NusG is required to overcome a kinetic limitation to Rho function at an intragenic terminator.

Rho-dependent transcription termination at certain terminators in Escherichia coli also depends on the presence of NusG [Sullivan, S. L. & Gottesman, M. E. (1992) Cell 68, 989-994]. We have found that termination at the first intragenic terminator in lacZ (tiZ1) is strongly dependent on NusG when transcription is done in vitro with the concentrations of NTPs found in vivo. With a lower level of NTPs, and consequently a slower rate of RNA-chain growth, Rho causes some termination by itself that is enhanced with NusG. These results suggest that NusG serves to overcome a kinetic limitation of Rho to function at certain terminators. At a second intragenic terminator within the lacZ reading frame (tiZ2) the efficiency of Rho-mediated termination was unaffected by either NusG or by RNA polymerase elongation kinetics. Thus, using purified components and intracellular levels of NTPs, we have confirmed the in vivo finding that certain Rho-dependent terminators also depend on NusG, whereas others do not.

Prospecção do futuro nas empresas: uma proposta de modelo para integração entre o estudo do futuro e a estratégia empresarial

Esta tese buscou estudar a integração entre a prospecção do futuro e projetos dentro do escopo da estratégia. Decisões envolvendo projetos no âmbito da estratégia das organizações são para horizontes de tempo de médio ou longo prazo. Nessa situação, gestores precisam lidar com incertezas de futuro, e para isso podem recorrer às metodologias de prospecção do futuro. O estudo do futuro é atividade complexa, pela abrangência de temas a serem considerados, contudo, é provável que gestores pratiquem essa atividade devido à responsabilidade assumida por suas decisões. A prática de metodologia prospectiva gera resultados, e estes podem contribuir nas decisões em projetos estratégicos. A literatura de estudos do futuro contém recomendações sobre como praticar metodologia prospectiva, porém aborda menos a utilização dos resultados de estudos prospectivos e a sua contribuição para a estratégia empresarial. Ela se concentra mais nos processos de desenvolvimento dos projetos de prospecção para se chegar aos resultados. Dessa forma, esta tese visou ao estudo da utilização dos resultados da prospecção nas decisões de projetos no âmbito da estratégia empresarial. Os fenômenos estudados envolvem a transição entre a prática da prospecção do futuro, a consequente disponibilidade de seus resultados e a contribuição dos mesmos nos processos de análise prospectiva para suporte a decisões. O objetivo geral da tese é a proposta de um modelo que contribua nessa transição. A metodologia utilizada foi mista - quantitativa e qualitativa - desenvolvida por meio de survey e entrevistas, e a abordagem utilizada foi exploratória e descritiva. Os resultados indicam haver limitações na integração entre prospecção do futuro e estratégia empresarial. Foi identificado que a prospecção do futuro é considerada importante pelos gestores participantes da pesquisa. Em contraste, a transição para a sua prática, passando pela disponibilidade de seus resultados, e a posterior utilização deles em processos de suporte à tomada de decisões em projetos estratégicos, apresenta limitações. Os resultados indicam que, apesar da importância da atividade de prospecção, gestores avaliam que ela é praticada em um nível mais baixo, e ao final a contribuição de seus resultados é avaliada em nível ainda mais baixo. Isso é mais evidente nas empresas de menor quantidade de funcionários, menor faturamento, de capital fechado ou limitado, sendo que nessas empresas a prospecção é para horizonte de tempo mais curto. Já gestores de empresas com maior quantidade de funcionários, maior faturamento e de capital aberto lidam melhor com a prospecção do futuro, sendo que estudam seus projetos estratégicos em horizonte de tempo mais longo. Observou-se que as principais limitações identificadas estão relacionadas com o conhecimento das metodologias de prospecção do futuro, e isso limita principalmente a identificação de temas importantes a serem estudados e monitorados acerca do futuro, configurando-se como lacunas de análise prospectiva ou pontos cegos. Por decorrência disso, a contribuição da prospecção na estratégia empresarial sofre limitações. Conclui-se, portanto, que a integração entre prospecção do futuro e a estratégia empresarial poderia ser facilitada por meio do uso de um modelo de suporte, voltado para: (1) reduzir a possibilidade de lacunas de análise prospectiva; e (2) suportar a avaliação: da prática da prospecção do futuro, do uso dos seus resultados nas decisões, e finalmente da aplicação da expertise sobre prospecção do futuro na empresa. Os resultados confirmam que o modelo proposto contribuiria na integração da prospecção do futuro com a estratégia empresarial.

