Animal models of fetal growth restriction: Considerations for translational medicine.

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is the failure of a fetus to reach its full genetic growth potential. It occurs in up to 8% of pregnancies, and after premature birth is the second leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity. There is no treatment currently available for FGR. Its primary cause, when not attributable to structural or genetic defects of the fetus, is 'placental insufficiency'. This broad definition covers the inability of the fetus to acquire sufficient nutrients and oxygen, and is influenced by a number of factors including altered maternal or fetal blood flow, reduced nutrient transport or changes in the placenta such as increased barrier thickness inhibiting nutrient transfer. For those researchers studying FGR and developing new therapies, choosing an animal model is a crucial consideration. It is vital to clearly frame the question being asked, as this will impact the factor influencing fetal nutrient delivery in the model, and will also affect the applicability of the results to the human condition. This review examines the range of in vivo models of FGR available for those engaged in translational research

Culture, Wasta and perceptions of performance appraisal in Saudi Arabia

This article explores the relationship between Arabic culture and employees’ perceptions of performance appraisal in a Saudi Arabian company named SACO. Using an interpretive and qualitative methodological framework, the article suggests that Western models of performance appraisal rooted in rationality and objectivity conflict with aspects of Saudi Arabian culture. Specifically, the personal relations implicated in the social practice of Wasta. However, the article also shows how SACO employees are beginning to reject Saudi Arabian cultural norms and adopt alternative values which are linked to notions of organisational justice and individual egalitarianism. These values are compatible with Western models of performance appraisal

CM Values of Green Functions Associated to Special Cycles on Shimura Varieties with Applications to Siegel 3-Fold X2(2)X_2(2)

We generalize the definition of CM cycles beyond the small and big CM ones studied by various authors and give a uniform formula for the CM values of Green functions associated to these special cycles in general using the idea of regularized theta lifts. Finally, as an application to Siegel 3-fold $X_2(2)$, we can compute special values of theta functions and Rosenhain $\lambda$-invariants at a CM cycle, which is useful for genus two curve cryptography.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1008.1669 by other author

Collinear and Transverse Momentum Dependent parton densities obtained with a Parton Branching Method

We present a solution of the DGLAP evolution equations, written in terms of Sudakov form factors to describe the branching and no-branching probabilities, using a parton branching Monte Carlo method. We demonstrate numerically that this method reproduces the semi-analytical solutions. We show how this method can be used to determine Transverse Momentum Dependent (TMD) parton distribution functions, in addition to the usual integrated parton distributions functions. We discuss numerical effects of the boundary of soft gluon resolution scale parameter on the resulting parton distribution functions. We show that a very good fit of the integrated TMDs to high precision HERA data can be obtained over a large range in x and Q^2