Identification of stable reference genes for quantitative PCR in koalas

To better understand host and immune response to diseases, gene expression studies require identification of reference genes with stable expression for accurate normalisation. This study describes the identification and testing of reference genes with stable expression profiles in koala lymph node tissues across two genetically distinct koala populations. From the 25 most stable genes identified in transcriptome analysis, 11 genes were selected for verification using reverse transcription quantitative PCR, in addition to the commonly used ACTB and GAPDH genes. The expression data were analysed using stable genes statistical software - geNorm, BestKeeper, NormFinder, the comparative ΔCt method and RefFinder. All 13 genes showed relative stability in expression in koala lymph node tissues, however Tmem97 and Hmg20a were identified as the most stable genes across the two koala populations

Might Depression, Psychosocial Adversity, and Limited Social Assets Explain Vulnerability to and Resistance against Violent Radicalisation?

BACKGROUND: This study tests whether depression, psychosocial adversity, and limited social assets offer protection or suggest vulnerability to the process of radicalisation. METHODS: A population sample of 608 men and women of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin, of Muslim heritage, and aged 18-45 were recruited by quota sampling. Radicalisation was measured by 16 questions asking about sympathies for violent protest and terrorism. Cluster analysis of the 16 items generated three groups: most sympathetic (or most vulnerable), most condemning (most resistant), and a large intermediary group that acted as a reference group. Associations were calculated with depression (PHQ9), anxiety (GAD7), poor health, and psychosocial adversity (adverse life events, perceived discrimination, unemployment). We also investigated protective factors such as the number social contacts, social capital (trust, satisfaction, feeling safe), political engagement and religiosity. RESULTS: Those showing the most sympathy for violent protest and terrorism were more likely to report depression (PHQ9 score of 5 or more; RR = 5.43, 1.35 to 21.84) and to report religion to be important (less often said religion was fairly rather than very important; RR = 0.08, 0.01 to 0.48). Resistance to radicalisation measured by condemnation of violent protest and terrorism was associated with larger number of social contacts (per contact: RR = 1.52, 1.26 to 1.83), less social capital (RR = 0.63, 0.50 to 0.80), unavailability for work due to housekeeping or disability (RR = 8.81, 1.06 to 37.46), and not being born in the UK (RR = 0.22, 0.08 to 0.65). CONCLUSIONS: Vulnerability to radicalisation is characterised by depression but resistance to radicalisation shows a different profile of health and psychosocial variables. The paradoxical role of social capital warrants further investigation

Foreign policy fusion: Liberal interventionists, conservative nationalists and neoconservatives - The new alliance dominating the US foreign policy establishment

Several tendencies in US foreign policy politics generated a new foreign policy consensus set to outlast the Bush administration. Three developments are analysed: increasing influence of conservative organizations – such as the Heritage Foundation, and of neoconservatism; and, particularly, democratic peace theory-inspired liberal interventionism. 9-11 fused those three developments, though each tendency retained its ‘sphere of action’: Right and Left appear to have forged an historically effective ideology of global intervention, an enduring new configuration of power. This paper analyses a key liberal interventionists' initiative – the Princeton Project on National Security – that sits at the heart of thinking among centrists, liberal and conservative alike. This paper also assesses the efficacy of the new consensus by exploring the foreign policy positions and advisers of President-elect Barack Obama and his defeated Republican rival, Senator John McCain, concluding that the new president is unlikely significantly to change US foreign policy

Who wants to talk to terrorists?

Interviewing terrorists or former terrorists has become an increasingly popular research method in terrorism studies. What terrorists say can shed light on motivations, decision-making processes and operational details that without first-hand testimony could only be inferred. In this chapter, a selection of these studies is reviewed alongside a consideration of global trends in terrorism and developments in terrorism research

Response of Scanning Fabry-Pérot Interferometer to Speed-Dependent Asymmetric Voigt Profile

A detailed analysis of the deviations from the Voigt profile caused by the correlation effects and collision-time asymmetry observed by means of a Fabry-P'erot interferometer is presented. An expression for the response of scanning Fabry-P'erot interferometer to the speed-dependent asymmetric Voigt profile is derived

Experimental study of speed-dependent collisional effects of He and Ne on the 687.1 nm argon line

Using a pressure-scanned Fabry-Perot interferometer precise measurements of the profiles of the 687.1 nm argon line perturbed by helium and neon pressures between 0.5 and 44 torr have been performed. Careful analysis of line shapes showed that for Ar-He the speed-dependent effects do not play any essential role. Contrary to that, for Ar-Ne these effects can give rise to noticeable decrease of the Doppler width determined using the Voigt profile. It was shown that for Ar-Ne the inclusion of speed-dependent effects can reduce the apparent dependence of the Doppler width on the neon density and cause the Doppler temperatures determined from the profiles to be consistent with the source temperature. The role of the Dicke narrowing is also discussed

Speed-Dependent Effects on the 748.8 nm Ne Self-Broadened Line

Profiles of the self-broadened 748.8 nm Ne line emitted from a glow discharge in neon in the pressure range between 0.8 and 100 Tr were measured using an improved experimental setup with pressure-scanned Fabry-Perot interferometer. First, line profiles were analysed using an ordinary Voigt procedure which yielded the Doppler widths decreasing with the increase in neon pressure. Using a speed-dependent Voigt profile it was shown that for the 748.8 nm line the correlation between the Doppler and collisional broadening plays an important role. However, the values of the pressure broadening and shift coefficients determined by the speed-dependent Voigt analysis were found to be only slightly different from those obtained by the ordinary Voigt analysis. A systematic error in the determination of perturber concentration in our previous investigation was corrected