The Determinants of Lateness: Evidence from British Workers

Using a sample of male and female workers from the 1992 Employment in Britain survey we estimate a generalised grouped zero-inflated Poisson regression model of employeesÕ self-reported lateness. Reflecting theoretical predictions from both psychology and economics, lateness is modelled as a function of incentives, the monitoring of and sanctions for lateness within the workplace, job satisfaction and attitudes to work. Various aspects of workplace incentive and disciplinary policies turn out to affect lateness, however, once these are controlled for, an important role for job satisfaction remains.

Marian Theology in Printed Cantata Librettos for the German Lutheran Church, 1704-1754

As historical musicology has grown in recent years to embrace cross-disciplinary perspectives and consider music not only on its own terms but also in relation to larger social, cultural, and historical trends, the study of the music of J. S. Bach has benefited from increased attention to the theological contexts in which Bach and his Lutheran contemporaries lived and worked. Within the context of this approach to understanding the church music of Bach and his contemporaries, this article explores Marian theology as communicated to congregants through church cantatas performed on Marian feast days (Purification, Annunciation, and Visitation). In other words, how might Marian theology have been heard by Lutheran congregants through church music of the early eighteenth century? After providing an overview of the three Marian feasts in the Lutheran church year and outlining the research approach, the article analyzes the cantata texts for these three feast days in 57 sources published in the first half of the eighteenth century. It concludes with some broad reflections on the ways theology is communicated differently in church music (and particularly in church cantata texts in early eighteenth-century Lutheranism) than it is in other theological sources such as biblical commentaries or published sermons

Characterization of the earliest intermediate of Fe-N_2 protonation: CW and Pulse EPR detection of an Fe-NNH species and its evolution to Fe-NNH_2^+

Iron diazenido species (Fe(NNH)) have been proposed as the earliest intermediates of catalytic N_2-to-NH_3 conversion (N_2RR) mediated by synthetic iron complexes and relatedly as intermediates of N_2RR by nitrogenase enzymes. However, direct identification of such iron species, either during or independent of catalysis, has proven challenging owing to their high degree of instability. The isolation of more stable silylated diazenido analogues, Fe(NNSiR_3), and also of further downstream intermediates (e.g., Fe(NNH_2)), nonetheless points to Fe(NNH) as the key first intermediate of protonation in synthetic systems. Herein we show that low-temperature protonation of a terminally bound Fe-N_2– species, supported by a bulky trisphosphinoborane ligand (^(Ar)P_3^B), generates an S = 1/2 terminal Fe(NNH) species that can be detected and characterized by continuous-wave (CW) and pulse EPR techniques. The ^1H-hyperfine for ^(Ar)P_3^BFe(NNH) derived from the presented ENDOR studies is diagnostic for the distally bound H atom (a_(iso) = 16.5 MHz). The Fe(NNH) species evolves further to cationic [Fe(NNH_2)]+ in the presence of additional acid, the latter being related to a previously characterized [Fe(NNH_2)]+ intermediate of N2RR mediated by a far less encumbered iron tris(phosphine)borane catalyst. While catalysis is suppressed in the present sterically very crowded system, N_2-to-NH_3 conversion can nevertheless be demonstrated. These observations in sum add support to the idea that Fe(NNH) plays a central role as the earliest intermediate of Fe-mediated N2RR in a synthetic system

Potential Failure of A Decayed Tree Under Wind Loading

Trees with decayed wood that are subject to moderate winds often collapse and cause property damage or injury and death to people. The purpose of this paper is to describe a decision-making aid to help identify a tree that may fail in the forest or be a potential hazard in the city. A tree may fail when the probability of radial shear cracks developing for a given wind load is sufficiently high.Mathematical models are used to estimate the constant wind force on trees and to evaluate the cracking and collapse mechanisms under this loading. The physical dimensions are used to determine the wind force or drag on the tree, and the amount of decay in the tree is used to determine its ability to resist this load. Owing to uncertainties associated with accurately measuring and modeling a decayed tree, estimating the wind load, and specifying the wood strength of a tree species, reliability analysis is used to assess the potential risk of failure. Coupling this information with meteorological data for the largest wind speed value expected at the tree site and the topography of the tree site completes the analysis of potential failure. Case studies of balsam fir trees with the same exterior diameters but with different dimensions of decay columns, tree weights, tree heights, and wind speed conditions are analyzed and compared

