What Makes Some People Think Astrology Is Scientific?

Citizens in both North America and Europe are apt to read horoscope columns in newspapers and magazines. While some people read these casually and purely for entertainment, some believe that astrology has scientific status and can provide real insight into events and personality. Using data from a European survey, this article explores some of the reasons why some people think that astrology is scientific and how astrology is viewed in relation to other knowledge-producing practices. Three hypotheses in particular are tested. The first is that some Europeans lack the necessary scientific literacy to distinguish science from pseudoscience. The second is that people are confused about what astrology actually is. The third is derived from Adorno’s work on authoritarianism and the occult and postulates that those who adhere to authoritarian values are more likely to believe in astrological claims. Support is found for all three hypotheses. </jats:p

Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole genome sequencing and protein structure modelling provides insights into anti-tuberculosis drug resistance.

BACKGROUND: Combating the spread of drug resistant tuberculosis is a global health priority. Whole genome association studies are being applied to identify genetic determinants of resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs. Protein structure and interaction modelling are used to understand the functional effects of putative mutations and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms leading to resistance. METHODS: To investigate the potential utility of these approaches, we analysed the genomes of 144 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates from The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) collection sourced from 20 countries in four continents. A genome-wide approach was applied to 127 isolates to identify polymorphisms associated with minimum inhibitory concentrations for first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. In addition, the effect of identified candidate mutations on protein stability and interactions was assessed quantitatively with well-established computational methods. RESULTS: The analysis revealed that mutations in the genes rpoB (rifampicin), katG (isoniazid), inhA-promoter (isoniazid), rpsL (streptomycin) and embB (ethambutol) were responsible for the majority of resistance observed. A subset of the mutations identified in rpoB and katG were predicted to affect protein stability. Further, a strong direct correlation was observed between the minimum inhibitory concentration values and the distance of the mutated residues in the three-dimensional structures of rpoB and katG to their respective drugs binding sites. CONCLUSIONS: Using the TDR resource, we demonstrate the usefulness of whole genome association and convergent evolution approaches to detect known and potentially novel mutations associated with drug resistance. Further, protein structural modelling could provide a means of predicting the impact of polymorphisms on drug efficacy in the absence of phenotypic data. These approaches could ultimately lead to novel resistance mutations to improve the design of tuberculosis control measures, such as diagnostics, and inform patient management

Commercial hospitality in destination experiences: McDonald's and tourists' consumption of space

This paper examines the multiple roles that globalised, branded spaces of hospitality can play in tourists' experiences in destinations. It is argued that previous studies have not considered adequately how such commercial hospitality services and spaces interact with and influence tourists' experiences of places. Drawing on a netnographic analysis of online discussions of McDonald's, this study explores how tourists perceive these hospitality venues, and how they use them to engage with foreign destinations and negotiate the ‘work of tourism’. The data show how tourists (re)construct their identities through reflections on consuming McDonald's. The data also demonstrate that tourists critically evaluate discourses of authenticity and the (in)authenticity of consuming McDonald's. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for the marketing and management of McDonald's and similar branded commercial hospitality venues, the marketing and management of destinations, and it outlines avenues for further research

PhyTB: Phylogenetic tree visualisation and sample positioning for M. tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Phylogenetic-based classification of M. tuberculosis and other bacterial genomes is a core analysis for studying evolutionary hypotheses, disease outbreaks and transmission events. Whole genome sequencing is providing new insights into the genomic variation underlying intra- and inter-strain diversity, thereby assisting with the classification and molecular barcoding of the bacteria. One roadblock to strain investigation is the lack of user-interactive solutions to interrogate and visualise variation within a phylogenetic tree setting. RESULTS: We have developed a web-based tool called PhyTB ( http://pathogenseq.lshtm.ac.uk/phytblive/index.php ) to assist phylogenetic tree visualisation and identification of M. tuberculosis clade-informative polymorphism. Variant Call Format files can be uploaded to determine a sample position within the tree. A map view summarises the geographical distribution of alleles and strain-types. The utility of the PhyTB is demonstrated on sequence data from 1,601 M. tuberculosis isolates. CONCLUSION: PhyTB contextualises M. tuberculosis genomic variation within epidemiological, geographical and phylogenic settings. Further tool utility is possible by incorporating large variants and phenotypic data (e.g. drug-resistance profiles), and an assessment of genotype-phenotype associations. Source code is available to develop similar websites for other organisms ( http://sourceforge.net/projects/phylotrack )

