A CABIN AT ESSEX
I’VE BEEN THERE IN THE SUMMER
WHEN THE Middle Fork of the Flathead runs fuller;
I’ve been there in the winter;
when the guests at the Izaak Walton are fewer;
I’ve watched the elk feed on the lush grass in the Park
across the Highway #2 and the Middle Fork;
I’ve thrilled at the Burlington Northern’s horn
echo through a cold, crisp December morn.
I’ve seen the bears eating and enjoying for hours
the spilled corn from wrecked railway cars.
I’ve sat out front of Aunt Elsie’s cabin
on the outskirts of Essex perched high on a rim
and wondered at the scene spread before me below
with no wish for any further marvel to know.
Gary Gilbert
1982
Cell Phones
(Response to comments made in the video course "Classroom Teaching" - See Classroom Teaching Course)
I think the use of cell phones and technology similar devices have both positive and negative effects on our social beings.Looking at the negative effects, I think long term use and the conditioning of new generations into a world where these devices are their way of communication and interaction with others is extremely negative. First of all, you don’t gain the knowledge to communicate well and properly. Slang speech or text is used to communicate such as “brb” which stands for be right back; what the hell is that....? Are these devices now promoting laziness to the point that we can’t type out the full length of words? Secondly, these devices along with the internet give people a false sense that they are present within today’s world. Vocal tones and inflections are not transferred over a text message; the loss of these tones and inflections for younger generations will hinder face to face conversations.
People harass and bully others through the screen and protection of anonymity, thus allowing more people to be complete jerks with their comments because no one knows who they are. If you said the same thing to someone’s face they would most likely punch you. With this you might get more self-righteous kids thinking they are invincible and actually try this same approach in reality. A great example that I recently experienced was sitting around a campfire with my younger niece who stayed glued to her phone the entire time watching pointless videos and constantly showing me these videos that disrupted my real life communications around what's one of the best conversational events you can do (campfires).
Another negative is that the extreme people who are so glued to their phones don’t look both ways, or any way for that matter when they cross the street. Governments have had to put in a law to protect the helpless humans who are getting killed in car wrecks because of texting and driving. On a more health perspective, I can’t imagine that staring at a “led” lit screen which is six inches from your eyeballs for hours on end is good for the health of your eyes. Also these devices do not encourage physical exertion which does not help a growing problem of obesity in youth.
Now, finally getting to the positives of cell phones is that they do offer an instant answer for questions. This aside from communication is actually great. Children nowadays can “google”any question they have and instantly get an answer, however, who knows if the answer they get is correct.
The obvious positive is the increase in long distance communication. The phone also features many other handy devices such as GPS locating which allows you to know where you are and for others to track you in case you are lost. It has increased the amount of pictures being taken in the world which in turn has killed the sales of everyday use camera companies who are now focusing their products on more fancy cameras meant for professionals.
It’s hard to say which side is greater, but, I believe in the long term it will have a negative effect on humans, or perhaps it is only negative to me because I am old enough to remember the days
before these devices and I don’t want to see this kind of change. Perhaps the young kid would want to see this change and does not see it as negative at all.
By Tyler
The Role and Future Role of the United Nations.
Does World Turmoil lead to Nation Turmoil
In the present world situation where there is much turmoil at the world level among the
193 countries that are members of United Nations. This world behavior sets an example
and initiates a similar behavior on the individual countries. This is equivalent to a parent
who sets a bad example promotes in the child bad behavior. So it would appear that we
we have to soothe and smooth out the bickering going on among nations and
international groups, before the UN can make any headway in solving these problems.
Responsibilities of the Sovereign Nations
However, the world has evolved wherein there are 195 sovereign countries. Of these,
193 are members of the United Nations. Therefore, it is easier for the UN to advise,
referee, and enforce agreements than it was before the earth became completely
saturated with sovereign countries. For example, since 193 of the 195 sovereign
countries are members of the United Nations, the organization has some power and
influence in bringing peace, happiness, and satisfaction to the world population.
However, it may take another 10 or 20 years before the members of the United Nations
feel a heavy responsibility to survive in a world of 193 countries. The United Nations will
function better as the countries begin to realize that they are not alone in the world.
Each country has a 192 other Sovereign Nations neighbors who are hoping for peace,
prosperity, and happiness.
UN Leadership is Performing Well
At this juncture in the life of the United Nations, the leadership is doing quite well. It
continues to give positive comments to those countries who are producing positive
results. And, the leadership continues to condemn those sovereign nations who are
misbehaving. And, the leadership is constantly negotiating among members to unify
treatment opposing rogue members and complement cooperative members.
Issues Facing the United Nations
The present issues with which the Leadership of the United Nations include several
listed as:
Health,
Law and Crime,
Human Rights,
Humanitarian Aid,
Climate Change,
Culture and Education,
Economic Development,
Women,
Peace and Security,
Migrants and Refugees.
Unity is Needed to Solve these Problems
The efforts of the United Nations will be greatly enhanced and achieved when the
member nations realize that unity is the best solution to solving any problem faced by
mankind. The leadership should continue negotiations with members in the
development of solutions to world problems and misbehaving sovereign nations. While
the bulk of responsibility for humanity resides with the government of each sovereign
nation, several nations need assistance in achieving the needs of humanity. And, other
problems such as climate issues and pollution, require a unified solution. So, the United
Nations must continue to negotiate among members and unify the efforts of all to solve
problems outside the responsibilities of the government of individual sovereign nations.