Ceramic Rail-Race Ball Bearings

Non-lubricated ball bearings featuring rail races have been proposed for use in mechanisms that are required to function in the presence of mineral dust particles in very low-pressure, dry environments with extended life. Like a conventional ball bearing, the proposed bearing would include an inner and an outer ring separated by balls in rolling contact with the races. However, unlike a conventional ball bearing, the balls would not roll in semi-circular or gothic arch race grooves in the rings: instead, the races would be shaped to form two or more rails (see figure). During operation, the motion of the balls would push dust particles into the spaces between the rails where the particles could not generate rolling resistance for the ball

Engineered mosaic protein polymers; a simple route to multifunctional biomaterials

Abstract: Background: Engineered living materials (ELMs) are an exciting new frontier, where living organisms create highly functional materials. In particular, protein ELMs have the advantage that their properties can be manipulated via simple molecular biology. Caf1 is a protein ELM that is especially attractive as a biomaterial on account of its unique combination of properties: bacterial cells export it as a massive, modular, non-covalent polymer which is resistant to thermal and chemical degradation and free from animal material. Moreover, it is biologically inert, allowing the bioactivity of each 15 kDa monomeric Caf1 subunit to be specifically engineered by mutagenesis and co-expressed in the same Escherichia coli cell to produce a mixture of bioactive Caf1 subunits. Results: Here, we show by gel electrophoresis and transmission electron microscopy that the bacterial cells combine these subunits into true mosaic heteropolymers. By combining two separate bioactive motifs in a single mosaic polymer we demonstrate its utility by stimulating the early stages of bone formation by primary human bone marrow stromal cells. Finally, using a synthetic biology approach, we engineer a mosaic of three components, demonstrating that Caf1 complexity depends solely upon the variety of monomers available. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the utility of engineered Caf1 mosaic polymers as a simple route towards the production of multifunctional biomaterials that will be useful in biomedical applications such as 3D tissue culture and wound healing. Additionally, in situ Caf1 producing cells could create complex bacterial communities for biotechnology. Graphical abstract

Marx, education and the possibilities of a fairer world: Reviving radical political economy through foucault

Although this paper constitutes a revision of a paper originally published in 2007 [see note 1), the editors are pleased to republish this paper due to its theoretical importance for the critique of Marxism as well the interest it creates for establishing the possibility of a new political economy based upon the work of Michel Foucault. The paper documents and interrogates the contradictions between postmodernism and poststructuralism with Marxism. Starting by documenting the crisis of the Left at the start of the twenty-first century, an attempt is made to radically critique and reappraise Marxism in a direction set out by Foucault. The paper is not so much an attempt to meld Marxism and poststructuralism but rather to generate a new poststructuralist historical materialism which still has equality and fairness as its central concerns, but which goes beyond the traditional problems of Marxism based on its adherence to outmoded methodologies and theoretical modes of analysis. Echoing well known critiques of Marxist historical materialism, the paper focuses on forms of articulation drawn from the revolution in language influenced by post-modernism and by historically more recent post-quantum complexity theories

Twenty year predictors of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) compared with coronary heart disease (CHD) in the Scottish Heart Health Extended Cohort (SHHEC)

