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Original Concept (original + concept)
Selected AbstractsEcological fitting by phenotypically flexible genotypes: implications for species associations, community assembly and evolutionECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 11 2008Salvatore J. Agosta Abstract Ecological fitting is the process whereby organisms colonize and persist in novel environments, use novel resources or form novel associations with other species as a result of the suites of traits that they carry at the time they encounter the novel condition. This paper has four major aims. First, we review the original concept of ecological fitting and relate it to the concept of exaptation and current ideas on the positive role of phenotypic plasticity in evolution. Second, we propose phenotypic plasticity, correlated trait evolution and phylogenetic conservatism as specific mechanisms behind ecological fitting. Third, we attempt to operationalize the concept of ecological fitting by providing explicit definitions for terms. From these definitions, we propose a simple conceptual model of ecological fitting. Using this model, we demonstrate the differences and similarities between ecological fitting and ecological resource tracking and illustrate the process in the context of species colonizing new areas and forming novel associations with other species. Finally, we discuss how ecological fitting can be both a precursor to evolutionary diversity or maintainer of evolutionary stasis, depending on conditions. We conclude that ecological fitting is an important concept for understanding topics ranging from the assembly of ecological communities and species associations, to biological invasions, to the evolution of biodiversity. [source] Development of Multiple Power Quality Supply System,IEEJ TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2010Keiichi Hirose Member Abstract This paper describes the characteristics and performances of a multiple power quality supply system (MPQSS), which consists of power electronics-based voltage compensators and three types of distributed generators (DGs). Its original concept of a future power delivery system having different service levels to meet each customer or load requirement at the same time was proposed as Flexible, Reliable, and Intelligent Electrical eNergy Delivery System (FRIENDS). The effectiveness of the developed power system was measured during an actual field demonstration conducted in 2007 by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Sendai, Japan. Its effectiveness in feeding four classes of alternative current (AC) and one of direct current (DC) power while meeting various customer requirements was confirmed. Some sets of test data and an analysis using the data indicate that the developed system meets all the requirements for DG-related plants and has additional benefits. The power system maintains voltage and frequency conditions without interruption in the every state, grid interconnection, islanding, and backup modes. Copyright © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Flying vaccinator; a transgenic mosquito delivers a Leishmania vaccine via blood feedingINSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010D. S. Yamamoto Abstract ,Flying vaccinator' is the concept of using genetically engineered hematophagous insects to deliver vaccines. Here we show the generation of a transgenic anopheline mosquito that expresses the Leishmania vaccine candidate, SP15, fused to monomeric red fluorescent protein (mDsRed) in its salivary glands. Importantly, mice bitten repeatedly by the transgenic mosquitoes raised anti-SP15 antibodies, indicating delivery of SP15 via blood feeding with its immunogenicity intact. Thus, this technology makes possible the generation of transgenic mosquitoes that match the original concept of a ,flying vaccinator'. However, medical safety issues and concerns about informed consent mitigate the use of the ,flying vaccinator' as a method to deliver vaccines. We propose that this expression system could be applied to elucidate saliva,malaria sporozoite interactions. [source] Feasibility of long-distance transport of thermal energy using solid sorption processesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 8 2010Nathalie Mazet Abstract This paper deals with the challenging transportation of thermal energy over long distances (over 10,km). The innovative concept presented in this paper is based on the transportation of a reactive fluid coupled with two sorption systems involving this fluid in two endothermal and exothermal processes respectively on source site and user site. The transport of this fluid at ambient temperature minimizes the thermal losses and it is therefore relevant for long distances. Moreover, an original concept involving a cascade of two sorption cycles can allow a heat upgrading on the user site using a distant source. This paper focuses on the feasibility of such systems. The potentialities have been detailed according to the reactive pairs, such as the well-known hydrates and ammonia solid/gas reactants, and taking into account thermodynamic and technological constraints. The cold production and transport can be carried out by numerous ammonia-based pairs. Nevertheless, such reactive pairs can perform a heat upgrading, but only if an additional heat source is available on the user site. The transportation of the reactive fluid between source and user sites has been investigated and it is not a limiting point. As it is transported at ambient temperature, the thermal losses are very weak. On the other hand, the pressure losses can be overcome with either an acceptable energetic cost or by slightly changing the operating conditions. Compared to current district heating networks based on sensible heat transportation, such thermochemical systems involving the transportation of a reactive fluid seem more efficient when the user is located more than 10,km away from the source site. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Quantum statistics of charged particles and fingerprints of wigner crystallization in D dimensionsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 15 2006N. H. March Abstract After a brief summary of the physical arguments underlying Wigner's original concept in 1934 of a quantal electron crystal, theoretical interpretation of a number of experimental findings are presented. These include (i) low-density carriers in semiconductors in applied magnetic fields in both three, and recently two, dimensions; and (ii) low-temperature phase diagram of underdoped high Tc cuprates; fullerides with relatively low Tc are also referred to in a related context. Interpretation of areas (i) and (ii) focuses on the relevance of both Fermi,Dirac and anyonic (fractional) statistics, the latter in relation to the proposed melting curve of the two-dimensional (2D) magnetically induced Wigner solid into the Laughlin liquid phase, which is the seat of the fractional quantum Hall effect. A brief discussion follows of crystalline phases additional to the Wigner solid, namely Skyrmion and Hall crystals. Bose,Einstein statistics is then referred to, but now in relation to finite-size confined quantal assemblies, with fingerprints of Wigner molecules the focus. Finally, quasi-1D lattices are considered, both in Bechgaard salts and in the very recent single-electron counting experiment of Bylander et al. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006 [source] The genic view of the process of speciationJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2001Chung-I Wu The unit of adaptation is usually thought to be a gene or set of interacting genes, rather than the whole genome, and this may be true of species differentiation. Defining species on the basis of reproductive isolation (RI), on the other hand, is a concept best applied to the entire genome. The biological species concept (BSC; Mayr, 1963) stresses the isolation aspect of speciation on the basis of two fundamental genetic assumptions , the number of loci underlying species differentiation is large and the whole genome behaves as a cohesive, or coadapted genetic unit. Under these tenets, the exchange of any part of the genomes between diverging groups is thought to destroy their integrity. Hence, the maintenance of each species' genome cohesiveness by isolating mechanisms has become the central concept of species. In contrast, the Darwinian view of speciation is about differential adaptation to different natural or sexual environments. RI is viewed as an important by product of differential adaptation and complete RI across the whole genome need not be considered as the most central criterion of speciation. The emphasis on natural and sexual selection thus makes the Darwinian view compatible with the modern genic concept of evolution. Genetic and molecular analyses of speciation in the last decade have yielded surprisingly strong support for the neo-Darwinian view of extensive genetic differentiation and epistasis during speciation. However, the extent falls short of what BSC requires in order to achieve whole-genome ,cohesiveness'. Empirical observations suggest that the gene is the unit of species differentiation. Significantly, the genetic architecture underlying RI, the patterns of species hybridization and the molecular signature of speciation genes all appear to support the view that RI is one of the manifestations of differential adaptation, as Darwin (1859, Chap. 8) suggested. The nature of this adaptation may be as much the result of sexual selection as natural selection. In the light of studies since its early days, BSC may now need a major revision by shifting the emphasis from isolation at the level of whole genome to differential adaptation at the genic level. With this revision, BSC would in fact be close to Darwin's original concept of speciation. [source] Psychologism Revisited in Logic, Metaphysics, and EpistemologyMETAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2001Dale Jacquette Psychologism is a philosophical ideology that seeks to explain the principles of logic, metaphysics, and epistemology as psychological phenomena. Psychologism has been the storm center of concerted criticisms since the nineteenth century, and is thought by many to have been refuted once and for all by Kant, Frege, Husserl, and others. The project of accounting for objective philosophical or mathematical truths in terms of subjective psychological states has been largely discredited in mainstream analytic thought. Ironically, psychologism has resurfaced in unexpected guises in the form of intuitionistic logic and mathematics, cognitivism, and naturalized epistemology. I examine some of the principal objections to psychologism , distinguishing roughly between good and bad or philosophically acceptable versus unacceptable psychologism , and consider the extent to which a new wave of psychologism may be gaining prominence in contemporary philosophy, and the light its successes and failures may shed on the original concept and underlying perspective of classical psychologism. [source] Concept Shifting and the Radical Product Development ProcessTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2007Victor P. Seidel Radical product development projects, which are undertaken to create new categories of products, present significant challenges to development teams. In such settings existing formal processes may be limited or inappropriate, and objectives may be ambiguous and changing. The generation of a novel product concept early in the process can play an important role in guiding development teams, but the process by which teams later change concepts, as may be required within radical contexts, has merited further research. This study investigated how teams change novel product concepts after initial generation, employing an inductive case-study method drawing from 51 interviews with members of six radical development projects. The empirical results found that concepts were described in terms of concept components,elemental descriptive forms that included verbal stories, verbal metaphors, and physical prototypes. When changes were required to concepts due to new technical or market information, rather than reconsider the overall concept through iteration to earlier