Globalisation and the evolution of international retailing: a comment on Alexander's 'British overseas retailing, 1900-1960'

Nicholas Alexander's (2011. British overseas retailing, 1900–60: International firm characteristics, market selections and entry modes. Business History, 53, 530–556) survey of British overseas retailers from 1900 to 1960 provides pathbreaking new evidence of international retailing activity during the first globalisation boom. The article surveys this and other recent evidence, and confirms that international retailing was far more significant up to 1929 than previously thought. This activity was overwhelmingly undertaken by non-retailers, however, and hence by multinationals whose advantages in retailing were fundamentally unsustainable over the long run. Even the department store format, the principal retail innovation of the period, was not internationalised primarily by multinationals. Rather it was diffused via indigenous entrepreneurs, driven by a rapidly growing global demand for western style fashion and dress.

The Gift of the Nile: Hellenizing Egypt from Aeschylus to Alexander

The Egyptians mesmerized the ancient Greeks for scores of years. The Greek literature and art of the classical period are especially thick with representations of Egypt and Egyptians. Yet despite numerous firsthand contacts with Egypt, Greek writers constructed their own Egypt, one that differed in significant ways from actual Egyptian history, society, and culture. Informed by recent work on orientalism and colonialism, this book unravels the significance of these misrepresentations of Egypt in the Greek cultural imagination in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E. Looking in particular at issues of identity, otherness, and cultural anxiety, Phiroze Vasunia shows how Greek authors constructed an image of Egypt that reflected their own attitudes and prejudices about Greece itself. He focuses his discussion on Aeschylus Suppliants; Book 2 of Herodotus; Euripides' Helen; Plato's Phaedrus, Timaeus, and Critias; and Isocrates' Busiris. Reconstructing the history of the bias that informed these writings, Vasunia shows that Egypt in these works was shaped in relation to Greek institutions, values, and ideas on such subjects as gender and sexuality, death, writing, and political and ethnic identity. This study traces the tendentiousness of Greek representations by introducing comparative Egyptian material, thus interrogating the Greek texts and authors from a cross-cultural perspective. A final chapter also considers the invasion of Egypt by Alexander the Great and shows how he exploited and revised the discursive tradition in his conquest of the country. Firmly and knowledgeably rooted in classical studies and the ancient sources, this study takes a broad look at the issue of cross-cultural exchange in antiquity by framing it within the perspective of contemporary cultural studies. In addition, this provocative and original work shows how Greek writers made possible literary Europe's most persistent and adaptable obsession: the barbarian.

‘These changes and accessions of knowledge’: translation, scientific travel writing and modernity - Alexander von Humboldt's Personal Narrative

A second English translation of Alexander von Humboldt's account of travel to South America, the Relation historique (1814–25), was published between 1852 and 1853. Appearing some 30 years after the first seven-volume translation (1814–29) by Helen Maria Williams, this second rendering of the Personal Narrative by Thomasina Ross was an abridged version that aimed to make Humboldt's travelogue more relevant to the mid-century reader. This translation has largely been overlooked by Humboldt scholars, despite it being a far more affordable, accessible and popular edition. I discuss here how Ross's revisions can be understood within a larger process of rereading and revision that responded to critics’ assessments of the first translation. Emphasising the status of the Personal Narrative as a text in flux, I assess how Ross modernised it to meet the demands of a new readership, recasting the image that Humboldt had constructed of himself as a travelling scientist, scientific writer and member of the international scientific community.

The 'child of Babylon' and the problem of paternity in Medieval French Alexander romances

A study of the use of hybrid physical appearance both to signal and to explore the disputed paternity of Alexander the Great throughout its vernacular French tradition. The article compares the 'child of Babylon' portent and Alexander's son Alior in the twelfth-century French "Roman d'Alexandre" poem cycle, and a fifteenth-century prose adaptation of it.

"Just as fragments are part of a vessel": a translation into medieval Occitan of the life of Alexander the Great

This article examines a 14th-c. translation into Old Occitan prose of a late-antique life of Alexander the Great: Justin’s Epitome of the 'Historia Philippicae' of Pompeius Trogus. The article argues that it is the work of translators whose knowledge of pagan Latin materials was incomplete and whose use of their native tongue rested on non-literary bases. This text has not been edited before, and examining its uneven treatment of its source provides important new insights into the work of translators in the later Middle Ages. In conclusion, the article suggests some new approaches to the understanding of translation as a process of reconstruction and adaptation.

