Sociology of a scandal : the emergence of ‘FIFAgate’

This article examines the social forces underlying FIFAgate. Why do corrupt practices, which are often highly consolidated or even institutionalized, suddenly become scandalous? What is a scandal? Why did FIFA fall into crisis in 2015 and not before? To answer these questions, it is necessary to look at the sequence of thrusts and parries between all the parties involved. Our analysis embraces the notion that social processes are based on relationships in order to provide insights into why and how denunciations can lead to long-tolerated corrupt practices suddenly becoming compromising enough to force an organization’s leaders to implement measures that would have previously been unimaginable. We use multiple sources to examine the emergence of FIFAgate and the way FIFA overcame previous critical situations, describing how FIFA neutralized earlier allegations and developed a remarkable ‘resilience’ to scandal. Finally, we analyse the successive mobilizations whose domino effect led to the emergence of FIFAgate and the measures FIFA took to contain the scandal. Our research enabled us to draw up a new theoretical model for analysing corruption scandals

Performance of monetary policy with internal central bank forecasting

Recent models of monetary policy have analyzed the desirability of different optimal and ad hoc interest rules under the restrictive assumption that forecasts of the private sector and the central bank are homogenous. In this paper, we study the implications of heterogeneity in forecasts of the central bank and private agents for the performance of interest rules from the learning viewpoint. JEL Classification: E52, E31, D84Adaptive learning, heterogeneity, monetary policy, stability

Addition of amendments to restore a compacted soil under no-tillage system

The addition of organic and inorganic amendments can improve soil structure and reduce soil compaction. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate whether the application of amendments reduces penetration resistance (PR) in the short term and describe the spatial variability of PR in the surface horizon of an Aquic Argiudoll under no-tillage in northeast Argentina. Four treatments, consisting of surface applications of 7.5 Mg ha−1 poultry litter (PL), 3.0 Mg ha−1 gypsum (G), the combination of PL+G, and untreated control (T), were arranged in a complete randomized block design with three replications. Two more treatments were added to the experiment 12 months later, consisting of PL reapplications on half of the surface of the PL+G and PL treatments (PL+G+PL and PL+PL, respectively) in a split-plot design with three replications in 4×20-m plots. PR was determined in the field with an Eijkelkamp penetrologger following a 2-m long transect perpendicular to the sowing direction at 10 different spots separated 0.2 m from each other. The spatial variability was quantified for each treatment using semivariograms. The highest PR was observed in the T treatment (1.96 MPa) and the lowest PR in PL+G+PL (0.21 MPa). All treatments showed a high spatial dependence (94.9 to 99.9%). Treatments with PL reapplication (PL+PL and PL+G+PL) showed profiles with lower PR and more homogeneous kriging maps. PL reapplication on PL treatments showed no effects on PR values. However, PL reapplication on the PL+G treatment led to positive effects in all PR ranges. Thus, the PL+G+PL treatment, which had the highest PR values, showed a decrease in PR from 54.17 to 6.65% with the reapplication 12 months later. The addition of organic and inorganic amendments reduced specific compacted soil areas on the surface horizon of an Aquic Argiudoll under no-tillage.EEA ParanáFil: Barbieri, Rayner Sversut. Faculdades Associadas de Uberaba. Departamento de Zootecnia; BrasilFil: Gabioud, Emmanuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; ArgentinaFil: Wilson, Marcelo German. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; Argentina.Fil: Sasal, María Carolina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; ArgentinaFil: Seehaus, Mariela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; ArgentinaFil: García-Tomillo, Aitor. Advanced Scientific Research Center; EspañaFil: Silva, Tatiane Carla. Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”. Departamento de Fitossanidade, Engenharia Rural e Solos; BrasilFil: Montanari, Rafael. Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”. Departamento de Fitossanidade, Engenharia Rural e Solos; Brasi

Molecular Characterization and Immuno-Reactivity Patterns of a Novel Plasmodium falciparum Armadillo-Type Repeat Protein, PfATRP.