Atribuição de causalidade ao desempenho acadêmico e autoestima de estudantes de Ciências Contábeis

A percepção sobre as causas dos acontecimentos faz parte da vida cotidiana. Atribui-se causas aos eventos na busca de entendimento que permita prever, controlar e alterar resultados futuros. Questões como \"Por que não passei na prova?\" e \"Porque fui o primeiro colocado no vestibular?\" conduzem à percepção de uma causa explicativa, seja para o fracasso ou para o sucesso. A Teoria da Atribuição Causal tem sido examinada para compreender e explicar como as pessoas interpretam os determinantes de seu sucesso ou fracasso em situações de desempenho. As causas percebidas estarão relacionadas à percepção de cada indivíduo sobre o evento, o que não implica causalidade real, dado que a ação será efetivada de acordo com a percepção de cada indivíduo sobre o evento. A abordagem teórica utilizada nessa pesquisa foi a Teoria da Atribuição Causal, proposta por Bernard Weiner, no contexto educacional, com foco nas atribuições causais para sucesso e fracasso acadêmicos. Neste cenário, o objetivo principal da pesquisa foi identificar as causas percebidas como explicativas do desempenho acadêmico de estudantes do curso de Ciências Contábeis. Buscou-se também obter evidências e subsidiar a discussão sobre a relação entre o sucesso e o fracasso acadêmico, a modalidade de ensino, a autoestima e o perfil do estudante. Os dados foram coletados por meio de um questionário aplicado aos estudantes de Ciências Contábeis de duas Universidades Federais que oferecem o curso em duas modalidades de ensino (presencial e a distância) e 738 respostas válidas foram obtidas para análise. O questionário foi estruturado em três blocos (I - desempenho e causas percebidas, II - mensuração da autoestima e III - perfil do estudante). Os resultados apresentaram um perfil com idade média dos estudantes de 27,4 anos (34,27 na modalidade EaD e 24,87 na modalidade Presencial). A maioria dos estudantes (83%) exercia atividade remunerada (90% na EaD e 80% na presencial) e as mulheres representaram a maioria dos respondentes (62% na modalidade EaD e 58% na modalidade presencial). As causas internas, especificamente o esforço e a capacidade, foram mais indicadas como explicativas do sucesso acadêmico e as causas externas, especificamente a dificuldade da tarefa, a flexibilidade de horário e a influência negativa do professor, foram as mais indicadas como explicativas do fracasso acadêmico. Como os resultados apontam que os estudantes indicaram com frequência a própria capacidade para explicar o sucesso, pode-se admitir manifestação da tendência autoservidora, que contribui para a manutenção da autoestima, diante da influência positiva na motivação. Entre as causas do sucesso, a capacidade associou-se a um nível mais elevado de autoestima e a causa sorte associou-se a um nível mais baixo de autoestima. Entre as causas do fracasso, a dificuldade da tarefa associou-se ao nível mais baixo de autoestima. Uma análise geral permite observar que os estudantes dedicam pouco tempo aos estudos, atribuem sucesso principalmente a si mesmos e o fracasso a terceiros, e apresentam uma elevada autoestima associada principalmente ao sucesso atribuído à capacidade. Em futuras pesquisas, recomenda-se estudos pilotos, com objetivo de definir outras atribuições causais para elaboração de novos instrumentos de coleta de dados, por meio de abordagem metodológica qualitativa, que possam ampliar os achados e contribuir com a literatura.

Optimal synthesis of thermally coupled distillation sequences using a novel MILP approach

This paper introduces a novel MILP approach for the design of distillation columns sequences of zeotropic mixtures that explicitly include from conventional to fully thermally coupled sequences and divided wall columns with a single wall. The model is based on the use of two superstructure levels. In the upper level a superstructure that includes all the basic sequences of separation tasks is postulated. The lower level is an extended tree that explicitly includes different thermal states and compositions of the feed to a given separation task. In that way, it is possible to a priori optimize all the possible separation tasks involved in the superstructure. A set of logical relationships relates the feasible sequences with the optimized tasks in the extended tree resulting in a MILP to select the optimal sequence. The performance of the model in terms of robustness and computational time is illustrated with several examples.

