Legislative Impact of the Construction of an “Abortion Culture”: A Comparative Analysis of the Enaction and Impact of Abortion Restriction Legislation in the Netherlands and the United States

This study investigates the different socio-political causes leading to the implementation of similar abortion restrictions (mandatory parental notification for minors, mandatory counseling, and a waiting period) in the Netherlands and the United States. It first investigates the “abortion cultures” of the two countries, using personal interviews with Dutch and American citizens to analyze the social perceptions of abortion and a comparison of sexual health and legislation data to create a wider picture of abortion within both countries. It then investigates the political opportunity structure leading to the implementation of the restrictions of abortion in each country, and then investigates differences in implementation and effect of the restrictions in both countries. Ultimately, the study concludes that a distinction between prevention-based and punishment-based restriction is necessary in the “counseling model” of abortion

On the sound of snapping shrimp

Fluid dynamics video: Snapping shrimp produce a snapping sound by an extremely rapid closure of their snapper claw. Our high speed imaging of the claw closure has revealed that the sound is generated by the collapse of a cavitation bubble formed in a fast flowing water jet forced out from the claws during claw closure. The produced sound originates from the cavitation collapse of the bubble. At collapse a short flash of light is emitted, just as in single bubble sonoluminescence. A model based on the Rayleigh-Plesset equation can quantitatively account for the visual and acoustical observations.Comment: Fluid dynamics vide

Novel insights into mechanisms and selectivity of the heterotrimeric G protein inhibitors BIM-46187 and FR900359

Selective silencing of Gα protein subfamilies by small molecules is of great value to explore the contribution of G protein signaling in physiology and disease. It also represents a new opportunity to treat diseases, such as cancer, in which multiple receptors are involved. Consequently, signaling of a large number of receptors could be silenced with a single tool. Only few small cell-permeable molecules acting as Gα-selective inhibitors have been reported to date. The present thesis classifies BIM-46187, previously reported as pan-G protein inhibitor, as a compound which preferentially silences Gαq-mediated signaling in a cellular context-dependent manner. In particular, BIM functions as selective Gαq inhibitor in HEK and CHO cells but silences Gαq, Gαi and Gαs proteins in the human skin cancer cell line MZ7. Cell-context pharmacology might be explained with differences in the relative amount or stoichiometry of signaling components. Gene dosing experiments revealed a correlation between BIM inhibition and Gαq expression. However, immunoblot detection, which compared expression levels of Gαq, Gαs and Gαi proteins in HEK and MZ7 cells, indicated that different Gα expression levels cannot exclusively account for cell-type-dependent pharmacology of BIM. Investigations concerning the mode of action uncovered an entirely new molecular mechanism: BIM permits GDP exit but precludes GTP entry thereby “freezing” the Gαq protein in the empty pocket conformation. The second part of this thesis uncovers the cyclic depsipeptide FR900359 as a suitable tool for selective silencing of Gαq/11 proteins. A great variety of assays, such as classical second-messenger assays, BRET assays and label-free methods, demonstrate the selectivity of FR900359. Experiments in the commonly used HEK and CHO backgrounds, as well as in the human skin cancer cell line MZ7, reveal its utility in cell-based assays. FR900359 does not compromise agonist binding but interacts with agonist function. Based on radioligand competition experiments, it can be assumed that FR900359 functions as a guanine-nucleotide dissociation inhibitor as it impairs the formation of the high-affinity agonist binding

Allogeneic transplantation for children and adolescents with Hodgkin lymphoma

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Kulturelle Unterschiede bei der Benutzung und Bewertung von Websites am Beispiel von Deutschland und Taiwan

Die vorliegende Magisterarbeit behandelt den Einfluss der Kultur der Internetnutzer bei der Benutzung und Bewertung von Websites. Insbesondere werden Unterschiede zwischen deutschen und taiwanesischen Nutzern untersucht. Auf Basis der relevanten Grundlagen zur interkulturellen Wirkung von Informationssystemen wurde ein Benutzertest entwickelt. Die Ergebnisse der Tests in Deutschland und Taiwan werden ausführlich vorgestellt und diskutiert.The following M.A. thesis deals with the influence of user culture as it pertains to individual usage and evaluation of web sites. In particular it examines differences between German and Taiwanese users. Based upon the relevant fundamentals of the intercultural effects of information systems, a user test was developed and subsequently conducted in Germany and Taiwan. The results are presented and discussed in detail