bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Directed evolution of the transcription factor XylS for development of improved expression systems
Authors: Vee Aune Trond Erik , Bakke Ingrid , Drabløs Finn , Lale Rahmi , Brautaset Trygve , Valla Svein 
Published: June 2009

SummaryThe inducible Pm promoter together with its cognate positive transcription regulator XylS has been shown to be useful for recombinant protein production under high cell density conditions. Here we report directed evolution of XylS resulting in mutant proteins with increased ability to stimulate transcription in Escherichia coli from Pm. A first round of mutagenesis using error‐prone PCR on xylS was used to construct a library consisting of about 430 000 clones, and this library could be efficiently screened with respect to stimulation of expression from Pm due to a positive correlation between the level of expression of the reporter gene, bla (encoding β‐lactamase), and the ampicillin tolerance of the corresponding host cells. Fourteen different amino acid substitutions in XylS were found to separately lead to up to nearly a threefold stimulation of expression under induced conditions, relative to wild type. These mutations were all located in the part corresponding to the N‐terminal half of the protein. Varying combinations of the mutations resulted in further stimulation, and the best results (about 10‐fold stimulation under induced conditions) were obtained by using a random shuffling procedure followed by a new round of screening. The uninduced levels of expression for the same mutants also increased, but only about four times. Through in silico 3D modelling of the N‐terminal domain of XylS, it was observed that the evolved mutant proteins contained substitutions that were positioned in different parts of the predicted structure, including a β‐barrel putatively responsible for effector binding and a coiled coil probably important for dimerization. The total production of the host‐toxic antibody fragment scFv‐phOx expressed from Pm with the evolved XylS mutant protein StEP‐13 was about ninefold higher than with wild‐type XylS, demonstrating that directed evolution of transcription factors can be an important new tool to achieve high‐level recombinant protein production.
Policy analytical capacity and evidence‐based policy‐making: Lessons from Canada
Authors: Howlett Michael 
Published: June 2009

Abstract:Evidence‐based policy‐making represents a contemporary effort to reform or re‐structure policy processes in order to prioritize evidentiary or data‐based decision‐making. Like earlier efforts in the “policy analysis movement,” its aim is to avoid or minimize policy failures caused by a mismatch between government expectations and actual, on‐the‐ground conditions through the provision of greater amounts of policy‐relevant information. A significant factor affecting the ability of policy‐makers to engage in evidence‐based policy‐making pertains to both governmental and non‐governmental “policy analytical capacity.” That is, governments require a reasonably high level of policy analytical capacity to perform the tasks associated with managing the policy process in order to implement evidence‐based policy‐making and avoid several of the most common sources of policy failures. Recent studies, however, suggest that, even in advanced countries such as Canada, the level of policy analytical capacity found in many governments and non‐governmental actors is low, potentially contributing to both a failure of evidence‐based policy‐making as well as effectively dealing with many complex contemporary policy challenges.Sommaire:L'élaboration de politiques axée sur des éléments probants représente un effort contemporain de réforme ou de structuration des processus de politiques dans le but de donner la prioritéà la prise de décisions s'appuyant sur les preuves ou fondée sur les données. Comme pour les efforts antérieurs du « mouvement d'analyse de politiques », le but est d'éviter ou de minimiser les échecs de politiques causés par un décalage entre les attentes du gouvernement et les conditions réelles sur le terrain, grâce à la disposition de plus amples informations pertinentes aux politiques. Un facteur important touchant à l'aptitude des élaborateurs de politiques à s'engager dans une élaboration de politiques axée sur les éléments probants est liéà la « capacité d'analyse de politiques » aussi bien gouvernementale que non gouvernementale. C'est‐à‐dire que les gouvernements exigent un niveau raisonnablement élevé de capacité d'analyse de politiques en vue d'exécuter les tâches associées à la gestion du processus politique pour mettre en œuvre l'élaboration de politiques axée sur les éléments probants et éviter ainsi plusieurs sources courantes d'échecs de politiques. Néanmoins, des études récentes laissent entendre que, même dans les pays développés comme le Canada, le niveau de capacité d'analyse de politiques observé dans de nombreux gouvernements et chez un grand nombre d'acteurs non gouvernementaux est faible ; cela pourrait éventuellement contribuer à la fois à un échec de l'élaboration de politiques axées sur les éléments probants ainsi qu'à l'échec de régler efficacement de nombreux problèmes contemporains complexes en matière de politiques.
Les transformations du travail et de l'entreprise : qu'attendre des politiques publiques?1
Authors: Bernstein Stéphanie , Coiquaud Urwana , Dupuis Marie‐Josée , Fontaine Laurence Léa , Morissette Lucie , Paquet Esther , Vallée Guylaine 
Published: June 2009

