Intercollege

Understanding the role of bacteria in microbial food webs is intimately connected to the methods applied in the direct enumeration of bacteria. We have examined over 220 papers describing studies in which fluorochrome staining followed by epifluorescent microscopic direct counts was used to estimate total bacterial abundances. In this review, we summarize patterns in the use of 3,6-bis[dimethylamino]acridinium chloride (acridine orange) and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), the two stains most frequently used in bacterial enumeration. The staining of samples with these fluorochromes, followed by filtration and direct counting of bacterial cells on filter surfaces, has become routine over the past 10 years. We examine trends in features of the standard direct count methods, such as sample preservation and preparation techniques, membrane filter types used, applied stain concentrations, duration of staining, and counting strategies, in relation to the types of samples being examined. The high variability in bacterial counts observed within similar sample types may be partially accounted for by differences in methods. Synthesizing review findings, we include a recommended method for the direct enumeration of bacteria in environmental samples.

AIM: This paper is a report of part of a study to investigate the burden experienced by families giving care to a relative with dementia, the consequences of care for the mental health of the primary caregiver and the strategies families use to cope with the care giving stressors. BACKGROUND: The cost of caring for people with dementia is enormous, both monetary and psychological. Partners, relatives and friends who take care of patients experience emotional, physical and financial stress, and care giving demands are central to decisions on patient institutionalization. METHOD: A volunteer sample of 172 caregiver/care recipient dyads participated in the study in Cyprus in 2004-2005. All patients were suffering from probable Alzheimer's type dementia and were recruited from neurology clinics. Data were collected using the Memory and Behaviour Problem Checklist, Burden Interview, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale and Ways of Coping Questionnaire. FINDINGS: The results showed that 68.02% of caregivers were highly burdened and 65% exhibited depressive symptoms. Burden was related to patient psychopathology and caregiver sex, income and level of education. There was no statistically significant difference in level of burden or depression when patients lived in the community or in institutions. High scores in the burden scale were associated with use of emotional-focused coping strategies, while less burdened relatives used more problem-solving approaches to care-giving demands. CONCLUSION: Caregivers, especially women, need individualized, specific training in how to understand and manage the behaviour of relatives with dementia and how to cope with their own feelings.

We have sequenced the genome of a second Drosophila species, Drosophila pseudoobscura, and compared this to the genome sequence of Drosophila melanogaster, a primary model organism. Throughout evolution the vast majority of Drosophila genes have remained on the same chromosome arm, but within each arm gene order has been extensively reshuffled, leading to a minimum of 921 syntenic blocks shared between the species. A repetitive sequence is found in the D. pseudoobscura genome at many junctions between adjacent syntenic blocks. Analysis of this novel repetitive element family suggests that recombination between offset elements may have given rise to many paracentric inversions, thereby contributing to the shuffling of gene order in the D. pseudoobscura lineage. Based on sequence similarity and synteny, 10,516 putative orthologs have been identified as a core gene set conserved over 25-55 million years (Myr) since the pseudoobscura/melanogaster divergence. Genes expressed in the testes had higher amino acid sequence divergence than the genome-wide average, consistent with the rapid evolution of sex-specific proteins. Cis-regulatory sequences are more conserved than random and nearby sequences between the species--but the difference is slight, suggesting that the evolution of cis-regulatory elements is flexible. Overall, a pattern of repeat-mediated chromosomal rearrangement, and high coadaptation of both male genes and cis-regulatory sequences emerges as important themes of genome divergence between these species of Drosophila.

Cell differentiation is essential for the development of multicellular organisms. In flowering plants, the haploid male gametophytes (pollen grains) are generated in the anther from reproductive cells called microsporocytes. Several types of somatic cells ensure successful pollen development, and thus reproduction. However, it is not clear what genes regulate the differentiation of these diverse, highly specialized cells in the anther. We report here the isolation and characterization of a novel Arabidopsis thaliana male sterile mutant, excess microsporocytes1 (ems1), that produces excess microsporocytes, lacks tapetal cells, and abnormally maintains middle layer cells. Although the meiotic nuclear division in the ems1 mutant is normal, the microsporocytes do not undergo cytokinesis, resulting in failed microsporogenesis and male sterility. The EMS1 gene encodes a putative leucine-rich repeat receptor protein kinase (LRR-RPK), and its expression is associated with the differentiation of the microsporocytes and tapetal cells, suggesting that EMS1 mediates signals that control the fate of reproductive cells and their contiguous somatic cells.

