Business Investigation for Golinowski Sporthorses, LLC.

The equine industry in Virginia contributes over $1 billion annually to the state economy and impacts more than 1 million Virginians. The purpose of this investigative paper is to determine the viability of a new equine training and sales business within this influential industry in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The paper considers multiple potential business models in several locations, considering the strength of the local economies as well as the statewide and nationwide markets

Wymiary ekspozycji debat politycznych w mediach

The accepted scheme of explanation tries to analyse the effect the state-of-the-art multimedia techniques have on realizing a model of more active participation of people in public life in which medialisation of politics is becoming an inseparable element. Therefore, teledemocracy which means interactive communication between particular segments of the authority is the basic challenge of contemporary times. However, the main problem of democracy in the era of multimedia is a dissonance between active participation of citizens in public life with a simultaneous conscious choice of political programs and a form of unconscious participation in the performance the politics provides people with transforming it into "consumption of politics”. Quoting the opinions of scholars representing different scientific disciplines, the author points at various faces of teledemocracy, and at the same time, at the consequences of politics medialisation. The author suggests that if politics is only reduced to struggle for power techniques it loses its essence. Such attitude leads to an extreme relativism in comprehending social interests, as well as to political cynicism. It is also a challenge for modern Polish democracy, and maybe particularly for the Polish political reality loaded with spontaneous processes of transformation

Infotainment jako narzędzie formatowania społeczeństwa w warunkach medialnej demokracji

As the mass media spread a defined format of ‘cultural repertoires’, they operate both in the cognitive and affective realms – they present problems and issues to society (societies), they form public opinion and stimulate actors to undertake actions. These result in both actual and symbolic unification of individuals and groups on various levels of the organization of community life. Even after a superficial observation of present activities it can be assumed that the process of marketization of social life, which includes the realm of culture and human relations, has been subjected to the influence of a populist rhetoric, which is rooted in the therapeutic function mass culture performs, formatting and unifying citizens’ behavior. The reasons for this can be sought in the tendency, which is typical both of economic and political marketing, to make promises and refer to unconditioned human desires. Overfamiliarity and excessive expression can play the same role in persuading viewers to accept the ‘only right opinion’, as can the propaganda of a given political platform under authoritarian conditions. In these terms the normative approach to the realm of politics and the politicization of social life reveal their anachronistic nature in defining real decision processes.As the mass media spread a defined format of ‘cultural repertoires’, they operate both in the cognitive and affective realms – they present problems and issues to society (societies), they form public opinion and stimulate actors to undertake actions. These result in both actual and symbolic unification of individuals and groups on various levels of the organization of community life. Even after a superficial observation of present activities it can be assumed that the process of marketization of social life, which includes the realm of culture and human relations, has been subjected to the influence of a populist rhetoric, which is rooted in the therapeutic function mass culture performs, formatting and unifying citizens’ behavior. The reasons for this can be sought in the tendency, which is typical both of economic and political marketing, to make promises and refer to unconditioned human desires. Overfamiliarity and excessive expression can play the same role in persuading viewers to accept the ‘only right opinion’, as can the propaganda of a given political platform under authoritarian conditions. In these terms the normative approach to the realm of politics and the politicization of social life reveal their anachronistic nature in defining real decision processes

W medialnym dagerotypie demokracji

In the post modernist world dominated by the modern electronic media, language loses its ability to reproduce and establish ideas in a given place and to organize symbols in coherent systems of ideas about a place, time and a subject. The social reality is more often identified with the world of symbols, in which the media, and particularly television, are becoming a powerful transmitter of these symbols penetrating and filling the sphere of politics.The postmodern social space makes a base to create a new generation of people regarding themselves as creative consumers - performers moving within different scenarios, playing in different performances and creating a vision of the common market of culture and consumption, which is submitted to the arranged influence of the “democracy of mood”. We tend to be identified with icons and idols ֊ the products of the culture, sold as goods. However, the torn apart social bonds and the lack of being anchored in a stable community change our lives in an everlasting pursuit of approval. Such “magnets” prone to draw the attention of us - Proteuses by exceeding the limits between the publicly important matters and those being petty but exciting and, at the same time, reaching into the privacy encouraging to psychological exhibition. We are both independent receivers and passive consumers. No particular attitude is dominant today, but there exists void, which may be filled with any feature a demand is for. The media come to our help. Being a commodity to purchase and deriving pleasure from that, they create the sense of human existence, and as a tool of this kind of consumption they also define a receiver’s identity. As it is meant by the author, the reality differs significantly from traditional ideas on the market system and inclusive democracy. The inclusive democracy means a mechanism of active attraction of the society to social institutions by protecting cultural diversity supporting participation and social control, as well as by the reduction of inequality and social barriers

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) concentration and ACC synthase expression in soybean roots, root tips, and soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines)-infected roots

Colonization of plant roots by root knot and cyst nematodes requires a functional ethylene response pathway. However, ethylene plays many roles in root development and whether its role in nematode colonization is direct or indirect, for example lateral root initiation or root hair growth, is not known. The temporal requirement for ethylene and localized synthesis of ethylene during the life span of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) on soybean roots was further investigated. Although a significant increase in ethylene evolution was not detected from SCN-colonized roots, the concentration of the immediate precursor to ethylene, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), was higher in SCN-colonized root pieces and root tips than in other parts of the root. Moreover, expression analysis of 17 ACC synthase (ACS) genes indicated that a select set of ACS genes is expressed in SCN-colonized root pieces that is clearly different from the set of genes expressed in non-colonized roots or root tips. Semi-quantitative real-time PCR indicated that ACS transcript accumulation correlates with the high concentration of ACC in root tips. In addition, an ACS-like sequence was found in the public SCN nucleotide database. Acquisition of a full-length sequence for this mRNA (accession GQ389647) and alignment with transcripts for other well-characterized ACS proteins indicated that the nematode sequence is missing a key element required for ACS activity and therefore probably is not a functional ACS. Moreover, no significant amount of ACC was found in any growth stage of SCN that was tested

