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Novice teachers experience language about literacy instruction from a variety of sources. This longitudinal case study uses Bakhtin’s notions of authoritative and internally persuasive discourse to consider how four novice teachers negotiated messages regarding literacy instruction from the conclusion of preservice education through their first 2 years of teaching. Although the challenges of the initial years of teaching have been studied, limited attention has been given to the ways in which novice teachers negotiate and take up language about literacy instruction within their school contexts. Interviews and email journals were used as data sources. Findings reveal that novice teachers perceived authoritative discourse from curricula, programs and assessments, and instructional expectations of administrators or senior colleagues. Participants accessed internally persuasive literacy discourses through questioning, supplementing, and changing literacy programs they perceived as required by authorities. Implications for teacher educators, researchers, and school personnel are discussed.

With the proliferation of user generated online reviews, uncovering helpful restaurant reviews is increasingly challenging for potential consumers. Heuristics (such as “Likes”) not only facilitate this process but also enhance the social impact of a review on an Online Opinion Platform. Based on Dual Process Theory and Social Impact Theory, this study explores which contextual and descriptive attributes of restaurant reviews influence the reviewee to accept a review as helpful and thus, “Like” the review. Utilising both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, a big data sample of 58,468 restaurant reviews on Zomato were analysed. Results revealed the informational factor of positive recommendation framing and the normative factors of strong argument quality and moderate recommendation ratings, influence the generation of a reviewee “Like”. This study highlights the important filtering function a heuristic can offer prospective customers which can also result in greater social impact for the Online Opinion Platform.

PurposeThis study aims to consolidate and hone existing spectating and crowd theory. This is achieved by marrying socio-cultural ideas and concepts from related disciplines.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual review examines what people do when they congregate at an event, and in doing so, answers the question of what they forgo when denied a crowd. Concepts are teased from the literature as to what happens during participatory congregation (in company,in situ), punctuated by relegation without it.FindingsRelated concepts are organised into a typology. The metamodel is the essence of the paper and includes four themes: (1) identity construction, (2) interacting with others, (3) producing and co-producing the event and (4) the allure of tribalism.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is conceptual and therefore a typology (not a taxonomy). This implies that while it is likely transferable, it is not generalisable. It is manual and subjective, as opposed to objective and automatic. Notwithstanding future research implications, it is intended to inform those considering running virtual events.Practical implicationsEvent organisers are informed as to the “what” and “why” of running community events. It encourages a more circumspect, humanistic view that events are not merely a source of revenue.Social implicationsThis review contributes a macro understanding of human nature, complementing a micro understanding of crowd behaviour.Originality/valueVirtual event management is a relatively new and burgeoning field. Prior to the Pandemic an event without a crowd was almost inconceivable.

Using case study methodology, this study follows three elementary teachers transitioning from their teacher education programs through their first year of teaching. Guided by the tenets of Pose, Wo...

Content-area standards foreground the importance of reading and writing across the disciplines. With this in mind, it is important to examine the beliefs and practices of teachers who successfully ...

A shortage of suitable franchisees has long plagued the Australian franchise industry impacting franchisors’ capacity to grow their chains. This exploratory research identifies, defines and examine...

PurposeThis industry viewpoint paper provides a comprehensive overview and critical viewpoint on the use of collectable toy premiums via instant reward programs (IRP) within the retail industry as a marketing tool.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws upon the uses of a “free” collectable toy premium promotion with a fixed purchase spend (via an IRP) in the supermarket industry as a marketing instrument to increase customer basket spend and repeat visits. Reflections on the recent use of toy premiums by Australian supermarket retailers are also utilised to highlight the ingredients for a successful promotion but also the controversies associated with such promotions.FindingsOne of the key findings suggest that the role of toy premiums is a successful marketing tool by retailers to increase customer total basket spending. However, notable points of caution regarding offering IRPs incorporating collectable toy premiums promotions are established, including environmental concerns and the social, ethical dilemma as to whether these promotions are indirectly targeted at children rather than adult consumers.Practical implicationsThe findings have important implications for retailers to attract customer attention, increased market spend and repeat purchases through a desired collectable premium promotion (via an IRP).Originality/valueThis is the first paper to critically review the usage of collectable toy premiums within the supermarket retail industry.