Teaching as a fractal: from experience to model

The aim of this work is to improve students’ learning by designing a teaching model that seeks to increase student motivation to acquire new knowledge. To design the model, the methodology is based on the study of the students’ opinion on several aspects we think importantly affect the quality of teaching (such as the overcrowded classrooms, time intended for the subject or type of classroom where classes are taught), and on our experience when performing several experimental activities in the classroom (for instance, peer reviews and oral presentations). Besides the feedback from the students, it is essential to rely on the experience and reflections of lecturers who have been teaching the subject several years. This way we could detect several key aspects that, in our opinion, must be considered when designing a teaching proposal: motivation, assessment, progressiveness and autonomy. As a result we have obtained a teaching model based on instructional design as well as on the principles of fractal geometry, in the sense that different levels of abstraction for the various training activities are presented and the activities are self-similar, that is, they are decomposed again and again. At each level, an activity decomposes into a lower level tasks and their corresponding evaluation. With this model the immediate feedback and the student motivation are encouraged. We are convinced that a greater motivation will suppose an increase in the student’s working time and in their performance. Although the study has been done on a subject, the results are fully generalizable to other subjects.

A Minor Change?: A Case Study of Carleton Place's Integration of Minor Variance Procedures into Ontario's Development Permit System

The Development Permit System has been introduce with minimal directives for establishing a decision making process. This is in opposition to the long established process for minor variances and suggests that the Development Permit System does not necessarily incorporate all of Ontario’s fundamental planning principles. From this concept, the study aimed to identify how minor variances are incorporated into the Development Permit System. In order to examine this topic, the research was based around the following research questions: • How are ‘minor variance’ applications processed within the DPS? • To what extent do the four tests of a minor variance influence the outcomes of lower level applications in the DPS approval process? A case study approach was used for this research. The single-case design employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods including a review of academic literature, court cases, and official documents, as well as a content analysis of Class 1, 1A, and 2 Development Permit application files from the Town of Carleton Place that were decided between 2011 and 2015. Upon the completion of the content analysis, it was found that minor variance issues were most commonly assigned to Class 1 applications. Planning staff generally met approval timelines and embraced their delegated approval authority, readily attaching conditions to applications in order to mitigate off-site impacts. While staff met the regulatory requirements of the DPS, ‘minor variance’ applications were largely decided on impact alone, demonstrating that the principles established by the four tests, the defining quality of the minor variance approval process, had not transferred to the Development Permit System. Alternatively, there was some evidence that the development community has not fully adjusted to the requirements of the new approvals process, as some applications were supported using a rationale containing the four tests. Subsequently, a set of four recommendations were offered which reflect the main themes established by the findings. The first two recommendations are directed towards the Province, the third to municipalities and the fourth to developers and planning consultants: 1) Amend Ontario Regulation 608/06 so that provisions under Section 4(3)(e) fall under Section 4(2). 2) Change the rhetoric from “combining elements of minor variances” to “replacing minor variances”. 3) Establish clear evaluation criteria. 4) Understand the evaluative criteria of the municipality in which you are working.

Fire resistance of wooden cellular slabs with rectangular perforations

This paper presents a numerical approach with finite element method in order to predict both the behaviour and the performance of the wooden slabs with rectangular perforations under fire exposure. These typical constructions have good sound absorption, thermal insulation and relevant architectonic features, they are used in many civil engineering applications. These slabs are normally installed at lower level in building constructions essentially due to an easy maintenance requisite. Depending on the installation requirement, the perforated wooden slabs could have an additional insulation material inside the cavities. The proposed numerical model could be applied to different design constructive slab solutions. For this purpose a 3D numerical simulation was conducted with particular attention to the wood thermal properties variation with temperature. The numerical results were compared with those obtained experimentally in laboratory, for two wooden slabs. The fire resistance (performance criteria related to the insulation (I) and integrity (E)) was evaluated, as well as the effect of rectangular perforations into the residual cross section of the slab. This study was conducted in accordance with European Standard EN 1365-2 and using a fire resistance furnace which complies the requirements of EN 1363-1 in the experimental test.

