scholarly journals New opportunities: Drosophila as a model system for exercise research

2019 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 482-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis P. Watanabe ◽  
Nicole C. Riddle
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Model System ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Exercise Promotion ◽  
Response To Exercise

Because of the growing rates of obesity in much of the world, exercise as a treatment option for obesity and as part of a healthy lifestyle is of great interest to the general public, health policy makers, and scientists alike. Despite the long history of exercise promotion and exercise research, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of how exercise impacts individuals and what role genetics plays in determining an individual’s response to exercise. Model organisms are positioned uniquely to help address these questions because of the challenges associated with carrying out large-scale, well-controlled studies in humans. The fruit fly model system, Drosophila melanogaster, has joined the models used for exercise research only recently but already has made significant contributions to the field. In this review, we highlight the opportunities for exercise research in Drosophila. We review the resources available to researchers interested in using Drosophila for exercise research, focusing on the existing systems to induce exercise in Drosophila, to measure the amount of exercise performed, and to assess physical fitness. We illustrate the potential of the Drosophila system by drawing attention to pioneering studies in Drosophila exercise research and emphasize the unique opportunities this model system represents.

The Social Life of Fighting Words

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-124
Author(s):  
Ronald S. Stade
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Correctness ◽  
Conceptual History ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Contemporary Context

Political correctness has become a fighting word used to dismiss and discredit political opponents. The article traces the conceptual history of this fighting word. In anthropological terms, it describes the social life of the concept of political correctness and its negation, political incorrectness. It does so by adopting a concept-in-motion methodology, which involves tracking the concept through various cultural and political regimes. It represents an attempt to synthesize well-established historiographic and anthropological approaches. A Swedish case is introduced that reveals the kind of large-scale historical movements and deep-seated political conflicts that provide the contemporary context for political correctness and its negation. Thereupon follows an account of the conceptual history of political correctness from the eighteenth century up to the present. Instead of a conventional conclusion, the article ends with a political analysis of the current rise of fascism around the world and how the denunciation of political correctness is both indicative of and instrumental in this process.

Legal and Economic Consequences of Russia's Expansionary Policy

2022 ◽  
pp. 243-256
Author(s):  
Giga Abuseridze ◽  
Janis Grasis
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Military Interventions ◽  
Black Sea Region ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Federation

In the recent history of the world, especially in the last two decades, large-scale military actions by Russia and Russian intervention have attracted wide international attention. Russia's increasingly confrontational stance has been manifested in military interventions in Georgia (2008) and in Ukraine (2014). The occupation/annexation of the territories of Georgia and Ukraine by the Russian Federation is a gross violation of the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of a country, as well as of the norms and principles of international law, that have significantly changed the international order established between the states and called into question the security of the Black Sea region and Europe as a whole. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a legal analysis of Russia's aggressive policy and the economic consequences of Ukraine and Georgia as aggrieved parties.

scholarly journals Shedding new light on opsin evolution

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1726) ◽  
pp. 3-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan L. Porter ◽  
Joseph R. Blasic ◽  
Michael J. Bok ◽  
Evan G. Cameron ◽  
Thomas Pringle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
History Of ◽  
Functional Features

Opsin proteins are essential molecules in mediating the ability of animals to detect and use light for diverse biological functions. Therefore, understanding the evolutionary history of opsins is key to understanding the evolution of light detection and photoreception in animals. As genomic data have appeared and rapidly expanded in quantity, it has become possible to analyse opsins that functionally and histologically are less well characterized, and thus to examine opsin evolution strictly from a genetic perspective. We have incorporated these new data into a large-scale, genome-based analysis of opsin evolution. We use an extensive phylogeny of currently known opsin sequence diversity as a foundation for examining the evolutionary distributions of key functional features within the opsin clade. This new analysis illustrates the lability of opsin protein-expression patterns, site-specific functionality (i.e. counterion position) and G-protein binding interactions. Further, it demonstrates the limitations of current model organisms, and highlights the need for further characterization of many of the opsin sequence groups with unknown function.

scholarly journals The Socio-Political History of China’s Three Gorges Dam

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlynn Lindsay Beckett
Keyword(s):  
Economic Benefit ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Three Gorges Dam ◽  
Three Gorges ◽  
The Yangtze River ◽  
The Three Gorges ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Three Gorges Dam

Around the world, the construction of large-scale dams has become a controversial environmental issue. A significant example of such a dam is the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China. The Yangtze River, considered the cradle of Chinese civilization, has fundamentally shaped Chinese livelihood, culture, transportation, and agriculture. Despite international and local dissent, as of 2012, the Three Gorges Dam has become a reality. Having fundamentally altered the river system, the biodiversity of the area is now threatened by flooded habitats upstream, drought downstream and a change in nutrient distribution. However, to better understand the reasoning behind the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, a deeper historical, cultural and political basis needs to be recognized. This paper will investigate how the specific history of China has led to the construction of the Dam. Throughout the 20th century, political leaders envisioned the Dam as a symbol of Chinese industrialization and modernization. Ironically, it was considered the ultimate achievement in China’s development. Communist views of mastery over nature played an important role in such political views. These views are not limited to China; the idea that humans should control nature for economic benefit is still evident throughout the world. Beyond the context of China, the Three Gorges Dam is a symbol of the larger systems that value economic benefit and industrialization over a sustainable environment. 

