Narrow Results

We construct numerical aneurysm models arisen from both straight and curved arteries, under the hypothesis that high local wall shear stress larger than a certain threshold value will lead to a linear decrease in the wall mechanical properties. Development of aneurysm is observed in both the straight and curved models. In the straight model, the growth of aneurysm is small and only at the distal neck region, and the aneurysm stops growing after several steps. In contrast, in the curved model, the aneurysm continues to grow in height and width. Our computer simulation study shows that even if the wall shear stress inside an aneurysm is low, aneurysm development can occur due to degeneration of the wall distal and proximal to the aneurysm. The interaction between the hemodynamic change (caused by the shape change) and the wall degeneration is key to the development of aneurysms. Our method demonstrates the potential utility of rule-based numerical methods in the investigation of developmental biology of cardiovascular diseases.

Modeling of specification events during development poses new challenges to biochemical modeling. These include data limitations and a notorious absence of homeostasis in developing systems. The sea urchin is one of the best studied model organisms concerning development and a network, the Endomesoderm Network, has been proposed that is presumed to control endoderm and mesoderm specification in the embryo of Strongy-locentrotus purpuratus. We have constructed a dynamic model of a subnetwork of the Endomesoderm Network. In constructing the model, we had to resolve the following issues: choice of appropriate subsystem, assignment of embryonic data to cellular model, choice of appropriate kinetics. Although the resulting model is capable of reproducing fractions of the experimental data, it falls short of reproducing specification of cell types. These findings can facilitate the refinement of the Endomesoderm Network.

Current debates over the future direction of the reform agenda in post-crisis East Asia have to be set in the broader context of the global debate about the role of ideas and ideology in shaping economic policy-making. Particular ideas gain primacy at one stage, but may fade at another juncture, especially at times of crisis (Blyth 2002). The core argument of this paper is that the contest of ideas in economic policy-making can evolve independently of their intellectual merit and empirical credibility. Political interests shape and mediate the process within which policy debates unfold. In the case of post-crisis East Asia, the notion that the political economies of the region need to be fundamentally reformed to re-ignite the ‘economic miracle’ of the pre-crisis era does not stem from a politically neutral, dispassionate and intellectually rigorous analysis of what went wrong in the recession-inducing 1997 financial crisis that engulfed the region. On the contrary, it represents an attempt to re-invent orthodoxy in the domain of economic ideas and ideology by a global policy community that is profoundly influenced by the US, the key international financial institutions (IFIs) over which it exerts such authority, and financial sector interests associated with ‘Wall Street’ (Beeson 2003: 305–326; Woods 2003: 92–114)…

It is hard to overstate the significance of the ‘rise of China’ for the world, let alone East Asia. Even if this is more of a re-emergence than an entrance onto the world stage, it is a development of long-term global significance the consequences of which will reverberate throughout the twenty-first century. For East Asia in particular, China’s re-emergence as a world power presents enormous opportunities and challenges — even threats, perhaps. In short, whatever the leaders of China decide to do over the coming decades it will have a profound influence on its neighbours and help to shape the East Asian region. China will have a large say in deciding whether there actually is an ‘East Asian region’ as such, or whether the dominant rubric will be something more expansive and/or inclusive. It is, therefore, important to look at China’s developmental experience in some detail as it is already the most significant actor in the region and it is likely to become more so. Indeed, for some observers, it is only a question of time before China comes to ‘rule the world’ (Jacques 2009)…

In the aftermath of the Second World War a number of features of the evolving international order were especially striking. Most obviously, the world divided into two implacably opposed ideologically and militarily opposed camps — a structurally entrenched bifurcation that was to distinguish post-war international relations for more than four decades. At the same time, an equally surprising and — arguably — important, but altogether more positive development occurred: much of East Asia began to rapidly industrialise and witnessed a concomitant and seemingly permanent rise in living standards across the region as a consequence. East Asia’s transformation was surprising because even as late as the 1960s and ’70s, influential strands of radical scholarship continued to question whether the ‘peripheral’ parts of an increasingly inter-connected global economy could ever hope to escape the predations and exploitation of the established industrial heartlands of Western Europe and North America. And yet the fact that Japan had rapidly re-established itself as East Asia’s pre-eminent industrial economy appeared to be unequivocal evidence that, not only was rapid economic development possible outside the established ‘core’ economies, but that such a processes might ultimately take on a regional and self-sustaining quality…

Blockchains as digitized, decentralized ledgers allow recordkeeping of peer-to-peer transactions, thus eliminating the need for intervening trusted third parties. This makes the technology useful in altering business processes and transactions not just across industrial sectors but also across economies. However, little research exists on the factors that impede and sponsor blockchain technology adoption in developed relative to developing country contexts. We highlight blockchain technology issues which sponsor/impede its adoption across developing/developed economic contexts. We focus on assessing the flow of money and land registries in these contexts in relation to the propensity to deploy blockchain systems. We then apply our analytical frame resting on real options principles to explore the decision point at which blockchain would be adopted relative to economic development.

