Month: June 2024

Impact of knockout of dual-specificity protein phosphatase 5 on structural and mechanical properties of rat middle cerebral arteries: implications for vascular aging

Latest Results

Abstract

Vascular aging influences hemodynamics, elevating risks for vascular diseases and dementia. We recently demonstrated that knockout (KO) of Dusp5 enhances cerebral and renal hemodynamics and cognitive function. This improvement correlates with elevated pPKC and pERK1/2 levels in the brain and kidneys. Additionally, we observed that Dusp5 KO modulates the passive mechanical properties of cerebral and renal arterioles, associated with increased myogenic tone at low pressure, enhanced distensibility, greater compliance, and reduced stiffness. The present study evaluates the structural and mechanical properties of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in Dusp5 KO rats. We found that vascular smooth muscle cell layers and the collagen content in the MCA wall are comparable between Dusp5 KO and control rats. The internal elastic lamina in the MCA of Dusp5 KO rats exhibits increased thickness, higher autofluorescence intensity, smaller fenestrae areas, and fewer fenestrations. Despite an enhanced myogenic response and tone of the MCA in Dusp5 KO rats, other passive mechanical properties, such as wall thickness, cross-sectional area, wall-to-lumen ratio, distensibility, incremental elasticity, circumferential wall stress, and elastic modulus, do not significantly differ between strains. These findings suggest that while Dusp5 KO has a limited impact on altering the structural and mechanical properties of MCA, its primary role in ameliorating hemodynamics and cognitive functions is likely attributable to its enzymatic activity on cerebral arterioles. Further research is needed to elucidate the specific enzymatic mechanisms and explore potential clinical applications in the context of vascular aging.

Common synaptic inputs and persistent inward currents of vastus lateralis motor units are reduced in older male adults

Latest Results

Abstract

Although muscle atrophy may partially account for age-related strength decline, it is further influenced by alterations of neural input to muscle. Persistent inward currents (PIC) and the level of common synaptic inputs to motoneurons influence neuromuscular function. However, these have not yet been described in the aged human quadriceps. High-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG) signals were collected from the vastus lateralis of 15 young (mean ± SD, 23 ± 5 y) and 15 older (67 ± 9 y) men during submaximal sustained and 20-s ramped contractions. HDsEMG signals were decomposed to identify individual motor unit discharges, from which PIC amplitude and intramuscular coherence were estimated. Older participants produced significantly lower knee extensor torque (p < 0.001) and poorer force tracking ability (p < 0.001) than young. Older participants also had lower PIC amplitude (p = 0.001) and coherence estimates in the alpha frequency band (p < 0.001) during ramp contractions when compared to young. Persistent inward currents and common synaptic inputs are lower in the vastus lateralis of older males when compared to young. These data highlight altered neural input to the clinically and functionally important quadriceps, further underpinning age-related loss of function which may occur independently of the loss of muscle mass.

Common synaptic inputs and persistent inward currents of vastus lateralis motor units are reduced in older male adults

Latest Results

Abstract

Although muscle atrophy may partially account for age-related strength decline, it is further influenced by alterations of neural input to muscle. Persistent inward currents (PIC) and the level of common synaptic inputs to motoneurons influence neuromuscular function. However, these have not yet been described in the aged human quadriceps. High-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG) signals were collected from the vastus lateralis of 15 young (mean ± SD, 23 ± 5 y) and 15 older (67 ± 9 y) men during submaximal sustained and 20-s ramped contractions. HDsEMG signals were decomposed to identify individual motor unit discharges, from which PIC amplitude and intramuscular coherence were estimated. Older participants produced significantly lower knee extensor torque (p < 0.001) and poorer force tracking ability (p < 0.001) than young. Older participants also had lower PIC amplitude (p = 0.001) and coherence estimates in the alpha frequency band (p < 0.001) during ramp contractions when compared to young. Persistent inward currents and common synaptic inputs are lower in the vastus lateralis of older males when compared to young. These data highlight altered neural input to the clinically and functionally important quadriceps, further underpinning age-related loss of function which may occur independently of the loss of muscle mass.

Motivating a standardised approach to financial intelligence: a typological scoping review of money laundering methods and trends

Latest Results

Abstract

Objectives

A comprehensive scoping review, followed by visual analyses of results, was conducted to understand the overall money laundering threat landscape.

Methods

A PRSIMA-ScR-compliant review of 105 money laundering ‘typologies and trends’ reports was conducted, coding different components of money laundering and addressing the often-inconsistent nature of typologies reporting.

Results

The review identified 16 typologies, over 200 value instruments, over 200 actors/entities and 2565 red-flag indicators relevant to money laundering. Results were visualised to identify aggregate trends, including the suspicious activities with which these actors/entities and value instruments are typically involved.

Conclusion

The review suggests that a more holistic and cross-typological approach to reporting money laundering-related financial intelligence can assist in fostering better data sharing and cooperation across jurisdictions. Implications are drawn for how ‘typologies’ can be reported and articulated across relevant stakeholders in a more standardised and effective manner to improve prevention measures.