Franchising has long been a method by which organizations seek to expand and facilitate local market development. However, franchising as a growth strategy can often be hampered by lack of suitable franchisees. To mitigate this shortage, some franchisors have engaged in recruiting franchisees internally from the ranks of their employees in addition to the traditional approach of recruiting franchisees externally. Predominantly franchisees are individuals rather than corporations and thus purchasing a franchise should most commonly be characterized as a consumer acquisition. To explore the relationship between subjective knowledge, perceived risk, and information search behaviors when purchasing a franchise qualitative interviews were conducted with franchisees from the restaurant industry. Half of these respondents were externally recruited having never worked for the franchisor and half were internally recruited having previously been employees of the franchisor. The external recruits expressed a strong desire to own their own business and engaged in extensive decision-making processes with significant information search when purchasing their franchises. Contrastingly, the internal recruits expressed a strong desire to be their own boss and engaged in limited, bordering on habitual decision-making processes with negligible information search when acquiring their franchises. The results reveal that differences in subjective knowledge and perceived risk appear to significantly impact the extent of information search between these two groups. A model of the relationship between subjective knowledge, perceived risk and information search in the purchasing of a franchise is developed that reconciles these findings. The findings also have practical implications for franchisors’ franchisee recruiting efforts which are integral to their capacity to develop local markets.

Online brand communities (OBCs) provide businesses with a mechanism to generate unparalleled consumer engagement, loyal customer relationships, and reliable marketing intelligence. Pertinent to the effectiveness of OBCs is the development of social capital that has the propensity to enhance the quality of interactive relationships within the community, thereby influencing factors critical to the ongoing success of the OBC. This paper considers existing conceptualisations of social capital in the on and offline environments to develop and test an empirical social capital scale specific to OBCs. Results indicate that social capital in an OBC environment is a multidimensional construct determined by the level of shared language, shared vision, social trust and reciprocity that exists within the structure of the community. The resultant online brand community social capital (OBCSC) scale exhibits sound psychometric properties demonstrating a reliable and valid measure.

Online brand communities (OBC) are growing in number and becoming an increasingly important interface where marketers can effectively facilitate the relationship between their brand and consumers. A qualitative study using a four-month netnography over three OBCs followed by focus groups with OBC members explored the dynamics of social capital in these communities. Findings indicate that social capital is an important driver in the success of OBCs, and all the elements of social capital including a shared language, shared vision, social trust and reciprocity are evident. Moreover, results from this study indicate that these elements are crucial in developing the network ties that are integral to building loyalty and brand equity.

International audience; Highlights:• Citizen science is a useful tool for monitoring snow leopard (Panthera uncia) populations over long periods of time.• Naryn State Nature reserve hosts a breeding population of at least 5 snow leopards with a balanced sex ratio along the study.• Snow leopards territories overlaps regardless of their sex in Naryn State Nature reserve.• Significant snow leopard presence at the edge and buffer zone of the reserve advocates for extending the core reserve limits.Abstract:Four field seasons of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) camera trapping inside Naryn State Nature Reserve, Kyrgyzstan, performed thanks to citizen science expeditions, allowed detecting a minimal population of five adults, caught every year with an equilibrated sex ratio (1.5:1) and reproduction: five cubs or subadults have been identified from three litters of two different females. Crossings were observed one to three times a year, in front of most camera traps, and several times a month in front of one of them. Overlap of adults' minimal territories was observed in front of several camera traps, regardless of their sex. Significant snow leopard presence was detected in the buffer area and at Ulan area which is situated at the reserve border. To avoid poaching on this apex predator and its preys, extending the more stringent protection measures of the core zone to both the Southern buffer area and land adjacent to Ulan is recommended.

International audience

Malaria is associated with complicated immunopathogenesis. In this study, we provide evidence for an unexpected role of TLR3 in promoting the establishment of Plasmodium yoelii infection through delayed clearance of parasitemia in wild type C57BL/6jRj (B6) compared with TLR3 knockout mice. In this study, we confirmed an increased expression of Tlr3, Trif, Tbk1, and Irf7/Irf3 in the liver 42 h postinfection and the initiation of an early burst of proinflammatory response such as Ifng, NF-kB, and Tnfa in B6 mice that may promote parasite fitness. Interestingly, in the absence of TLR3, we showed the involvement of high IFN-γ and lower type I IFN response in the early clearance of parasitemia. In parallel, we observed an increase in splenic NK and NKT cells expressing TLR3 in infected B6 mice, suggesting a role for TLR sensing in the innate immune response. Finally, we find evidence that the increase in the frequency of CD19+TLR3+ B cells along with reduced levels of total IgG in B6 mice possibly suggests the initiation of TLR3-dependent pathway early during P. yoelii infection. Our results thus reveal a new mechanism in which a parasite-activated TLR3 pathway promotes blood stage infection along with quantitative and qualitative differences in Ab responses.

