like, i.e., we study how to improve the tuning on these
instruments. This analysis begins by designing the placement of frets on the
fingerboard according to mathematical rules and the assumption of an ideal
string, but becomes more complicated when one includes the effects of
deformation of the string and inharmonicity due to other string
characteristics. As a consequence of these factors, perfect intonation of all
the notes on the instrument can never be achieved, but complex compensation
procedures are introduced and studied to minimize the problem. To test the
validity of these compensation procedures, we have performed extensive
measurements using standard monochord sonometers and other basic acoustical
devices, confirming the correctness of our theoretical models. In particular,
these experimental activities can be easily integrated into standard acoustics
courses and labs, and can become a more advanced version of basic experiments
with monochords and sonometers.Comment: Improved version, with minor changes. 25 pages, including 6 figures
and 2 tables. Accepted for publication in the American Journal of Physics
(AJP
The role of glacier mice in the invertebrate colonisation of glacial surfaces: the moss balls of the Falljökull, Iceland
Glacier surfaces have a surprisingly complex ecology. Cryoconite holes contain diverse invertebrate communities while other invertebrates, such as Collembola often graze on algae and windblown dead organic on the glacier surface. Glacier mice (ovoid unattached moss balls) occur on some glaciers worldwide. Studies of these glacier mice have concentrated on their occurrence and mode of formation. There are no reports of the invertebrate communities. But, such glacier mice may provide a suitable favourable habitat and refuge for a variety of invertebrate groups to colonise the glacier surface. Here we describe the invertebrate fauna of the glacier mice (moss balls) of the Falljökull, Iceland. The glacier mice were composed of Racomitrium sp. and varied in size from 8.0 to 10.0 cm in length. All glacier mice studied contained invertebrates. Two species of Collembola were present. Pseudisotoma sensibilis (Tullberg, 1876) was numerically dominant with between 12 and 73 individuals per glacier mouse while Desoria olivacea (Tullberg, 1871) occurred but in far lower numbers. Tardigrada and Nematoda had mean densities of approximately 200 and 1,000 respectively. No Acari, Arachnida or Enchytraeidae were observed which may be related to the difficulty these groups have in colonizing the glacier mice. We suggest that glacier mice provide an unusual environmentally ameliorated microhabitat for an invertebrate community dwelling on a glacial surface. The glacier mice thereby enable an invertebrate fauna to colonise an otherwise largely inhospitable location with implications for carbon flow in the system
Defects of B-cell terminal differentiation in patients with type-1 Kabuki syndrome
Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a complex multi-system developmental disorder associated with mutation of genes encoding histone-modifying proteins. In addition to craniofacial, intellectual, and cardiac defects, KS is also characterized by humoral immune deficiency and autoimmune disease, yet no detailed molecular characterization of the KS-associated immune phenotype has previously been reported
Fabry disease: progression of nephropathy, and prevalence of cardiac and cerebrovascular events before enzyme replacement therapy
Background. In Fabry disease, progressive glycolipid accumulation leads to organ damage and early demise, but the incidence of renal, cardiac and cerebrovascular events has not been well characterized
The Sub-State Politics of Welfare in Italy: Assessing the Effect of Territorial Mobilization on the Development of Region-Specific Social Governance
This article demonstrates that the political mobilization of regional identities through the creation of regionalist parties has positively impacted on the development of region-specific models of welfare governance in Italy. This means that, in a decentralized country, the ‘centre-periphery’ cleavage may significantly influence the sub-state politics of welfare
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