The Role of For-Profit Actors in Implementing Targeted Sanctions:The Case of the European Union

The evolution of sanctions from comprehensive to targeted has favored the inclusion of for-profit actors in the policy process. Sanctions are used to deal with security challenges and while the role of for-profit actors in the provision of public goods has been investigated, less has been said about their role in the provision of security. This chapter investigates the role of for-profit actors in the implementation of sanctions. More specifically, this chapter suggests a typology of regulatory environments that facilitates explaining and understanding the behavior of for-profit actors in implementing targeted sanctions. By looking at the quality of instructions provided by state authorities and their capacity to monitor the implementation of such decisions, the chapter argues that overcompliance, uneven and lack of compliance are more likely in certain regulatory environments rather than in others. The theoretical framework is tested on the case study of the restrictive measures of the EU. The data for this research was collected through semi-opened interviews and focus groups held in Brussels from 2013 to 2015

GH mediates exercise-dependent activation of SVZ neural precursor cells in aged mice

Here we demonstrate, both in vivo and in vitro, that growth hormone (GH) mediates precursor cell activation in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the aged (12-month-old) brain following exercise, and that GH signaling stimulates precursor activation to a similar extent to exercise. Our results reveal that both addition of GH in culture and direct intracerebroventricular infusion of GH stimulate neural precursor cells in the aged brain. In contrast, no increase in neurosphere numbers was observed in GH receptor null animals following exercise. Continuous infusion of a GH antagonist into the lateral ventricle of wild-type animals completely abolished the exercise-induced increase in neural precursor cell number. Given that the aged brain does not recover well after injury, we investigated the direct effect of exercise and GH on neural precursor cell activation following irradiation. This revealed that physical exercise as well as infusion of GH promoted repopulation of neural precursor cells in irradiated aged animals. Conversely, infusion of a GH antagonist during exercise prevented recovery of precursor cells in the SVZ following irradiation

A Genomewide Screen for Suppressors of Alu-Mediated Rearrangements Reveals a Role for PIF1

Alu-mediated rearrangement of tumor suppressor genes occurs frequently during carcinogenesis. In breast cancer, this mechanism contributes to loss of the wild-type BRCA1 allele in inherited disease and to loss of heterozygosity in sporadic cancer. To identify genes required for suppression of Alu-mediated recombination we performed a genomewide screen of a collection of 4672 yeast gene deletion mutants using a direct repeat recombination assay. The primary screen and subsequent analysis identified 12 candidate genes including TSA, ELG1, and RRM3, which are known to play a significant role in maintaining genomic stability. Genetic analysis of the corresponding human homologs was performed in sporadic breast tumors and in inherited BRCA1-associated carcinomas. Sequencing of these genes in high risk breast cancer families revealed a potential role for the helicase PIF1 in cancer predisposition. PIF1 variant L319P was identified in three breast cancer families; importantly, this variant, which is predicted to be functionally damaging, was not identified in a large series of controls nor has it been reported in either dbSNP or the 1000 Genomes Project. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Pfh1 is required to maintain both mitochondrial and nuclear genomic integrity. Functional studies in yeast of human PIF1 L319P revealed that this variant cannot complement the essential functions of Pfh1 in either the nucleus or mitochondria. Our results provide a global view of nonessential genes involved in suppressing Alu-mediated recombination and implicate variation in PIF1 in breast cancer predisposition

HEALTHY AND OBESE CLASSIFICATIONS: INFLUENCE ON CONSTANT LOAD TREADMILL BOUTS RESULTS

Mariana V. Jacobs, Trey R. Naylor, Justin Pol, Michael Samaan, Jody L. Clasey, FACSM. University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. BACKGROUND: It has been previously reported that obese individuals have greater absolute and lower relative oxygen consumption measures compared to their healthy-weight counterparts during constant load exercise. However, the method of determining obesity status may significantly influence the results and conclusions of group comparisons. The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of classification methodology by using body mass index (BMI kg • m-2) and body fat percentage (%Fat) to assess oxygen consumption rates (VO2) during submaximal, constant load exercise. METHODS: Seventeen participants (F:8, Age 23.4 ± 2.7yrs) completed a 30-minute walking task on a treadmill at a constant self-selected speed while wearing a portable metabolic system to measure relative VO2 (mL• kg-1 • min-1). All participants underwent a total body DXA scan to assess %Fat. Participants were categorized as healthy (H) or obese (O) using two methods: 1) %Fat (World Health Organization; WHO) and 2) BMI. WHO guidelines indicate healthy %fat for females and males as 21-32% and 8-19%, respectively, with obese classified as those that exceed these sex specific ranges. A BMI of \u3c30 kg • m-2 and \u3e30 kg • m-2 were used to categorize participants as healthy and obese, respectively. Unpaired t-tests (p\u3c0.05) were used to assess between group differences as a function of categorization (WHO vs. BMI). Dependent variables included: walking speed (m • s-1), VO2 at the start (T0), end (T30), the change of VO2 (ΔVΟ2; T30-T0) and total VO2. RESULTS: When using BMI as classification criteria (H:11, O:6), obese participants had significantly lower VO2 at T0 (p\u3c0.01) and T30 (p=0.01), leading to a significantly lower total VO2 (p=0.01). Additionally, the obese participants walked at a 17.5% slower speed (p=0.04). When classified using the %Fat (H:8, O:9), healthy and obese participants walked at similar speeds (p=0.20) yet the obese group displayed trends of lower VO2 at T0 (p=0.07) and T30 (p=0.07) as well trends of lower total V02 (p=0.07). The ΔVΟ2 was similar between groups regardless of using the %Fat (p=0.44) or BMI (p=0.42) criterion. CONCLUSION: These results concur with previous results that in obese individuals, relative VO2 is lower when compared to healthy weight individuals during constant load exercise, despite criterion used. Future research will explore additional ways to classify participants for group comparative purposes