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We study the association of shareholder returns with liberalization in government policy during Britain's railway run-up of 1844–5. The findings sustain two main claims. First, the railway returns during the run-up were associated with the advent of liberalizing policies, especially related to free trade, enhanced transparency and governance of firms, and industry consolidation. Second, analysis of cross-sectional variation reveals higher returns to large railways in the South and Midlands of England, several of which were leading consolidators. This study is the first to report an association between policy liberalization and run-up returns and to identify consolidators as the prime beneficiaries of the liberalization.

Recently we determined that activation of the tachykinin 2 (Tac2) pathway in the central amygdala (CeA) is necessary and sufficient for the modulation of fear memories. The Tac2 pathway includes the Tac2 gene, which encodes the neuropeptide neurokinin B and its corresponding receptor neurokinin 3 receptor (NK3R). In this study, using Tac2-cre and Tac2-GFP mice, we applied a combination of in vivo (optogenetics) and multiple in vitro techniques to further explore the mechanisms of action within the Tac2 pathway. In transgenic mice that express ChR2 solely in Tac2 neurons, in vivo optogenetic stimulation of CeA Tac2-expressing neurons during fear acquisition enhanced fear memory consolidation and drove action potential firing in vitro. In addition, Tac2-CeA neurons were shown to co-express striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase, which may have an important role in regulating Nk3R signaling during fear conditioning. These data extend our current understanding for the underlying mechanism(s) for the role of the Tac2 pathway in the regulation of fear memory, which may serve as a new therapeutic target in the treatment of fear-related disorders.

Adenosine signaling has been implicated in the pathophysiology of alcohol use disorders and other psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression. Numerous studies have indicated a role for A1 receptors (A1R) in acute ethanol-induced motor incoordination, while A2A receptors (A2AR) mainly regulate the rewarding effect of ethanol in mice. Recent findings have demonstrated that dampened A2AR-mediated signaling in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) promotes ethanol-seeking behaviors. Moreover, decreased A2AR function is associated with decreased CREB activity in the DMS, which enhances goal-oriented behaviors and contributes to excessive ethanol drinking in mice. Interestingly, caffeine, the most commonly used psychoactive substance, is known to inhibit both the A1R and A2AR. This dampened adenosine receptor function may mask some of the acute intoxicating effects of ethanol. Furthermore, based on the fact that A2AR activity plays a role in goal-directed behavior, caffeine may also promote ethanol-seeking behavior. The A2AR is enriched in the striatum and exclusively expressed in striatopallidal neurons, which may be responsible for the regulation of inhibitory behavioral control over drug rewarding processes through the indirect pathway of the basal ganglia circuit. Furthermore, the antagonistic interactions between adenosine and dopamine receptors in the striatum also play an integral role in alcoholism and addiction-related disorders. This review focuses on regulation of adenosine signaling in striatal circuits and the possible implication of caffeine in goal-directed behaviors and addiction.

Advancements in behavioural neuroscience have revolutionised the treatment of mental illness by elucidating the mechanisms underpinning human behaviour and cognition. These advancements are not completely benevolent, but have dual-use potential which harkens back to a darker time when states sought to influence and control each other’s citizenry through psychological means. This article puts proposed behaviour-altering neuroscience weapons into their appropriate technical, historical, and geopolitical contexts to present a sober and critical analysis of the threat arising from the weaponisation of behavioural neuroscience. It argues that by using psychiatric drugs, brain stimulation, brain imaging or neurobiochemical weapons, states may be able to leverage neuroscientific advances to influence, control, and manipulate human behaviour and cognition. However, these approaches are extremely nascent and face technical and operational challenges that make their deployment difficult. Despite this, in consideration of the rapid pace of scientific advancement, growing geopolitical instability, and ambiguities in international law, scientists and the international community must remain vigilant as these technologies become more refined and the practical barriers to use begin to lower.

