Molecular Mechanism of DNA Topoisomerase I-Dependent rDNA Silencing: Sir2p Recruitment at Ribosomal Genes

Saccharomyces cerevisiae sir2Δ or top1Δ mutants exhibit similar phenotypes involving ribosomal DNA, including (i) loss of transcriptional silencing, resulting in non-coding RNA hyperproduction from cryptic RNA polymerase II promoters; (ii) alterations in recombination; and (iii) a general increase in histone acetylation. Given the distinct enzymatic activities of Sir2 and Top1 proteins, a histone deacetylase and a DNA topoisomerase, respectively, we investigated whether genetic and/or physical interactions between the two proteins could explain the shared ribosomal RNA genes (rDNA) phenotypes. We employed an approach of complementing top1Δ cells with yeast, human, truncated, and chimeric yeast/human TOP1 constructs and of assessing the extent of non-coding RNA silencing and histone H4K16 deacetylation. Our findings demonstrate that residues 115–125 within the yeast Top1p N-terminal domain are required for the complementation of the top1Δ rDNA phenotypes. In chromatin immunoprecipitation and co-immunoprecipitation experiments, we further demonstrate the physical interaction between Top1p and Sir2p. Our genetic and biochemical studies support a model whereby Top1p recruits Sir2p to the rDNA and clarifies a structural role of DNA topoisomerase I in the epigenetic regulation of rDNA, independent of its known catalytic activity

EU's global engagement : a database of CSDP military operations and civilian missions worldwide : codebook : version 2.0. 2003-2017

The EU’s Global Engagement database was developed by a research team composed of Danilo Di Mauro, Ulrich Krotz, and Katerina Wright within the Europe in the World programme at the Robert Schumann Centre of Advanced Studies (EUI). The primary purpose of the database is to fill the gap in existing empirical knowledge by providing the most comprehensive, complete and accurate database on the EU’s military operations and civilian missions worldwide. The version 2.0 of the database contains detailed information on all of the 35 military operations and civilian missions initiated from the first CSDP operation in January 2003 to December 2017. The codebook is structured in four parts. In Part I we explain the rationale of our project, the innovations introduced in version 2.0, the methodology of data collection, including the sources used and the possible applications. Part II describes each variable reporting definitions and descriptive statistics. Part III presents factsheets of each EU mission and operation by using some selected variables of the database. Finally, Part IV shows some descriptive analyses through 92 figures combining different variables and focusing on six topics: trends of the interventions, cooperation among member states, the Engagement Index, expenditures, overall personnel, EU member states personnel deployed. The files and the documentation of the EU’s Global Engagement database are open access and downloadable at http://globalgovernanceprogramme.eui.eu/eu-global-engagement-database/

EU's global engagement : a database of CSDP military operations and civilian missions worldwide. Codebook

Version 1.0, 2003-2015The EU's Global Engagement database provides a comprehensive overview of EU military operations and civilian missions under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) from the first CSDP operation in January 2003 to December 2014. The primary purpose of the database is to fill the gap in existing empirical knowledge by providing the first centralised, comprehensive, and accurate database on the EU’s military operations and civilian missions worldwide. The database also provides some indicators of the level of the EU's engagement globally.-- PART I -- 1.1 Building a database on EU CSDP missions and operations: challenges and opportunities -- 1.2 The EU's Global Engagement Database version 2.0 -- 1.3 Overcoming the old and new challenges of data collection on CSDP missions and operations: the strategy of the EU’s Global Engagement Database -- 1.4 Sources -- 1.5 Using and sharing our data -- PART II Description of variables -- PART III Factsheets of operations and missions -- PART IV -- 4.1 Trends -- 4.2 Cooperation among Member States -- 4.3 Engagement Index -- 4.4 Expenditures -- 4.5 Personnel -- 4.6 EU Member States personnel deployed -- Reference

Talk About Self Harm (TASH): participatory action research with young people, GPs and practice nurses to explore how the experiences of young people who self-harm could be improved in GP surgeries

Background: The incidence of self-harm in young people in primary care is increasing dramatically and many young people who self-harm visit their GP surgery as a first point of contact for help. Aim: To explore with young people, GPs and Practice Nurses; 1) why young people present with self-harm to primary care and 2) whether young people, GPs and Practice Nurses can take steps to have more helpful consultations about self-harm in GP surgeries that include self-help materials developed by young people being used to support such consultations to take place. Design and setting: Participatory action research with GPs, Practice Nurses and young people employed mixed methods to collect statistical and narrative data.Methods: Statistics from 285 young people’s medical records were captured including more detailed analyses of a random sample of 75 of these records. A series of 24 focus groups with a total of 45 GPs, Practice Nurses and Young People, with an average number of 8 participants in each group were conducted. Statistical data was subject to descriptive and inferential analyses and thematic analysis was applied to the transcripts from the focus groups. Results and conclusion: The type of self-harm young people presented with influenced whether they would see a GP or Practice Nurse. While self-help materials were welcomed and deemed helpful, young people, GPs and Practice Nurses were ambivalent about using these in short consultations where time was an overriding constraint. More research is needed on the feasibility of adopting self-help assisted interventions in GP surgeries