product definition stages, teams shifted individual concept components, with a new component replacing a component of similar descriptive form. Over half of concept components observed across cases came after the initial generation of concepts in later elaboration and shifting. Contrary to expectations, development teams maintained reference not only to the revised concept but also to the deferred original concept. The case of a novel electronic book development project is used to illustrate the process, along with evidence of concept shifting across cases. The detailed findings expand our understanding of how formal processes may be augmented in radical innovation settings and how concepts are actually used by development teams in changing circumstances. [source] Working criteria of mild cognitive impairment in community: findings from Gwangju Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Study (GDEMCIS)ASIA-PACIFIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2009Kang Soo Lee MD Abstract Introduction: The clinical determination of relative severity of impairment along the spectrum of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may be valuable for the prediction of dementia. The purpose of the present study is to suggest the working criteria of MCI based on severity in the community sample. Methods: The MCI group was divided into three groups by severity according to cognitive and functional status. The grade I MCI group was based on the original concept of Petersen's MCI. The grade II MCI group was in the same condition as grade I MCI, except that the general cognitive function was not intact. The grade III MCI group was defined as the condition not essentially preserved instrumental to the activity of daily living, but not definite in dementia regardless of general cognitive and functional state. Results: A total of 38.5% of the subjects were classified as not cognitively impaired (NCI), 41.4% as MCI, and 10.3% as having dementia. Preliminary results showed that the grades I, II, and III MCI groups had a tendency to lie between the NCI and dementia groups. Discussion: Prospective cohort studies with clinical correlations are needed to determine whether our working criteria of MCI considering characteristics of the rural elderly, such as low education and less comprehensive activities of daily living (ADL), would be useful. [source] The American distortion of the ombudsman concept and its influence on CanadaCANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION/ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA, Issue 1 2007Donald C. Rowat This is achieved by having the office created by law and having the ombudsman appointed by the legislature and made its agent. But as adopted and expanded in the United States, and to a lesser extent in Canada, the concept has been distorted by extending it at first to embrace so-called ombudsmen appointed by the heads of the departments or agencies being complained against, and then to the non-profit and profit sectors of society through similar appointment by the heads of universities, hospitals, and business corporations for internal student, patient, and employee complaints. This article shows how this development has similarly influenced Canada, and concludes with recommendations designed to restore the original concept as the desired objective and thus once again make Canada a world leader in ombudsmanship. Sommaire: L'essence du concept initial de l'ombudsman, tel qu'adopté par les démocraties occidentales, a été l'indépendance de l'ombudsman par rapport à l'organisation administrative faisant l'objet de plaintes. Cela a été rendu possible par le fait que cette position fut créée par la loi et que l'ombudsman est nommé par l'assemblée législative qui en fait son agent. Mais le concept tel qu'adopté et développé aux États-Unis, et dans une moindre mesure au Canada, a été déformé lorsqu'il a étéélargi tout d'abord pour inclure les soi-disant ombudsmen nommés par les chefs de ministères ou d'agences faisant l'objet de plaintes, et ensuite les secteurs à but non lucratif et lucratif de la société par le biais de nominations similaires par des chefs d'universités, d'hôpitaux et d'entreprises en ce qui concerne les plaintes internes d'étudiants, de patients et d'employés. L'auteur montre comment cette évolution a influencé le Canada et conclut en faisant des recommandations visant à restaurer le concept initial comme l'objectif désiré, et à faire ainsi à nouveau du Canada un leader mondial en matière de protection du citoyen. [source] Acupuncture , a critical analysisJOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2006E. ERNST Abstract. Even though widely used in today's clinical practice, acupuncture has remained a controversial subject. Many reviews are currently available but most lack a critical stance and some are overtly promotional. The aim of this overview is to provide a balanced, critical analysis of the existing evidence. Some of the original concepts of traditional acupuncture are not supported by good scientific evidence. Several plausible theories attempt to explain how acupuncture works but none are proved beyond doubt. The clinical effectiveness of acupuncture continues to attract controversy. Many controlled clinical trials and numerous systematic reviews of these studies have been published. Considerable problems are encountered when interpreting these data. Heterogeneity is a significant drawback of both clinical trials and systematic reviews. Some of the controversies may be resolved through the use of the new ,placebo needles' which enable researchers to adequately control for placebo effects of acupuncture. The majority of studies using such devices fails to show effects beyond a placebo response. Acupuncture has been associated with serious adverse events but most large-scale studies suggest that these are probably rare. Nonserious adverse effects occur in 7,11% of all patients. In conclusion, acupuncture remains steeped in controversy. Some findings are encouraging but others suggest that its clinical effects mainly depend on a placebo response. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||