The access control mechanisms of existing mainstream operating systems are inadequate to provide strong system security. Enhanced access control mechanisms have failed to win acceptance into mainstream operating systems due in part to a lack of consensus within the security community on the right solution. Since generalpurpose operating systems must satisfy a wide range of user requirements, any access control mechanism integrated into such a system must be capable of supporting many different access control models. The Linux Security Modules (LSM) project has developed a lightweight, general purpose, access control framework for the mainstream Linux kernel that enables many different access control models to be implemented as loadable kernel modules. A number of existing enhanced access control implementations, including Linux capabilities, SecurityEnhanced Linux (SELinux), and Domain and Type Enforcement (DTE), have already been adapted to use the LSM framework. This paper presents the design and implementation of LSM and discusses the challenges in providing a truly general solution that minimally impacts the Linux kernel.

The expression patterns of senescence-related genes were determined during ozone (O(3)) exposure in Arabidopsis. Rosettes were treated with 0.15 microL L(-1) O(3) for 6 h d(-1) for 14 d. O(3)-treated leaves began to yellow after 10 d of exposure, whereas yellowing was not apparent in control leaves until d 14. Transcript levels for eight of 12 senescence related genes characterized showed induction by O(3). SAG13 (senescence-associated gene), SAG21, ERD1 (early responsive to dehydration), and BCB (blue copper-binding protein) were induced within 2 to 4 d of O(3) treatment; SAG18, SAG20, and ACS6 (ACC synthase) were induced within 4 to 6 d; and CCH (copper chaperone) was induced within 6 to 8 d. In contrast, levels of photosynthetic gene transcripts, rbcS (small subunit of Rubisco) and cab (chlorophyll a/b-binding protein), declined after 6 d. Other markers of natural senescence, SAG12, SAG19, MT1 (metallothionein), and Atgsr2 (glutamine synthetase), did not show enhanced transcript accumulation. When SAG12 promoter-GUS (beta-glucuronidase) and SAG13 promoter-GUS transgenic plants were treated with O(3), GUS activity was induced in SAG13-GUS plants after 2 d but was not detected in SAG12-GUS plants. SAG13 promoter-driven GUS activity was located throughout O(3)-treated leaves, whereas control leaves generally showed activity along the margins. The acceleration of leaf senescence induced by O(3) is a regulated event involving many genes associated with natural senescence.

It is well-known that speckle is a multiplicative noise that degrades the visual evaluation in ultrasound imaging. The recent advancements in ultrasound instrumentation and portable ultrasound devices necessitate the need of more robust despeckling techniques for enhanced ultrasound medical imaging for both routine clinical practice and teleconsultation. The objective of this work was to carry out a comparative evaluation of despeckle filtering based on texture analysis, image quality evaluation metrics, and visual evaluation by medical experts in the assessment of 440 (220 asymptomatic and 220 symptomatic) ultrasound images of the carotid artery bifurcation. In this paper a total of 10 despeckle filters were evaluated based on local statistics, median filtering, pixel homogeneity, geometric filtering, homomorphic filtering, anisotropic diffusion, nonlinear coherence diffusion, and wavelet filtering. The results of this study suggest that the first order statistics filter lsmv, gave the best performance, followed by the geometric filter gf4d, and the homogeneous mask area filter lsminsc. These filters improved the class separation between the asymptomatic and the symptomatic classes based on the statistics of the extracted texture features, gave only a marginal improvement in the classification success rate, and improved the visual assessment carried out by the two experts. More specifically, filters lsmv or gf4d can be used for despeckling asymptomatic images in which the expert is interested mainly in the plaque composition and texture analysis; and filters lsmv, gf4d, or lsminsc can be used for the despeckling of symptomatic images in which the expert is interested in identifying the degree of stenosis and the plaque borders. The proper selection of a despeckle filter is very important in the enhancement of ultrasonic imaging of the carotid artery. Further work is needed to evaluate at a larger scale and in clinical practice the performance of the proposed despeckle filters in the automated segmentation, texture analysis, and classification of carotid ultrasound imaging.

