Fluorescence-based measurements of membrane-bound angiotensin converting enzyme 2 activity using Xenopus Laevis Oocytes

Functional investigations of enzymes involving cellular expression systems are important for pharmacological studies. The precise control of expression is challenging in transiently transfected mammalian cell lines. Here, we explored the ability of Xenopus laevis oocytes to express a membrane-bound enzyme for functional characterization using standard 96-well plates and a fluorescence-based plate reader assay. We microinjected oocytes with cRNA encoding the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and measured the enzymatic activity in single oocytes using a commercial fluorescence-based assay. The injected oocytes showed up to a 50-fold increase in fluorescence compared to uninjected oocytes. This fluorescence intensity was dose-dependent on the amount of ACE2 cRNA. These results suggest that Xenopus oocytes can be used for the functional evaluation of membrane-bound enzymes, decreasing the experimental workload

Fundamental results from microgravity cell experiments with possible commericial applications

Some of the major milestones are presented for studies in cell biology that were conducted by the Soviet Union and the United States in the upper layers of the atmosphere and in outer space for more than thirty-five years. The goals have changed as new knowledge is acquired and the priorities for the use of microgravity have shifted toward basic research and commercial applications. Certain details concerning the impact of microgravity on cell systems is presented. However, it needs to be emphasized that in planning and conducting microgravity experiments, there are some important prerequisites not normally taken into account. Apart from the required background knowledge of previous microgravity and ground-based experiments, the investigator should have the understanding of the hardware as a physical unit, the complete knowledge of its operation, the range of its capabilities and the anticipation of problems that may occur. Moreover, if the production of commercial products in space is to be manifested, data obtained from previous microgravity experiments must be used to optimize the design of flight hardware

Handling the Crisis: A Keynesian vs. Austrian Analysis of the “Great Recession”

This paper explores the differences between the mainstream economic interventionist view associated with John Maynard Keynes and the heterodox, non-interventionist Austrian School perspective associated with Friedrich Hayek on the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The literature review compares and contrasts articles explaining each view as they attempt to solve the problem of ending the recession. The heterodox Austrian School/Hayekian view is that central banks should take a hands-off approach to recessions, whereas the mainstream neo-Keynesian view is that central banks should take a more active role through monetary easing in an attempt to end the Great Recession

From Survey Quadrats to Cultural Landscapes: Forty-one Years of the Cedar Mesa Project

The Cedar Mesa Project in SE Utah was inspired by Binford's classic 1964 research design paper. From 1971 to 1975, a stratified probabilistic sampling design guided regional survey, site recording, and site testing in an 800 km2 study area. Population and settlement systems were characterized through time, and their variation related to broad regional climatic and adaptive patterns. Subsequent fieldwork (1984, 1991-92, 2009-2011) and analyses have built on this Binfordian research base to focus on aspects of Cedar Mesa cultural systems, including agricultural dependence, community organization, cultural landscape construction, external relationships (e.g., with Chaco Canyon) and regional depopulation processes

The Effects Of Education On Alabama’s Violent Crime Rate

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of the effect of education on violent crime, specifically in the U.S. state of Alabama. The main purpose of the research is to determine whether more education leads to a decrease in the rate of violent crime. Systematization of the literary sources and approaches for reducing the violent crime rate indicate that increasing education, particularly the number of people with at least a high school or associate’s degree, can be one influential tool in cutting crime

Examining A Lump Sum Tax and Optimal Tax Theory

This paper will cover an overview of Optimal Tax Theory with a special emphasis on the benefits and drawbacks of a Lump Sum Tax. Covering the work of Ramsey (1927), Mirrlees and Diamond (1971a, b), Slemrod and Yitzhaki (1996), Samuelson (1954), Lindahl (1919, 1958) and others, the paper compares and contrasts the foundational works in Optimal Tax Theory on a Lump Sum Tax with more recent literature

Hong Kong’s Currency and Monetary Policy

This literature review is a synopsis of what has been written on the currency and monetary policy of Hong Kong since its relinquishment from Great Britain in 1999. In particular, this paper examines the role and policies of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the island province’s equivalent to a central bank. Since Hong Kong does not have a central bank per se, it is interesting to note how the money supply is created and maintained, and what its relationship is to mainland China. This institution makes Hong Kong unique among developed economies, which typically have a central bank that oversees monetary creation and policy

