α-Synuclein (α-syn) protein and a fragment of it, called NAC, have been found in association with the pathological lesions of a number of neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, mutations in the α-syn ...gene have been reported in families susceptible to an inherited form of Parkinson's disease. We have shown that human wild-type α-syn, mutant α-syn(Ala30Pro) and mutant α-syn(Ala53Thr) proteins can self-aggregate and form amyloid-like filaments. Here we report that aggregates of NAC and α-syn proteins induced apoptotic cell death in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. These findings indicate that accumulation of α-syn and its degradation products may play a major role in the development of the pathogenesis of these neurodegenerative diseases.
In this paper, we argue that calls for widespread implementation of ethics measurement systems would be better informed by institutional economic analysis. Specifically, we assert that proponents of ...such systems must first recognize and understand the institutions that potentially impede such efforts. We identify two potential institutional impediments to measuring ethics and social responsibility. First, we suggest that neoclassical economics, supported by traditional business education and legal precedent, serves to reinforce the notion that shareholders are the primary corporate constituency group. Such an emphasis on the needs of shareholders severely hinders implementation of measurement systems that address the needs of multiple stakeholder groups. Second, we argue that the threat of litigation may constrain corporate managers from measuring and considering ethics and corporate social responsibility matters. In particular, managers may be reluctant to quantify various ethical concerns if the resulting measurements could be used as evidence against the corporation in a lawsuit.
Abstract
We report the discovery and panchromatic follow-up observations of the young Type Ic supernova (SN Ic) SN 2020oi in M100, a grand-design spiral galaxy at a mere distance of 14 Mpc. We ...followed up with observations at radio, X-ray, and optical wavelengths from only a few days to several months after explosion. The optical behavior of the supernova is similar to those of other normal SNe Ic. The event was not detected in the X-ray band but our radio observations revealed a bright mJy source (
L
ν
≈
1.2
×
10
27
erg
s
−
1
Hz
−
1
). Given the relatively small number of stripped envelope SNe for which radio emission is detectable, we used this opportunity to perform a detailed analysis of the comprehensive radio data set we obtained. The radio-emitting electrons initially experience a phase of inverse Compton cooling, which leads to steepening of the spectral index of the radio emission. Our analysis of the cooling frequency points to a large deviation from equipartition at the level of
ϵ
e
/
ϵ
B
≳ 200, similar to a few other cases of stripped envelope SNe. Our modeling of the radio data suggests that the shock wave driven by the SN ejecta into the circumstellar matter (CSM) is moving at
∼
3
×
10
4
km
s
−
1
. Assuming a constant mass loss from the stellar progenitor, we find that the mass-loss rate is
M
̇
≈
1.4
×
10
−
4
M
⊙
yr
−
1
for an assumed wind velocity of
1000
km
s
−
1
. The temporal evolution of the radio emission suggests a radial CSM density structure steeper than the standard
r
−2
.
In this paper, we critically examine three situations in the accounting/auditing profession in which conflicts of interest arise. Specifically, we describe conflicts of interest that occur (1) ...because audit fees are paid by the very companies being audited, (2) due to the tension built into accountants codes of professional ethics between the responsibility to maintain client confidentiality and the need to serve the public trust, and (3) because of most auditors perspective of who is their primary client. Based on our analysis, we conclude that these three inherent conflicts of interest, in the absence of some unforeseen revolutionary changes, are likely to persist within the auditing profession. We also conclude that attempts to mitigate some of these conflicts of interest through the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation have only been moderately successful. We therefore propose that audit professionals must learn to identify and manage the conflicts of interest that will likely remain a part of the profession for the indefinite future.
The Beers (2012) criteria and the screening tool of older persons' potentially inappropriate prescriptions (STOPP) criteria are often used to identify potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use ...in elderly patients. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of PIM use in nursing home residents (NHRs) aged ≥65 years presenting to the Emergency Department (ED); to compare the Beers and STOPP criteria and to identify the potential role of PIMs in ED attendances.
The ED of an urban tertiary referral hospital.
Acutely unwell long-term care NHRs seeking medical assistance at the ED.
This is a retrospective cohort study. Demographic and clinical data were retrieved from the ED electronic record system, from the clinical records, and transfer letters for all NHRs who attended the ED in 2011. Beers 2012 and STOPP criteria were used to identify PIMs.
Of 195 NHRs identified, 165 were included. The mean age (±standard deviation) was 82.5 (±7.7) years; 110 (66.7%) were female and 157 (95.2%) were prescribed at least 1 PIM by either criterion. One hundred forty patients (84.8%) received a PIM according to STOPP criteria and 147 (89.1%) according to the Beers criteria. In the majority of patients (148; 89.7%), there was a difference in the medications Beers and STOPP identified as inappropriate. Fifty patients (30.3%) were considered to have a link between their attendance at ED and the PIM prescribed when assessed subjectively. Objective assessment using the WHO-UMC criteria found 7 (4.2%) had a 'probable' link and 45 (27.3%) a 'possible' link.
These results show a high rate of PIM prescribing in this cohort. The use of criteria such as Beers and STOPP may be a useful guide for physicians coordinating the long-term care of NHRs and may have the potential to reduce attendances at ED.