Marketers have long acknowledged the importance of motives to game and event attendance. In addition, it is apparent that individuals attend for different reasons and identify with different aspects of the experience. Thus, we examined the relationships among motives and points of attachment in attendees at four college football games. We proposed three different models depicting these relationships to assist in segmenting fans from spectators. Results indicated that the best-fitting model showed three types of motives that are differentially associated with two general types of attachment (organizational identification and sport identification). This indicates two segments of attendees may exist, based on motives and points of attachment. Marketers need to determine if these segments exist in their attendees and plan marketing strategies accordingly.

Recent national and international studies carried out in a number of countries have drawn attention to the degree of job satisfaction among teachers. In general, it has been found that context seems to be the most powerful predictor of overall satisfaction. However, given that most of the international studies on teacher satisfaction have been conducted in developed countries, one realizes the need in the available literature for similar research in developing countries as well. This paper examines job satisfaction and motivation among teachers in Cyprus – a small developing country in the Eastern Mediterranean. An adapted version of the questionnaire developed by the “Teacher 2000 Project” was translated into Greek and used for the purposes of this study that had a sample of 461 K‐12 teachers and administrators. The findings showed that, unlike other countries in which this questionnaire was used, Cypriot teachers chose this career because of the salary, the hours, and the holidays associated with this profession. The study analyzes how these motives influence the level of satisfaction held by the Cypriot teachers.

In developing nations, low soil nitrogen (N) availability is a primary limitation to crop production and food security, while in rich nations, intensive N fertilization is a primary economic, energy, and environmental cost to crop production. It has been proposed that genetic variation for root architectural and anatomical traits enhancing the exploitation of deep soil strata could be deployed to develop crops with greater N acquisition. Here, we provide evidence that maize (Zea mays) genotypes with few crown roots (crown root number [CN]) have greater N acquisition from low-N soils. Maize genotypes differed in their CN response to N limitation in greenhouse mesocosms and in the field. Low-CN genotypes had 45% greater rooting depth in low-N soils than high-CN genotypes. Deep injection of (15)N-labeled nitrate showed that low-CN genotypes under low-N conditions acquired more N from deep soil strata than high-CN genotypes, resulting in greater photosynthesis and plant N content. Under low N, low-CN genotypes had greater biomass than high-CN genotypes at flowering (85% in the field study in the United States and 25% in South Africa). In the field in the United States, 1.8× variation in CN was associated with 1.8× variation in yield reduction by N limitation. Our results indicate that CN deserves consideration as a potential trait for genetic improvement of N acquisition from low-N soils.

This article is an attempt to show the value of the ethnography of emotions in teaching, and the importance of exploring teacher emotion in understanding teaching. A coherent account of teacher emotion must find a dynamic outside the cognitive, discursive or normative practices that have monopolized attention in research on teacher cognition and teacher belief. Thus it is argued that this dynamic can be found in the very character of emotional expression—what the anthropologist William Reddy (1997 Reddy, W. M. 1997. Against constructionist: The historical ethnography of emotions. Current Anthropology, 38: 327–340. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2001 Reddy, W. M. 2001. The navigation of feeling: A framework for the history of emotions, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) calls emotives. This article makes the above case through the description of findings from a case study of an elementary school teacher (Catherine) who participated in a three‐year ethnographic project investigating the role of emotions in her teaching. Emotional suffering and emotional freedom are examined; such a theorization gives political meaning back to research on teacher emotions and allows us to discern the successes and failures of particular emotional regimes within a school culture.

