1,054 research outputs found
âPRi special edition: The intersections between public relations and neoliberalismâ â The road to nowhere: Re-examining activistsâ role in civil societies
The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1977) argued that the presence of critical counter-voices and powers is a fundamental element of any genuine democracy. However, in Australia these counter-voices are increasingly marginalized and threatened by controversial laws that would limit the legal standing of conservation groups and the use of overseas donations for advocacy purposes based on the argument that âsystematic, well-fundedâ environmental campaigns are threatening the nationâs economic prosperity.
Drawing on social movement theory and Bourdieuâs theory of practice, this case study details the final months of the Save Beeliar Wetlands campaign in the lead up to the 2017 West Australian state election. The author challenges three common assumptions in the extant PR activism literature: The existence of activists in opposition to organizations and governments, the presence of a âzone of compromiseâ between activists and the organizations or governments whose actions they are opposing and the conceptualization of activists as homogenous entity.
Evolving into a colorful collective of over 35 local groups, five local councils and thousands of individuals, Beeliar Wetland Defenders successfully created an alternative narrative to the State and Federal Governmentsâ neoliberal agenda. Activists thereby contributed significantly to a change in leadership and the termination of a $1.9billion infrastructure project. This paper argues that activist groupsâ interventions in public debate perform a valuable societal voice as critical counter-voices in challenging established hierarchies and power relationships. However, in mounting and framing their arguments within the neoliberal framework, activist groups may also inadvertently reinforce this worldview
A search for the decay modes B+/- to h+/- tau l
We present a search for the lepton flavor violating decay modes B+/- to h+/-
tau l (h= K,pi; l= e,mu) using the BaBar data sample, which corresponds to 472
million BBbar pairs. The search uses events where one B meson is fully
reconstructed in one of several hadronic final states. Using the momenta of the
reconstructed B, h, and l candidates, we are able to fully determine the tau
four-momentum. The resulting tau candidate mass is our main discriminant
against combinatorial background. We see no evidence for B+/- to h+/- tau l
decays and set a 90% confidence level upper limit on each branching fraction at
the level of a few times 10^-5.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Measurement of the branching fraction and CP content for the decay B(0) -> D(*+)D(*-)
This is the pre-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the links below. Copyright @ 2002 APS.We report a measurement of the branching fraction of the decay B0âD*+D*- and of the CP-odd component of its final state using the BABAR detector. With data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.4ââfb-1 collected at the ΄(4S) resonance during 1999â2000, we have reconstructed 38 candidate signal events in the mode B0âD*+D*- with an estimated background of 6.2±0.5 events. From these events, we determine the branching fraction to be B(B0âD*+D*-)=[8.3±1.6(stat)±1.2(syst)]Ă10-4. The measured CP-odd fraction of the final state is 0.22±0.18(stat)±0.03(syst).This work is supported by DOE and NSF (USA), NSERC (Canada), IHEP (China), CEA and CNRS-IN2P3 (France), BMBF (Germany), INFN (Italy), NFR (Norway), MIST (Russia), and PPARC (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the A.P. Sloan Foundation, Research Corporation, and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Observation and study of baryonic B decays: B -> D(*) p pbar, D(*) p pbar pi, and D(*) p pbar pi pi
We present a study of ten B-meson decays to a D(*), a proton-antiproton pair,
and a system of up to two pions using BaBar's data set of 455x10^6 BBbar pairs.
Four of the modes (B0bar -> D0 p anti-p, B0bar -> D*0 p anti-p, B0bar -> D+ p
anti-p pi-, B0bar -> D*+ p anti-p pi-) are studied with improved statistics
compared to previous measurements; six of the modes (B- -> D0 p anti-p pi-, B-
-> D*0 p anti-p pi-, B0bar -> D0 p anti-p pi- pi+, B0bar -> D*0 p anti-p pi-
pi+, B- -> D+ p anti-p pi- pi-, B- -> D*+ p anti-p pi- pi-) are first
observations. The branching fractions for 3- and 5-body decays are suppressed
compared to 4-body decays. Kinematic distributions for 3-body decays show
non-overlapping threshold enhancements in m(p anti-p) and m(D(*)0 p) in the
Dalitz plots. For 4-body decays, m(p pi-) mass projections show a narrow peak
with mass and full width of (1497.4 +- 3.0 +- 0.9) MeV/c2, and (47 +- 12 +- 4)
MeV/c2, respectively, where the first (second) errors are statistical
(systematic). For 5-body decays, mass projections are similar to phase space
expectations. All results are preliminary.Comment: 28 pages, 90 postscript figures, submitted to LP0
Measurement of D-s(+) and D-s(*+) production in B meson decays and from continuum e(+)e(-) annihilation at âs=10.6 GeV
This is the pre-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the links below. Copyright @ 2002 APSNew measurements of Ds+ and Ds*+ meson production rates from B decays and from qqÌ
continuum events near the ΄(4S) resonance are presented. Using 20.8 fb-1 of data on the ΄(4S) resonance and 2.6 fb-1 off-resonance, we find the inclusive branching fractions B(BâDs+X)=(10.93±0.19±0.58±2.73)% and B(BâDs*+X)=(7.9±0.8±0.7±2.0)%, where the first error is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the Ds+âÏÏ+ branching fraction uncertainty. The production cross sections Ï(e+e-âDs+X)ĂB(Ds+âÏÏ+)=7.55±0.20±0.34pb and Ï(e+e-âDs*±X)ĂB(Ds+âÏÏ+)=5.8±0.7±0.5pb are measured at center-of-mass energies about 40 MeV below the ΄(4S) mass. The branching fractions ÎŁB(BâDs(*)+D(*))=(5.07±0.14±0.30±1.27)% and ÎŁB(BâDs*+D(*))=(4.1±0.2±0.4±1.0)% are determined from the Ds(*)+ momentum spectra. The mass difference m(Ds+)-m(D+)=98.4±0.1±0.3MeV/c2 is also measured.This work was supported by DOE and NSF (USA), NSERC (Canada), IHEP (China), CEA and CNRS-IN2P3 (France), BMBF (Germany), INFN (Italy), NFR (Norway), MIST (Russia), and PPARC (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the Swiss NSF, A. P. Sloan Foundation, Research Corporation, and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Search for rare quark-annihilation decays, B --> Ds(*) Phi
We report on searches for B- --> Ds- Phi and B- --> Ds*- Phi. In the context
of the Standard Model, these decays are expected to be highly suppressed since
they proceed through annihilation of the b and u-bar quarks in the B- meson.
