2,076 research outputs found
LYING ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW OR ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
We compare communication about private information to communication about actions in a one-shot 2-person public good game with private information. The informed player, who knows the exact return from contributing and whose contribution is unobserved, can send a message about the return or her contribution. Theoretically, messages can elicit the uninformed player's contribution, and allow the informed player to free-ride. The exact language used is not expected to matter. Experimentally, however, we find that free-ride depends on the language: the informed player free-rides less-and thereby lies less frequently-when she talks about her contribution than when she talks about the return. Further experimental evidence indicates that it is the promise component in messages about the contribution that leads to less free-ride and less lying. © 2013 by the European Economic Association
Elderberry ( Sambucus Nigra ) Bark Contains two Structurally Different Neusac(Α2,6)Gal/Galnac-Binding Type 2 Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65709/1/j.1432-1033.1997.00648.x.pd
A phase 3 multicenter, prospective, open-label efficacy and safety study of immune globulin (human) 10% caprylate/chromatography purified in patients with myasthenia gravis exacerbations
Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder affecting neuromuscular transmission. Exacerbations may involve increasing bulbar weakness and/or sudden respiratory failure, both of which can be critically disabling. Management of MG exacerbations includes plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG); they are equally effective, but patients experience fewer side effects with IVIG. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of immune globulin caprylate/chromatography purified (IGIV-C) in subjects with MG exacerbations. Methods: This prospective, open-label, non-controlled 28-day clinical trial was conducted in adults with MG Foundation of America class IVb or V status. Subjects received IGIV-C 2 g/kg over 2 consecutive days (1 g/kg/day) and were assessed for efficacy/safety on Days 7, 14, 21, and 28. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change from Baseline in quantitative MG (QMG) score to Day 14. Secondary endpoints of clinical response, Baseline to Day 14, included at least a 3-point decrease in QMG and MG Composite and a 2-point decrease in MG-activities of daily living (MG-ADL). Results: Forty-nine subjects enrolled. The change in QMG score at Day 14 was significant (p < 0.001) in the Evaluable (-6.4, n = 43) and Safety (-6.7, n = 49) populations. Among evaluable subjects, Day 14 response rates were 77, 86, and 88% for QMG, MG Composite, and MG-ADL, respectively. IGIV-C showed good tolerability with no serious adverse events. Conclusions: The results of this study show that IGIV-C was effective, safe, and well tolerated in the treatment of MG exacerbations
Protein processing characterized by a gel-free proteomics approach
We describe a method for the specific isolation of representative N-terminal peptides of proteins and their proteolytic fragments. Their isolation is based on a gel-free, peptidecentric proteomics approach using the principle of diagonal chromatography. We will indicate that the introduction of an altered chemical property to internal peptides holding a free α-N-terminus results in altered column retention of these peptides, thereby enabling the isolation and further characterization by mass spectrometry of N-terminal peptides. Besides pointing to changes in protein expression levels when performing such proteome surveys in a differential modus, protease specificity and substrate repertoires can be allocated since both are specified by neo-N-termini generated after a protease cleavage event. As such, our gel-free proteomics technology is widely applicable and amenable for a variety of proteome-driven protease degradomics research
The holy blood and the holy grail: Myths of scientific racism and the pursuit of excellence in sport
Despite the continuing publication of research that suggests there is no scientific basis to 'race' as a biological category, theories of racial difference continue to be invoked within sport to explain the perceived dominance of black athletes. In the case of John Entine's controversial 'Taboo: why black athletes dominate sports and why we are afraid to talk about it' or undergraduate textbooks that suggest 'racial differences' in physique may significantly affect athletic performance, scientific racism is normalised in sport. In this article, the relationship between scientific racism and sport will be examined. Qualitative research with current sport scientists is used to investigate the socio-ethical tensions within the subject field of sport science between professionalism, scientism and the demand from external interests to produce results that help people in sport win medals. It will be shown that these tensions, combined with the history of race as a category in sport science, combine to create the discourse of scientific knowledge that reflects, rather than challenges, folk genetics of black athletic physicality
Natural history of Arabidopsis thaliana and oomycete symbioses
Molecular ecology of plant–microbe interactions has immediate significance for filling a gap in knowledge between the laboratory discipline of molecular biology and the largely theoretical discipline of evolutionary ecology. Somewhere in between lies conservation biology, aimed at protection of habitats and the diversity of species housed within them. A seemingly insignificant wildflower called Arabidopsis thaliana has an important contribution to make in this endeavour. It has already transformed botanical research with deepening understanding of molecular processes within the species and across the Plant Kingdom; and has begun to revolutionize plant breeding by providing an invaluable catalogue of gene sequences that can be used to design the most precise molecular markers attainable for marker-assisted selection of valued traits. This review describes how A. thaliana and two of its natural biotrophic parasites could be seminal as a model for exploring the biogeography and molecular ecology of plant–microbe interactions, and specifically, for testing hypotheses proposed from the geographic mosaic theory of co-evolution
