1,539 research outputs found

    Estimating the Value of Medal Success at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games

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    We estimate Canadians’ willingness to pay (WTP) for success by Team Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Canadian government subsidized elite athletes in the run up to the 2010 Games through the Own the Podium program, which was designed to increase Canada’s medal count. WTP estimates from a contingent valuation method (CVM) study using data from nationally representative surveys before and after the Games suggest that Own the Podium generated intangible benefits of between 3 and 5 times its cost. The aggregate value of the intangible benefits generated by the program was between 719millionand719 million and 3.4 billion. Key Words: Olympic Games, contingent valuation method, willingness to pay

    Obstruction Theory in Model Categories

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    Many examples of obstruction theory can be formulated as the study of when a lift exists in a commutative square. Typically, one of the maps is a cofibration of some sort and the opposite map is a fibration, and there is a functorial obstruction class that determines whether a lift exists. Working in an arbitrary pointed proper model category, we classify the cofibrations that have such an obstruction theory with respect to all fibrations. Up to weak equivalence, retract, and cobase change, they are the cofibrations with weakly contractible target. Equivalently, they are the retracts of principal cofibrations. Without properness, the same classification holds for cofibrations with cofibrant source. Our results dualize to give a classification of fibrations that have an obstruction theory.Comment: 17 pages. v3 includes improved introduction and several other minor improvement

    The application of deep eutectic solvent ionic liquids for environmentally-friendly dissolution and recovery of precious metals

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    publisher: Elsevier articletitle: The application of deep eutectic solvent ionic liquids for environmentally-friendly dissolution and recovery of precious metals journaltitle: Minerals Engineering articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2015.09.026 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

    From glow-sticks to sensors: Single-electrode electrochemical detection for paper-based devices

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    With the goal of creating a multipurpose platform for electrogenerated luminescence, a single electrode electrochemical system was designed, developed, and validated. Glow sticks were used as the source of the luminophore, which was used as the optical reporter for the biosensor. A smartphone was used as the detector to quantify the electrochemiluminescence emissions. A disposable paper-based device was designed and used as a two-compartment electrochemical reaction cell, affording the possibility to individually optimize the sensing and detection reactions. This sensor assembly was tested under different conditions, showing acceptable performance both in the determination of hydrogen peroxide concentrations, to evaluate rancidity markers in edible oil samples, and to quantify the glucose concentration in soft drinks. The analytical performance of the single electrode, electrochemiluminescent device showed a limit of detection for hydrogen peroxide of 1.02 ”M, with a working range between 0.4 ”M and 150 mM. The proposed approach represents the first example of a system that combines paperbased devices, single electrode electrochemistry, electrochemiluminescence, and smartphone image sensing. As such, it not only provides a convenient platform for the development of a variety of analytical applications but also broaden the versatility of ePADs.Fil: Vidal, Ezequiel Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Domini, Claudia Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Whitehead, Daniel C.. CLEMSON UNIVERSITY (CLEMSON UNIVERSITY);Fil: Garcia, Carlos D.. CLEMSON UNIVERSITY (CLEMSON UNIVERSITY)

    Managing diabetes with nanomedicine: challenges and opportunities

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    Nanotechnology-based approaches hold substantial potential for improving the care of patients with diabetes. Nanoparticles are being developed as imaging contrast agents to assist in the early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Glucose nanosensors are being incorporated in implantable devices that enable more accurate and patient-friendly real-time tracking of blood glucose levels, and are also providing the basis for glucose-responsive nanoparticles that better mimic the body's physiological needs for insulin. Finally, nanotechnology is being used in non-invasive approaches to insulin delivery and to engineer more effective vaccine, cell and gene therapies for type 1 diabetes. Here, we analyse the current state of these approaches and discuss key issues for their translation to clinical practice.Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Grant 09PG-T1D027)Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (17-2007-1063)Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (3-2013-178)Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (3-2011-310)United States. National Institutes of Health (EB000244)United States. National Institutes of Health (EB000351)United States. National Institutes of Health (DE013023)United States. National Institutes of Health (CA151884

    \u3ci\u3eToxoplasma gondii\u3c/i\u3e requires its plant-like heme biosynthesis pathway for infection

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    Heme, an iron-containing organic ring, is essential for virtually all living organisms by serving as a prosthetic group in proteins that function in diverse cellular activities ranging from diatomic gas transport and sensing, to mitochondrial respiration, to detoxification. Cellular heme levels in microbial pathogens can be a composite of endogenous de novo synthesis or exogenous uptake of heme or heme synthesis intermediates. Intracellular pathogenic microbes switch routes for heme supply when heme availability fluctuates in their replicative environment throughout infection. Here, we show that Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular human pathogen, encodes a functional heme biosynthesis pathway. A chloroplast-derived organelle, termed apicoplast, is involved in heme production. Genetic and chemical manipulation revealed that de novo heme production is essential for T. gondii intracellular growth and pathogenesis. Surprisingly, the herbicide oxadiazon significantly impaired Toxoplasma growth, consistent with phylogenetic analyses that show T. gondii protoporphyrinogen oxidase is more closely related to plants than mammals. This inhibition can be enhanced by 15- to 25-fold with two oxadiazon derivatives, lending therapeutic proof that Toxoplasma heme biosynthesis is a druggable target. As T. gondii has been used to model other apicomplexan parasites, our study underscores the utility of targeting heme biosynthesis in other pathogenic apicomplexans, such as Plasmodium spp., Cystoisospora, Eimeria, Neospora, and Sarcocystis
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