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Strong Role (strong + role)
Selected AbstractsTrends in the state of nature and their implications for human well-beingECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 11 2005Andrew Balmford Abstract Two major international initiatives , the Convention on Biological Diversity's target to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment , raise the profile of ecological data on the changing state of nature and its implications for human well-being. This paper is intended to provide a broad overview of current knowledge of these issues. Information on changes in the status of species, size of populations, and extent and condition of habitats is patchy, with little data available for many of the taxa, regions and habitats of greatest importance to the delivery of ecosystem services. However, what we do know strongly suggests that, while exceptions exist, the changes currently underway are for the most part negative, anthropogenic in origin, ominously large and accelerating. The impacts of these changes on human society are idiosyncratic and patchily understood, but for the most part also appear to be negative and substantial. Forecasting future changes is limited by our poor understanding of the cascading impacts of change within communities, of threshold effects, of interactions between the drivers of change, and of linkages between the state of nature and human well-being. In assessing future science needs, we not only see a strong role for ecological data and theory, but also believe that much closer collaboration with social and earth system scientists is essential if ecology is to have a strong bearing on policy makers. [source] The influence of economic incentives and regulatory factors on the adoption of treatment technologies: a case study of technologies used to treat heart attacksHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 10 2009Mickael Bech Abstract The Technological Change in Health Care Research Network collected unique patient-level data on three procedures for treatment of heart attack patients (catheterization, coronary artery bypass grafts and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) for 17 countries over a 15-year period to examine the impact of economic and institutional factors on technology adoption. Specific institutional factors are shown to be important to the uptake of these technologies. Health-care systems characterized as public contract systems and reimbursement systems have higher adoption rates than public-integrated health-care systems. Central control of funding of investments is negatively associated with adoption rates and the impact is of the same magnitude as the overall health-care system classification. GDP per capita also has a strong role in initial adoption. The impact of income and institutional characteristics on the utilization rates of the three procedures diminishes over time. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] BSEP and MDR3 haplotype structure in healthy Caucasians, primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitisHEPATOLOGY, Issue 3 2004Christiane Pauli-Magnus Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are characterized by a cholestatic pattern of liver damage, also observed in hereditary or acquired dysfunction of the canalicular membrane transporters bile salt export pump (BSEP, ABCB11) and multidrug resistance protein type 3 (MDR3, ABCB4). Controversy exists whether a genetically determined dysfunction of BSEP and MDR3 plays a pathogenic role in PBC and PSC. Therefore, 149 healthy Caucasian control individuals (control group) were compared to 76 PBC and 46 PSC patients with respect to genetic variations in BSEP and MDR3. Sequencing spanned ,10,000 bp including promoter and coding regions as well as 50,350 bp of flanking intronic regions. In all, 46 and 45 variants were identified in BSEP and MDR3, respectively. No differences between the groups were detected either in the total number of variants (BSEP: control group: 37, PBC: 37, PSC: 31; and MDR3: control group: 35; PBC: 32, PSC: 30), or in the allele frequency of the common variable sites. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in haplotype distribution and linkage disequilibrium. In conclusion, this study provides an analysis of BSEP and MDR3 variant segregation and haplotype structure in a Caucasian population. Although an impact of rare variants on BSEP and MDR3 function cannot be ruled out, our data do not support a strong role of BSEP and MDR3 genetic variations in the pathogenesis of PBC and PSC. (HEPATOLOGY 2004;39:779,791.) [source] MicroRNA in the immune system, microRNA as an immune systemIMMUNOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Li-Fan Lu Summary The advent of microRNA has potentially uncovered a new level of complexity to be considered for every biological process. Through the modulation of transcription and translation, microRNA alter the basal state of cells and the outcome of stimulatory events. The exact effect of the microRNA network and individual microRNA on cellular processes is only just starting to be dissected. In the immune system, microRNA appear to have a key role in the early differentiation and effector differentiation of B cells. In T cells, microRNA have been shown to be key regulators of the lineage induction pathways, and to have a strong role in the induction, function and maintenance