Contexte : Exercer une profession dans le domaine de la santé s’accompagne de la nécessité de respecter les exigences législatives et les standards de pratique tout en ayant la capacité de faire des choix. Ces choix reposent notamment sur la sélection de traitements et de modes d’intervention. Buts : L’objectif principal est d’évaluer la perception du niveau d’aisance d’étudiants en pharmacie exposés à un dispositif didactique contextualisé portant sur la validation d’ordonnances d’un nouveau médicament. L’objectif secondaire est d’évaluer les perceptions des étudiants en ce qui concerne leur formation entourant la prise de décision. Méthodes : Il s’agit d’une étude descriptive transversale. L’étude cible une population d’étudiants en pharmacie dans le cadre d’un cours de 3e année au doctorat professionnel en pharmacie, à la Faculté de pharmacie de l’Université de Montréal. Il n’existe pas de groupe contrôle. La première partie porte sur un dispositif didactique contextualisé de 10 étapes. La deuxième partie est un questionnaire en ligne. Cette étude a été réalisée à partir d’un outil en ligne (SurveyMonkey, Palo Alto (CA), USA). Résultats : Un total de 176 répondants a fourni des réponses complètes et exploitables (taux de participation : 95 %). Le dispositif didactique contextualisé permet de sensibiliser les participants au fait qu’ils doivent prendre des décisions raisonnables (p.ex. choisir ou non de valider une ordonnance). Conclusion : Cette étude illustre la faisabilité de réaliser un dispositif didactique contextualisé portant sur l’analyse et la dispensation d’un nouveau médicament. Les données recueillies mettent en évidence la capacité de faire varier le niveau d’aisance à réaliser différentes actions à partir d’éléments d’information. Une majorité des répondants se dit assez formée pour évaluer l’efficacité d’un médicament, sa sécurité et la conformité aux règles mais beaucoup moins pour évaluer le coût d’un médicament. Il apparaît utile d’envisager davantage de formation sur la prise de décision incluant le coût en pharmacie.

This case focuses on marketing public policy and legislation issues in the business environment. The Commonwealth Government of Australia wants to impose mandatory warning labels for fast-food served by quick-service chainrestaurants like McDonald’s. These warnings are to appear on fast-food packaging to warn diners of the possible harms arising from consuming fast-food. This is similar to the warnings that are used in Australia on tobacco product packages. This highlights a turning point where legislators appear to be heeding calls of vocal pressure groups to curb and legislate the industry’s activities. The loudest calls have appeared in well-publicized legal cases and film documentaries like Super-Size Me. McDonald’s has been well-aware of these challenges. The company continues to respond and fight legal challenges on these points. As a result, the company has improved its supply chain, employees’ work-conditions, their treatment of animals, their stores, food and customer service to offer leaner, healthier and more upmarket products. The few vocal critics who have secured media coverage seem to rely on sensationalizing the issue — e.g., eating McDonald’s for 30 days makes you fat. They seem to ignore the results from other experiments where people who ate suitable portions of McDonald’s food for the same 30 day period actually lost weight. Other challenges that have been found to be lies in courts of law include allegations of animal cruelty, unsafe food and food that makes people obese. Yet the public continue to believe these allegations. Can the industry do more, or do something different, to change people’s minds?

The caravanning industry in Australia continues to grow, largely due to increasing participation amongst older adults (‘Grey Nomads’). Concurrently, communication technology is increasingly more mobile and the use of social networking sites (SNS) amongst older adults is at an unprecedented level. Through in-depth interviews with 29 Grey Nomads caravanning through Mid-West Western Australia, this study explores the use(s) of SNS amongst Grey Nomads. Respondents were classified as active, passive or non-users of SNS. Emergent themes effecting the use of SNS include its ‘perceived usefulness’ and the level of Grey Nomad ‘self-efficacy’. Grey Nomads have a pragmatic approach to SNS, acknowledging SNS allows them to ‘stay connected’ and is a useful ‘source of information’. This study contributes to initiating an understanding of how Grey Nomads use SNS within their caravanning environment. Stakeholders in the caravanning industry should ensure the incorporation and strategic use of SNS in their marketing and business operations.

