A common regulatory dilemma is determining how much trust authorities can place in people’s self-reports, especially in contexts with an incentive to cheat. In such contexts, regulators are typically risk averse and do not readily confer trust, resulting in excessive requirements when applying for permits, licenses, etc. Studies in behavioral ethics have suggested that asking people to ex-ante pledge to behave ethically can reduce their level of dishonesty and noncompliance. However, pledges might also backfire by allowing more people to cheat with no real sanctions. Additionally, pledges’ effects have almost always been studied in one-shot decision making without sanctions. We explore pledges’ potential effects by manipulating whether pledges were accompanied by sanctions (fines) and testing their impact on sequential, repeated ethical decisions. We find that pledges can considerably and consistently reduce dishonesty, and this effect is not crowded out by the presence of fines. Furthermore, pledges also affect “brazen liars” who cheat to a large extent and also those who score low on tendency to follow rules and norms. We conclude that pledges could be an effective tool for the behavioral regulation of dishonesty, to reduce regulatory burden, and to build a more trusting relationship between government and the public.
Nina Bertele, Karabatsiakis, Alexander , Buss, Claudia , ו Talmon, Anat . 2021.
“How Biomarker Patterns Can Be Utilized To Identify Individuals With A High Disease Burden: A Bioinformatics Approach Towards Predictive, Preventive, And Personalized (3P) Medicine”. Epma Journal, 12, Pp. 507–516.
Neurons and satellite glial cells (SGCs) in sensory ganglia maintain bidirectional communications that are believed to be largely mediated by chemical messengers. Nerve injury leads to SGC activation, which was proposed to be mediated by nitric oxide (NO) released from active neurons, but evidence for this is lacking. Here we tested the idea that increased neuronal firing is a major factor in NO release. We activated neurons in isolated dorsal root and trigeminal ganglia from mice with capsaicin (5 µM), which acts on transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) channels in small neurons. We found that capsaicin induced SGC activation, as assayed by glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) upregulation, and an NO-donor had a similar effect. Incubating the ganglia in capsaicin in the presence of the NO-synthase inhibitor L-NAME (100 µM) prevented the GFAP upregulation. We also found that capsaicin caused an increase in SGC-SGC coupling, which was shown previously to accompany SGC activation. To test the contribution of ATP to the actions of capsaicin, we incubated the ganglia with capsaicin in the presence of P2 purinergic receptor inhibitor suramin (100 µM), which prevented the capsaicin-induced GFAP upregulation. Size analysis indicated that although capsaicin acts mainly on small neurons, SGCs around neurons of all sizes were affected by capsaicin, suggesting a spread of signals from small neurons to neighboring cells. We conclude that neuronal excitation leads to NO release, which induces SGCs activation. It appears that ATP participates in NO's action, possibly by interaction with TRPV1 channels.
Dafna Tener, Marmor, Amitai , Katz, Carmit , Newman, Abbie , Silovsky, Jane F, Shields, Jennifer , ו Taylor, Erin . 2021.
“How Does Covid-19 Impact Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse? Comparison Analysis Of Reports By Practitioners In Israel And The Us”. Child Abuse & Neglect, 116, Pp. 104779.
Dafna Tener, Marmor, Amitai , Katz, Carmit , Newman, Abbie , Silovsky, Jane F, Shields, Jennifer , ו Taylor, Erin . 2021.
“How Does Covid-19 Impact Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse? Comparison Analysis Of Reports By Practitioners In Israel And The Us”. Child Abuse & Neglect, 116, Pp. 104779.
Jianshuang Fan, Zhou, Lin , Zhang, Yan , Shao, Shuai , ו Ma, Miao . 2021.
“How Does Population Aging Affect Household Carbon Emissions? Evidence From Chinese Urban And Rural Areas”. Energy Economics, 100, Pp. 105356. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105356.
Publisher's Version תקציר Population aging has become a salient demographic phenomenon in China, thus causing social and economic concerns. However, little is known about the impact of population aging on the environment. The available literature mainly emphasizes decreases in energy consumption or carbon emissions caused by population aging, conveying limited information about the impact of population aging on household carbon emissions. This paper explores the impact of population aging on household carbon emissions in both urban and rural areas of China, using panel data of 30 provinces over 1997–2017. The relationship between population aging and household carbon emissions is investigated with a threshold regression model and a two-stage instrumental variable regression model. The results show that urban population aging increases urban household carbon emissions at levels both below and above 0.083, while this positive impact is comparatively smaller when urban population aging is above 0.083. However, at the national level, rural population aging has no significant impact on rural household carbon emissions at the level below 0.066, while rural population aging significantly increases rural household carbon emissions at the level above 0.066. Rural population aging has a significant positive effect on the increase in household carbon emissions in northern heating areas, when rural population aging is both below and above 0.077. The analysis of the underlying mechanism identifies consumption structure and consumption level as intermediary factors that affect the nonlinear relationship between urban population aging and urban household carbon emissions. Furthermore, the income level also affects the nonlinear relationship between rural population aging and rural household carbon emissions.
Abstract How does engagement with markets affect socioeconomic values and political preferences? A long line of thinkers has debated the nature and direction of such effects, but claims are difficult to assess empirically because market engagement is endogenous. We designed a large field experiment to evaluate the impact of financial markets, which have grown dramatically in recent decades. Participants from a national sample in England received substantial sums they could invest over a 6-week period. We assigned them into several treatments designed to distinguish between different theoretical channels of influence. Results show that investment in stocks led to a more right-leaning outlook on issues such as merit and deservingness, personal responsibility, and equality. Subjects also shifted to the right on policy questions. These results appear to be driven by growing familiarity with, and decreasing distrust of markets. The spread of financial markets thus has important and underappreciated political ramifications.
