EBER2 RNA-induced transcriptome changes identify cellular processes likely targeted during Epstein Barr Virus infection

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The Racing-Game Effect: Why Do Video Racing Games Increase Risk-Taking Inclinations?

The present studies investigated why video racing games increase players’ risk-taking inclinations. Four studies reveal that playing video racing games increases risk taking in a subsequent simulated road traffic situation, as well as risk-promoting cognitions and emotions, blood pressure,sensation seeking, and attitudes toward reckless driving. Study 1 ruled out the role of experimental demand in creating such effects. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the effect of playing video racing games on risk taking was partially mediated by changes in selfperceptions as a reckless driver. These effects were evident only when the individual played racing games that reward traffic violations rather than racing games that do not reward traffic violations (Study 3) and when the individual was an active player of such games rather than a passive observer (Study 4). In sum, the results underline the potential negative impact of racing games on traffic safety

Semiquantitative Proteomic Analysis of the Human Spliceosome via a Novel Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis Method ▿ §

More than 200 proteins associate with human spliceosomes, but little is known about their relative abundances in a given spliceosomal complex. Here we describe a novel two-dimensional (2D) electrophoresis method that allows separation of high-molecular-mass proteins without in-gel precipitation and thus without loss of protein. Using this system coupled with mass spectrometry, we identified 171 proteins altogether on 2D maps of stage-specific spliceosomal complexes. By staining with a fluorescent dye with a wide linear intensity range, we could quantitate and categorize proteins as present in high, moderate, or low abundance. Affinity-purified human B, Bact, and C complexes contained 69, 63, and 72 highly/moderately abundant proteins, respectively. The recruitment and release of spliceosomal proteins were followed based on their abundances in A, B, Bact, and C spliceosomal complexes. Staining with a phospho-specific dye revealed that approximately one-third of the proteins detected in human spliceosomal complexes by 2D gel analyses are phosphorylated. The 2D gel electrophoresis system described here allows for the first time an objective view of the relative abundances of proteins present in a particular spliceosomal complex and also sheds additional light on the spliceosome's compositional dynamics and the phosphorylation status of spliceosomal proteins at specific stages of splicing