A1 and A2 blood group substances: are there structural differences?

Blood group substances were extracted from erythrocytes of blood groups A1 and A2 and separated using HPTLC. Identification of blood group A was carried out on the chromatogramm using the PAP-technique. The specific demonstration of the serologically active glycosphingolipids allowed a comparison of the A1 and A2 blood group substance bands. The difference between the A1 and A2 Substances appears to be only a quantitative one.     

A comparative study of immuno-blotting techniques for the detection of Gc-subtypes after isoelectric focusing on agarose and polyacrylamide gels

A comparison of separation and detection techniques has been carried out to determine the most suitable combination for use in Gc-subtyping. The best results (i.e., high sensitivity, distinct bands, especially with reference to the 1S and 1F separation) were achieved using isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel (pH 4.5-5.4) followed by transfer to nitrocellulose membrane by electroblotting and finally detection with enzyme-linked antibody complex.     

Forensic application of the polymorphism of coagulation factor XIIIB

Gene frequencies of coagulation factor XIIIB polymorphism were determined in a random population sample of east Westphalia (n = 417). Furthermore, mendelian inheritance of alleles was examined in 60 families. Determinations were made after treatment of serum samples with neuraminidase by immunofixation on agarose gels. All six phenotypes were observed in our population sample. The gene frequencies were: FXIIIB1 = 0.71, FXIIIB2 = 0.11, FXIIIB3 = 0.18. The family data confirm the hypothesis of autosomal inheritance of three common alleles and disprove the two-allele model of Kera et al. [5].     

Small States,Large Unitary States and Federations

Employing a political-economics approach, this paper comparessmall states and unions when the former fail to internalizecross-border externalities of publicly provided goods. Itdiscusses two types of unions: federations with more than onelevel of government and unitary states. While unitary statesare unable to differentiate public spending according todiffering preferences, rents of governments in a federationare higher due to a common-pool problem. The comparison leadsto the following results. (1) Citizens prefer small states tolarge states if spillover effects are weak. (2) They benefitfrom a multi-level government only if their preferencesheavily differ from the median-voter's preferences and ifspillovers are strong. Based on this comparison the paper alsodiscusses the creation of unions. Making specific assumptionon the distribution of preferences, it analyzes strong Nashequilibria at the union formation stage.     

Are Voters Better Informed When They Have a Larger Say in Politics? – Evidence for the European Union and Switzerland

Public choice theory takes citizens as rationally ignorantabout political issues, because the costs of being informedgreatly exceed the utility individuals derive from it. Thecosts of information (supply side) as well as the utility ofinformation (demand side), however, can vary substantiallydepending on the political system under which citizens live.Using survey data from the European Union and Switzerland, wepresent empirical evidence that citizens are politicallybetter informed when they have more extended politicalparticipation rights. The results corroborate theoreticalarguments and circumstantial evidence that voter informationshould be treated as endogenously determined by politicalinstitutions.