Assessing the accuracy of satellite derived ocean currents by comparing observed and virtual buoys in the Greater Agulhas Region

In this study, we assess the accuracy of a combined geostrophic and Ekman current product (GlobCurrent) that estimates ocean currents at 15 m depth, by coupling it to a synthetic particle tracking tool and comparing the virtual trajectories to those of surface drifting buoys drogued at 15 m in the Greater Agulhas Current Region. The velocities from a total of 1041 drifters are compared and evaluated to the synthetic particle-derived velocities for the period 1993–2015. On average the GlobCurrent underestimates the velocity in the Greater Agulhas Current by approximately 27%. The underestimation ranges from 4 to 64% in different regions, with the smallest error found in the Agulhas retroflection region, and the highest in the Benguela Upwelling System. Furthermore, we compare the time taken for the separation between the virtual and real drifters to reach 35 km. The mean separation time was found to be 78 h, with the shortest time (35 h) found in the Agulhas Current and the longest time (116 h) located in the Agulhas Return Current. Deploying 10,000 virtual drifters in a 1° × 1° box within the southern Agulhas Current shows a convergence of trajectories towards the core of the current, while higher divergence is evident in the Agulhas retroflection. To evaluate the utility of this synthetic particle tracking tool coupled with GlobCurrent in open ocean search and rescue operations, two test cases are examined: (1) a capsized catamaran spotted south of Cape Recife and recovered 5 days later south of Cape Agulhas; and (2) a drifter trajectory in the same region. The comparison suggests that the GlobCurrent forced synthetic particle tracking tool is not appropriate for predicting the trajectory of a capsized catamaran that does not have the same drift characteristics as a surface drifting buoy drogued to 15 m

Two-Body B Meson Decays to η\eta and η′\eta^{'} -- Observation of B→ηB\to \eta{'}K$

In a sample of 6.6 million produced B mesons we have observed decays B -> eta' K, with branching fractions BR(B+ -> eta' K+ = 6.5 +1.5 -1.4 +- 0.9) x $10^{-5}$ and BR(B0 -> eta' K0 = 4.7 +2.7 -2.0 +- 0.9) x $10^{-5}$. We have searched with comparable sensitivity for 17 related decays to final states containing an eta or eta' meson accompanied by a single particle or low-lying resonance. Our upper limits for these constrain theoretical interpretations of the B -> eta' K signal.Comment: 12 page postscript file, postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law

Gindis, David, Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law (October 27, 2017). Journal of Institutional Economics, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2905547, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2905547The rise of large business corporations in the late 19th century compelled many American observers to admit that the nature of the corporation had yet to be understood. Published in this context, Ernst Freund's little-known The Legal Nature of Corporations (1897) was an original attempt to come to terms with a new legal and economic reality. But it can also be described, to paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, as the earliest example of the rational study of corporate law. The paper shows that Freund had the intuitions of an institutional economist, and engaged in what today would be called comparative institutional analysis. Remarkably, his argument that the corporate form secures property against insider defection and against outsiders anticipated recent work on entity shielding and capital lock-in, and can be read as an early contribution to what today would be called the theory of the firm.Peer reviewe

Antimalarial Therapy Selection for Quinolone Resistance among Escherichia coli in the Absence of Quinolone Exposure, in Tropical South America

BACKGROUND: Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is thought to develop only in the presence of antibiotic pressure. Here we show evidence to suggest that fluoroquinolone resistance in Escherichia coli has developed in the absence of fluoroquinolone use. METHODS: Over 4 years, outreach clinic attendees in one moderately remote and five very remote villages in rural Guyana were surveyed for the presence of rectal carriage of ciprofloxacin-resistant gram-negative bacilli (GNB). Drinking water was tested for the presence of resistant GNB by culture, and the presence of antibacterial agents and chloroquine by HPLC. The development of ciprofloxacin resistance in E. coli was examined after serial exposure to chloroquine. Patient and laboratory isolates of E. coli resistant to ciprofloxacin were assessed by PCR-sequencing for quinolone-resistance-determining-region (QRDR) mutations. RESULTS: In the very remote villages, 4.8% of patients carried ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli with QRDR mutations despite no local availability of quinolones. However, there had been extensive local use of chloroquine, with higher prevalence of resistance seen in the villages shortly after a Plasmodium vivax epidemic (p<0.01). Antibacterial agents were not found in the drinking water, but chloroquine was demonstrated to be present. Chloroquine was found to inhibit the growth of E. coli in vitro. Replica plating demonstrated that 2-step QRDR mutations could be induced in E. coli in response to chloroquine. CONCLUSIONS: In these remote communities, the heavy use of chloroquine to treat malaria likely selected for ciprofloxacin resistance in E. coli. This may be an important public health problem in malarious areas

All grown up? The fate after 15 years of a quarter of a million UK firms born in 1998

