Determinants of Fixed broadband diffusion: An International Study

Broadband diffusion has long been recognized as an important driver of economic growth. This study attempts to identify the relevant factors that influence broadband uptake. Contrary to most relevant studies, it utilizes a worldwide sample.This allows to take into account differences on how these factors affect broadband diffusion between countries that exhibit significant variations, in terms of their developmental level. Except other factors, that have been previously identified by previous studies, this study highlights the importance of the development of e-services in inciting broadband diffusion. Finally, we find evidence that there are differences in the relevance of factors such as liberalization or the development of e-services, between countries with disparate income levels, in driving broadband

Comparison of Prompting Procedures to Teach Internet and Information and Communications Technology to Older Adults

Internet use has been found to produce meaningful social interactions and greater social support among older adults (White et al., 2002). The Internet and related information and communications technologies (ICTs) has the potential to serve as an excellent communication tool for older adults, as it allows individuals to stay in touch with family and friends and may even help to expand one’s social network (Gato & Tak, 2008). Despite these benefits, the Internet and ICTs are not widely used among the older-adult population (Cresci, Yarandi, & Morrel, 2010). With continuous technological advancements, and a growing population of older adults, there is an increased demand for effective ICT-training programs geared specifically toward older adults (Mayhorn, Stronge, McLaughlin, & Rogers, 2004). The current study utilized an adapted alternating treatments design to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of video prompting and text-based instructions on the acquisition of three tablet-based tasks: emailing, video calling (FaceTime® application), and searching for a YouTube™ video. Video prompting and text-based instructions were both effective for all three participants, with both prompting procedures being roughly equivalent in terms of efficiency for two of three participants and video prompting being more efficient than text-based instructions for the third participant. Results are discussed in the context of potential limitations and areas for future research

Investigating the international prices of wheat and rice

Abstract This paper investigates the international quarterly prices of wheat and rice from 1983(1) to 2012(4). The empirical analysis takes place with the structural time series methodology which decomposes the price series into their trend, cycle, seasonal and irregular components. The empirical results indicate that wheat prices present cyclical behavior while rice prices except for cyclicality are mainly governed by the irregular component. The results strain the importance of treating wheat and rice like two distinct commodities that require country specific and commodity specific policy measures. Finally, the impact of the shrinking Chinese grain stocks after 2002 is proposed as an important factor that resulted in the 2008 price spike

Competition between MPS1 and microtubules at kinetochores regulates spindle checkpoint signaling

Macromolecular Biochemistr

Proteomics and histological assessment of an organotypic model of human skin following exposure to Naja nigricollis venom

Snakebite envenoming was reintroduced as a Category A Neglected Tropical Disease by the World Health Organization in 2017. Since then, increased attention has been directed towards this affliction and towards the development of a deeper understanding of how snake venoms exert their toxic effects and how antivenoms can counter them. However, most of our in vivo generated knowledge stems from the use of animal models which do not always accurately reflect how the pathogenic effects of snake venoms manifest in humans. Moreover, animal experiments are associated with pain, distress, and eventually animal sacrifice due to the toxic nature of snake venoms. Related to this, the implementation of the 3Rs principle (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) in the use of experimental animals in snakebite envenoming research is recommended by the World Health Organization. Therefore, more humane experimental designs and new in vitro/ex vivo alternatives for experimental animals are sought after. Here, we report the use of an organotypic model of human skin to further elucidate the pathophysiology of the dermonecrotic effects caused by the venom of the black-necked spitting cobra, Naja nigricollis, in humans. The goal of this study is to expand the repertoire of available models that can be used to study the local tissue damages induced by cytotoxic venoms

Advance to GO: Regulation of mitotic progression by the spindle checkpoint kinase MPS1

Due to its extreme importance in maintaining a stable genome, chromosome segregation is highly regulated and complex process which is driven by the mitotic spindle. The spindle is comprised of microtubules whose role is to make contacts with chromosomes, capture them and eventually drag duplicated chromosomes (or sister chromatids) to opposite poles of the cell, ensuring the inheritance of a full set of chromosomes by the two daughter cells. The contact points for microtubules on chromosomes are called kinetochores. These are large protein scaffolds comprised of multiple complexes that are built on top centromeric DNA just before mitosis begins. Microtubule-kinetochore contacts can occur in many different configurations, but only a certain kind of attachments (amphitelic) can lead to the equal distribution of chromosomes. For this reason, cells have evolved systems that monitor the attachment status of each sister chromatid kinetochore, and can intervene and destabilize erroneous attachments when they are detected, allowing cells to attempt the formation of the right kind of attachments anew. These are the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) and error correction pathways respectively. Monopolar spindle 1 (MPS1) is a key upstream player in SAC signaling which, in the presence of unattached kinetochores, is responsible for the hierarchical recruitment of downstream SAC components which eventually form a diffusible inhibitor of mitotic progression. When microtubules form stable attachments to kinetochores, MPS1 becomes displaced, SAC signaling is interrupted and mitotic progression is able to take place. Aurora B, the catalytically active component of the error correction pathway, phosphorylates proteins in the outer kinetochore, and causes the destabilization of microtubule attachments. Amphitelic attachments lead to kinetochore transformations and the simultaneous recruitment of phosphatases that antagonize Aurora B activity, so that the outer kinetochore Aurora B targets can no longer be phosphorylated and the attachments will be stabilized. The SAC and error correction communicate with each other with many proteins playing a role in both pathways and regulatory feedback loops keep activity of the two systems interwound. This ensures that mitotic progression only takes place when all chromosomes are properly attached to the mitotic spindle. The work presented in this thesis aims to provide novel insights into spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) signaling through the regulation of the kinetochore localization of a critical SAC kinase, MPS1. MPS1 is responsible for mounting a robust SAC signal in the presence of unattached kinetochores and is one of the major targets of the SAC silencing mechanisms, making it one of the guardians of chromosome segregation fidelity. Understanding in greater detail how MPS1 localizes to kinetochores and how it is removed upon microtubule attachment is therefore of great interest. Panels of MPS1 and other kinetochore proteins such as HEC1 and KNL1 were used in a knockdown-addback strategy that allowed structure-function studies via quantitative immunofluorescence microscopy and time lapse imaging and additionally in in vitro biochemical approaches

