In Digital We Trust: The Computerisation of Retail Finance in Western Europe and North America

This paper tells of the contents of a forthcoming volume, which offers a new and original approach to the study of technological change in retail finance. Most business history studies of businesses for the last 50 years note the emergence of computers and computer applications, but they do not analyze their role in shaping business practices and organizations. In this book we look directly at the processes of mechanisation and computerisation of retail financial services, throughout the 20th Century while articulating an international comparison. We bring together young, well established and independent historians, who come from different traditions (that is, economic, business, accounting, geography and political histories as well as historians of technology). Contributors look at stand alone and comparative case studies from different parts of the world (namely Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Mexico and the USA). The outcome is a rich survey of the broad literature examining different aspects of the technological and business histories of retail financial markets from a variety of perspectives

Millimeter-Wave Polarimeters Using Kinetic Inductance Detectors for TolTEC and Beyond

Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) provide a compelling path forward to the large-format polarimeter, imaging, and spectrometer arrays needed for next-generation experiments in millimeter-wave cosmology and astronomy. We describe the development of feedhorn-coupled MKID detectors for the TolTEC millimeter-wave imaging polarimeter being constructed for the 50-meter Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT). Observations with TolTEC are planned to begin in early 2019. TolTEC will comprise $\sim$7,000 polarization sensitive MKIDs and will represent the first MKID arrays fabricated and deployed on monolithic 150 mm diameter silicon wafers -- a critical step towards future large-scale experiments with over $10^5$ detectors. TolTEC will operate in observational bands at 1.1, 1.4, and 2.0 mm and will use dichroic filters to define a physically independent focal plane for each passband, thus allowing the polarimeters to use simple, direct-absorption inductive structures that are impedance matched to incident radiation. This work is part of a larger program at NIST-Boulder to develop MKID-based detector technologies for use over a wide range of photon energies spanning millimeter-waves to X-rays. We present the detailed pixel layout and describe the methods, tools, and flexible design parameters that allow this solution to be optimized for use anywhere in the millimeter and sub-millimeter bands. We also present measurements of prototype devices operating in the 1.1 mm band and compare the observed optical performance to that predicted from models and simulations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Submitted to Journal of Low Temperature Physic

Examining the psychological wellbeing of refugee children and the role of friendship and bullying

BACKGROUND: Refugee children might have experienced violent and traumatic events before settling into a new country. In the United Kingdom, the number of refugee children is increasing; however, little is known about their psycho-social and physical well-being. AIM: This study aims to investigate the psychological well-being and behaviour of refugee children compared to British-born children on a number of psychological, social, behavioural, and health-related issues and to investigate the role of friendship as a protective factor. SAMPLES: This study utilized a sample of 149 refugee children recruited from two charities, 79 of which are children aged 6-10 years and 70 older refugee children aged 11-16 years. The study also included 120 non-refugee children recruited from primary schools aged 6-10 years. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that investigates the psycho-social well-being of refugee children compared to non-refugee British-born children. The study explored symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, emotional and behavioural problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), self-esteem, friendships and popularity, bullying and victimization, physical health, and psychosomatic problems. RESULTS: Young refugee children reported more peer problems, functional impairment, physical health, and psychosomatic problems compared to the control children and older refugee children groups. On the other hand, older refugee children had lower self-esteem (academic and social self-peers) compared to the younger refugee children group. The differences between the groups were explained by friendship quality, number of friends, peer bullying/victimization, or sibling bullying/victimization except for physical health and psychosomatic problems. CONCLUSIONS: While refugee children were found to be at risk on various levels, the findings also point to the fact that social relationships including friendship quality and number of friends played an essential protective role. Conversely, bullying was a risk factor that explained many of the refugees' problems. These findings pave the way for future research to further probe into the well-being of refugee children in the United Kingdom while also targeting relevant intervention schemes specifically tailored to address their needs

The role of citizen science in addressing grand challenges in food and agriculture research

The power of citizen science to contribute to both science and society is gaining increased recognition, particularly in physics and biology. Although there is a long history of public engagement in agriculture and food science, the term ‘citizen science’ has rarely been applied to these efforts. Similarly, in the emerging field of citizen science, most new citizen science projects do not focus on food or agriculture. Here, we convened thought leaders from a broad range of fields related to citizen science, agriculture, and food science to highlight key opportunities for bridging these overlapping yet disconnected communities/fields and identify ways to leverage their respective strengths. Specifically, we show that (i) citizen science projects are addressing many grand challenges facing our food systems, as outlined by the United States National Institute of Food and Agriculture, as well as broader Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations Development Programme, (ii) there exist emerging opportunities and unique challenges for citizen science in agriculture/food research, and (iii) the greatest opportunities for the development of citizen science projects in agriculture and food science will be gained by using the existing infrastructure and tools of Extension programmes and through the engagement of urban communities. Further, we argue there is no better time to foster greater collaboration between these fields given the trend of shrinking Extension programmes, the increasing need to apply innovative solutions to address rising demands on agricultural systems, and the exponential growth of the field of citizen science.This working group was partially funded from the NCSU Plant Sciences Initiative, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences ‘Big Ideas’ grant, National Science Foundation grant to R.R.D. (NSF no. 1319293), and a United States Department of Food and Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant to S.F.R., USDA-NIFA Post Doctoral Fellowships grant no. 2017-67012-26999.http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.orghj2018Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI

From the cell membrane to the nucleus: unearthing transport mechanisms for Dynein

Mutations in the motor protein cytoplasmic dynein have been found to cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, spinal muscular atrophy, and severe intellectual disabilities in humans. In mouse models, neurodegeneration is observed. We sought to develop a novel model which could incorporate the effects of mutations on distance travelled and velocity. A mechanical model for the dynein mediated transport of endosomes is derived from first principles and solved numerically. The effects of variations in model parameter values are analysed to find those that have a significant impact on velocity and distance travelled. The model successfully describes the processivity of dynein and matches qualitatively the velocity profiles observed in experiments

Three-Dimensional Regulation of Radial Glial Functions by Lis1-Nde1 and Dystrophin Glycoprotein Complexes

Lis1-Nde1 integrates cerebral cortical neurogenesis with neuronal migration by stabilizing the basal-lateral surface of radial glial cells