Targeted activation of toll-like receptors: conjugation of a toll-like receptor 7 agonist to a monoclonal antibody maintains antigen binding and specificity

Therapeutic activation of Toll-like receptors (TLR) has potential for cancer immunotherapy, for augmenting the activity of anti-tumor monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), and for improved vaccine adjuvants. A previous attempt to specifically target TLR agonists to dendritic cells (DC) using mAbs failed because conjugation led to non-specific binding and mAbs lost specificity. We demonstrate here for the first time the successful conjugation of a small molecule TLR7 agonist to an anti-tumour mAb (the anti-hCD 20 rituximab) without compromising antigen specificity. The TLR7 agonist UC-1V150 was conjugated to rituximab using two conjugation methods and yield, molecular substitution ratio, retention of TLR7 activity and specificity of antigen binding were compared. Both conjugation methods produced rituximab-UC-1V150 conjugates with UC-1V150 : rituximab ratio ranging from 1:1 to 3:1 with drug loading quantified by UV spectroscopy and drug substitution ratio verified by MALDI TOF mass spectroscopy. The yield of purified conjugates varied with conjugation method, and dropped as low as 31% using a method previously described for conjugating UC-1V150 to proteins, where a bifunctional crosslinker was firstly reacted with rituximab, and secondly to the TLR7 agonist. We therefore developed a direct conjugation method by producing an amine-reactive UV active version of UC-1V150, termed NHS:UC-1V150. Direct conjugation with NHS:UC-1V150 was quick and simple and gave improved conjugate yields of 65-78%. Rituximab-UC-1V150 conjugates had the expected pro-inflammatory activity in vitro (EC50 28-53 nM) with a significantly increased activity over unconjugated UC-1V150 (EC50 547 nM). Antigen binding and specificity of the rituxuimab-UC-1V150 conjugates was retained, and after incubation with human peripheral blood leukocytes, all conjugates bound strongly only to CD20-expressing B cells whilst no non-specific binding to CD20-negative cells was observed. Selective targeting of Toll-like receptor activation directly within tumors or to DC is now feasible.

Variação da atividade locomotora do ermitão Clibanarius Vittatus (BOSC, 1802) em relação à dessecação, na praia dos pescadores, em São Vicente (SP), Brasil

The crustaceans activity of move about could alter in function of the environmental conditions. In the present study, this activity of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus was studied in dry and submerged areas of the intertidal region of Pescadores Beach in Sao Vicente (SP), Brazil. In both areas 110 animals (86 of dry and 24 of submerged area) were analyzed and C. vittatus show more activity in the submerged area than in the dry one. The low activity of locomotion presented when exposed to the air, can be due by the stress caused in function of the high temperature and desiccation.

Growth of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802) (Crustacea, Anomura, Diogenidae) at São Vicente, São Paulo, Brazil

O presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar o crescimento de machos e fêmeas do ermitão Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802), da região de São Vicente, São Paulo, Brasil. Foram realizadas coletas mensais de maio/2001 a abril/2003, na Praia dos Pescadores em São Vicente. Os 2.501 animais capturados foram identificados, determinados quanto ao sexo e mensurados quanto ao seu comprimento de escudo cefalotorácico (CEC). Para o estudo sazonal do crescimento, a população foi dividida em classes de tamanho de 5mm de (CEC), e analisada pelo método de Bertalanffy, com o auxílio do software Fisat II. Foram obtidos 703 indivíduos machos e 1.798 fêmeas, com média de tamanho de 8.94±1.80 e 6.61±1.13mm, respectivamente. Constatou-se um padrão de crescimento sazonal, com machos atingindo um tamanho assintótico (14.92mm) superior ao das fêmeas (13.85mm), além de iniciarem o processo de crescimento aproximadamente cinco meses antes destas. Desta forma, é provável que este seja um padrão que auxilia na diminuição da disputa intra-específica por conchas, uma vez que os machos atingiram maior tamanho e estariam disponibilizando conchas menores para as fêmeas.

DIET of THE BLUE MARLIN (MAKAIRA NIGRICANS, LACEPEDE 1802) (PERCIFORMES: ISTIOPHORIDAE) of THE SOUTHWESTERN EQUATORIAL ATLANTIC OCEAN.

Diet composition of the blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, from the southwestern equatorial Atlantic Ocean was analyzed between October 2004 and November 2005. In the 226 stomachs of fish ranging between 100 and 311 cm lower jaw -fork length (LJFL), 44 items were identified, including 31 fishes and 13 cephalopods. Seventy stomachs were empty (23.6 %). M. nigricans fed preferentially on heavy and muscular scombrid fishes especially upon the skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758), probably to sustain their high metabolism, and on a variety of other items composed mainly by epipelagic species of fish and cephalopods.

