Strategic Niche Management (SNM) beyond sustainability. An exploration of key findings of SNM through the lens of ICT and privacy

Recently the governance of socio-technical transitions to sustainability is gaining attention in the field of innovation studies. One particular approach is that of Strategic Niche Management (SNM), which advocates the creation of protected space to experiment with radically new sustainable socio-technical practices. This paper contributes by asking whether this approach is also useful for analysis and governance of other types of socially desirable change. This question is addressed through a review of six key-findings of Strategic Niche Management and an original case study in the field of Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies for mobile payment. The social value at stake in this case is not sustainability but privacy. We draw three main conclusions. First, we find that the key-findings and concepts in SNM for sustainability are helpful to understand and interpret much of the data collected for the NFC case and privacy. However, there are notable differences in each of the key-findings, i.e findings related to a) the local-global distinction in SNM, b) expectations, c) social networks, d) learning, e) protection, and f) niche-regime interactions. Second, in relation to governance, the role of sustainability values (being a promising value to pursue) and privacy values (being a bottom-line value to defend) are notably different. Third, these differences result in different roles of public bodies in niche development. The paper ends with discussing the consequences for SNM for sustainability research and future research topics.Strategic Niche Management, sustainability, NFC, mobile payment, privacy

Immunological Strategies to Study GRP170 in Caenorhabditis elegans

Characterization of the ER protein folding chaperone GRP170 of Caenorhabditis elegans could be greatly facilitated by an antibody which recognized the chaperone. Antibodies have not been raised against nematode GRP170. Groups have prepared polyclonal antibodies against vertebrate forms of GRP170. My thesis goal was to investigate whether anti-vertebrate GRP170 antibodies can recognize the nematode homologue on a standard Western Blot assay. Sequences of antigens that groups used to generate anti-vertebrate GRP170 antibodies were analyzed. Peptides used by Ruan et al. (2013), which correspond to regions of human GRP170, shared greatest sequence similarity with nematode GRP170. I investigated whether the Ruan GRP170 antibody recognized nematode protein on Western Blots. I extracted mouse liver proteins and whole worm proteins from C. elegans, separated proteins by SDS-PAGE, transferred proteins to a PVDF membrane, and probed membranes with the Ruan anti-human GRP170 antibody. Although this antibody did recognize a high molecular weight mouse protein, it did not bind to an equivalent high molecular weight C. elegans protein. This antibody would have limited utility for studies of nematode GRP170. Isoform-specific antibodies generated against C. elegans GRP170 proteins would be valuable tools to differentiate the functions of the two GRP170 isoforms. I analyzed amino acid sequences of the two GRP170 isoforms of C. elegans. I identified two peptides in a highly-diverged region of C. elegans GRP170, possible isoform specific antigens. Antibodies raised against these peptides could show isoform specific recognition and be useful for characterizing the two-gene, two-protein GRP170 system in C. elegans

Depressed youth, suicidality and antidepressants

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Robert D Goldney, Peter R Mansfield, Melissa K Raven, Jon N Jureidini, Joseph M Rey, Michael J Dudley, Duncan Toplis

Unhappiness, health and cognitive ability in old age

Background To test whether scores on depression inventories on entry to a longitudinal study predict mental ability over the next 4–16 years. Method Associations between scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and on tests of intelligence, vocabulary and memory were analysed in 5070 volunteers aged 49–93 years after differences in prescribed drug consumption, death and drop-out, sex, socio-economic advantage and recruitment cohort effects had also been considered. Results On all cognitive tasks Beck scores on entry, even in the range 0–7 indicating differences in above average contentment, affected overall levels of cognitive performance but not rates of age-related cognitive decline suggesting effects of differences in life satisfaction rather than in depression. Conclusions A new finding is that, in old age, increments in life satisfaction are associated with better cognitive performance. Implications for interpreting associations between depression inventory scores and cognitive performance in elderly samples are discussed

Centrally Acting Perindopril Attenuates the Exercise Induced Increase in Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity during Heavy Dynamic Exercise

Central angiotensin II (Ang II) linked free radical (FR) production scavenges nitric oxide (NO) enabling an increased central sympathetic neural outflow (SNA). The pathophysiological increase in Ang II linked FR production is recognized as a major mechanism involved in neurogenic hypertension. During exercise, there is a physiological increase in Ang II and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in direct relation to increasing exercise intensity. We tested the hypothesis that the exercise induced increase in Ang II linked FR production and MSNA activity during exercise is located within the brain. Six healthy subjects performed three randomly ordered trials of 70° upright back-supported dynamic leg cycling after ingestion of two different lipid soluble Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors ((ACEi) Perindopril (PER) - highly lipid soluble; Captopril (CAP) non-lipid soluble)) and/or placebo (PL). Repeated measurements of whole venous blood, MSNA, and mean arterial pressures (MAP) were obtained at rest and during steady-state heavy intensity exercise at heart rates (HR) of 120 bpm (e120). Peripheral venous superoxide concentrations as measured by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) were not significantly altered at rest (P≥0.4) and during E120 by the ACE inhibitors (P≥0.07). Likewise, baseline MSNA (PL, 25 ± 1.5 bust/min; CAP, 21 ± 0.7 bust/min; PER, 25 ± 0.7 bust/min) and MAP (PL, 86 ± 2.8 mmHg vs. CAP, 84 ± 2.6 mmHg; PER, 84 ± 0.7 mmHg) were unchanged at rest (P≥0.1; P≥0.8 respectively). However, during E120 central acting PER attenuated the increases in MSNA and MAP, increasing only 15±6% for MAP and 24±8% for MSNA when compared to PL (26 ± 6% MAP; 57±16% MSNA; P\u3c0.05) and CAP (26±4%MAP; 69±13%MSNA P\u3c0.05). From these data we conclude that centrally acting PER attenuated the central increase in the exercise induced Ang II linked free radical production resulting in an increased central NO activity induced reduction in MSNA during heavy intensity dynamic exercise