4,459 research outputs found

    Constructive characterizations of the value function of a mixed-integer program / BEBR No. 784

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    Bibliography: p. [44]-[45]

    Targeting Intracellular Calcium Stores Alleviates Neurological Morbidities in a DFP-Based Rat Model of Gulf War Illness

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    Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multi-symptom disorder afflicting the veterans of the First Gulf War, and includes neurological symptoms characterized by depression and memory deficits. Chronic exposure to organophosphates (OP) is considered a leading cause for GWI, yet its pathobiology is not fully understood. We recently observed chronic elevations in neuronal Ca2+ levels ([Ca2+]i) in an OP- diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) based rat model for GWI. This study was aimed at identifying mechanisms underlying elevated [Ca2+]i in this DFP model and investigating whether their therapeutic targeting could improve GWI-like neurological morbidities. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (9-wks) were exposed to DFP (0.5 mg/kg, s.c, 1x-daily for 5-d) and at 3-mos post DFP exposure, behavior was assessed and rats were euthanized for protein estimations and ratiometric Fura-2 [Ca2+]i estimations in acutely dissociated hippocampal neurons. In DFP rats, a sustained elevation in intracellular Ca2+ levels occurred, and pharmacological blockade of Ca2+-induced Ca2+-release mechanisms significantly lowered elevated [Ca2+]i in DFP neurons. Significant reductions in the protein levels of the ryanodine receptor (RyR) stabilizing protein Calstabin2 were also noted. Such a post-translational modification would render RyR leaky resulting in sustained DFP [Ca2+]i elevations. Antagonism of RyR with levetiracetam significantly lower elevated [Ca2+]i in DFP neurons and improved GWI-like behavioral symptoms. Since Ca2+ is a major second messenger molecule, such chronic increases in its levels could underlie pathological synaptic plasticity that expresses itself as GWI morbidities. Our studies show that treatment with drugs targeted at blocking intracellular Ca2+ release could be effective therapies for GWI neurological morbidities

    Tests of QCD: Summary of DIS 2000

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    This summary of the working group 2 of DIS 2000 encompasses experimental and theoretical results of jet physics, open and bound state heavy flavour production, prompt photon production, next-to-leading order QCD calculations and beyond, instantons, fragmentation, event shapes, and power corrections, primarily from deep-inelastic scattering and photoproduction at HERA, but also from the LEP and Tevatron colliders.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, including 8 PostScript figures. Talk given at the 8th International Workshop on Deep-Inelastic Scattering (DIS2000), 25th-30th April 2000, Liverpool, England, to appear in the proceeding

    Fire Protection in Rural Nebraska: A Focus on Volunteer-Based Organizations

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    Nebraskans obtain fire protection, rescue, and emergency medical services in a variety of ways. Citizens may be served by municipal departments or rural and suburban regional fire districts. The firefighters providing these services may be full time professional employees, volunteers who are not compensated, or volunteers who receive some type of payment per call. As would be expected, Nebraska residents living in the state’s largest communities of Omaha, Lincoln, Bellevue, and Grand Island receive services from fire departments staffed by full time firefighters. And, conversely, departments with volunteer firefighters protect Nebraskans residing in the state’s smaller communities or rural areas. However, the fire departments that serve many Nebraska communities, especially those in rural or nonmetropolitan areas, consist of a mixture of organizational structures and types of firefighters: professional, pay-per-call, or volunteer

    The Influence of Small Airports and Air Transportation on Local Economic Development: A Study of Nebraska

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    Transportation networks and facilities play a critical role in the economic development of communities. They serve as important links to new or emerging markets, and sources of materials and services needed for processing for existing and new businesses in a community. Transportation costs affect the location and growth of local businesses and serve historically as a primary industrial location factor

    Is There Selection Bias in Laboratory Experiments? The Case of Social and Risk Preferences

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    Laboratory experiments are frequently used to examine the nature of individual preferences and inform economic theory. However, it is unknown whether the preferences of volunteer participants are representative of the population from which the participants are drawn or whether they differ due to selection bias. We examine whether the social and risk preferences of participants in a laboratory experiment represent the preferences of the population from which they are recruited. To answer this question, we measured the preferences of 1,173 students in a classroom experiment. Separately, we invited all students to participate in a laboratory experiment. We find that the social and risk preferences of students who attend the laboratory experiment do not differ significantly from the preferences of the population from which they were recruited. Moreover, participation decisions based on social and risk preferences do not differ significantly across most subgroups, with the exception that female participants are on average less risk averse than female non-participants, and male participants are more risk averse than male non-participants.selection bias, laboratory experiments, external validity, social preferences, risk preferences
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