Caesarean Birth vs. Vaginal Delivery: Effects upon Maternal Satisfaction, Maternal Confidence and Maternal Perception of the Newborn Behaviour

In order to test the hypothesis that caesarean birth has negative consequences upon newly mothers’ satisfaction and perceptions, women delivering by caesarean birth (WCB) were compared with women delivering by vaginal birth (WVB). Subjects: 180 newly mothers; 93 WCB and 87 WVB. Instruments: A Socio-Demographic Questionnaire developed for this research, the Childbirth Perceptions Questionnaire and the Mother and Baby Scales. Results: WCB had significantly lower scores in perceptions of baby as alert/responsive and nearly significant lower scores for baby as alert during feeds. WVB showed a significantly higher level of satisfaction with delivery and conduct during labour, as also had significantly lower scores for perceptions of baby as irritable during feeds and for lack of confidence in feeds. After controlling for the kind of anesthesia received in labour, three conclusions must be taken into account: 1) between WCB with regional anaesthesia and WCB with general anaesthesia there is only one significant difference, with the former having higher scores for perception of baby as alert during feeds; 2) between WVB with regional anaesthesia and WVB with no anaesthesia there are only two significant differences, with the former having higher scores for lack of confidence in feeding and having lower scores for global confidence; 3) between WCB with regional anaesthesia and WVB with regional anaesthesia four significant differences emerge, with the former having a lower level of satisfaction with delivery and conduct in labour and having lower scores for perception of baby as alert responsive, and also having higher scores of perception of baby as irritable in feeds and higher scores for lack of confidence in feeding. Data seem compatible with the hypothesis that caesarean birth has some negative consequences upon mothers’ satisfaction and perceptions and, for this reason, psychological surveys should constitute a routine procedure in maternity hospitals, especially when newly mothers pertain to families affected by risks of psychological or social nature.

Investment behaviour of EU arable crop farms in selected EU countries and the impact of policy reforms. Factor Markets Working Document No. 42, May 2013

This deliverable provides a comparative analysis, among selected EU member states, of the investment demand of a sample of specialised field crop farms for farm buildings, machinery and equipment as determined by different types and levels of Common Agricultural Policy support. It allows for the existence of uncertainty in the price of output farmers receive and for both long- and short-run determinants of investment levels, as well as for the presence of irregularities in the cost adjustment function due to the existence of threshold-type behaviours. The empirical estimation reveals that three investment regimes are consistently identified in Germany and Hungary, across asset and support types, and in France for machinery and equipment. More traditional disinvestment-investment type behaviours characterise investment in farm building in France and the UK, across support types, and Italy for both asset classes under coupled payments. The long-run dynamic adjustment of capital stocks is consistently and significantly estimated to be towards a – mostly non-stationary – lower level of capitalisation of the farm analysed. By contrast, the expected largely positive short-run effects of an increase in output prices are often not significant. The effect of CAP support on both types of investment is positive, although seldom significant, while the proxy for uncertainty employed fails to be significant yet, in most cases, has the expected effect of reducing the investment levels.

A Global Analysis of of Imperfect Competition in the Banking Systems and the Latest Israeli Regulation Dealing with Market Failures. ACES Working Paper No. 3, 2007

The high concentration of the banking sector is a cross-border phenomenon that has high impact on local and global economies. This paper's main goal is to analyze the factors that impact concentration in the banking systems around the globe. The innovation of this paper is that we combined economic, "economic environment", and culture variables as explanatory variables for this analysis. We found among other things that regulation in the banking system is helpful in order to keep it competitive. We also found that when the society has more individual values rather than collective ones, its banking sector is less concentrated. In the second part of the paper we focused on the Israeli case, showing that although recent indicators of the Israeli banking system indicate a higher level of concentration and lower level of competition, it seems that the recent trend is moving toward less concentration and higher competition.

