1,423 research outputs found
Microcosm experiments can inform global ecological problems
No full textGlobal-scale environmental problems are rarely regarded as amenable to traditional scientific experiment. We argue here that small-scale experiments using ‘model organisms’ in microcosms or mesocosms can be a useful approach for apparently intractable global problems, such as ecosystem responses to climate change or managing biodiversity through the design of nature reserves. An experimental, small-scale research programme can easily be coupled with the development of theory and act as a stimulus to further research, thereby hastening both understanding of the issues and development of practical solutions. This process – from microcosm experiment to the development of practical application – has previously been influential but also has a long time lag. We suggest short-cuts in an attempt to stimulate the use of small-scale experiments to address globally urgent issues with meaningful policy implications
Evaluating Citebase, an open access Web-based citation-ranked search and impact discovery service
No full textCitebase is a new citation-ranked search and impact discovery service that measures citations of scholarly research papers which are openly accessible on the Web, i.e. papers that are assessable continuously online. Other services, such as ResearchIndex, have emerged in recent years to offer citation indexing of Web research papers. In the first detailed user evaluation of an open access Web citation indexing service, Citebase has been evaluated by nearly 200 users from different backgrounds. The paper details the procedures used in the evaluation, and analyses the results of this study, which took place between June and October 2002. It was found that within the scope of its primary components, the search interface and services available from its rich bibliographic records, Citebase can be used simply and reliably for the purpose intended, and that it compares favourably with other bibliographic services. It is shown tasks can be accomplished efficiently with Citebase regardless of the background of the user. More data need to be collected and the process refined before it is as reliable for measuring citation impact of indexed papers. Better explanations and guidance are required for first-time users. Coverage is seen as a limiting factor, even though Citebase indexes over 200,000 papers from arXiv. Non-physicists were frustrated at the lack of papers from other sciences. The principle of citation searching of open access archives has thus been demonstrated and need not be restricted to current users. Since the evaluation, Citebase has become a featured service of the ArXiv physics eprint archives
Harvested populations are more variable only in more variable environments
No full textAcknowledgments This work was funded by NERC grant NE/C510467/1 (T. G. Benton and S. B. Piertney) and a University of Leeds Faculty Postdoctoral Fellowship (T. C. Cameron). Data Accessibility The original time series and body size data from these experiments are available to download from DRYAD entry number http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bq135.Peer reviewe
Betting on Macau: Casino Capitalism and China’s Consumer Revolution, by Tim Simpson
No full textMacau was founded by the Portuguese in 1557 and was the West’s gateway to China before becoming a colonial backwater in the nineteenth century. It became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China in 1999, something that, according to Tim Simpson, augured ‘the embryonic stirring of a world-historical geopolitical realignment [with] the gradual geographical translocation of the axis of global capitalism from the once-dominant West to East Asia’ (pp. 4–5).Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Spatial Planning and Strateg
Listening to the voices of Guinness
No full textTim Strangleman, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent and author of "Voices of Guinness: an oral history of the Park Royal Brewery", speaks about his book and delivers a presentation titled "Listening to the voices of Guinness". He describes how he wrote about and photographed the Park Royal Brewery for the last six months before it closed in 2005. Tim shares how his subsequent research revealed an incredibly rich story of corporate cultural change and the transformation of work and the workplace. Drawing on material from his new book, Tim reflects on what that story tells us about work meaning, identity and organizational life in the second decade of the twenty-first century. Hosted by MSU Professor John Beck
Nostalgia: content, triggers, functions
No full textSeven methodologically diverse studies addressed 3 fundamental questions about nostalgia. Studies 1 and 2 examined the content of nostalgic experiences. Descriptions of nostalgic experiences typically featured the self as a protagonist in interactions with close others (e.g., friends) or in momentous events (e.g., weddings). Also, the descriptions contained more expressions of positive than negative affect and often depicted the redemption of negative life scenes by subsequent triumphs. Studies 3 and 4 examined triggers of nostalgia and revealed that nostalgia occurs in response to negative mood and the discrete affective state of loneliness. Studies 5, 6, and 7 investigated the functional utility of nostalgia and established that nostalgia bolsters social bonds, increases positive self-regard, and generates positive affect. These findings demarcate key landmarks in the hitherto uncharted research domain of nostalgi
"What does the case of Slovakia tell us about the EU’s Active Leverage?"