Our results are based on 234 million Upsilon(4S) --> B Bbar decays collected
with the BABAR detector at SLAC. We find no evidence for these decays, and we
set Bayesian 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions BF(B-
--> Ds- Phi) Ds*- Phi)<1.2x10^(-5). These results
are consistent with Standard Model expectations.Comment: 8 pages, 3 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid
Communications
Efeitos de imidazolinonas e sulfonilurĂ©ias sobre a produção de sementes e emergĂȘncia de plĂąntulas de quinquilho
Cells Assemble Invadopodia-Like Structures and Invade into Matrigel in a Matrix Metalloprotease Dependent Manner in the Circular Invasion Assay
The ability of tumor cells to invade is one of the hallmarks of the metastatic phenotype. To elucidate the mechanisms by which tumor cells acquire an invasive phenotype, in vitro assays have been developed that mimic the process of cancer cell invasion through basement membrane or in the stroma. We have extended the characterization of the circular invasion assay and found that it provides a simple and amenable system to study cell invasion in matrix in an environment that closely mimics 3D invasion. Furthermore, it allows detailed microscopic analysis of both live and fixed cells during the invasion process. We find that cells invade in a protease dependent manner in this assay and that they assemble focal adhesions and invadopodia that resemble structures visualized in 3D embedded cells. We propose that this is a useful assay for routine and medium throughput analysis of invasion of cancer cells in vitro and the study of cells migrating in a 3D environment
Randomised short-term trial of high-span versus low-span APAP for treating sleep apnoea
PURPOSE: Auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure (APAP) devices were developed to improve treatment efficacy and compliance in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). Since there are insufficient data on the optimal pressure range setting, we aimed to compare the adherence, efficacy and tolerability of treatment with high-span versus low-span APAP.
METHODS:
Seventy-six newly diagnosed OSAS patients fulfilling the treatment criteria were randomised to receive high-span (HS, range 4-15cmH2O, n?=?38) or low-span (LS, range 8-12cmH2O, n?=?38) APAP. Patients were assessed at 1 and 3 months.
RESULTS:
Median Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) was 13 (IQR, 6-16) and median apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) was 35.9 (IQR, 27.6-56.3). There were no significant differences in baseline demographic and clinical characteristics between groups. Overall, no significant differences were found at the first month assessment. After 3 months of therapy, we found again no differences in residual AHI or ESS. However, the group HS proved less adherent than group LS, respectively, with median 87 % (IQR, 60.5-97.5) versus 94 % (IQR, 80.0-98.3) of the nights using =4 h (P?=?0.014) and mean (±SD) usage 5.7?±?1.6 versus 6.4?±?1.2 h/night (P?=?0.049). The group HS reported more frequently nasal congestion, excessive oronasal dryness and nocturnal awakenings of at least moderate intensity, the latter with statistical significance (P?=?0.005).
CONCLUSIONS:
Both pressure ranges appear to be equally effective to correct AHI and to improve symptoms. Though, patients with high-span APAP were less compliant to treatment, raising issues about the tolerability of wide pressure range settings of these devices.T Pinto has received financial support from Linde and Vitalaire (Healthcare Providers) for attending symposia and honoraria for speaking at symposia from Philips. After the conclusion of the study, JC Winck has started working in a global position for Linde. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest
Ice-sheet collapse and sea-level rise at the BĂžlling warming 14,600 years ago
Past sea-level records provide invaluable information about the response of ice sheets to climate forcing. Some such records suggest that the last deglaciation was punctuated by a dramatic period of sea-level rise, of about 20 metres, in less than 500 years. Controversy about the amplitude and timing of this meltwater pulse (MWP-1A) has, however, led to uncertainty about the source of the melt water and its temporal and causal relationships with the abrupt climate changes of the deglaciation. Here we show that MWP-1A started no earlier than 14,650 years ago and ended before 14,310 years ago, making it coeval with the Bolling warming. Our results, based on corals drilled offshore from Tahiti during Integrated Ocean Drilling Project Expedition 310, reveal that the increase in sea level at Tahiti was between 12 and 22 metres, with a most probable value between 14 and 18 metres, establishing a significant meltwater contribution from the Southern Hemisphere. This implies that the rate of eustatic sea-level rise exceeded 40 millimetres per year during MWP-1A
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