Thank you
Larry L. Gilbert
B.Sc. in Elementary Education and Business Education
M.Ed. in Administration
D.Ed. in Philosophy of Education
Performance-oriented leaders put employees at increased risk of burnout
05/09/2018 Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA)
Recent years have seen a marked increase in the number of people affected by occupational burnout, with nearly one in five employees said to experience burnout symptoms at work. Despite its prevalence, however, the precise causes are still fiercely debated. A new joint research study led by UvA work and organisational psychologist Roy Sijbom has now found evidence showing a clear link between leaders’ pursuit of goals and a heightened risk of burnout among their employees. The researchers’ results were recently published in the Journal of Personality.
Current research on the causes of burnout primarily focuses on individual-level characteristics of employees, such as their personalities and goals. However, this approach takes insufficient account of the external work environment, leading to an incomplete picture, says Sijbom. 'To counter this, we carried out research into one of the main influencing factors in employees’ work environment: their leaders. We hereby submitted both employees and their leaders to questionnaires to discover the extent to which the pursuit of certain goals by the latter leads to burnout among the former.'
Development versus competition
Leaders may pursue different goals in the execution of their work. On the one hand, they may strive for self-improvement and self-development ('mastery-approach' goals) or, alternatively, seek to outperform others ('performance-approach' goals). Sijbom: 'We investigated the relationship between both of these types of goals and the burnout rate among employees. What we found was that the greater the emphasis placed by leaders on improvement and development, the lower the burnout rate among their subordinates, irrespective of the employees’ own goals. With leaders who were focused on outperforming others (performance-approach goals), we saw the opposite effect – the pursuit of these goals was associated with an increase in the burnout rate among their subordinates, once again irrespective of the employees’ own objectives.'
The explanation is relatively simple, says Sijbom: 'In the workplace, leaders’ goal strivings provide important and dominant cues for their employees. The behaviour of supervisors who pursue performance-approach goals may make it more difficult for their subordinates to deal with setbacks because they are constantly pushed to compare themselves with others. This puts an additional strain on their mental resilience. Rather than helping to achieve the goal, such behaviour leads to additional stress, which may eventually result in a burnout.'
Ideal working environment
As a corrective, organisations could benefit from creating a work environment that emphasises mastery-approach goals over performance-approach goals, says Sijbom. Such an environment could be fostered by shifting the focus of reward and recognition systems to progress and effort and redefining success in terms of development and improvement. The explicit acceptance of mistakes as part of the learning process would be another feature of this working environment.
Full bibliographic information
R.B.L. Sijbom, J.W.B Lang, F. Anseel: 'Leaders' achievement goals predict employee burnout above and beyond employees' own achievement goals' in Journal of Personality, 5 September 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12427
How your brain experiences Time
29/08/2018 The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Researchers at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Trondheim, Norway have discovered a network of brain cells that express our sense of timewithin experiences and memories.
“This network provides timestamps to events and keeps track of the order of events within an experience,”says Professor Edvard Moser, director of the institute, based at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Thearea of the brain where time is experienced is located right next to the area that codes for space.
Telling time
Clocks are devices created by humans to measure time. By social contract, we agree to coordinate our own activities according to clock time. Nevertheless, your brain does not perceive the duration in time with the standardized units of minutes and hours on your wristwatch. The signature of time in our experiences and memories belongs to a different kind of temporality altogether.
Over the course of evolution, living organisms including humans have developed multiple biological clocks to help us keep track of time. What separates the brain’s various timekeepers is not only the scale of time that is measured, but also the phenomena the neural clocks are tuned to. Some timekeepers are set by external processes, like the circadian clock that is tuned to the rise and fall of daylight. This clock helps organisms adapt to the rhythms of a day.
Other timekeepers are setby phenomena of more intrinsic origins, like the hippocampal time cells that form a domino-like chain signal that tracks time spans up to 10 seconds precisely. Today we know a great deal about the brain’s mechanisms for measuring small timescales like seconds. Little is known, however, about the timescale the brain uses to record our experiences and memories, which can last anywhere from seconds to minutes to hours.
A neural clock for experienced time
A neural clock that keeps track of time during experiences is precisely what AlbertTsao and his colleagues at NTNU'sKavli Institutebelieve they have discovered. By recording from a population of brain cells the researchers identified a strong time-coding signal deep inside the brain.
“Our study reveals how the brain makes sense of time as an event is experienced,” says Tsao. “The network does not explicitly encode time. What we measure is rather a subjective time derived from the ongoing flow of experience.”
The neural clock operates by organizing the flow of our experiences into an orderly sequence of events. This activity gives rise to the brain’s clock for subjective time. Experience, and the succession of events within experience, are thus the substance of which subjective time is generated and measured by the brain.
Time, space and memory in the brain
“Today, we have a fairly good understanding of the way our brains process space whereas our knowledge of time is less coherent,”Professor Moser says.
“Space in the brain is relatively easy to investigate. It consists of specialized cell types that are dedicated to specific functions. Together they constitute the nuts and bolts of the system,”he says.
In 2005, May-Britt and Edvard Moser discovered grid cells which map our environment at different scales by dividing space into hexagonal units. In 2014, The Mosers shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with their colleague and mentor John O’Keefe at University College London for their discoveries of cells that constitute the brain’s positioning system.
In 2007, inspired by the Mosers’ discovery of spatially coding grid cells, then-Kavli Institute PhD candidate Albert Tsao set out to crack the code of what was happening in the enigmatic lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC). This area of the brain is right next to the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), where his supervisors, the Mosers, had discovered grid cells.