Aging of the Nonlinear Optical Susceptibility of colloidal solutions

Using Z-scan and dynamic light scattering measurements we investigate the nonlinear optics response of a colloidal solution undergoing dynamics slowing down with age. We study the high optical nonlinearity of an organic dye (Rhodamine B) dispersed in a water-clay (Laponite) solution, at different clay concentrations (2.0 wt% - 2.6 wt%), experiencing the gelation process. We determine the clay platelets self diffusion coefficient and, by its comparison with the structural relaxation time, we conclude that the gelation process proceeds through the structuring of interconnecting clay platelets network rather than through clusters growth and aggregation.Comment: 4 figures, 4 page

Exploring the health and wellbeing of lesbian, bisexual, queer and same sex attracted women living in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions

The Labrys Project is a partnership initiative between ACON and Women’s Health – Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) carried out between 2014 and 2015. While lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women’s health research is increasing in Australia, epidemiological data around key issues affecting LBQ women’s health is inconsistent. The Labrys Project extended objectives from the Sydney Women and Sexual Health Survey (SWASH) to provide a snapshot of LBQ women’s health and wellbeing in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions of NSW, in order to provide a regional and rural perspective to LBQ women’s health and to inform local services and strategies. Between October 2014 and March 2015, 107 LBQ women completed the Illawarra Shoalhaven Women’s Health and Wellbeing Survey; in addition, two focus groups were held in Warilla and Nowra involving 7 LBQ women.ACON; Women’s Health – Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Distric

Bayesian approach to SETI

The search for technosignatures from hypothetical galactic civilizations is going through a new phase of intense activity. For the first time, a significant fraction of the vast search space is expected to be sampled in the foreseeable future, potentially bringing informative data about the abundance of detectable extraterrestrial civilizations, or the lack thereof. Starting from the current state of ignorance about the galactic population of non-natural electromagnetic signals, we formulate a Bayesian statistical model to infer the mean number of radio signals crossing Earth, assuming either non-detection or the detection of signals in future surveys of the Galaxy. Under fairly noninformative priors, we find that not detecting signals within about $1$ kly from Earth, while suggesting the lack of galactic emitters or at best the scarcity thereof, is nonetheless still consistent with a probability exceeding $10$ \% that typically over $\sim 100$ signals could be crossing Earth, with radiated power analogous to that of the Arecibo radar, but coming from farther in the Milky Way. The existence in the Galaxy of potentially detectable Arecibo-like emitters can be reasonably ruled out only if all-sky surveys detect no such signals up to a radius of about $40$ kly, an endeavor requiring detector sensitivities thousands times higher than those of current telescopes. Conversely, finding even one Arecibo-like signal within $\sim 1000$ light years, a possibility within reach of current detectors, implies almost certainly that typically more than $\sim 100$ signals of comparable radiated power cross the Earth, yet to be discovered.Comment: Published in PNAS ahead of print October 1, 2018. Preprint has 13 pages, 7 figures + 7 pages of Supplementary Information with 5 figure

The pilot and evaluation of a postnatal support Group for Iraqi Women in the year following the birth of their baby

The current study involved conducting a pilot test of a culturally sensitive support group program developed to assist Iraqi women in the year following the birth of their baby (CSSG-B) in Perth, Western Australia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the social validity of the program. It was hypothesized that women involved in the program would find the program to be socially valid and culturally appropriate, and will also report lower levels of depressive symptomatology and higher levels of social support, following the group intervention. Participants were 12 Iraqi Arabic speaking women, who had a child less than 12 months of age. The program was based on Iraqi women's explanatory models (Kleinman, 1978; Di Ciano et al., 2010) of the birth and motherhood experience. Social validity ratings were obtained during the implementation of the program in order to assess the level of acceptability of the intervention. A one-group pre-test-post-test design was used to determine if depressive symptoms had decreased during the course of the intervention and social support had increased. Results indicated that Iraqi Arabic speaking women found the support group intervention acceptable and relevant and there was a significant decrease in scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) from pre-test to post-test. These results that the culturally sensitive group intervention was culturally acceptable and was associated with decreased levels of depressive symptomatology