Protecting the brain against bad news

The Good News and the Bad News

There is much that is attractive about Michael Burawoy’s examination of the critical turn to a public sociology. I find plausible his account of the academic nature of 1970s radical sociology especially that mobilized notions such as Althusser’s “theoretical practice.” I also was cheered to read the account of the positive developments currently in train in the USA and especially with how socia...

Microglial degeneration in the aging brain--bad news for neurons?

We have long promulgated the idea that microglial cells serve an entirely beneficial role in the central nervous system (CNS), not only as immunological sentinels to fend off potentially dangerous infections, but also as constitutively neuroprotective glia that help sustain neuronal function in the normal and especially in the injured CNS when microglia become activated. In recent years, we hav...

Protecting against vascular disease in brain.

Endothelial cells exert an enormous influence on blood vessels throughout the circulation, but their impact is particularly pronounced in the brain. New concepts have emerged recently regarding the role of this cell type and mechanisms that contribute to endothelial dysfunction and vascular disease. Activation of the renin-angiotensin system plays a prominent role in producing these abnormaliti...

The NPV of Bad News

We explore the effects of individualand network-level negative word-of-mouth on the firm’s profits using an agent-based model and specifically, an extended small world analysis. We include both permanent strong ties within the social network, and changing, often random, weak ties with other networks. The effect of negative word-of-mouth on the Net Present Value (NPV) of the firm was found to be...

hiv/aids good news and bad news