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Universal
Terms modified by Universal Selected AbstractsRecapturing the Universal in the UniversityEDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 6 2005Ronald Barnett Abstract The idea of ,the university' has stood for universal themes,of knowing, of truthfulness, of learning, of human development, and of critical reason. Through its affirming and sustaining of such themes, the university came itself to stand for universality in at least two senses: the university was neither partial (in its truth criteria) nor local in its significance (at least, the university was an institution of the nation state and even had global significance). Now, this universalism has been shot down: on the one hand, universal themes have been impugned as passé in a postmodern age; in the ,knowledge society', knowledge with a capital ,K' is giving way to multiple and even local knowledges (plural). On the other hand, the very process of globalization has been accused of being a new process of colonization. Global universities, accordingly, may be seen as a vehicle for the imposition of Western modes of reason (often suspected in turn of being no more than Western economic reason at that). Diversity is the new watchword, a term that,we may note,has come to be part of the framing of the contemporary policy agenda for higher education. Accordingly, in such a situation of multiple meanings, both within and across institutions, the university becomes an institutional means for developing the capacities,at both the personal and the societal levels,to live with ,strangeness': perhaps here lies a new universal for the university? But, then, if that is the case, if strangeness is the new universal for the university, some large challenges await those who would claim to lead and manage universities. [source] Universal multiplex PCR and CE for quantification of SMN1/SMN2 genes in spinal muscular atrophyELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 7 2009Chun-Chi Wang Abstract We established a universal multiplex PCR and CE to calculate the copy number of survival motor neuron (SMN1 and SMN2) genes for clinical screening of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). In this study, one universal fluorescent primer was designed and applied for multiplex PCR of SMN1, SMN2 and two internal standards (CYBB and KRIT1). These amplicons were separated by conformation sensitive CE. Mixture of hydroxyethyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose were used in this CE system. Our method provided the potential to separate two 390-bp PCR products that differ in a single nucleotide. Differentiation and quantification of SMN1 and SMN2 are essential for clinical screening of SMA patients and carriers. The DNA samples included 22 SMA patients, 45 parents of SMA patients (obligatory carriers) and 217 controls. For evaluating accuracy, those 284 samples were blind-analyzed by this method and denaturing high pressure liquid chromatography (DHPLC). Eight of the total samples showed different results. Among them, two samples were diagnosed as having only SMN2 gene by DHPLC, however, they contained both SMN1 and SMN2 by our method. They were further confirmed by DNA sequencing. Our method showed good agreement with the DNA sequencing. The multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was used for confirming the other five samples, and showed the same results with our CE method. For only one sample, our CE showed different results with MLPA and DNA sequencing. One out of 284 samples (0.35%) belonged to mismatching. Our method provided a better accurate method and convenient method for clinical genotyping of SMA disease. [source] Universal and species-specific bacterial ,fungiphiles' in the mycospheres of different basidiomycetous fungiENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009J. A. Warmink Summary In previous work, several bacterial groups that show a response to fruiting bodies (the mycosphere) of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria proxima were identified. We here extend this work to a broader range of fungal fruiting bodies sampled at two occasions. PCR-DGGE analyses showed clear effects of the mycosphere of diverse fungi on the total bacterial and Pseudomonas communities in comparison with those in the corresponding bulk soil. The diversities of the Pseudomonas communities increased dramatically in most of the mycospheres tested, which contrasted with a decrease of the diversity of the total bacterial communities in these habitats. The data also indicated the existence of universal (i.e. Pseudomonas poae, P. lini, P. umsongensis, P. corrugata, P. antarctica and Rahnella aquatilis) as well as specific (i.e. P. viridiflava and candidatus Xiphinematobacter americani) fungiphiles, defined as bacteria adapted to the mycospheres of, respectively, three or more or just one fungal species. The selection of such fungiphiles was shown to be strongly related to their capacities to use particular carbonaceous compounds, as evidenced using principal components analyses of BIOLOG-based substrate utilization tests. The differentiating compounds, i.e. l -arabinose, l -leucine, m-inositol, m-arabitol, d -mannitol and d -trehalose, were tentatively linked to compounds known to occur in mycosphere exudates. [source] A Qualitative Study of Intimate Partner Violence Universal Screening by Family Therapy Interns: Implications for Practice, Research, Training, and SupervisionJOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 1 