“I was hoping to find a similar key operating cell that would reveal the functional identity of this neural network,”Tsao says. The task proved to be a time-consuming project.
“There didn’t seem to be a pattern to the activity of these cells. The signal changed all the time," says Professor Moser.
It was only in the last couple of years that the researchers began to suspect that the signal was indeed changingwithtime. Suddenly the recoded data started to make sense.
“Time is a non-equilibrial process. It is always unique and changing,” Professor Moser says.“If this network was indeed coding for time, the signal would have to changewithtime in order to record experiences as unique memories.”
Technological advancements
The Mosers needed only to decode the signal of one single grid cell to discover how space is encoded in thein the medial entorhinal cortex. Decoding time in the lateral entorhinal cortex proved to be a more complex task. It was only when looking at activity from hundreds of cells that Tsao and his colleagues were able to see that the signal encoded time.
“The activity in these neural networks is so distributed that the mechanism itself probably lies in the structure of connectivity within the networks. The fact that it can be shaped into various unique patterns implies a high level of plasticity,” Professor Moser says. “I believe distributed networks and the combination of structures of activity may deserve more attention in the future. With this work, we have found an area with activity so strongly relating to the time of an event or experience, it may open up a whole new research field.”
The Shape of Time
The structure of time has long been a disputed topic by philosophers and physicists alike. What can the newly discovered brain’s mechanism for episodic time tell us about how we perceive time? Is our perception of time linear resembling a flowing river, or cyclical like a wheel or a helix? Data from the Kavli study suggest both are correct, and that the signal in the time-coding network can take on many forms depending on the experience.
In 2016, PhD candidate Jørgen Sugar joined the Kavli project to perform a new set of experiments that would test the hypothesis that the LEC network coded for episodic time. In one experiment a rat was introduced to a wide range of experiences and options for action. It was free to run around, investigate and chase bits of chocolate while visiting a series of open space environments.
“The uniqueness of the time signal during this experiment suggests that the rat had a very good record of time and temporal sequence of events throughout the two hours the experiment lasted,” Sugar says. “We were able to use the signal from the time-coding network to track exactly when in the experiment various events had occurred.”
In the second experiment, the task was more structured with a narrower range of experiences and options for action. The rat was trained to chase after bits of chocolate while turning left or right in a figure-eightmaze.
“With this activity, we saw the time-coding signal change character from unique sequences in time to a repetitive and partly overlapping pattern,"Tsao says. “On the other hand, the time signal became more precise and predictable during the repetitive task. The data suggest that the rat had a refined understanding of temporality during each lap, but a poor understanding of time from lap to lap and from the start to end throughout the experiment.”
Professor Moser says the study shows that by changing the activities you engage in, the content of your experience, you can actually change the course of the timesignal in the LEC and thus the way you perceive time.
Full bibliographic information
Episodic time coding in lateral entorhinal cortex. Nature, August 30, 2018. Albert Tsao, Jørgen Sugar, Li Lu, Cheng Wang, James J. Knierim, May-Britt Moser, Edvard I. Moser. Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
How viruses disarm the immune system
05 February 2018 McGill University
Discovery of molecular mechanism could point toward new targets for treating patients
How do viruses that cause chronic infections, such as HIV or hepatitis c virus, manage to outsmart their hosts’ immune systems?
The answer to that question has long eluded scientists, but new research from McGill University has uncovered a molecular mechanism that may be a key piece of the puzzle. The discovery could provide new targets for treating a wide range of diseases.
Fighting off infections depends largely on our bodies’ capacity to quickly recognize infected cells and destroy them, a job carried out by a class of immune cells known as CD8+ T cells. These soldiers get some of their orders from chemical mediators known as cytokines that make them more or less responsive to outside threats. In most cases, CD8+ T cells quickly recognize and destroy infected cells to prevent the infection from spreading.
“When it comes to viruses that lead to chronic infection, immune cells receive the wrong set of marching orders, which makes them less responsive,” says Martin Richer, an assistant professor at McGill’s Department of Microbiology & Immunology and senior author of the study, published recently in the journal Immunity.
The research, conducted in Richer’s lab by graduate student Logan Smith, revealed that certain viruses persist by driving the production of a cytokine that leads to modification of glycoproteins on the surface of the CD8+ T cells, making the cells less functional. That maneuver buys time for the pathogen to outpace the immune response and establish a chronic infection. Importantly, this pathway can be targeted to restore some functionality to the T cells and enhance the capacity to control infection.
The discovery of this regulatory pathway could help identify new therapeutic targets for a variety of diseases. “We might be able to take advantage of the pathways induced by these signals to fight chronic viral infections by making the immune system more responsive,” Richer says. “The findings might also prove useful for diseases like cancer and autoimmunity, where T cells function is poorly regulated.”
________________________________________
This work was funded by startup funds from the McGill Faculty of Medicine and grants from NSERC, FRQS, CIHR, NIH/NIAID, NHS, the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C.
Viruses—lots of them—are falling from the sky
06 February 2018 Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia
An astonishing number of viruses are circulating around the Earth’s atmosphere – and falling from it – according to new research from scientists in Canada, Spain and the U.S.
The study marks the first time scientists have quantified the viruses being swept up from the Earth’s surface into the free troposphere, beyond Earth’s weather systems but below the stratosphere where jet airplanes fly. The viruses can be carried thousands of kilometres there before being deposited back onto the Earth’s surface.
