L-lactate reduces ischemic white matter injury and modulates HCA1 oligodendrocyte expression in an in vivo mouse model of focal ischemia

L-lactate is a metabolite that is oxidized preferentially to glucose under conditions of high metabolic stress. The discovery and localization of the lactate receptor HCA1 in various brain regions suggests that lactate is additionally an important signaling molecule in the brain. Lactate is neuroprotective in various ischemia paradigms, reduces axonal injury in vitro and is avidly utilized by oligodendrocytes (OLs). The protective potential of L-lactate to reduce white matter (WM) injury in a mouse stroke model was investigated.N/

Adult education in small states : the case of Malta

A small state faces several challenges with regard to adult continuing education and training. The paper discusses some of these challenges with specific reference to the Mediterranean small island state of Malta. It starts with a general discussion of some of the issues affecting adult education in a small state such as Malta that paves the way for the more focused analyses in the second and third sections. These sections focus on a selection of just two topics from among the many that affect adult education in Malta, namely those of adult education and work and adult education for sustainable development. These analyses are tackled from the perspective of the small state condition.peer-reviewe

Three essays on the comparative growth of settler economies

The traditional view of the Canadian economy from the late nineteenth century onward has been one of failure relative to the United States. This thesis examines the Canadian experience from the late nineteenth century in relation to other ‘settler economies’. Similarities between these countries include their resource abundance, low population density and European institutions. In the first essay, creation of long-run, sectorally disaggregated, Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) adjusted Canadian/ Australian data reveals that the Canadian economy was characterised by relatively strong and sustained growth in real output per capita and labour productivity. This paper takes a first step in estimating the importance of many potentially relevant factors. Results indicate that acceptance of foreign technology from abroad was a significant determinant of success. From 1870 to World War One, Canada performed particularly well against settler economies like Australia and New Zealand in terms of output and productivity in manufacturing. The second essay looks more deeply at the question of manufacturing success. A novel approach is taken by applying non-parametric frontier analysis to manufacturing census data in order to make cross-country efficiency comparisons. Measures of Total Factor Productivity indicate that nineteenth century Canadian manufacturing was surprisingly efficient relative to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The third essay takes a comparative approach in analysing market potential. Historically there has been a predisposition to view settler economies like Canada and Australia as part of a homogeneous ‘periphery’ relative to a British ‘metropole’. This concept serves to mask important differences in the ‘peripherality’ of each country. This study suggests the key geographical factor in explaining relative success amongst settler economies was access to markets. Peripherality is observed by estimating an aggregate measure of distance including adjustments for falling transport costs, tariff barriers and border effects. This aggregate distance estimate is used to form a measure of market potential that can be compared with observed trade behaviour. Focus is on the Australian colonies given their acute isolation. Counterfactuals are then generated to quantify the effects of distance on long-run growth during the period from 1870 to World War One

An overlooked and unexpected introduction? Occurrence of the spotted scat Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766) (Osteichthyes : Scatophagidae) in the Maltese Islands

The spotted scat Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766) is recorded for the first time from Malta and the Mediterranean from fish offered for sale at a Maltese fish market. Interviews with fish sellers and fishermen showed that this fish is caught occasionally in small numbers in trammel nets from shallows on seagrass meadows in the southeast of Malta and that it has been present since at least 2007. The native range of the species is the Indian Ocean and the tropical to warm temperate Pacific but the species is commercially available as a brackish water aquarium fish. Given that this species has also been regularly imported into Malta by the aquarium trade since at least 1986, an escape or deliberate release by an aquarist seem to be the most probably mode of introduction. It is surprising that this euryhaline species which requires brackish water to complete its life cycle should have become established in Malta where there is a dearth of such habitats.peer-reviewe

Yammer: Investigating its Impact on Employee Knowledge Sharing during Product Development

Global manufacturing continues to grow, creating the need for enhanced innovation during New Product Development (NPD); this in-turn requires increased utilization of employee-generated knowledge. Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs), such as Yammer.com, is one method identified which can allow organisations to connect employees across departments and physical boundaries. This paper summarises the results of a dual-moderated focus group conducted with 15 employees of a UK-based sports manufacturer, aimed at identifying the impact of Yammer on employee knowledge generation and sharing during NPD projects. Results indicate that employees see benefit in its use and would welcome greater embeddedness of ESNs in the NPD process. However, barriers are identified which may inhibit its successful deployment, including issues relating to security and intellectual property rights. Identified benefits of using Yammer include: an improved ability to find people with specific domain knowledge; increased awareness of communities of practice; and the matching of problems with solutions

Spatio-temporal bivariate statistical models for atmospheric trace-gas inversion

Atmospheric trace-gas inversion refers to any technique used to predict spatial and temporal fluxes using mole-fraction measurements and atmospheric simulations obtained from computer models. Studies to date are most often of a data-assimilation flavour, which implicitly consider univariate statistical models with the flux as the variate of interest. This univariate approach typically assumes that the flux field is either a spatially correlated Gaussian process or a spatially uncorrelated non-Gaussian process with prior expectation fixed using flux inventories (e.g., NAEI or EDGAR in Europe). Here, we extend this approach in three ways. First, we develop a bivariate model for the mole-fraction field and the flux field. The bivariate approach allows optimal prediction of both the flux field and the mole-fraction field, and it leads to significant computational savings over the univariate approach. Second, we employ a lognormal spatial process for the flux field that captures both the lognormal characteristics of the flux field (when appropriate) and its spatial dependence. Third, we propose a new, geostatistical approach to incorporate the flux inventories in our updates, such that the posterior spatial distribution of the flux field is predominantly data-driven. The approach is illustrated on a case study of methane (CH$_4$) emissions in the United Kingdom and Ireland.Comment: 39 pages, 8 figure

Childhood IQ and risk of bipolar disorder in adulthood: prospective birth cohort study

Background: Intellectual ability may be an endophenotypic marker for bipolar disorder. Aims: Within a large birth cohort, we aimed to assess whether childhood IQ (including both verbal IQ (VIQ) and performance IQ (PIQ) subscales) was predictive of lifetime features of bipolar disorder assessed in young adulthood. Method: We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a large UK birth cohort, to test for an association between measures of childhood IQ at age 8 years and lifetime manic features assessed at age 22–23 years using the Hypomania Checklist-32 (HCL-32; n=1881 individuals). An ordinary least squares linear regression model was used, with normal childhood IQ (range 90–109) as the referent group. We adjusted analyses for confounding factors, including gender, ethnicity, handedness, maternal social class at recruitment, maternal age, maternal history of depression and maternal education. Results: There was a positive association between IQ at age 8 years and lifetime manic features at age 22–23 years (Pearson's correlation coefficient 0.159 (95% CI 0.120–0.198), P>0.001). Individuals in the lowest decile of manic features had a mean full-scale IQ (FSIQ) which was almost 10 points lower than those in the highest decile of manic features: mean FSIQ 100.71 (95% CI 98.74–102.6) v. 110.14 (95% CI 107.79–112.50), P>0.001. The association between IQ and manic features was present for FSIQ, VIQ and for PIQ but was strongest for VIQ. Conclusions: A higher childhood IQ score, and high VIQ in particular, may represent a marker of risk for the later development of bipolar disorder. This finding has implications for understanding of how liability to bipolar disorder may have been selected through generations. It will also inform future genetic studies at the interface of intelligence, creativity and bipolar disorder and is relevant to the developmental trajectory of bipolar disorder. It may also improve approaches to earlier detection and treatment of bipolar disorder in adolescents and young adults