London Metropolitan University

Summary A general class of statistical models for a univariate response variable is presented which we call the generalized additive model for location, scale and shape (GAMLSS). The model assumes independent observations of the response variable y given the parameters, the explanatory variables and the values of the random effects. The distribution for the response variable in the GAMLSS can be selected from a very general family of distributions including highly skew or kurtotic continuous and discrete distributions. The systematic part of the model is expanded to allow modelling not only of the mean (or location) but also of the other parameters of the distribution of y, as parametric and/or additive nonparametric (smooth) functions of explanatory variables and/or random-effects terms. Maximum (penalized) likelihood estimation is used to fit the (non)parametric models. A Newton–Raphson or Fisher scoring algorithm is used to maximize the (penalized) likelihood. The additive terms in the model are fitted by using a backfitting algorithm. Censored data are easily incorporated into the framework. Five data sets from different fields of application are analysed to emphasize the generality of the GAMLSS class of models.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membraneous vesicles released by a variety of cells into their microenvironment. Recent studies have elucidated the role of EVs in intercellular communication, pathogenesis, drug, vaccine and gene-vector delivery, and as possible reservoirs of biomarkers. These findings have generated immense interest, along with an exponential increase in molecular data pertaining to EVs. Here, we describe Vesiclepedia, a manually curated compendium of molecular data (lipid, RNA, and protein) identified in different classes of EVs from more than 300 independent studies published over the past several years. Even though databases are indispensable resources for the scientific community, recent studies have shown that more than 50% of the databases are not regularly updated. In addition, more than 20% of the database links are inactive. To prevent such database and link decay, we have initiated a continuous community annotation project with the active involvement of EV researchers. The EV research community can set a gold standard in data sharing with Vesiclepedia, which could evolve as a primary resource for the field.

The concept of habitus lies at the heart of Bourdieu's theoretical framework. It is a complex concept that takes many shapes and forms in Bourdieu's own writing, even more so in the wider sociological work of other academics. In the first part of this paper I develop an understanding of habitus, based on Bourdieu's many writings on the concept, that recognizes both its permeability and its ability to capture continuity and change. I also map its relationship to Bourdieu's other concepts, in particular field and cultural capital. In the second part of the paper I examine attempts to operationalize habitus in empirical research in education. I critique the contemporary fashion of overlaying research analyses with Bourdieu's concepts, including habitus, rather than making the concepts work in the context of the data and the research settings. In the final part of the paper I draw on a range of research examples that utilize habitus as a research tool to illustrate how habitus can be made to work in educational research.

Abstract A number of contemporary democracies have introduced measures to ensure a more equitable representation of women and/or ethnic minority citizens within elected assemblies. These measures have included the use of gender quotas in the selection of parliamentary candidates, and the use of ‘race‐conscious’ districting to increase the electoral chances of ethnic minority representatives. Drawing on a distinction between the politics of ideas and the politics of presence, this book explores and defends the case for such measures. The politics of ideas considers accountability in relation to declared polices and programmes, and sees the sex or race of the representative as a matter of relative indifference. In the politics of presence, by contrast, the gender or ethnic composition of elected assemblies becomes a legitimate matter of democratic concern. This book addresses the concern that the case for political presence could encourage essentialist understandings of group identity or group interest. It argues against an either/or alternative between the politics of ideas and the politics of presence and for a new combination of these two models of representation.

The fruits (dates) of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) contain a high percentage of carbohydrate (total sugars, 44-88%), fat (0.2-0.5%), 15 salts and minerals, protein (2.3-5.6%), vitamins and a high percentage of dietary fibre (6.4-11.5%). The flesh of dates contains 0.2-0.5% oil, whereas the seed contains 7.7-9.7% oil. The weight of the seed is 5.6-14.2% of the date. The fatty acids occur in both flesh and seed as a range of saturated and unsaturated acids, the seeds containing 14 types of fatty acids, but only eight of these fatty acids occur in very low concentration in the flesh. Unsaturated fatty acids include palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. The oleic acid content of the seeds varies from 41.1 to 58.8%, which suggests that the seeds of date could be used as a source of oleic acid. There are at least 15 minerals in dates. The percentage of each mineral in dried dates varies from 0.1 to 916 mg/100 g date depending on the type of mineral. In many varieties, potassium can be found at a concentration as high as 0.9% in the flesh while it is as high as 0.5% in some seeds. Other minerals and salts that are found in various proportions include boron, calcium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorous, sodium and zinc. Additionally, the seeds contain aluminum, cadmium, chloride, lead and sulphur in various proportions. Dates contain elemental fluorine that is useful in protecting teeth against decay. Selenium, another element believed to help prevent cancer and important in immune function, is also found in dates. The protein in dates contains 23 types of amino acids, some of which are not present in the most popular fruits such as oranges, apples and bananas. Dates contain at least six vitamins including a small amount of vitamin C, and vitamins B(1) thiamine, B(2) riboflavin, nicotinic acid (niacin) and vitamin A. The dietary fibre of 14 varieties of dates has been shown to be as high as 6.4-11.5% depending on variety and degree of ripeness. Dates contain 0.5-3.9% pectin, which may have important health benefits. The world production of dates has increased 2.9 times over 40 years, whereas the world population has doubled. The total world export of dates increased by 1.71% over 40 years. In many ways, dates may be considered as an almost ideal food, providing a wide range of essential nutrients and potential health benefits.