Inclusão de farinha de resíduos da indústria de filetagem de tilápias na alimentação de girinos de rã-touro (Rana Catesbeiana Shaw,1802)

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the inclusion of meal of tilapia industrial waster in bullfrog tadpoles' diets (Rana Catesbeina Shaw, 1802). Two hundred fifty tadpoles with initial weight and length of 0,18 +/- 0,05g and 2,50 +/- 0,18 centimeters were used, respectively, they were used and distributed in 25 aquariums of 30 liter each in a complete randomized design with five treatments and five repetitions. The tadpoles were fed four times a day with diets containing 0, 5, 10 and 15% of inclusion of tilapia filleting and another diet with 0% of supplemented tilapia filleting with synthetic methionine, being supplied four times a day at ease. The experiment period was 30 days. The diets with tilapia filleting inclusion and methionine supplementation did not have influence in the final weight and length averages, feed survival and conversion of bullfrog tadpoles. It cam be used until 15% of tilapia filleting inclusion in the bullfrog tadpoles food. The synthetic methionine supplementation in diets for bullfrog tadpoles is not necessary in diets with levels over 0,471/4 of the total methionine.

Atividades comportamentais e comportamento alimentar de rã touro, Lithobates catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802), de pigmentação normal e albina em cativeiro

The behavior of bullfrogs reared in captivity must be well understood to support management practices that use efficient feeding regimes. In general, bullfrogs reared in captivity have normal pigmentation, but to develop an enhanced product, some studies have investigated the introduction of albino individuals in frog farms. The present study characterized the behavior of both pigmented and albino bullfrogs reared in captivity. In an initial experiment, 48 bullfrogs (70.5 ± 25.6 g) housed in small stalls were fed once a day at random times. Frogs were filmed and the images showed that both the pigmented and albino varieties behaved similarly: food intake was more frequent at dawn followed by light periods; moving and resting in dry areas may be associated to feeding events; frogs appeared to anticipate feeding time and to rest in the water more frequently in periods other than feeding time; daylight is the recommended period for feeding both pigmented and albino frogs. In a second experiment, 72 albino bullfrogs were fed at fixed times (10 a.m. or 4 p.m.) in small stalls. An initial weight of 23.8 ± 7.6 g was considered to evaluate frog performance, and after the animals reached 60.0 ± 20.0 g, they were filmed for behavior analyses. Food intake varied as a function of feeding time, and frogs were more likely to eat during the early hours of the day and immediately after receiving fresh food. Frogs fed only in the afternoon changed their behavior. Food supplied twice a day stimulated the albino frogs to eat at different times, but did not increase growth. Although fresh food stimulated feeding behavior, food intake was more frequent at dawn. Food supplied at this time of day should therefore be further investigated. The results did not indicate a more suitable feeding time (10 a.m. or 4 p.m.) for albino bullfrogs, or any advantage in using two feedings per day. The results provide xvi important information about bullfrogs in terms of food supply regime and activity preferences throughout the day. This novel information will contribute to future studies in this area

Efeito da temperatura sobre o desempenho da rã-touro (Rana catesbeiana Shaw, 1802)

Este estudo foi realizado para avaliar os efeitos do ambiente sobre a performance de rã-touro (Rana catesbeiana Shaw, 1802), criada em gaiolas de fibra de vidro instaladas no interior de estufas climatizadas. Após um período inicial de 15 dias de adaptação às instalações, à temperatura constante de 25,0ºC, os seguintes tratamentos foram aplicados: temperaturas de 23,0; 26,0; 29,0; 32,0; e 35,0ºC, por 30 dias, para rãs com 100 g PV inicial; 24,5; 26,0; 27,5; 29,0; 30,5; e 32,0ºC, também por 30 dias, para rãs com 20 g PV inicial; e a combinação das temperaturas de 26,0 e 29,0ºC com os fotoperíodos de 8, 12 e 16 h de luz a cada 24 horas, para rãs com 100 g PV inicial. Derivando-se as equações de regressão que explicam os efeitos de temperatura sobre o desempenho das rãs, estimaram-se melhores ganhos de peso à temperatura de 27,6e30,1ºC, para rãs com 100 e 20 g PV inicial, respectivamente, com melhor crescimento a 28,2ºC, para as rãs de 100 g PV inicial, e a 29,7ºC, para as rãs de 20 g PV inicial. A temperatura interagiu com fotoperíodo nos seus efeitos sobre ganho de peso e crescimento corporal, peso e rendimento de carcaça, consumo de alimentos e conversão alimentar.