Prior research suggests that partisanship can influence how legislators learn from each other. However, same-party governments are also more likely to share similar issues, ideological preferences ...and constituency demands. Establishing a causal link between partisanship and policy learning is difficult. In collaboration with a non-profit organization, this study isolates the role of partisanship in a real policy learning context. As part of a campaign promoting a new policy among local representatives in the United States, the study randomized whether the initiative was endorsed by co-partisans, out-partisans or both parties. The results show that representatives are systematically more interested in the same policy when it is endorsed by co-partisans. Bipartisan initiatives also attract less interest than co-partisan policies, and no more interest than out-partisan policies, even in more competitive districts. Together, the results suggest that ideological considerations cannot fully explain partisan-based learning. The study contributes to scholarship on policy diffusion, legislative signaling and interest group access.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs important in gene regulation. They are able to regulate mRNA translation through base-pair complementarity. Cellular miRNAs have been involved in the ...regulation of nearly all cellular pathways, and their deregulation has been associated with several diseases such as cancer. Given the importance of microRNAs to cell homeostasis, it is no surprise that viruses have evolved to take advantage of this cellular pathway. Viruses have been reported to be able to encode and express functional viral microRNAs that target both viral and cellular transcripts. Moreover, viral inhibition of key proteins from the microRNA pathway and important changes in cellular microRNA pool have been reported upon viral infection. In addition, viruses have developed multiple mechanisms to avoid being targeted by cellular microRNAs. This complex interaction between host and viruses to control the microRNA pathway usually favors viral infection and persistence by either reducing immune detection, avoiding apoptosis, promoting cell growth, or promoting lytic or latent infection. One of the best examples of this virus-host-microRNA interplay emanates from members of the Herperviridae family, namely the herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), and the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). In this review, we will focus on the general functions of microRNAs and the interactions between herpesviruses, human hosts, and microRNAs and will delve into the related mechanisms that contribute to infection and pathogenesis.
How do parties respond to public opinion shifts on the campaign trail? While a vast literature looks at ideological updating across elections, the dynamics of short-term responsiveness remain largely ...a black box. I argue that campaign rhetoric reflects parties’ need to balance office and policy goals. Shifts in voter preferences alter the salience of these goals, leading parties to adjust their strategies. A novel data set combining opinion polls with campaign statements by 68 European parties provides support for this argument. Parties performing well in the campaign pursue their dominant aims. However, when voters shift away from a party, leaders are impelled to accommodate their secondary goals: mainstream parties polarize to secure the support of core voters, while niche parties moderate their rhetoric to guarantee survival in parliament. The fluidity of party positioning uncovered here helps in enlightening multiple questions left open by previous studies of policy responsiveness.
Pepinsky, Goodman, and Ziller (2024, American Political Science Review, PGZ) reassess a recent study on the long-term consequences of concentration camps in Germany. The authors conclude that ...accounting for contemporary (i.e., post-treatment) state heterogeneity in the models provides unbiased estimates of the effects of camps on current-day outgroup intolerance. In this note, we show that PGZ’s empirical strategy rests on (a) a mischaracterization of what regional fixed effects capture and (b) two unrealistic assumptions that can be avoided with pre-treatment state fixed effects. We further demonstrate that results from the original article remain substantively the same when we incorporate regional fixed effects correctly. Finally, simulations reveal that camp proximity consistently outperforms spatially correlated noise in this specific study. The note contributes to the growing literature on legacy studies by advancing the discussion about the correct modeling choices in this challenging field.
Three-dimensional (3D) maps are used extensively in a variety of applications, from air and noise pollution modelling to location-based services such as 3D mapping-aided Global Navigation Satellite ...Systems (GNSS), and positioning and navigation for emergency service personnel, unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous vehicles. However, the financial cost associated with creating and updating 3D maps using the current state-of-the-art methods such as laser scanning and aerial photogrammetry are prohibitively expensive. To overcome this, researchers have proposed using GNSS signals to create 3D maps. This paper advances that family of methods by proposing and implementing a novel technique that avoids the difficult step of directly classifying GNSS signals into line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight classes by utilising edge detection techniques adapted from computer vision. This prevents classification biases and increases the range of environments in which GNSS-based 3D mapping methods can be accurately deployed. Being based on the patterns of blockage and attenuation of GNSS signals that are freely and globally available to receive by many mobile phones, makes the proposed technique a free, scalable and accessible solution. This paper also identifies some key indicators affecting data collection scalability and efficiency of the 3D mapping solution.