No full text[From the introduction]. This short paper seeks to reflect on the experience of Slovakia and highlights what that particular case has taught us about the active leverage of the EU. I recognize that unpicking causation between domestic and European arenas is fraught with methodological difficulties (Haverland, 2006). Unlike our colleagues from chemistry, as political scientists we are not afforded the luxury to isolate and remove individual ingredients and then re-run experiments to see if the results change, hence identifying chains of causation is extremely difficult and tends to lead to conclusions, which are vague, hedged and less than robust. Bearing that caveat in mind, however, I venture a few arguments based on a close observation of the Slovak case. Firstly, building on the helpful distinction between political2 conditionality and acquis conditionality, I suggest that the Slovak case demonstrates the power of acquis conditionality, but the limits of the ‘transformative power’ (Grabbe, 2006) of political conditionality. Indeed, acquis conditionality may be more influential in cases where political conditionality is perceived to have had an influence. Secondly, the EU has very little impact on domestic party politics beyond influencing the choice of coalition partners, but even here the impact of the EU is probably exaggerated. Thirdly, the power of the acquis conditionality varies depending on the clarity, consistency and ascribed salience of such laws
Germline HAVCR2/TIM-3 Checkpoint Inhibitor Receptor Deficiency in Recurrent Autoinflammatory Myocarditis
No full textAbstract
Myocarditis can be caused by viral infection, drug reaction or general inflammatory condition. To provide understanding on inflammatory myocarditis, we describe clinical, genetic, and immunological properties of a young male patient who suffered from recurrent myocarditis episodes since the age of four years. Electrocardiography, troponin I/T, echocardiography, myocardial magnetic resonance imaging and histological findings were consistent with recurrent myocarditis episodes. Homozygous c.245 A > G p.Tyr82Cys pathogenic variant in Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2 (HAVCR2) gene encoding T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (TIM-3) receptor was found. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected when the patient was asymptomatic; CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphoblasts, CD56+ natural killer cells and CD14+ monocytes were negative for surface TIM-3 expression. In vitro, TLR4 mediated interleukin-1β (IL-1β) response was high after LPS/ATP stimulation. Clinical symptoms responded to IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra. TIM-3 p.Tyr82Cys CD4+ and CD8+ T cell proliferation in vitro was unrestrained. Findings on IL-2, interferon gamma, regulatory T cells, signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1, 3 and 4 phosphorylation, and PD-1 and LAG-3 checkpoint inhibitor receptor analyses were comparable to controls. We conclude that TIM-3 deficiency due to homozygous HAVCR2 c.245 A > G p.Tyr82Cys pathogenic variant in the patient described here is associated with autoinflammatory symptoms limited to early onset recurrent febrile myocarditis. Excessive IL-1β production and defective regulation of T cell proliferation may contribute to this clinical condition responsive to anakinra treatment.Abstract
Myocarditis can be caused by viral infection, drug reaction or general inflammatory condition. To provide understanding on inflammatory myocarditis, we describe clinical, genetic, and immunological properties of a young male patient who suffered from recurrent myocarditis episodes since the age of four years. Electrocardiography, troponin I/T, echocardiography, myocardial magnetic resonance imaging and histological findings were consistent with recurrent myocarditis episodes. Homozygous c.245 A > G p.Tyr82Cys pathogenic variant in Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2 (HAVCR2) gene encoding T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (TIM-3) receptor was found. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected when the patient was asymptomatic; CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphoblasts, CD56+ natural killer cells and CD14+ monocytes were negative for surface TIM-3 expression. In vitro, TLR4 mediated interleukin-1β (IL-1β) response was high after LPS/ATP stimulation. Clinical symptoms responded to IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra. TIM-3 p.Tyr82Cys CD4+ and CD8+ T cell proliferation in vitro was unrestrained. Findings on IL-2, interferon gamma, regulatory T cells, signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1, 3 and 4 phosphorylation, and PD-1 and LAG-3 checkpoint inhibitor receptor analyses were comparable to controls. We conclude that TIM-3 deficiency due to homozygous HAVCR2 c.245 A > G p.Tyr82Cys pathogenic variant in the patient described here is associated with autoinflammatory symptoms limited to early onset recurrent febrile myocarditis. Excessive IL-1β production and defective regulation of T cell proliferation may contribute to this clinical condition responsive to anakinra treatment
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