2,971 research outputs found
Crossing the Styx: If Precision Medicine Were to Become Exact Science
No full textThe term “precision medicine” is used to denote existing practices as well as how medical research and practice are imagined to become in the future. One important element of the imaginaries of precision medicine is the development of systems biology and computational models with the promise of numerical precision and conceptual rigour. If precision medicine were to become an exact science that relies on computational models, it might increase precision in diagnosis and treatment, specifying the right drug to the right patient at the right time. It should be noted, though, that computational models require explicit specification of the properties and boundaries of the system to be modelled, whereas cells, tissues and patients are predominantly open systems in their natural state. Accordingly, such models risk being precisely wrong instead of approximately right. Right and wrong, however, are value judgements that depend upon the aims and scope of the scientific and medical enterprise. In order for medicine to become an exact science, cells, tissues and patients would have to be reconceived and/or reconfigured as relatively closed systems with relatively deterministic behaviour. The realization of precision medicine as an exact science may thus be accompanied by a transition from a world of complex natural life to a world of reduced life or a simple delay of death; a transition to be likened with the crossing of the Styx
Miért népszerű a körforgásos gazdaság az Európai Unióban? Zora Kovacic, Roger Strand and Thomas Völker: The Circular Economy in Europe
No full textBook review:
Zora Kovacic, Roger Strand and Thomas Völker: The Circular
Economy in Europe. Critical Perspectives on Policies and
Imaginaries. Routledge, New York, 2019, 208 o
Sex differences in Cognitive Abilities Test scores: a UK national picture
No full textBackground and aims. There is uncertainty about the extent or even existence of sex differences in the mean and variability of reasoning test scores ( Jensen, 1998; Lynn, 1994, ; Mackintosh, 1996). This paper analyses the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) scores of a large and representative sample of UK pupils to determine the extent of any sex differences.
Sample. A nationally representative UK sample of over 320,000 school pupils aged 11-12 years was assessed on the CAT (third edition) between September 2001 and August 2003. The CAT includes separate nationally standardized tests for verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal reasoning. The size and recency of the sample is unprecedented in research on this issue.
Methods. The sheer size of the sample ensures that any sex difference will achieve statistical significance. Therefore, effect sizes (d) and variance ratios (VR) are employed to evaluate the magnitude of sex differences in mean scores and in score variability, respectively.
Results. The mean verbal reasoning score for girls was 2.2 standard score points higher than the mean for boys, but only 0.3 standard points in favour of girls for non-verbal reasoning (NVR), and 0.7 points in favour of boys for quantitative reasoning (QR). However, for all three tests there were substantial sex differences in the standard deviation of scores, with greater variance among boys. Boys were over represented relative to girls at both the top and the bottom extremes for all tests, with the exception of the top 10% in verbal reasoning.
Conclusions. Given the small differences in means, explanations for sex differences in wider domains such examination attainment at age 16 need to look beyond conceptions of `ability'. Boys tend to be both the lowest and the highest performers in terms of their reasoning abilities, which warns against the danger of stereotyping boys as low achievers
Minnesota natural resources: elementary teaching guide
No full textThis archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information available from the University of Minnesota Extension: https://www.extension.umn.edu.Allred, Evan; Halsey, Clifton; Machmeier, Roger; Miles, William; Strand, Oliver. (1974). Minnesota natural resources: elementary teaching guide. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/202841
Nation
No full textThe state of civic participation in the U.S. is the subject of much hand-wringing. The lament is generally that citizens are withdrawn - that civic life is less vibrant than it once was and should be. This book review welcomes Downsizing Democracy: How America Sidelined its Citizens and Privatized its Public, by Matthew Crenson & Benjamin Ginsburg (2002), as an alternative to the tendency to blame citizens for the current malaise. Crenson & Ginsburg make the case that the government itself has disinvited civic participation in several key ways. The author observes that, notwithstanding this lack of invitation, citizens can and should still take on themselves the responsibility for civic action - not just in traditional political spheres, but in the myriad venues of our everyday lives.525-2927
Radiation-induced DNA strand damage and repair in Neanthes arenaceodentata
