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This article examines how white British residents of a superdiverse London housing estate learn about—and subsequently deploy—the intra‐ethnic stereotypes used by their British Pakistani and British Bangladeshi neighbours/flatmates. Building on recent attempts to bring together conviviality and boundary making, along with insights into intra‐ethnic othering, we show how, for white British residents, these stereotypes offered the chance to add detail and authenticity to judgements about the "unrespectable" behaviour of British Asian residents and/or visitors. Ultimately, however, white British residents' inappropriate and/or imprecise deployment of these stereotypes in relation to British Bangladeshis and British Pakistanis led to the misidentification of low‐status people and the unfair extension of discrimination faced by low‐status individuals and families. Furthermore, the combination of clumsy application and the positioning of "respectable" British Bangladeshis and British Pakistanis as purveyors of "insider knowledge" about intra‐ethnic stereotypes led to the reinscribing of boundaries between racial groups. We conclude that studying the cross‐racial use of intra‐ethnic stereotypes allows for a subtler appreciation of the complex dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in superdiverse areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against a backdrop of rising youth violence in the UK, the issue of gang policing has once more risen to prominence. Intense debates surrounding police cuts have led to renewed calls for a 'war on gangs', echoing earlier responses to England's summer of violent disorder in 2011. Drawing on a long-term ethnographic study of policing in the London Borough of Newham, this paper reports on a case-study of gang policing during a similarly fraught political moment. In the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, a street-based group of minority ethnic youth – the so-called Portuguese Mafia (PGM) – became the primary focus for gang policing in the Borough. Though the group did not self-identify as a gang, their activities were inflated and became the subject of a targeted enforcement initiative. These distortions, we argue, resulted from the influence of political decision-making on the working practices of front-line police officers, amplified in a climate of austerity. Through the reconstruction of this 'natural history', we seek to contribute an empirical account of the ambiguities inherent in police definitions of gangs, and the discriminatory consequences of categorisation. Theoretically, the paper seeks to contribute a critical sociological account of gangs and gang policing that bridges extant objectivist and constructivist readings of gangs through engagement with the Bourdieusian concept of 'field'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a fixed‐dose combination of two approved drugs, Ciprofloxacin and Celecoxib, as a potential therapeutic treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: Toxicity and efficacy of Ciprofloxacin and Celecoxib were tested, each alone and in distinct ratio combinations in SOD1 G93R transgenic zebrafish model for ALS. Quantification of swimming measures following stimuli, measurements of axonal projections from the spinal cord, neuromuscular junction structure and morphometric analysis of microglia cells were performed in the combination‐ treated vs nontreated mutant larvae. Additionally, quantifications of touch‐evoked locomotor escape response were conducted in treated vs nontreated zebrafish expressing the TARDBP G348C ALS variant. Results: When administered individually, Ciprofloxacin had a mild effect and Celecoxib had no therapeutic effect. However, combined Ciprofloxacin and Celecoxib (Cipro/Celecox) treatment caused a significant increase of ~ 84% in the distance the SOD1 G93R transgenic larvae swam. Additionally, Cipro/Celecox elicited recovery of impaired motor neurons morphology and abnormal neuromuscular junction structure and preserved the ramified morphology of microglia cells in the SOD1 mutants. Furthermore, larvae expressing the TDP‐43 mutation displayed evoked touch responses that were significantly longer in swim distance (110% increase) and significantly higher in maximal swim velocity (~44% increase) when treated with Cipro/Celecox combination. Interpretation: Cipro/Celecox combination improved locomotor and cellular deficits of ALS zebrafish models. These results identify this novel combination as effective, and may prove promising for the treatment of ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder in which the neuromuscular junction progressively degenerates, leading to movement difficulties, paralysis, and eventually death. ALS is currently being treated by only two FDA-approved drugs with modest efficacy in slowing disease progression. Often, the translation of preclinical findings to bedside terminates prematurely as the evaluation of potential therapeutic compounds focuses on a single study or a single animal model. To circumscribe these issues, we screened 3,765 novel small molecule derivatives of pimozide, a recently identified repurposed neuroleptic for ALS, in Caenorhabditis elegans, confirmed the hits in zebrafish and validated the most active compounds in mouse genetic models. Out of the 27 small molecules identified from the high-throughput screen in worms, 4 were found to recover locomotor defects in C. elegans and genetic zebrafish models of ALS. TRVA242 was identified as the most potent compound as it significantly improved efficiency in rescuing locomotor, motorneuron, and neuromuscular junction synaptic deficits in a C. elegans TDP-43 model and in multiple zebrafish genetic (TDP-43, SOD1, and C9ORF72) models of ALS. The actions of TRVA242 were also conserved in a mammalian model as it also stabilized neuromuscular junction deficits in a mouse SOD1 model of ALS. Compounds such as TRVA242 therefore represent new potential therapeutics for the treatment of ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the development and limited testing of the SCHEDULE model, an interactive computer program designed to provide an operational solution to the salesman's effort allocation problem. The model uses inputs provided by the salesman to determine the optimal allocation of selling efforts among account alternatives. On the basis of limited testing, the model seems to provide improved effort allocation plans and offers a good learning experience for salesmen who use it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author analyzes the innovation of the rotary-engine Mazda automobile to determine if aspects of its introduction can be applied to all innovations, or if these aspects are product specific. The author develops three hypotheses, the first being that the characteristics of Mazda innovators in two widely separated markets will be similar. Secondly, early Mazda buyers will exhibit significantly different characteristics from later Mazda buyers in the same market, and lastly that early Mazda buyers will exhibit significantly different characteristics from buyers of a conventionally powered competitive product within the same market. Conclusions are made based on the results of the study.