Abstract How does engagement with markets affect socioeconomic values and political preferences? A long line of thinkers has debated the nature and direction of such effects, but claims are difficult to assess empirically because market engagement is endogenous. We designed a large field experiment to evaluate the impact of financial markets, which have grown dramatically in recent decades. Participants from a national sample in England received substantial sums they could invest over a 6-week period. We assigned them into several treatments designed to distinguish between different theoretical channels of influence. Results show that investment in stocks led to a more right-leaning outlook on issues such as merit and deservingness, personal responsibility, and equality. Subjects also shifted to the right on policy questions. These results appear to be driven by growing familiarity with, and decreasing distrust of markets. The spread of financial markets thus has important and underappreciated political ramifications.
Avia Watson, Li, Hao , Ma, Bingting , Weiss, Ronen , Bendayan, Daniele , Abramovitz, Lilach , Ben-Shalom, Noam , Mor, Michael , Pinko, Erica , Bar Oz, Michal , Wang, Zhenqi , Du, Fengjiao , Lu, Yu , Rybniker, Jan , Dahan, Rony , Huang, Hairong , Barkan, Daniel , Xiang, Ye , Javid, Babak , ו Freund, Natalia T. 2021.
“Human Antibodies Targeting A Mycobacterium Transporter Protein Mediate Protection Against Tuberculosis”. Nature Communications, 12. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-20930-0.
תקציר Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) exposure drives antibody responses, but whether patients with active tuberculosis elicit protective antibodies, and against which antigens, is still unclear. Here we generate monoclonal antibodies from memory B cells of one patient to investigate the B cell responses during active infection. The antibodies, members of four distinct B cell clones, are directed against the Mtb phosphate transporter subunit PstS1. Antibodies p4-36 and p4-163 reduce Mycobacterium bovis-BCG and Mtb levels in an ex vivo human whole blood growth inhibition assay in an FcR-dependent manner; meanwhile, germline versions of p4-36 and p4-163 do not bind Mtb. Crystal structures of p4-36 and p4-170, complexed to PstS1, are determined at 2.1 Å and 2.4 Å resolution, respectively, to reveal two distinctive PstS1 epitopes. Lastly, a prophylactic p4-36 and p4-163 treatment in Mtb-infected Balb/c mice reduces bacterial lung burden by 50%. Our study shows that inhibitory anti-PstS1 B cell responses arise during active tuberculosis.
O. Alfi, Yakirevitch, A. , Wald, O. , Wandel, O. , Izhar, U. , Oiknine-Djian, E. , Nevo, Y. , Elgavish, S. , Dagan, E. , Madgar, O. , Feinmesser, G. , Pikarsky, E. , Bronstein, M. , Vorontsov, O. , Jonas, W. , Ives, J. , Walter, J. , Zakay-Rones, Z. , Oberbaum, M. , Panet, A. , ו Wolf, D. G.. 2021.
“Human Nasal And Lung Tissues Infected Ex Vivo With Sars-Cov-2 Provide Insights Into Differential Tissue-Specific And Virus-Specific Innate Immune Responses In The Upper And Lower Respiratory Tract”. J Virol, 95, Pp. e0013021. .
PubMed The nasal mucosa constitutes the primary entry site for respiratory viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While the imbalanced innate immune response of end-stage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been extensively studied, the earliest stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection at the mucosal entry site have remained unexplored. Here, we employed SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus infection in native multi-cell-type human nasal turbinate and lung tissues ex vivo, coupled with genome-wide transcriptional analysis, to investigate viral susceptibility and early patterns of local mucosal innate immune response in the authentic milieu of the human respiratory tract. SARS-CoV-2 productively infected the nasal turbinate tissues, predominantly targeting respiratory epithelial cells, with a rapid increase in tissue-associated viral subgenomic mRNA and secretion of infectious viral progeny. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2 infection triggered robust antiviral and inflammatory innate immune responses in the nasal mucosa. The upregulation of interferon-stimulated genes, cytokines, and chemokines, related to interferon signaling and immune-cell activation pathways, was broader than that triggered by influenza virus infection. Conversely, lung tissues exhibited a restricted innate immune response to SARS-CoV-2, with a conspicuous lack of type I and III interferon upregulation, contrasting with their vigorous innate immune response to influenza virus. Our findings reveal differential tissue-specific innate immune responses in the upper and lower respiratory tracts that are specific to SARS-CoV-2. The studies shed light on the role of the nasal mucosa in active viral transmission and immune defense, implying a window of opportunity for early interventions, whereas the restricted innate immune response in early-SARS-CoV-2-infected lung tissues could underlie the unique uncontrolled late-phase lung damage of advanced COVID-19. IMPORTANCE In order to reduce the late-phase morbidity and mortality of COVID-19, there is a need to better understand and target the earliest stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the human respiratory tract. Here, we have studied the initial steps of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the consequent innate immune responses within the natural multicellular complexity of human nasal mucosal and lung tissues. Comparing the global innate response patterns of nasal and lung tissues infected in parallel with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus, we found distinct virus-host interactions in the upper and lower respiratory tract, which could determine the outcome and unique pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Studies in the nasal mucosal infection model can be employed to assess the impact of viral evolutionary changes and evaluate new therapeutic and preventive measures against SARS-CoV-2 and other human respiratory pathogens.