No full textAn alkaline-unwinding assay, which provides an index of DNA strand breakage and repair, was used to study the genotoxic effects of gamma radiation in Neanthes arenaceodentata (adult males) . To determine radiation-induced DNA strand damage, male worms were exposed to radiation levels from 0.10 to 100 Gy. Significant DNA strand damage was found at exposures greater than 0.30 Gy; DNA from worms exposed to radiation had more DNA strand breaks than that from control worms. Possible mitigation of radiation-induced damage was examined by searching for enzymatic DNA repair and cell death. To determine possible enzymatic DNA repair of radiation-induced DNA strand damage, worms were exposed to 3.13 Gy and then their DNA was harvested on days 0, 0.25, and 1 postirradiation. There was significant increase in DNA strand breakage between control and radiation-exposed DNA at 0 and 0.25 day, but not at 1 day postirradiation. To determine possible cell death, worms were exposed to 100 Gy and their DNA was harvested 0, 2, 5, and 14 days postirradiation. A significant increase in DNA strand breakage was found to exist between control and radiation-exposed groups on days 0 to 5. By day 14 postirradiation, however, no DNA-strand breakage differences were detected between control and radiation-exposed groups. The DNA alkaline-unwinding assay was adapted to use N. arenaceodentata DNA. Low- and high-level radiation-induced DNA strand damage was detected. Radiation-induced DNA strand damage was detected at lower radiation levels than had been previously possible. Mitigation of low-level radiation-induced DNA strand damage (possible enzymatic DNA repair) was observed in N. arenaceodentata. The response to high-level radiation exposure (possible cell death) was also examined using the assay
Roger Reitmaier and the Vietnam War: An Oral History
No full textIn this oral history Roger Reitmaier shares his experiences in the Vietnam War. This video is part of the Voices of Veterans and Activists Oral History Project. The oral histories are coordinated by the WSU History Department.
Interviewee: Roger Reitmaier Interviewee
Principal Investigator: Dr. Amanda Nagel, History Department, Winona State University
Research and Support: Dr. Tomas Tolvaisas, History Department, Winona State University
Transcribers: Ben Strand and Hayley Johnston
Videographers: Rebecca Courrier and Shiloh Gulbransonhttps://openriver.winona.edu/voicesofveteransandactivists/1001/thumbnail.jp
MRE11 facilitates the removal of human topoisomerase II complexes from genomic DNA
No full textTopoisomerase II creates a double-strand break intermediate with topoisomerase covalently coupled to the DNA via a 5'-phosphotyrosyl bond. These intermediate complexes can become cytotoxic protein-DNA adducts and DSB repair at these lesions requires removal of topoisomerase II. To analyse removal of topoisomerase II from genomic DNA we adapted the trapped in agarose DNA immunostaining assay. Recombinant MRE11 from 2 sources removed topoisomerase IIalpha from genomic DNA in vitro, as did MRE11 immunoprecipitates isolated from A-TLD or K562 cells. Basal topoisomerase II complex levels were very high in A-TLD cells lacking full-length wild type MRE11, suggesting that MRE11 facilitates the processing of topoisomerase complexes that arise as part of normal cellular metabolism. In K562 cells inhibition of MRE11, PARP or replication increased topoisomerase IIalpha and beta complex levels formed in the absence of an anti-topoisomerase II dru
Roger Green the Linguist
No full textAlthough best known for his archaeological work Roger Green also made important contributions to Oceanic historical linguistics Among his 300 or so publications about 15 focus on linguistic issues, while many others treat these to a greater or lesser degree. Roger's linguistic contributions were of two main kinds. First, he planned and directed multidisciplinary projects in which historical linguistic research was one major strand. Second, he wrote a number of substantial papers and a major book dealing with Oceanic (chiefly Polynesian) historical linguistics and what this tells us about Oceanic culture history. A brief account of this part of the Green oeuvre is given in the following page
Strand separation establishes a sustained lock at the Tus-Ter replication fork barrier
No full textThe bidirectional replication of a circular chromosome by many bacteria necessitates proper termination to avoid the head-on collision of the opposing replisomes. In Escherichia coli, replisome progression beyond the termination site is prevented by Tus proteins bound to asymmetric Ter sites. Structural evidence indicates that strand separation on the blocking (nonpermissive) side of Tus-Ter triggers roadblock formation, but biochemical evidence also suggests roles for protein-protein interactions. Here DNA unzipping experiments demonstrate that nonpermissively oriented Tus-Ter forms a tight lock in the absence of replicative proteins, whereas permissively oriented Tus-Ter allows nearly unhindered strand separation. Quantifying the lock strength reveals the existence of several intermediate lock states that are impacted by mutations in the lock domain but not by mutations in the DNA-binding domain. Lock formation is highly specific and exceeds reported in vivo efficiencies. We postulate that protein-protein interactions may actually hinder, rather than promote, proper lock formation.Accepted Author ManuscriptBN/Nynke Dekker LabBN/Cees Dekker LabBN/Martin Depken La
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