The paper presents the results of an international study of creative industry policies and strategies, based on a survey of public-sector creative city initiatives and plans and their underlying rationales. As well as this survey and an accompanying literature review, interviews were carried out with senior policy-makers and intermediaries from Europe, North America, Africa and south-east Asia. The paper considers the scope and scale of so-called new-industrial clusters in local cultural and creative quarters and sub-regional creative hubs, which are the subject of policy interventions and public—private investment. The semantic and symbolic expansion of the cultural industries and their concentration in once-declining urban and former industrial districts, to the creative industries, and now to the knowledge and experience economy, is revealed in economic, sectoral and spatial terms. Whilst policy convergence and emulation are evident, manifested by the promotion of creative spaces and industry clusters and versions of the digital media and science city, this is driven by a meta-analysis of growth in the new economy, but one that is being achieved by old industrial economic interventions and policy rationales. These are being used to justify the redevelopment of former and residual industrial zones, with cities utilising the creative quarter/knowledge hub as a panacea to implement broader city expansion and regeneration plans.

The solution and complexation chemistry of zinc ions is the basis for zinc biology. In living organisms, zinc is redox-inert and has only one valence state: Zn(II). Its coordination environment in proteins is limited by oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur donors from the side chains of a few amino acids. In an estimated 10% of all human proteins, zinc has a catalytic or structural function and remains bound during the lifetime of the protein. However, in other proteins zinc ions bind reversibly with dissociation and association rates commensurate with the requirements in regulation, transport, transfer, sensing, signalling, and storage. In contrast to the extensive knowledge about zinc proteins, the coordination chemistry of the “mobile” zinc ions in these processes, i.e. when not bound to proteins, is virtually unexplored and the mechanisms of ligand exchange are poorly understood. Knowledge of the biological inorganic chemistry of zinc ions is essential for understanding its cellular biology and for designing complexes that deliver zinc to proteins and chelating agents that remove zinc from proteins, for detecting zinc ion species by qualitative and quantitative analysis, and for proper planning and execution of experiments involving zinc ions and nanoparticles such as zinc oxide (ZnO). In most investigations, reference is made to zinc or Zn2+ without full appreciation of how biological zinc ions are buffered and how the d-block cation Zn2+ differs from s-block cations such as Ca2+ with regard to significantly higher affinity for ligands, preference for the donor atoms of ligands, and coordination dynamics. Zinc needs to be tightly controlled. The interaction with low molecular weight ligands such as water and inorganic and organic anions is highly relevant to its biology but in contrast to its coordination in proteins has not been discussed in the biochemical literature. From the discussion in this article, it is becoming evident that zinc ion speciation is important in zinc biochemistry and for biological recognition as a variety of low molecular weight zinc complexes have already been implicated in biological processes, e.g. with ATP, glutathione, citrate, ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid, nicotianamine, or bacillithiol.

This paper develops a conceptual model of the place brand which goes beyond the conceptualisations currently to be found in the literature and, it is argued, reflects more closely the reality faced by those who market places as destinations. The paper begins with an analysis of the classical branding literature and a review of the emerging literature associated with the relational exchange and the network marketing paradigms. Four streams of thought are identified as regards the nature of brands. These include the brand as a communicator, the brand as a perceptual entity or image, the brand as a value enhancer and the brand as a relationship. A review of the place marketing literature suggests that the focus to date has been on brands as perceptual entities or images. The paper argues that such conceptualisations seriously limit the development of place brands in general and destination brands in particular. A model of the place brand is presented based upon the concept of a brand as a relationship with consumers and other stakeholders, focusing on behaviours rather than communications and reality rather than image. The practical implications of this approach are discussed.

