Spain’s referendum on the European Constitutional Treaty: a quantitative analysis within the conceptual framework of first and second order elections

In contrast to the attention devoted to the rejection of the EU Constitutional Treaty at French and Dutch referenda; the Spanish referendum, where this Treaty was ratified, remained under-researched by political scientists. This paper analyses the voting behaviour at the Spanish referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty with the use of quantitative methods and the concept of first and second-order elections. This paper finds that the Spanish referendum was a second-order referendum, because the effects of domestic political issues in Spain had a greater impact on the electoral behaviour of Spanish voters than had genuinely European issues. This finding raises doubts over the suitability of using direct democracy in the EU in order to raise the legitimacy and democratic accountability of the European project

Uticaj perioda istiskivanja mleča na parametre kvaliteta sperme kalifornijske pastrmke (oncorhynchus mykiss)

U istraživanju su praćeni parametri kvaliteta sperme mužjaka kalifornijske pastrmke (Oncorhynchus mykiss) kojima je istiskivan mleč u januaru, februaru i martu. Rezultati nisu pokazali značajnu razliku u vrednostima koncentracije i gustine spermatozoida, pH, zapremine i spermatokrita mleča, kao i trajanje pokretljivosti spermatozoida ispitivanih muških matica (P>0.05). Statistički značajna razlika utvrđena je za vrednosti pokretljivosti spermatozoida u različitim periodima (P<0.05). Utvrđeno je opadanje svih parametara kvaliteta od januara do marta

Trenutni status gajenja kalifornijske pastrmke u Turskoj

U Turskoj, ukupna proizvodnja ribe i školjki bila je 607.515 tona u 2013. Udeo ulova iz slakih voda predstavljao je 5.8%, što je činilo 35.074 tone ukupne proizvedene ribe, i ta vrednost je zaista bila niska. Dominantne vrste u ukupnoj proizvodnji su pastrmka, šaran, brancin, orada, iverak, školjke, slatkovdni rak, itd. Ukupna proizvodnja kalifornijske pastrmke dostigla je 122.873 tone godišnje a ta vrednost je predstavljala je 20.23% ukupno proizvedene ribe u 2013 godini. Danas se u Turskoj, još uvek, najviše investira u gajenje kalifornijske pastrmke u industriji akvakulture. Cilj ovog istraživanja je da pruži informacije o gajenju kalifornijske pastmke (Oncorhynchus mykiss) i da podigne svest o njenim razvojnim trendovima gajenja u Turskoj.In Turkey, the total production of fish and shellfish was 607.515 tons in 2013. The contribution of freshwater catch was established 5.8% by 35.074 tons in the total fishery production and its value was really very small. The dominant species in total production were trout, carp, sea bass, sea bream, turbot, mussel, crayfish and etc. Total production of rainbow trout reached to 122.873 tons/year and its value was 20.23% in total fish production in 2013. Today, rainbow trout aquaculture is still favor investment in fishery industry in Turkey. This study aimed to inform about rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) aquaculture and to raise awareness for its development trends in Turkey

O papel do conhecimento tácito na adesão às normas sociais

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion on adherence to social norms. It considers insights from multiple research traditions in an effort to explain how individual learning and action are connected to social norms. One strand of philosophical tradition holds that non-representational learning and skillful coping carried out unconsciously are underestimated by both scientific and philosophical traditions. The present research combines this tradition with the literature on the evolution of social norms and suggests that experienced individuals in a society adhere to social norms better than novice agents do. We explain this phenomenon by unconscious and non-representational cognitive processes. This framework is then used to investigate population-level outcomes of individual learning.Keywords: adherence to norms, expertise, skillful coping.Este artigo tem como objetivo contribuir para a discussão em curso sobre a adesão às normas sociais. Ele cosnidera insights de múltiplas tradições de pesquisa em um esforço para explicar como a aprendizagem e a ação individuais estão conectadas às normas sociais. Uma vertente da tradição filosófica sustenta que a aprendizagem não representacional e o enfrentamento hábil inconscientemente são subestimados pelas tradições científicas e filosóficas. A presente pesquisa combina esta tradição com a literatura sobre a evolução das normas sociais e sugere que os indivíduos experientes em uma sociedade adiram às normas sociais melhor do que os agentes novatos. Explicamos este fenômeno por processos cognitivos inconscientes e não representativos. Este quadro é então utilizado para investigar resultados de nível individual da aprendizagem individual.Palavras-chave: aderência às normas, perícia, habilidades de enfrentamento

Next Generation Sequencing Based Multiplex Long-Range PCR for Routine Genotyping of Autoinflammatory Disorders