Positive aboveground biomass trends have been reported from old-growth forests across the Amazon basin and hypothesized to reflect a large-scale response to exterior forcing. The result could, ...however, be an artefact due to a sampling bias induced by the nature of forest growth dynamics. Here, we characterize statistically the disturbance process in Amazon old-growth forests as recorded in 135 forest plots of the RAINFOR network up to 2006, and other independent research programmes, and explore the consequences of sampling artefacts using a data-based stochastic simulator. Over the observed range of annual aboveground biomass losses, standard statistical tests show that the distribution of biomass losses through mortality follow an exponential or near-identical Weibull probability distribution and not a power law as assumed by others. The simulator was parameterized using both an exponential disturbance probability distribution as well as a mixed exponential-power law distribution to account for potential large-scale blowdown events. In both cases, sampling biases turn out to be too small to explain the gains detected by the extended RAINFOR plot network. This result lends further support to the notion that currently observed biomass gains for intact forests across the Amazon are actually occurring over large scales at the current time, presumably as a response to climate change.
OBJECTIVE: The literature reports considerable variation in the rates of psychiatric morbidity for patients with dementia with Lewy bodies. The authors intended to clarify the frequency of ...psychiatric morbidity in dementia with Lewy bodies and how it differs from probable Alzheimer's disease. METHOD: The study incorporated two groups-a clinical case register cohort (98 with dementia with Lewy bodies; 92 with Alzheimer's disease) and 80 (40 with dementia with Lewy bodies; 40 with Alzheimer's disease) prospectively studied, neuropathologically confirmed cases. Diagnoses were made by using the McKeith et al. consensus criteria for dementia with Lewy bodies and the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria for Alzheimer's disease. Neuropathological diagnoses were made by using the consensus criteria for dementia with Lewy bodies and the Mirra et al. protocol for Alzheimer's disease. RESULTS: The occurrence of psychiatric symptoms was reported over 1 month. Hallucinations, depression, delusions, and delusional misidentification were all significantly higher for patients with dementia with Lewy bodies. The differences in frequency between dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease for auditory and visual hallucinations were especially pronounced for patients with mild cognitive impairment. The presence of psychiatric symptoms at presentation was a better discriminator between dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease than occurrence over the course of dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Delusional misidentification and hallucinations in the early stages of dementia may improve differentiation between patients with dementia with Lewy bodies and those with Alzheimer's disease and have important treatment implications.
Inventory data from forest plots across Amazonia and a consistent regression approach were used to estimate aboveground biomass. Wood specific gravity data for 583 South American forest tree taxa ...were compiled from published sources, and aboveground biomass was estimated using two different equations derived from two independent datasets. Both equations expressed aboveground biomass as a function of tree diameter, with variation in wood specific gravity incorporated as a simple multiplication factor. Results revealed that mean stand-level wood density differed significantly between forest plots in different regions. Wood specific gravity and basal area accounted for a large proportion of the variation in aboveground biomass estimates derived using both regression equations. While differences in aboveground biomass were found between the two models, both exhibited similar spatial patterns because regional differences in aboveground biomass were largely a consequence of variations in specific gravity rather than basal area.
As part of the Large Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Experiment in Amazônia (LBA), we have developed a bottom‐up approach for estimating canopy‐scale fluxes of isoprene. Estimating isoprene fluxes for a ...given forest ecosystem requires knowledge of foliar biomass, segregated by species, and the isoprene emission characteristics of the individual tree species comprising the forest. In this study, approximately 38% of 125 tree species examined at six sites in the Brazilian Amazon emitted isoprene. Given logistical difficulties and extremely high species diversity, it was possible to screen only a small percentage of tree species, and we propose a protocol for estimating the emission capacity of unmeasured taxa using a taxonomic approach, in which we assign to an unmeasured genus a value based on the percentage of genera within its plant family which have been shown to emit isoprene.
Combining this information with data obtained from 14 tree censuses at four Neotropical forest sites, we have estimated the percentage of isoprene‐emitting biomass at each site. The relative contribution of each genus of tree is estimated as the basal area of all trees of that genus divided by the total basal area of the plot. Using this technique, the percentage of isoprene‐emitting biomass varied from 20% to 42% (mean=31%; SD=8%).
Responses of isoprene emission to varying light and temperature, measured on a sun‐adapted leaf of mango (Mangifera indica L.), suggest that existing algorithms developed for temperate species are adequate for tropical species as well. Incorporating these algorithms, estimates of isoprene‐emitting biomass, isoprene emission capacity, and site foliar biomass into a canopy flux model, canopy‐scale fluxes of isoprene were predicted and compared with the above‐canopy fluxes measured at two sites. Our bottom‐up approach overestimates fluxes by about 50%, but variations in measured fluxes between the two sites are largely explained by observed variation in the amount of isoprene‐emitting biomass.
ABSTRACT
Manuscript Type: Empirical
Research Question/Issue: We examine recent SEC regulations that are intended to increase the independence of mutual fund compliance officers.
Research ...Findings/Insights: The new SEC regulations require mutual fund compliance officers to report directly to the board of directors. The board is also now responsible for hiring/firing, and for approving the compliance officer's compensation. After a literature review and a survey of compliance officers and mutual fund board members, we conclude that SEC Rule 38a‐1 represents a positive step toward increasing compliance officer independence in the mutual fund industry in the United States.
Theoretical/Academic Implications: The direct reporting relationship established by Rule 38a‐1 between mutual fund compliance officers and boards of directors sets the industry apart from corporate America, in general, where compliance/ethics officers typically report to management. We assert that the increased board involvement in ethics and compliance‐related matters that results from the new SEC regulations allows mutual fund boards to govern more effectively.
Practitioner/Policy Implications: We contend that the SEC and other international regulators could improve independence and corporate governance even further if they required mutual fund compliance officers to be totally independent of management, by not allowing them to be employees of investment adviser companies.
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