“Every day, more than 800 million viruses are deposited per square metre above the planetary boundary layer—that’s 25 viruses for each person in Canada,” said University of British Columbia virologist Curtis Suttle, one of the senior authors of a paper in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal that outlines the findings.
“Roughly 20 years ago we began finding genetically similar viruses occurring in very different environments around the globe,” says Suttle. “This preponderance of long-residence viruses travelling the atmosphere likely explains why—it’s quite conceivable to have a virus swept up into the atmosphere on one continent and deposited on another.”
Bacteria and viruses are swept up in the atmosphere in small particles from soil-dust and sea spray.
Suttle and colleagues at the University of Granada and San Diego State University wanted to know how much of that material is carried up above the atmospheric boundary layer above 2,500 to 3,000 metres. At that altitude, particles are subject to long-range transport unlike particles lower in the atmosphere.
Using platform sites high in Spain’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, the researchers found billions of viruses and tens of millions of bacteria are being deposited per square metre per day. The deposition rates for viruses were nine to 461 times greater than the rates for bacteria.
“Bacteria and viruses are typically deposited back to Earth via rain events and Saharan dust intrusions. However, the rain was less efficient removing viruses from the atmosphere,” said author and microbial ecologist Isabel Reche from the University of Granada.
The researchers also found the majority of the viruses carried signatures indicating they had been swept up into the air from sea spray. The viruses tend to hitch rides on smaller, lighter, organic particles suspended in air and gas, meaning they can stay aloft in the atmosphere longer.
Vitamin-deficiency "puts cancer cells into hibernation"
29 January 2018 Salford, The University of
DPI effectively switches off the cancer stem cells, preventing their proliferation.
“It’s extraordinary; the cells just sit there as if in a state of suspended animation” explains Professor Michael Lisanti, Chair of Translational Medicine and lead investigator.
The discovery is significant because the drug halts the propagation of cancer stem cells without causing the toxic side-effects normally associated with more conventional chemotherapy.
Reporting their laboratory findings in the journal Aging, the team observed that addition of DPI to a mixed population of cells eliminated the tumour initiating cancer stem cells. However, the drug was non-toxic for “bulk” cancer cells, which are not thought to be cancer-forming.
The authors describe how DPI targets more than 90 protein enzymes which feed mitochondria and help generate the cell’s energy. Specifically, DPI works as an inhibitor of Vitamin B2 – Riboflavin – starving the cells of the energy.
“Our observation is that DPI is selectively attacking the cancer stem cells, by effectively creating a vitamin deficiency,” explained Professor Lisanti. “In other words, by turning off energy production in cancer stem cells, we are creating a process of hibernation.
“The beauty of this is that DPI makes the cancer stem cells metabolically-inflexible, so they will be highly susceptible to a many other drugs”.
Chemotherapy produces many nasty side-effects, because it helps create toxic free radicals. However, DPI did not increase free radicals.
The Salford team – which specialises in the discovery new non-toxic therapies – and has published substantially on the anti-cancer impacts of Vitamin C and antibiotics - is calling the discovery the start of a new type of chemotherapy, and they even have a name for it ‘Mitoflavoscins’.
“In terms of chemotherapies for cancer, we clearly need something better that what we have at present, and this is hopefully the beginning of an alternative approach to halting cancer stem cells,” commented Professor Federica Sotgia, a co-author of the study.
New warning system discovered in the immune defence
12 January 2018 Linköping Universitet
Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have discovered a previously unknown warning system that contributes to the body’s immune system. Mitochondria in the white blood cells secrete a web of DNA fibres that raises the alarm. The results have been published in the scientific journal PNAS, and may lead to increased knowledge about autoinflammatory diseases and cancer.
White blood cells are major components of the body’s immune defence, and the research group has shown that several types of these cells react against small DNA fragments that are similar to the DNA from bacteria and viruses. The white blood cells spray out a web consisting of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) strands. Mitochondria are present in all cells and normally produce the energy needed by the cell, by burning sugar and fat to form water and carbon dioxide.
The web that the mitochondria release sends signals to the surrounding cells that the body is under attack, and cause other white blood cells to release a signal substance known as “interferon type 1”. This substance helps the immune system to combat the infection.
Previous studies have shown that the level of mtDNA in the blood can be elevated after certain inflammatory diseases and after some surgical traumas.
“We show that the white blood cells in the immune system can release mtDNA outside the cells in an active process in response to infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses. The discovery raises the possibility of further studies in which we will try to reduce the release of mtDNA, and in this way reduce the inflammation that it causes,” explains Björn Ingelsson, researcher and associate lecturer at the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at Linköping University. He has conducted the research together with Professor Emeritus Anders Rosén and other co-workers.
Other types of web formed by white blood cells in the immune system (known as “neutrophils”) have been previously known. These cells release meshes coated with antibacterial proteins. However, the formation of the newly discovered mtDNA webs differs fundamentally from that of the other types of web. The researchers have shown that the mtDNA webs are activated within a couple of minutes, which is faster than the neutrophil-based meshes. The latter also lack the signal function that the mtDNA webs have. Further, the mtDNA webs survive in the blood longer before being dissolved.
But surely this is a positive process in which the immune defence works to remove the intruding bacteria or viruses?
“Well, of course it’s positive that the defence mechanisms are activated. But remember that you can have too much of a good thing. If an unintentional secretion of mtDNA occurs, or if the secreted mtDNA is not removed from the blood, undesired inflammation may occur, and it is this side-effect we want to prevent,” says Björn Ingelsson.
