Axes and fluidity of oppression in the workplace: intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality

Our research explores how the historically institutionalized and authoritarian discriminatory South African context continues to affect the experiences of LGBT mid-level managers in the workplace. South Africa provides a rich environment to explore ‘axes of oppression’ (heteronormativity/homophobia, race/racism, gender/sexism), and how these manifest and impact on participants’ work experience. Bringing together intersectionality as an analytical strategy with identity work allows us to examine the interaction between identities and the institutionalized processes by which they are shaped. Our findings show a multifaceted fluidity of oppression where individuals can move between continuums of advantage and disadvantage. We demonstrate the importance of historically embedded modes of oppression within the theory of intersectionality and how this manifests in institutional and organizational practices. As a result, organizations, institutions, and individuals play a role in reproducing inequality through intricate systems of oppression at micro, meso, and macro levels. This affects how individuals draw on their intersecting identities to respond to and decipher encounters with others

Structural, morphological, and magnetic characterizations of (FexMn1-x)2O3 nanocrystals: A comprehensive stoichiometric determination

Iron manganese trioxide (FexMn1-x)2O3 nanocrystals were synthesized by the sol-gel method. The 80 K Mossbauer spectrum was well-fitted using two doublets representing the 8b and 24d crystallographic sites of the (FexMn1-x)2O3 phase and two weak extra sextets which were attributed to crystalline and amorphous hematite. Our findings showed formation of a bixbyite primary phase. The Raman spectrum exhibits six Raman active modes, typical of (Fe,Mn)2O3, and two extra Raman modes associated with the secondary hematite phase. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of oxygen vacancy onto the (FexMn1-x)2O3 particle surface, with varying oxidation states. X-band magnetic resonance data revealed a single broad resonance line in the whole temperature range (3.8 K - 300 K). The temperature dependence of both resonance field and resonance linewidth shows a remarkable change in the range of 40 - 50 K, herein credited to surface spin glass behavior. The model picture used assumes (FexMn1-x)2O3 nanoparticles with a core-shell structure. Results indicate that below about 50 K the spin system of shell reveals a paramagnetic to spin glass-like transition upon cooling, with a critical temperature estimated at 43 K. In the higher temperature range, the superparamagnetic hematite (secondary) phase contributes remarkably to the temperature dependence of the resonance linewidth. Zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and fieldcooled (FC) data show strong irreversibility and a peak in the ZFC curve at 33 K, attributed to a paramagnetic-ferrimagnetic transition of the main phase. Hysteresis curve at 5 K shows a low coercive field of 4 kOe, with the magnetization not reaching saturation at 70 kOe, suggesting the occurrence of a ferrimagnetic core with a magnetic disorder at surface, characteristic of core-shell spin-glass-like behavior

Structural basis of GC-1 selectivity for thyroid hormone receptor isoforms

Background: Thyroid receptors, TRα and TRβ, are involved in important physiological functions such as metabolism, cholesterol level and heart activities. Whereas metabolism increase and cholesterol level lowering could be achieved by TRβ isoform activation, TRα activation affects heart rates. Therefore, β-selective thyromimetics have been developed as promising drug-candidates for treatment of obesity and elevated cholesterol level. GC-1 [3,5-dimethyl-4-(4'-hydroxy-3'-isopropylbenzyl)-phenoxy acetic acid] has ability to lower LDL cholesterol with 600- to 1400-fold more potency and approximately two- to threefold more efficacy than atorvastatin (Lipitor©) in studies in rats, mice and monkeys. Results: To investigate GC-1 specificity, we solved crystal structures and performed molecular dynamics simulations of both isoforms complexed with GC-1. Crystal structures reveal that, in TRα Arg228 is observed in multiple conformations, an effect triggered by the differences in the interactions between GC-1 and Ser277 or the corresponding asparagine (Asn331) of TRβ. The corresponding Arg282 of TRβ is observed in only one single stable conformation, interacting effectively with the ligand. Molecular dynamics support this model: our simulations show that the multiple conformations can be observed for the Arg228 in TRα, in which the ligand interacts either strongly with the ligand or with the Ser277 residue. In contrast, a single stable Arg282 conformation is observed for TRβ, in which it strongly interacts with both GC-1 and the Asn331. Conclusion: Our analysis suggests that the key factors for GC-1 selectivity are the presence of an oxyacetic acid ester oxygen and the absence of the amino group relative to T3. These results shed light into the β-selectivity of GC-1 and may assist the development of new compounds with potential as drug candidates to the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and obesity

Cartografia e diplomacia: usos geopolíticos da informação toponímica (1750-1850)

O artigo explora dimensões geopolíticas da toponímia, registradas em documentos cartográficos, desde as reformas empreendidas pelo consulado pombalino em meados do século XVIII, até às primeiras décadas do século XIX, em meio ao processo de afirmação do Estado imperial pós-colonial.This paper explores the geopolitical dimensions of toponymy as registered in cartographic documents dating from the reforms pushed through by the consulate of Marquis of Pombal in the mid 18th century to the early decades of the 19th century, as the post-colonial imperial State established itself

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors

A list of land plants of Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Brazil, highlights the presence of sampling gaps within this protected area

Brazilian protected areas are essential for plant conservation in the Atlantic Forest domain, one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the plant richness, protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity. A list of land plants of “Parque Nacional do Caparaó” (PNC) was previously built using online databases and published on the website "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil." Here, we provide and discuss additional information about plant species richness, endemism and conservation in the PNC that could not be included in the List. We documented 1,791 species of land plants as occurring in PNC, of which 63 are cited as threatened (CR, EN or VU) by the Brazilian National Red List, seven as data deficient (DD) and five as priorities for conservation. Fifity-one species were possible new ocurrences for ES and MG states

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected