633 research outputs found
Heritage: the priceless hostage of accrual accounting
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how the convergence of private and public sector accounting standards is affecting conceptual and practical issues relating to heritage. More specifically, the paper is intended to provide a better understanding of the state of the art in national and international accounting standards on heritage assets, and of the views influencing such standards. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative documentary analysis is carried out to explore the variety of existing positions and views on heritage, ranging from the scholarly literature, through potential stakeholders and users, to international and national standard setters. Findings: The analysis shows that the path of convergence between public and private sector standards and practices is still problematic. After more than two decades of debate around the nature, definition, measurement, and reporting of heritage, these issues are far from settled. Research limitations/implications: In the light of calls for increased measurement and reporting of public sector “assets”, and specifically for the definition of standards to recognise heritage, the paper suggests the need to strongly reconsider whether the convergence between public and private sector standards is desirable, feasible and effective. As such, the risks of embracing simplified or hybrid forms of accounting and reporting for heritage should be more seriously assessed. While reporting on heritage is important, it is fundamental to keep it distinct from reporting on government’s regular operations, in order to appreciate its specific value, nature and features. Originality/value: Looking at European national standards for heritage, the IPSASB’s proposals, and the reactions to the latter by relevant stakeholders, the paper provides a pluralistic view on the positions and experiences about heritage, contributing to the debate on the convergence between private and public sector accounting standards
Induction of activity-dependent LTD requires muscarinic receptor activation in medial prefrontal cortex
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) forms part of a neural circuit involved in the formation of lasting associations between objects and places. Cholinergic inputs from the basal forebrain innervate the mPFC and may modulate synaptic processes required for the formation of object-in-place memories. To investigate whether acetylcholine regulates synaptic function in the rat mPFC, whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were made from pyramidal neurons in layer V. Bath application of the cholinergic agonist carbachol caused a potent and long-term depression (LTD) of synaptic responses that was blocked by the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine and was mimicked, in part, by the M 1 receptor agonists McN-A-343 or AF102B. Furthermore, inhibition of PKC blocked carbachol-mediated LTD. We next determined the requirements for activity-dependent LTD in the prefrontal cortex. Synaptic stimulation that was subthreshold for producing LTD did, however, result in LTD when acetylcholine levels were enhanced by inhibition of acetylcholinesterase or when delivered in the presence of the M 1-selective positive allosteric modulator BQCA. Increasing the levels of synaptic stimulation resulted in M 1 receptor-dependent LTD without the need for pharmacological manipulation of acetylcholine levels. These results show that synaptic stimulation of muscarinic receptors alone can be critical for plastic changes in excitatory synaptic transmission in the mPFC. In turn, these muscarinic mediated events may be important in the formation of object-in-place memories. A loss of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons is a classic hallmark of Alzheimer's dementia and our results provide a potential explanation for the loss of memory associated with the disease
Problematising international placements as a site of intercultural learning
This paper theorises some of the learning outcomes of a three-year project concerning student learning in international social work placements in Malaysia. The problematic issue of promoting cultural and intercultural competence through such placements is examined, where overlapping hegemonies are discussed in terms of isomorphism of social work models, that of the nation state, together with those relating to professional values and knowledge, and the tyrannies of received ideas. A critical discussion of cultural competence as the rationale for international placements is discussed in terms of the development of the graduating social worker as a self-reflexive practitioner. The development of sustainable international partnerships able to support student placement and the issue of non-symmetrical reciprocation, typical of wide socio-economic differentials across global regions, is additionally discussed
From monoclonal antibodies to chimeric antigen receptors for the treatment of human malignancies
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and their directly derived cell-based application known as chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) ensue from the need to develop novel therapeutic strategies that retain high anti-tumor activity, but carry reduced toxicity compared to conventional chemo- and radiotherapies. In this concise review article, we will summarize the application of antibodies designed to target antigens expressed by tumor cells, and the transition from these antibodies to the generation of CARs
Renewed investigations at Taung; 90 years after the discovery of Australopithecus africanus
2015 marked the 90th anniversary of the description of the first fossil ofAustralopithecus africanus, commonly known as the Taung Child,
which was unearthed during blasting at the Buxton-Norlim Limeworks (referred to as the BNL) 15 km SE of the town of Taung, South
Africa. Subsequently, this site has been recognized as a UNESCOWorld Heritage site on the basis of its importance to southern African
palaeoanthropology. Some other sites such as Equus Cave and Black Earth Cave have also been investigated; but the latter not since the
1940s. These sites indicate that the complex of palaeontological and archaeological localities at the BNL preserve a time sequence
spanning the Pliocene to the Holocene. The relationship of these various sites and how they fit into the sequence of formation of tufa,
landscapes and caves at the limeworks have also not been investigated or discussed in detail since Peabody’s efforts in the 1940s. In
this contribution we mark the 90th anniversary of the discovery and description of the Taung Child by providing a critical review of
previous work at Taung based on our recent preliminary work at the site. This includes a reassessment of the Taung Child Type Site, as
well as renewed excavations at Equus Cave and the lesser-known locality and little-investigated Black Earth Cave. Preliminary results
suggest that much of our previous understandings of the BNL’s formational history and site formation processes need to be reassessed.
