A gap analysis of confined field trial application forms for genetically modified crops in East Africa: evaluating the potential for harmonization

"The regulatory approval of genetically modified crops in the field initially requires small, restricted experimental trials known as confined field trials. These small scale experiments provide researchers with important information on environmental interactions and agronomic performance of the crop in a safe and contained manner. To authorize confined field trials regulatory review is required, with formats for obtaining relevant information differing from country to country. In this paper, a Gap Analysis is used to identify informational gaps and potential for harmonization of confined field trial application processes in three East African countries - Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. The basic principle behind gap analysis is a comparison of the status quo to an ideal with the identification of the differences or gaps and the difficulty involved in removing the gaps. The resulting similarity of the application forms provides a potential basis for harmonization of confined field trial application processes between countries leading to potential efficiency gains." Authors' abstractGenetically modified crops, Gap analysis, Confined field trials, biotechnology,

Topological nonrealization results via the Goodwillie tower approach to iterated loopspace homology

We prove a strengthened version of a theorem of Lionel Schwartz that says that certain modules over the Steenrod algebra cannot be the mod 2 cohomology of a space. What is most interesting is our method, which replaces his iterated use of the Eilenberg--Moore spectral sequence by a single use of the spectral sequence converging to the mod 2 cohomology of Omega^nX obtained from the Goodwillie tower for the suspension spectrum of Omega^nX. Much of the paper develops basic properties of this spectral sequence.Comment: 18 page

Policy Change and Public Opinion: Measuring Shifting Political Sentiment With Social Media Data

This article uses Twitter data and machine-learning methods to analyze the causal impact of the Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage at the federal level in the United States on political sentiment and discourse toward gay rights. In relying on social media text data, this project constructs a large data set of expressed political opinions in the short time frame before and after the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Due to the variation in state laws regarding the legality of same-sex marriage prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, I use a difference-in-difference estimator to show that, in those states where the Court’s ruling produced a policy change, there was relatively more negative movement in public opinion toward same-sex marriage and gay rights issues as compared with other states. This confirms previous studies that show Supreme Court decisions polarize public opinion in the short term, extends previous results by demonstrating opinion becomes relatively more negative in states where policy is overturned, and demonstrates how to use social media data to engage in causal analyses

Policy Change and Public Opinion: Measuring Shifting Political Sentiment With Social Media Data

This article uses Twitter data and machine-learning methods to analyze the causal impact of the Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage at the federal level in the United States on political sentiment and discourse toward gay rights. In relying on social media text data, this project constructs a large data set of expressed political opinions in the short time frame before and after the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Due to the variation in state laws regarding the legality of same-sex marriage prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, I use a difference-in-difference estimator to show that, in those states where the Court’s ruling produced a policy change, there was relatively more negative movement in public opinion toward same-sex marriage and gay rights issues as compared with other states. This confirms previous studies that show Supreme Court decisions polarize public opinion in the short term, extends previous results by demonstrating opinion becomes relatively more negative in states where policy is overturned, and demonstrates how to use social media data to engage in causal analyses

Further Characterization of an Interleukin-2-1Ike Cytokine Produced by Xenopus Laevis T Lymphocytes

A T-cell growth factor (TCGF) is produced by antigen- or mitogen-stimulated T lymphocytes from the South African clawed frog Xenopus laevis. This study further defines the physical and biological properties of this cytokine and demonstrates that TCGF is biochemically similar to mammalian interleukin-2 (IL-2). Biologically active TCGF eluted from SDS-PAGE displays a Mr of 16 kD and lectin-affinity chromatography indicates that the three-dimensionmal configuration of carbohydrates on TCGF and human IL-2 is similar. Secretion of TCGF is detectable 1 day after stimulation of splenocytes with the T-cell mitogen phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and peaks following 2 to 3 days of stimulation. Finally, despite the biological and physical similarities between Xenopus TCGF and mammalian IL-2, anti-human IL-2 monoclonal antibodies do not recognize Xenopus TCGF

Resuscitation-promoting factors possess a lysozyme-like domain

The novel bacterial cytokine family – resuscitation-promoting factors (Rpfs) – share a conserved domain of uncharacterized function. Predicting the structure of this domain suggests that Rpfs possess a lysozyme-like domain. The model highlights the good conservation of residues involved in catalysis and substrate binding. A lysozyme-like function makes sense for this domain in the light of experimental characterization of the biological function of Rpfs