Purpose Starting from the premise that there are critical issues that should drive brand success, this study seeks to investigate the way the UK retail banking industry has sought to build and sustain a strong brand by launching an internal marketing (IM) programme throughout its branch network. Also aims to shed light on the themes of branding in the financial services industry and the relationship between IM and branding. Design/methodology/approach The study was qualitative and exploratory in nature, since the aim was to explore branch managers' and employees' views and experiences of IM within the UK retail bank industry. Data were collected by carrying out in‐depth qualitative interviews with organisational members working in different positions within 35 business units that represented seven different UK retail banking organisations. The qualitative data were analysed by using the grounded theory approach developed by Strauss and Corbin in 1990. Findings The data analysis revealed four core themes as constitutive of IM, namely: internal customers; training and education; quality standards; and rewards systems. These four themes are enacted on a constant basis in order to construct a certain sort of organisational reality, one that sets the foundation on building and sustaining a strong corporate brand by changing the organisational culture to one which is more “people”, service‐ and customer‐oriented. Research limitations/implications The study focused on one industry, the UK retail bank industry, in order to enhance one's understanding and knowledge regarding the IM theory and practice. This needs to be taken into consideration in generalising the findings to other sectors and geographic markets. Practical implications The research shows that the banks studied have adopted IM due to realising that employees represent a valuable source for building and differentiating the corporate brand, since they have a powerful impact on consumers' perceptions of both the brand and the organisation. The IM perspective has the potential to integrate all staff in the branding process and create an organisational culture that sets the foundation for building a strong corporate brand. Originality/value The current literature on IM has revealed that there is no universally accepted and adopted IM programme and that those organisations that have adopted IM have developed their own “custom‐made” approaches. The paper reveals the IM implementation approach adopted by the UK retail banks studied.

Service organizations are encouraged to consider the manner in which employees perform at the customer/front-line employee interface, as a means to gain competitive advantage. The employee's behaviour requires "emotional labour" where the front-line employee (academic), has to either conceal or manage actual feelings for the benefit of a successful service delivery. The implication is not necessarily of equality or mutual benefit, but of satisfaction for the customer (student) and profit for the management. The paper discusses whether the academic is being exploited in this three-way relationship. To illustrate this argument, data gathered from in-depth interviews at a higher education institution are used. The research is of value as an aid for the management and support of academic staff in an age of managerialism and to the notion of the student as customer.

Composites composed of microcrystalline calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (HAp) and collagen were formed at 38 degrees C via an acid-base reaction between calcium phosphate precursors in the presence of a collagen matrix. Formation of composites having HAp:collagen weight ratios of 4.5:1, 11:1, and 22:1, along with that of pure mineral were investigated. Isothermal calorimetry and X-ray diffraction indicated complete reaction within 5 h resulting in hardened monoliths. The rate of HAp formation increased with an increase in the proportion of collagen present. Electron microscopy indicated that the acceleratory effect of collagen was associated with the provision of nucleation sites for HAp crystallization. Analysis of the solution chemistry also showed that collagen affected the calcium and phosphate concentrations and the pH. While collagen was shown to effect the kinetics of HAp formation, the rate limiting step, as shown by X-ray diffraction and solution chemistry, was the dissolution of the acidic calcium phosphate precursor, CaHPO4. Preliminary mechanical data indicated that the Young's modulus, yield strength, and work to fracture were at the lower end of the range of those values reported for bone. The porosities observed in these composites suggest that they might be osteoinductive while their compositions should allow their eventual resorption. Thus, microstructure, kinetics, and mechanical data suggest that these composites might be suitable as bone substitutes which form in vivo.

Abstract This article examines the process of international mediation from the perspective of the disputants. It posits that contrary to standard analyses, which tend to examine mediation from the perspective of the conflict or the third party, an examination from the point of view of the disputants provides significant insights into mediation as a form of conflict management. From an inside-out perspective, it becomes apparent that the underlying assumption that a compromise solution is the objective of the disputants involved in the mediation process is suspect. Thus, disputants may become involved in a mediation process in order to improve upon their prospects, but not necessarily in terms of a compromise with their adversary. This article argues that a mediation process carries with it a series of assets that the disputants may value in terms of their pre-negotiation objectives, rather than in terms of the compromise that the previous debates about international mediation have indicated. The disputants may therefore harbour `devious objectives', unrelated to the attainment of a compromise solution, which might include time to regroup and reorganize; internationalization; the search for an ally; empowerment; legitimization of their negotiation positions and current status; face saving; and avoiding costly concessions by prolonging the process itself.