High levels of interferon type 1, the signal substance activated by the mtDNA webs, occur in several autoimmune diseases and several types of cancer. The researchers believe that it may be possible to quantify the secreted mtDNA molecules and interpret the warning signals, and in this way understand these diseases better.
The research has been financed with support from Linköping Medical Society, Linköping University, Region Östergötland, the Ingrid Asp Foundation and the Swedish Cancer Society.
Immune system: The body’s street sweepers
18 December 2017 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen (LMU)
A new study by medical researchers at LMU extends the list of tasks performed by the smallest blood cells known as platelets: At sites of infection, actively migrating platelets sweep bacteria into aggregates for disposal by phagocytic cells.
The active role of blood platelets in immune defense has been underestimated. A new study now published by LMU medical researchers led by Dr. Florian Gärtner and Professor Steffen Massberg, shows that this cell type has a larger range of functions than previously thought. Thrombocytes are best known for their role in blood coagulation and wound-healing. But they are not only adept at patching up tears in the endothelial cell layer that lines the blood vessels. “They are also important in defending the organism against bacterial pathogens. They have the capacity to actively migrate within the organism, to interact with pathogens and immobilize them.” This is lead author Florian Gärtner’s summary of the major findings of a study that has just appeared in the leading journal Cell.
Some 750 billion platelets are passively transported in the bloodstream throughout the adult human body. Platelets adhere specifically to sites in the vasculature where the endothelial cells have been damaged by binding via surface receptors to proteins in the sub-endothelial cell layer. They then spread out on the extracellular matrix, and interact with one another to form a network that acts like a sticking plaster to seal the wound.
Furthermore, they are intimately involved in initiating blood coagulation at wound sites, but also in the development of blood clots (thromboses) which can obstruct blood circulation.
In a project carried out under the auspices of the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center (Sonderforschungsbereich) SFB 914 (which focuses on the investigation of immune cell migration in inflammation, development and disease) Gärtner, Massberg and colleagues recently developed a way to track individual platelets at the site of an inflammatory reaction for extended periods. These observations revealed an unsuspected function of this cell type. “Not only do they attach to bacterial cells by passively sticking to the vascular wall, they are also capable of active locomotion,” says Gärtner. At sites of inflammation or infection, platelets begin to actively explore their immediate environment, and when they come into contact with foreign bodies, such as invasive bacteria, they use the traction associated with locomotion to collect them into bundles, rather like street-sweepers clearing up debris. The resulting platelet-bacterial aggregates facilitate the activation of neutrophils, which engulf the trapped microbes.
The reason why the versatility of platelets has so far been overlooked may well lie in the fact that they are derived from giant precursor cells called megakaryocytes by fragmentation, and therefore lack nuclei. The work of Gärtner und Massberg demonstrates that they are nevertheless capable of undergoing dynamic shape change and active migration. This finding has implications that extend beyond their role in immune defense, because it reveals what anucleate cells can do. “This is a very striking demonstration that the cytoskeletal apparatus responsible for cell motility does not depend on the presence of a nucleus,” Gärtner says.
In addition, the new results make platelets an attractive target for drug developers searching for novel ways to treat inflammation reactions. As Gärtner points out, “one way to modulate the action of the body‘s immune defenses would be to inhibit the ability of platelets to migrate.”
Management Studies: Dishonesty Shift
19 September 2017 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen (LMU)
Lying comes more easily to people in teams: Behavioral scientists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have shown in an experimental study why groups are more likely to behave unethically than individuals.
Honesty is a virtue and generally lauded as a vital moral value. But a new study carried out by Martin G. Kocher, Simeon Schudy and Lisa Spantig at LMU, which appears in the journal Management Science, shows that, when decisions are taken by groups, respect for truth soon gives way to other considerations.
Recent years have shown numerous instances of unethical behavior. Corporate entities and organizations have engaged in unethical practices, including covert breaches of regulatory norms, questionable accounting practices and corruption. Indeed, such practices by executives and employees in pursuit of competitive or personal advantage have become a regular source of headlines in the media. In the new study, Martin Kocher and his colleagues have used an experimental setting to investigate the circumstances that facilitate such dishonesty. In particular, they asked whether disregard for moral norms is a matter of individual choice or a product of structural factors within groups.
A total of 273 students took part in the study. Participants had to watch a video of a single die roll and report the outcome. The number they reported determined their pay-off. In this situation, participants faced a tradeoff between reporting truthfully and reporting a number that corresponded to a higher payoff. The task was presented either to individual participants or to small groups. In the group condition, group members saw the same video and were able to chat anonymously with each other before they reported the outcome of the die roll.
“Our findings are unequivocal: People are less likely to lie if they decide on their own,” says Martin Kocher, who holds the Chair of Behavioral Economics at LMU and is Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Vienna. Even groups composed of participants who reported truthfully when being asked individually frequently decided to misreport. The researchers refer to this phenomenon as a ‘dishonesty shift’. Their experiments suggest that the exchange of arguments over the validity of the honesty norm is the main driver of this effect: “Feedback is the decisive factor.
Group-based decision-making involves an exchange of views that may alter the relative weight assigned to the relevant norm. In such a setting, the participants can more readily reinterpret the norm than in cases where the decision is made on an individual basis,” explains Lisa Spantig, PhD student and manager of the experimental laboratory for economic and social sciences at LMU. The study also shows that these discussions tend to make participants more pessimistic about norm compliance of others and, in turn, help groups to justify their dishonest behavior.