This study employs a cognitive response approach using nod-directive probes rather than direct questions to assess the effects of advertising knowledge and the presence of a cue on thoughts produced by 9 to 10-year-old children while watching commercials. The number of counterargument produced indicates children's use of cognitive defenses. The study found that advertising knowledge did not result in increased counterarguments against advertisements unless a cue was present to activate that knowledge. Direct questions (as opposed to non-directive probes themselves appear to activate advertising knowledge, thus overestimating children's actual use of cognitive defenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the use of the salient belief technique for measuring deception and the effectiveness of corrective ads. The technique is applied to Listerine advertising, which has already been found deceptive by the courts. Comparisons between this technique and the normative belief technique yielded similar results except for source effects over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of NAD/NARB as a self-regulatory mechanism is evaluated under "consumer advocacy" and "advertising advocacy" models. Based on past research and a content analysis of NAD case summaries, conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made. The NAD/NARB has been an effective force for improving advertising given the existing constraints of severe budget limitations and industry expectations, but certain trends toward conservatism and stronger industry orientation are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research showing inconsistent effects of corrective advertising on company image is described. Examination of four waves of national telephone surveys over the course of the Listerine corrective campaign shows a small but significant drop in company image. Suggestions for future research are offered along with policy implications of the Listerine results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Hypothyroidism is more frequently diagnosed in women and older individuals. It has been suggested that the prevalence of hypothyroidism and the number of prescriptions for thyroid hormones are increasing. However, despite hypothyroidism being a common medical condition, contemporary data on prevalence, particularly across the various age groups, is limited. Design Information regarding number of individuals diagnosed with treated hypothyroidism (defined as patients prescribed levothyroxine) across ten General Practices (total population of 66 843) in the North-East of England in 2016 was obtained in an anonymized manner. Total as well as age group-specific point prevalence rates were calculated. In addition, corresponding population data for the United Kingdom were acquired, and national total and age-specific hypothyroidism prevalence rates were estimated. Results The overall prevalence of hypothyroidism in this community sample was 4.5% (n = 3004). Prevalence increased across the age groups from 0.1% in children aged 0-10 years to 15.1% in those aged more than 90 years. After adjusting for demographic differences between the North-East England and UK populations, it is estimated that the total UK-wide prevalence of hypothyroidism in 2016 is 3.6%; affecting more than 2.3 million individuals including nearly 800 000 individuals aged >70 years. Conclusions Hypothyroidism affects millions of individuals in the UK and is currently a prevalent diagnosis in more than 1 in 10 individuals aged above 70 years. As the population ages this number is likely to increase. The clinical and economic effects of current management strategies for hypothyroidism, particularly in the older population, need to be evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article draws on the findings of two years’ ethnographic fieldwork in exploring how gang activity in Newham, East London is combatted by faith-based organisation, Targeted Against Gangs (TAG). More specifically, the authors examine how TAG seeks to reform the identities of young male gang members according to the principles of what we have called ‘Pentecostal realist masculinity’. The characteristics of this reformed masculinity include an awareness of the racial (and racist) dynamics of criminal and wider society, a focus on individuals thriving within fraternal networks, and the desire to channel creative energies into legitimate entrepreneurial activities. Though this strategy did not mount a direct challenge to the racist societal structures it identified, it was effective in reducing levels of gang violence in East London. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43) is a 43 kD, predominately nuclear, protein involved in RNA metabolism. Of clinical significance is that the majority of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients display abnormal accumulation of misfolded TDP-43 in the cytoplasm, which is coincident with a loss of nuclear localization in the afflicted regions of the central nervous system. Little is known about defects that arise in loss-of-function models, in particular synaptic defects that arise at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). In this report, we examined abnormalities arising at the NMJ following depletion of tdp-43 using a previously characterized mutant tardbp (encoding tdp-43) zebrafish line containing a premature stop codon (Y220X) that results in an unstable and degraded protein. Homozygous tardbpY220X/Y220X zebrafish do not produce tdp-43 but develop normally due to expression of an alternative splice variant of tardbpl (tardbp