According to anthropological philosopher René Girard (1923–2015), an important human adaptation is our propensity to victimize or scapegoat. He argued that other traits upon which human sociality ...depends would have destabilized primate dominance-based social hierarchies, making conspecific conflict a limiting factor in hominin evolution. He surmised that a novel mechanism for inhibiting intragroup conflict must have emerged contemporaneously with our social traits, and speculated that this was the tendency to spontaneously unite around the victimization of single individuals. He described an unconscious tendency to both ascribe blame and to imbue the accused with a sacred mystique. This emotionally cathartic scapegoat mechanism, he claimed, enhanced social cohesion, and was the origin of religion, mythology, sacrifice, ritual, cultural institutions, and social norms. It would have functioned by modifying the beliefs and behaviors of the group, rather than of the accused, making the act of accusation more important than the substance. This article aims to examine the empirical evidence for Girard’s claims, and argues that the scapegoat hypothesis has commonalities with several other evolutionary hypotheses, including Wrangham’s execution hypothesis on self-domestication, Dunbar’s hypothesis on the role of storytelling in maintaining group stability, and DeScioli and Kurzban’s hypothesis on the role of non-consequentialist morality in curtailing conflict. Potential implications of the scapegoat hypothesis for evolutionary psychology and psychiatry are discussed.
Full text
Available for:
EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Macrocyclic Control in Helix Mimetics Guarracino, Danielle A; Riordan, Jacob A; Barreto, Gianna M ...
Chemical reviews,
09/2019, Volume:
119, Issue:
17
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The α-helix is the most commonly found natural secondary structure in proteins and is intrinsic to many protein–protein interactions involved in important biological functions. Novel peptides ...designed to mimic helices found in nature employ a variety of methods to control their structure. These approaches are significant due to potential applications in developing new therapeutic agents and materials. Over the years, many strategies have emerged to influence, initiate, and propagate helical content in short, synthetic peptides. Early innovations used the natural macrocycle tether of disulfide bond formation, metal-mediated or lactam group addition as a means to prompt helical formation. These examples have been applied to a host of peptides as inhibitors toward relevant diseases including cancer, viral and bacterial infection. In the most recent decades, hydrocarbon bridges to “staple” peptides across side chains or hydrogen bond surrogates in the backbone of peptides have been effective in producing biologically functional, helical peptidomimetics with non-natural elements, increased protease resistance and potency in vitro and in vivo. Modern methods expand and elaborate these, with applications of functional peptides from both synthetic and recombinant origins. Overall, efforts persist using these strategies to create peptides with great biological potential and a better understanding of the control of helical structure in protein folding.
Full text
Available for:
IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Introduction
Alcohol exposure is common in popular films, and research has demonstrated a link between alcohol exposure and use. The likelihood of implementing specific policies to reduce the amount ...of film exposure is dependent on the level of public support; however, evidence is currently lacking. This study investigated how supportive people are of film‐related alcohol policies and whether providing information about the amount of film exposure increased support.
Methods
Australian adults (N = 252) first provided estimates of how much alcohol they thought were in popular films and then were randomised to either see an infographic about the amount of alcohol in films or not. All participants rated how supportive they were of eight policies.
Results
The items ‘alcoholic beverages and consumption should not be shown in G or PG rated films’ (M = 3.54) and ‘alcohol should not be glorified in films’ (M = 3.49) were rated significantly higher than the scale's midpoint of 3 (p < 0.001). Participants who were older, female or reported lower alcohol use were more supportive of the policies. Only one policy item, ‘information about alcohol sponsorship should be provided’ received higher support from those who received the infographic compared to those who did not (M = 3.53 vs. M = 3.05; t(250) = −3.09, p = 0.002).
Discussion and Conclusion
Participants were relatively supportive of film alcohol policies. However, providing information about the amount of alcohol in films did not make a difference on the level of support for most film alcohol policies.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Cross-cultural studies that use self-report instruments can present researchers with a variety of challenges. This article reviews the organizational research literature between the years of 1995 and ...2001 to identify common practices prevalent in this type of research. Key methodological issues are examined within the context of a three-stage framework: (a) the development of the research question, (b) the alignment of the research contexts, and (c) the validation of the research instruments. This examination serves as a basis for the identification of best-practice recommendations for cross-cultural researchers.
Full text
Available for:
CEKLJ, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have the potential to meet evolving Li‐ion battery demands, but for these electrolytes to satisfy growing power and energy density requirements, both transport ...properties and electrochemical stability must be improved. Unfortunately, improvement in one of these properties often comes at the expense of the other. To this end, a “hybrid aqueous/ionic liquid” SPE (HAILSPE) which incorporates triethylsulfonium‐TFSI (S2,2,2) or N‐methyl‐N‐propylpyrrolidinium‐TFSI (Pyr1,3) ionic liquid (IL) alongside H2O and LiTFSI salt to simultaneously improve transport and electrochemical stability is studied. This work focuses on the impact of HAILSPE composition on electrochemical performance. Analysis shows that an increase in LiTFSI content results in decreased ionic mobility, while increasing IL and water content can offset its impact. pfg‐NMR results reveal that preferential lithium‐ion transport is present in HAILSPE systems. Higher IL concentrations are correlated with an increased degree of passivation against H2O reduction. Compared to the Pyr1,3 systems, the S2,2,2 systems exhibit a stronger degree of passivation due to the formation of a multicomponent interphase layer, including LiF, Li2CO3, Li2S, and Li3N. The results herein demonstrate the superior electrochemical stability of the S2,2,2 systems compared to Pyr1,3 and provide a path toward further enhancement of HAILSPE performance via composition optimization.
