Period Of Explosive Growth Research Articles

Selective regimen shift and demographic growth increase associated with the emergence of high-fitness variants of canine parvovirus

The natural evolution of Canine parvovirus (CPV) is characterized by a variety of mutations, mainly in the VP1/VP2 gene. Although positive selection has been previously reported in CPV, little is known about its overall contribution to viral adaptation in the canine population. Herein, the influences of the evolutive constraints on CPV during a period of viral adaptation into a previously uninfected population are more clearly investigated. To do this, 31 sequences of VP1/VP2 gene obtained from symptomatic domestic dogs in Brazil were used, sampled from 1980 to 2000. Marked evolutionary changes in CPV associated with a process of fine-tuning adaptation were observed. Specifically, sequences from the 1980s revealed two distinct antigenic types (i.e. 2a and 2b) cocirculating in Brazil. Moreover, analysis of the selective regimen showed that 90% of the VP2 sites were conserved ( d N/ d S = 0). In contrast, sequences from the 1990s were composed solely of CPV-2a with 96% of VP2 sites under purifying selection ( d N/ d S < 1) and site 297 under strong positive selection ( ω = 4.9). Important features regarding the demographic history of CPV in Brazil were also observed. The viral population size passed through a short period of explosive growth that declined and then stabilized into a constant rate of spread. Remarkably, the explosive growth coincided with the appearance of CPV variants that presented a unique repertoire of mutations never before seen in other worldwide strains. The analysis also showed that the estimated nucleotide substitution was similar to those commonly observed in fast evolving RNA viruses. The present results demonstrated the adaptive potential of CPV to acquire, in short interval of 10 years, key mutations in the VP1/VP 2 gene that increased viral fitness and enabled the virus to disseminate even in vaccinated dogs.

Inoculation Theory of Resistance to Influence at Maturity: Recent Progress In Theory Development and Application and Suggestions for Future Research

Inoculation theory boasts a dynamic history since McGuire first introduced it in the early 1960s. The last decade, in particular, has been a period of explosive growth for inoculation. Research has offered a more nuanced understanding of how inoculation confers resistance, exploring precise workings of inoculation’s core concepts of threat and coun-terarguing in conjunction with concepts drawn from other theoretical domains, including issue involvement, attitude accessibility, self-efficacy, and affect. Research is also extending practical applications of inoculation, examining new uses in marketing, public relations, politics, and adolescent health campaigns. The purpose of this chapter is to review the classic work on inoculation theory, examine recent developments that inform the workings of inoculation and its applications, and suggest directions for future research. The chapter also suggests extending the application of inoculation into the areas of childhood obesity, body image, gang activity, consumer protection, and employee satisfaction, among others.

Simulation of the solar hot water systems diffusion: the case of Greece

The main object of this paper is the documentation and study of the main factors behind the spectacular diffusion of solar energy use for domestic hot water production in Greece. The time pattern of the diffusion of flat-plate solar collectors since its ‘out of the blue’ first appearance in 1974, shows that the diffusion rate grew exponentially at first, with the annual sales figure reaching 91,000 m 2 by 1980. A rate slow down in the early 1980s was followed by a brief period of explosive growth, with the annual sales figure reaching its peak value of more than 185,000 m 2 in mid-1980s. A rapid decline of the growth rate down to the present annual sales level followed. The installed solar collectors pattern has the characteristic form of an S-shape curve, representing the overall penetration of the flat-plate solar collector use for domestic hot water production in the Greek economy and society. This evolution has gone through an inflection point around 1987, i.e. at a time when about 1,000,000 m 2 of collectors had been already installed. By the year 2000, about 2,070,000 m 2 of collectors had been installed, with a tendency to level off by 2010, unless some of the present conditions determining this phenomenon change.

What happened to Europe’s wireless advantage?

In the 1990s, the Euro‐Nordic industry leaders in wireless communications enjoyed a period of explosive growth as the vision of the mobile Internet captured the market momentum. But the bursting of the Internet bubble, excessive 3G licence fees and the general industry downturn has dramatically affected Europe’s wireless future. This article examines the reasons for the success of Europe’s wireless communications in the 1990s, explains its vulnerabilities and draws lessons for the future.

A research report on private residence clubs: a new concept for second home ownership

The resort industry is entering a period of explosive growth, and luxury fractional second homes, also called private residence clubs (PRCs), are the latest craze in the continued evolution of the resort industry. The market is currently untapped and is demonstrating pent-up demand. The PRC appeals to affluent vacation homebuyers who are reluctant to invest a substantial amount of capital in a second or third home that receives infrequent use. A PRC offers a viable alternative to whole ownership for these buyers.