of the regulatory T-cell lineage. MicroRNA are also important for regulating the differentiation of dendritic cells and macrophages via toll-like receptors, with responsibilities in suppressing effector function before activation and enhancing function after stimulation. In addition to regulating key processes in the immune system, microRNA may also represent an archaic immune system themselves. Small interfering RNA of viral origin has been shown to function as an intracellular mediator in the suppression of viral infection in eukaryotes as diverse as plants, insects, nematodes and fungi, and there is growing evidence that endogenous mammalian microRNA can have similar impacts. In this article we speculate that the anti-viral function of microRNA drove the expression of different subsets of microRNA in different cellular lineages, which may have, in turn, led to the myriad of roles microRNA play in lineage differentiation and stability. [source] Precipitation characteristics of the Eurasian Arctic drainage systemINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2003Mark C. Serreze Abstract This study examines characteristics of precipitation over the major watersheds of the Eurasian Arctic drainage system over the period 1960,92. In addition to the Ob, Yenisey and Lena (the three largest drainage systems), we examine the combined Kolyma,Indigirka in eastern Eurasia. Each basin exhibits approximately symmetric mean annual cycles of monthly total precipitation and daily event size, with winter minima and July maxima. These are strikingly similar to the annual cycles of total column water vapour (precipitable water), which fundamentally reflects the control on saturation vapour pressure by temperature. Effective precipitation mechanisms exist in all seasons. However, because of the long distance from strong moisture sources (continentality), precipitation tends to follow the seasonality in column water vapour. An effective contrast is presented for the Iceland sector. Here, the annual cycle of precipitation is tied not to the seasonality in column water vapour, but to the stronger precipitation-generating mechanisms in winter. Hence, the annual cycles of precipitation and column water vapour in this region oppose each other. Mean winter precipitation over the Eurasian watersheds is primarily driven by a modest convergence of water vapour. Whereas precipitation peaks in summer, the mean flux convergence exhibits a general minimum (negative in the Ob). Summer precipitation is hence primarily associated with surface evaporation. A strong role of convection is supported from consideration of static stability, the fairly weak spatial organization of precipitation totals and results from prior studies. On daily time scales, the largest basin-averaged precipitation events, for both summer and winter, are allied with synoptic-scale forcing. This is seen in relationships with cyclone frequency, and patterns of 500 hPa height, vertical motion and the 700 hPa vapour flux. The relative frequency of four 500 hPa synoptic types captures the basic time series structures of precipitation. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Foreign direct investment and exchange rate uncertainty in South-East AsiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FINANCE & ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2008Sylvia Gottschalk Abstract We investigate the relationship between exchange rate volatility, exchange rate risk diversification and the location of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing industries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. We found a strong role for the yen/dollar exchange rate in location decisions of the US and Japanese investors. There is evidence in the literature that Japanese firms invest in Asia to circumvent the appreciation of the yen. Our results show that the volatility of the yen and the correlation between local exchange rates and the yen are significant determinants of the US and Japanese investments in the region. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Deterministic assembly of land snail communities according to species size and dietJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Brandon Schamp Summary 1.,We investigated whether coexisting snail species in 145 treeless fen communities in the Western Carpathian Mountains differed more in size and diet than would be expected by chance, as predicted for traits commonly associated with competition and differential resource acquisition under limiting similarity theory. 2.,Contrary to expectations, coexisting snail species were no more different in body size than expected by chance under a null model. However, variation in body size played a significant role in structuring snail communities: coexisting snail species were significantly more similar with respect to body size. 3.,We developed two new test statistics to expand our investigation of limiting similarity to include diet, a nominal trait. We tested whether communities of snails were characterized by a greater richness of diet, and whether different diets were represented more or less evenly within communities. Communities of snails were significantly less evenly distributed than expected by chance, with detritivores being over-represented relative to predatory strategies. 