Sir, BMS-284756 (BMS; T-3811ME) is a novel compound, lacking the 6-position fluorine typical of existing fluoroquinolones, which has been shown to have broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-negative and -positive pathogens (T. M. A. Weller, J. M. Andrews, G. Jevons & R. Wise, unpublished results). In this communication we describe a method of disc susceptibility testing that has been develo...

The common viewof history assumes that complexity and resource consumption have emerged through innovation facilitated by surplus energy. This view leads to the supposition that complexity and consumption are voluntary, and that we can therefore achieve a sustainable future through conservation. Such an assumption is substantially incorrect. History suggests that complexity most commonly increa...

An African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus), Alex, trained to label vocally collections of 1-6 simultaneously presented homogeneous objects, correctly identified, without further training, quantities of targeted subsets in heterogeneous collections. For each test trial Alex was shown different collections of 4 groups of items that varied in 2 colors and 2 object categories (e.g., blue and red ...

Why have general-purpose stored-value cards been unsuccessful in penetrating the U.S. market? Three necessary conditions for a payment instrument to be successful are discussed: consumers and merchants need to be convinced of its advantages over existing payment alternatives for at least some types of transactions; payment providers must convince consumers and merchants simultaneously of its be...

The Internet increases the likelihood of “disintermediation” in global B2B supply chains. At the same time, opportunities for intermediaries to generate incremental value for other channel members are opened up. The discussion highlights three such strategic directions — “information rich”, “relational exchange” and “joint-learning” — with the focus on the role played by the Internet in the imp...

What is a semiotic machine? A robot, a computer running programs endowed with artificial intelligence, any computer, a simple calculating machine, or even an ordinary mechanical typewriter? The question will be examined in the light of Charles Sanders Peirce’s concept of semiosis, which requires reference to processes such as reasoning, translation, interpretation, control, self-control, autopo...

Computing Machine Models. To gauge the computational power of a family of mechanical computers, we will use a widely known abstract computational model known as the Turing Machine, defined in this section. The Turing Machine. The Turing machine model formulated by Alan Turing [1] was the first complete mathematical model of an abstract computing machine that possessed universal computing power....

Computing Machine Models. To gauge the computational power of a family of mechanical computers, we will use a widely known abstract computational model known as the Turing Machine, defined in this section. The Turing Machine. The Turing machine model formulated by Alan Turing [1] was the first complete mathematical model of an abstract computing machine that possessed universal computing power....

Computing Machine Models. To gauge the computational power of a family of mechanical computers, we will use a widely known abstract computational model known as the Turing Machine, defined in this section. The Turing Machine. The Turing machine model formulated by Alan Turing [1] was the first complete mathematical model of an abstract computing machine that possessed universal computing power....