Keeping the Germans out of the straits: The five ottoman dreadnought thesis reconsidered

This article contests Sean McMeekin’s claims concerning Russian culpability for the First World War. McMeekin maintains that Ottoman rearmament, particularly the purchase of several battleships released onto the global arms market by South American states, threatened to create a situation where the Russian Black Sea Fleet would be outclassed by its Ottoman opposite number. Rather than waiting for this to happen, the tsarist regime chose to go to war. Yet, contrary to McMeekin’s claims, the Ottoman naval expansion never assumed threatening dimensions because the Porte was unable to purchase battleships from Chile or Argentina. As a result, it provided no incentive for Russia to go to war in 1914.

Ergonomics as authoritarian or libertarian: Learning from colin ward's politics of design

Ergonomics is intrinsically connected to political debates about the good society, about how we should live. This article follows the ideas of Colin Ward by setting the practices of ergonomics and design along a spectrum between more libertarian approaches and more authoritarian. Within Anglo-American ergonomics, more authoritarian approaches tend to prevail, often against the wishes of designers who have had to fight with their employers for best possible design outcomes. The article draws on debates about the design and manufacturing of schoolchildren's furniture. Ergonomics would benefit from embracing these issues to stimulate a broader discourse amongst its practitioners about how to be open to new disciplines, particularly those in the social sciences.

Investigation of the functional roles of host cell proteins involved in Coronavirus infection using highly specific and scalable RNA interference (RNAi) approach

Since its identification in the 1990s, the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway has proven extremely useful in elucidating the function of proteins in the context of cells and even whole organisms. In particular, this sequence-specific and powerful loss-of-function approach has greatly simplified the study of the role of host cell factors implicated in the life cycle of viruses. Here, we detail the RNAi method we have developed and used to specifically knock down the expression of ezrin, an actin binding protein that was identified by yeast two-hybrid screening to interact with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) spike (S) protein. This method was used to study the role of ezrin, specifically during the entry stage of SARS-CoV infection.

Analysis of cyclic variations during mode switching between spark ignition and controlled auto-ignition combustion operations

© IMechE 2014. Controlled auto-ignition, also known as homogeneous charge compression ignition, has been the subject of extensive research because of their ability to provide simultaneous reductions in fuel consumption and NOx emissions from a gasoline engine. However, due to its limited operation range, switching between controlled auto-ignition and spark ignition combustion is needed to cover the complete operating range of a gasoline engine for passenger car applications. Previous research has shown that the spark ignition -controlled auto-ignition hybrid combustion (SCHC) has the potential to control the ignition timing and heat release process during the mode transition operations. However, it was found that the SCHC is often characterized with large cycle-to-cycle variations. The cyclic variations in the in-cylinder pressure are particularly noticeable in terms of both their peak values and timings while the coefficient of variation in the indicated mean effective pressure is much less. In this work, the cyclic variations in SCHC operations were analyzed by means of in-cylinder pressure and heat release analysis in a single-cylinder gasoline engine equipped with Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) systems. First, characteristics of the in-cylinder pressure traces during the spark ignition-controlled auto-ignition hybrid combustion operation are presented and their heat release processes analyzed. In order to clarify the contribution to heat release and cyclic variation in SCHC, a new method is introduced to identify the occurrence of auto-ignition combustion and its subsequent heat release process. Based on the new method developed, the characteristics of cyclic variations in the maximum rate of pressure rise and different stages of heat release process have been analyzed and discussed.

Identifying and enhancing risk thresholds in the detection of elder financial abuse: A signal detection analysis of professionals' decision making

Background: Financial abuse of elders is an under acknowledged problem and professionals' judgements contribute to both the prevalence of abuse and the ability to prevent and intervene. In the absence of a definitive "gold standard" for the judgement, it is desirable to try and bring novice professionals' judgemental risk thresholds to the level of competent professionals as quickly and effectively as possible. This study aimed to test if a training intervention was able to bring novices' risk thresholds for financial abuse in line with expert opinion. Methods: A signal detection analysis, within a randomised controlled trial of an educational intervention, was undertaken to examine the effect on the ability of novices to efficiently detect financial abuse. Novices (n = 154) and experts (n = 33) judged "certainty of risk" across 43 scenarios; whether a scenario constituted a case of financial abuse or not was a function of expert opinion. Novices (n = 154) were randomised to receive either an on-line educational intervention to improve financial abuse detection (n = 78) or a control group (no on-line educational intervention, n = 76). Both groups examined 28 scenarios of abuse (11 "signal" scenarios of risk and 17 "noise" scenarios of no risk). After the intervention group had received the on-line training, both groups then examined 15 further scenarios (5 "signal" and 10 "noise" scenarios). Results: Experts were more certain than the novices, pre (Mean 70.61 vs. 58.04) and post intervention (Mean 70.84 vs. 63.04); and more consistent. The intervention group (mean 64.64) were more certain of abuse post-intervention than the control group (mean 61.41, p = 0.02). Signal detection analysis of sensitivity (Á) and bias (C) revealed that this was due to the intervention shifting the novices' tendency towards saying "at risk" (C post intervention -.34) and away from their pre intervention levels of bias (C-.12). Receiver operating curves revealed more efficient judgments in the intervention group. Conclusion: An educational intervention can improve judgements of financial abuse amongst novice professionals.

