Global Entrepreneurship Monitor United Kingdom: 2007 Executive Report

This monitoring report compares Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) measures of entrepreneurial activity in the UK with participating G7 countries and the large industrialised or industrialising countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China ("BRIC"). It also summarises entrepreneurial activity within Government Office Regions of the UK

"Reversed" alamethicin conductance in lipid bilayers

Alamethicin at a concentration of 2 micrograms/ml on one side of a lipid bilayer, formed at the tip of a patch clamp pipette from diphytanoyl phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol (2:1 mol ratio) in aqueous 0.5 M KCl, 5 mM Hepes, pH 7.0, exhibits an asymmetric current-voltage curve, only yielding alamethicin currents when the side to which the peptide has been added is made positive. Below room temperature, however, single alamethicin channels created in such membranes sometimes survive a sudden reversal of the polarity. These "reversed" channels are distinct from transiently observed states displayed as the channel closes after a polarity reversal. Such "reversed" channels can be monitored for periods up to several minutes, during which time we have observed them to fluctuate through more than 20 discrete conductance states. They are convenient for the study of isolated ion-conducting alamethicin aggregates because, after voltage reversal, no subsequent incorporation of additional ion-conducting aggregates takes place

Gravitational duality near de Sitter space

Gravitational instantons ''Lambda-instantons'' are defined here for any given value Lambda of the cosmological constant. A multiple of the Euler characteristic appears as an upper bound for the de Sitter action and as a lower bound for a family of quadratic actions. The de Sitter action itself is found to be equivalent to a simple and natural quadratic action. In this paper we also describe explicitly the reparameterization and duality invariances of gravity (in 4 dimensions) linearized about de Sitter space. A noncovariant doubling of the fields using the Hamiltonian formalism leads to first order time evolution with manifest duality symmetry. As a special case we recover the linear flat space result of Henneaux and Teitelboim by a smooth limiting process.Comment: 13 pages, no figure - v2 contains only small redactional changes (one reference added) and is essentially the published versio

Engineered G protein coupled receptors reveal independent regulation of internalization, desensitization and acute signaling

BACKGROUND: The physiological regulation of G protein-coupled receptors, through desensitization and internalization, modulates the length of the receptor signal and may influence the development of tolerance and dependence in response to chronic drug treatment. To explore the importance of receptor regulation, we engineered a series of G(i)-coupled receptors that differ in signal length, degree of agonist-induced internalization, and ability to induce adenylyl cyclase superactivation. All of these receptors, based on the kappa opioid receptor, were modified to be receptors activated solely by synthetic ligands (RASSLs). This modification allows us to compare receptors that have the same ligands and effectors, but differ only in desensitization and internalization. RESULTS: Removal of phosphorylation sites in the C-terminus of the RASSL resulted in a mutant that was resistant to internalization and less prone to desensitization. Replacement of the C-terminus of the RASSL with the corresponding portion of the mu opioid receptor eliminated the induction of AC superactivation, without disrupting agonist-induced desensitization or internalization. Surprisingly, removal of phosphorylation sites from this chimera resulted in a receptor that is constitutively internalized, even in the absence of agonist. However, the receptor still signals and desensitizes in response to agonist, indicating normal G-protein coupling and partial membrane expression. CONCLUSIONS: These studies reveal that internalization, desensitization and adenylyl cyclase superactivation, all processes that decrease chronic G(i)-receptor signals, are independently regulated. Furthermore, specific mutations can radically alter superactivation or internalization without affecting the efficacy of acute G(i )signaling. These mutant RASSLs will be useful for further elucidating the temporal dynamics of the signaling of G protein-coupled receptors in vitro and in vivo

Earlier menarche is associated with a higher prevalence of Herpes simplex type-2 (HSV-2) in young women in rural Malawi

Remarkably little is known about associations between age at menarche and sexually transmitted infections, although girls with earlier menarche tend to have earlier sexual debut and school drop-out, so an association might be expected. In a population-based survey of >3000 women aged 15–30 in northern Malawi we show that those with earlier menarche had earlier sexual debut, earlier marriage and were more often Herpes simplex type-2 (HSV-2) positive. Compared to those with menarche aged <14, the age-adjusted odds ratios for HSV-2 were 0.89 (95%CI 0.71–1.1), 0.71 (0.57–0.89) and 0.69 (0.54–0.89) for menarche aged 14, 15 and 16+ respectively. This association persisted after adjusting for socio-economic factors, including schooling, and for sexual behaviour. No such association was seen with HIV infection, which is much less common and less uniformly distributed than HSV-2 in this population. The extra vulnerability of girls with earlier menarche needs to be recognised

Earlier menarche is associated with a higher prevalence of Herpes simplex type-2 (HSV-2) in young women in rural Malawi.

Remarkably little is known about associations between age at menarche and sexually transmitted infections, although girls with earlier menarche tend to have earlier sexual debut and school drop-out, so an association might be expected. In a population-based survey of >3000 women aged 15-30 in northern Malawi we show that those with earlier menarche had earlier sexual debut, earlier marriage and were more often Herpes simplex type-2 (HSV-2) positive. Compared to those with menarche aged <14, the age-adjusted odds ratios for HSV-2 were 0.89 (95%CI 0.71-1.1), 0.71 (0.57-0.89) and 0.69 (0.54-0.89) for menarche aged 14, 15 and 16+ respectively. This association persisted after adjusting for socio-economic factors, including schooling, and for sexual behaviour. No such association was seen with HIV infection, which is much less common and less uniformly distributed than HSV-2 in this population. The extra vulnerability of girls with earlier menarche needs to be recognised. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01604.001

Leveraging Entrepreneurial Ambition and Innovation : A Global Perspective on Entrepreneurship, Competitiveness and Development

The study described in this report combines two unique datasets, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index data, which ranks the economic competitiveness of 144 economies, and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s assessment of entrepreneurial activity across 70 economies. Using five years of data from both sets, the study analyses a sample of 44 economies by first examining three aspects of entrepreneurial activity, then grouping economies into five types of entrepreneurial clusters, and finally developing a deeper understanding of each type of cluster. Lastly, the study delves into what policymaking best benefits the unique characteristics of different economies

Effects of an Online Visual Procedure on Task Completion, Time, and Attitude

Although substantial literature exists regarding learning with visuals, most consider text the primary channel with varying amounts of visuals explored as a secondary channel. This study considered the effectiveness of visuals-only procedural guides versus visuals plus added text, using visuals as the primary channel and using visuals developed from screen shots to eliminate the need to create a visual, stand-in vocabulary. There was no difference in the level of successful task completion between treatment groups. The time required to complete the task was measured and there were significant differences in the amount of time required by treatment group, age, and sex. Both treatment groups responded favorably to the procedures on a follow-up attitude questionnaire. Implications of the study and suggestions for further research are discussed.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

The practices of apartheid as a war crime: a critical analysis

The human suffering caused by the political ideology of apartheid in South Africa during the Apartheid era (1948-1994) prompted worldwide condemnation and a variety of diplomatic and legal responses. Amongst these responses was the attempt to have apartheid recognised both as a crime against humanity in the 1973 Apartheid Convention as well as a war crime in Article 85(4)(c) of Additional Protocol I. This article examines the origins, nature and current status of the practices of apartheid as a war crime and its possible application to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Development of Hydrocephalus in Mice Expressing the Gi-Coupled GPCR Ro1 RASSL Receptor in Astrocytes

We developed a transgenic mouse line that expresses the