Rapid detection of adulterated drugs in herbal dietary supplements by wooden-tip electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Version of RecordPublishe

The moral muteness of managers: an Anglo-American phenomenon? German and British managers and their moral reasoning about environmental sustainability in business

Several studies in the Anglo-American context have indicated that managers present themselves as morally neutral employees who act only in the best interest of the company by employing objective skills. The reluctance of managers to use moral arguments in business is further accentuated in the now common argument presented as a neutral fact that the company must always prioritise shareholder value. These and other commercial aims are seen as an objective reality in business, whilst questions about sustainability, environmental problems or fair trade are seen as emotional or moral ones; a phenomenon described as ‘moral muteness’. This research explores whether this ‘moral muteness’ is an Anglo-American phenomenon and/or whether managers in other countries - in this case Germany - might express themselves in a different way. The focus is on moral arguments around environmental sustainability and the implications of this study for cross-cultural management. This article is based on a qualitative, comparative cross-cultural study of British and German managers in the Food Retail and Energy Sectors. In line with the studies mentioned above, British managers placed a strong emphasis on their moral neutrality. In contrast, German managers tended to use moral arguments when discussing corporate greening, often giving such arguments more weight than financial arguments. Overall, the study suggests that the ‘moral muteness’ of managers is a British phenomenon and quite distinct from the German approach. The article ends in a short exploration of how this understanding can help managers better manage people, organisations and change across cultures

Potentiometric Determination of Dopamine Using a Solid-Contact Polymeric Membrane Ion-Selective Electrode

A simple solid-contact polymeric membrane ion-selective electrode for determination of dopamine was developed. The electrode is fabricated with polymeric membranes incorporating heptakis(2,3,6-tri-o-methyl)-beta-cyclodextrin as ionophore and sodium trakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate as ionic additive. Using hydrophobic poly(3-octylthiophene) as solid-contact transducer, the sensor displays a stable potential response for detection of dopamine in 2 mM HAc-NaAc buffer solution (pH 4.4) within a wide concentration range of 3.0 x 10(-5) M-1.0 x 10(-3) M with a sub-Nernstian slope of 43.8 +/- 0.5 mV/dec. The detection limit calculated as the intersection of the two slope lines is 1.3 x 10(-5) M. The electrode exhibits good selectivity over inorganic ions, pharmaceutical excipients and ascorbic acid. In addition, the electrode shows a stable potential response over a wide pH range of 4.0 to 8.5, fast response time (less than 10 s) and excellent repeatability. The proposed electrode has been successfully applied for direct potentiometric determination of dopamine in pharmaceutical formulation without pretreatment procedures

Rabies screen reveals GPe control of cocaine-triggered plasticity.

Identification of neural circuit changes that contribute to behavioural plasticity has routinely been conducted on candidate circuits that were preselected on the basis of previous results. Here we present an unbiased method for identifying experience-triggered circuit-level changes in neuronal ensembles in mice. Using rabies virus monosynaptic tracing, we mapped cocaine-induced global changes in inputs onto neurons in the ventral tegmental area. Cocaine increased rabies-labelled inputs from the globus pallidus externus (GPe), a basal ganglia nucleus not previously known to participate in behavioural plasticity triggered by drugs of abuse. We demonstrated that cocaine increased GPe neuron activity, which accounted for the increase in GPe labelling. Inhibition of GPe activity revealed that it contributes to two forms of cocaine-triggered behavioural plasticity, at least in part by disinhibiting dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area. These results suggest that rabies-based unbiased screening of changes in input populations can identify previously unappreciated circuit elements that critically support behavioural adaptations

Developing serious games for cultural heritage: a state-of-the-art review

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result, the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

Prenatal muscle development in a mouse model for the secondary dystroglycanopathies

The defective glycosylation of α-dystroglycan is associated with a group of muscular dystrophies that are collectively referred to as the secondary dystroglycanopathies. Mutations in the gene encoding fukutin-related protein (FKRP) are one of the most common causes of secondary dystroglycanopathy in the UK and are associated with a wide spectrum of disease. Whilst central nervous system involvement has a prenatal onset, no studies have addressed prenatal muscle development in any of the mouse models for this group of diseases. In view of the pivotal role of α-dystroglycan in early basement membrane formation, we sought to determine if the muscle formation was altered in a mouse model of FKRP-related dystrophy