Sommaire : Les politiques publiques du travail ont été conçues pour offrir des mesures de protection aux salariés travaillant à temps plein, pour un seul employeur, sous son contrôle et sur les lieux de l'entreprise. Or, le marché du travail est aujourd'hui composé d'une pluralité de relations d'emploi qui limitent l'efficacité de ces protections. Ce constat soulève la question suivante : que devraient contenir les politiques publiques pour être mieux adaptées au marché du travail? La première partie de cet article examine les voies de renouvellement possible des politiques publiques pour tenir compte des transformations du travail et de l'entreprise. Certaines suggèrent de faire reposer l'octroi de droits et d'avantages sur l'existence d'un travail ou d'une activité professionnelle alors que d'autres les rattachent à l'individu ou au citoyen. Ces propositions ne pourront cependant voir le jour que si elles font l'objet d'une appropriation par les acteurs sociaux et étatiques. Une réflexion sur le contenu des politiques doit ainsi être combinée à l'étude des processus sociaux susceptibles de faire émerger de telles réformes. Cette question est abordée dans la deuxième partie de l'article à partir de trois exemples récents de réformes législatives.Abstract: Public labour policies were developed to ensure the protection of workers who work for one employer on a full‐time basis, at the employer's place of work and under his control. However, today's labour market is composed of a multiplicity of employment relations that limit the effectiveness of the protection. This raises the following question: what features should public policies include to better meet the needs of the labour market? The first part of this article examines how public policies could be renewed in order to take work and organizational transformations into account. Some policies suggest that rights and benefits should be granted on the basis of a job or professional activity, whereas others link rights and benefits to the individual or the citizen. However, these proposals will only emerge if they are appropriated by social and governmental stakeholders. A reflection on the content of the policies must therefore be undertaken in combination with a study of the social processes that may influence the emergence of such reforms. This question is examined in the second part of the article through a review of three recent examples of legislative reform initiatives.
The reciprocal dynamics of organizing and sense‐making in the implementation of major public‐sector reforms
Authors: Denis Jean‐Louis , Lamothe Lise , Langley Ann , Breton Mylaine , Gervais Julie , Trottier Louise‐Hélène , Contandriopoulos Damien , Dubois Carl‐Ardy 
Published: June 2009

Abstract: Drawing on a longitudinal study from the early years of implementation of health‐care networks in Quebec, this article describes how public‐sector managers deal with complex challenges when both organizational structures and organizational strategies are radically transformed simultaneously. The new organizations studied had to completely re‐shuffle roles and responsibilities of their management teams while making sense of their new mandate of developing a population‐focused approach to health problems – all the time maintaining day‐to‐day operations. The four health‐care networks studied proceeded somewhat differently to meet these reciprocal challenges. The study reveals the importance of balancing organizing initiatives (focused on structures) with “sense‐making” initiatives (focused on strategies), of developing capacities for sense‐making through the creation of key “sense‐maker/sense‐giver” positions whose occupants are able to ensure that conceptual activities engage people working at different levels, even as organizational structures are in flux, and of mobilizing external constraints and influences as opportunities and resources in sense‐making and organizing.Sommaire : Se fondant sur une étude longitudinale des premières années de la mise en œuvre des réseaux de soins de santé au Québec, cet article décrit la manière dont les gestionnaires du secteur public font face à des défis complexes, alors que les structures et les stratégies organisationnelles sont radicalement transformées simultanément. Les nouveaux organismes étudiés ont dû complètement remanier les rôles et les responsabilités de leurs équipes de gestion et comprendre leur nouveau mandat d'élaborer une approche axée sur la population pour ce qui est des problèmes de santé, tout en maintenant leurs activités au jour le jour. Les quatre réseaux de soins de santéétudiés ont travailléà relever ces défis réciproques d'une manière assez différente. L'étude révèle l'importance de trouver un équilibre entre les initiatives consistant à organiser (axées sur les structures) et les initiatives consistant à interpréter les faits (axées sur les stratégies) ; de perfectionner les capacités à interpréter les faits grâce à la création de postes clés d'«interpréteurs de faits», dont les titulaires veilleraient à ce que des activités conceptuelles fassent intervenir les gens travaillant à différents niveaux même lorsque les structures organisationnelles fluctuent continuellement; et enfin de tirer parti des contraintes et influences externes comme autant d'occasions et de ressources pour interpréter et organiser les faits.
The evolution of federalism studies in Canada: From centre to periphery
Authors: Fafard Patrick , Rocher François 
Published: June 2009