paralog). Using an antisense morpholino oligonucleotide to knockdown expression of the tardbpl in tardbpY220X/Y220X embryos, we examined locomotor defects, NMJ structural abnormalities and release of quantal synaptic vesicles at the NMJ. As in previous reports, larvae depleted of tdp-43 display reduced survival, gross morphological defects and severely impaired locomotor activity. These larvae also displayed an increased number of orphaned pre- and postsynaptic NMJ markers but surprisingly, we observed a significant increase (3.5 times) in the frequency of quantal acetylcholine release at the NMJ in larvae depleted of tdp-43. These results indicate that reduced TDP-43 levels alter quantal vesicle release at the NMJ during vertebrate development and may be relevant for understanding synaptic dysfunction in ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a real need for sound, operational models which provide for improved product line evaluation and decision making. This article critically examines one such model, which was presented in the April 1972 issue of the JOURNAL OF MARKETING. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methodology for site-directed editing of single nucleotides in the vertebrate genome is of considerable interest for research in biology and medicine. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 type II (Cas9) system has emerged as a simple and inexpensive tool for editing genomic loci of interest in a variety of animal models. In zebrafish, error-prone non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) has been used as a simple method to disrupt gene function. We sought to develop a method to easily create site-specific SNPs in the zebrafish genome. Here, we report simple methodologies for using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homology directed repair using single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide donor templates (ssODN) for site-directed single nucleotide editing, for the first time in two disease-related genes, tardbp and fus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the diverse forms of public opposition, protest, criticism, and complaint in the United Kingdom on the staging of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. Our discussion draws heavily on empirical research, primarily fieldwork and interviews in East London with local residents, opposition groups, business people, politicians, and other stakeholders. The article is separated into three main parts. First, we explore the setting and political–economic context for London 2012. The main Olympic setting—the London Borough of Newham—features very high levels of poverty and ethnic diversity. We argue that London 2012 represented a form of “festival capitalism” that was part of a broader set of “New Right two-step” policies in poor urban areas, involving initial Keynesian investment, followed by a deeper and far-reaching array of neo-liberal measures. Second, in the main part of the article, we identify and examine, in turn, six forms of public conflict, criticism, and complaint that centered on the Games, specifically national criticisms (e.g., on distribution of Olympic resources), local criticisms (e.g., on lack of jobs and business benefits), issue-specific campaigns (e.g., on the environment), “glocal” protests against specific nations and sponsors (e.g., campaigns against BP, Dow, and Rio Tinto), neo-tribal transgressions and situationist spectacles (e.g., mass cycle rides near Olympic venues), and anti-Olympic forums and demonstrations (e.g., critical web sites, multi-group marches). Third, we set out briefly the importance of conducting research into critics and opponents of sport mega-events, and discuss different arguments on how the social impact of protest movements might have been intensified at London 2012. The findings in this article may be extended to examine critical public responses to the hosting of other mega-events in different settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the politics of mobility which surrounded the London 2012 Olympics. We provide a critical discussion of the mobility conflicts, problems and criticisms which emerged from our research with local people in the Stratford and wider Newham areas of London, where most Olympic events were located. The paper is divided into four broad parts. First, we identify and discuss the relevant components of the 'mobilities paradigm' in social science which underpin our analysis. Second, we briefly outline our research methods, centring particularly on fieldwork and interviews with different social groups. Third, we examine in detail the six main themes of mobility politics which were evident at London 2012, relating to social context, event construction, event mobility systems, commercial mobilities, the mobile politics of exclusion, and contested modes of mobility. In doing so, we seek to extend the mobilities paradigm by introducing various concepts and keywords - notably on the three-speed city, entryability, mobility panics, instrumental mobility, and corporate kettling - which may be utilized by social scientists to examine mobility systems in other social contexts. We conclude by reaffirming the significance of mobility-focused research at sport and other megaevents, and by indicating future lines of inquiry for social scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sensitivity of insect nervous systems to anoxia can be modulated genetically and pharmacologically, but the cellular mechanisms responsible are poorly understood. We examined the effect of a heat shock pretreatment (HS) on the sensitivity