Democratic backsliding and backlash against women’s rights: Understanding the current challenges for feminist politics:UN Women, Expert Group Meeting, Sixty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 64), ‘Beijing +25: Current context, emerging issues and prospects for gender equality and women’s rights’, New York, New York, 25-26 September 2019

Trends of de-democratization across Europe and the Americas emerge along with opposition to gender equality and threats to previous gender equality policy achievements. Yet de-democratization is hardly analyzed through the lens of gender equality, and so far, efforts to systematically examine the implications for inclusive democracy and the representation of gender interests is fragmented. Backsliding in gender policies and on state commitments to gender equality, and new forms of feminist engagement with hostile states and audiences also raise new challenges to the literature on gender and politics. In this paper we propose a conceptual framework discussing two conceptually interesting realms: backsliding in gender equality policies and the emerging political space for feminist responses to backsliding. We illustrate our framework with empirical observations from four backsliding or temporarily backsliding Central and Eastern European countries: Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Romania. We aim to contribute to understanding gendered aspects of de-democratization and illiberal democracies functioning

Politics in science High modulation of engagement in intelligent design discourse

Intelligent design is a pseudoscientific concept conceived in an attempt to bring religion-based teaching into the classroom. As such, it is involved in a constant struggle for dialogic space with the dominant scientific discourse of the theory of evolution. Here, we use a corpus linguistic approach to study how intelligent design discourse uses engagement to forward its creationistic propositions and at the same time limit the propositions of the theory of evolution. The results suggest that intelligent design discourse employs engagement far more frequently than evolutionary biology discourse, mainly to counter opposing propositions and to entertain its own proposition in their stead. The underdog position of ID obligates it to highly modulated engagement in order forward its position, which is ultimately aimed at changing the political decision-making related to the teaching of science

Effect of Alfalfa Silage Storage Structure and Roasting Corn on Production and Ruminal Metabolism of Lactating Dairy Cows

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine if feeding roasted corn would improve production and nutrient utilization when supplemented to lactating cows fed 1 of 3 different alfalfa silages (AS). Forty-two lactating Holstein cows (6 fitted with ruminal cannulas) averaging 77 d in milk and 43kg of milk/d pretrial were assigned to 2 cyclic changeover designs. Treatments were AS ensiled in bag, bunker, or O 2 -limiting tower silos and supplemented with ground shelled corn (GSC) or roasted GSC (RGSC). Silages were prepared from second-cutting alfalfa, field-wilted an average of 24h, and ensiled over 2 d. Production and N utilization were evaluated in 36 cows during four 28-d periods, and ruminal fermentation was evaluated with 6 cows during five 21-d periods. Experimental diets contained 40% AS, 15% corn silage, and 35% of either GSC or RGSC on a dry matter basis. No significant interactions between AS and corn sources were detected for any production trait. Although the chemical composition of the 3 AS was similar, feeding AS from the O 2 -limited tower silo elicited positive production responses. Yields of 3.5% fat-corrected milk and fat were increased 1.7kg/d and 150g/d, and milk fat content was increased 0.3% when cows were fed diets based on AS from the O 2 -limiting silo compared with the other 2 silages. The responses in milk fat were paralleled by an average increase in acid detergent fiber digestibility of 270g/d for cows fed AS from the O 2 -limiting tower silo. However, ruminal concentrations of lipogenic volatile fatty acids were unchanged with AS source. Cows fed RGSC consumed 0.6kg/d more dry matter and yielded 30g/d more protein and 50g/d more lactose than cows fed GSC diets. There was no evidence of increased total tract digestibility of organic matter or starch, or reduced ruminal NH 3 concentration, when feeding RGSC. Free amino acids increased, and isovalerate decreased in rumen fluid from cows fed RGSC diets. However, responses in production with roasted corn were mainly due to increased dry matter intake, which increased the supply of energy and nutrients available for synthesis of milk and milk components

Identification of Disease-Associated Cryptococcal Proteins Reactive With Serum IgG From Cryptococcal Meningitis Patients