4.,We also examined the effect of water pH and conductivity, herbaceous cover, and bryophyte and vascular plant richness, on these trends by examining how the effect size of our tests varied across these gradients. Convergence in species size increased with increasing habitat pH. Specifically, smaller snail species were over-represented in fen communities in general, and this effect was accentuated in increasingly calcareous fens. 5.,Theory predicts that traits related strongly to environmental conditions are more likely to be convergent. Our findings support this suggestion, as small snail species have an advantage in tolerating freezing conditions over winter when refuges are limited. 6.,These results add to the growing body of literature demonstrating that variation in body size and diet play a strong role in structuring communities, although frequently in ways not predicted by limiting similarity theory. Finally, our results increase our understanding of how species are assembled non-randomly into communities with respect to important traits. [source] Why rape survivors participate in the criminal justice system,JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Debra Patterson After a rape, survivors may seek help from multiple community organizations including the criminal justice system (CJS). Research has found that few survivors report their assaults to the police and of those who do report, many withdraw their participation during the investigation. However, relatively little is known about the factors that lead survivors to participate in the CJS, and how other community services provided by forensic nurses or victim advocates may also help encourage survivor engagement. In the current study, 20 survivors who reported their victimizations to police within a large Midwest county were interviewed about the factors that influenced their involvement in the CJS. Further, we examined the role that the police, forensic nurses, and victim advocates played in their participation. Using qualitative analyses, our findings suggest that informal supports hold a strong role in the reporting process and formal supports are influential in survivors' engagement in the investigational process. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Correspondence analysis of square asymmetric matricesJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 3 2000Michael Greenacre The application of correspondence analysis to square asymmetric tables is often unsuccessful because of the strong role played by the diagonal entries of the matrix, obscuring the data off the diagonal. A simple modification of the centring of the matrix, coupled with the corresponding change in row and column masses and row and column metrics, allows the table to be decomposed into symmetric and skew symmetric components, which can then be analysed separately. The symmetric and skew symmetric analyses can be performed by using a simple correspondence analysis program if the data are set up in a special block format. The methodology is demonstrated on a social mobility table from the first democratically elected Parliament in Germany, the Frankfurter Nationalversammlung. The table cross-tabulates the jobs of parliamentarians when first entering the labour market and their jobs in May 1848 when the Parliament started its first session. [source] Heterogeneous chemical processes as a source of persistent meteor trainsMETEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 9 2001Edmond MURAD The latter occurs on the surfaces of dust left by the explosive fragmentation of larger meteoroids. A strong role is attributed to reactions of troilite (FeS), a meteorite component, with the atmosphere at elevated temperatures. The suggestions made in this paper complement previous work that suggested that long-lived emissions results from a variety of species made in the shock of larger meteoroids. [source] Molecular systematics, biogeography and population structure of Neotropical freshwater needlefishes of the genus PotamorrhaphisMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2000N. R. Lovejoy Abstract Phylogenetic relationships of populations and species within Potamorrhaphis, a genus of freshwater South American needlefishes, were assessed using mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences. Samples were obtained from eight widely distributed localities in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, and represented all three currently recognized species of Potamorrhaphis. The phylogeny of haplotypes corresponded imperfectly to current morphological species identities: haplotypes from P. guianensis, the most widespread species, did not make up a monophyletic clade. Geography played a strong role in structuring genetic variation: no haplotypes were shared between any localities, indicating restricted gene flow. Possible causes of this pattern include limited dispersal and the effects of current and past geographical barriers. The haplotype phylogeny also showed a complex relationship between fishes from different river basins. Based on the geographical distribution of clades, we hypothesize a connection between the middle Orinoco and Amazon via rivers of the Guianas. More ancient divergence events may have resulted from Miocene alterations of river drainage patterns. We also present limited data for two other Neotropical freshwater needlefish genera: Belonion and Pseudotylosurus. Pseudotylosurus showed evidence of substantial gene flow between distant localities, indicating ecological differences from