This study inventoried the types of developmental and negative experiences that youth encounter in different categories of extracurricular and community-based organized activities. A representative sample of 2,280 11th graders from 19 diverse high schools responded to a computer-administered protocol. Youth in faith-based activities reported higher rates of experiences related to identity, emotional regulation, and interpersonal development in comparison with other activities. Sports and arts programs stood out as providing more experiences related to development of initiative, although sports were also related to high stress. Service activities were associated with experiences related to development of teamwork, positive relationships, and social capital. Youth reported all of these positive developmental experiences to occur significantly more often in youth programs than during school classes.

A variable of personality which has been shown to have considerable predictive value in both social and clinical psychology is that which is variously labelled authoritarianism, dogmatism, fascism, and anti‐scientific attitude. The term ‘conservatism’ is preferred because it is less value‐toned than other alternatives. Previous tests of this dimension are criticized on a number of grounds and the development of a new test which circumvents these deficiencies is described. The ‘Conservatism Scale’ is found to be a remarkably reliable, valid, and economical instrument.

Culture-led regeneration, as it has come to be known, is now a feature of cities-old and new-as they seek to revive former industrial and waterfront sites and city centres, and establish themselves as competitive cities of culture. At the same time, the rationale for cultural input to area and neighbourhood regeneration has been extended to include quality of life, as well as economic outcomes. The evidence of how far flagship and major cultural projects contribute to a range of regeneration objectives is, however, limited. Measuring the social, economic and environmental impacts attributed to the cultural element in area regeneration is problematic and the 'evidence' is seldom robust. The paper reviews both evidence and the indicators used to measure impacts and concludes with an assessment of how and why gaps in evidence persist.

We describe a quantitative evaluation of the performance of different classifiers in the task of automatic age estimation. In this context, we generate a statistical model of facial appearance, which is subsequently used as the basis for obtaining a compact parametric description of face images. The aim of our work is to design classifiers that accept the model-based representation of unseen images and produce an estimate of the age of the person in the corresponding face image. For this application, we have tested different classifiers: a classifier based on the use of quadratic functions for modeling the relationship between face model parameters and age, a shortest distance classifier, and artificial neural network based classifiers. We also describe variations to the basic method where we use age-specific and/or appearance specific age estimation methods. In this context, we use age estimation classifiers for each age group and/or classifiers for different clusters of subjects within our training set. In those cases, part of the classification procedure is devoted to choosing the most appropriate classifier for the subject/age range in question, so that more accurate age estimates can be obtained. We also present comparative results concerning the performance of humans and computers in the task of age estimation. Our results indicate that machines can estimate the age of a person almost as reliably as humans.

Abstract Increasing regulatory obligations to adapt and execute environmentally friendly operations make it critical for businesses to pursue strategies that can strengthen their competitive edge in the market. Academics and practitioners alike have recently gravitated toward exploring how knowledge acquisition activities might improve business outcomes. To address this growing research interest, this study investigates the critical roles of green knowledge acquisition in enhancing green knowledge management and green technology innovation activities in improving corporate environmental performance, positioning resource commitment as a moderator. The research model has been assessed using structural equation modeling with survey data from 283 Indian manufacturers, demonstrating that green knowledge acquisition significantly impacts green knowledge management and green technology innovation. The statistical findings also show that green technology innovation acts catalyzes the translation of green knowledge management into improved corporate environmental performance. The results demonstrate that resource commitment moderates green knowledge acquisition's interaction with green knowledge management and green technology innovation, providing practical insights enabling managers to focus on planning, allocating, and budgeting resources for effective green practices that can contribute to improving corporate environmental performance.

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are gaining interest as central players in liquid biopsies, with potential applications in diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic guidance in most pathological conditions. These nanosized particles transmit signals determined by their protein, lipid, nucleic acid and sugar content, and the unique molecular pattern of EVs dictates the type of signal to be transmitted to recipient cells. However, their small sizes and the limited quantities that can usually be obtained from patient-derived samples pose a number of challenges to their isolation, study and characterization. These challenges and some possible options to overcome them are discussed in this review.

