Branch accounting: Evidence from the accounting records of the North American Moravians

Europeans transported continental accounting practices during the period of worldwide colonization. This paper describes the transportation of branch accounting by members of the Moravian Church. Physical records maintained in the Archives for the Southern Province of the Moravian Church at Salem, North Carolina, and for the Northern Province at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, contain a complex, two-tiered system of branch accounting for the enterprises within the settlements and the settlements within the worldwide Church. This paper traces recorded activity for 1775 from an enterprise to its diacony (business organization of a church) and from the diacony to the European Church headquarters. Reporting practices in both North American diaconies reflect a similar practice of branch accounting, each culminating in formal financial statements to the European home office of the Moravian Church

Change of a Weibel-type to an Alfv\'enic shock in pair plasma by upstream waves

We examine with particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations how a parallel shock in pair plasma reacts to upstream waves, which are driven by escaping downstream particles. Initially, the shock is sustained in the two-dimensional simulation by a magnetic filamentation (beam-Weibel) instability. Escaping particles drive an electrostatic beam instability upstream. Modifications of the upstream plasma by these waves hardly affect the shock. In time, a decreasing density and increasing temperature of the escaping particles quench the beam instability. A larger thermal energy along than perpendicular to the magnetic field destabilizes the pair-Alfv\'en mode. In the rest frame of the upstream plasma, the group velocity of the growing pair-Alfv\'en waves is below that of the shock and the latter catches up with the waves. Accumulating pair-Alfv\'en waves gradually change the shock in the two-dimensional simulation from a Weibel-type shock into an Alfv\'enic shock with a Mach number that is about 6 for our initial conditions.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Physics of Plasma

Cytotoxicity of ascorbate, lipoic acid, and other antioxidants in hollow fibre in vitro tumours

Vitamin C (ascorbate) is toxic to tumour cells, and has been suggested as an adjuvant cancer treatment. Our goal was to determine if ascorbate, in combination with other antioxidants, could kill cells in the SW620 hollow fibre in vitro solid tumour model at clinically achievable concentrations. Ascorbate anti-cancer efficacy, alone or in combination with lipoic acid, vitamin K 3, phenyl ascorbate, or doxorubicin, was assessed using annexin V staining and standard survival assays. 2-day treatments with 10 mM ascorbate increased the percentage of apoptotic cells in SW620 hollow fibre tumours. Lipoic acid synergistically enhanced ascorbate cytotoxicity, reducing the 2-day LC 50 in hollow fibre tumours from 34 mM to 4 mM. Lipoic acid, unlike ascorbate, was equally effective against proliferating and non-proliferating cells. Ascorbate levels in human blood plasma were measured during and after intravenous ascorbate infusions. Infusions of 60 g produced peak plasma concentrations exceeding 20 mM with an area under the curve (24 h) of 76 mM h. Thus, tumoricidal concentrations may be achievable in vivo. Ascorbate efficacy was enhanced in an additive fashion by phenyl ascorbate or vitamin K 3. The effect of ascorbate on doxorubicin efficacy was concentration dependent; low doses were protective while high doses increased cell killing. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Design and development of a low temperature, inductance based high frequency ac susceptometer

We report on the development of an induction based low temperature high frequency ac susceptometer capable of measuring at frequencies up to 3.5 MHz and at temperatures between 2 K and 300 K. Careful balancing of the detection coils and calibration have allowed a sample magnetic moment resolution of $5\times10^{-10} Am^2$ at 1 MHz. We will discuss the design and characterization of the susceptometer, and explain the calibration process. We also include some example measurements on the spin ice material CdEr$_2$S$_4$ and iron oxide based nanoparticles to illustrate functionality

Proof of two conjectures of Z.-W. Sun on congruences for Franel numbers

For all nonnegative integers n, the Franel numbers are defined as $$f_n=\sum_{k=0}^n {n\choose k}^3.$$ We confirm two conjectures of Z.-W. Sun on congruences for Franel numbers: \sum_{k=0}^{n-1}(3k+2)(-1)^k f_k &\equiv 0 \pmod{2n^2}, \sum_{k=0}^{p-1}(3k+2)(-1)^k f_k &\equiv 2p^2 (2^p-1)^2 \pmod{p^5}, where n is a positive integer and p>3 is a prime.Comment: 8 pages, minor changes, to appear in Integral Transforms Spec. Func