The electrochemical properties polyacrylonitrile‐based “hybrid aqueous/ionic liquid” solid polymer electrolytes (HAILSPEs) are investigated through the lens of composition‐function relationships. Plasticizing HAILSPEs with triethylsulfonium‐TFSI (S2,2,2) or N‐methyl‐N‐propylpyrrolidinium‐TFSI (Pyr1,3) ionic liquid offsets any deleterious effects due to aggregation of LiTFSI that H2O alone cannot overcome. Ionic liquids also assist in passivation against water reduction through the formation of multicomponent solid electrolyte interphases.
Full text
Available for:
FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Background
Discharge prescribing error is common. Little is known about whether it persists post-discharge.
Objective
To explore the relationship between discharge prescribing error and ...post-discharge medication error.
Setting
This was a prospective observational study (March–May 2013) at an adult academic hospital in Ireland.
Method
Patients using three or more chronic medications pre-admission, with a clinical pharmacist documented gold-standard pre-admission medication list, having a chronic medication stopped or started in hospital and discharged to home were included. Within 10–14 days after discharge a gold standard discharge medication was prepared and compared to the discharge prescription to identify differences. Patients were telephoned to identify actual medication use. Community pharmacists, general practitioners and hospital prescribers were contacted to corroborate actual and intended medication use. Post-discharge medication errors were identified and the relationship to discharge prescribing error was explored.
Main outcome measured
Incidence, type, and potential severity of post-discharge medication error, and the relationship to discharge prescribing.
Results
Some 36 (43 %) of 83 patients experienced post-discharge medication error(s), for whom the majority (n = 31, 86 %) were at risk of moderate harm. Most (58 of 66) errors were discharge prescribing errors that persisted post-discharge. Unintentional prescription of an intentionally stopped medication; error in the dose, frequency or formulation and unintentional omission of active medication are the error types most likely to persist after discharge.
Conclusion
There is a need to implement discharge medication reconciliation to support medication optimisation post-hospitalisation.
Full text
Available for:
EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The report of the expert group on the review of the Mental Health Act has recommended that the requirement to consider the best interests of the person be replaced by a list of guiding principles, ...which focus on the autonomy of the individual. The implied rationale for this is that acting in our patients’ best interests may be a violation of their human rights. Dignity is being proposed as an alternative way of capturing ‘the positive aspects associated with best interests’, but it is not clear how dignity is preferable to best interests. Both approaches may help protect the most vulnerable from exploitation. However, unlike best interests, dignity can be used as a synonym for autonomy. Valuing autonomy as a means to an end (instrumental value) should be distinguished from valuing autonomy as an end in itself (intrinsic value). As the ultimate end of instrumental autonomy is invariably the person’s best interests, abandoning that principle renders instrumental autonomy obsolete, leaving intrinsic autonomy as the supreme value. As best interest, dignity and autonomy rarely conflict, the proposed changes may appear minor, but they are not. When such values do conflict, acting against our patients’ interests may become inevitable.
OBJECTIVE:Acute renal injury and failure (ARF) after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has been linked to low on-pump hematocrit (hematocrit). We aimed to 1) elucidate if and how this relation is ...modulated by the duration of CPB (TCPB) and on-pump packed red blood cell transfusions and 2) to quantify the impact of post-CPB renal injury on operational outcome and resource utilization.
DESIGN:Retrospective review.
SETTING:A Northwest Ohio community hospital.
PATIENTS:Adult coronary artery bypass surgery patients with CPB but no preoperative renal failure.
INTERVENTIONS:None.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:We quantified post-CPB renal injury via 1) the peak postoperative change in serum creatinine (Cr) level relative to pre-CPB values (%ΔCr) and 2) ARF, defined as the coincidence of post-CPB Cr ≥2.1 mg/dL and >2 times pre-CPB Cr. The separate effects of lowest hematocrit, intraoperative packed RBC transfusions, and TCPB on %ΔCr and ARF were derived via multivariate regression, overlapping quintile subgroup analyses, and propensity matching. Lowest hematocrit (22.0% ± 4.6% sd), TCPB (94 ± 35 mins), and pre-CPB Cr (1.01 ± 0.23 mg/dL) varied widely. %ΔCr varied substantially (24 ± 57%), and ARF was documented in 89 patients (5.1%). Both %ΔCr (p < .001) and ARF (p < .001) exhibited sigmoidal dose-dependent associations to lowest hematocrit that were 1) modulated by TCPB such that the renal injury was exacerbated as TCPB increased, 2) worse in patients with relatively elevated pre-CPB Cr (≥1.2 mg/dL), and 3) worse with intraoperative packed red blood cell transfusions (n = 385; 21.9%), in comparison with patients at similar lowest hematocrit. Operative mortality (p < .01) and hospital stays (p < .001) were increased systematically and significantly as a function of increased post-CPB renal injury.
CONCLUSIONS:CPB hemodilution to hematocrit <24% is associated with a systematically increased likelihood of renal injury (including ARF) and consequently worse operative outcomes. This effect is exacerbated when CPB is prolonged with intraoperative packed red blood cell transfusions and in patients with borderline renal function. Our data add to the concerns regarding the safety of currently accepted CPB practice guidelines.
PDF