Public confidence in policing has become an important issue in the UK. The police rely on legitimacy and public support, and initiatives to improve levels of confidence are currently underway. The point of contact between citizens and officers is vital in any such endeavour. But how are encounters judged and how important for public confidence are assessments of the quality of contacts? We draw upon data from the 2005/2006 Metropolitan Police Public Attitudes Survey to answer these questions. We test Skogan's (2006) finding that personal contact has a largely negative impact on confidence; we demonstrate that unsatisfactory contacts are indeed associated with less favourable opinions about police effectiveness, fairness and engagement with the community. Yet consistent with the procedural justice model we also show that positively received contacts can improve perceptions of fairness and community engagement. Moreover, seeing regular police patrols and feeling informed about police activities are associated with higher opinions of effectiveness and community engagement. We conclude with some more positive thoughts on the ability of the police to improve the quality of contacts and, perhaps, public confidence.

Academic culture is not uniformly accessed or experienced. Whilst financial constraints have a major impact on student entry and retention, students from 'non-traditional' backgrounds are also disadvantaged by institutional cultures that place them as 'other'. Individuals do not passively receive these cultural discourses, however, but actively engage with them and attempt to challenge them. This article explores such negotiations by looking at students' conceptions of 'belonging' and 'isolation' at a post-1992 university with a statistically high proportion of 'non-traditional' students in terms of class, maturity and ethnicity. It looks at: the extent to which such students can challenge their positioning as 'other' by choosing a university where they feel they can 'belong'; the extent to which institutional academic cultures work to constrain and disrupt such feelings of 'belonging'; the adoption of alternative discourses of the student-lecturer/student-institution relation, and the extent to which such discourses can challenge feelings of isolation and marginalisation in the academy.

Journal Article Amino-sugar glycosidase inhibitors: versatile tools for glycobiologists Get access Bryan Winchester, Bryan Winchester Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar George W.J. Fleet George W.J. Fleet 1Dyson Perrins Laboratory and Oxford Centre for Molecular SciencesSouth Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Glycobiology, Volume 2, Issue 3, June 1992, Pages 199–210, https://doi.org/10.1093/glycob/2.3.199 Published: 01 June 1992 Article history Received: 20 March 1992 Accepted: 27 March 1992 Published: 01 June 1992

A series of editorials in this Journal have argued that psychiatry is in the midst of a crisis. The various solutions proposed would all involve a strengthening of psychiatry's identity as essentially 'applied neuroscience'. Although not discounting the importance of the brain sciences and psychopharmacology, we argue that psychiatry needs to move beyond the dominance of the current, technological paradigm. This would be more in keeping with the evidence about how positive outcomes are achieved and could also serve to foster more meaningful collaboration with the growing service user movement.

In a context of considerable changes in the labour market and higher education sector in the UK, a discourse of employability has become increasingly dominant. Universities are urged to ensure that they produce ‘employable’ graduates, and graduates themselves are exhorted to continually develop their personal skills, qualities and experiences in order to compete in the graduate labour market. Drawing on a study of ‘non‐traditional’ graduates from a post‐1992 inner‐city university in England, this paper offers a critical appraisal of the discourse of employability. In contrast to assumptions of a level playing field in which graduates’ skills and personal qualities are the key to their success in the labour market, social class, gender, ethnicity, age, disability and university attended all impact on the opportunities available. It is argued that the discourse of employability, with its emphasis on individual responsibility and neglect of social inequalities, has potentially damaging consequences for these graduates.

The N ational Assembly held in the Frankfurt Paulskirche in 1848, which opened w ith high hopes for the unification o f Germ any on parliam entary constitutional principles, was left to die a year later, in the telling phrase o f D onoso Cortes, ‘like a street w om an in the gu tter’ (quoted in Valentin, 1940, p. 263). In the period o f reaction that followed, during w hich the Paulskirche convention came to be described as the ‘parliam ent o f pro­ fessors’, one o f its m em bers, Georg G ottfried Gervinus, was accused, in a trial for high treason, o f attem pting to prove the historical inevitability o f the supersession o f monarchical forms by republican forms. This was Gervinus’s second experience as a professorial m artyr. In 1837 he had been one o f the professors at the U niversity o f G ottingen, the ‘Gottingen Seven’, w ho protested the revocation o f the H anoverian constitution. For this he had been banished and given three days to leave the kingdom . The lesson he, and m any other liberal thinkers, learned from these experiences was that the Germ an middle classes were incapable o f perform ing the historical role assigned to them; they lacked the political will to establish a republican order.