Cryptococcus neoformans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen ubiquitously present in the environment, causes cryptococcal meningitis (CM) mainly in immunocompromised patients, such as AIDS patients. We aimed to identify disease-associated cryptococcal protein antigens targeted by the human humoral immune response. Therefore, we used sera from Colombian CM patients, with or without HIV infection, and from healthy individuals living in the same region. Serological analysis revealed increased titers of anti-cryptococcal IgG in HIV-negative CM patients, but not HIV-positive CM patients, compared to healthy controls. In contrast, titers of anti-cryptococcal IgM were not affected by CM. Furthermore, we detected pre-existing IgG and IgM antibodies even in sera from healthy individuals. The observed induction of anti-cryptococcal IgG but not IgM during CM was supported by analysis of sera from C. neoformans-infected mice. Stronger increase in IgG was found in wild type mice with high lung fungal burden compared to IL-4Ra-deficient mice showing low lung fungal burden. To identify the proteins targeted by human anti-cryptococcal IgG antibodies, we applied a quantitative 2D immunoproteome approach identifying cryptococcal protein spots preferentially recognized by sera from CM patients or healthy individuals followed by mass spectrometry analysis. Twenty-three cryptococcal proteins were recombinantly expressed and confirmed to be immunoreactive with human sera. Fourteen of them were newly described as immunoreactive proteins. Twelve proteins were classified as disease-associated antigens, based on significantly stronger immunoreactivity with sera from CM patients compared to healthy individuals. The proteins identified in our screen significantly expand the pool of cryptococcal proteins with potential for (i) development of novel anticryptococcal agents based on implications in cryptococcal virulence or survival, or (ii) development of an anti-cryptococcal vaccine, as several candidates lack homology to human proteins and are localized extracellularly. Furthermore, this study defines preexisting anti-cryptococcal immunoreactivity in healthy individuals at a molecular level, identifying target antigens recognized by sera from healthy control persons

Associations among nutrient concentration, silage fermentation products, in vivo organic matter digestibility, rumen fermentation and in vitro methane yield in 78 grass silages

Grass-clover silage constitutes a large part of ruminant diets in Northern and Western Europe, but the impact of silage quality on methane (CH4) production is largely unknown. This study was conducted to identify the quality attributes of grass silage associated with variation in CH4 yield. We expected that silage nutrient concentrations and silage fermentation products would affect CH4 yield, and that these factors could be used to predict the methanogenic potential of the si-lages. Round bales (n = 78) of grass and grass-clover silage from 37 farms in Norway were sampled, incubated, and screened for in vitro CH4 yield, i.e. CH4 production expressed on the basis of incubated organic matter (CH4-OM) and digestible OM (CH4-dOM) using sheep. Concentration of indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF) was quantified using the in situ technique. The data were subjected to correlation and principal component analyses. Stepwise multiple regression was used to model methanogenic potential of silages. Among all investigated silage composition variables, neutral detergent fiber (aNDFom) and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentra-tions obtained the greatest correlations to CH4-OM (r =-0.63 and r = 0.57, respectively, P < 0.001), while concentration of iNDF negatively correlated with CH4-OM (r =-0.48, P < 0.001). In vivo organic matter digestibility (OMD) and concentration of ammonia-N (NH3-N) in silages were also correlated to CH4-OM (r = 0.44 and r =-0.32, P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively). The stepwise regression using CH4-OM as response variable included aNDFom, WSC, iNDF, silage propionic acid and pH in descending order. The stepwise regression using CH4-dOM as response variable included WSC, aNDFom and iNDF in descending order. Among in vitro rumen short chain fatty acids (SCFA), molar proportion of butyrate was the most prominent in increasing CH4-OM and CH4-dOM (r = 0.23 and r = 0.36, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively), while molar proportion of propionate was the most prominent SCFA in reducing CH4-OM and CH4-dOM (r =-0.23 and r =-0.26, respectively, P < 0.05). Regression models that account for silage quality attributes can be used to predict CH4 yield from silages with a coefficient of determination (R-2) between 0.33 (CH4-dOM) and 0.65 (CH4-OM). In conclusion, concentration of WSC increased in vitro CH4-OM and CH4-dOM, while concentration of aNDFom and iNDF decreased CH4-OM and CH4-dOM in grass silages