Cerebral malaria is the deadliest complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Its pathophysiology is associated with a strong pro-inflammatory reaction and the activation of glial cells. Among modulators released during the infection, heme seems to play a controversial role in the pathophysiology of malaria. Herein, we first investigated the phenotype of glial cells during cerebral malaria in C57BL/6 mice infected with P. berghei ANKA. Given the fact that high levels of heme were associated with cerebral malaria, we then investigated its impact on microglial, astrocyte, and T cell responses to further clarify its contribution in the neuropathophysiology. Surprisingly, we found that administration of heme twice a day from day three of infection induced the expression of the Heme oxygenase-1 (Hmox1) gene and prevented brain damages. More specifically, heme inhibited the M1 phenotype of microglia, hampered the activation of astrocytes, and decreased the cerebral expression of Ifng, Tnfa and Ip10. Heme might that way alter the migration of pathogenic CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes within the brain observed during cerebral malaria. Taking into account that cerebral malaria results from a complex interplay between host- and parasite-derived factors, it is possible that genetic polymorphisms of Hmox1, which could be associated with the control of systemic levels of heme during P. falciparum infection, might explain its dual role and its contribution to the resistance to cerebral malaria.

U.S. adolescents’ prior technology experiences and exposure to digital genres vary, but they will often write digital texts as they enter college and adulthood. We explored middle school students’ digital writing instructional experience in the context of a university-based summer digital writing camp. The sixth- through eighth-grade adolescents fell into three profile groups: digital passengers, digital navigators, and digital drivers. Each group displayed distinct patterns of prior technology experiences and exposure to digital genres, digital writing processes, and instructional needs. Their digital writing instructional experience suggests that prior technology experiences and exposure to digital genres influence the ways adolescents envision and enact digital writing. In the middle school classroom, teachers may need to address a range of instructional needs during digital writing instruction.

Lewis Bertly, a top lawyer with leading London law firm LL&B, is retained to defend a case with the potential to change the laws that affect fast-food marketing. Through its Department of Health, the Government of Australia seeks legislation for warning labels on fast-food packaging. To prepare a potential defense against this legal action for McDonald's Bertly is reviewing the history of legal action against the industry in fast-food labeling, nutrition and health. This history is important because the industry's actions through the decades in food nutrition and marketing are likely to be raised as evidence. He also hopes this will help him find a framework to map the way social expectations, a company's innovation, the legal system, and legislation combine to shape an industry. What he learns from this history and especially about the market leader, McDonald's, will inform how the defense approaches this case.

This study investigates the influence of social capital on the factors that are critical to continued participation in online brand communities (OBCs). The empirical investigation follows a structural equation modelling approach with data from 659 OBC members. Results indicate that social capital as a multidimensional construct represented by shared language, shared vision, social trust and reciprocity has a significant influence on an OBC members' participative behaviour, their sense of belonging (SOB), network ties, perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use; all of which ensure longevity of the community. Consequently, stakeholders can use this information to develop strategies that will ensure the ongoing success of their OBCs.

Dans le secteur de l’interim ou les acteurs « entreprises et salaries » sont multiples, nous pouvons constater qu’il existe des difficultes dans le suivi medico-professionnel des interimaires : manque de coherence dans le suivi medical, meconnaissance des risques professionnels lies aux postes lors des missions, application de la reglementation se resumant souvent a la fiche d’aptitude, peu d’actions de prevention, manque d’echanges entre medecins du travail mais aussi avec les agences d’emploi (AE). L’employeur a une obligation de resultat sur la preservation de la sante et la securite des salaries. Il parait donc legitime d’ameliorer les pratiques a la fois pour les services interentreprises de sante au travail (SIST), les AE et les entreprises utilisatrices (EU). Cree en septembre 2014 et encourage par la DIRECCTE, le GIE interim associe trois SIST (le CIAMT, le CMIE et l’ACMS) dans une demarche volontaire de creation d’un portail interimaire nomme fichier commun interim (FCI). Les objectifs de ce projet sont de : – faciliter l’acces a l’emploi des interimaires par le developpement de la capacite des SIST a repondre aux besoins de prevention, tout en evitant la redondance des examens medicaux ; – ameliorer et developper la prevention en facilitant les contacts entre les AE et les SIST permettant ainsi une meilleure connaissance des postes tenus par les interimaires pendant leurs missions ; – baisser l’incidence des accidents du travail et maladies professionnelles chez les interimaires tout en participant a la politique de sante regionale (action 9 du plan regional sante travail) et a la declinaison des orientations du plan national sante travail (2015–2019). Ainsi, le portail interimaire regroupe deux bases de donnees : – une base de donnees reglementaires (BDR) [Art. D. 4625-17 du Code du travail] centralisant les avis d’aptitudes en cours delivres par les SIST d’Ile-de-France ; – une base de donnees de prevention (BDP) permettant le suivi des risques professionnels des interimaires par le biais de la tracabilite des expositions (fiche de liaison) et le suivi des missions. Le portail interimaire necessitera des echanges entre les SIST, les agences d’emploi et les equipes pluridisciplinaires des services medicaux des entreprises utilisatrices. Lance en janvier 2016, le portail interimaire concerne dans un premier temps la Seine et Marne et le 10e arrondissement de Paris avant de s’etendre a toute l’Ile-de-France. Le GIE a pour vocation d’accueillir l’ensemble des SIST de la region ayant un agrement interim. Un meme type de fichier regional pourrait etre cree pour les contrats de travail courts (de moins de 3 mois), permettant de realiser une seule visite medicale obligatoire d’information et de prevention.