Has language as resource been the basis for mother-tongue instruction in Sweden? On the evolution of policy orientations towards a uniquely enduring bilingual policy

Latest Results

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the motivations that key policy documents have put forward as justifications for Sweden’s mother-tongue instruction in immigrant and historical minority languages as a multicultural policy that has endured for nearly half a century. The diachronic development of these motivations is analysed in four periods and interpreted with the help of Ruiz’s (1984) orientations in language planning. The corpus consists of 26 key policy documents making up the coordinative discourse among policy actors. Based on an innovative mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, the motivations are presented in a three-tiered taxonomy consisting of motivational units, themes and language-planning orientations. The results point to both continuity and change in how mother-tongue instruction has been justified over time. Confirming previous research, the results show that the language-as-resource orientation has played a central role in justifying both the establishment and the maintenance of mother-tongue instruction in Sweden and that language as right complemented this orientation. Furthermore, the study illustrates that the language-as-problem orientation need not always be detrimental to bilingualism and minority-language maintenance. Contrary to some claims in the literature, it is argued that language as extrinsic resource is not necessarily underpinned by neoliberalism, as there are also social liberal and conservative inroads to this orientation. The paper concludes that although the language-as-resource orientation plays an indispensable role in supporting bilingualism in education, not only the language-as-right orientation but also the language-as-problem orientation should not be neglected.

American Philanthropy in the Age of Political Polarization: Conservative Megadonors and Foundations and Their Role in Spreading Climate Skepticism

Latest Results

Abstract

Wealthy citizens have influenced public debates and the political process in the United States in many ways, for example through donations or campaign finance. Philanthropy is viewed increasingly as another vehicle of more indirect elite influence. Although institutionally designed to stay above the partisan fray, philanthropy has increasingly been politicized over the last decades against the backdrop of growing partisan polarization. The conservative side in particular has consolidated influence through conservative foundations, think tanks, and new tools of giving such as donor-advised funds. Climate change is one issue in which conservatives have pushed skeptical views and disinformation over the last decades. Conservative actors backed by philanthropic activity have shaped public discourse according to climate-skeptic views and have worked to block political action on climate change while also forming global networks and practices across the Atlantic. While trying to retain the image of academic research and political neutrality, right-wing European think tanks are spreading climate change disinformation, often with connections to their American counterparts and with the support of American conservative donors and foundations. Overall, this paper argues that parts of the philanthropic sector in the United States have abandoned early notions of public charity in order to pursue considerable societal and political goals under the guise of philanthropic activity that provides tax benefits and the image of political neutrality. This paper builds on research that shows how much the interests of the wealthy are reflected in political decision-making in the United States (Bartels 2008; Page, Bartels, and Seawright 2013; Gilens and Page 2014), dark money debates in U.S. politics (Mayer 2017; Oklobdzija 2019), and discussions around the role of philanthropic foundations in a democratic society (Reich 2013, 2018).

Problematizing Modern Democracy in the United States:

Latest Results

Abstract

Since Donald Trump’s presidency and the diverse efforts to undermine the transfer of power after the 2020 election, the risks of extreme polarization and democratic backsliding in the United States (US) have been highlighted in the literature. Yet the epistemic dimension of these developments remains underresearched. Embedded in a genealogical Foucauldian governmentality/counter-conduct approach, this contribution addresses the puzzle of how election denialism and related (violent) anti-system activity are being rationalized, legitimized, and anchored in political subjectivities as efforts to ‘protect’ American democracy. This perspective allows to inquire into liberalism’s authoritarian potential that can be mobilized through different forms of counter-conduct. The study analytically disentangles these forms based on their prime targets, modes of operation, and the forms of knowledge they rely on. Focusing on the swing state of Arizona, the empirical analysis furthermore highlights the role of the subnational level in interlinking counter-conduct and (autocratizing) governmental practices in a federal system. Conceptually, the study renders visible a profound struggle over the epistemic foundations of the current liberal constitutional and political order that clearly transcends the issue of the 2020 election, Donald Trump, and even the context of the United States. Indeed, similar patterns of subjectivation and counter-conduct can also be detected for example in Germany. Moreover, this paper expands the scope of the concept of counter-conduct to study radical right-wing contestations and related questions of epistemic (in)justice. It thereby seeks to encourage debate on how political science can address the pluralization and polarization of contents, standards, and forms of knowledge as they become relevant to democratic backsliding.

The impact of a tDCS and cognitive training intervention on task-based functional connectivity

Latest Results

Abstract

Declines in several cognitive domains, most notably processing speed, occur in non-pathological aging. Given the exponential growth of the older adult population, declines in cognition serve as a significant public health issue that must be addressed. Promising studies have shown that cognitive training in older adults, particularly using the useful field of view (UFOV) paradigm, can improve cognition with moderate to large effect sizes. Additionally, meta-analyses have found that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive form of brain stimulation, can improve cognition in attention/processing speed and working memory. However, only a handful of studies have looked at concomitant tDCS and cognitive training, usually with short interventions and small sample sizes. The current study assessed the effect of a tDCS (active versus sham) and a 3-month cognitive training intervention on task-based functional connectivity during completion of the UFOV task in a large older adult sample (N = 153). We found significant increased functional connectivity between the left and right pars triangularis (the ROIs closest to the electrodes) following active, but not sham tDCS. Additionally, we see trending behavioral improvements associated with these functional connectivity changes in the active tDCS group, but not sham. Collectively, these findings suggest that tDCS and cognitive training can be an effective modulator of task-based functional connectivity above and beyond a cognitive training intervention alone.