Infrared fixed point in quantum Einstein gravity

We performed the renormalization group analysis of the quantum Einstein gravity in the deep infrared regime for different types of extensions of the model. It is shown that an attractive infrared point exists in the broken symmetric phase of the model. It is also shown that due to the Gaussian fixed point the IR critical exponent $\nu$ of the correlation length is 1/2. However, there exists a certain extension of the model which gives finite correlation length in the broken symmetric phase. It typically appears in case of models possessing a first order phase transitions as is demonstrated on the example of the scalar field theory with a Coleman-Weinberg potential.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, final version, to appear in JHE

Finding needles in haystacks: linking scientific names, reference specimens and molecular data for Fungi

DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi. The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Re-annotated and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with NR_prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi

Identification of Disease-Associated Cryptococcal Proteins Reactive With Serum IgG From Cryptococcal Meningitis Patients

Cryptococcus neoformans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen ubiquitously present in the environment, causes cryptococcal meningitis (CM) mainly in immunocompromised patients, such as AIDS patients. We aimed to identify disease-associated cryptococcal protein antigens targeted by the human humoral immune response. Therefore, we used sera from Colombian CM patients, with or without HIV infection, and from healthy individuals living in the same region. Serological analysis revealed increased titers of anti-cryptococcal IgG in HIV-negative CM patients, but not HIV-positive CM patients, compared to healthy controls. In contrast, titers of anti-cryptococcal IgM were not affected by CM. Furthermore, we detected pre-existing IgG and IgM antibodies even in sera from healthy individuals. The observed induction of anti-cryptococcal IgG but not IgM during CM was supported by analysis of sera from C. neoformans-infected mice. Stronger increase in IgG was found in wild type mice with high lung fungal burden compared to IL-4Rα-deficient mice showing low lung fungal burden. To identify the proteins targeted by human anti-cryptococcal IgG antibodies, we applied a quantitative 2D immunoproteome approach identifying cryptococcal protein spots preferentially recognized by sera from CM patients or healthy individuals followed by mass spectrometry analysis. Twenty-three cryptococcal proteins were recombinantly expressed and confirmed to be immunoreactive with human sera. Fourteen of them were newly described as immunoreactive proteins. Twelve proteins were classified as disease-associated antigens, based on significantly stronger immunoreactivity with sera from CM patients compared to healthy individuals. The proteins identified in our screen significantly expand the pool of cryptococcal proteins with potential for (i) development of novel anti-cryptococcal agents based on implications in cryptococcal virulence or survival, or (ii) development of an anti-cryptococcal vaccine, as several candidates lack homology to human proteins and are localized extracellularly. Furthermore, this study defines pre-existing anti-cryptococcal immunoreactivity in healthy individuals at a molecular level, identifying target antigens recognized by sera from healthy control persons

Addressing global ruminant agricultural challenges through understanding the rumen microbiome::Past, present and future

The rumen is a complex ecosystem composed of anaerobic bacteria, protozoa, fungi, methanogenic archaea and phages. These microbes interact closely to breakdown plant material that cannot be digested by humans, whilst providing metabolic energy to the host and, in the case of archaea, producing methane. Consequently, ruminants produce meat and milk, which are rich in high-quality protein, vitamins and minerals, and therefore contribute to food security. As the world population is predicted to reach approximately 9.7 billion by 2050, an increase in ruminant production to satisfy global protein demand is necessary, despite limited land availability, and whilst ensuring environmental impact is minimized. Although challenging, these goals can be met, but depend on our understanding of the rumen microbiome. Attempts to manipulate the rumen microbiome to benefit global agricultural challenges have been ongoing for decades with limited success, mostly due to the lack of a detailed understanding of this microbiome and our limited ability to culture most of these microbes outside the rumen. The potential to manipulate the rumen microbiome and meet global livestock challenges through animal breeding and introduction of dietary interventions during early life have recently emerged as promising new technologies. Our inability to phenotype ruminants in a high-throughput manner has also hampered progress, although the recent increase in “omic” data may allow further development of mathematical models and rumen microbial gene biomarkers as proxies. Advances in computational tools, high-throughput sequencing technologies and cultivation-independent “omics” approaches continue to revolutionize our understanding of the rumen microbiome. This will ultimately provide the knowledge framework needed to solve current and future ruminant livestock challenges