of the locust (Locusta migratoria) nervous system to anoxia induced by water immersion. Prior HS made locusts more resistant to anoxia by increasing the time taken to enter a coma and by reducing the time taken to recover the ability to stand. Anoxic comas were accompanied by surges of extracellular potassium ions in the neuropile of the metathoracic ganglion, and HS reduced the time taken for clearance of excess extracellular potassium ions. This could not be attributed to a decrease in the activity of protein kinase G, which was increased by HS. In homogenates of the metathoracic ganglion, HS had only a mild effect on the activity of Na+-K+-ATPase. However, we demonstrated that HS caused a threefold increase in the immunofluorescent localization of the α-subunit of Na+-K+-ATPase in metathoracic neuronal plasma membranes relative to background labeling of the nucleus.We conclude that HS induced trafficking of Na+-K+-ATPase into neuronal plasma membranes and suggest that this was at least partially responsible for the increased resistance to anoxia and the increased rate of recovery of neural function after a disturbance of K+ homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43, encoded by the TARDBP gene) has recently been shown to be associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but the early pathophysiological deficits causing impairment in motor function are unknown. Here we expressed the wild-type human gene (wtTARDBP) or the ALS mutation G348C (mulTARDBP) in zebrafish larvae and characterized their motor (swim-ming) activity and the structure and function of their neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). Of these groups only mutL4i?DBP larvae showed impaired swimming and increased motoneuron vulnerability with reduced synaptic fidelity, reduced quantal transmission, and more orphaned presynaptic and postsynaptic structures at the NMJ. Remarkably, all behavioral and cellular features were stabilized by chronic treatment with either of the L-type calcium channel agonists FPL 64176 or Bay K 8644. These results indicate that expression of mut-TARDBP results in defective NMJs and that calcium channel agonists could be novel therapeutics for ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The democratically elected President of Liberia was between 1997 and 2004 also the country’s ‘Chief Patron of Sport’. Enjoying tennis more than team games, the one-time President, Charles Taylor, realized that the electorate’s enthusiasm for the game of football meant that the game could be a useful vehicle with which to associate. As well as funding the salaries of the national ‘Lone Star’ football team, Taylor also sponsored a football team in the national league drawn from his personal militia known as the ‘Anti-Terrorist Unit’ (ATU). Prone to random murder by night, the same players, out of their recognizable uniform and in match kit, respected the rules of the game and the position of the referee. Others seeking the same sporting enjoyment were, when on the field of play in 2003, captured and forced to join the Presidential militia when rebel forces sought to overthrow Taylor. Players of another team – mainly children – were killed mid-match when a rocket-propelled grenade – origins contested – landed in their midst. The Liberian nation’s most famous citizen and one-time FIFA World Footballer of the Year, George Weah, twice fled the country in terror, once when threatened by the forces of the President, and again years later when an angry mob of irate football supporters blamed him for their national football team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup Finals. There was no shortage of incidents in Liberia in the aforementioned years that could be classed as ‘terrorist’ and indeed terrifying; sporting practice at times exemplified the alternatives available to conflict, yet at other times it accentuated the fault lines in what BBC political journalist Fergal Keane famously called Africa’s ‘basket case’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the wider social impacts of hosting the London 2012 Olympic Games and its 'legacy' ambitions in East London, emphasizing securitization as an inbuilt feature of the urban regeneration project. Drawing on extensive original empirical research, the paper analyses the modalities of Olympic safety and security practices within the Olympic Park itself and their wider impact, while also connecting this research to theorization and debates in urban sociology and criminology. In this complex setting, a raft of formal and informal, often subtle, regulatory mechanisms have emerged, especially as visions of social ordering focused on 'cleansing' and 'purifying' have 'leaked out' from the hyper-securitized 'sterilized' environment of the Olympic Park and become embedded within the Olympic neighbourhood. In such complex circumstances, applying Douglas' (1966) work on purity and danger to the spatial realm provides a key conceptual framework to understand the form and impact of such processes. The imposition of order can be seen to not only perform 'cleansing' functions, but also articulate multiple symbolic, expressive and instrumental roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural tissue is particularly vulnerable to metabolic stress and loss of ion homeostasis. Repetitive stress generally leads to more permanent dysfunction but the mechanisms underlying this progression are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of energetic compromise in Drosophila by targeting the Na+/K+-ATPase. Acute ouabain treatment of intact flies resulted in subsequent repetitive comas