Gender bias in the evaluation of interns in different medical specialties: An archival study

Introduction The field of medicine is characterized by within-field gender segregation: Gender ratios vary systematically by subdisciplines. This segregation might be, in part, due to gender bias in the assessment of women and men medical doctors. Methods We examined whether the assessments, i.e. overall score, department scores and skills scores, interns receive by their superiors during their internship year, vary as a function of their gender and the representation of women in the field. We analyzed an archival data set from a large hospital in Israel which included 3326 assessments that were given to all interns who completed their internship year between 2015 and 2019. Results Women received lower department scores and skills scores in fields with a low (versus high) representation of women. Men received higher scores in fields with a high (versus low) representation of men, yet there was no difference in their skills scores. Conclusions Women are evaluated more negatively in fields with a low representation of women doctors. Similarly, men are evaluated more negatively in fields with a low representation of men, yet this cannot be explained by their skills. This pattern of results might point to a gender bias in assessments. A better understanding of these differences is important as assessments affect interns’ career choices and options

REACTIVITY OF CHLOROPHYLL a/b-PROTEINS AND MICELLAR TRITON X-100 COMPLEXES OF CHLOROPHYLLS a OR b WITH BOROHYDRIDE

The reaction of several plant chlorophyll-protein complexes with NaBH4 has been studied by absorption spectroscopy. In all the complexes studied, chlorophyll b is more reactive than Chi a, due to preferential reaction of its formyl substituent at C-7. The complexes also show large variations in reactivity towards NaBH4 and the order of reactivity is: LHCI > PSII complex > LHCII > PSI > P700 (investigated as a component of PSI). Differential pools of the same type of chlorophyll have been observed in several complexes. Parallel work was undertaken on the reactivity of micellar complexes of chlorophyll a and of chlorophyll b with NaBH4 to study the effect of aggregation state on this reactivity. In these complexes, both chlorophyll a and b show large variations in reactivity in the order monomer > oligomer > polymer with chlorophyll b generally being more reactive than chlorophyll a. It is concluded that aggregation decreases the reactivity of chlorophylls towards NaBH4 in vitro, and may similarly decrease reactivity in naturally-occurring chlorophyll-protein complexes

The formation of homogentisate in the biosynthesis of tocopherol and plastoquinone in spinach chloroplasts

Homogentisate is the precursor in the biosynthesis of -tocopherol and plastoquinone-9 in chloroplasts. It is formed of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate of the shikimate pathway by the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase. In experiments with spinach the dioxygenase was shown to be localized predominatedly in the chloroplasts. Envelope membranes exhibit the highest specific activity, however, because of the high stromal portion of chloroplasts, 60–80% of the total activity is housed in the stroma. The incorporation of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate into 2-methyl-6-phytylquinol as the first intermediate in the tocopherol synthesis by the two-step-reaction: 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Homogentisate 2-Methyl-6-phytylquinol was demonstrated by using envelope membranes. Homogentisate originates directly from 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate of the shikimate pathway. Additionally, a bypass exists in chloroplasts which forms 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate from tyrosine by an L-amino-acid oxidase of the thylakoids and in peroxisomes by a transaminase reaction. Former results about the dioxygenase in peroxisomes were verified

Bridging the Gap Between Neural Networks and Neuromorphic Hardware with A Neural Network Compiler

Different from developing neural networks (NNs) for general-purpose processors, the development for NN chips usually faces with some hardware-specific restrictions, such as limited precision of network signals and parameters, constrained computation scale, and limited types of non-linear functions. This paper proposes a general methodology to address the challenges. We decouple the NN applications from the target hardware by introducing a compiler that can transform an existing trained, unrestricted NN into an equivalent network that meets the given hardware's constraints. We propose multiple techniques to make the transformation adaptable to different kinds of NN chips, and reliable for restrict hardware constraints. We have built such a software tool that supports both spiking neural networks (SNNs) and traditional artificial neural networks (ANNs). We have demonstrated its effectiveness with a fabricated neuromorphic chip and a processing-in-memory (PIM) design. Tests show that the inference error caused by this solution is insignificant and the transformation time is much shorter than the retraining time. Also, we have studied the parameter-sensitivity evaluations to explore the tradeoffs between network error and resource utilization for different transformation strategies, which could provide insights for co-design optimization of neuromorphic hardware and software.Comment: Accepted by ASPLOS 201

