A typology of consumers based on money attitudes after major recession

Since the Great Recession, not all US consumers have felt the financial benefits of the sustained period of macroeconomic expansion. While some research demonstrates renewed consumer confidence and financial security among households, other studies highlight economic vulnerability and higher levels of distress relative to before the 2007/09 crisis. This study examines empirically the heterogeneity of consumers’ money attitudes in the post-recession economy. Based on a nationally representative sample of US consumers (n=1202), we identify four post-recession consumer types, distinguished by important attitudinal and behavioral differences: “Flourishing Frugal”; “Comfortable Cautious”; “Financial Middle”; and, “Financially Distressed”. While the prior studies offer broad strategic advice, this study indicates that marketers need differentiated strategies to target most effectively and deliver value to different consumer clusters

Sedimentary exhalative venting of bioavailable nitrogen into the early ocean

EES acknowledges financial support from the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, St Andrews. DDG acknowledges the support of NSERC for his Discovery grant (grant number 04834).Ore deposits found in Proterozoic marine sedimentary basins supply much of the world's zinc. Many of the deposits formed contemporaneously with their host sediments when saline brines circulating from deeper in the basin reached the sea floor. Textural, geochemical and isotopic features of these SEDEX (‘sedimentary-exhalative’) deposits and their host sediments indicate that biologically active seeps, vents and brine pools were a feature of many ore-forming systems. In mineralised pockets of mid-Proterozoic basins, these ‘microbial oases’ were productive areas in an otherwise low productivity, anoxic, deep marine realm. Here we hypothesize that these metal-rich brines which circulated through organic matter-rich substrate also carried high levels of fixed nitrogen and stimulated distinct ecosystems at sites of mineralisation, or enhanced productivity more broadly in the basin. We tested this hypothesis with organic carbon and nitrogen analyses of samples of carbonaceous siltstone and shale from the 1.64 Ga Barney Creek Formation of northern Australia. The Barney Creek Formation hosts several SEDEX Zn systems, including one of the world's largest deposits at McArthur River Mine (the HYC deposit). Samples come from the mineralised edge of HYC and from correlated strata in drill cores at varying distances (1-60 km) from the deposit. The data reveal lower ratios of total organic carbon (TOC) to total nitrogen (TN) closer to the ore body. Strong correlations (r2>0.7) between TOC and TN and the absence of excess N in the samples suggest that most N was buried as bound to organic matter. Bioavailable N was thus probably more abundant closer to HYC, consistent with fixed nitrogen input by hydrothermal fluids. If correct, our data may suggest that such a hydrothermal nitrogen point source enabled microbes to develop lower C:N ratios in their biomass. A hydrothermal nitrogen source is also supported by a gradient in δ15N values from = +4‰ proximal to the vent to +7.5‰ in distal sites, which may point towards recycling of ammonium from the underlying Wollogorang Formation (1.73 Ga). This unit has previously been identified as a source of over-mature hydrocarbons to the ore-forming fluid. We speculate that, during the mid-Proterozoic, fixed nitrogen carried by SEDEX hydrothermal brines may have locally offset the lack of aerobic nutrient remineralization that characterized most of the anoxic Precambrian deep ocean and thus stimulated biological productivity in areas where the brines reached the sea floor, and, possibly, more broadly as spent brines mixed into the water column.PostprintPeer reviewe

Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with lower prevalence of asymptomatic diverticulosis: a cross-sectional colonoscopy-based study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of the relationship between dietary factors and risk of diverticulosis have yielded inconsistent results. We therefore sought to investigate the association between consumption of fruit and vegetables and prevalent diverticulosis. METHODS: Our study population included participants in the Gastrointestinal Disease and Endoscopy Registry (GIDER), a colonoscopy-based longitudinal cohort at the Massachusetts General Hospital, who provided comprehensive information on dietary intake and lifestyle factors using validated questionnaires prior to colonoscopy. Information on presence and location of diverticula was obtained from the endoscopist at the end of each procedure. We used Poisson regression modeling to calculate the prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Among 549 participants with a mean age of 61 years enrolled in GIDER, we confirmed diverticulosis in 245 (44.6%). The prevalence of diverticulosis appeared to decrease with higher consumption of fruit and vegetables (P CONCLUSION: In a colonoscopy-based longitudinal cohort study, we show that higher consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with lower risk of prevalent diverticulosis

Challenging homophobic bullying in schools: the politics of progress

In recent years homophobic bullying has received increased attention from NGOs, academics and government sources and concern about the issue crosses traditional moral and political divisions. This article examines this ‘progressive’ development and identifies the ‘conditions of possibility’ that have enabled the issue to become a harm that can be spoken of. In doing so it questions whether the readiness to speak about the issue represents the opposite to prohibitions on speech (such as the notorious Section 28) or whether it is based on more subtle forms of governance. It argues that homophobic bullying is heard through three key discourses (‘child abuse’, ‘the child victim’ and ‘the tragic gay’) and that, while enabling an acknowledgement of certain harms, they simultaneously silence other needs and experiences. It then moves to explore the aspirational and ‘liberatory’ political investments that underlie these seemingly ‘common-sense’ descriptive discourses and concludes with a critique of the quasi-criminal responses that the dominant political agenda of homophobic bullying gives rise to. The article draws on, and endeavours to develop a conversation between, critical engagements with the contemporary politics of both childhood and sexuality