that led to death and were associated with transient loss of K+ homeostasis in the brain. Heat shock pre-conditioned flies were resistant to ouabain treatment. To control the timing of repeated loss of ion homeostasis we subjected flies to repetitive anoxia while recording extracellular [K+] in the brain. We show that targeted expression of the chaperone protein Hsp70 in glial cells delays a permanent loss of ion homeostasis associated with repetitive anoxic stress and suggest that this is a useful model for investigating molecular mechanisms of neuroprotection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Olympic Games promise great things; world peace and the transformation of the host city are but two ambitions of the Olympic Movement. The benefits and changes that the 2012 Olympics are supposed to bring to the London Borough of Newham—which will host some 80 per cent of the Olympic events—have been much lauded by the Olympic apparatchiks who typically proselytise about the transformation of communities, countries and individuals via the staging of the Games. The local Organising Committee and others—typically within the real estate sector—are the people who shape these sentiments into particular land deals that will serve to justify the plethora of deals, contracts and developments. Whilst the Olympics are about transformations, ostensibly in the lives of athletes, ordinary people and communities, transformations of an even more lasting sort occur in the Olympic neighbourhood through massive construction and servicing contracts. The Olympics are also about discipline which plays out not only in terms of the preparation of athletes to perform at their utmost, but is imperative to all the arrangements required to host such a huge event. For the good of the Games, people living in the shadow of the 2012 Olympic stadium face having their movements and their neighbourhoods subjected to all manner of prohibitions and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A nation's politics and socio-cultural identity can sometimes be best considered through the lens of Association Football (soccer). Examining football in the Mediterranean island of Malta in the inter-war years of 1920-1940 this paper focuses its analysis on the phenomenon that is the game of football and the epi-phenomena it provokes and sustains. In the tiny archipelago that constitutes the Maltese islands, the game as it was played and administered in this era had implications for the British colonialists, the refugees that fled Central Europe for Maltese shores and the indigenous Maltese peoples. In these years the game was played out amidst, variously, the island's unique party politics, intra-district rivalries, and historical considerations of reputation and social class. It was also to become integral to the contestations around anti-colonial sentiment and the debates over national identity. The game in Malta was thus a facilitator of both local and global processes and played an understated role in the pursuit of independence. This examination of the specific Maltese context may well shed light upon broader processes within the international game which lies at the intersection of the global and the local. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role and contribution of peacemaking to the wider sport, development and peace (sdp) sector. Particular attention is paid to a hitherto under-explored subject: the complex position of the military vis-a-vis sport and sport-related peacekeeping. Through an historical overview of the sport-military intersection, reference to fieldwork in Bosnia and Liberia, and a brief examination of the Conseil Internationale du Sport Militaire, some critical and cautious conclusions are put forth. We suggest that sport-based peacemaking interventions provide the military with a new kind of institutional function, and fresh ways of building positive social links to civilian populations. However, such engagement is only possible if full dialogical engagement between civilians and peacekeeping forces is established, in which the military adapt their practices to suit the local cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural circuits are especially vulnerable to metabolic stress. The locust (Locusta migratoria) responds to anoxia by entering a coma during which neural and muscular systems shut down. During anoxic coma, arrest of the ventilatory central pattern generator is tightly correlated with an abrupt spreading depression (SD)-like increase in extracellular potassium concentration within the metathoracic neuropile. We examined the role of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an evolutionarily conserved sensor of cellular energy status, in anoxia-induced ventilatory arrest and SD-like events in the locust. Perfusion of sodium azide (NaN3; mitochondrial toxin) induced SD, temporary coma, and profound changes in the ventilatory motor pattern characterized as a rapid rhythm before coma and a slower rhythm following recovery. AMPK activation using 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) mimicked the motor pattern changes induced by NaN3 but did not induce SD and coma. The effects of NaN3 on the ventilatory rhythm were reversed by perfusion of compound-C (AMPK inhibitor) or glucose, and the effects of AICAR were also reversed by compound-C, confirming the modulatory roles of AMPK and energy status. Ouabain-induced recurring SD was suppressed by inhibition of AMPK and exacerbated by its activation. We show that the motor pattern changes induced by metabolic stress are not the result of SD alone, but that AMPK is necessary