scholarly journals Evolution Framework of the Classical Economics of Urbanization

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Wu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Development Trend ◽  
Classical Field ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Classical Economics ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Urbanization Development

<pre>The urbanization is a process, but also a period of history; in theory, the classical economists had paid attention to the importance of urbanization on economic growth, also to examine those confusion in the growth and development of urbanization which facing the "dust, mud, swamp, jungle". What kind of urbanization need we pursuit? Petty, Smith, Marx, Marshall, Lewis, Yang Xiaokai and Harvey respectively researched from the different perspective of the development of urbanization in their view, this paper will be integrated into urbanization of the classical school of Architecture, and in time for the " longitude", the division of labor is the "latitude", depicts the main theory clues of urbanization by classical field which these scholars have analyzed. Overall, the urbanization problems encountered in the world today, which the classical economists have more or less analyzed or even if forecast and put forward appropriate solutions. It is very different from the study on the urbanization in the Neo-classical school who focus on technical analysis, the classical school of economists pay more attention to the analysis of the history of urbanization, class analysis and case analysis, they are very good at deep into the various contradictions and problems of urbanization development in the countries, to explore the cause, process and development trend of urbanization. They are extremely important wealth for policy makers and scholars who will research later on urbanization. It need timely summary of precipitation and learn from the discussion of the essence.</pre>

scholarly journals Perceptions of an Insufficient Government Response at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic are Associated with Lower Mental Well-Being

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiemo Fetzer ◽  
Marc Witte ◽  
Lukas Hensel ◽  
Jon Jachimowicz ◽  
Johannes Haushofer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Variation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Country Level ◽  
The World ◽  
Large Scale Survey ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Mental Well Being

We conducted a large-scale survey covering 58 countries (N = 108,075) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—between March 20th and April 7th 2020—to explore how beliefs about citizens’ and government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the actions taken by governments, affected mental well-being. Our analyses reveal three findings. First, many respondents indicate that their country’s citizens and government’s response was insufficient. Second, respondents’ perception of an insufficient public and government response was associated with lower mental well-being. Third, we exploit time variation in country-level lockdown announcements, both around the world and through an event-study in the UK, and find that strong government actions—i.e., announcing a nationwide lockdown—were related to an improvement in respondents’ views of their fellow citizens and government, and to better mental well-being. These findings suggest that policy-makers may not only need to consider how their decisions affect the spread of COVID-19, but also how such choices influence the mental well-being of their population.

scholarly journals Covid-19 transmission dynamics during the unlock phase and significance of testing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhijit Paul ◽  
Samrat Chatterjee ◽  
Nandadulal Bairagi
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Lower Growth ◽  
Epidemic Curve ◽  
Large Scale Testing ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lower Growth Rate

The pandemic disease Covid-19 caused by SARS-COV-2, which emerged from Wuhan, China, has established itself as the most devastating disease in the history of infectious disease, affecting 216 countries/territories across the world. Different countries have developed and adopted various policies to contain this epidemic and the most common were the social distancing and lockdown. Though some countries have come out of this pandemic, the infection is still increasing and remains very serious in the rest of the world. Even when the disease is not under control, many countries have withdrawn the lockdown and going through the phase-wise unlocking process, causing a further increment in the infection rate. In such a scenario, the role of the undetected class of infected individuals has become very crucial. The present study is an attempt to understand and estimate the possible epidemic burden during the unlock phase in the presence of an undetected class. We proposed a modified SEIR model and dissected the epidemiological status of different countries with the available data. With the initial establishment of the model with the epidemic data of four countries, which have already attained the epidemic peak, the study focused more on countries like India and the USA, where the epidemic curve is still growing, but the unlock process has started. As a straightforward result, we noticed a significant increase in the undetected and detected infected cases under the ongoing unlock phase. Under such conditions, our recalibration exercise showed that an increase in the testing could revert the existing growth rate of the infected cases to the lower growth rate of the lockdown period. Our present study emphasizes on the implementation of 3T principles, trace, test, and treat, to contain the epidemic. The significance of large scale testing in controlling the epidemic is true for both India and the USA though they have different socio-economic conditions. The use of repurposing drugs may further decrease the infected cases and help the disease controlling process. We believe our proposed strategy obtained through a mathematical model will help to make a better policy for the unlock phase.