Optimum Small Optical Beam Displacement Measurement

We derive the quantum noise limit for the optical beam displacement of a TEM00 mode. Using a multimodal analysis, we show that the conventional split detection scheme for measuring beam displacement is non-optimal with 80% efficiency. We propose a new displacement measurement scheme that is optimal for small beam displacement. This scheme utilises a homodyne detection setup that has a TEM10 mode local oscillator. We show that although the quantum noise limit to displacement measurement can be surpassed using squeezed light in appropriate spatial modes for both schemes, the TEM10 homodyning scheme out-performs split detection for all values of squeezing.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Localization of a 64-kDa phosphoprotein in the lumen between the outer and inner envelopes of pea chloroplasts

The identification and localization of a marker protein for the intermembrane space between the outer and inner chloroplast envelopes is described. This 64-kDa protein is very rapidly labeled by [γ-32P]ATP at very low (30 nM) ATP concentrations and the phosphoryl group exhibits a high turnover rate. It was possible to establish the presence of the 64-kDa protein in this plastid compartment by using different chloroplast envelope separation and isolation techniques. In addition comparison of labeling kinetics by intact and hypotonically lysed pea chloroplasts support the localization of the 64-kDa protein in the intermembrane space. The 64-kDa protein was present and could be labeled in mixed envelope membranes isolated from hypotonically lysed plastids. Mixed envelope membranes incorporated high amounts of 32P from [γ-32P]ATP into the 64-kDa protein, whereas separated outer and inner envelope membranes did not show significant phosphorylation of this protein. Water/Triton X-114 phase partitioning demonstrated that the 64-kDa protein is a hydrophilic polypeptide. These findings suggest that the 64-kDa protein is a soluble protein trapped in the space between the inner and outer envelope membranes. After sonication of mixed envelope membranes, the 64-kDa protein was no longer present in the membrane fraction, but could be found in the supernatant after a 110000 × g centrifugation

Developing young people's sense of self and place through sport

Previous research has recognized positive health implications, both physical and mental, as an outcome of participation in leisure pursuits. They provide opportunities for self-expression and stress reduction, as well as an environment in which people can socialize. Leisure activities, specifically sport activities, can play a significant role in young people's identity development. This paper explores the leisure activities in which young people in Adelaide, Australia participate. It examines the role of leisure activities in terms of young people's identity and feelings towards their hometown. This study consisted of semi-structured focus groups conducted with 24 senior high school students, followed by a survey resulting in 226 useable responses. Respondents were aged between 16 and 18 years of age. From the range of activities identified and explored, the results revealed sports activities to have the greatest impact on young people's lives. The results demonstrated that frequency of participation has a significant effect on young people's involvement levels and how they identify with the activity

A guanosine 5′-triphosphate-dependent protein kinase is localized in the outer envelope membrane of pea chloroplasts

A guanosine 5-triphosphate (GTP)-dependent protein kinase was detected in preparations of outer chloroplast envelope membranes of pea (Pisum sativum L.) chloroplasts. The protein-kinase activity was capable of phosphorylating several envelope-membrane proteins. The major phosphorylated products were 23- and 32.5-kilo-dalton proteins of the outer envelope membrane. Several other envelope proteins were labeled to a lesser extent. Following acid hydrolysis of the labeled proteins, most of the label was detected as phosphoserine with only minor amounts detected as phosphothreonine. Several criteria were used to distinguish the GTP-dependent protein kinase from an ATP-dependent kinase also present in the outer envelope membrane. The ATP-dependent kinase phosphorylated a very different set of envelope-membrane proteins. Heparin inhibited the GTP-dependent kinase but had little effect upon the ATP-dependent enzyme. The GTP-dependent enzyme accepted phosvitin as an external protein substrate whereas the ATP-dependent enzyme did not. The outer membrane of the chloroplast envelope also contained a phosphotransferase capable of transferring labeled phosphate from [-32P]GTP to ADP to yield (-32P]ATP. Consequently, addition of ADP to a GTP-dependent protein-kinase assay resulted in a switch in the pattern of labeled products from that seen with GTP to that typically seen with ATP