and sufficient for these changes and that AMPK activity strongly influences susceptibility to SD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of the Far Right in Europe over the past decade has attracted the attention of both academics and police. Popular sports tend to reflect societal trends so it is not bizarre that a popular European cultural practice such as football has seen a rise in supporters with neo-fascist sympathies. Football (soccer in the USA), specifically in Italy, has been linked since the beginning to politics and its stadiums have always been one of the most efficient public Agora for the socialization of the Italian youth. In recent years, together with an ideologization of the football terraces, there has been a noticeable increase in conflict between hardcore football supporters and the Italian police at and around the stadium. These conflicts often involve the UltraS as the main participants. The final capital S identifies neo-fascist-oriented fans, distinguishing them from mainstream hardcore football supporters, known as ultra. This paper is the result of ethnographic research lasting six years (2003-2009). The research aimed to investigate the world of the UltraS by using two notorious national and international UltraS as case study. The groups, the Boys and the Irriducibili, support AS Roma and SS Lazio, respectively. Both are located in the Italian capital city of Rome. The present paper aims to investigate the relationship between the neo-fascist UltraS and the institutions that they identify as their enemies, namely, the Italian State and the police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the ???African Personality??? was celebrated by the continent's first post-colonial President, Kwame Nkrumah. Sweeping to power in Ghana's first general election in 1951, Nkrumah and his Convention People's Party???inspired by Marcus Garvey and W. E. B. Du Bois???espoused the doctrines of nationhood and self-reliance. The conceptual dimensions of Nkrumah's ???African Personality??? and the role he had in mind for Association Football (soccer) as an instrument of its expression are crucial points of this analysis. Here we attempt to locate Nkrumah's political ideal within the contemporary realities of the migration of young Ghanaian soccer talent, examining at the same time the socio-economic processes which act as ???push??? and ???pull??? mechanisms in the context of such migratory trends. While Nkrumah's ???race-conscious,??? pan-African forces have been utilized in the face of post-colonial identifications, soccer loyalties and objectives which are far more immediate and parochial in character continue to supersede those surrounding national or ???racial??? interests. Ghana's domestic game and national selection are riven by ethnic and regional hostilities while interlopers from Europe???some acting alone, others as emissaries for European soccer clubs???have laid down roots in Ghana, recognizing the nation as a breeding ground for talented, and comparatively cheap, young soccer talent. We argue that such inveterate ethno-regional rivalries, along with the conditions of neoliberal capitalism and its instrumental system of uneven geographical development, have provided entry points for the post-colonial forces so maligned by Nkrumah. Furthermore, we question the wisdom of notions of belonging based on bounded units such as ???race??? and attendant expressions of ???race-consciousness.??? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In January 2007, English international soccer star David Beckham announced to a global media that he would be leaving the Spanish giants Real Madrid to join Major League Soccer's (MLS) Los Angeles Galaxy. MLS Commissioner Don Garber feted Beckham as a global sporting icon whose presence attested to America's gradual transformation into a 'Soccer Nation.' However, following LA Galaxy's acquisition, a debate surrounding soccer's previous failure to compete at the highest echelons of American professional sport reappeared. Academic and journalistic commentators identified a number of obstacles—historical, socioeconomic and ideological—that have prevented soccer from gaining a foothold in the United States sporting market and therein becoming a credible adversary to the holy trinity of Gridiron Football, Baseball, and Basketball. This article, drawing upon Ian Hacking's prescriptions for Historical Ontology (2002) and thereby foregrounding issues of identity and power, seeks to analyse the impediments that have marked soccer's development in the United States and that led to the recruitment of Beckham as the sporting celebrity-cum-commercial juggernaut intended to bring MLS to the attention of a mass audience—variegated in terms of class, 'race,' and gender—so coveted by leaders of the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article disputes three positions entrenched in the essentialist interpretation of R. H. Tawney's political thought. First, it contests the notion that Tawney's work is characterized by an overwhelming consistency. Whilst the Tawney canon displays a thematic persistence, a chronological analysis demonstrates that he significantly altered his core political concepts. Second, the article asserts that the prevailing consensus amongst commentators that Tawney's politics is largely a derivative of his religion is one-dimensional, ignoring the extent to which Tawney's politics departed from its Christian foundations. Both of these mistaken notions—overwhelming consistency and derivation from religion—are exemplified in the third erroneous position adopted by commentators—the