Background: During the last decade, remarkable progress with massive sequencing has been made in the identification of disease-associated genes for AIDs using next-generation sequencing technologies (NGS). An international group of experts described the ideal genetic screening method which should give information about SNVs, InDels, Copy Number Variations (CNVs), GC rich regions. We aimed to develop and validate a molecular diagnostic method in conjunction with the NGS platform as an inexpensive, extended and uniform coverage and fast screening tool which consists of nine genes known to be associated with various AIDs. Methods: For the validation of basic and expanded panels, long-range multiplex models were setup on healthy samples without any known variations for MEFV, MVK, TNFRSF1A, NLRP3, PSTPIP1, IL1RN, NOD2, NLRP12 and LPIN2 genes. Patients with AIDs who had already known causative variants in these genes were sequenced for analytical validation. As a last step, multiplex models were validated on patients with pre-diagnosis of AIDs. All sequencing steps were performed on the Illumina NGS platform. Validity steps included the selection of related candidate genes, primer design, development of screening methods, validation and verification of the product. The GDPE (Gentera) bioinformatics pipeline was followed. Results: Although there was no nonsynonymous variation in 21 healthy samples, 107 synonymous variant alleles and some intronic and UTR variants were detected. In 10 patients who underwent analytical validation, besides the 11 known nonsynonymous variant alleles, 11 additional nonsynonymous variant alleles and a total of 81 synonymous variants were found. In the clinical validation phase, 46 patients sequenced with multiplex panels, genetic and clinical findings were combined for diagnosis. Conclusion: In this study, we describe the development and validation of an NGS-based multiplex array enabling the “long-amplicon” approach for targeted sequencing of nine genes associated with common AIDs. This screening tool is less expensive and more comprehensive compared to other methods and more informative than traditional sequencing. The proposed panel offers advantages to WES or hybridization probe equivalents in terms of CNV analysis, high sensitivity and uniformity, GC-rich region sequencing, InDel detection and intron covering

Assessment of Surrogate Markers for Cardiovascular Disease in Familial Mediterranean Fever-Related Amyloidosis Patients Homozygous for M694V Mutation in MEFV Gene

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains underestimated in familial Mediterranean fever-associated AA amyloidosis (FMF-AA). We aimed to compare early markers of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis in FMF-AA with a homozygous M694V mutation (Group 1 = 76 patients) in the Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene and in patients with other genotypes (Group 2 = 93 patients). Measures of increased risk for future CVD events and endothelial dysfunction, including flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), pentraxin-3 (PTX3), and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) as a marker of atherosclerotic vascular disease were compared between groups. The frequency of clinical FMF manifestations did not differ between the two groups apart from arthritis (76.3% in Group 1 and 59.1% in Group 2, p \u3c 0.05). FMD was significantly lower in Group 1 when compared with Group 2 (MD [95% CI]: −0.6 [(−0.89)–(−0.31)]). cIMT, FGF23, and PTX3 levels were higher in Group 1 (cIMT MD [95% CI]: 0.12 [0.08–0.16]; FGF23 MD [95% CI]: 12.8 [5.9–19.6]; PTX3 MD [95% CI]: 13.3 [8.9–17.5]). In patients with FMF-AA, M694V homozygosity is associated with lower FMD values and higher cIMT, FGF23, and PTX3 levels, suggesting increased CVD risk profiles. These data suggest that a genotype–phenotype association exists in terms of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis in patients with FMF-AA

Assessment of Surrogate Markers for Cardiovascular Disease in Familial Mediterranean Fever-Related Amyloidosis Patients Homozygous for M694V Mutation in MEFV Gene

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains underestimated in familial Mediterranean fever-associated AA amyloidosis (FMF-AA). We aimed to compare early markers of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis in FMF-AA with a homozygous M694V mutation (Group 1 = 76 patients) in the Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene and in patients with other genotypes (Group 2 = 93 patients). Measures of increased risk for future CVD events and endothelial dysfunction, including flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), pentraxin-3 (PTX3), and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) as a marker of atherosclerotic vascular disease were compared between groups. The frequency of clinical FMF manifestations did not differ between the two groups apart from arthritis (76.3% in Group 1 and 59.1% in Group 2, p \u3c 0.05). FMD was significantly lower in Group 1 when compared with Group 2 (MD [95% CI]: −0.6 [(−0.89)–(−0.31)]). cIMT, FGF23, and PTX3 levels were higher in Group 1 (cIMT MD [95% CI]: 0.12 [0.08–0.16]; FGF23 MD [95% CI]: 12.8 [5.9–19.6]; PTX3 MD [95% CI]: 13.3 [8.9–17.5]). In patients with FMF-AA, M694V homozygosity is associated with lower FMD values and higher cIMT, FGF23, and PTX3 levels, suggesting increased CVD risk profiles. These data suggest that a genotype–phenotype association exists in terms of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis in patients with FMF-AA

Effect of ANA positivity on clinical picture of the JIA: should ANA positive JIA be classified as a different group?

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