Longer fixation duration while viewing face images

The spatio-temporal properties of saccadic eye movements can be influenced by the cognitive demand and the characteristics of the observed scene. Probably due to its crucial role in social communication, it is argued that face perception may involve different cognitive processes compared with non-face object or scene perception. In this study, we investigated whether and how face and natural scene images can influence the patterns of visuomotor activity. We recorded monkeys’ saccadic eye movements as they freely viewed monkey face and natural scene images. The face and natural scene images attracted similar number of fixations, but viewing of faces was accompanied by longer fixations compared with natural scenes. These longer fixations were dependent on the context of facial features. The duration of fixations directed at facial contours decreased when the face images were scrambled, and increased at the later stage of normal face viewing. The results suggest that face and natural scene images can generate different patterns of visuomotor activity. The extra fixation duration on faces may be correlated with the detailed analysis of facial features

CA125/MUC16 Is Dispensable for Mouse Development and Reproduction

Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is a blood biomarker that is routinely used to monitor the progression of human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and is encoded by MUC16, a member of the mucin gene family. The biological function of CA125/MUC16 and its potential role in EOC are poorly understood. Here we report the targeted disruption of the of the Muc16 gene in the mouse. To generate Muc16 knockout mice, 6.0 kb was deleted that included the majority of exon 3 and a portion of intron 3 and replaced with a lacZ reporter cassette. Loss of Muc16 protein expression suggests that Muc16 homozygous mutant mice are null mutants. Muc16 homozygous mutant mice are viable, fertile, and develop normally. Histological analysis shows that Muc16 homozygous mutant tissues are normal. By the age of 1 year, Muc16 homozygous mutant mice appear normal. Downregulation of transcripts from another mucin gene (Muc1) was detected in the Muc16 homozygous mutant uterus. Lack of any prominent abnormal phenotype in these Muc16 knockout mice suggests that CA125/MUC16 is not required for normal development or reproduction. These knockout mice provide a unique platform for future studies to identify the role of CA125/MUC16 in organ homeostasis and ovarian cancer

The ‘new normality’ in research? What message are we conveying our medical students?

The impact of COVID-19 on medical education has been mainly viewed from the perspective of the imposed transition from face-to- face to online delivery of information and the inforced stopping of practical teaching in hospitals.1-5 However, unfortunately, the deleterious effects of COVID-19 on how research findings are obtained, communicated and valued needs also careful consideration. Whilst teaching students that it is a genuinely exciting and unique time to be in medicine, as teachers of a subject entitled ‘Introduction to Research’ to second-year medical students, we feel particularly worried about what the handling of the pandemia is transmitting our future physicians. Now, more than ever before, scholars need to reaffirm the importance on how research findings are obtained and communicated

Risks associated with global warming of 1.5 to 4 °C above pre-industrial levels in human and natural systems in six countries

The Topical Collection “Accrual of Climate Change Risk in Six Vulnerable Countries” provides a harmonised assessment of risks to human and natural systems due to global warming of 1.5–4 °C in six countries (China, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, and India) using a consistent set of climate change and socioeconomic scenarios. It compares risks in 2100 if warming has reached 3 °C, broadly corresponding to current global greenhouse gas emission reduction policies, including countries’ National Determined Contributions, rather than the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to ‘well below’ 2 °C and ‘pursuing efforts’ to limit to 1.5 °C. Global population is assumed either constant at year 2000 levels or to increase to 9.2 billion by 2100. In either case, greater warming is projected to lead, in all six countries, to greater exposure of land and people to drought and fluvial flood hazard, greater declines in biodiversity, and greater reductions in the yield of maize and wheat. Limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, compared with ~ 3 °C, is projected to deliver large benefits for all six countries, including reduced economic damages due to fluvial flooding. The greatest projected benefits are the avoidance of a large increase in exposure of agricultural land to severe drought, which is 61%, 43%, 18%, and 21% lower in Ethiopia, China, Ghana, and India at 1.5 °C than at 3 °C, whilst avoided increases in human exposure to severe drought are 20–80% lower at 1.5 °C than 3 °C across the six countries. Climate refugia for plants are largely preserved at 1.5 °C warming in Ghana, China, and Ethiopia, but refugia shrink in areal extent by a factor of 2, 3, 3, 4, and 10 in Ghana, China, India, Ethiopia, and Brazil, respectively, if warming reaches 3 °C. Economic damages associated with sea-level rise are projected to increase in coastal nations, but more slowly if warming were limited to 1.5 °C. Actual benefits on the ground will also depend on national and local contexts and the extent of future investment in adaptation