elevation of Tawney's private diaries (known as the Commonplace Book) to a key role in setting the seal on his subsequent political thought. By exposing these fallacies, the article seeks a more authentic interpretation of Tawney's political thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable research attention focused on mechanisms underlying neural spreading depression (SD), because of its association with important human CNS pathologies, such as stroke and migraine, little attention has been given to explaining its occurrence and regulation in invertebrates. In the locust metathoracic ganglion (MTG), an SD-like event occurs during heat and anoxia stress, which results in cessation of neuronal output for the duration of the applied stress. SD-like events were characterized by an abrupt rise in extracellular potassium ion concentration ([K+]o ) from a baseline concentration of ~8 to >30 mM, which returned to near baseline concentrations after removal of the applied stress. After return to baseline [K+]o, neuronal output (ventilatory motor pattern activity) from the MTG recovered. Unlike mammalian neurons, which depolarize almost completely during SD, locust neurons only partially depolarized. SD-like events in the locust CNS were suppressed by pharmacological inhibition of the nitric oxide/cyclic guanosine monophosphate/ protein kinaseG(NO/cGMP/PKG) pathway and were exacerbated by its activation. Also, environmental stressors such as heat and anoxia increased production of nitric oxide in the locust CNS. Finally, for the intact animal, manipulation of the pathway affected the speed of recovery from suffocation by immersion under water. We propose that SD-like events in locusts provide an adaptive mechanism for surviving extreme environmental conditions. The highly conserved nature of the NO/cGMP/PKG signaling pathway suggests that it may be involved in modulating SD in other organisms, including mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on an innovative class project that produces four outcomes through student application of new technologies to produce Web-based podcasts. The project is a learning objective-driven business communication fundamentals, that enable the students to prepare a team-based research presentation on a topic that incorporates a student-produced podcast. It gives them opportunity to research, analyze information, communicate and incorporate the opinions of experts in an up-to-date way.

Classroom instruction continues to change dramatically with new technology and pedagogy. Faculty aspire to develop innovative programs and creative education while seeking effective teaching strategies that capitalize on emerging technology and invoke student interest and involvement. Research shows that student involvement, hands-on projects, and teamwork are successful pedagogical approaches (Kayes, Kayes, & Kolb, 2005; McKeachie 1994; Passman 2001). This paper describes a creative project for students that showcases technology and student involvement. Additionally, the assignment is consistent with the seven principles for good practice in higher education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) and provides desired outcomes to business education such as business fundamentals, critical thinking, teamwork, and technology skills. Students prepare a team-based research presentation on a topic that incorporates a student produced podcast. Students produce and share a podcast in which they interview an expert or knowledgeable individual in the research topic area. By producing podcasts, students have the opportunity to research and analyze information, communicate effectively, and incorporate the opinions of experts in a cutting-edge way. Producing and comparing their own work to that of others can give students a valuable perspective on their own abilities and inspire them to try new ideas or techniques. Software programs and computers make it easier to record and edit audio and video programs than in the past. During the course of the project, students are exposed to Audacity, Windows Movie Maker, Visio, FreeMind, new search engines, HTML and RSS code, FTP, and the operation of digital and audio recorders. The instructor has the option of providing access to the podcast to a course management system such as Blackboard; making each team's podcast available for campus consumption by uploading the podcast to a restricted website; or providing unrestricted access by posting the podcast to iTunes or similar podcast subscription service. We utilized an evaluation questionnaire to assess the effectiveness of the project. From the students' perspective, the project was very effective in meeting educational objectives. The design of the project utilizes the seven principles for good practice in higher education, and skills students need to produce the podcast are consistent with desired learning outcomes. Student produced podcasts provide the instructor an opportunity to build a library of podcasts, which then can be integrated into future classes. The result is a win-win opportunity for student and faculty alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the integration of game-oriented activity such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire in education. It is projected to invoke student interest and engagement in learning about facility location factors. The game promotes students to think regarding cultural issues in an engaged manner. It also motivates students to keep their attention and introduce spontaneity and fun in the classroom. Moreover, this game-oriented exercise is a new way to present new material.