Abstract: Over the past decade, there have been a number of studies that seek to evaluate the state of federalism studies in Canada. The general conclusion seems to be that, while federalism continues to be an important part of the scholarly literature, there is a decline in the study of the traditional areas of federalism, a small number of federalism studies come from scholars in Quebec, and a relatively small number of studies are by female scholars. However, these analyses are based on a single, somewhat limited source of data, the reflections of a single scholar, or a review of a small number of Canadian scholarly journals. In this article, the authors combine a large quantitative assessment of relevant publications dealing with Canadian federalism with a brief qualitative assessment of the state of the federal studies from researchers active in the field. Their research supports some of the earlier conclusions but also suggests that, in recent years, federalism is, very often, a contextual or explanatory factor not the principal object of study. Moreover, there are potentially two Canadian scholarly traditions on federalism, one written in French and the other in English, with far too little engagement between them.Sommaire: Au cours de la dernière décennie, un certain nombre d'études ont tenté d'évaluer l'état de la recherche sur le fédéralisme au Canada. La conclusion générale semble être que, même si le fédéralisme garde un place importante dans les publications savantes au Canada, on note une baisse dans la recherche portant sur les domaines traditionnels du fédéralisme, une faible proportion d'études sur le sujet étant réalisées par des universitaires au Québec, et un nombre relativement faible d'études étant entreprises par des femmes universitaires. Cependant, ces analyses reposent sur une seule source de données, quelque peu limitée, les réflexions d'un seul universitaire, ou sur un examen d'un petit nombre de revues savantes canadiennes. Dans le présent article, les auteurs combinent une importante évaluation quantitative de publications pertinentes portant sur le fédéralisme canadien avec une brève évaluation qualitative de la nature des études sur le fédéralisme entreprises par des chercheurs actifs dans le domaine. Leur recherche appuie certaines des conclusions antérieures mais laisse également entendre que, ces dernières années, le fédéralisme est très souvent un facteur contextuel ou explicatif plutôt que le principal sujet mis à l'étude. De plus, il pourrait fort y avoir deux traditions canadiennes de recherche sur le fédéralisme, une écrite en français et l'autre en anglais, et trop peu de relation entre elles.
Ecosystem management in Madagascar during global change
Authors: Virah‐Sawmy Malika 
Published: June 2009

AbstractA long‐held assumption about Madagascar is that all its open vegetation and forest fragments represent anthropogenically degraded landscapes. Further, its forests are believed to lack regenerative capacity following extirpation. This article presents a different ecological framework for southeast Madagascar, a region with diverse forest habitats (humid, littoral, and transitional forests) and exceptional biodiversity. Recently published reconstructions of vegetation change at millennial scales indicate that the mosaic vegetation in southeastern Madagascar represents a natural distribution, with littoral forest spatially constrained by soil moisture, rather than principally fragmented by human activity. There is also evidence that the littoral forest is resilient to climatic change and has acted as refuges and centers of diversification for millennia. By contrast, Uapaca woodlands, which connected the littoral forest fragments, switched to a stable fire‐maintained Ericoid grassland in response to climatic changes. Evidence also suggests that local communities managed forest resources sustainably in the past, but human migration, insecure land tenure, and road expansion may have accelerated forest loss over the last decades. This novel perspective demonstrates the integrated nature of ecological, geomorphological, climatical, and social systems. Finally, combining long‐term with contemporary perspectives, some strategies for maintaining biodiversity under global change, including anthropogenic climate change and mining pressures (and associated biodiversity offset projects) are suggested.
NAMIBIA'S REAL EXCHANGE RATE PERFORMANCE1
Authors: Miyajima Ken 
Published: June 2009

AbstractTo assess Namibia's external competitiveness, this study estimates the country's equilibrium real exchange rate using the autoregressive distributed lag modelling approach that has superior small‐sample properties. The nominal depreciation of the Namibia dollar in 2002 created historically one of the largest deviations in the real exchange rate from its equilibrium level, but deviations are small at present. The half‐life of deviations from equilibrium is found to be about 1 year.
Rude Accountability in the Unreformed State: Informal Pressures on Frontline Bureaucrats in Bangladesh
Authors: Hossain Naomi 
Published: June 2009

Summary‘Rude’ forms of accountability are central to how poor people negotiate their entitlements on the frontline of service delivery in Bangladesh. This paper documents the unorganised, informal pressures that poor citizens exert on officials in a context where effective formal systems for accountability are absent, and the state remains unreformed in key respects. The paper explores the impact of ‘rude accountability’ on services, as well as their limitations and the consequences for formal accountability systems. Based on extensive research into how poor people experience safety nets, schools and health services, the paper argues that strong social and local political pressures go some way towards supplying a rough responsiveness to demands for service. These work through shame and embarrassment, pressures to maintain reputation and status, and the threat of violence. Poor people have good reasons to use these methods in preference to formal accountability mechanisms. And poor women may have a particularly strong comparative advantage in doing so – not because they are so much better than men or rich people at complaining and shaming, but because it is comparatively less difficult for them to do so than to engage in more formally structured means of complaint or feedback. The idea of rude accountability is seductive: when formal governance systems fail, the idea that there are informal mechanisms that are better suited to context and culture is intrinsically attractive. Yet the paper concludes that the gains from rude accountability are often short‐lived and may backfire, as public officials fear and resist efforts to enable citizen participation in holding them to account. There are features of contemporary Bangladeshi state‐society relations that lend themselves to informal means of accountability, the analysis here of informal accountability mechanisms has wider implications for the move towards citizen involvement in performance‐based accountability in other contexts.
Participatory Governance and the Challenge of Assumed Representation in Brazil
Authors: Houtzager Peter P. , Gurza Lavalle Adrian 
Published: June 2009