Private residence clubs: A new concept for second home ownership

The resort industry is entering a period of explosive growth, and luxury fractional second homes, also called private residence clubs (PRCs), are the latest craze in the continued evolution of the resort industry. The market is currently untapped and is demonstrating pent-up demand. The PRC appeals to affluent vacation homebuyers who are reluctant to invest a substantial amount of capital in a second or third home that receives infrequent use. A PRC offers a viable alternative to whole ownership for these buyers. This paper describes fractional resort products in their current evolutionary cycle. Included are the key features of a luxury fractional home that set it apart from traditional timeshare and fractionals positioned in the low or moderate tiers of the market. The concept and function of a PRC, the product features that meet the needs of a sophisticated discerning consumer and emerging trends in the industry are addressed in this paper.

The early days of optical coatings

The history of optical coatings is a long one with many observations and publications but little industrial activity until a period of explosive growth began in the 1940s. The trigger was World War II and the need on all sides for improved optical instruments ranging from binoculars to periscopes and bombsights, but it is certain that the growth would have occurred, perhaps a year or two later, even without the war. After the war the growth continued, partly because of military needs, but much more because of other factors such as the continuing growth in general optics, the enormous expansion of the chemical industry and its need for infrared and visible analytical tools, the need for narrowband contrast enhancing filters in astronomy, and then, very significantly, the laser. Nowadays, optical coatings are indispensible features of virtually all optical systems.

Has new business creation in russia come to a halt?

Successful transformation of centrally planned economies requires not just the privatization of the existing firms, but also the formation of new ones. New entrants serve to correct for the central planners' neglect of such sectors as services and consumer goods, and their bias in favor of large firms. Indeed, Central European economies have been experiencing a rapid rate of new business creation, as measured by the change in the number of small firms. Russia also experienced a short period of explosive growth in the number of new business. However, since 1994 net new business formation has stagnated. This paper looks into the possible causes of this phenomenon. Official data on the change in the number of small businesses, which serve as a proxy for net new business formation, arouse justified suspicion because of the frequent changes in the definition of “small enterprise.” Like everywhere in the world, some Russian registered firms do not become operational, and some firms that have ceased operations do not legally disband. If the share of these “dead souls” in the total count of small firms changes over time and official statistics does not adjust its count accordingly, the data may show the opposite of the actual processes. This paper analyzes Russian data collection procedures and other evidence, and concludes that stagnation in the new business formation is a real phenomenon, rather than a statistical artifact. The difficulty in finding out the causes of stagnation is that empirical studies focus on the existing businesses and miss those that should have been born but were not. The problems faced by the incumbents and frustrated entrants may well be different. The likely causes of the end of new business creation are the increased tax and regulatory burden, combined with plunder by the numerous tax and regulatory authorities. Other possible explanations involve the incumbents' use of the authorities and/or racketeers to erect barriers against new entrants.

The PIR-International Protein Sequence Database.

The Protein Information Resource (PIR; http://www-nbrf.georgetown. edu/pir/) supports research on molecular evolution, functional genomics, and computational biology by maintaining a comprehensive, non-redundant, well-organized and freely available protein sequence database. Since 1988 the database has been maintained collaboratively by PIR-International, an international association of data collection centers cooperating to develop this resource during a period of explosive growth in new sequence data and new computer technologies. The PIR Protein Sequence Database entries are classified into superfamilies, families and homology domains, for which sequence alignments are available. Full-scale family classification supports comparative genomics research, aids sequence annotation, assists database organization and improves database integrity. The PIR WWW server supports direct on-line sequence similarity searches, information retrieval, and knowledge discovery by providing the Protein Sequence Database and other supplementary databases. Sequence entries are extensively cross-referenced and hypertext-linked to major nucleic acid, literature, genome, structure, sequence alignment and family databases. The weekly release of the Protein Sequence Database can be accessed through the PIR Web site. The quarterly release of the database is freely available from our anonymous FTP server and is also available on CD-ROM with the accompanying ATLAS database search program.

THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE TWO-YEAR COLLEGES IN WISCONSIN : THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN COLLEGES AND THE WISCONSIN TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM

The University of Wisconsin Colleges and the Wisconsin Technical College System exist as two distinct components within Wisconsin's higher education structure. The early period in the development of the two - year institutions from 1900 to 1925, the period of change and mild growth from 1933 to 1945, the period following World War II, and the period of explosive growth and then stability from 1960 to present are discussed in the chapter. Included in the story are landmark legislative actions, prominent individuals, and significant occurrences instrumental to the history and development of two - year institutions in Wisconsin.

ZYGON'S 1996 EXPEDITION INTO NEUROSCIENCE AND RELIGION

Abstract. Neuroscience is in a period of explosive growth. To address the implications of the new findings for religion and science, Zyvon in 1996 published fifteen articles in this field. Although the authors'explorations of neuroscience and religion are various, three issues in particular are addressed repeatedly: (1) the nature of human identity, or hallmarks of humanness; (2) the nature and origin of religious consciousness; and (3) our means of discovering or constructing order and integration in the brain/mind, in the environment, and holistically. With these categories as templates, this article correlates the findings of the Zygon neuroscience contributors of 1996.