The experiment allowed the researchers to isolate these mechanisms under abstract conditions. For example, the experimental design did not include any sanctions against misreporting. The results of the study suggest that companies may benefit from monitoring such team-based decision-making processes more closely. “It is striking that many of the most prominent instances of corporate cheating in recent years have involved groups,” says Spantig. For example, a former analyst for Enron, an American energy firm that went bankrupt as the result of corrupt accounting practices, said “it was no great secret what we were doing”. To combat such behavior “…firms have to establish strong ethical norms with the help of codes of conduct but also monitor group decision making processes and sanction norm violations,” says Assistant Professor Simeon Schudy.
Initial Prototypes Developed
12 July 2017 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
A year ago, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT opened the Blockchain Lab. Its customers come from all sectors of business. They want to know if there is any substance to the hype around the new technology. And what does it mean for their industry? The Fraunhofer experts shed light on these issues, identify use cases and develop prototypes.
“For many people, the word blockchain evokes images of payment transactions and bitcoins. However, the technology’s real potential resides above all in the realm of process traceability,” says Prof. Gilbert Fridgen from Fraunhofer FIT, who gives workshops to familiarize representatives from business and industry with blockchain.
Decentralized database
A blockchain is a sort of decentralized database. Each blockchain participant saves the complete database on his or her computer. If new data is added, the blockchain is updated everywhere. “Because each participant has a current copy of the database, it is almost impossible to manipulate,” explains Prof. Wolfgang Prinz, Vice Chair of Fraunhofer FIT. Moreover, each data block is linked cryptographically to the next, making the database even more secure. If somebody tried to change any blockchain contents, all other participants would be able to recognize this immediately.
In a blockchain, each step of a process can be securely and irreversibly recorded together with all corresponding data. This makes them ideal for internal company documentation, for instance. “It would make audits much faster, easier and cheaper if all the relevant documents were registered in a blockchain,” says Fridgen. This would establish without any doubt who did what and when and how. “The ears of all our workshop participants pricked up here. Particularly in highly regulated sectors, expenditure on audits can often run into the millions.”
Simplifying global commodity trading
Many business processes can also be effectively implemented using blockchain solutions. For example, the experts in the Blockchain Lab have developed a prototype for handling global commodity trading. It documents each step of a transaction securely, transparently and traceably – from ordering all the way through to delivery. To date, banks have acted as certification authorities that guarantee, across national borders, that the trading partners are solvent and meet their contractual obligations. “In the future, our blockchain solution could assume this role,” says Prinz, adding that in general, blockchain is particularly interesting for companies whose business models are based on positions of trust and confidence: “Although blockchain cannot replace banks, notaries or auditors yet, the technology offers a lot of potential in precisely this area.”
Blockchain also presents providers of online trading platforms with a challenge, as the new technology would enable buyers and sellers to conduct secure transactions with each other directly – without additional protection by the platform operator. “With blockchain technology, it would be possible to establish a new generation of the Internet. To the Internet of Things, which everyone is talking about at the moment, we could add an Internet of Confidence,” believes Prinz.
Secure proof of origin
Blockchain holds out a lot of promise for the logistics industry, too: it could document transport chains end to end, thereby guaranteeing the authenticity of the shipped object. “A blockchain solution already exists for diamond transports,” says Prinz. In addition, blockchain could be used to securely certify the origin of medicines or food and verify issues such as whether refrigeration was guaranteed throughout the transportation process.
“In collaboration with our workshop participants, we’ve identified numerous potential applications. Although we’re still just working with prototypes, development can happen very quickly. That’s why it’s important to act now to adapt business models to the new technology and use the technology to optimize processes,” emphasizes Fridgen.
Diagnostic biomarkers in saliva show promise in recognizing early Alzheimer’s disease
18 May 2017 IOS Press
Noninvasive test uses small molecules in saliva to help identify those at risk
Your spit may hold a clue to future brain health. Investigators at the Beaumont Research Institute, part of Beaumont Health in Michigan, are hopeful that their study involving small molecules in saliva will help identify those at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease - a neurologic condition predicted to reach epidemic proportions worldwide by 2050.
Their study, “Diagnostic Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease as Identified in Saliva using 1H NMR-Based Metabolomics” was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 58(2) on May 16.
Investigators found salivary molecules hold promise as reliable diagnostic biomarkers.
The study exemplifies the quest by scientists to combat Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder with no cure and few reliable diagnostic tests. In the United States, Alzheimer’s is a health epidemic affecting more than 5 million Americans. Investigators seek to develop valid and reliable biomarkers, diagnosing the disease in its earliest stages before brain damage occurs and dementia begins.
Researcher Stewart Graham, Ph.D., said, “We used metabolomics, a newer technique to study molecules involved in metabolism. Our goal was to find unique patterns of molecules in the saliva of our study participants that could be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in the earliest stages, when treatment is considered most effective. Presently, therapies for Alzheimer’s are initiated only after a patient is diagnosed and treatments offer modest benefits.”
Metabolomics is used in medicine and biology for the study of living organisms. It measures large numbers of naturally occurring small molecules, called metabolites, present in the blood, saliva and tissues. The pattern or fingerprint of metabolites in the biological sample can be used to learn about the health of the organism.
