Desperate housewives: An analysis of the characterisations of female gamblers portrayed in gambling movies in Hong Kong

This article examines portrayals of female gamblers in recent Hong Kong movies. The authors report that the depiction of female gamblers is very different from that of male gamblers in the movies made in the same period. Whereas the male gamblers are pitching a lonely and desperate battle against the evil opponent, the female gamblers portrayed in the movies are housewives or small-time players who gamble only for their personal gain. A general negative overtone in portrayals of female gamblers was interpreted as a reflection of the traditional view that discourages women from gambling. The shift of gambling themes in the Hong Kong movies has been identified to reflect the most salient concerns among Hong Kong residents. Such changes are attributed to particular social and cultural changes in the community

miRNA independent hepacivirus variants suggest a strong evolutionary pressure to maintain miR-122 dependence

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) requires the liver specific micro-RNA (miRNA), miR-122, to replicate. This was considered unique among RNA viruses until recent discoveries of HCV-related hepaciviruses prompting the question of a more general miR-122 dependence. Among hepaciviruses, the closest known HCV relative is the equine non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV). Here, we used Argonaute cross-linking immunoprecipitation (AGO-CLIP) to confirm AGO binding to the single predicted miR-122 site in the NPHV 5’UTR in vivo. To study miR-122 requirements in the absence of NPHV-permissive cell culture systems, we generated infectious NPHV/HCV chimeric viruses with the 5’ end of NPHV replacing orthologous HCV sequences. These chimeras were viable even in cells lacking miR-122, although miR-122 presence enhanced virus production. No other miRNAs bound this region. By random mutagenesis, we isolated HCV variants partially dependent on miR-122 as well as robustly replicating NPHV/HCV variants completely independent of any miRNAs. These miRNA independent variants even replicate and produce infectious particles in non-hepatic cells after exogenous delivery of apolipoprotein E (ApoE). Our findings suggest that miR-122 independent HCV and NPHV variants have arisen and been sampled during evolution, yet miR-122 dependence has prevailed. We propose that hepaciviruses may use this mechanism to guarantee liver tropism and exploit the tolerogenic liver environment to avoid clearance and promote chronicity

National mitigation potential from natural climate solutions in the tropics.

Better land stewardship is needed to achieve the Paris Agreement's temperature goal, particularly in the tropics, where greenhouse gas emissions from the destruction of ecosystems are largest, and where the potential for additional land carbon storage is greatest. As countries enhance their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement, confusion persists about the potential contribution of better land stewardship to meeting the Agreement's goal to hold global warming below 2°C. We assess cost-effective tropical country-level potential of natural climate solutions (NCS)-protection, improved management and restoration of ecosystems-to deliver climate mitigation linked with sustainable development goals (SDGs). We identify groups of countries with distinctive NCS portfolios, and we explore factors (governance, financial capacity) influencing the feasibility of unlocking national NCS potential. Cost-effective tropical NCS offers globally significant climate mitigation in the coming decades (6.56 Pg CO2e yr-1 at less than 100 US$ per Mg CO2e). In half of the tropical countries, cost-effective NCS could mitigate over half of national emissions. In more than a quarter of tropical countries, cost-effective NCS potential is greater than national emissions. We identify countries where, with international financing and political will, NCS can cost-effectively deliver the majority of enhanced NDCs while transforming national economies and contributing to SDGs. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions'

Mead-halls of the Oiscingas: a new Kentish perspective on the Anglo-Saxon great hall complex phenomenon

Widely cited as a metaphor for the emergence of kingship in early medieval England, the great hall complex represents one of the most distinctive and evocative expressions of the Anglo-Saxon settlement record, yet interpretation of these sites remains underdeveloped and heavily weighted towards Yeavering. Inspired by the results of recent excavations at Lyminge, this paper undertakes a detailed comparative interrogation of three great hall complexes in Kent and exploits this new regional perspective to advance understanding of the agency and embodied meanings of these settlements as ‘theatres of power’. Explored through the thematic prisms of place, social memory and monumental hybridity, this examination leads to a new appreciation of the involvement of great hall sites in the genealogical strategies of 7th-century royal dynasties and a fresh perspective on how this remarkable yet short-lived monumental idiom was adapted to harness the symbolic capital of Romanitas

The cellular redox environment alters antigen presentation

Cysteine-containing peptides represent an important class of T cell epitopes, yet their prevalence remains underestimated. We have established and interrogated a database of around 70,000 naturally processed MHC-bound peptides and demonstrate that cysteine-containing peptides are presented on the surface of cells in an MHC allomorph-dependent manner and comprise on average 5-10% of the immunopeptidome. A significant proportion of these peptides are oxidatively modified, most commonly through covalent linkage with the antioxidant glutathione. Unlike some of the previously reported cysteine-based modifications, this represents a true physiological alteration of cysteine residues. Furthermore, our results suggest that alterations in the cellular redox state induced by viral infection are communicated to the immune system through the presentation of S-glutathionylated viral peptides, resulting in altered T cell recognition. Our data provide a structural basis for how the glutathione modification alters recognition by virus-specific T cells. Collectively, these results suggest that oxidative stress represents a mechanism for modulating the virus-specific T cell response.This work was supported, in whole or in part, by National Institutes of Health Grant R01 NS036592. This work was also supported by an infrastructure grant (Grant LE100100036) from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and a project grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (17-2012-134)

Religious transformations in the Middle Ages: towards a new archaeological agenda

The study of religious change in Europe between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Reformation forms one of the cornerstones of medieval archaeology but has been riven by period, denominational and geographical divisions. This paper lays the groundwork for a fundamental rethink of archaeological approaches to medieval religions, by adopting a holistic framework that places Christian, pagan, Islamic and Jewish case studies of religious transformation in a long-term, comparative perspective. Focused around the analytical themes of ‘hybridity and resilience’ and ‘tempo and trajectories’, our approach shifts attention away from the singularities of national narratives of religious conversion towards a deeper understanding of how religious beliefs, practices and identity were renegotiated by medieval people in their daily lives

Trade and Exchange in Anglo-Saxon Wessex, AD 600-780

This paper assesses the provenance and general distribution of coins of the period c 600–c 780 found in the west of Anglo‐Saxon Wessex. It shows that the distribution of coin finds is not a function of the habits of metal detectorists, but a reflection of the real pattern of losses. In the second part of the paper, an analysis of the observed distributions is presented which reveals that the bulk of trade, of which the coins are a sign, was carried on through local ports and that foreign trade was not mediated through Hamwic, but came directly from the continent. The distribution of coin finds also suggests an important export trade, probably in wool and woollen goods, controlled from major local centres. There are also hints of a potentially older trade system in which hillforts and other open sites were important