2008Jeffrey L. Todahl Although a few family therapy researchers and clinicians have urged universal screening for intimate partner violence (IPV), how screening is implemented,and, in particular, client and therapist response to screening,is vaguely defined and largely untested. This qualitative study examined the dilemmas experienced by couples and family therapy interns when implementing universal screening for IPV in an outpatient clinic setting. Twenty-two graduate students in a COAMFTE-accredited program were interviewed using qualitative research methods grounded in phenomenology. Three domains, 7 main themes, and 26 subthemes were identified. The three domains that emerged in this study include (a) therapist practice of universal screening, (b) client response to universal screening, and (c) therapist response to universal screening. Implications for practice, research, training, and supervision are discussed. [source] Universal Screening for HyperbilirubinemiaJOURNAL OF OBSTETRIC, GYNECOLOGIC & NEONATAL NURSING, Issue 1 2010Article first published online: 17 DEC 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Universal scaling in a trapped Fermi super-fluid in the BCS-unitarity crossoverLASER PHYSICS LETTERS, Issue 12 2009S.K. AdhikariArticle first published online: 14 AUG 200 Abstract Using numerical simulation based on a densityfunctional equation for a trapped Fermi super-fluid valid along the BCS-unitarity crossover, we establish robust scaling over many orders of magnitude in the observables of the system as a function of fermion number. This scaling allows to predict the static properties of the system, such as energy, chemical potential, etc., for a large number of fermions, over the crossover, from the knowledge of those for a small number (,4 , 10) of fermions. (© 2009 by Astro Ltd., Published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA) [source] "Universal Thump":,The Redemptive Epistemology of Touch,in Moby-DickLEVIATHAN, Issue 2 2010Lisa Ann Robertson First page of article [source] Universal versus Economically Polarized Change in Age at First Birth: A French,British ComparisonPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Michael S. Rendall France and Britain in the 1980s and 1990s represented two contrasting institutional models for the integration of employment and motherhood: the "universalistic" regime in France offered subsidized childcare and maternity-leave benefits at all income levels; the "means-tested" regime in Britain mainly offered income-tested benefits for single mothers. Comparing the two countries, we test the hypothesis that the socioeconomic gradient of fertility timing has become increasingly mediated by family policy. We find increasing polarization in women's age at first birth by pre-childbearing occupation in Britain but not in France. Early first births persisted in Britain only among women in low-skill occupations, while shifts toward increasingly late first births occurred in clerical/secretarial occupations and higher occupational groups. Age at first birth increased across all occupations in France, but age at first birth in France was still much earlier on average than for all but low-skill British mothers. [source] Assessment of uncertainty in computer experiments from Universal to Bayesian KrigingAPPLIED STOCHASTIC MODELS IN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY, Issue 2 2009C. Helbert Abstract Kriging was first introduced in the field of geostatistics. Nowadays, it is widely used to model computer experiments. Since the results of deterministic computer experiments have no experimental variability, Kriging is appropriate in that it interpolates observations at data points. Moreover, Kriging quantifies prediction uncertainty, which plays a major role in many applications. Among practitioners we can distinguish those who use Universal Kriging where the parameters of the model are estimated and those who use Bayesian Kriging where model parameters are random variables. The aim of this article is to show that the prediction uncertainty has a correct interpretation only in the case of Bayesian Kriging. Different cases of prior distributions have been studied and it is shown that in one specific case, Bayesian Kriging supplies an interpretation as a conditional variance for the prediction variance provided by Universal Kriging. Finally, a simple petroleum engineering case study presents the importance of prior information in the Bayesian approach. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Particulars, Modes and Universals: An examination of E.J. Lowe's Four-Fold OntologyDIALECTICA, Issue 3 2004Fraser MacBride Is there a particular-universal distinction? Ramsey famously advocated scepticism about this distinction. In "Some Formal Ontological Relations" E.J. Lowe argues against Ramsey that a particular-universal distinction can be made out after all if only we allow ourselves the resources to distinguish between the elements of a four-fold ontology. But in defence of Ramsey I argue that the case remains to be made in favour of either (1) the four-fold ontology Lowe recommends or (2) the articulation of a particular-universal distinction within it. I also argue that the case remains to be made against (3) a spatio-temporal conception of the particular-universal distinction. [source] Commentary: The Politics of Trauma and Asylum: Universals and Their EffectsETHOS, Issue 3 2007Liisa Malkki First page of article [source] Understanding Consciousness Using Systems Approaches and Lexical UniversalsANTHROPOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Issue 2 2004Michael Winkelman Ph.D. The numerous perspectives offered on consciousness reflect a multifaceted phenomenon that results from a system of relations. An etymological approach identifies linguistic roots of the meanings of consciousness and illustrates their concern with self-referenced informational relationships of an organism with its environment, a "knowing system" formed in the epistemological relations between knower and known. Common elements of contemporary models suggest that consciousness involves interacting components of a system, including: attention-awareness; phenomenal experiences; self reference; action-behavior, including representations and learning; use of information; interpretation of meaning; goal-directed behavior; and systems of social reference. It is suggested that manifestations of consciousness through the physical properties of the brain are universally represented in language. A preliminary systems model of consciousness is outlined with widespread lexical roots proposed as a culture-neutral framework for constructing theories of consciousness and identifying cognitive constructs which reveal the epistemological roots of consciousness within Indo-European traditions. [source] Language-Relative Construal of Individuation Constrained by Universal Ontology: Revisiting Language Universals and Linguistic RelativityCOGNITIVE SCIENCE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 3 2007Mutsumi Imai Abstract Objects and substances bear fundamentally different ontologies. In this article, we examine the relations between language, the ontological distinction with respect to individuation, and the world. Specifically, in cross-linguistic developmental studies that follow Imai and Gentner (1997), we examine the question of whether language influences our thought in different forms, like (1) whether the language-specific construal of entities found in a word extension context (Imai & Gentner, 1997) is also found in a nonlinguistic classification context; (2) whether the presence of labels per se, independent of the count-mass syntax, fosters ontology-based classification; (3) in what way, if at all, the count-mass syntax that accompanies a label changes English speakers' default construal of a given entity? On the basis of the results, we argue that the ontological distinction concerning individuation is universally shared and functions as a constraint on early learning of words. At the same time, language influences one's construal of entities cross-lingistically and developmentally, and causes a temporary change of construal within a single language. We provide a detailed discussion of how each of these three ways language may affect the construal of entities, and discuss how our universally possessed knowledge interacts with language both within a single language and in cross-linguistic context. [source] ,Salience syndrome' replaces ,schizophrenia' in DSM-V and ICD-11: psychiatry's evidence-based entry into the 21st century?ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2009J. Van Os Objective:, Japan was the first country to abandon the 19th century term of ,mind-splitting disease' (schizophrenia). Revisions of DSM and ICD are forthcoming. Should the rest of the world follow Japan's example? Method:, A comprehensive literature search was carried out in order to review the scientific evidence for the validity, usefulness and acceptability of current concepts of psychotic disorder. Results:, The discussion about re-classifying and renaming schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders is clouded by conceptual confusion. First, it is often misunderstood as a misguided attempt to change societal stigma instead of an attempt to change iatrogenic stigma occasioned by the use of misleading and mystifying terminology. Second, the debate is misunderstood as purely semantic, whereas in actual fact it is about the core concepts underlying psychiatric nosology. Third, it has been suggested that the debate is political. However, solid scientific evidence pointing to the absence of nosological validity of diagnostic categories lies at the heart of the argument. Fourth, there is confusion about what constitutes a syndrome (a group of symptom dimensions that cluster in different combinations in different people and for which one or more underlying diseases may or may not be found) and a disease (a nosologically valid entity with specific causes, symptoms, treatment and course). Conclusion:, Scientific evidence favours a syndromal system of classification combining categorical and dimensional representations of psychosis. The concept of ,salience' has the potential to make the public recognize psychosis as relating to an aspect of human mentation and experience that is universal. It is proposed to introduce, analogous to the functional-descriptive term ,Metabolic syndrome', the diagnosis of ,Salience syndrome' to replace all current diagnostic categories of psychotic disorders. Within Salience syndrome, three subcategories may be identified, based on scientific evidence of relatively valid and specific contrasts, named Salience syndrome with affective expression, Salience syndrome with developmental expression and Salience syndrome not otherwise specified. [source] To generalize or not to generalize: spatial categories are influenced by physical attributes and languageDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2009Susan J. Hespos The current work explored the conditions under which infants generalize spatial