Death is not a success: reflections on business exit

This article is a critical evaluation of claims that business exits should not be seen as failures, on the grounds that may constitute voluntary liquidation, or because they are learning opportunities. This can be seen as further evidence of bias affecting entrepreneurship research, where failures are repackaged as successes. This article reiterates that the majority of business exits are unsuccessful. Drawing on ideas from the organisational life course, it is suggested that business ‘death’ is a suitable term for describing business closure. Even cases of voluntary ‘harvest liquidation’ such as retirement can be meaningfully described as business deaths

Educational outcomes in extremely preterm children : neuropsychological correlates and predictors of attainment

This study assessed the impact of extremely preterm birth on academic attainment at 11 years of age, investigated neuropsychological antecedents of attainment in reading and mathematics, and examined early predictors of educational outcomes. Children born extremely preterm had significantly poorer academic attainment and a higher prevalence of learning difficulties than their term peers. General cognitive ability and specific deficits in visuospatial skills or phoneme deletion at 6 years were predictive of mathematics and reading attainment at 11 years in both extremely preterm and term children. Phonological processing, attention, and executive functions at 6 years were also associated with academic attainment in children born extremely preterm. Furthermore, social factors, neonatal factors (necrotizing enterocolitis, breech delivery, abnormal cerebral ultrasound, early breast milk provision), and developmental factors at 30 months (head circumference, cognitive development), were independent predictors of educational outcomes at 11 years. Neonatal complications combined with assessments of early cognitive function provide moderate prediction for educational outcomes in children born extremely preterm

Quantification of blue carbon in salt marshes of the Pacific coast of Canada

Tidal salt marshes are known to accumulate "blue carbon " at high rates relative to their surface area, which render these systems among the Earth's most efficient carbon (C) sinks. However, the potential for tidal salt marshes to mitigate global warming remains poorly constrained because of the lack of representative sampling of tidal marshes from around the globe, inadequate areal extent estimations, and inappropriate dating methods for accurately estimating C accumulation rates. Here we provide the first estimates of organic C storage and accumulation rates in salt marshes along the Pacific coast of Canada, within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, a region currently underrepresented in global compilations. Within the context of other sites from the Pacific coast of North America, these young Clayoquot Sound marshes have relatively low C stocks but are accumulating C at rates that are higher than the global average with pronounced differences between high and low marsh habitats. The average C stock calculated during the past 30 years is 54 +/- 5 Mg C ha(-1) (mean +/- standard error), which accounts for 81 % of the C accumulated to the base of the marsh peat layer (67 +/- 9 Mg C ha(-1)). The total C stock is just under one-third of previous global estimates of salt marsh C stocks, likely due to the shallow depth and young age of the marsh. In contrast, the average C accumulation rate (CAR) (184 +/- 50 g C m(-2) yr(-1) to the base of the peat layer) is higher than both CARs from salt marshes along the Pacific coast (112 +/- 12 g C m(-2) yr(-1)) and global estimates (91 +/- 7 g C m(-2) yr(-1)). This difference was even more pronounced when we considered individual marsh zones: CARs were significantly greater in high marsh (303 +/- 45 g C m(-2) yr(-1)) compared to the low marsh sediments (63 +/- 6 g C m(-2) yr(-1)), an observation unique to Clayoquot Sound among NE Pacific coast marsh studies. We attribute low CARs in the low marsh zones to shallow-rooting vegetation, reduced terrestrial sediment inputs, negative relative sea level rise in the region, and enhanced erosional processes. Per hectare, CARs in Clayoquot Sound marsh soils are approximately 2-7 times greater than C uptake rates based on net ecosystem productivity in Canadian boreal forests, which highlights their potential importance as C reservoirs and the need to consider their C accumulation capacity as a climate mitigation co-benefit when conserving for other salt marsh ecosystem services

Mathematics difficulties in extremely preterm children : evidence of a specific deficit in basic mathematics processing

Background: Extremely preterm (EP, <26 wk gestation) children have been observed to have poor academic achievement in comparison to their term-born peers, especially in mathematics. This study investigated potential underlying causes of this difficulty. Methods: A total of 219 EP participants were compared with 153 term-born control children at 11 y of age. All children were assessed by a psychologist on a battery of standardized cognitive tests and a number estimation test assessing children’s numerical representations. Results: EP children underperformed in all tests in comparison with the term controls (the majority of Ps < 0.001). Different underlying relationships between performance on the number estimation test and mathematical achievement were found in EP as compared with control children. That is, even after controlling for cognitive ability, a relationship between number representations and mathematical performance persisted for EP children only (EP: r = 0.346, n = 186, P < 0.001; control: r = 0.095, n = 146, P = 0.256). Conclusion: Interventions for EP children may target improving children’s numerical representations in order to subsequently remediate their mathematical skills

Bayesian Probabilities and the Histories Algebra

We attempt a justification of a generalisation of the consistent histories programme using a notion of probability that is valid for all complete sets of history propositions. This consists of introducing Cox's axioms of probability theory and showing that our candidate notion of probability obeys them. We also give a generalisation of Bayes' theorem and comment upon how Bayesianism should be useful for the quantum gravity/cosmology programmes.Comment: 10 pages, accepted by Int. J. Theo. Phys. Feb 200