The structure of quotients of the Onsager algebra by closed ideals

We study the Onsager algebra from the ideal theoretic point of view. A complete classification of closed ideals and the structure of quotient algebras are obtained. We also discuss the solvable algebra aspect of the Onsager algebra through the use of formal Lie algebras.Comment: 33 pages, Latex, small topos corrected-Journal versio

Risk, precaution and science: towards a more constructive policy debate. Talking point on the precautionary principle

Few issues in contemporary risk policy are as momentous or contentious as the precautionary principle. Since it first emerged in German environmental policy, it has been championed by environmentalists and consumer protection groups, and resisted by the industries they oppose (Raffensperger & Tickner, 1999). Various versions of the principle now proliferate across different national and international jurisdictions and policy areas (Fisher, 2002). From a guiding theme in European Commission (EC) environmental policy, it has become a general principle of EC law (CEC, 2000; Vos & Wendler, 2006). Its influence has extended from the regulation of environmental, technological and health risks to the wider governance of science, innovation and trade (O'Riordan & Cameron, 1994)

Powers of Hamilton cycles in pseudorandom graphs

We study the appearance of powers of Hamilton cycles in pseudorandom graphs, using the following comparatively weak pseudorandomness notion. A graph $G$ is $(\varepsilon,p,k,\ell)$-pseudorandom if for all disjoint $X$ and $Y\subset V(G)$ with $|X|\ge\varepsilon p^kn$ and $|Y|\ge\varepsilon p^\ell n$ we have $e(X,Y)=(1\pm\varepsilon)p|X||Y|$. We prove that for all $\beta>0$ there is an $\varepsilon>0$ such that an $(\varepsilon,p,1,2)$-pseudorandom graph on $n$ vertices with minimum degree at least $\beta pn$ contains the square of a Hamilton cycle. In particular, this implies that $(n,d,\lambda)$-graphs with $\lambda\ll d^{5/2 }n^{-3/2}$ contain the square of a Hamilton cycle, and thus a triangle factor if $n$ is a multiple of $3$. This improves on a result of Krivelevich, Sudakov and Szab\'o [Triangle factors in sparse pseudo-random graphs, Combinatorica 24 (2004), no. 3, 403--426]. We also extend our result to higher powers of Hamilton cycles and establish corresponding counting versions.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figur

Evaluation of the English version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and its relationship with behavior change and political beliefs

The COVID-19 pandemic has many individuals around the world fearing for their lives. The constant news coverage, rapid transmission, and relatively high mortality rate, make fearfulness a natural response. To assess the fear of COVID-19, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) was developed. The primary aim of the present study was to conduct the first psychometric assessment and validation of the English version of the FCV-19S. Two samples were collected in New Zealand. Sample 1 comprised 1624 participants of which 1397 completed all questions and were used in the analyses. Sample 2 comprised 1111 participants of which 1023 completed all questions and were used in the analyses. Several psychometric tests were conducted to ascertain the scale’s reliability and validity. Across both samples, the FCV-19S had high internal consistency. Consistent with the earlier validation studies, the FCV-19S displayed a moderately strong relationship with the perceived infectability and germ aversion subscales of the perceived vulnerability to disease scale (PVDS). Furthermore, FCV-19S scores were negatively correlated with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) scores. With respect to the motivating role of fear, there was a significant relationship between FCV-19S scores and adherence to the lockdown rules that were implemented in New Zealand. Finally, consistent with recent reports on the politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic, an exploratory question found that participants who rated themselves as more conservative tended to report lower FCV-19S scores. The English version of the COVID-19S is a sound unidimensional scale with robust psychometric properties and can be used with confidence among English-speaking populations

Emergence of pulled fronts in fermionic microscopic particle models

We study the emergence and dynamics of pulled fronts described by the Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piscounov (FKPP) equation in the microscopic reaction-diffusion process A + A A$ on the lattice when only a particle is allowed per site. To this end we identify the parameter that controls the strength of internal fluctuations in this model, namely, the number of particles per correlated volume. When internal fluctuations are suppressed, we explictly see the matching between the deterministic FKPP description and the microscopic particle model.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. E as a Rapid Communicatio