Only through detailed analysis on the BNLas a whole can we understand this complex depositional environment.Australian Research Council Future Fellowship grant FT120100399
Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST)
National Geographic grants (8774-10 and 3212)JNC2016https://www.wits.ac.za/esi/palaeontologia-africana
Use of Hydroacoustic Methods for the Identification of Potential Seabed Habitats for Small Pelagic Fish Schools in the Strait of Sicily
Rapid and complete paraffin removal from human tissue sections delivers enhanced Raman spectroscopic and histopathological analysis
Incomplete removal of paraffin and organic contaminants from tissues processed for diagnostic histology has been a profound barrier to the introduction of Raman spectroscopic techniques into clinical practice. We report a route to rapid and complete paraffin removal from a range of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissues using super mirror stainless steel slides. The method is equally effective on a range of human and animal tissues, performs equally well with archived and new samples and is compatible with standard pathology lab procedures. We describe a general enhancement of the Raman scatter and enhanced staining with antibodies used in immunohistochemistry for clinical diagnosis. We conclude that these novel slide substrates have the power to improve diagnosis through anatomical pathology by facilitating the simultaneous combination of improved, more sensitive immunohistochemical staining and simplified, more reliable Raman spectroscopic imaging, analysis and signal processing
Validation of Genotyping by Sequencing Using Transcriptomics for Diversity and Application of Genomic Selection in Tetraploid Potato
Potato is an important food crop due to its increasing consumption, and as a result, there is demand for varieties with improved production. However, the current status of breeding for improved varieties is a long process which relies heavily on phenotypic evaluation and dated molecular techniques and has little emphasis on modern genotyping approaches. Evaluation and selection before a cultivar is commercialized typically takes 10–15 years. Molecular markers have been developed for disease and pest resistance, resulting in initial marker-assisted selection in breeding. This study has evaluated and implemented a high-throughput transcriptome sequencing method for dense marker discovery in potato for the application of genomic selection. An Australian relevant collection of commercial cultivars was selected, and identification and distribution of high quality SNPs were examined using standard bioinformatic pipelines and a custom approach for the prediction of allelic dosage. As a result, a large number of SNP markers were identified and filtered to generate a high-quality subset that was then combined with historic phenotypic data to assess the approach for genomic selection. Genomic selection potential was predicted for highly heritable traits and the approach demonstrated advantages over the previously used technologies in terms of markers identified as well as costs incurred. The high-quality SNP list also provided acceptable genome coverage which demonstrates its applicability for much larger future studies. This SNP list was also annotated to provide an indication of function and will serve as a resource for the community in future studies. Genome wide marker tools will provide significant benefits for potato breeding efforts and the application of genomic selection will greatly enhance genetic progress
Investigating knowledge management factors affecting Chinese ICT firms performance: An integrated KM framework
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in the Journal of Information Systems Management, 28(1), 19 - 29, 2011, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10580530.2011.536107.This article sets out to investigate the critical factors of Knowledge Management (KM) which are considered to have an impact on the performance of Chinese information and communication technology (ICT) firms. This study confirms that the cultural environment of an enterprise is central to its success in the context of China. It shows that a collaborated, trusted, and learning environment within ICT firms will have a positive impact on their KM performance
Numerical Schemes for Rough Parabolic Equations
This paper is devoted to the study of numerical approximation schemes for a
class of parabolic equations on (0, 1) perturbed by a non-linear rough signal.
It is the continuation of [8, 7], where the existence and uniqueness of a
solution has been established. The approach combines rough paths methods with
standard considerations on discretizing stochastic PDEs. The results apply to a
geometric 2-rough path, which covers the case of the multidimensional
fractional Brownian motion with Hurst index H \textgreater{} 1/3.Comment: Applied Mathematics and Optimization, 201
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