“Our team’s study demonstrates the potential for using metabolomics and saliva for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease,” explained Dr. Graham. “Given the ease and convenience of collecting saliva, the development of accurate and sensitive biomarkers would be ideal for screening those at greatest risk of developing Alzheimer’s. In fact, unlike blood or cerebrospinal fluid, saliva is one of the most noninvasive means of getting cellular samples and it’s also inexpensive.”
The study participants included 29 adults in three groups: mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and a control group. After specimens were collected, the researchers positively identified and accurately quantified 57 metabolites. Some of the observed variances in the biomarkers were significant. From their data, they were able to make predictions as to those at most risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
Said Dr. Graham, “Worldwide, the development of valid and reliable biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease is considered the No. 1 priority for most national dementia strategies. It’s a necessary first step to design prevention and early-intervention research studies.”
As Americans age, the number of people affected by Alzheimer’s is rising dramatically. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, by 2050, it’s estimated the number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease will triple to about 15-16 million.
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia affecting a person’s ability to think, communicate and function. It greatly impacts their relationships, their independence and lifestyle. The condition’s toll not only affects millions of Americans, but in 2017, it could cost the nation $259 billion.
The Beaumont Research Institute study was partly funded by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation.
The eight investigators are now seeking additional funding to conduct a larger, three-year study with significantly more participants to validate the pilot study. Seven of the researchers are with the Beaumont Research Institute; Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine; and one is with the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
Narcissism and social networking
18 April 2017 Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, JMU
Social networks are an ideal stage for narcissists to showcase themselves. Accordingly, a lot of people with narcissistic traits are drawn to these platforms as a new study conducted by psychologists from Würzburg and Bamberg shows.
Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have become an important part of the lives of many people worldwide. Around two billion users were active on Facebook at the end of 2016; 500 million regularly post photos on Instagram and more than 300 million communicate via Twitter.
Various studies conducted over the past years have investigated to what extent the use of social media is associated with narcissistic tendencies – with contradictory results. Some studies supported a positive relationship between the use of Facebook, Twitter and the likes, whereas others confirmed only weak or even negative effects.
Most comprehensive meta-analysis so far
Fresh findings are now presented by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories Bamberg and the University of Würzburg. They were able to show that there is a weak to moderate link between a certain form of narcissism and social media activity. When taking a differentiated look at specific forms of behaviour or at the participants' cultural background, the effect is even pronounced in some cases.
The study is managed by Professor Markus Appel, who holds the Chair of Media Communication at the University of Würzburg, and Dr. Timo Gnambs, head of the Educational Measurement section at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, Bamberg. For their meta-analysis, the scientists summarized the results of 57 studies comprising more than 25,000 participants in total. They have now published their findings in the Journal of Personality.
Forms of narcissism
They think of themselves as being exceptionally talented, remarkable and successful. They love to present themselves to other people and seek approval from them: This is how psychologists describe the typical behaviour of people commonly referred to as narcissists. "Accordingly, social networks such as Facebook are believed to be an ideal platform for these people," says Markus Appel.
The network gives them easy access to a large audience and allows them to selectively post information for the purpose of self-promotion. Moreover, they can meticulously cultivate their image. Therefore, researchers have suspected social networking sites to be an ideal breeding ground for narcissists from early on.
Three hypotheses
The recently published meta-analysis shows that the situation does not seem to be as bad as feared. The scientists examined the truth behind three hypotheses. Firstly, the assumption that grandiose narcissists frequent social networking sites more often than representatives of another form of narcissism, the "vulnerable narcissists". Vulnerable narcissism is associated with insecurity, fragile self-esteem, and social withdrawal.
Secondly, they assumed that the link between narcissism and the number of friends and certain self-promoting activities is much more pronounced compared to other activities possible on social networking sites.
Thirdly, the researchers hypothesized that the link between narcissism and the social networking behaviour is subject to cultural influences. In collectivistic cultures where the focus is on the community rather than the individual or where rigid roles prevail, social media give narcissists the opportunity to escape from prevalent constraints and present themselves in a way that would be impossible in public.
The results
The meta-analysis of the 57 studies did in fact confirm the scientists' assumptions. Grandiose narcissists are encountered more frequently in social networks than vulnerable narcissists. Moreover, a link has been found between the number of friends a person has and how many photos they upload and the prevalence of traits associated with narcissism. The gender and age of users is not relevant in this respect. Typical narcissists spend more time in social networks than average users and they exhibit specific behavioural patterns.
A mixed result was found for the influence of the cultural background on the usage behaviour. "In countries where distinct social hierarchies and unequal power division are generally more accepted such as India or Malaysia, there is a stronger correlation between narcissism and the behaviour in social media than in countries like Austria or the USA," says Markus Appel.
However, the analysis of the data from 16 countries on four continents does not show a comparable influence of the "individualism" factor.
Generation Me
So is the frequently cited "Generation Me" a product of social media such as Facebook and Instagram because they promote narcissistic tendencies? Or do these sites simply provide the ideal environment for narcissists? The two scientists were not able to finally answer these questions.
"We suggest that the link between narcissism and the behaviour in social media follows the pattern of a self-reinforcing spiral," Markus Appel says. An individual disposition controls the social media activities and these activities in turn reinforce the disposition. To finally resolve this question, more research has to be conducted over longer periods.
https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/sonstiges/meldungen/detail/artikel/narzissmus-im-netz/
In learning, every moment counts
03 March 2017 Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Psychologist at University of Jena uncovers strong variability in motivation in learning situations: In the current issue of the journal ‘Learning & Instruction’ Dr Julia Dietrich of Friedrich Schiller University (FSU) published her findings together with Jaana Viljaranta (University of Eastern Finland), Julia Moeller (Yale University) and Bärbel Kracke (FSU) on students’ expectations and efforts (DOI: 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.10.009).