Prevalence and risk factors for mast cell tumours in dogs in England

BACKGROUND: Mast cell tumour (MCT) appears to be a frequent tumour type in dogs, though there is little published in relation to its frequency in dogs in the UK. The current study aimed to investigate prevalence and risk factors for MCTs in dogs attending English primary-care veterinary practices. METHODS: Electronic patient records from practices participating in the VetCompass animal surveillance project between July 2007 and June 2013 were searched for MCT diagnosis. Various search terms and standard diagnostic terms (VeNom codes) identified records containing MCT diagnoses, which were evaluated against clinical criteria for inclusion to the study. MCT prevalence for the entire dataset and specific breed types were calculated. Descriptive statistics characterised MCT cases and multivariable logistic regression methods evaluated risk factors for association with MCT (P < 0.05). RESULTS: Within a population of 168,636 dogs, 453 had MCT, yielding a prevalence of 0.27% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24% - 0.29%). The highest breed type specific prevalences were for the Boxer at 1.95% (95% CI 1.40% - 2.51%), Golden Retriever at 1.39% (0.98% - 1.81%) and Weimaraner at 0.85% (95% CI 0.17% to 1.53%). Age, insurance status, neuter status, weight and breed type were associated with MCT diagnosis. Of dogs of specific breed type, the Boxer, Pug and Staffordshire Bull Terrier showed greater odds of MCT diagnosis compared with crossbred dogs. Conversely, the German Shepherd Dog, Border Collie, West Highland White Terrier, Springer Spaniel and Cocker Spaniel had reduced odds of MCT diagnosis compared with crossbred dogs. No association was found between MCT diagnosis and sex. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study highlights a clinically significant prevalence of MCT and identifies specific breed types with predisposition to MCT, potentially aiding veterinarian awareness and facilitating diagnosis

Quantification of Blue Carbon in Salt Marshes of the Pacific Coast of Canada

Tidal salt marshes are known to accumulate “blue carbon” at high rates relative to their surface area, which render these systems among the Earth’s most efficient carbon (C) sinks. However, the potential for tidal salt marshes to mitigate global warming remains poorly constrained because of the lack of representative sampling of tidal marshes from around the globe, inadequate areal extent estimations, and inappropriate dating methods for accurately estimating C accumulation rates. Here we provide the first estimates of organic C storage and accumulation rates in salt marshes along the Pacific coast of Canada, within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, a region currently underrepresented in global compilations. Within the context of other sites from the Pacific coast of North America, these young Clayoquot Sound marshes have relatively low C stocks but are accumulating C at rates that are higher than the global average with pronounced differences between high and low marsh habitats. The average C stock calculated during the past 30 years is 54 5MgC ha-1 (mean standard error), which accounts for 81% of the C accumulated to the base of the marsh peat layer (67 9MgC ha-1/. The total C stock is just under one-third of previous global estimates of salt marsh C stocks, likely due to the shallow depth and young age of the marsh. In contrast, the average C accumulation rate (CAR) (184 50 gCm-2 yr-1 to the base of the peat layer) is higher than both CARs from salt marshes along the Pacific coast (112 12 gCm-2 yr-1/ and global estimates (91 7 gCm-2 yr-1/. This difference was even more pronounced when we considered individual marsh zones: CARs were significantly greater in high marsh (303 45 gCm-2 yr-1/ compared to the low marsh sediments (63 6 gCm-2 yr-1/, an observation unique to Clayoquot Sound among NE Pacific coast marsh studies. We attribute low CARs in the low marsh zones to shallow rooting vegetation, reduced terrestrial sediment inputs, negative relative sea level rise in the region, and enhanced erosional processes. Per hectare, CARs in Clayoquot Sound marsh soils are approximately 2–7 times greater than C uptake rates based on net ecosystem productivity in Canadian boreal forests, which highlights their potential importance as C reservoirs and the need to consider their C accumulation capacity as a climate mitigation co-benefit when conserving for other salt marsh ecosystem services

A 5,000-Year Fire History in the Strait of Georgia Lowlands, British Columbia, Canada

Improved knowledge of long-term fire regimes and climate-fire-human relationships are important for effective management of forested ecosystems. In this study, we use two, high-resolution sedimentary-charcoal records to provide new, mid to late Holocene fire histories for the driest forests in south coastal British Columbia, Canada: Somenos Lake in the Moist Maritime Coastal Douglas Fir (CDFmm) forests on southeastern Vancouver Island and Chadsey Lake in the Dry Maritime Coastal Western Hemlock (CWHdm) forests in the central Fraser Valley. Peak fire frequency at Somenos Lake in southeast Vancouver Island was highest prior to 3,500 cal yr BP at 9.5 fires per 1,000 years (at ~4,500 cal yr BP), with a mean fire return interval of 188 years (122–259) and 24 fire peaks for the 4,855 year record. Peak fire frequency at Chadsey Lake in the Fraser Valley of the Lower Mainland of BC was highest (5.9) at 2,736 cal yr BP but fairly uniform from ~4,300 to 2,500 cal yr BP. The mean fire return interval at Chadsey Lake was 214 years (150–285) with 15 fire peaks for the ~4,258 year record. The fire history for Chadsey Lake appears to be strongly tied to broad regional climate patterns for the region whereas the variability in the Somenos Lake fire record displays a more complex pattern likely the result of the interplay between climatic and anthropogenic factors. Our results show how different age models using long- vs. short-term temporal scales of analysis can affect fire history interpretation and highlight the importance of considering spatial variability when interpreting mechanisms driving fire activity in this region