PhyloTrack

PhyloTrack is a JavaScript-based software tool that integrates the D3.js library for data visualization with the JBrowse tool for genome browser representation. It requires a phylogenetic tree of the common Newick data format as input, as well as three meta data files for samples, clade-defining nodes and clade color definitions - all in tab delimited format. Functionality within PhyloTrack shows the informative markers at each node in the phylogenetic tree, therefore highlighting clade-defining polymorphism. This functionality has been implemented using the tabix tool on the server side, providing simple and rapid access to the information at each tree node, including informative SNPs stored in VCF-similar files. These informative variants have been established by comparing allele frequencies between strain-types using ancestral node comparisons and FST measures of population differentiation

Whole genome sequences for M.tuberculosis isolates from the TDR strain bank

Combating the spread of drug resistant tuberculosis is a global health priority. Whole genome association studies are being applied to identify genetic determinants of resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs. Protein structure and interaction modelling are used to understand the functional effects of putative mutations and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms leading to resistance. To investigate the potential utility of these approaches, we analysed the genomes of 144 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates from The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) collection sourced from 20 countries in four continents. A genome-wide approach was applied to 127 isolates to identify polymorphisms associated with minimum inhibitory concentrations for first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. In addition, the effect of identified candidate mutations on protein stability and interactions was assessed quantitatively with well-established computational methods. The analysis revealed that mutations in the genes rpoB (rifampicin), katG (isoniazid), inhA-promoter (isoniazid), rpsL (streptomycin) and embB (ethambutol) were responsible for the majority of resistance observed. A subset of the mutations identified in rpoB and katG were predicted to affect protein stability. Further, a strong direct correlation was observed between the minimum inhibitory concentration values and the distance of the mutated residues in the three-dimensional structures of rpoB and katG to their respective drugs binding sites

The Person of Arbitration in International Commercial Arbitration

The topic of the thesis is The Person of Arbitrator in International Commercial Arbitration. Arbitration has undergone a number of changes in recent years. This procedure is very popular not only for a choice of Arbitrator, but also for its speed and lower costs, as compared to the other methods of dispute resolution. In the work has been carefully analyzed the whole procedure from the viewpoint of an Arbitrator, especially his duties and powers. The amendment to Act No. 216/1994 Coll. - Act No. 19/2012 Coll., with effect from 1.4.2012 was to distinguish arbitration for consumer and without consumer. Part of the thesis are also proposals de lege ferenda

Comparing the parameters of blood samples of periodic blood donors and monitoring their trend during time at sampling point.

The isolates according to geographic location and phenotypic drug resistance. CAR Central African Republic; DRC Democratic Republic of Congo, L1-L4 lineages 1 to 4, (first line drugs) RMP = rifampicin, INH = isoniazid, SM = streptomycin, EMB = ethambutol; (second line drugs) OFL = ofloxacin, KAN = kanamycin, CAP = capreomycin, Et = ethionamide, P = Para-aminosalisylic acid. Table S2. The isolate ENA accession numbers and MIC values. RMP rifampicin, INH isoniazid, SM streptomycin, EMB ethambutol. Table S3. Drug susceptibility profiles for rifampicin, isoniazid, streptomycin and ethambutol. R = resistance, S = sensitive; 13 different profiles were identified across 127 independent isolates; Multi-drug resistant in italics. Table S4. Combinations of mutations and their frequency (N) in drug resistance candidate genes. a) Rifampicin. b) Isoniazid. c) Streptomycin. d) Ethambutol. * single mutation, ** double mutations, *** triple mutations; SNP mutations in a single sample have been aggregated into a “rare” column. Table S5. Predicted effects of mutations. (DOCX 55 kb