Over the past two decades the link - perceived and actual - between political extremism and football fans has been the subject of academic, political, and policing debate. It is not rare to witness manifestations of intolerance and ideological statements referring to regional, national and international issues at football stadia. In Italian football stadia, political representation has been evident for decades; politics has been integral to all realms of Italian society and culture since the origin of the nation. As one of the most significant Italian cultural practices, football has not been an exception. This combination of theory and action inspires thousands of young male football supporters. The football stadium might thus be interpreted as a twenty-first century social Agora, where political opinions - otherwise ghettoized in society - can be freely expressed in pursuit of a wider consensus. This paper explores the under-researched milieu of neo-fascist ideology as displayed in contemporary Italian football stadia. Contributing original material and employing as conceptual frameworks the New Consensus Theory on fascism and the works of Julius Evola and Georges Sorel, this analysis hypothesizes that the neo-fascist tenets manifested by the ideologically-oriented 'ultras' fan groups, may be understood as both a consequence of, and a resistance against the dominant socio-cultural and political values of contemporary Italy. The research conducted between 2003-2007 sought to evaluate two internationally renowned ultras groups located in the Italian capital of Rome: the Boys of AS Roma and the Irriducibili of SS Lazio who enact their performances on their respective 'curve' [football terraces] of the city's Olympic stadium. Utilizing the ethnographic method, unique access was achieved in a notoriously difficult research milieu bringing the researcher into the social-cultural world of the participants and to the echelons of the extra-parliamentary Italian far right. Research sought to uncover the groups' social interactions, values, and political beliefs, as a way of contributing to an understanding of both the Italian ultras of the twenty-first century and indeed the wider political milieu of the modern nation-state of Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elite sport is the vehicle for global interactions via both its shared practices and the relations engendered by its governing bodies and its global tournaments. This capability has attracted the attentions of those seeking both nation-building and reconciliation in war-damaged nations. The narrative that follows has global implications, telling as it does the story of George Weah, a Liberian-born footballer who became a humanitarian ambassador, and later aspired to become his country's president. Weah's story informs debates on globalization, illustrating the transnational career of a man who developed a keen understanding of institutional politics and patronage and who allowed himself to be courted by various global figures. These scenarios took place in Liberia, a war-devastated African nation. This tale thus provides for reflection on how sport can encourage and undermine practises of nationhood. As a former World Footballer of the Year, Weah was a Liberian success story and well aware of his populist appeal. However, the issue of who a people are and who is to be their national political representative has proven to be a very fraught issue in the Liberian context. Whether global sporting networks have made the world smaller and the people more knowing in the Liberian context is an issue this article raises in considering its most famous citizen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the elaborate celebrations organized by the fans of Valletta City football (soccer) club, Malta, when they win the Maltese football league. It argues that these celebrations constitute a continuation of the carnivalesque. Valletta fans have a reputation for their fanatical support, and are renowned as tough-guys. Their celebrations are moments of drunken excess, which celebrate this 'diamond-in-the-rough' authenticity, and satirize their opponents, which they see as inauthentic 'pretenders.' The celebrations use symbolism drawn from an earlier carnival tradition-particularly the symbolism of death, and the re-enactment of funereal performance. The paper therefore argues that contemporary football celebration has replaced the carnival as a cultural form through which social antagonisms-of locality and social class-are manifest. The paper also examines the relationship between these spontaneous celebrations, and state-sponsored pageants-including the modern carnival-which are primarily aimed at tourists. [Football Celebration, Valletta, Carnival, Nostalgia, Class]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the implication of football for the rights of the child in Liberia, West Africa. Idea behind the Olympic Charter; Way in which Liberia was regarded in the turbulent history of post-colonial Africa; Significance of human rights to the foundation of the nation.

A prior hyperthermic stress (heat shock) can induce thermoprotection of neuromuscular transmission in Locusta migratoria extensor tibiae muscle measured 4 h after the onset of the heat shock. It is not clear what effect an acute hyperthermic stress may have on the nervous system's ability to tolerate thermal stress, that is, before increased expression of heat-shock proteins. We found that over consecutive thermal stress tests, failure temperature was not altered in either heat-shock or control animals. This suggests that protective mechanisms are not established in the short term (within one hour). Various members of the heat-shock protein family interact with elements of the cytoskeleton. We found that preexposure of the preparation to cytoskeletal stabilizing drugs induced thermoprotection, while preexposure to cytoskeletal disrupting drugs disrupted the ability to confer and maintain thermoprotection. We conclude that thermoprotection relies on a stable cytoskeleton and suggest that members of the heat shock protein family are involved. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol 60: 453-462, 2004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]