\"Regulating Public Services: How Public Managers Respond to External Performance Assessment\" by Heike Döring, James Downe, and Steve Martin assesses an externally imposed performance management system (PMS). A local government in the US is unlikely ever to be required to review all of its functions, as was mandated by the British Local Government Act in 1999. Michigan launched the Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP) in 2011. It requires eligible local governments to fulfill specific requirements for each of three categories in order to receive statutory payments previously made by the state to the local government with few or no strings attached.

Let Trk:F2⊗GLkPHi(BVk)→ExtAk,k+i(F2,F2)Tr_k:\\mathbb {F}_2\\underset {GL_k}{\\otimes } PH_i(B\\mathbb {V}_k)\\to Ext_{\\mathcal {A}}^{k,k+i}(\\mathbb {F}_2, \\mathbb {F}_2) be the algebraic transfer, which is defined by W. Singer as an algebraic version of the geometrical transfer trk:π∗S((BVk)+)→π∗S(S0)tr_k: \\pi _*^S((B\\mathbb {V} _k)_+) \\to \\pi _*^S(S^0). It has been shown that the algebraic transfer is highly nontrivial and, more precisely, that TrkTr_k is an isomorphism for k=1,2,3k=1, 2, 3. However, Singer showed that Tr5Tr_5 is not an epimorphism. In this paper, we prove that Tr4Tr_4 does not detect the nonzero element gs∈ExtA4,12⋅2s(F2,F2)g_s\\in Ext_{\\mathcal {A}}^{4,12\\cdot 2^s}(\\mathbb {F}_2, \\mathbb {F}_2) for every s≥1s\\geq 1. As a consequence, the localized (Sq0)−1Tr4(Sq^0)^{-1}Tr_4 given by inverting the squaring operation Sq0Sq^0 is not an epimorphism. This gives a negative answer to a prediction by Minami.

This paper is devoted to the connective K homology and cohomology of finite groups $G$. We attempt to give a systematic account from several points of view. In Chapter 1, following Quillen [50, 51], we use the methods of algebraic geometry to study the ring $ku^*(BG)$ where $ku$ denotes connective complex K-theory. We describe the variety in terms of the category of abelian $p$-subgroups of $G$ for primes $p$ dividing the group order. As may be expected, the variety is obtained by splicing that of periodic complex K-theory and that of integral ordinary homology, however the way these parts fit together is of interest in itself. The main technical obstacle is that the Kunneth spectral sequence does not collapse, so we have to show that it collapses up to isomorphism of varieties.In Chapter 2, we give several families of new complete and explicit calculations of the ring $ku^*(BG)$. This illustrates the general results of Chapter 1 and their limitations. In Chapter 3, we consider the associated homology $ku_*(BG)$. We identify this as a module over $ku^*(BG)$ by using the local cohomology spectral sequence. This gives new specific calculations, but also illuminating structural information, including remarkable duality properties. Finally, in Chapter 4, we make a particular study of elementary abelian groups $V$. Despite the group-theoretic simplicity of $V$, the detailed calculation of $ku^*(BV)$ and $ku_*(BV)$ exposes a very intricate structure, and gives a striking illustration of our methods. Unlike earlier work, our description is natural for the action of $GL(V)$.

Multiple lines of evidence indicate an active hydrogeological history of Mars and chemolithoautotrophy-suited environments within its Noachian terrains. As a result, one of the primary aims of upcoming missions to Mars is to search for signs of ancient life. Here we report on laboratory-scaled microbially assisted chemolithoautotrophic biotransformation of the Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 composed of ancient (~4.5 Gyr old) crustal materials from Mars. Nanoanalytical hyperspectral analysis provides clues for the trafficking and distribution of meteorite inorganic constituents in the microbial cell. We decipher biomineralization patterns associated with the biotransformation and reveal microbial nanometer-sized lithologies located inside the cell and on its outer surface layer. These investigations provide an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust and to assess the potential biogenicity of Martian materials.