Diversity and activity of sugar transporters in nematode-induced root syncytia

The plant-parasitic nematode Heterodera schachtii stimulates plant root cells to form syncytial feeding structures which synthesize all nutrients required for successful nematode development. Cellular re-arrangements and modified metabolism of the syncytia are accompanied by massive intra- and intercellular solute allocations. In this study the expression of all genes annotated as sugar transporters in the Arabidopsis Membrane Protein Library was investigated by Affymetrix gene chip analysis in young and fully developed syncytia compared with non-infected Arabidopsis thaliana roots. The expression of three highly up-regulated (STP12, MEX1, and GTP2) and three highly down-regulated genes (SFP1, STP7, and STP4) was analysed by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). The most up-regulated gene (STP12) was chosen for further in-depth studies using in situ RT-PCR and a nematode development assay with a T-DNA insertion line revealing a significant reduction of male nematode development. The specific role of STP12 expression in syncytia of male juveniles compared with those of female juveniles was further shown by qRT-PCR. In order to provide evidence for sugar transporter activity across the plasma membrane of syncytia, fluorescence-labelled glucose was used and membrane potential recordings following the application of several sugars were performed. Analyses of soluble sugar pools revealed a highly specific composition in syncytia. The presented work demonstrates that sugar transporters are specifically expressed and active in syncytia, indicating a profound role in inter- and intracelluar transport processes

The EFF-1A Cytoplasmic Domain Influences Hypodermal Cell Fusions in C. elegans But Is Not Dependent on 14-3-3 Proteins.

BACKGROUND: Regulatory and biophysical mechanisms of cell-cell fusion are largely unknown despite the fundamental requirement for fused cells in eukaryotic development. Only two cellular fusogens that are not of clear recent viral origin have been identified to date, both in nematodes. One of these, EFF-1, is necessary for most cell fusions in Caenorhabditis elegans. Unregulated EFF-1 expression causes lethality due to ectopic fusion between cells not developmentally programmed to fuse, highlighting the necessity of tight fusogen regulation for proper development. Identifying factors that regulate EFF-1 and its paralog AFF-1 could lead to discovery of molecular mechanisms that control cell fusion upstream of the action of a membrane fusogen. Bioinformatic analysis of the EFF-1A isoform\u27s predicted cytoplasmic domain (endodomain) previously revealed two motifs that have high probabilities of interacting with 14-3-3 proteins when phosphorylated. Mutation of predicted phosphorylation sites within these motifs caused measurable loss of eff-1 gene function in cell fusion in vivo. Moreover, a human 14-3-3 isoform bound to EFF-1::GFP in vitro. We hypothesized that the two 14-3-3 proteins in C. elegans, PAR-5 and FTT-2, may regulate either localization or fusion-inducing activity of EFF-1. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Timing of fusion events was slightly but significantly delayed in animals unable to produce full-length EFF-1A. Yet, mutagenesis and live imaging showed that phosphoserines in putative 14-3-3 binding sites are not essential for EFF-1::GFP accumulation at the membrane contact between fusion partner cells. Moreover, although the EFF-1A endodomain was required for normal rates of eff-1-dependent epidermal cell fusions, reduced levels of FTT-2 and PAR-5 did not visibly affect the function of wild-type EFF-1 in the hypodermis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Deletion of the EFF-1A endodomain noticeably affects the timing of hypodermal cell fusions in vivo. However, prohibiting phosphorylation of candidate 14-3-3-binding sites does not impact localization of the fusogen. Hypodermal membrane fusion activity persists when 14-3-3 expression levels are reduced

Infotainment as an instrument for formatting society under conditions of media democracy

As the mass media spread a defined format of ‘cultural repertoires’, they operate both in the cognitive and affective realms – they present problems and issues to society (societies), they form public opinion and stimulate actors to undertake actions. These result in both actual and symbolic unification of individuals and groups on various levels of the organization of community life. Even after a superficial observation of present activities it can be assumed that the process of marketization of social life, which includes the realm of culture and human relations, has been subjected to the influence of a populist rhetoric, which is rooted in the therapeutic function mass culture performs, formatting and unifying citizens’ behavior. The reasons for this can be sought in the tendency, which is typical both of economic and political marketing, to make promises and refer to unconditioned human desires. Overfamiliarity and excessive expression can play the same role in persuading viewers to accept the ‘only right opinion’, as can the propaganda of a given political platform under authoritarian conditions. In these terms the normative approach to the realm of politics and the politicization of social life reveal their anachronistic nature in defining real decision processes

Infotainment as an instrument for formatting society under conditions of media democracy

As the mass media spread a defined format of ‘cultural repertoires’, they operate both in the cognitive and affective realms – they present problems and issues to society (societies), they form public opinion and stimulate actors to undertake actions. These result in both actual and symbolic unification of individuals and groups on various levels of the organization of community life. Even after a superficial observation of present activities it can be assumed that the process of marketization of social life, which includes the realm of culture and human relations, has been subjected to the influence of a populist rhetoric, which is rooted in the therapeutic function mass culture performs, formatting and unifying citizens’ behavior. The reasons for this can be sought in the tendency, which is typical both of economic and political marketing, to make promises and refer to unconditioned human desires. Overfamiliarity and excessive expression can play the same role in persuading viewers to accept the ‘only right opinion’, as can the propaganda of a given political platform under authoritarian conditions. In these terms the normative approach to the realm of politics and the politicization of social life reveal their anachronistic nature in defining real decision processes