178,603 research outputs found
Patterns of higher education institutions in the UK
No full textA report by Professor Brian Ramsden to the Longer Term Strategy Group of Universities UKSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m01/38334 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
FCI: an R-based algorithm for evaluating uncertainty of absolute real-time PCR quantification
No full textBackground: FCI is an R code for analyzing data from real-time PCR experiments. This algorithm estimates standard curve features as well as nucleic acid concentrations and confidence intervals according to Fieller's theorem. Results: In order to describe the features of FCI four situations were selected from real data collected during an international external quality assessment program for quantitative assays based on real-time PCR. The code generates a diagnostic figure suitable for assessing the quality of the quantification process. Conclusion: We have provided a freeware programme using this algorithm specifically designed to increase the information content of the real-time PCR assay. © 2008 Verderio et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd
From acquiescence to expectation : The Ramsden v Dyson principle today
No full textWhat is now referred to as the Ramsden v Dyson principle began life as nothing more than a bundle of instances in which equity would assert jurisdiction.
It experienced a period of systematisation in the later years of last century when attempts were made to encumber it with a series of rules.
In the middle years of the present century, with Lord Denning taking the lead, the Ramsden v Dyson principle quickly shed these rules and took on the wider function of providing the courts with a weapon whereby non contractual expectations may be fulfilled, or otherwise protected.
The basis upon which the courts determine whether the expectation will be fulfilled is whether or not it would be unconscionable to the representee to allow the expectation to remain unfulfilled. This will normally involve some degree of detriment to the representee if the representor is permitted to resile from the expectation which he has raised in the mind of the representee.
Thus in order to succeed in invoking the Ramsden v Dyson principle the representee has to show the existence of two basic requirements. Firstly, that the other party, the representor that is, has raised an expectation which would be such to influence a reasonable man. Secondly that it would be unconscionable for the expectation not to be fulfilled.
The present state of the law allows virtually a complete discretion to the courts as to when they will assert jurisdiction and as to the remedy which will be decreed. The remedy is not limited to a simple specific performance of the expectation.
The basis of the Ramsden v Dyson principle is barely distinguishable from that underlying other heads of estoppel such as the High Trees principle and the Dillwyn v Llewelyn principle.
With the departure of Lord Denning M.R. from the judicial scene a degree of momentum has apparently been removed from the development of the principle and there have been signs in some recent cases of attempts to limit the further development of the principle.
The method of investigation has been by orthodox case analysis with the division of the work following from the judicial decisions
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
"Closing the R&D Gap, Evaluating the Sources of R&D Spending"
No full textBoth spending and tax policies have been implemented in the United States with the goal of stimulating private sector research and development (R&D). Karier questions whether current R&D policy, especially the research and experimentation tax credit, can contribute to closing the gap between nondefense expenditures on R&D in the United States and such expenditures in other countries, such as Japan and Germany. He also explores possible changes to our current R&D policy to make it more effective.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Nanotechnology Applied to Stem Cell-Substratum Interactions
No full textThe modulation of biological interaction with artificial surfaces is a vital aspect of
biomaterials research. Perhaps the most challenging area is transplantation involving the
introduction of stem cells into the body with their ability to differentiate; the response of
stem cells to implanted biomaterials (or to the host tissue) provides a uniquely sensitive
way to explore biocompatibility. An understanding of how to direct specific substratumcellular
responses is critical for the development of future biomaterials (e.g., for
prosthesis).
Attachment and spreading of a cell to and on a substratum are the first part of the
process that leads to the ultimate assimilation of the new cell or prosthesis with the host
tissue. Together with conventional microscopy, I have exploited a uniquely powerful
noninvasive optical technique (Optical Waveguide Lightmode Spectroscopy, OWLS) to
quantify cell attachment and spreading of stem cells to artificial biomaterials, and
determine how the cell environment (the substratum),the complex liquid medium
bathing the cell, and the presence of congeners, influence attachment and spreading.
My results highlight that quantitative characterisation of interfacial interactions,
including their kinetics leads to uniquely new insight into cell-protein-material
interactions. This knowledge will be doubtless be useful in the development of new
generations of biomaterials with improved properties designed for specific applications
Pyrroles and their derivatives: structure
No full textThis chapter covers the literature from 1995 to June 2006 concerning structural investigations of pyrroles, indoles, carbazoles, and their tautomers. Included are sections on theoretical methods, spectroscopic methods, that is, X-ray crystallography, microwave spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (proton, carbon-13 and nitrogen-15), ultraviolet, fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and other structural methods, and thermodynamic aspects such as aromaticity and tautomerism. Coverage of the topics reflects a shift in emphasis from traditional spectroscopic techniques to newer ones, and the burst of theoretical approaches as a means to integrate and strengthen the interpretative value of molecular spectroscopy
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