Introduction Trois antagonistes intraveineux de la GPIIbIIIa peuvent etre utilises dans la prise en charge des syndromes coronariens aigus (SCA) : le Reopro ® (abciximab), l’Integrilin ® (eftifibatide) et l’Agrastat ® (tirofoban ; generique). Dans notre etablissement, les trois molecules etaient referencees en 2015 afin de couvrir toutes les indications (avec et sans sus-decalage du segment ST) et traiter les patients insuffisants renaux (Agrastat ® etant le seul non contre-indique dans l’insuffisance renale severe). A la suite de l’elargissement des indications de l’Agrastat ® et de la nouvelle offre de prix du laboratoire, nous avons etudie l’impact economique du referencement unique de l’Agrastat ® a la place de l’Integrilin ® et du Reopro ® dans notre etablissement. Materiels & methode Etude retrospective sur les consommations de Reopro ® et d’Integrilin ® dans l’unite de coronarographie de notre etablissement en 2015. La population etudiee est constituee de patients admis pour un SCA avec ou sans sus-decalage du segment ST, recevant un bolus puis une perfusion de 12 h (mode d’utilisation des trois anti-GPIIbIIIa). L’economie potentielle est calculee sur les posologies indiquees dans l’AMM pour un poids moyen de 70 kg. Seul le cout total net du traitement a ete pris en compte en se basant sur les prix negocies. L’equipe infirmiere a egalement ete interrogee sur la facilite de manipulation et le gain en temps apporte. Resultats & discussion Les couts des traitements sont les suivants : – pour le Reopro ® , trois flacons de 10 mg sont necessaires, soit un cout total net de 897 euros par patient ; – pour l’Integrilin ® , deux poches de 75 mg sont necessaires, soit un cout total net de 130 euros par patient. – Enfin, pour l’Agrastat ® , une seule poche de 12,5 mg est necessaire, soit un cout total net de 99 euros par patient (109 euros pour le tirofiban generique). Dans notre etablissement, en moyenne 9 patients par mois recoivent du Reopro ® et un patient recoit de l’Integrilin ® , pour un cout total de 98 436 euros par an. En utilisant l’Agrastat ® pour tous les patients, le cout serait de 11 880 euros, soit une economie de plus de 86 500 euros par an. Les infirmiers sont satisfaits de la formation et du benefice apporte par la manipulation d’un seul flacon. Conclusion Cette etude montre l’economie importante du changement de reference de notre anti-GPIIbIIIa. Cette modification s’accompagne d’une economie en temps infirmier (une seule poche d’Agrastat ® est necessaire, versus 3 flacons pour le Reopro ® ) et d’une uniformisation des protocoles puisque l’Agrastat ® est indique chez tous les patients, y compris les insuffisants renaux et dialyses. Apres presentation de cette etude aux cardiologues et au COMEDIMS, prise en compte de l’avis et formation des infirmiers, le referencement de l’Agrastat ® a ete choisi par notre etablissement et de nouveaux protocoles informatiques valides sur notre logiciel de prescription Pharma ® afin de faciliter sa prescription et reduire d’eventuelles erreurs de prescription et d’administration.