relationships from one event to another. English-learning 5-month-olds habituated to a tight- or loose-fit covering event dishabituated to a change in fit during a containment test event, but infants habituated to a visually similar occlusion event did not. Thus, infants' responses appeared to be driven by the physical nature of the fit rather than visual similarity. This response pattern was replicated with Korean-speaking adults, but English-speaking adults showed no sensitivity to change in fit for either event. These findings suggest that language development links linguistic forms to universal, pre-existing representations of meaning, and that linguistic experience can shape sensitivity to distinctions that are marked in one's native language. [source] Ten Theses on the Future of Lutheran Theology Charisms, Contexts, and ChallengesDIALOG, Issue 4 2002Niels Gregersen Although Lutheran theology is a gift to the historic church, Martin Luther's own views are specifically formulated for their 16th century context. No universal or timeless theological system based upon Luther's authority should be appealed to. Then theses are here advanced that bridge the 16th and 21st centuries and challenge us to creative construction. [source] The effect of preoperative weight loss and body mass index on postoperative outcome in patients with esophagogastric carcinomaDISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS, Issue 7 2009J. Skipworth SUMMARY Studies have shown that weight loss is associated with adverse outcomes in all treatment modalities for esophagogastric carcinoma. Because of the increased prevalence of obesity and the effectiveness of perioperative nutrition, a number of patients are now obese or have normal body mass index (BMI) at the time of treatment. We investigated the relationship between weight loss, BMI, and outcome of surgery for patients with esophagogastric carcinoma. Data were collected over a 38-month period for all patients diagnosed with operable esophagogastric cancer at two UK centers. All patients underwent resection by a single Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon and the use of perioperative jejunal feeding was universal. Ninety-three patients (57 male) underwent esophagogastric resection; 48 had no preoperative weight loss (34 with a BMI > 25 and 14 with a BMI < 25). Forty-five patients had preoperative weight loss (20 with BMI > 25 and 25 with BMI < 25). There was no significant difference in complication rates, median hospital stay, or mortality between the four groups. A significantly higher number of patients displaying preoperative weight loss were found to have stage III disease, but difference in survival of up to 3 years did not reach statistical significance on multivariate analysis. Preoperative weight loss and low BMI did not significantly influence the complication rate, perioperative mortality rate, length of hospital stay, or short-term prognosis. We conclude that preoperative weight loss can not be reliably used as an independent predictor of poor outcome in patients undergoing surgery for esophagogastric carcinoma. However, patients with preoperative weight loss and low BMI are more likely to have advanced disease. [source] Mindfulness-based treatments for co-occurring depression and substance use disorders: what can we learn from the brain?ADDICTION, Issue 10 2010Judson A. Brewer ABSTRACT Both depression and substance use disorders represent major global public health concerns and are often co-occurring. Although there are ongoing discoveries regarding the pathophysiology and treatment of each condition, common mechanisms and effective treatments for co-occurring depression and substance abuse remain elusive. Mindfulness training has been shown recently to benefit both depression and substance use disorders, suggesting that this approach may target common behavioral and neurobiological processes. However, it remains unclear whether these pathways constitute specific shared neurobiological mechanisms or more extensive components universal to the broader human experience of psychological distress or suffering. We offer a theoretical, clinical and neurobiological perspective of the overlaps between these disorders, highlight common neural pathways that play a role in depression and substance use disorders and discuss how these commonalities may frame our conceptualization and treatment of co-occurring disorders. Finally, we discuss how advances in our understanding of potential mechanisms of mindfulness training may offer not only unique effects on depression and substance use, but also offer promise for treatment of co-occurring disorders. [source] The significance of a facultative bacterium to natural populations of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisumECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 2 2003A. C. Darby Abstract. 1., Laboratory studies have implicated various accessory bacteria of aphids as important determinants of aphid performance, especially on certain plant species and under certain thermal regimes. One of these accessory bacteria is PABS (also known as T-type), which is distributed widely but is not universal in natural populations of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum in the U.K. 2., To explore the impact of PABS on the performance of A. pisum , the nymphal development time and fecundity of aphids collected directly from natural populations and caged on the host plant Vicia faba in the field were quantified. Over 4 consecutive months June,September 1999, the performance of PABS-positive and PABS-negative aphids did not differ significantly. 