Viable tax constitutions
Taxation is only sustainable if the general public complies with it. This observation is uncontroversial with tax practitioners but has been ignored by the public finance tradition, which has interpreted tax constitutions as binding contracts by which the power to tax is irretrievably conferred by individuals to government, which can then levy any tax it chooses. However, in the absence of an outside party enforcing contracts between members of a group, no arrangement within groups can be considered to be a binding contract, and therefore the power of tax must be sanctioned by individuals on an ongoing basis. In this paper we offer, for the first time, a theoretical analysis of this fundamental compliance problem associated with taxation, obtaining predictions that in some cases point to a re-interptretation of the theoretical constructions of the public finance tradition while in others call them into question
Trends and seasonal variability in ammonia across major biomes in western and central Africa inferred from long-term series of ground-based and satellite measurements
Ammonia (NH3) is the most abundant alkaline
component in the atmosphere. Changes in NH3 concentrations have
important implications for atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and ecosystem
integrity. We present a long-term ammonia (NH3) assessment in the
western and central African regions within the framework of the International
Network to study Deposition and Atmospheric chemistry in Africa (INDAAF)
programme. We analyse seasonal variations and trends in NH3
concentrations and total column densities along an African ecosystem
transect spanning dry savannas in Banizoumbou, Niger, and Katibougou, Mali;
wet savannas in Djougou, Benin, and Lamto, Côte d'Ivoire; and forests in Bomassa, Republic of the Congo, and Zoétélé, Cameroon. We use a
21-year record of observations (1998–2018) from INDAAF passive samplers and an 11-year record of observations (2008–2018) of atmospheric vertical column densities from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) to evaluate NH3 ground-based concentrations and total column densities,
respectively. Climatic data (air temperature, rainfall amount, and leaf area
index), as well as ammonia emission data of biomass combustion from the
fourth version of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED4) and
anthropogenic sources from the Community Emissions Data System (CEDS), were
compared with total NH3 concentrations and total columns over the same
periods. Annual mean ground-based NH3 concentrations are around 5.7–5.8 ppb in dry savannas, 3.5–4.7 ppb in wet savannas, and 3.4–5.6 ppb in forests. Annual IASI NH3 total column densities are 10.0–10.7 × 1015 molec. cm−2 in dry savanna, 16.0–20.9 × 1015 molec. cm−2 in wet
savanna, and 12.4–13.8 × 1015 molec. cm−2 in forest stations. Non-parametric statistical Mann–Kendall trend tests applied to annual data show that ground-based NH3 concentrations increase at Bomassa (+2.56 % yr−1) but decrease at Zoétélé (−2.95 % yr−1) over the 21-year period. The 11-year period of IASI NH3 total column density measurements show yearly increasing trends at Katibougou (+3.46 % yr−1), Djougou (+2.24 % yr−1), and Zoétélé (+3.42 % yr−1). From the outcome of our
investigation, we conclude that air temperature, leaf area index, and
rainfall combined with biomass burning, agricultural, and residential
activities are the key drivers of atmospheric NH3 in the INDAAF
stations. The results also show that the drivers of trends are (1) agriculture in the dry savanna of Katibougou; (2) air temperature and agriculture in the wet savanna of Djougou and Lamto; and (3) leaf area index, air temperature, residential, and agriculture in the forest of Bomassa.</p
Generation of human motor units with functional neuromuscular junctions in microfluidic devices
Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) are specialized synapses between the axon of the lower motor neuron and the muscle facilitating the engagement of muscle contraction. In motor neuron disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), NMJs degenerate, resulting in muscle atrophy and progressive paralysis. The underlying mechanism of NMJ degeneration is unknown, largely due to the lack of translatable research models. This study aimed to create a versatile and reproducible in vitro model of a human motor unit with functional NMJs. Therefore, human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived motor neurons and human primary mesoangioblast (MAB)-derived myotubes were co-cultured in commercially available microfluidic devices. The use of fluidically isolated micro-compartments allows for the maintenance of cell-specific microenvironments while permitting cell-to-cell contact through microgrooves. By applying a chemotactic and volumetric gradient, the growth of motor neuron-neurites through the microgrooves promoting myotube interaction and the formation of NMJs were stimulated. These NMJs were identified immunocytochemically through co-localization of motor neuron presynaptic marker synaptophysin (SYP) and postsynaptic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) marker α-bungarotoxin (Btx) on myotubes and characterized morphologically using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The functionality of the NMJs was confirmed by measuring calcium responses in myotubes upon depolarization of the motor neurons. The motor unit generated using standard microfluidic devices and stem cell technology can aid future research focusing on NMJs in health and disease
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