Innovation has been redefined as the implementation of a new product, process or organization. Adoption from a developed economy is considered innovation. The mirror image is that productivity growth accounts not only for technical change, but also efficiency change. The latter component is more important to developing economies. R&D pertains more to technical change and competition and free trade to efficiency change. Empirical studies confirm that R&D is more potent in developed economies and that competition and free trade spur development.

This chapter outlines the professional development of a correctional rehabilitation practitioner in the Singapore Prison Service. It begins by explaining how the need for practitioners to possess specialised knowledge and skills is critical in the correctional rehabilitation of offenders. Attention is drawn to the changes in the notion of the correctional rehabilitation context in the Service across time, and its implications on the level and form of professionalism of practitioners. This chapter then outlines the key elements in the professional development framework established to steer practitioners towards attaining their competencies. Specific developmental strategies targeting several principal areas, such as ethics and coaching, are described to provide examples of the training and developmental activities that practitioners undertake and experience. This chapter closes by sharing some possible adaptations in directions that may arise as the Service progresses into the future.

Since the late 2000s, Christian missions have been extensively researched in the fields of long-run comparative economic history. This chapter surveys the main findings of this literature. On the one hand, missionary work went beyond evangelization, as in many cases, missions engaged in activities that today we would consider to be of the realm of international development work, such as education and healthcare. Missionary investments in these sectors have been consistently associated with long-run development benefits, especially in terms of human capital accumulation. On the other hand, research on the cultural transformation sparked by missions has brought more nuanced conclusions, pointing for instance towards increased discriminating behaviors towards non-Christians or towards those not conforming to Christian norms.

Storytelling has been understood as more than a way of promoting a re-storying of the past, in which one single actor would be “the teller of the past.” Storytelling has progressed into a process in that a variety of voices are negotiating in the present how to tell the history in the future. In this context, a variety of tensions can take place. Such tensions can support versions of the past or promote forget-fulness about pieces of the story. However, the storytelling around political and power disputes between groups that have divergent interests have to be studied. In this study, I attempt to promote a political understanding of the relationship between businesses in the extractive industry, local governments, and communities. To understand the context of extractive industries in Brazil, I am exploring a link between antenarrative theory and decolonial thought. I analyze the narratives of different actors that are disputing discourses around the impacts of mining operations. The findings show that communities located in Brazilian mining areas have been concerned about water issues, environmental disasters, and economic welfare. These issues, in particular, have sparked most of the resistance against the expansion of iron ore production. There is a narrative that opposes the type of economic development and well-being that is currently promoted through mineral extraction activities. In conclusion, general dissatisfaction with the current model of development of societies is observed. However, mining companies have many economic and political resources to maintain a privileged relationship with governments and states. Therefore, they are more likely to be the guardians of the story that will be told in the future.

Truly sustainable development can be conceptualized as the sustained attempt to let something or somebody unfold its potential according to its own unique nature. Against the unsustainable paradigms of mass production and overconsumption in today’s world, this chapter presents a series of lesser-known counternarratives of sustainable development which disconnect the world of business from the anxiety of busyness and reconnects it to a broader context of being grounded and connected to the Earth, mindful of the biomechanics of our own bodies and embodying a sensitive mindset of sustainable development. This approach is aligned with the first principle of true storytelling which urges us to be true to ourselves in the sense of caring for and developing a sustainable future, not only for ourselves, but for all living beings.

The theme of Topic Study Group 40 (TSG-40) at the 14^th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-14) (Shanghai, China) is Research and Development on Mathematics Curriculum. TSG-40 was held worldwide on-line style in three sessions of July 13, July 16, and July 17, 2021. This article reports a concise summary of TSG-40 including its organization, theme and description, the list of presentations and program overview, the summary of presentations in the theme of four topics at TSG-40, and future directions and suggestions in the area of research and development on mathematics curriculum.

Developmental time is a trait of great relevance to fitness in all organisms. In holometabolous species that occupy ephemeral habitat, like Drosophila melanogaster, the impact of developmental time upon fitness is further exaggerated. We explored the trade-offs surrounding developmental time by selecting 10 independent populations from two distantly related selection treatments (CB_1-5 and CO_1-5) for faster development. After 125 generations, the resulting accelerated populations (ACB_1-5 and ACO_1-5) displayed net selection responses for development time of -33.4 hours (or 15%) for ACB and -38.6 hours (or 17%) for ACO. Since most of the change in egg-to-adult developmental time was accounted for by changes in larval duration, the “accelerated” larvae were estimated to develop 25-30% faster than their control/ancestor populations. The responses of ACB and ACO lines were remarkably parallel, despite being founded from populations evolved independently for more than 300 generations. On average, these “A” populations developed from egg to adult in less than eight days and produced fertile eggs less than 24 hours after emerging. Accelerated populations showed no change in larval feeding rate, but a reduction in pupation height, the latter being a trait relating to larval energetic expenditure in wandering prior to pupation. This experiment demonstrates the existence of a negative evolutionary correlation between preadult developmental time and viability, as accelerated populations experienced a severe cost in preadult survivorship. In the final assay generation, viability of accelerated treatments had declined by more than 10%, on average. A diallel cross demonstrated that the loss of viability in the ACO lines was not due to inbreeding depression. These results suggest the existence of a rapid development syndrome, in which the fitness benefits of fast development are balanced by fitness costs resulting from reduced preadult survivorship, marginal larval storage of metabolites, and reduced adult size.