Cardiac Electrophysiology: From Cell to Bedside

This book by Drs Zipes and Jalife contains complete and up-to-date information on cardiac electrophysiology. The two chief authors, together with 253 contributors, present fresh, original material, stimulating discussions, and the latest therapeutic measures for a broad range of topics in cardiovascular electrophysiology and disturbances. The book stands out as a unique publication in medicine and cardiology. The gem-packed text has 12 parts, each with three to 20 chapters, that present discussions of molecular physiology and single-channel activity; cellular electrophysiology and impulse propagation; morphological correlations; nervous control; presentation and course of arrhythmias and syndromes; diagnostic studies; and therapy. During the current period of explosive growth in scientific information, many new books on various medical topics would have to be revised or updated almost as soon as they appeared in print. Skirting traditional practice, the editors of this book have devised an innovative approach by inviting their contributing authors to share

Cardiac Electrophysiology: From Cell to Bedside

This book by Drs Zipes and Jalife contains complete and up-to-date information on cardiac electrophysiology. The two chief authors, together with 253 contributors, present fresh, original material, stimulating discussions, and the latest therapeutic measures for a broad range of topics in cardiovascular electrophysiology and disturbances. The book stands out as a unique publication in medicine and cardiology. The gem-packed text has 12 parts, each with three to 20 chapters, that present discussions of molecular physiology and single-channel activity; cellular electrophysiology and impulse propagation; morphological correlations; nervous control; presentation and course of arrhythmias and syndromes; diagnostic studies; and therapy. During the current period of explosive growth in scientific information, many new books on various medical topics would have to be revised or updated almost as soon as they appeared in print. Skirting traditional practice, the editors of this book have devised an innovative approach by inviting their contributing authors to share

Two Centuries of American Medicine 1776-1976

This mammoth book is divided into three parts (The First Century: 1776-1876, Period of Scientific Advance: 1876-1946, and Period of Explosive Growth: 1946-1976). It is written for the interested layman, as well as the physician, and the authors make it clear that their story is one of a straight path of progress. No space is devoted to people and events that are not obviously part of that straight line. Nor is there any consideration of the cut and thrust, serendipity and luck, that are so often associated with medical and scientific developments. The authors indicate that these omissions are a limitation of their work; historians may well say a severe limitation. On the other hand, by often reminding the reader of relevant background information, such as social conditions and mechanisms of funding research (and the important effect this has had on American medical education), the authors make clearto the alert

The Emergence of Differential Fertility in Urban Egypt

Egypt is a classic example of a modernizing society that has already experienced a marked drop in fertility. Projections for the future need to now consider the time when Egypt will enter the next phase of demographic transition that is a declining birthrate. If demographic theory is correct - the beginning of an overall decline in fertility will be signaled by the emrgence within the urban population of fertility differences by socioeconomic class - the presence or absence of fertility differentials in urban Egypt needs to be examined if an estimate is to be made of how close this country is to ending her period of explosive growth. Data from the Census of 1960 concerning the number of her period of explosive growth. Data from the Census of 1960 concerning the number of children ever born by age of wife within given duration-of-marriage classes; education of wife within the same duration-of-marriage classes; and ocupation of husband by duration-of-marriage class are analyzed. The analysis reveals that education appears to be a most significant variable in the fertility of urban Egyptian women. There is a clear inverse relationship between the educational attainment of wives and the number of children born by them. Among women married for less than 5 years the strength of this variable is almost obscured by the operation of what appears to be a universal pattern of immediate unspaced childbearing regardless of educational level. However among women married for longer duration differences in education are increasingly reflected in fertility differentials. It appears probable from the data that at least among women married less than 20 years those who married between the ages of 20-25 had the highest fertility rates while those marrying later had significantly lower rates. Regarding occupation of hysband ranking by class is inversely correlated with fertility within each of the duration-of-marriage intervals although the range of variation is not nearly so great as that apparent when the independent variable was the wifes educational level.

ILLUSTRATED JOURNALISM.

The career of the Anglo-American artist Matthew Somerville Morgan illuminates some of the connections linking developments in illustrated journalism in Britain and the United States during a period of explosive growth and technological transformation. Although popular demand for printed pictures is as old as print itself, most pictorial reproductions were produced from metal plate engravings which were not only costly but, being engraved in intaglio, could not be printed together with raised type. However the wooden block, engraved in relief, made it possible to print a page combining letterpress and illustration in a single operation, an essential precondition for mass-market pictorial journalism. As is well known, the first two journals to effectively cash in on this formula were Punch and the Illustrated London News, first appearing in 1841 and 1842 respectively. Imitators were quick to follow and the supply of wood engravers expanded rapidly to meet demand, as did that of illustrators to draw on the blocks. Matt Morgan had won a considerable name for himself as a commercial artist in London, when he decided to take his talents to the United States, where he was to become even better known as an unusually versatile popular artist and illustrator. Morgan was born into London’s artistic community in 1836. 1 His father was a minor actor and music teacher, his mother a minor actress