New Perspectives on May’s Theorem and the Median Voter Theorem

The paper defines and analyzes May’s Theorem and the Median Voter Theorem from the Public Policy and Public Choice literature and seeks to compare and contrast the use of both. Through the use of theoretical and applied examples, the paper demonstrates how collective decision-making research has evolved to better inform public policy. Building on Black’s (1948) notion that it is the voter in the ideological middle that decides elections, Holcombe (1980) provides an empirical analysis of this theory, Scervini (2012) attempts to show that the middle class (median) voter decides taxation and redistribution policy, Rowley (1984) takes a New Institutional approach to analyzing voters’ preferences, Groot and van der Linde (2016) conducts a cross-country analysis to see if the Median Voter Theorem holds true across time and cultures, Carrillo and Castanheira (2008) show that voters change their behavior from the preference of the median voter as the press reveals new information about the quality of candidates which alters voters’ perceptions, and Congleton (2003) asserts there may not always be a median voter with examples. Building on May’s Theorem that voting is an aggregation of voters’ preferences, Hotelling (1929), Black (1948), Maskin (1999), Duggan (2015), and Brady and Chambers (2017) expand on social preference theory showing that Arrow (1951) and May (1952)’s work needed to be updated to include verifiable, empirical tests and further refinements. The paper shows how public policy analysis and group decision making theory and application have evolved over the past 75 years and shines some light on areas for future research and analysis. These findings are important because it will help make candidates and policy proposals more palatable to voters in the ideological middle (median voter) who, as the studies show, often determines the winner. The paper will be of interest to anyone involved in public policy and group decision making processes

Intellectual Property Law’s Plagiarism Fallacy

Intellectual property law is caught in a widespread debate over whether it should serve incentive or natural rights objectives, and what the best means for achieving those ends are. This article reports a series of experiments revealing that these debates are actually orthogonal to how most users and many creators understand intellectual property law. The most common perception of intellectual property among the American public is that intellectual property law is designed to prevent plagiarism. The plagiarism fallacy in intellectual property law is not an innocuous misperception. This fallacy likely helps explain pervasive illegal infringing activity on the Internet, common dismissal of copyright warnings, and other previously puzzling behavior. The received wisdom has been that the public is ethically dismissive or indifferent towards intellectual property rights. This research reveals instead that experts have failed to comprehend what the public’s conception of intellectual property law actually is. The studies reported here uncover several additional intellectual property law findings, including that (1) the majority of the American public views intellectual property rights as too broad and too strong, (2) knowledge of intellectual property law does not affect opinions about what the law should be, and (3) there are significant demographic and cultural divides concerning attitudes towards intellectual property rights. The findings as a whole raise central questions concerning the public legitimacy of intellectual property law and, consequently, its ability to function as intended

Debunking Intellectual Property Myths: Cross Cultural Experiments on Perceptions of Property

For decades, the prevailing view in the United States and many Western countries has been that China does not appropriately respect intellectual property rights. These beliefs lie at the heart of President Donald Trump’s current trade war with China. Despite substantial geopolitical debate over differences between American an d Chinese attitudes towards intellectual property rights, and despite the critical effects that such attitudes have on international economic markets and the function of intellectual property systems, empirical evidence of these attitudes is largely lacking. This Article presents original experimental survey research that explores cross cross-cultural differences between American and Chinese attitudes towards intellectual property rights, personal property rights, and real property rights. The results of the studies are somewhat counterintuitive. First, Chinese participants are found to have more consistent preferences towards different types of property rights than Americans. In a series of vignettes designed to test attitudes towards patented subject matter, copyrighted subject matter, tangible personal property, and real property, Chinese responses were more consistent and less context driven. Second, Americans do identify a preference for stronger intellectual property rights than Chinese, but only where infringement is committed by a private party for private benefit. Where infringement is conducted for public benefit, whether by a private or a governmental entity, Chinese and Americans tend to have the same attitudes towards intellectual property rights. Third , Americans display a lower regard for intellectual property rights than for tangible property rights in most contexts, a differential that is not echoed in Chinese responses. The distinctions that Americans draw based on the use to which property is put, and between intellectual property and tangible property, is not consistent with United States law. Our experiments reveal that the ongoing debates over Chinese attitudes towards intellectual property rights miss the mark in certain regards. Chinese and American preferences for property rights are more similar than most have assumed, and the manners in which they differ are inconsistent with most proffered theories. These results provide important lessons for the future of international intellectual property rights relations, discourse, and enforcement