Collective action and individual choice: rethinking how we regulate narcotics and antibiotics.

Governments across the globe have squandered treasure and imprisoned millions of their own citizens by criminalising the use and sale of recreational drugs. But use of these drugs has remained relatively constant, and the primary victims are the users themselves. Meanwhile, antimicrobial drugs that once had the power to cure infections are losing their ability to do so, compromising the health of people around the world. The thesis of this essay is that policymakers should stop wasting resources trying to fight an unwinnable and morally dubious war against recreational drug users, and start shifting their attention to the serious threat posed by our collective misuse of antibiotics.

The Adjuvant Activity and Mechanisms of Action for Mastoparan 7 Peptide After Intranasal Immunization in Mice

No

IMPROMPTU: FROM PUBLISHER'S IMPULSE TO AN ESTABLISHED SMALL­ SCALE GENRE IN PIANO LITERATURE

The word 'impromptu' began to appear in music literature in the early 19th century, specifically as title for a relatively short composition written for solo piano. The first impromptus appear to have been named so by the publishers. However, the composers themselves soon embraced the title to indicate, for the most part, fairly short character pieces. Impromptus do not follow any specific structural pattern, although many are cast in ternary form. The formal design ranges from strict compound ternary in the early impromptus to through-composed and variation forms. The peak of impromptu's popularity undoubtedly came during the middle and late19th century. However, they are still being composed today, albeit much less frequently. Although there have been many variants of impromptus in relation to formal design and harmonic language over the years, the essence of impromptu remains the same: it is still a short character piece with a general feeling of spontaneity. Overall, impromptus may be categorized into several different groups: some appear as part of a larger cycle, such as Dvorak's G minor Impromptu from his Piano Pieces, B. 110; many others use an element of an additional genre that enhances the character ofthe impromptu, such as Liszt's Valse-Impromptu and Antonio Bibalo's Tango Impromptu; yet another group consists of works based on opera themes, such as Liszt's Impromptu Brillant sur des themes de Rossini et Spontini and Czerny's Impromptus et variations sur Oberon, Op. 134. My recording project includes well-known impromptus, such as Schubert's Op. 142 and the four by Chopin, as well as lesser known works that have not been performed or recorded often. There are four impromptus that have been recorded here for the first time, including those written by Leopold Godowsky, Antonio Bibalo, Altin Volaj, and Nikolay Mazhara. I personally requested the two last named composers to contribute impromptus to this project. My selection represents works by twenty composers and reflects the different types of impromptus that have been encountered through almost three hundred years of the genre's existence, from approximately 1817 (VoriSek) to 2008 (Volaj and Mazhara).

Revising Justice: Punitory Thought and Action in the Work of Atwood, Jordan, and Oates

*Designated as an exemplary master's project for 2015-16*

Integrating simultaneous prosocial and antisocial behavior into theories of collective action.

Trust and cooperation constitute cornerstones of common-pool resource theory, showing that "prosocial" strategies among resource users can overcome collective action problems and lead to sustainable resource governance. Yet, antisocial behavior and especially the coexistence of prosocial and antisocial behaviors have received less attention. We broaden the analysis to include the effects of both "prosocial" and "antisocial" interactions. We do so in the context of marine protected areas (MPAs), the most prominent form of biodiversity conservation intervention worldwide. Our multimethod approach relied on lab-in-the-field economic experiments (n = 127) in two MPA and two non-MPA communities in Baja California, Mexico. In addition, we deployed a standardized fishers' survey (n = 544) to verify the external validity of our findings and expert informant interviews (n = 77) to develop potential explanatory mechanisms. In MPA sites, prosocial and antisocial behavior is significantly higher, and the presence of antisocial behavior does not seem to have a negative effect on prosocial behavior. We suggest that market integration, economic diversification, and strengthened group identity in MPAs are the main potential mechanisms for the simultaneity of prosocial and antisocial behavior we observed. This study constitutes a first step in better understanding the interaction between prosociality and antisociality as related to natural resources governance and conservation science, integrating literatures from social psychology, evolutionary anthropology, behavioral economics, and ecology.