3., Deterministic modelling of the performance data showed that the variation in simulated population increase of PABS-positive and PABS-negative aphids would overlap substantially. 4., Analysis of aphids colonising five host plants ( Lathyrus odoratus , Medicago sativa , Pisum sativum , Trifolium pratense , Vicia faba ) between April and September 2000 and 2001, identified no robust differences between the distribution of PABS-positive and PABS-negative aphids on different plants and with season or temperature. 5., It is concluded that PABS is not an important factor shaping the performance or plant range of A. pisum under the field conditions tested. Reasons for the discrepancies between this study and laboratory-based studies are considered. [source] Listing BRICs: Stock Issuers from Brazil, Russia, India, and China in New York, London, and LuxembourgECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2010Dariusz Wójcik abstract In the past decade, hundreds of companies from emerging markets have listed their shares on American and European stock markets. Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) are the main countries of origin of issuers, and stock exchanges in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg are the main destinations involved in the process. We use a comprehensive data set for these home and host markets for the end of 2008 to explore the intensity of foreign listings, the subnational geography of cross-listed firms, and the destinations of foreign listings. Cross-listing firms tend to be relatively large and come from capital-intensive, export-oriented, and high-growth sectors. Trading links with and industrial specialization of the host markets affect the choice of destination markets. These patterns, however, are not universal across countries. There is a high concentration of cross-listed firms in the leading financial centers of the BRIC countries, particularly in Russia and Brazil. Firms outside of the leading centers rarely cross-list, and when they do, they enter second-tier host markets. While BRIC countries have a large potential for further foreign listings, the process remains politically sensitive. Our results highlight the shortcomings of the literature on cross-listing in economics and the significance of the cross-listing phenomenon to future research in financial geographies. [source] Recapturing the Universal in the UniversityEDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 6 2005Ronald Barnett Abstract The idea of ,the university' has stood for universal themes,of knowing, of truthfulness, of learning, of human development, and of critical reason. Through its affirming and sustaining of such themes, the university came itself to stand for universality in at least two senses: the university was neither partial (in its truth criteria) nor local in its significance (at least, the university was an institution of the nation state and even had global significance). Now, this universalism has been shot down: on the one hand, universal themes have been impugned as passé in a postmodern age; in the ,knowledge society', knowledge with a capital ,K' is giving way to multiple and even local knowledges (plural). On the other hand, the very process of globalization has been accused of being a new process of colonization. Global universities, accordingly, may be seen as a vehicle for the imposition of Western modes of reason (often suspected in turn of being no more than Western economic reason at that). Diversity is the new watchword, a term that,we may note,has come to be part of the framing of the contemporary policy agenda for higher education. Accordingly, in such a situation of multiple meanings, both within and across institutions, the university becomes an institutional means for developing the capacities,at both the personal and the societal levels,to live with ,strangeness': perhaps here lies a new universal for the university? But, then, if that is the case, if strangeness is the new universal for the university, some large challenges await those who would claim to lead and manage universities. [source] Universal multiplex PCR and CE for quantification of SMN1/SMN2 genes in spinal muscular atrophyELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 7 2009Chun-Chi Wang Abstract We established a universal multiplex PCR and CE to calculate the copy number of survival motor neuron (SMN1 and SMN2) genes for clinical screening of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). In this study, one universal fluorescent primer was designed and applied for multiplex PCR of SMN1, SMN2 and two internal standards (CYBB and KRIT1). These amplicons were separated by conformation sensitive CE. Mixture of hydroxyethyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose were used in this CE system. Our method provided the potential to separate two 390-bp PCR products that differ in a single nucleotide. Differentiation and quantification of SMN1 and SMN2 are essential for clinical screening of SMA patients and carriers. The DNA samples included 22 SMA patients, 45 parents of SMA patients (obligatory carriers) and 217 controls. For evaluating accuracy, those 284 samples were blind-analyzed by this method and denaturing high pressure liquid chromatography (DHPLC). Eight of the total samples showed different results. Among them, two samples were diagnosed as having only SMN2 gene by DHPLC, however, they contained both SMN1 and SMN2 by our method. They were further confirmed by