Pathogenic Parkinson’s disease mutations across the functional domains of LRRK2 alter the autophagic/lysosomal response to starvation

LRRK2 is one of the most important genetic contributors to Parkinson’s disease (PD). Point mutations in this gene cause an autosomal dominant form of PD, but to date no cellular phenotype has been consis- tently linked with mutations in each of the functional domains (ROC, COR and Kinase) of the protein product of this gene. In this study, primary fibroblasts from individuals carrying pathogenic mutations in the three central domains of LRRK2 were assessed for alterations in the autophagy/lysosomal pathway using a combination of biochemical and cellular approaches. Mutations in all three domains resulted in alterations in markers for autophagy/lysosomal function compared to wild type cells. These data high- light the autophagy and lysosomal pathways as read outs for pathogenic LRRK2 function and as a marker for disease, and provide insight into the mechanisms linking LRRK2 function and mutations

Crisis Standard of Care: Management of Infantile Spasms during COVID‐19

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156180/2/ana25792_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156180/1/ana25792.pd

Functional screen identifies regulators of murine hematopoietic stem cell repopulation.

Understanding the molecular regulation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) engraftment is paramount to improving transplant outcomes. To discover novel regulators of HSPC repopulation, we transplanted >1,300 mice with shRNA-transduced HSPCs within 24 h of isolation and transduction to focus on detecting genes regulating repopulation. We identified 17 regulators of HSPC repopulation: Arhgef5, Armcx1, Cadps2, Crispld1, Emcn, Foxa3, Fstl1, Glis2, Gprasp2, Gpr56, Myct1, Nbea, P2ry14, Smarca2, Sox4, Stat4, and Zfp251. Knockdown of each of these genes yielded a loss of function, except in the cases of Armcx1 and Gprasp2, whose loss enhanced hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) repopulation. The discovery of multiple genes regulating vesicular trafficking, cell surface receptor turnover, and secretion of extracellular matrix components suggests active cross talk between HSCs and the niche and that HSCs may actively condition the niche to promote engraftment. We validated that Foxa3 is required for HSC repopulating activity, as Foxa3(-/-) HSC fails to repopulate ablated hosts efficiently, implicating for the first time Foxa genes as regulators of HSPCs. We further show that Foxa3 likely regulates the HSC response to hematologic stress. Each gene discovered here offers a window into the novel processes that regulate stable HSPC engraftment into an ablated host

Correction: Pathogenic LRRK2 Mutations Do Not Alter Gene Expression in Cell Model Systems or Human Brain Tissue.

Point mutations in LRRK2 cause autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease. Despite extensive efforts to determine the mechanism of cell death in patients with LRRK2 mutations, the aetiology of LRRK2 PD is not well understood. To examine possible alterations in gene expression linked to the presence of LRRK2 mutations, we carried out a case versus control analysis of global gene expression in three systems: fibroblasts isolated from LRRK2 mutation carriers and healthy, non-mutation carrying controls; brain tissue from G2019S mutation carriers and controls; and HEK293 inducible LRRK2 wild type and mutant cell lines. No significant alteration in gene expression was found in these systems following correction for multiple testing. These data suggest that any alterations in basal gene expression in fibroblasts or cell lines containing mutations in LRRK2 are likely to be quantitatively small. This work suggests that LRRK2 is unlikely to play a direct role in modulation of gene expression, although it remains possible that this protein can influence mRNA expression under pathogenic cicumstances

Pathogenic LRRK2 Mutations Do Not Alter Gene Expression in Cell Model Systems or Human Brain Tissue

Point mutations in LRRK2 cause autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease. Despite extensive efforts to determine the mechanism of cell death in patients with LRRK2 mutations, the aetiology of LRRK2 PD is not well understood. To examine possible alterations in gene expression linked to the presence of LRRK2 mutations, we carried out a case versus control analysis of global gene expression in three systems: fibroblasts isolated from LRRK2 mutation carriers and healthy, non-mutation carrying controls; brain tissue from G2019S mutation carriers and controls; and HEK293 inducible LRRK2 wild type and mutant cell lines. No significant alteration in gene expression was found in these systems following correction for multiple testing. These data suggest that any alterations in basal gene expression in fibroblasts or cell lines containing mutations in LRRK2 are likely to be quantitatively small. This work suggests that LRRK2 is unlikely to play a direct role in modulation of gene expression, although it remains possible that this protein can influence mRNA expression under pathogenic cicumstances