This paper considers a class of approximate Riemann solver devised by Harten, Lax, and van Leer (denoted HLL) for the Euler equations of inviscid gas dynamics. In their 1983 paper, Harten, Lax, and van Leer showed how, with a priori knowledge of the signal velocities, a single-state approximate Riemann solver could be constructed so as to automatically satisfy the entropy condition and yield exact resolution of isolated shock waves. Harten, Lax, and van Leer further showed that a two-state approximation could be devised, such that both shock and contact waves would be resolved exactly. However, the full implementation of this two-state approximation was never given. We show that with an appropriate choice of acoustic and contact wave velocities, the two-state so-called HLLC construction of Toro, Spruce, and Speares will yield this exact resolution of isolated shock and contact waves. We further demonstrate that the resulting scheme is positively conservative. This property, which cannot be guaranteed by any linearized approximate Riemann solver, forces the numerical method to preserve initially positive pressures and densities. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate that the solutions generated are comparable to those produced with an exact Riemann solver, only with a stronger enforcement of the entropy condition across expansion waves.

Despite their geometric flexibility, unstructured mesh schemes for compressible gas dynamics do not usually resolve captured shocks and contact discontinuities as well as corresponding structured mesh schemes. The main reason for this appears to be the difficulty in constructing analogous extensions to higher-order accuracy. This issue is addressed in some detail and a new, compact stencil, Maximum Limited Gradient (MLG) reconstruction technique is presented for unstructured elements. The MLG reconstruction turns out to be a multidimensional analogue of the one-dimensional Superbee slope. We then describe a simple and robust extension to systems of equations, which does not require any diagonalization of flux Jacobian matrices. An application to a blast wave hazard prediction problem is presented using the wave-by-wave extension of the MLG limiter to the Euler equations.

The m.8993T-->C MTATP6 mutation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) usually causes mitochondrial disease in childhood, but was recently described in a family with adult onset ataxia and polyneuropathy. Cytochrome c oxidase muscle histochemistry, which is the standard clinical investigation for mitochondrial disease in adults, is usually normal in patients with MTATP6 mutations. This raises the possibility that these cases have been missed in the past. We therefore studied 308 patients with unexplained ataxia and 96 patients with suspected Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease to determine whether the m.8993T-->C MTATP6 mutation is common in unexplained inherited ataxia and/or polyneuropathy. We identified a three-generation family with the m.8993T-->C mutation of mtDNA. One subject had episodic ataxia (EA) and transient hemipareses, broadening the phenotype. However, no further cases were identified in an additional cohort of 191 patients with suspected EA. In conclusion, m.8993T-->C MTATP6 should be considered in patients with unexplained ataxia, CMT or EA, but cases are uncommon.

Recent evidence suggests that polymorphic genetic variation in the non-coding region of mitochondrial DNA (the 16184-16193 polycytosine [poly-C] tract) contributes to the cause of type 2 diabetes, but previous studies only just reached significance. We aimed to investigate this association. We compared patients with type 2 diabetes (n=992) with two independent control groups (n=536, n=1029) from the UK, and saw no difference in the frequency of the 16184-16193 poly-C tract. This finding was confirmed by a meta-analysis of European studies of 1455 patients and 3132 controls (odds ratio 1.16, 95% CI 0.94-1.44). Genetic variation of the 16184-16193 poly-C tract is unlikely to have a major role in the cause of type 2 diabetes.

There is increasing evidence that genetic variants of mitochondrial DNA have an important role in the cause of idiopathic Parkinson's disease. We determined the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup of 455 Parkinson's disease cases, 185 Alzheimer's disease cases, and 447 healthy English control subjects. The UKJT haplogroup cluster was associated with a 22% reduction in population-attributable risk for Parkinson's disease. There was no association between individual haplogroups or the UKJT cluster and Alzheimer's disease, confirming that the association with Parkinson's disease was disease specific and not a general effect seen in all neurodegenerative diseases.

The numerical prediction of the effects of blast wave interaction with buildings and rigid structures can be an invaluable source of information. However, the geometric features found in real chemical plants are extremely complex and this paper describes some of the strategies employed to allow a more realistic representation of these features. Both a structured, multi dimensional, time accurate, hydrocode presented to the 18th ISSW (Ingram et al. 1992) and an unstructured, two-dimensional, time-accurate, hydrocode are applied to problems associated with the interaction of blast waves and storage tanks.