Soft power, hard news:How journalists at state-funded transnational media legitimize their work

How do journalists working for different state-funded international news organizations legitimize their relationship to the governments which support them? In what circumstances might such journalists resist the diplomatic strategies of their funding states? We address these questions through a comparative study of journalists working for international news organizations funded by the Chinese, US, UK and Qatari governments. Using 52 interviews with journalists covering humanitarian issues, we explain how they minimized tensions between their diplomatic role and dominant norms of journalistic autonomy by drawing on three – broadly shared – legitimizing narratives, involving different kinds of boundary-work. In, the first ‘exclusionary’ narrative, journalists differentiated their ‘truthful’ news reporting from the ‘false’ state ‘propaganda’ of a common Other, the Russian-funded network, RT. In the second ‘fuzzifying’ narrative, journalists deployed the ambiguous notion of ‘soft power’ as an ambivalent ‘boundary concept’, to defuse conflicts between journalistic and diplomatic agendas. In the final ‘inversion’ narrative, journalists argued that, paradoxically, their dependence on funding states gave them greater ‘operational autonomy’. Even when journalists did resist their funding states, this was hidden or partial, and prompted less by journalists’ concerns about the political effects of their work, than by serious threats to their personal cultural capital

Perturbation with Intrabodies Reveals That Calpain Cleavage Is Required for Degradation of Huntingtin Exon 1

Background: Proteolytic processing of mutant huntingtin (mHtt), the protein that causes Huntington's disease (HD), is critical for mHtt toxicity and disease progression. mHtt contains several caspase and calpain cleavage sites that generate N-terminal fragments that are more toxic than full-length mHtt. Further processing is then required for the degradation of these fragments, which in turn, reduces toxicity. This unknown, secondary degradative process represents a promising therapeutic target for HD. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have used intrabodies, intracellularly expressed antibody fragments, to gain insight into the mechanism of mutant huntingtin exon 1 (mHDx-1) clearance. Happ1, an intrabody recognizing the proline-rich region of mHDx-1, reduces the level of soluble mHDx-1 by increasing clearance. While proteasome and macroautophagy inhibitors reduce turnover of mHDx-1, Happ1 is still able to reduce mHDx-1 under these conditions, indicating Happ1-accelerated mHDx-1 clearance does not rely on these processes. In contrast, a calpain inhibitor or an inhibitor of lysosomal pH block Happ1-mediated acceleration of mHDx-1 clearance. These results suggest that mHDx-1 is cleaved by calpain, likely followed by lysosomal degradation and this process regulates the turnover rate of mHDx-1. Sequence analysis identifies amino acid (AA) 15 as a potential calpain cleavage site. Calpain cleavage of recombinant mHDx-1 in vitro yields fragments of sizes corresponding to this prediction. Moreover, when the site is blocked by binding of another intrabody, V_L12.3, turnover of soluble mHDx-1 in living cells is blocked. Conclusions/Significance: These results indicate that calpain-mediated removal of the 15 N-terminal AAs is required for the degradation of mHDx-1, a finding that may have therapeutic implications

Improved Immunodetection of Endogenous α-Synuclein

α-Synuclein is a key molecule in understanding the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative α-synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease. Despite extensive research, however, its precise function remains unclear partly because of a difficulty in immunoblotting detection of endogenous α-synuclein. This difficulty has largely restricted the progress for α-synucleinopathy research. Here, we report that α-synuclein monomers tend to easily detach from blotted membranes, resulting in no or very poor detection. To prevent this detachment, a mild fixation of blotted membranes with paraformaldehyde was applied to the immunoblotting method. Amazingly, this fixation led to clear and strong detection of endogenous α-synuclein, which has been undetectable by a conventional immunoblotting method. Specifically, we were able to detect endogenous α-synuclein in various human cell lines, including SH-SY5Y, HEK293, HL60, HeLa, K562, A375, and Daoy, and a mouse cell line B16 as well as in several mouse tissues such as the spleen and kidney. Moreover, it should be noted that we could clearly detect endogenous α-synuclein phosphorylated at Ser-129 in several human cell lines. Thus, in some tissues and cultured cells, endogenous α-synuclein becomes easily detectable by simply fixing the blotted membranes. This improved immunoblotting method will allow us to detect previously undetectable endogenous α-synuclein, thereby facilitating α-synuclein research

Modeling timing and size of juvenile Chinook salmon out-migrants at three Elwha River rotary screw traps: a window into early life history post dam removal

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations express diverse early life history pathways that increase habitat utilization and demographic resiliency. Extensive anthropogenic alterations to freshwater habitats along with hatchery and harvest impacts have led to marked reductions in early life history diversity across much of the species’ range. The recent removal of two Elwha River dams between 2011 and 2014 restored access to over 90% of the available habitat that had been inaccessible to Chinook salmon since the early 1900s. This provided an opportunity to investigate how renewed access to this habitat might affect life history diversity. As exotherms, egg-to-fry development, juvenile growth, and movement are influenced by water temperatures. We used spatially and temporally explicit Elwha River water temperature and Chinook salmon spawning location data, in conjunction with spawn timing, emergence, growth, and movement models, to predict observed timing and sizes of juvenile Chinook salmon captured in three rotary screw traps in the mainstem and two tributaries during four trap years. This effort allowed us to test hypotheses regarding Elwha River Chinook salmon early life history, identify potential problems with the data, and predict how emergence and growth would change with increased spawning in the upper watershed. Predicted Chinook salmon emergence timing and predicted dates that juveniles reached 65 mm differed by as much as 2 months for different river locations due to large differences in thermal regimes longitudinally in the mainstem and between tributaries. For 10 out of the 12 trap–year combinations, the model was able to replicate important characteristics of the out-migrant timing and length data collected at the three traps. However, in most cases, there were many plausible parameter combinations that performed well, and in some cases, the model predictions and observations differed. Potential problems with the data and model assumptions were identified as partial explanations for differences and provide avenues for future work. We show that juvenile out-migrant data combined with mechanistic models can improve our understanding of how differences in temperature, spawning extent, and spawn timing affect the emergence, growth, and movement of juvenile fish across diverse riverine habitats

To formalize or not to formalize: women entrepreneurs’ sensemaking of business registration in the context of Nepal

Despite the depiction of decisions to formalize informal firms as rational and ethical, many entrepreneurs in developing countries continue to operate informally regardless of its perceived illicit status. While existing research on why entrepreneurs choose informality emphasizes the economic costs and benefits of such decisions, this often overlooks the realities of the informal economy and the constraints which marginal populations—particularly women—face. In this paper, we use institutional theory and sensemaking to understand the experiences of women in the informal economy and what formalization means to them. We use a qualitative approach to collect data from 90 women entrepreneurs in three different cities in Nepal. In our findings, we identify three groups of women with distinctive understandings of formalization—business sustainability, livelihood sufficiency and strategic alignment. Their interpretation of formalization reveals the complex, dynamic, and cyclical nature of formalization decisions. Decisions are also guided by the optimization of social and emotional logics, whereby formalization is conceived differently depending on different life stages, experiences within the informal economy and wider socio-cultural contexts. Our findings highlight the ethical implications of formalization where being a ‘good citizen’, rather than complying with formal rules and regulations, is about attuning to and fitting in with socially prescribed roles. Our research provides a nuanced view of formalization decisions, challenging idealized and ethical notions of formalization as a desired end state

Common genetic variants in the CLDN2 and PRSS1-PRSS2 loci alter risk for alcohol-related and sporadic pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is a complex, progressively destructive inflammatory disorder. Alcohol was long thought to be the primary causative agent, but genetic contributions have been of interest since the discovery that rare PRSS1, CFTR, and SPINK1 variants were associated with pancreatitis risk. We now report two significant genome-wide associations identified and replicated at PRSS1-PRSS2 (1×10-12) and x-linked CLDN2 (p < 1×10-21) through a two-stage genome-wide study (Stage 1, 676 cases and 4507 controls; Stage 2, 910 cases and 4170 controls). The PRSS1 variant affects susceptibility by altering expression of the primary trypsinogen gene. The CLDN2 risk allele is associated with atypical localization of claudin-2 in pancreatic acinar cells. The homozygous (or hemizygous male) CLDN2 genotype confers the greatest risk, and its alleles interact with alcohol consumption to amplify risk. These results could partially explain the high frequency of alcohol-related pancreatitis in men – male hemizygous frequency is 0.26, female homozygote is 0.07

EVALUATING THE EFFICACY AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF BAER SLOPE STABILIZATION TREATMENTS ON THE POT PEAK/DEEP HARBOR WILDFIRE COMPLEX

Post-fire slope stabilization treatments are often prescribed for severely burned areas of a wildfire, through burned area emergency response (BAER), to reduce erosion, maintain soil productivity, protect water quality, and reduce risks to human life and property. Prescribed slope stabilization treatments can include seeding of cereal grains or grasses, fertilization, mulching, and installation of physical barriers across slope contours (e.g., contour-felled logs and straw wattles). Seeding and fertilization treatments have been proposed following several high severity wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. These treatments are designed to reduce erosion by supplementing native vegetation recovery with additional populations of fast-growing species (seeding) and increasing productivity (fertilizing). Despite the widespread use of post-fire slope stabilization treatments, and rapidly increasing costs of treatment with more frequent large and severe wildfires, there is little data establishing the general effectiveness of many commonly used treatments, especially in coniferous forests (Robichaud 2000, Beyers 2004). Effectiveness monitoring is often informal and the results are not widely reported. Additionally, some treatments may interfere with natural vegetation recovery or introduce exotic species (Beyers 2004, Keeley 2004, Kruse et al. 2004). Experimental and observational studies are needed for testing the effectiveness of new, innovative treatments, while science-based effectiveness monitoring plans are needed to assess the variability in treatment effectiveness across time and space. In response to Joint Fire Sciences AFP 2005-1, Task 2, we undertook a two-year study of BAER soil stabilization treatments that assessed 1) the relative efficacy of seeding and fertilizing treatments for providing protective soil cover (live plant and litter cover), and 2) the effects of soil stabilization treatments on post-fire vegetation dynamics, including native vegetation recovery and weed population dynamics

Response to the letter to the editor relating to "Care partner: a concept analysis"

To the Editor: Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the letter to the editor (LTE) related to Bennett, P. N., Wang, W., Moore, M., & Nagle, C. (2017). Care partner: A concept analysis. Nursing Outlook 65(2), 184-194. The LTE accurately reports the instruments that measure attributes of the concept of care partner in the context of the management of chronic conditions (Grey, Schulman-Green, Knafl, & Reynolds, 2015), aged care (Archbold, Stewart, Greenlick, & Harvath, 1990), home health care (Sebern, 2005, 2008; Sebern & Whitlach, 2007), and chronic heart conditions (Lyons et al., 2015; Sebern & Riegel, 2009). The quality and rigor of this work is exemplary and has made significant contributions to the field