Les discriminations au travail dues à l’orientation sexuelle et les identités de genre

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Espaces d’interdépendance entre action publique et experts: Etat réflexif dans le champ du sida

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Characteristics of the biphasic action of androgens and of the potent antiproliferative effects of the new pure antiestrogen EM-139 on cell cycle kinetic parameters in LNCaP human prostatic cancer cells

The most potent steroid in human prostatic carcinoma LNCaP cells, i.e. dihydrotestosterone (DHT), has a biphasic stimulatory effect on cell proliferation. At the maximal stimulatory concentration of 0.1 nM DHT, analysis of cell kinetic parameters shows a decrease of the G0-G1 fraction with a corresponding increase of the S and G2 + M fractions. In contrast, concentrations of 1 nM DHT or higher induce a return of cell proliferation to control levels, reflected by an increase in the G0-G1 fraction at the expense of the S and especially the G2 + M fractions. Continuous labeling for 144 h with the nucleotide analogue 5'-bromodeoxyuridine shows that the percentage of cycling LNCaP cells rises more than 90% after treatment with stimulatory concentrations of DHT, whereas in control cells as well as in cells treated with high concentrations of the androgen, this value remains below 50%. Although LNCaP cells do not contain detectable estrogen receptors, the new pure steroidal antiestrogen EM-139 not only reversed the stimulation of cell proliferation and cell kinetics induced by stimulatory doses of DHT but also inhibited basal cell proliferation.

US imperialism in action: An audit-based appraisal of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq

This paper drawing from audit reports reflects upon the post-Iraq war administration the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). It argues that the CPA’s compliance with basic levels of decent public administration were akin to Guantanamo’s compliance with basic levels of natural justice. The audit reports demonstrate that the CPA was a chaotic administration which spent billions without proper controls or procedures and left precious Iraqi oil revenues open to fraudulent acts. The CPA failed to comply with its obligations under UN resolutions. It identifies the geopolitical/economic implications of the US government which was partly motivated by economic concerns but it was also motivated by political concerns—the imposition of US hegemony. It then turns to the broader economic imperatives of the falling rate of profit and the imposition of neoliberalism (market fundamentalism).

Prooxidant action of knipholone anthrone: Copper dependent reactive oxygen species generation and DNA damage

Knipholone (KP) and knipholone anthrone (KA) are natural 4-phenylanthraquinone structural analogues with established differential biological activities including in vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic properties. By using DNA damage as an experimental model, the comparative Cu(II)-dependent prooxidant action of these two compounds were studied. In the presence of Cu(II) ions, the antioxidant KA (3.1-200 [mu]M) but not KP (6-384 [mu]M) caused a concentration-dependent pBR322 plasmid DNA strand scission. The DNA damage induced by KA could be abolished by reactive oxygen species scavengers, glutathione and catalase as well as EDTA and a specific Cu(I) chelator bathocuproine disulfonic acid. In addition to Cu(II) chelating activity, KA readily reduces Cu(II) to Cu(I). Copper-dependent generation of reactive oxygen species and the subsequent macromolecular damage may be involved in the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of KA.

Epilobium parviflorum Schreb. - in vitro study of biological action

Epilobium parviflorum Schreb. (Onagraceae) is used for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is regarded as an endocrine disorder caused by age-related hormone imbalance and increased oxidative damage [1,2,3]. Epilobium can moderate the obstructive and the irritative symptoms of BPH [1] but its biological action is not entirely identified. E. parviflorum is rich in phytosterols, flavonoids (myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol and their glycosides), phenolic acids, catechins, ellagi- and gallotannins [4]. The potential biological effects of Epilobium parviflorum Schreb. have been investigated, in respect to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, enzyme-inhibitory and anti-androgenic effect. The whole-plant water extract showed higher antioxidant effect (IC50=1.65±0.05µg/mL) in DPPH assay than Trolox or ascorbic acid and inhibited the lipid peroxidation examined in TBA assay (IC50=2.31±0.18mg/mL). In concentrations 0.20-15.00µg/mL the extract possessed a protective effect comparable to catalase enzyme (2500 IU/mL), against oxidative damage generated on fibroblast cells. The examination of the COX-inhibitory effect showed that E. parviflorum had an anti-inflammatory effect (IC50=1.38±0.08µg/mL). Investigation of steroid receptor binding ability and the aromatase enzyme-inhibition showed negative results in the concentration range examined.

The missing link between information and action: hastenings and delays as universal reactions to performance feedback

This chapter focuses on what the key decision makers in organizations decide after having received information on the current state of the organizational performance. Because of strong attributions to success and failure, it is impossible to predict in advance which concrete actions will occur. We can however find out what kinds of actions are decided upon by means of an organizational learning model that focuses on the hastenings and delays after performance feedback. As an illustration, the responses to performance signals by trainers and club owners in Dutch soccer clubs are analyzed.