With the constant improvement of the complexity for a software system and under the vehemence of modern market competition among enterprises, it is necessary to improve the quality of the software and to reduce the developing cycle of the software. Distributed component technology is used widely because of its advantages. Three mainstream component technologies are discussed: EJB, CORBA, and COM/DCOM. EJB components can not only run at any platform, but also they can transplant totally between the application program servers. Application software architecture and object technical specification are established in CORBA, and its technical cores are a set of standard language, interface and protocol. COM is a criterion how component is updated alternately, CCM defines the operation mode of components and their customers, and DCOM is a model based on client and server, expanding COM, supporting the communication on the basis of LAN, WAN even Internet. Either EJB or CORBA or COM/DCOM will influence profoundly on our life and work styles.

Beginning with the characteristic of city roads network, this article discusses two algorithms based on abstract network and network topological relation model which gets the shortest path between two points in a city's road net, and the algorithms are implemented with program. At the end of the article, it provides some instance of urban area transportation map as processed object; it makes analysis and comparison of two algorithm's complexity and applicability.

This paper reviews the identification and functional characterization of GLK genes in diverse plant species. In so doing, a hypothesis is proposed to suggest how GLK gene function differs in C₃ and C₄ species. Finally, suggestions are made about how this research and other genetic strategies could be used to produce C₄ rice.

How would perfect competition affect the distribution of income in China? To answer this question, we integrate the two main streams of income distribution theory, namely the functional and the personal income approaches. First, using a general equilibrium model of China comprising 30 sectors and 27 provinces, marginal productivities are used as competitive commodity prices and factor rewards. Second, the rewards are imputed to households using their compositions in terms of persons and factor endowment entitlements. The ensuing distribution is contrasted with the status quo. Less skilled labor would stand to lose and, therefore, inequality would mount. Skilled workers, managers and technicians would move from Western and Central China to Eastern China. These flows would be more than offset by a flow of unskilled labor from Eastern China to Central China. Our finding that Eastern China has too many unskilled workers, relative to the competitive benchmark, suggests that the Harris-Todaro mechanism operates in China. Competition would change the predominant nature of inequality from the rural-urban divide to differences between the social classes. Moreover, the existing negative relationship between development and inequality would evaporate.

The world witnessed soaring numbers of overseas Chinese students and scholars migrating back to China in recent years. According to the Ministry of Education of China, in 2012 alone, over 272,900 overseas Chinese students returned. The number of migrants returning back to China rose to 353,500 in 2013. In total, nearly 500,000 overseas Chinese scholars returned to China in the last 30 years since China opened up to the world. Chinese called these returned migrants as haigui or “sea turtles”, because it sounds the same as the phrase “returned from overseas”. These haigui have new knowledge, skills, technologies and global networks that are not available in China. They are helping China transform from a merely manufacturing capital into a global hub of innovation. With the rise of China, the haigui has become a global phenomenon that has been an interest of and reported by global media, as well as studied by the Chinese and western scholars. This paper attempts to explore and analyze (1) Why the haigui are returning to China? (2) What roles they are playing in helping in China’s transformation and rise? (3) How they are helping China transform into a knowledge-based economy ruled by laws of free market society? (4) What the future holds for the haigui?

Modular transport is a mode of transportation used in conjunction with longer combination vehicles for long-distance transportation, complying with EU regulations and standards for transport units. It can improve transportation efficiency, reduce road congestion, fuel consumption and pollutant emissions, thereby contributing to the development of smooth, efficient, secure and green road freight transportation. In this paper, the modular concept's history, composition, advantages and development prospects are researched, and the modular system of road freight vehicles is described in detail. These provide a reference for the optimization of freight vehicles, improvements in cargo business models, revision of standards related to vehicle mass and overall dimensions, and the government's management policies in China.

Reconstruction and development in poor, fragile countries present a doublechallenge: tackling the issues of poverty and underdevelopment as well as the constraints posed by instability, poor governance and weak capacity. This context generates a range of problems that include: insecurity, insufficient planning, inadequate implementation capacity, poor financial management, misprocurement, corruption, a volatile fiscal environment, ineffective donor coordination, and negative environmental and social impacts. The chapter draws lessons from positive and negative experience in meeting these challenges in three conflict and/or disaster-affected cases: Aceh Province, Indonesia (post-disaster reconstruction and post-conflict development following the tsunami and earthquakes of 2004); Haiti (post-disaster recovery following the earthquake of 2010) and South Sudan (post-conflict development following independence in 2011). These lessons are then organized in an assessment framework of risks and mitigation measures to assist academics and practitioners to understand and address the challenges of reconstruction and development in fragile states.