Knock-out of Arabidopsis metal transporter gene IRT1 results in iron deficiency accompanied by cell differentiation defects

IRT1 and IRT2 are members of the Arabidopsis ZIP metal transporter family that are specifically induced by iron deprivation in roots and act as heterologous suppressors of yeast mutations inhibiting iron and zinc uptake. Although IRT1 and IRT2 are thought to perform redundant functions as root-specific metal transporters, insertional inactivation of the IRT1 gene alone results in typical symptoms of iron deficiency causing severe leaf chlorosis and lethality in soil. The irt1 mutation is characterized by specific developmental defects, including a drastic reduction of chloroplast thylakoid stacking into grana and lack of palisade parenchyma differentiation in leaves, reduced number of vascular bundles in stems, and irregular patterns of enlarged endodermal and cortex cells in roots. Pulse labeling with 59Fe through the root system shows that the irt1 mutation reduces iron accumulation in the shoots. Short-term labeling with 65Zn reveals no alteration in spatial distribution of zinc, but indicates a lower level of zinc accumulation. In comparison to wild-type, the irt1 mutant responds to iron and zinc deprivation by altered expression of certain zinc and iron transporter genes, which results in the activation of ZIP1 in shoots, reduction of ZIP2 transcript levels in roots, and enhanced expression of IRT2 in roots. These data support the conclusion that IRT1 is an essential metal transporter required for proper development and regulation of iron and zinc homeostasis in Arabidopsis.

‘To the Victor Go the Spoils’: Infants Expect Dominant Individuals to Receive More Resources than Submissive Individuals

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Psychometric properties of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale with young adolescents

The psychometric properties of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) were examined with 875 adolescents aged 13 and 14 years. This self-report measure was designed to evaluate symptoms relating to separation anxiety, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic-agoraphobia, generalized anxiety, and fears of physical injury. Results of confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses supported six factors consistent with the hypothesized subtypes of anxiety. There was support also for a model in which the first-order factors loaded significantly on a single second-order factor of anxiety in general. The internal consistency of the total score and sub-scales was high, and 12-week test-retest reliability was satisfactory. The SCAS correlated strongly with a frequently used child self-report measure of anxiety and significantly, albeit at a lower level, with a measure of depression. (C) 2002 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Movement and motor development in ELBW infants at 1 year is related to cognitive and motor abilities at 4 years

A relationship between motor ability and cognitive performance has been previously reported. This study aimed to investigate the association between movement and cognitive performance at 1 and 4 years corrected age of children born less than 1000 g, and whether developmental testing of movement at 1 year is predictive of cognitive performance at 4 years. Motor development was assessed at both ages using the neurosensory motor developmental assessment (NSMDA) and motor development was classified as normal, or minimal, mild, moderate-severe dysfunction. Cognitive performance was assessed on the Griffith Mental Developmental Scale at 1 year and McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities at 4 years. Subjects included 198 children of birthweight less than 1000 g. Of these 132 children returned for follow-up at the corrected ages of both 1 and 4 years. The 66 children not included had a slight increase in gestational age, while the mothers were younger and had a lower level of education. A significant association was found between NSMDA group classification at 1 year and cognitive performance at both 1 and 4 years (p

Decreased relatedness between male prickly forest skinks (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae) in habitat fragments

In species with low levels of dispersal the chance of closely related individuals breeding may be a potential problem; sex-biased dispersal is a mechanism that may decrease the possibility of cosanguineous mating. Fragmentation of the habitat in which a species lives may affect mechanisms such as sex-biased dispersal, which may in turn exacerbate more direct effects of fragmentation such as decreasing population size that may lead to inbreeding depression. Relatedness statistics calculated using microsatellite DNA data showed that rainforest fragmentation has had an effect on the patterns of dispersal in the prickly forest skink (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae), a rainforest endemic of the Wet Tropics of north eastern Australia. A lower level of relatedness was found in fragments compared to continuous forest sites due to a significantly lower level of pairwise relatedness between males in rainforest fragments. The pattern of genetic relatedness between sexes indicates the presence of male-biased dispersal in this species, with a stronger pattern detected in populations in rainforest fragments. Male prickly forest skinks may have to move further in fragmented habitat in order to find mates or suitable habitat logs.