Role of financial and other information in trade credit decisions in SMEs: An international study

Trade credit is an important source of finance for SMEs and this study investigates the use of the financial statements and other information in making trade credit decisions in smaller entities in Finland, the UK, USA and South Africa. The study adds to the literature by examining the information needs of unincorporated entities as a basis for making comparisons with small, unlisted companies. In-depth, semi-structured interviews in each country were used to collect data from the owner-managers of SMEs and from credit rating agencies and credit insurers. The findings provide insights into similarities and differences between countries and between developed and developing economies. The evidence suggests that there are three main influences on the trade credit decision: formal and report-based information, soft information relating to social capital and contingency factors. The latter dictate the extent to which hard/formal information versus soft/informal information is used.

Stable spike clusters for the one-dimensional Gierer-Meinhardt system

We consider the Gierer-Meinhardt system with precursor inhomogeneity in a one-dimensional interval. A spike cluster is the combination of several spikes which all approach the same point in the singular limit of small activator diffusivity. We rigorously prove the existence of a steady-state spike cluster consisting of N spikes near a non-degenerate local minimum point of the smooth inhomogeneity, where N is an arbitrary positive integer. Further, we show that this solution is linearly stable. We explicitly compute all eigenvalues, both large (of order O(1)) and small (of order o(1)). The main features of studying the Gierer-Meinhardt system in this setting are as follows: (i) it is biologically relevant since it models a hierarchical process (pattern formation of small-scale structures induced by a pre-existing large-scale inhomogeneity), (ii) it contains three different spatial scales two of which are small. (iii) all the expressions can be made explicit and often have a particularly simple form.

Optimal reparametrizations in the square root velocity framework

The square root velocity framework is a method in shape analysis to define a distance between curves and functional data. Identifying two curves, if the differ by a reparametrization leads to the quotient space of unparametrized curves. In this paper we study analytical and topological aspects of this construction for the class of absolutely continuous curves. We show that the square root velocity transform is a homeomorphism and that the action of the reparametrization semigroup is continuous. We also show that given two $C^1$-curves, there exist optimal reparametrizations realising the minimal distance between the unparametrized curves represented by them.

Housing wealth, financial wealth, and consumption: new evidence for Italy and the UK

This paper aims to investigate the long-run impact of housing and financial wealth on consumption in Italy and the UK using two different estimation methods. The novelty of the paper is to consider the recent financial crisis when studying wealth effects. The dynamics of wealth effects is also evaluated by a rolling regression analysis. The results show that: i) housing wealth plays no role in Italy, whereas it is significant in the UK; ii) in both countries, the financial wealth exerts a positive and significant impact on aggregate consumption; iii) by and large, the housing wealth effect assumes relatively increasing importance over time in the UK, while for Italy this is true for the financial wealth effect

Does therapeutic writing help people with long-term conditions? Systematic review, realist synthesis and economic considerations

