The specific contribution of object''''s origin on artifacts categorization

Gelman and Bloom found that adults and children's object naming was sensitive to how an object was created (man-made or not), but they did not reveal on which specific level of conceptual system this effect was. Using a free-naming task and a force-choice task, two experiments were conducted to test a hypothesis that this effect was specifically on domain level ("artifact/non-artifact" distinction). In Experiment 1, participants were asked to name shortly-depicted objects, rate their confidence, and report their reasons for each naming response. Results showed that most of the naming responses in "man-made" condition were in artifact domain, and most in "natural" condition were in non-artifact domain, although in both conditions names were very divergent on basic level. In Experiment 2, another group of participants were asked to choose one from two names (one in artifact domain and the other in non-artifact domain) to match the same shortly-depicted objects presented in the first experiment. Re-sults of Experiment 1 on domain level were replicated in Experiment 2. These convergent findings supported the hypothesis that the effect of object's origin is specifically on domain level of conceptual system of objects. Reasons explicitly reported for naming responses in Experiment 1 suggested that participants might automatically infer objects' functions in "man-made" condition but not in "natural" condition. Here the function-based hypothesis of artifacts classification is discussed.     

The Ontology of the Questionnaire: Max Weber on Measurement and Mass Investigation

Although contemporary sociologists of science have sometimes claimed Max Weber as a methodological precursor, they have not examined Weber's own writings about science. Between 1908 and 1912 Weber published a series of critical studies of the extension of scientific authority into public life. The most notable of these concerned attempts to implement the experimental psychology or psycho-physics laboratory in factories and other real-world settings. Weber's critique centered on the problem of social measurement. He emphasized the discontinuities between the space of the laboratory and that of the factory, showing how several qualitative and historically conditioned differences between the two settings rendered the transfer of instruments and methods between them highly problematic. Weber's critical arguments prepared the ground for his greatest foray into empirical sociology, a survey he directed for the Verein für Sozialpolitik investigating the conditions and attitudes affecting the lives and performance of industrial workers. Using a different measuring instrument — the questionnaire — Weber tried to implement a concept of social measurement which implied a different ontology, drawn not from natural sciences but from the historical sciences.     

Magnetic particles in the liver: a probe for intracellular movement

Previous studies have used magnetic particles to estimate the viscosity of cell cytoplasm in vitro 1-4. Here we describe how magnetic Fe2O3 particles can be used to estimate non-invasively the motion of organelles in hepatic macrophages in intact animals. We report that when these particles are injected intravenously (i.v.), most are phagocytosed by hepatic macrophages (Fig. 1)5. When an external magnetic field is applied to the rabbit, these particles become magnetized and aligned. After removal of the field, the particles collectively produce a remanent magnetic field which can be measured at the body surface. This field decreases with time due to particle rotation (relaxation) 6,7. As the particles are contained in phagosomes or secondary lysosomes, we conclude that motions of these organelles are responsible for the particle rotation and relaxation.     

Mutations in NOTCH2 cause Hajdu-Cheney syndrome, a disorder of severe and progressive bone loss

We used an exome-sequencing strategy and identified an allelic series of NOTCH2 mutations in Hajdu-Cheney syndrome, an autosomal dominant multisystem disorder characterized by severe and progressive bone loss. The Hajdu-Cheney syndrome mutations are predicted to lead to the premature truncation of NOTCH2 with either disruption or loss of the C-terminal proline-glutamate-serine-threonine-rich proteolytic recognition sequence, the absence of which has previously been shown to increase Notch signaling.     

大连市银杏叶斑病病原菌鉴定

银杏(Ginkgo biloba L.)是常见的城市园林观赏绿化树种,并具有极高的材用、食用和药用价值.近年来,大连市银杏树发生了一种不明病因且较为严重的叶斑病,查明病因、为病害防治提供理论依据迫在眉睫.从病害发生严重区域采集叶斑病病叶样本,采用感病叶片单斑分离法,对分离菌株进行致病性测定、形态学鉴定及分子生物学鉴定等,对大连市银杏树发生的叶斑病进行了病原菌鉴定.结果表明,大连银杏叶斑病致病菌有2种,分别为链格孢属细极链格孢(Alternaria tenuissima)和链格孢(Alternaria alternata).迄今为止,细极链格孢(Alternaria tenuissima)侵染银杏导致其发生叶斑病鲜有报道.     

Substance P regulates the vasodilator activity of calcitonin gene-related peptide

The 37-amino-acid calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) occurs as a result of alternative processing of mRNA from the calcitonin gene. The potency of CGRP as a vasodilator and the occurrence of the peptide in nerves associated with blood vessels suggest an important role for CGRP in the regulation of blood flow. The finding that CGRP induces protracted vasodilatation when administered extra-vascularly, to mimic release from nerves, has led us to investigate how the vasodilator activity of CGRP is controlled in vivo. CGRP is often co-localized with substance P in C-fibre nerves. Here, we demonstrate that injection of CGRP with substance P into human skin converts the long-lasting vasodilatation induced by CGRP into a transient response. Experiments in animals reveal that the phenomenon is dependent on the action of proteases from mast cells stimulated by substance P. The results reveal a new regulatory interaction between two neuropeptides and provide evidence for an in vivo role for mast cell proteases.