Motivation can be a fickle thing – if we are motivated, we can achieve a great deal, but if motivation is lacking, we are easily overwhelmed. And we all know people who give the impression of being highly motivated all the time, while others seem to be chronically lacking in drive.
Just how variable individual motivation can be is the subject of research by Dr Julia Dietrich of Friedrich Schiller University in Jena (FSU), and she has published her findings in the current issue of the journal ‘Learning & Instruction’. Together with Jaana Viljaranta (University of Eastern Finland), Julia Moeller (Yale University) and Bärbel Kracke (FSU), she investigated students’ expectations and efforts (DOI: 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.10.009).
“It is known that motivation is an important factor for learning and performance, but research has so far been relatively general,” explains psychologist Dr Dietrich. To date, studies have primarily recorded how motivated people are in general and what drives them. “However, until now no one has studied the state of an individual’s motivation in a specific, time-limited situation, such as during a lecture or lesson at school,” she adds.
Three snapshots in a lecture
In order to determine this, during one semester 155 student teachers recorded their motivation three times within 90-minute lectures. “To do this they had to answer questions, which were always the same, during 10 lectures on Educational Psychology, either using their smartphone or on paper. Among other things, we wanted to know how competent they felt at that particular moment, whether they understood the material or found it a strain to follow the lecture. They were also asked whether they enjoyed the content of the lecture and whether they found it useful,” explains Dietrich.
Even the researchers were astounded by the results of the non-representative study, because motivation fluctuated much more strongly during the 90 minutes than had previously been assumed. During a lecture, every single participant experienced phases of high motivation and of strong demotivation – completely independently of the other students in relation to the timing of those phases. “Interests are of course specific to individuals. So far, at any rate, we have been unable to detect any systematic trends such as particular materials or topics that caused motivation to rise or fall in all participants,” reports Dietrich. “The causes for the fluctuations need to be considered more carefully in future, in order to make learning contexts as a whole more motivating.”
The study was also able to show how closely intertwined motivation and effort are. The more effort one makes, the more motivated one feels. The reverse is also true: “A person who is motivated also makes more effort,” the 33-year-old psychologist explains.
Deriving recommendations for teachers
According to Dietrich, the crucial thing is to recognise that every learning situation and every moment counts: lecturers can ‘lose’ students at any time as they address them in the lecture theatre, but they can also win them back again. In spite of differences between individuals, the task is now to develop initial practical recommendations for teacher training as regards, for example, content, teaching methods or the use of materials. In addition, the investigation demonstrates how teaching staff can obtain immediate evaluations of changes to course content or new methods, instead of having to wait until the end of a semester for an evaluation using a questionnaire.
Julia Dietrich studied Psychology in her home town of Erfurt, Germany, and obtained a PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Erfurt in 2010. She subsequently spent two years at the University of Helsinki. Since 2013 she has been a member of Prof. Bärbel Kracke’s team at the University of Jena’s Department of Educational Psychology. Here, Dietrich will be doing further research on the ‘dark side’ of motivation. Giving an insight into the team’s future work, she says: “There are people who are very motivated and perform very well, but find it a great effort. Investigating what it ‘costs’ them to study, so that they are not at risk of burn-out at some time, will be the aim of our future studies.”
http://www.uni-jena.de/en/Research+News/FM170303_learning_motivation.html
Microbes
An infection can be seen as a battle between the invading pathogens and the host. Our bodies are equipped to fight off invading microbes that may cause disease. These are called our natural defences.
First line of defence
The first line of defence is non–specific and aims to stop microbes from entering the body. The skin and mucous membranes act as a physical barrier preventing penetration by microbes.
If the skin is cut then the blood produces a clot which seals the wound and prevents microbes from entering.
The surfaces of the body – the skin, digestive system, and the lining of the nose – are covered by a community of microbes called the normal body flora. They help to protect a host from becoming infected with more harmful micro-organisms by acting as a physical barrier. The normal body flora colonises these linings which reduces the area available for pathogens to attach to and become established. It also means that the harmful microbes have to compete with the normal body flora for nutrients. The average human gut contains around 1 kg of these good bacteria which is equivalent to one bag of sugar.
The respiratory system – the nose and passageways leading to the lungs – is lined with cells that produce sticky fluid called mucus that traps invading microbes and dust. Tiny hairs called cilia move in a wave-like motion and waft the microbes and dust particles up to the throat, where they are either coughed or sneezed out or swallowed and then passed out of the body in faeces.
The body produces several antimicrobial substances that kill or stop microbes from growing. For example the enzymes in tears and saliva break down bacteria.
The stomach produces acid which destroys many of the microbes that enter the body in food and drink. Urine as it flows through the urinary system flushes microbes out of the bladder and urethra.
Second line of defence
If microbes do manage to get inside the body then the second line of defence is activated. This is also non-specific as it stops any type of microbe. Phagocytes are a type of white blood cell that move by amoeboid action. They send out pseudopodia which allows them to surround invading microbes and engulf them. Phagocytes release digestive enzymes which break down the trapped microbes before they can do any harm. This process is called phagocytosis.
www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/about-microbiology/microbes-and-the-human-body