SummaryThe growth of participatory governance has had the unintended consequence of spawning complex new forms of political representation. The participatory governance structures that have emerged alongside classic institutions of representative democracy encompass not only direct citizen participation but also political representation by civil society (collective) actors. Using original data from Brazil, we show that many of these collective actors engage in what we call ‘assumed representation’. In contrast to political parties and labour unions, these actors lack widely accepted and historically consolidated mechanisms through which their publics can authorise representation or ensure accountability and responsiveness. In particular, most do not rely on formal electoral or membership mechanisms. This layer of collective actors therefore faces a historic challenge – the construction of novel notions of democratic legitimacy that can support their forms of representation. The survival of the democratising current of which they are a part depends in some measure on how this challenge is met. We examine what new notions of representations are emerging in participatory governance structures and trace the historic roots of the most widespread and promising, that focus on remedying inequality in access to the state.
Modeling and Control of Contouring Errors for Five-Axis Machine Tools—Part I: Modeling
Authors: Sencer Burak , Altintas Yusuf , Croft Elizabeth 
Published: June 2009

AbstractAerospace, die, and mold industries utilize parts with sculptured surfaces, which are machined on five-axis computer numerical controlled machine tools. Accurate path tracking for contouring is not always possible along the desired space curves due to the loss of joint coordination during the five-axis motion. This two-part paper presents modeling and robust control of contouring errors for five-axis machines. In Part I, two types of contouring errors are defined by considering the normal deviation of tool tip from the reference path, and by the normal deviation of the tool axis orientation from the reference orientation trajectory defined in the spherical coordinates. Overall contouring errors are modeled during five-axis motion that has simultaneous translation and rotary motions. The coupled kinematic configuration and the rigid body dynamics of all five drives are considered. The contouring error model is experimentally validated on a five-axis machine tool. The error model developed in this paper is then used for simultaneous, real-time robust control of all five drives in Part II.
Modeling and Control of Contouring Errors for Five-Axis Machine Tools—Part II: Precision Contour Controller Design
Authors: Sencer Burak , Altintas Yusuf 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
The accurate tracking of tool-paths on five-axis CNC machine tools is essential in achieving high speed machining of dies, molds, and aerospace parts with sculptured surfaces. Because traditional CNCs control the tracking errors of individual drives of the machine, this may not lead to desired contouring accuracy along tool-paths, which require coordinated action of all the five drives. This paper proposes a new control approach where the tool tip and tool orientation errors, i.e., the contouring errors, are minimized along the five-axis tool-paths. The contouring error and kinematic model of the machine, which are presented in Part I of the paper, are used in defining the plant. A multi-input–multi-output sliding mode controller, which tries to minimize path tracking and path following velocity errors, is introduced. The stability of the system is ensured, and the proposed model is experimentally demonstrated on a five-axis machine tool. The path errors originating from the dynamics of five simultaneously active drives are significantly reduced.
A Direct Design Procedure for FPSO Side Structures Against Large Impact Loads
Authors: Hong Lin , Amdahl Jørgen , Wang Ge 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThe performance and consequence of FPSOs subjected to large impact loads such as collisions from supply vessels or merchant vessels are of great concern in the offshore industry, notably when they are located close to heavy traffic lanes. Due to the lack of operation experience for ship-shaped FPSOs, direct design procedures are needed to rationalize the structural design of FPSOs, which can mitigate the consequence of collision accident and avoid possible contaminated compartment flooding. In this paper, three collision scenarios between a FPSO and a bulbous supply vessel are analyzed through explicit nonlinear finite element analysis code LS-DYNA. Thereafter, a direct design procedure is proposed for ship-shaped FPSO side structure against accidental collision forces, which follows the principle of accidental limit state. The procedure comprises the determination of the impact forces, shell plating, and stiffener framing design, and the consideration of the acceptance criterion. The proposed method is especially useful in the preliminary design phase because the design procedure for plating and stiffener is based on analytical formulas derived from plastic method and appropriate collapse mechanism. The side structure decided by the proposed design procedure also complies with the strength design principle that has been adopted in NORSOK standard. The proposed approach is demonstrated by the design of the FPSO side structure against impact loads from a 7500 tons supply vessel and verified by means of integrated collision analysis. The procedure could also be served to estimate the damage due to accidental loads.