Background and purpose
Blood‐based biomarkers are promising tools for the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) at prodromal stages (mild cognitive impairment MCI) and are hoped to be implemented as ...screening tools for patients with cognitive complaints. In this work, we evaluated the potential of peripheral neurological biomarkers to predict progression to AD dementia and the relation between blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD markers in MCI patients referred from a general neurological department.
Methods
A group of 106 MCI patients followed at the Neurology Department of Coimbra University Hospital was included. Data regarding baseline neuropsychological evaluation, CSF levels of amyloid β 42 (Aβ42), Aβ40, total tau (t‐Tau), and phosphorylated tau 181 (p‐Tau181) were available for all the patients. Aβ42, Aβ40, t‐Tau, p‐Tau181, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels were determined in baseline stored serum and plasma samples by commercial SiMoA (Single Molecule Array) assays. Progression from MCI to AD dementia was assessed at follow‐up (mean = 5.8 ± 3.4 years).
Results
At baseline, blood markers NfL, GFAP, and p‐Tau181 were significantly increased in patients who progressed to AD at follow‐up (p < 0.001). In contrast, plasma Aβ42/40 ratio and t‐Tau showed no significant differences between groups. NfL, GFAP, and p‐Tau181 demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy to identify progression to AD dementia (area under the curve AUC = 0.81, 0.80, and 0.76, respectively), which improved when combined (AUC = 0.89). GFAP and p‐Tau181 were correlated with CSF Aβ42. Association of p‐Tau181 with NfL was mediated by GFAP, with a significant indirect association of 88% of the total effect.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the potential of combining blood‐based GFAP, NfL, and p‐Tau181 to be applied as a prognostic tool in MCI.
Findings on the application of blood‐based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease in a cohort of Portuguese mild cognitive impairment patients.
Previous studies showed that very preterm children have a delay in communicative (gestures) and linguistic development as compared to full-term children. Earlier use of gestures, as well as of word ...comprehension and production, have been found to be predictive of subsequent word production and/or language delay in both very preterm and full-term children. Not many studies on communicative antecedents of language, however, have been carried out with low-risk preterm children in comparison to full-term children.
In the present study a sample (
= 142) of low-risk preterm children has been followed using the Galician version of the Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) at the ages of 10, 22, and 30 months of age and their results were compared to the results from a sample (
= 49) of full-term children at the same ages. The determinants of language measures (vocabulary and grammar) at 30 months of age have been studied through linear regression analyses.
ANOVA results indicate that there were no significant differences between the groups in any of the measures obtained with the CDI at any time, nor were there any differences in lexical or grammatical developmental trajectories between both groups (repeated measures ANOVA). Linear regression analyses showed that the predictors of language at 30 months of age are somewhat different for the full-term than for the preterm group.
While the use of first communicative gestures at 10 months is a predictor of word production at 30 months of age for the full-term group, participation in games and routines seems to play a significant predictive role for preterm children. Word production at 22 months is the factor with a major incidence on word production at the age of 30 months for both groups. Previous specific measures of grammatical development have a clear determinant role in grammar measures at 30 months of age for the full-term children, while in the case of preterm children previous lexical development seems to be more relevant.
To test whether remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) as adjuvant to standard of care (SOC) would prevent progression towards heart failure (HF) after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). ...Single-centre parallel 1:1 randomized trial (computerized block-randomization, concealed allocation) to assess superiority of RIC (3 cycles of intermittent 5 min lower limb ischaemia) over SOC in consecutive STEMI patients (NCT02313961, clinical trials.gov). From 258 patients randomized to RIC or SOC, 9 and 4% were excluded because of unconfirmed diagnosis and previously unrecognized exclusion criteria, respectively. Combined primary outcome of cardiac mortality and hospitalization for HF was reduced in RIC compared with SOC (
n
= 231 and 217, respectively; HR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.15–0.78) as well as each outcome in isolation. No difference was found in serum troponin I levels between groups. Median and maximum follow-up time were 2.1 and 3.7 years, respectively. In-hospital HF (RR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.47–0.98), need for diuretics (RR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.48–0.97) and inotropes and/or intra-aortic balloon pump (RR = 0.17, 95% CI 0.04–0.76) were decreased in RIC. On planned 12 months follow-up echocardiography (
n
= 193 and 173 in RIC and SOC, respectively) ejection fraction (EF) recovery was enhanced in patients presenting with impaired left ventricular (LV) function (10% absolute difference in median EF compared with SOC;
P
< 0.001). In addition to previously reported improved myocardial salvage index and reduced infarct size RIC was shown beneficial in a combined hard clinical endpoint of cardiac mortality and hospitalization for HF. Improved EF recovery was also documented in patients with impaired LV function.
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