85 research outputs found
Racial environment and political participation
This research addresses the determinants of mass participation by developing
a model of how the racial environment influences mass participation in the United
States. Prior literature on this research question presents two competing expectations.
The power-threat hypothesis predicts that a larger size of different racial groups in
local areas increases citizen participation because of more intensive interracial con-
flicts, while the relational goods hypothesis predicts that a larger size of different racial
groups decreases participation because of less frequent interaction with other in-group
members. Both hypotheses, however, are derived from rather weak theoretical expectations,
and neither is consistently supported in empirical analyses. This research
offers a solution to this puzzle by arguing that economic and political characteristics of
local areas determine how the racial composition influences mass participation. Local
economic and political competition is expected to structure the nature of interracial
and intraracial relations and therefore influence the utility calculation associated with
political participation. I hypothesize that the power-threat effect on citizen participation
is observed only when the degree of economic or political competition is high,
while the relational goods effect is observed only when the degree of economic or
political competition is low. Empirical analysis using Verba, Schlozman, and Brady’s
Citizen Participation Study offers supportive evidence for my hypotheses. This research
offers the first theoretically-motivated, rigorous analysis and evidence of the impact of immediate racial environment on individuals’ participation
Collagen degradation and neutrophilic infiltration: a vicious circle in inflammatory bowel disease
Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog
The matrikine acetyl-proline-glycine-proline and clinical features of COPD: findings from SPIROMICS
BACKGROUND: Pulmonary and systemic inflammation are central features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Previous studies have demonstrated relationships between biologically active extracellular matrix components, or matrikines, and COPD pathogenesis. We studied the relationships between the matrikine acetyl-proline-glycine-proline (AcPGP) in sputum and plasma and clinical features of COPD. METHODS: Sputum and plasma samples were obtained from COPD participants in the SPIROMICS cohort at enrollment. AcPGP was isolated using solid phase extraction and measured by mass spectrometry. Demographics, spirometry, quality of life questionnaires, and quantitative computed tomography (CT) imaging with parametric response mapping (PRM) were obtained at baseline. Severe COPD exacerbations were recorded at 1-year of prospective follow-up. We used linear and logistic regression models to measure associations between AcPGP and features of COPD, and Kaplan-Meier analyses to measure time-to-first severe exacerbation. RESULTS: The 182 COPD participants in the analysis were 66 ± 8 years old, 62% male, 84% White race, and 39% were current smokers. AcPGP concentrations were 0.61 ± 1.89 ng/mL (mean ± SD) in sputum and 0.60 ± 1.13 ng/mL in plasma. In adjusted linear regression models, sputum AcPGP was associated with FEV1/FVC, spirometric GOLD stage, PRM-small airways disease, and PRM-emphysema. Sputum AcPGP also correlated with severe AECOPD, and elevated sputum AcPGP was associated with shorter time-to-first severe COPD exacerbation. In contrast, plasma AcPGP was not associated with symptoms, pulmonary function, or severe exacerbation risk. CONCLUSIONS: In COPD, sputum but not plasma AcPGP concentrations are associated with the severity of airflow limitation, small airways disease, emphysema, and risk for severe AECOPD at 1-year of follow-up. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01969344 (SPIROMICS)
Neural Activation of the Cellular Immune System Involving an Opioid Mechanism in the Mollusc Mytilus edulis
Adrenocortical and Sympathetic Pathways Modulate Splenic Macrophage Interleukin-1 Secretion
Regression Methodology: Correlation, Meta-Analysis, Confidence Intervals, and Reliability
Without mercy: The immediate impact of group size on lynch mob atrocity
Two independent research traditions have focused on social contributions to lynching. The sociological power threat hypothesis has argued that lynching atrocity will increase as a function of the relative number of African Americans. The psychological self-attention theory has argued that lynching atrocity will increase as a function of the relative number of mob members. Two series of analyses (one using newspaper reports and the second using photographic records) using different and nonoverlapping samples of lynching events rendered a consistent pattern of results: Lynch mob atrocity did not increase as a function of the relative numbers of African Americans in the county population but it did increase as a function of the relative numbers of mob members in the lynch mob. Discussion considers the implications of these results
Phagocytosis and ACTH-like and ?-Endorphin-like Molecules in Invertebrate (Molluscan) and in Vertebrate (Human) Cells..
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