Advance to GO: Regulation of mitotic progression by the spindle checkpoint kinase MPS1

Due to its extreme importance in maintaining a stable genome, chromosome segregation is highly regulated and complex process which is driven by the mitotic spindle. The spindle is comprised of microtubules whose role is to make contacts with chromosomes, capture them and eventually drag duplicated chromosomes (or sister chromatids) to opposite poles of the cell, ensuring the inheritance of a full set of chromosomes by the two daughter cells. The contact points for microtubules on chromosomes are called kinetochores. These are large protein scaffolds comprised of multiple complexes that are built on top centromeric DNA just before mitosis begins. Microtubule-kinetochore contacts can occur in many different configurations, but only a certain kind of attachments (amphitelic) can lead to the equal distribution of chromosomes. For this reason, cells have evolved systems that monitor the attachment status of each sister chromatid kinetochore, and can intervene and destabilize erroneous attachments when they are detected, allowing cells to attempt the formation of the right kind of attachments anew. These are the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) and error correction pathways respectively. Monopolar spindle 1 (MPS1) is a key upstream player in SAC signaling which, in the presence of unattached kinetochores, is responsible for the hierarchical recruitment of downstream SAC components which eventually form a diffusible inhibitor of mitotic progression. When microtubules form stable attachments to kinetochores, MPS1 becomes displaced, SAC signaling is interrupted and mitotic progression is able to take place. Aurora B, the catalytically active component of the error correction pathway, phosphorylates proteins in the outer kinetochore, and causes the destabilization of microtubule attachments. Amphitelic attachments lead to kinetochore transformations and the simultaneous recruitment of phosphatases that antagonize Aurora B activity, so that the outer kinetochore Aurora B targets can no longer be phosphorylated and the attachments will be stabilized. The SAC and error correction communicate with each other with many proteins playing a role in both pathways and regulatory feedback loops keep activity of the two systems interwound. This ensures that mitotic progression only takes place when all chromosomes are properly attached to the mitotic spindle. The work presented in this thesis aims to provide novel insights into spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) signaling through the regulation of the kinetochore localization of a critical SAC kinase, MPS1. MPS1 is responsible for mounting a robust SAC signal in the presence of unattached kinetochores and is one of the major targets of the SAC silencing mechanisms, making it one of the guardians of chromosome segregation fidelity. Understanding in greater detail how MPS1 localizes to kinetochores and how it is removed upon microtubule attachment is therefore of great interest. Panels of MPS1 and other kinetochore proteins such as HEC1 and KNL1 were used in a knockdown-addback strategy that allowed structure-function studies via quantitative immunofluorescence microscopy and time lapse imaging and additionally in in vitro biochemical approaches

Healing Gods, Heroes and Rituals in the Graeco-Roman World

This editorial introduces the articles published within the OLH Special Collection, ‘Healing Gods, Heroes and Rituals in the Graeco-Roman World’. The first two articles in this collection interrogate the figures of specific healing gods. Olympia Panagiotidou’s article ‘Asclepius’ Myths and Healing Narratives: Counter-Intuitive Concepts and Cultural Expectations’ focuses on the curative features that defined the image of Asclepius, the most famous of the healing gods. The next article in the collection, ‘The Fate of a Healing Goddess: Ocular Pathologies, the Antonine Plague, and the Ancient Roman Cult of Bona Dea’ by Leonardo Ambasciano, interrogates the religious figure of another healing agent: the Italian goddess Bona Dea who was particularly venerated in Rome and in the region of Latium and whose cult reveals the way in which ancient Roman androcentric control over women was institutionalised through religious figures.  The third article in the collection, Audrey Ferlut’s ‘Goddesses as Consorts of the Healing Gods in 'Gallia Belgica' and the 'Germaniae': Forms of Cult and Ritual Practices’ considers the impact that cults dedicated to gods and goddesses had on populations in the wider area of the Roman Empire, focusing on the Northern provinces of the Western Roman Empire ('Gallia Belgica' and the 'Germaniae'). The collection’s final article, ‘From Textual Reception to Textual Codification: Thessalos and the Quest for Authenticity’ by Spyros Piperakis, moves the discussion from the question of cult practices to ‘alternative’ healing therapies in antiquity. Piperakis deals with astrological medicine, one of many alternative therapeutic methods that became popular during the Hellenistic and Roman period.  Taken together, the articles in ‘Healing Gods, Heroes and Rituals in the Graeco-Roman World’ demonstrate that we need to approach the study of ancient myths and cults within their socio-cultural context. These articles thus challenge traditionalist approaches to the history of religion and reveal the richness of interdisciplinary approaches in the twenty-first century: offering new paths of inquiry that could help us to extract new data and shape a new interdisciplinarity in the current and future research of the religions and cults of Antiquity