Background Coronary heart disease (CHD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) affect different vascular territories. Supplementing baseline findings with assays from stored serum, we compared their twenty-year predictors. Methods and Results Recruited randomly across Scotland 1984-1995 and followed through 2009 for death and hospital diagnoses, of 15 737 disease-free men and women aged 30-75y, 3098 developed CHD (19.7%), and 499 PAD (3.2%). Hazard ratios (HRs) for 45 variables in the Cox model were adjusted for age and sex, and for factors in the 2007 ASSIGN cardiovascular risk score. Forty four were entered into parsimonious predictive models, tested by c-statistics and NRIs (Net Reclassification Improvements). Many HRs diminished with adjustment and parsimonious modeling, leaving significant survivors. HRs were mostly higher in PAD. New parsimonious models increased the c-statistic and NRI over ASSIGN variables alone, but varied in their components and ranking. CHD and PAD shared seven of the nine factors from ASSIGN: age, sex, family history, socioeconomic status, diabetes mellitus, tobacco smoking, and systolic blood pressure (SBP), (but not total, nor HDL-cholesterol), plus four new ones: NT-pro BNP, cotinine, hsC-Reactive Protein, and cystatin-C. Highest ranked HRs for continuous factors in CHD were: age, total cholesterol, hsTroponin, NT-pro-BNP, cotinine, apolipoprotein A, waist circumference, (…plus ten more); in PAD: age, hsCRP, SBP, expired carbon monoxide, cotinine, socioeconomic status, lipoprotein (a), (…plus five more). Conclusion The mixture of shared with disparate determinants for arterial disease in the heart and the legs implies non-identical pathogenesis–cholesterol dominant in the former–inflammation (hsCRP, diabetes, smoking) in the latter

Interplay between tolerance mechanisms to copper and acid stress in Escherichia coli

Copper (Cu) is a key antibacterial component of the host innate immune system and almost all bacterial species possess systems that defend against the toxic effects of excess Cu. The Cu tolerance system in Gram-negative bacteria is composed minimally of a Cu sensor (CueR) and a Cu export pump (CopA). The cueR and copA genes are encoded on the chromosome typically as a divergent but contiguous operon. In Escherichia coli, cueR and copA are separated by two additional genes, ybaS and ybaT, which confer glutamine (Gln)-dependent acid tolerance and contribute to the glutamate (Glu)-dependent acid resistance system in this organism. Here we show that Cu strongly inhibits growth of a ∆copA mutant strain in acidic cultures. We further demonstrate that Cu stress impairs the pathway for Glu biosynthesis via glutamate synthase, leading to decreased intracellular levels of Glu. Addition of exogenous Glu rescues the ∆copA mutant from Cu stress in acidic conditions. Gln is also protective but this relies on the activities of YbaS and YbaT. Notably, expression of both enzymes is up-regulated during Cu stress. These results demonstrate a link between Cu stress, acid stress, and Glu/Gln metabolism, establish a role for YbaS and YbaT in Cu tolerance, and suggest that subtle changes in core metabolic pathways may contribute to overcoming host-imposed copper toxicity

MANURE MANAGEMENT FOR WATER QUALITY COSTS TO ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS OF APPLYING MANURE NUTRIENTS TO LAND

Nutrients from livestock and poultry manure are key sources of water pollution. Ever-growing numbers of animals per farm and per acre have increased the risk of water pollution. New Clean Water Act regulations compel the largest confined animal producers to meet nutrient application standards when applying manure to the land, and USDA encourages all animal feeding operations to do the same. The additional costs for managing manure (such as hauling manure off the farm) have implications for feedgrain producers and consumers as well. This report's farm-level analysis examines on-farm technical choice and producer costs across major U.S. production areas for hauling manure to the minimum amount of land needed to assimilate manure nutrients. A regional analysis then focuses on off-farm competition for land to spread surplus manure, using the Chesapeake Bay region as a case study. Finally, a sectorwide analysis addresses potential long-term structural adjustments at the national level and ultimate costs to consumers and producers.manure management costs, price and quantity adjustments, water quality, animal waste, manure nutrients, excess nutrients, confined animals, CAFO, manure nitrogen, manure phosphorus, manure use, assimilative capacity, nutrient management plan, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,