Background Writing therapy to improve physical or mental health can take many forms. The most researched model of therapeutic writing (TW) is unfacilitated, individual expressive writing (written emotional disclosure). Facilitated writing activities are less widely researched. Data sources Databases including: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, AMED, and CINHAL were searched from inception to March 2013. Review methods Four TW practitioners provided expert advice. Study procedures were conducted by one reviewer and checked by a second. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomised comparative studies were included. Quality was appraised using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Unfacilitated and facilitated TW studies were analysed separately under ICD-10 chapter headings. Meta-analyses were performed where possible using Revman 5.2. Costs were estimated from an NHS perspective and three cost-consequence case studies were prepared. Realist synthesis followed RAMESES guidelines. Objectives To review the clinical and cost-effectiveness of TW for people with long-term health conditions (LTCs) compared to no writing, or other controls, reporting any relevant clinical outcomes. To conduct a realist synthesis to understand how TW might work, and for whom. Results From 14,658 unique citations, 284 full text papers were reviewed and 64 studies (58 RCTs) were included in the final effectiveness reviews. Five studies examined facilitated TW, these were extremely heterogeneous with unclear or high risk of bias, but suggested that facilitated TW interventions may be beneficial in individual LTCs. Unfacilitated expressive writing was examined in 59 studies of variable, or unreported, quality. Overall there was very little or no evidence of any benefit reported in the following conditions (number of studies): HIV (six); breast cancer (eight); gynaecological and genitourinary cancers (five); mental health (five); asthma (four); psoriasis (three); chronic pain (four). In inflammatory arthropathies (six) there was a reduction in disease severity (n= 191, standardised mean difference (SMD) - 0.61 [95% confidence intervals (95% CI) -0.96, -0.26]) in the short term on meta-analysis of four studies. For all other LTCs there was either no, or sparse, data with no, or inconsistent, evidence of benefit. Meta-analyses conducted across all the LTCs provided no evidence that unfacilitated EW had any effect on depression at short term (n= 1,563, SMD -0.06, 95% CI -0.29 to 0.17, substantial heterogeneity), or long term (n= 778, SMD-0.04 95% CI -0.18 to 0.10, little heterogeneity) follow up, or on anxiety, physiological or biomarker-based outcomes. One study reported costs, none reported cost-effectiveness, twelve reported resource use; meta-analysis suggested reduced medication use but no impact on health centre visits. Estimated costs of intervention were low, but there was insufficient evidence to judge cost-effectiveness. Realist review findings suggested that facilitated TW is a complex intervention and group interaction contributes to the perception of benefit. It was unclear from the available data who might benefit most from facilitated TW. Limitations Difficulties with developing realist review programme theory meant that mechanisms operating during TW remain obscure. Conclusions Overall there is little evidence to support the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of unfacilitated expressive writing interventions in people with LTCs. Further research focussed on facilitated TW in people with LTCs could be informative.

Early growth response genes 2 and 3 regulate the expression of Bcl6 and differentiation of T follicular helper cells

T follicular helper (Tfh) cells support differentiation of B cells to plasma cells and high affinity antibody production in germinal centers (GC) and Tfh differentiation requires the function of B cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl6). We have now discovered that early growth response gene (Egr) 2 and 3 directly regulate the expression of Bcl6 in Tfh cells which is required for their function in regulation of GC formation. In the absence of Egr2 and 3, the expression of Bcl6 in Tfh cells is defective leading to impaired differentiation of Tfh cells resulting in a failure to form GCs following virus infection and defects in production of anti-viral antibodies. Enforced expression of Bcl6 in Egr2/3 deficient CD4 T cells partially restored Tfh differentiation and GC formation in response to virus infection. Our findings demonstrate a novel function of Egr2/3 which is important for Tfh cell development and Tfh cell mediated B cell immune responses.

Identifying stationary series in panels: A Monte Carlo evaluation of sequential panel selection methods

Sequential panel selection methods (spsms — procedures that sequentially use conventional panel unit root tests to identify I(0)I(0) time series in panels) are increasingly used in the empirical literature. We check the reliability of spsms by using Monte Carlo simulations based on generating directly the individual asymptotic pp values to be combined into the panel unit root tests, in this way isolating the classification abilities of the procedures from the small sample properties of the underlying univariate unit root tests. The simulations consider both independent and cross-dependent individual test statistics. Results suggest that spsms may offer advantages over time series tests only under special conditions.

New worlds and new churches: The Orthodox Church(es) and the European Union

The Orthodox church(es) share a common commitment to the unity of dogma and spirituality. There is, however, no doctrinal formulation that comes close to a form of political theology at a pan-Orthodox level. This means that the Orthodox churches’ attitude towards the European Union (EU) is driven by their ecclesial diversity and by complex inter-ecclesial relations. More fundamentally they share a fragmented and plural, theological objection to the very ideas of Europe and the West. This has been further complicated by the emergence of a substantial Orthodox diaspora from Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Middle East living across the breadth of the European continent. Consequently the ecclesial identity and self-perception of the autocephalous Orthodox churches is changing. These churches are becoming increasingly transnational and extra-territorial. With this, their perception of Europe and the West, as seen through the eyes of their diaspora communities, is altering from “threat” to “home” (Makrides and Uffelmann, 2003). The growing diaspora will not only impact the Christian demographics of Europe but will also transform the Eastern Churches’ view of Europe and the EU (Leustean, 2009; 2011; 2013; 2014a; 2014b).