Potamorrhaphis. [source] Henry George's Political CriticsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008Michael Hudson Twelve political criticisms of George were paramount after he formed his own political party in 1887: (1) his refusal to join with other reformers to link his proposals with theirs, or to absorb theirs into his own campaign; (2) his singular focus on ground rent to the exclusion of other forms of monopoly income, such as that of the railroads, oil and mining trusts; (3) his almost unconditional support of capital, even against labor; (4) his economic individualism rejecting a strong role for government; (5) his opposition to public ownership or subsidy of basic infrastructure; (6) his refusal to acknowledge interest-bearing debt as the twin form of rentier income alongside ground rent; (7) the scant emphasis he placed on urban land and owner-occupied land; (8) his endorsement of the Democratic Party's free-trade platform; (9) his rejection of an academic platform to elaborate rent theory; (10) the narrowness of his theorizing beyond the land question; (11) the alliance of his followers with the right wing of the political spectrum; and (12) the hope that full taxation of ground rent could be achieved gradually rather than requiring a radical confrontation involving a struggle over control of government. [source] Resolution of Menstrually Related Migraine Following Aggressive Treatment for Breast CancerHEADACHE, Issue 3 2010Todd A. Smitherman PhD (Headache 2010;50:485-496) Hormonal influences associated with the female menstrual cycle play strong roles in both migraine and particular types of breast cancer, but there is limited literature on the effects of breast cancer treatment regimens in women with migraine. The present case describes resolution of menstrually related migraine following aggressive treatment for infiltrating ductal carcinoma (neoadjuvant chemotherapy, single radical mastectomy, and locoregional radiation therapy) that was maintained with supplemental treatment using tamoxifen, an anti-estrogenic agent. This novel case is presented to stimulate further research into the hormonal mechanisms underlying migraine. [source] Organizational factors that influence safety,PROCESS SAFETY PROGRESS, Issue 2 2006Patrick Killimett For the past 20 years the author and his associates have worked with over 1600 organizations to improve safety performance. In the course of this work, we have discovered that organizations optimize their efforts when they provide and support strong roles at each of three levels: the front-line employee, supervisory, and senior manager levels. These three roles, when appropriately engaged, make up a cord of three strands that is not easily broken. Of these three areas, the leadership role has proved not only to have the greatest impact on safety improvement but also the most complex to understand and influence. One striking example of this is seen in the study of sites using the same improvement methodology. Even when compared by industry, site size, and systems, some organizations achieve steady improvement whereas others consistently struggle. More than any other factor, the quality of the organization's leadership,in particular its influence on the organizational culture,determined the level of success achieved. By organizational culture we mean the shared common values that drive organizational performance, more commonly defined as "the way we do things here." Culture applies to many areas of functioning, is generally unstated, in the background, and slow to change. Even though it is generally recognized that leadership is important to performance, the "how" of that leadership is often debated. What makes a leader effective at influencing and improving safety? What are the qualities of such a leader? What are the key tasks that a leader must perform to generate desired results? Although this paper focuses on these questions with respect to senior leaders, the principles discussed are applicable to all levels in the organization. © 2006 Behavior Science Technology, Inc. (BST), 2006 [source] The Limits to Public Value, or Rescuing Responsible Government from the Platonic GuardiansAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 4 2007R.A.W. Rhodes In various guises, public value has become extraordinarily popular in recent years. We challenge the relevance and usefulness of the approach in Westminster systems with their dominant hierarchies of control, strong roles for ministers, and tight authorising regimes underpinned by disciplined two-party systems. We start by spelling out the core assumptions behind the public value approach. We identify two key confusions; about public value as theory, and in defining ,public managers'. We identify five linked core assumptions in public value: the benign view of large-scale organisations; the primacy of management; the relevance of private sector experience; the downgrading of party politics; and public servants as Platonic guardians. We then focus on the last two assumptions because they are the least applicable in Westminster systems. We defend the ,primacy of party politics' and we criticise the notion that public managers should play the role of Platonic guardians deciding the public interest. The final section of the article presents a ,ladder of public value' by which to gauge the utility of the approach for public managers in Westminster systems. [source] | ||||||||||||||||