A Predictive Approach to On-line Time Warping of Motion

The paper presents a novel approach to real-time temporal alignment of motion sequences, called On-line Predictive Warping (OPW) and considers potential uses in interactive applications. The approach develops on the methods of aligning motions based on least cost, used in dynamic time warping (DTW), with the short term predictions of smoothing algorithms, in an iterative step through approach. The approach allows a recorded motion sequence to be warped to align it with a users motion as it is being captured. The paper demonstrates the potential feasibility of the approach to support applications in MR and VR, allowing virtual characters to perform and interact with users and live actors in a variety of rehearsal, training, visualisation and performance scenarios

Absorptive capacity and market orientation in public service provision

The application of market orientation to public organisations does not adequately account for the unique features of this context. Drawing on absorptive capacity literature, this is the first study to examine the role of the organisation's learning environment on the market orientation-performance interface for two opposing public management contexts. The research involved a national survey questionnaire to 1060 internal and external public leisure service providers in England. Empirical testing through structural equation modelling revealed that not all dimensions of market orientation are universally positive and marketing scholars should seek to examine and understand market orientation in the context of the organisation and its learning mechanisms, as absorptive capacity has clear and different moderation effects under different management contexts. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Re-examining the deployment of market orientation in the public leisure sector

This paper examines the moderating effects of market orientation's intelligence generation and dissemination components on the response-performance relationship. We offer valuable insight into the application of, and subsequent returns to, market orientation in the public leisure sector, thereby helping to broaden the appeal, relevance, and usefulness of this important marketing theory to other contexts. The research involved a national survey questionnaire to 1060 public leisure managers of local government leisure facilities in England. Empirical testing through structural equation modelling revealed two important findings. First, intelligence generation efforts of the organisation can in part affect the performance returns to an organisation from its responsiveness to market intelligence. Second, intelligence generation coupled with organisation-wide dissemination of intelligence can have a destructive impact on the response-performance relationship, demonstrated by a negative significant moderating impact on this relationship. This paper provides an alternative explanation to the deployment of market orientation as a means to create value and an explanation that transcends its current linear portrayal in public-service delivery. © 2012 Copyright 2012 Westburn Publishers Ltd

Thinking into the Bog: Art Practice and Connection from inside a Language under Pressure

Abstract: In this article Ian Joyce and Mathew Staunton explore the interconnected notions of anxiety and contemporary art practice in Ireland by “thinking into the bog” and looking with fresh eyes from inside the Duibheagán, the inky depths at the heart of the natural world and the day-to-day experience of a language under pressure. Via Munch’s scream of nature and its Irish equivalent in the devastating and uncanny creative force unleashed by Uaigneas, they look for artistic sense in the metaphorical, linguistic and physical spaces in and around the bog landscape of County Donegal.Résumé : Dans cet article Ian Joyce et Mathew Staunton confrontent la notion d’anxiété à la pratique artistique contemporaine en Irlande à travers une « pensée de la tourbière » qui reconsidère le Duibheagán, les profondeurs noires émanant du monde naturel, et l’expérience quotidienne d’un langage / d’une langue étouffée. Les auteurs décèlent dans la force créative libérée par le / la Uaigneas un équivalent irlandais au Cri de Munch et déploient un espace métaphorique, linguistique et physique dans et autour des tourbières du Donegal

Alginate as a protease inhibitor in vitro and in a model gut system; selective inhibition of pepsin but not trypsin

Alginates are widely used in the food and medical industries, including as a Gastro-Oesophagul Reflux treatment. This work investigates the inhibitory effects of alginate on the reflux aggressors trypsin and pepsin and the role of alginate-substrate binding, pH and alginate structure on inhibition. Alginates were shown to reduce pepsin activity by up to 53.9% (±9.5SD) in vitro. Strong positive correlation between alginate mannuronate residue frequency and levels of pepsin inhibition was observed. Limited inhibition of trypsin was shown. Viscometric observations of pH dependent interactions between alginate and protein suggest a mechanism whereby pH dependent ionic interactions reduce substrate availability to enzyme at acidic pH. To understand how dietary protein digestion is affected by alginate, proteolytic digestion was investigated in an in vitro model of the upper digestive tract. Significant inhibition of proteolysis was shown in the gastric phase of digestion, but not the small intestinal phase

Cytokine-mediated induction and regulation of tissue damage during cytomegalovirus infection

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a β-herpesvirus with high sero-prevalence within the human population. Primary HCMV infection and life-long carriage are typically asymptomatic. However, HCMV is implicated in exacerbation of chronic conditions and associated damage in individuals with intact immune systems. Furthermore, HCMV is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the immunologically immature and immune-compromised where disease is associated with tissue damage. Infection-induced inflammation, including robust cytokine responses, is a key component of pathologies associated with many viruses. Despite encoding a large number of immune-evasion genes, HCMV also triggers the induction of inflammatory cytokine responses during infection. Thus, understanding how cytokines contribute to CMV-induced pathologies and the mechanisms through which they are regulated may inform clinical management of disease. Herein, we discuss our current understanding based on clinical observation and in vivo modeling of disease of the role that cytokines play in CMV pathogenesis. Specifically, in the context of the different tissues and organs in which CMV replicates, we give a broad overview of the beneficial and adverse effects that cytokines have during infection and describe how cytokine-mediated tissue damage is regulated. We discuss the implications of findings derived from mice and humans for therapeutic intervention strategies and our understanding of how host genetics may influence the outcome of CMV infections

Management outcome of ruptured ectopic pregnancy at a secondary level of health care delivery in south-west, Nigeria

Background:  Ectopic pregnancy is a condition of high morbidity and mortality with an enormous threat to life. Therefore it is of immensegynaecological importance, particularly in the developing world, where the majority of patients present late with rupture and haemodynamic instability.Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence and analyze the clinical presentations, risk factors, sites of ectopic pregnancy and associated morbidity and mortality.Methods: This was a retrospective review of records of patients managed as cases of ruptured ectopic pregnancy at Our Lady of Apostle (O.L.A)Catholic Hospital, Ibadan over a six-year period between January 1st 2010 and December 31st 2015.Results: The incidence of ectopic pregnancy was 1.03% (65/6,342) of total deliveries, 2.9% (65/2280) of all gynaecological admissions and 13.5% (65/480) of gynaecological emergencies. Fifty-four case folders were analyzed. The leading symptom was pain 87.3% (47/54), followed by  amenorrhea 60.0% (32/54), while syncope attack and vaginal bleeding had 50.0% (27/54) and 36.4% (19/54) respectively. Pelvic infection was the leading risk factor of57.4% (31/54) of the study population, followed by induced abortion 36.4% (19/54). Two patients had previous ectopic pregnancy; hence the recurrent rate was 3.7%. Tubal pregnancy accounted for 85% (46/54) while the abdominaland cornual gestation accounted for 2% (1/54) and 13% (7/54) respectively. All patients with tubal pregnancy had salpingectomy while those with cornual pregnancy had wedged resection. The diagnosis was missed in 18.2% (10/54) of patients. There was no record of maternal death.Conclusion: The fact that all cases were ruptured and that pelvic infection and induced abortion were the major risk factors, efforts should be made to improve on early detection of ectopic pregnancy before rupture and prevent pelvic infection and induced abortion among the women of  reproductive age. Keywords: Ruptured ectopic pregnancy, secondary healthcare delivery, management outcome