Abstract Introducing change into an organisation usually raises resistance from those who have the most to lose because of the introduction of the envisaged change. This article looks at the introduction of change in the management structure produced in a large public organisation. The key to successful introduction of the change was seen to lie in effective communication. The customary cascading down of information from the top of the organisation to the rank and file managers was found to be ineffective when a large‐scale structural reorganisation programme was being introduced and this led to a search for more effective ways of communication. The partial answer appeared to lie in providing information from the top directly to all employees through the means of new technology – an intranet and extensive use of e‐mail. While this provided a substantial solution to the problem, it still left some questions better answered by management training initiatives.

Students at the undergraduate level usually tend to view research methods courses negatively. However, an understanding of these attitudes is necessary to help instructors facilitate the learning of research for their students, by enabling them to create more positive attitudes toward such courses. The aim of this study is to describe the development of an “attitudes toward research” scale and verify the dimensions of attitudes toward research among undergraduate students enrolled in introductory research courses. The basic hypothesis of this research study is that the concept of attitudes is multidimensional in nature. The sample of the study consisted of 226 students who had completed a research methods course. Based on a factor analysis, five factors of student attitudes toward research were identified. These were the factors of usefulness of research, anxiety, affect indicating positive feelings about research, life relevancy of research to the students’ daily lives, and difficulty of research. First published May 2005 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

A collection of 21,559 highly precise spectroscopic line positions from pure rotational and vibration-rotational spectra for seven isotopomers of carbon monoxide in the X1sigma+ ground electronic state has been employed in direct least-squares fits of the rovibrational Hamiltonian operator obtained from Watson's work [J. Mol. Spectrosc. 80, 411 (1980)] and that obtained by Herman and Ogilvie [Adv. Chem. Phys 103, 187 (1998)]. Fully analytical models are used for the various functions, including the Born-Oppenheimer internuclear potential function, and an account is taken of breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. The resulting representations are more compact than currently available traditional Ukl/deltakl extended Dunham descriptions, and they generate quantum-mechanical eigenvalues that reproduce reliably the spectroscopic line positions to within the associated measurement uncertainties. Rayleigh-Schrodinger perturbation theory has been used to calculate highly accurate rotational and centrifugal distortion constants Bupsilon-Oupsilon for nine isotopomers of carbon monoxide. These constants are just as successful at reconstructing the observed spectroscopic information as the quantum-mechanical eigenvalues of the fitted Hamiltonian operators.

Purpose The paper seeks to consider the findings that emerged from a preliminary study into Cypriot businesses and their attitudes and behaviour towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). The overarching aim of the discussion is to explore whether Cypriot businesses have realized the opportunity of using CSR to build a strong reputation, a practice “embraced” and adopted by many successful and profitable corporations, or whether they ignore their social responsibilities and do it at their peril. Design/methodology/approach A total of 4,000 questionnaires were given to the Employers Federation in Cyprus to mail to its members. Two issues were addressed: one dealing with philanthropic and the other with the stewardship CSR projects, covering social responsibility not only towards customers and society at large but also towards employees, suppliers, investors, and the environment. Findings It appears that local corporations primarily emphasize the importance of meeting their responsibilities and obligations towards their employees and customers. The majority of respondents postulate that their philanthropic donations are made to approved organizations for tax deduction. So, financial gain appears to be a key motive for the adoption of social responsibility by the business sector in Cyprus. Research limitations/implications The study was characterized by a low response rate, which has implications to the generalization of the research findings. Perhaps future research can focus on certain sectors and their approach to the practice of CSR instead of exploring several sectors in the Cypriot economy, which was the approach adopted in this study. Originality/value The paper reports findings from the first nationwide study carried out in the area of CSR.

Purpose The primary purpose of the research study conducted was to investigate hospitality internships and improve such practices within the distinct environment of the hospitality industry of Cyprus by acquiring new knowledge, related to and of value to its primary stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach The unique characteristics of the three groups under investigation necessitated the utilization of different research methods and techniques – an approach known as methodological triangulation. Findings While the findings reliably measure the Cyprus‐specific environment, the author argues that the particular strategies produced can effectively be implemented in other countries. Practical implications By comparing and contrasting the views and expectations of all stakeholders involved, the author recommends specific strategies for improving the quality and enhancing the value of internship practices for hospitality students. Originality/value The paper is of value to all hospitality stakeholders, since it can serve as a guide for the provision of a pedagogically sound internship experience to students.