DNA sequencing. Our method showed good agreement with the DNA sequencing. The multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was used for confirming the other five samples, and showed the same results with our CE method. For only one sample, our CE showed different results with MLPA and DNA sequencing. One out of 284 samples (0.35%) belonged to mismatching. Our method provided a better accurate method and convenient method for clinical genotyping of SMA disease. [source] A universal and rapid protocol for protein extraction from recalcitrant plant tissues for proteomic analysisELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 13 2006Wei Wang Dr. Abstract A simple and universally applicable protocol for extracting high-quality proteins from recalcitrant plant tissues is described. We have used the protocol with no modification, for a wide range of leaves and fruits. In all cases, this protocol allows to obtain good electrophoretic separation of proteins. As the protocol is rapid, universal, and compatible with silver staining, it could be used for routine protein extraction from recalcitrant plant tissues for proteomic analysis. [source] Universal and species-specific bacterial ,fungiphiles' in the mycospheres of different basidiomycetous fungiENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009J. A. Warmink Summary In previous work, several bacterial groups that show a response to fruiting bodies (the mycosphere) of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria proxima were identified. We here extend this work to a broader range of fungal fruiting bodies sampled at two occasions. PCR-DGGE analyses showed clear effects of the mycosphere of diverse fungi on the total bacterial and Pseudomonas communities in comparison with those in the corresponding bulk soil. The diversities of the Pseudomonas communities increased dramatically in most of the mycospheres tested, which contrasted with a decrease of the diversity of the total bacterial communities in these habitats. The data also indicated the existence of universal (i.e. Pseudomonas poae, P. lini, P. umsongensis, P. corrugata, P. antarctica and Rahnella aquatilis) as well as specific (i.e. P. viridiflava and candidatus Xiphinematobacter americani) fungiphiles, defined as bacteria adapted to the mycospheres of, respectively, three or more or just one fungal species. The selection of such fungiphiles was shown to be strongly related to their capacities to use particular carbonaceous compounds, as evidenced using principal components analyses of BIOLOG-based substrate utilization tests. The differentiating compounds, i.e. l -arabinose, l -leucine, m-inositol, m-arabitol, d -mannitol and d -trehalose, were tentatively linked to compounds known to occur in mycosphere exudates. [source] Modified median polish kriging and its application to the Wolfcamp,Aquifer dataENVIRONMETRICS, Issue 8 2001Olaf Berke Abstract In geostatistics, spatial data will be analyzed that often come from irregularly distributed sampling locations. Interest is in modelling the data, i.e. estimating distributional parameters, and then to predict the phenomenon under study at unobserved sites within the corresponding sampling domain. The method of universal kriging for spatial prediction was introduced to cover the problem of spatial trend effects. This is done by incorporating linear trend models, e.g. polynomial functions of the spatial co-ordinates. However, universal kriging is sensitive to additive outliers. An outlier resistant method for spatial prediction is median polish kriging. Both methods have certain advantages but also some drawbacks. Here, universal kriging and median polish kriging will be combined to the robust spatial prediction method called modified median polish kriging. An example illustrates the method of modified median polish kriging along with piezometric-head data from the Wolfcamp,Aquifer. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The alcohol,tobacco relationship: a prospective study among adolescents in six European countriesADDICTION, Issue 12 2003J. J. L. Wetzels ABSTRACT Aim This study examined the earliest stages in drug involvement, in terms of the relationship between alcohol and tobacco use, among adolescents from six European countries (Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom). International, gender and age differences were studied. Design, setting and participants A large international sample of European adolescents (n = 10170, mean age = 13.3 years) was followed longitudinally. Data were gathered in the autumn terms of 1998 and 1999 by means of self-administered questionnaires. Measures Adolescents' self-reports on smoking and alcohol behaviour were used. Both behaviours were classified into two categories, that of adolescents who had never used the substance and that of those who had used the substance at least once in their lives. Logistic regression was used to determine which substance was the best predictor of the subsequent use of the other substance. Findings Alcohol use and tobacco use were found to be associated with each other reciprocally. Results revealed that in Europe as a whole, tobacco use predicted subsequent alcohol use better than the converse. However, for Dutch girls, alcohol use predicted subsequent smoking behaviour better than the converse. Conclusion The findings suggest that the development of alcohol and tobacco use patterns are closely related, but the order of progression is not universal and may reflect cultural factors. [source] Continuing professional development , global perspectives: synopsis of a workshop held during the International Association of Dental Research meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, 2003.EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2005Part 1: access, funding, participation patterns There appears to have been little previous research interest in continuing professional development* (CPD) of dentists and the oral health team. This paper presents data and information on the following aspects of CPD in 17 countries in Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America: availability of different types of CPD, its providers, data on uptake of CPD courses and activities, and funding of CPD. The results indicate that lectures and hands-on skills courses were held in all 17 countries but the use of the Internet to deliver CPD was by no means universal. CPD was funded from a variety of sources including universities, governments and commercial companies. However, the only universal source of funding for CPD was dentists themselves. Data on participation were available from only three countries. Research issues based on these results will be listed in a second paper. [source] Addiction as excessive appetiteADDICTION, Issue 1 2001Jim Orford The excessive appetite model of addiction is summarized. The paper begins by considering the forms of excessive appetite which a comprehensive model should account for: principally, excessive drinking, smoking, gambling, eating, sex and a diverse range of drugs including at least heroin, cocaine and cannabis. The model rests, therefore, upon a broader concept of what constitutes addiction than the traditional, more restricted, and arguably misleading definition. The core elements of the model include: very skewed consumption distribution curves; restraint, control or deterrence; positive incentive learning mechanisms which highlight varied forms of rapid emotional change as rewards, and wide cue conditioning; complex memory schemata; secondary, acquired emotional regulation cycles, of which 'chasing', 'the abstinence violation effect' and neuroadaptation are examples; and the consequences of conflict. These primary and secondary processes, occurring within diverse sociocultural contexts, are sufficient to account for the development of a strong attachment to an appetitive activity, such that self-control is diminished, and behaviour may appear to be disease-like. Giving up excess is a natural consequence of conflict arising from strong and troublesome appetite. There is much supportive evidence that change occurs outside expert treatment, and that when it occurs within treatment the change processes are more basic and universal than those espoused by fashionable expert theories. [source] The theory of human development: A cross-cultural analysisEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2003CHRISTIAN WELZEL This article demonstrates that socioeconomic development, emancipative cultural change and democratization constitute a coherent syndrome of social progress , a syndrome whose common focus has not been properly specified by classical modernization theory. We specify this syndrome as ,human development', arguing that its three components have a common focus on broadening human choice. Socioeconomic development gives people the objective means of choice by increasing individual resources; rising emancipative values strengthen people's subjective orientation towards choice; and democratization provides legal guarantees of choice by institutionalizing freedom rights. Analysis of data from the World Values Surveys demonstrates that the linkage between individual resources, emancipative values and freedom rights is universal in its presence across nations, regions and cultural zones; that this human development syndrome is shaped by a causal effect of individual resources and emancipative values on freedom rights; and that this effect operates through its impact on elite integrity, as the factor which makes freedom rights effective. [source] ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Genetics, adaptation, and invasion in harsh environmentsEVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2010Richard Gomulkiewicz Abstract We analyze mathematical models to examine how the genetic basis of fitness affects the persistence of a population suddenly encountering a harsh environment where it would go extinct without evolution. The results are relevant for novel introductions and for an established population whose existence is threatened by a sudden change in the environment. The models span a range of genetic assumptions, including identical loci that contribute to absolute fitness, a two-locus quantitative genetic model with nonidentical loci, and a model with major and minor genes affecting a quantitative trait. We find as a general (though not universal) pattern that prospects for persistence narrow as more loci contribute to fitness, in effect because selection per locus is increasingly weakened with more loci, which can even overwhelm any initial enhancement of fitness that adding loci might provide. When loci contribute unequally to fitness, genes of small effect can significantly reduce extinction risk. Indeed, major and minor genes can interact synergistically to reduce the time needed to evolve growth. Such interactions can also increase vulnerability to extinction, depending not just on how genes interact but also on the initial genetic structure of the introduced, or newly invaded, population. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||