scholarly journals Beyond programmatic versus patrimonial politics: contested conceptions of legitimate distribution in Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-436
Author(s):  
Portia Roelofs
Keyword(s):  
Public Goods ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
A Priori ◽  
African Politics ◽  
Private Goods ◽  
South West ◽  
Political Struggles ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Rich

AbstractThis article argues against the long-standing instinct to read African politics in terms of programmatic versus patrimonial politics. Unlike the assumptions of much of the current quantitative literature, there are substantive political struggles that go beyond ‘public goods good, private goods bad’. Scholarly framings serve to obscure the essentially contested nature of what counts as legitimate distribution. This article uses the recent political history of the Lagos Model in south-west Nigeria to show that the idea of patrimonial versus programmatic politics does not stand outside of politics but is in itself a politically constructed distinction. In adopting it a priori as scholars we commit ourselves to seeing the world through the eyes of a specific, often elite, constituency that makes up only part of the rich landscape of normative political contestation in Nigeria. Finally, the example of a large-scale empowerment scheme in Oyo State shows the complexity of politicians’ attempts to render distribution legitimate to different audiences at once.

Paleolimnology at the Local to Regional Scale: Records of Changing Watersheds and Industrialization

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Human Impacts ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Track Record ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Instrumental Records

Paleolimnologists have developed an impressive track record documenting the history of human influence on lakes and their surroundings, and using these historical inferences to help policy makers establish lake and ecosystem management goals. Our ability to do this depends on both a comparative analysis of multiple lake records, and a firmly established chronology. The comparative approach to paleolimnology allows us to differentiate local phenomena resulting from peculiarities of study watersheds from regional phenomena. Comparison of records also allows the timing of events to be placed in a regional context, where explanations of processes that affect large areas, like lake acidification, regional patterns of air pollution, or landscape disturbance may be more broadly interpretable. Comparative paleolimnology allows the researcher to study the multiple effects of local to regional-scale phenomena and differentiate them from global phenomena. Closely coupled with our requirement for a comparative approach to paleolimnology is the need to place events in a highly resolved chronology, especially over the past 200 years, the period of greatest interest to understanding major human alternations of the environment. In many parts of the world, including the highly industrialized and relatively well-‘‘monitored’’ environments of North America and Europe, instrumental records of water quality are either spotty or unavailable. Until the 1960s, the number of lakes with regular monitoring programs for even basic limnological parameters was extremely small. And in regions with numerous water bodies, selection criteria for the investigation of lakes often has had more to do with proximity to major research facilities or peculiarities of road access than with the needs of society. Paleolimnological records integrate ecological signals at scales that are relevant to the interests of lake managers, who need to understand the timing and magnitude of human activities. Even when limnological monitoring is available, paleolimnological approaches can answer questions at temporal and spatial scales that are unattainable by the monitoring regime in place. The difficulty of understanding the history of human impacts on ecosystems is particularly acute in underdeveloped regions of the world, where access to monitoring equipment is limited. For lakes in these regions, paleolimnology may provide the only practical and relatively inexpensive means of reconstructing impact histories.

scholarly journals Thematic maps in Eugeniusz Romer’s Geographical and Statistical Atlas of Poland from 1916 – the historical and methodological perspective (on the 100-year anniversary of the publication)

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-86
Author(s):  
Anna Osowska ◽  
Dariusz Przybytek
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agriculture Industry ◽  
Comprehensive Information ◽  
Administrative Division ◽  
The World ◽  
Thematic Cartography ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
Statistical Atlas ◽  
Official Data

Abstract The Geograficzno-statystyczny atlas Polski (Geographical and Statistical Atlas of Poland), printed in Vienna in 1916, was elaborated due to remind the world about Poland and the Polish issue. At that time Poland had been partitioned for over 120 years and it was very important to provide comprehensive information about historical Polish territory and its inhabitants before the end of the ongoing war. It was a significant decision because the atlas appeared to be crucial to establishing borders of the Second Polish Republic at the Paris Peace Conference. In 2016 the hundredth anniversary of first edition of atlas is a great occasion for a historical and methodical brief outline. The atlas was the fundamental work of Eugeniusz Romer, a distinguished geographer, cartographer and geo-politician. All of the 65 maps and 5 diagrams were elaborated by himself and his collaborators: W. Semkowicz, J. Nowak, W. Szafer, S. Weigner, J. Rutkowski, K. Nitsch, B. Chodkiewicz. It includes maps showing physiograpy, administrative division, history of the Polish territory, population, nationality, religion, agriculture, industry and transport, developed on the basis of official data sources. It is noteworthy that E. Romer introduced the isarithmic method on a large scale to present both population and socio-economic phenomena. As an all-embracing work, Atlas played a major role in drawing the boundaries of the reborn Poland in post-war Europe. This also shows that thematic cartography has been an essential instrument in argumentation for the national interest of Poland.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document