83 research outputs found
Presenting the Compendium Isotoporum Medii Aevi, a multi-isotope database for Medieval Europe
Here we present the Compendium Isotoporum Medii Aevi (CIMA), an open-access database gathering more than 50,000 isotopic measurements for bioarchaeological samples located within Europe and its margins, and dating between 500 and 1500 CE. This multi-isotope (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S, δ18O, and 87Sr/86Sr) archive of measurements on human, animal, and plant archaeological remains also includes a variety of supporting information that offer, for instance, a taxonomic characterization of the samples, their location, and chronology, in addition to data on social, religious, and political contexts. Such a dataset can be used to identify data gaps for future research and to address multiple research questions, including those related with studies on medieval human lifeways (i.e. human subsistence, spatial mobility), characterization of paleo-environmental and -climatic conditions, and on plant and animal agricultural management practices. Brief examples of such applications are given here and we also discuss how the integration of large volumes of isotopic data with other types of archaeological and historical data can improve our knowledge of medieval Europe.Background & Summary Methods Data Records Technical Validation Usage Note
Anti-neuronal anti-bodies in patients with early psychosis
It may be challenging to distinguish autoimmune encephalitis associated with anti-neuronal autoantibodies from primary psychiatric disorders. Here, serum was drawn from patients with a first-episode psychosis (n = 70) or a clinical high-risk for psychosis (n = 6) and controls (n = 34). We investigated the serum prevalence of 24 antineuronal autoantibodies: IgG antibodies for anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate-type glutamate receptor (anti-NMDAR), glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid alpha and beta receptors (GABA-a, GABA-b), alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPA), glycine receptor (GlyR), metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 and 5 (mGluR1, mGluR5), anti-Tr/Delta/notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptor (DNER), contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), glutamic acid decarboxylase-65 (GAD65), collapsin response mediator protein 5/crossveinless-2 (CV2), aquaporin-4 (AQP4), anti-dipeptidyl-peptidase-like protein-6 (DPPX), type 1 anti-neuronal nuclear antibody (ANNA-1, Hu), Ri, Yo, IgLON5, Ma2, zinc finger protein 4 (ZIC4), Rho GTPase-activating protein 26, amphiphysin, and recoverin, as well as IgA and IgM for dopamine-2-receptor (DRD2). Anti-NMDA IgG antibodies were positive with serum titer 1:320 in one patient with a clinical high risk for psychosis. He did not receive a diagnosis of encephalitis after comprehensive neurological evaluation. All other antineuronal autoantibodies were negative and there were no additional findings with immunohistochemistry of brain issues. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe
Engineering an endocrine Neo-Pancreas by repopulation of a decellularized rat pancreas with islets of Langerhans
Decellularization of pancreata and repopulation of these non-immunogenic
matrices with islets and endothelial cells could provide transplantable,
endocrine Neo- Pancreata. In this study, rat pancreata were perfusion
decellularized and repopulated with intact islets, comparing three perfusion
routes (Artery, Portal Vein, Pancreatic Duct). Decellularization effectively
removed all cellular components but conserved the pancreas specific
extracellular matrix. Digital subtraction angiography of the matrices showed a
conserved integrity of the decellularized vascular system but a contrast
emersion into the parenchyma via the decellularized pancreatic duct. Islets
infused via the pancreatic duct leaked from the ductular system into the peri-
ductular decellularized space despite their magnitude. TUNEL staining and
Glucose stimulated insulin secretion revealed that islets were viable and
functional after the process. We present the first available protocol for
perfusion decellularization of rat pancreata via three different perfusion
routes. Furthermore, we provide first proof-of-concept for the repopulation of
the decellularized rat pancreata with functional islets of Langerhans. The
presented technique can serve as a bioengineering platform to generate
implantable and functional endocrine Neo-Pancreata
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Microcredit, the corporatization of nongovernmental organizations, and academic activism: The example of Professor Anu Muhammad
Based on an interview with academic-activist Professor Anu Muhammad, this edited transcript illuminates the corporatization of nongovernmental organizations, with specific reference to perpetuating the negative effects of neoliberal microcredit practices in developing countries. It focuses upon how such corporatization is contributing to corruption and the weakened role of the state. The concept of poor-people-led cooperatives is proposed as an alternative as they are more congruent with actively maintaining cultural traditions, protecting social cohesion, and mobilizing collective community-level energy to alleviate misery and reduce poverty
Business under adverse home country institutions: The case of international sanctions against Myanmar
We expand the institutional perspective of international business by exploring the range of institutions outside the host country that influence international business. We use a critical case, Myanmar, to explore the dynamics of institutional constraints and the reaction of business to such constraints. Our in-depth case analysis focuses on four industries for the period 1996â2011. On this basis, we develop the concept of âlow profile strategyâ and propose a conceptual framework of home country pressures influencing multinational enterprisesâ international operation, and the variation of their impact across industries and firms. This framework provides a foundation for future work on the extra-territorial effects of institutions in international business
Means versus ends in opaque institutional fields: Trading off compliance and achievement in sustainability standard adoption
__Abstract__
The long-standing discussion on decoupling has recently moved from adopters not implementing the agreed-upon policies to compliant adopters not achieving the goals intended by institutional entrepreneurs. This âmeans-ends decouplingâ prevails especially in highly opaque fields, where practices, causality, and performance are hard to understand and chart. I conceptualize the conditions under which the adoption of institutions in relatively opaque fields leads to the achievement of the envisaged goals. Voluntary sustainability standards governing socioenvironmental issues illustrate these arguments. I argue that the lack of field transparency drives institutional entrepreneurs to create and maintain concrete and uniform rules, apply strong incentives, and disseminate âbest practicesâ to ensure substantive adopter compliance. However, such rigid institutions are ill-equipped to deal with the causal complexity and practice multiplicity underlying opacity while they smother adopter agency. The ensuing tension between substantive compliance and goal achievement leads to an inherent trade-off: institutional entrepreneurs who remedy the policy-practice decoupling may enhance the disparity between means and ends, and vice versa. While sustainability standards and other institutions in highly opaque fields can, therefore, not fully achieve the envisaged goals, the trade-off can be reduced through systemically designed institutions that promote goal internalization and contain niche institutions
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