The theory of firm growth is in a rather unsatisfactory state. However, the analysis of large firm-level datasets which have become available in recent years allows us to begin building an evidence base which can, in turn, be used to underpin the development of more satisfactory theory. Here we study the 239 thousand UK private sector firms born in 1998 over their first 15 years of life. A first, and quite striking, finding is the extraordinary force of mortality. By age 15, 90% of the UK firms born in 1998 are dead, and, for those surviving to age 15, the hazard of death is still about 10% a year. The chance of death is related to the size and growth of firms in an interesting way. Whilst the hazard rate after 15 years is largely independent of size at birth, it is strongly affected by the current (age 14) size. In particular, firms with more than five employees are half as likely to die in the next year as firms with less than five employees. A second important finding is that most firms, even those which survive to age 15, do not grow very much. By age 15 more than half the 26,000 survivors still have less than five jobs. In other words, the growth paths – what we call the ‘growth trajectories’ – of most of the 26,000 survivors are pretty flat. However, of the firms that do grow, firms born smaller grow faster than those born larger. Another striking finding is that growth is heavily concentrated in the first five years. Whilst growth does continue, even up to age 15, each year after age five it involves only a relatively small proportion of firms. Finally, there are two groups of survivors which contribute importantly to job creation. Some are those born relatively large (with more than 20 jobs) although their growth rate is quite modest. More striking though, is a very small group of firms born very small with less than five jobs (about 5% of all survivors) which contribute a substantial proportion (more than one third) of the jobs added to the cohort total by age 15

An Essential Role for DYF-11/MIP-T3 in Assembling Functional Intraflagellar Transport Complexes

MIP-T3 is a human protein found previously to associate with microtubules and the kinesin-interacting neuronal protein DISC1 (Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1), but whose cellular function(s) remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that the C. elegans MIP-T3 ortholog DYF-11 is an intraflagellar transport (IFT) protein that plays a critical role in assembling functional kinesin motor-IFT particle complexes. We have cloned a loss of function dyf-11 mutant in which several key components of the IFT machinery, including Kinesin-II, as well as IFT subcomplex A and B proteins, fail to enter ciliary axonemes and/or mislocalize, resulting in compromised ciliary structures and sensory functions, and abnormal lipid accumulation. Analyses in different mutant backgrounds further suggest that DYF-11 functions as a novel component of IFT subcomplex B. Consistent with an evolutionarily conserved cilia-associated role, mammalian MIP-T3 localizes to basal bodies and cilia, and zebrafish mipt3 functions synergistically with the Bardet-Biedl syndrome protein Bbs4 to ensure proper gastrulation, a key cilium- and basal body-dependent developmental process. Our findings therefore implicate MIP-T3 in a previously unknown but critical role in cilium biogenesis and further highlight the emerging role of this organelle in vertebrate development

Class dynamics of development: a methodological note

This article argues that class relations are constitutive of developmental processes and central to understanding inequality within and between countries. In doing so it illustrates and explains the diversity of the actually existing forms of class relations, and the ways in which they interplay with other social relations such as gender and ethnicity. This is part of a wider project to re- vitalise class analysis in the study of development problems and experiences

Brachyury and Related Tbx Proteins Interact with the Mixl1 Homeodomain Protein and Negatively Regulate Mixl1 Transcriptional Activity

Mixl1 is a homeodomain transcription factor required for mesoderm and endoderm patterning during mammalian embryogenesis. Despite its crucial function in development, co-factors that modulate the activity of Mixl1 remain poorly defined. Here we report that Mixl1 interacts physically and functionally with the T-box protein Brachyury and related members of the T-box family of transcription factors. Transcriptional and protein analyses demonstrated overlapping expression of Mixl1 and Brachyury during embryonic stem cell differentiation. In vitro protein interaction studies showed that the Mixl1 with Brachyury associated via their DNA-binding domains and gel shift assays revealed that the Brachyury T-box domain bound to Mixl1-DNA complexes. Furthermore, luciferase reporter experiments indicated that association of Mixl1 with Brachyury and related T-box factors inhibited the transactivating potential of Mixl1 on the Gsc and Pdgfrα promoters. Our results indicate that the activity of Mixl1 can be modulated by protein-protein interactions and that T-box factors can function as negative regulators of Mixl1 activity

The social dimension of globalization: A review of the literature

With globalization affecting so many inter-connected areas, it is difficult to grasp its full impact. This literature review of over 120 sources considers the impact of globalization on wages and taxes, poverty, inequality, insecurity, child labour, gender, and migration. Opening with some stylized facts concerning globalization in 1985-2002, the authors then highlight recent findings on these areas, reporting on controversies and on emerging consensus where it exists. There follows a review of national and international policy responses designed to make globalization more sustainable and equitable and to deliver decent jobs, security and a voice in decision-making