Nearly half of the genes in the Plasmodium falciparum genome have not yet been functionally investigated. We used homology-based structural modeling to identify multiple copies of Armadillo repeats within one uncharacterized gene expressed during the intraerythrocytic stages, PF3D7_0410600, subsequently referred to as P. falciparum Armadillo-Type Repeat Protein (PfATRP). Soluble recombinant PfATRP was expressed in a bacterial expression system, purified to apparent homogeneity and the identity of the recombinant PfATRP was confirmed by mass spectrometry. Affinity-purified α-PfATRP rabbit antibodies specifically recognized the recombinant protein. Immunofluorescence assays revealed that α-PfATRP rabbit antibodies reacted with P. falciparum schizonts. Anti-PfATRP antibody exhibited peripheral staining patterns around the merozoites. Given the localization of PfATRP in merozoites, we tested for an egress phenotype during schizont arrest assays and demonstrated that native PfATRP is inaccessible on the surface of merozoites in intact schizonts. Dual immunofluorescence assays with markers for the inner membrane complex (IMC) and microtubules suggest partial colocalization in both asexual and sexual stage parasites. Using the soluble recombinant PfATRP in a screen of plasma samples revealed that malaria-infected children have naturally acquired PfATRP-specific antibodies

Atmospheric abundance and global emissions of perfluorocarbons CF4, C2F6 and C3F8 since 1800 inferred from ice core, firn, air archive and in situ measurements

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are very potent and long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, released predominantly during aluminium production and semiconductor manufacture. They have been targeted for emission controls under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Here we present the first continuous records of the atmospheric abundance of CF4 (PFC-14), C2F6 (PFC-116) and C3F8 (PFC-218) from 1800 to 2014. The records are derived from high-precision measurements of PFCs in air extracted from polar firn or ice at six sites (DE08, DE08-2, DSSW20K, EDML, NEEM and South Pole) and air archive tanks and atmospheric air sampled from both hemispheres. We take account of the age characteristics of the firn and ice core air samples and demonstrate excellent consistency between the ice core, firn and atmospheric measurements. We present an inversion for global emissions from 1900 to 2014. We also formulate the inversion to directly infer emission factors for PFC emissions due to aluminium production prior to the 1980s. We show that 19th century atmospheric levels, before significant anthropogenic influence, were stable at 34.1 ± 0.3 ppt for CF4 and below detection limits of 0.002 and 0.01 ppt for C2F6 and C3F8, respectively. We find a significant peak in CF4 and C2F6 emissions around 1940, most likely due to the high demand for aluminium during World War II, for example for construction of aircraft, but these emissions were nevertheless much lower than in recent years. The PFC emission factors for aluminium production in the early 20th century were significantly higher than today but have decreased since then due to improvements and better control of the smelting process. Mitigation efforts have led to decreases in emissions from peaks in 1980 (CF4) or early-to-mid-2000s (C2F6 and C3F8) despite the continued increase in global aluminium production; however, these decreases in emissions appear to have recently halted. We see a temporary reduction of around 15 % in CF4 emissions in 2009, presumably associated with the impact of the global financial crisis on aluminium and semiconductor production

Immaturity of the Oculomotor Saccade and Vergence Interaction in Dyslexic Children: Evidence from a Reading and Visual Search Study

Studies comparing binocular eye movements during reading and visual search in dyslexic children are, at our knowledge, inexistent. In the present study we examined ocular motor characteristics in dyslexic children versus two groups of non dyslexic children with chronological/reading age-matched. Binocular eye movements were recorded by an infrared system (mobileEBT®, e(ye)BRAIN) in twelve dyslexic children (mean age 11 years old) and a group of chronological age-matched (N = 9) and reading age-matched (N = 10) non dyslexic children. Two visual tasks were used: text reading and visual search. Independently of the task, the ocular motor behavior in dyslexic children is similar to those reported in reading age-matched non dyslexic children: many and longer fixations as well as poor quality of binocular coordination during and after the saccades. In contrast, chronological age-matched non dyslexic children showed a small number of fixations and short duration of fixations in reading task with respect to visual search task; furthermore their saccades were well yoked in both tasks. The atypical eye movement's patterns observed in dyslexic children suggest a deficiency in the visual attentional processing as well as an immaturity of the ocular motor saccade and vergence systems interaction