A functional link between the actin cytoskeleton and lipid rafts during budding of filamentous influenza virions

AbstractMorphogenesis of influenza virus is a poorly understood process that produces two types of enveloped virion: ∼100-nm spheres and similar diameter filaments that reach 20 μm in length. Spherical particles assemble at plasma membrane lipid rafts in a process independent of microfilaments. The budding site of filamentous virions is hitherto uncharacterised but their formation involves the actin cytoskeleton. We confirm microfilament involvement in filamentous budding and show that after disruption of cortical actin by jasplakinolide, HA, NP, and M1 redistributed around β-actin clusters to form novel annular membrane structures. HA in filamentous virions and jasplakinolide-induced annuli was detergent insoluble at 4°C. Furthermore, in both cases HA partitioned into low buoyant density detergent-insoluble glycolipid domains, indicating that filamentous virions and annuli contain reorganised lipid rafts. We propose that the actin cytoskeleton is required to maintain the correct organisation of lipid rafts for incorporation into budding viral filaments

Les politiques publiques et le développement d’un système d’éducation postsecondaire en Colombie-Britannique

L’article décrit des changements survenus dans le système d’enseignement supérieur de la Colombie-Britannique (Canada) durant les quarante dernières années. Il y a eu, d’abord, une diversification et une expansion du système tant sur le plan des inscriptions que des institutions d’enseignement supérieur. On a constaté aussi que les institutions non universitaires ont eu tendance à dériver vers un modèle universitaire. On signale l’émergence de formations en relation avec l’emploi comme en témoigne la création d’universités financées presque exclusivement par le secteur privé et orientées vers la satisfaction des besoins du marché. Enfin, le gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique s’oriente actuellement vers l’utilisation d’indicateurs de performance dans le système d’enseignement supérieur et un financement fondé sur le rendement institutionnel.This article describes changes made to the higher education system in British Columbia (Canada) over the last forty years. Firstly, there was a diversification and an expansion of the system in terms of enrolment and number of higher education institutions. As well, non-university institutions tended to develop towards a university model. The development of training institutions in relation to employment was observed in the creation of universities financed almost exclusively by the private sector and aimed at satisfying the needs of the market. Finally, the government of British Columbia is currently developing performance indicators for use in the higher education system and financing based on institutional achievement.El artículo describe los cambios llevados a cabo en el sistema de enseñanza superior de la Colombia Británica (Canadá) durante los últimos cuarenta años. Hubo allí, en principio, una diversificación y una expansión del sistema educativo tanto en el plano de las inscripciones como en el de las instituciones de enseñanza superior. Se ha podido constatar también que las instituciones no universitarias han tendido a derivar hacia un modelo universitario. Se pone en evidencia también la emergencia de formaciones relacionadas con el empleo, como lo atestigua la creación de universidades financiadas casi exclusivamente por el sector privado y dirigidas hacia la satisfacción de las necesidades del mercado. Finalmente, se señala que el gobierno de la Colombia Británica se orienta actualmente hacia el empleo de indicadores de desempeño en el sistema de enseñanza superior y a un financiamiento fundado sobre el rendimiento institucional.Der Beitrag befasst sich mit den Veränderungen im Hochschulsystem der kanadischen Provinz Britisch-Kolumbien während der letzten 40 Jahre. Zunächst gab es eine Phase der Diversifikation sowie der Expansion, sowohl im Bereich der Immatrikulationszahlen als auch im Bereich der institutionellen Auffächerung. Dabei fällt auf, dass auch die nicht-universitären Institutionen die Tendenz hatten, sich an das Universitätsmodell anzupassen. Es wurden Berufsausbildungsprogramme geschaffen, und dies in Universitäten, die finanziell fast ausschliesslich von der Privatwirtschaft finanziert wurden und die sich an den Erfordernissen des Arbeitsmarkts orientieren. Gegenwärtig orientiert sich die Regierung von Britisch-Kolumbien an den Leistungsindikatoren des Hochschulbereichs. Auch die Finanzierung der Hochschulen ist von institutionellen Leistungskriterien abhängig

Assessing female sexual offenders\u27 motivations and cognitions : an exploratory study

Semi-structured interviews eliciting cognitions and motivations were carried out with 15 incarcerated female child sexual abusers (nearly 50% of the current UK female sexual offender prison population). Qualitative analysis indicated that four of the five motivational schemas (implicit theories) suggested by Ward (Ward, 2000; Ward & Keenan, 1999) to underlie male sexual offenders\u27 cognitions could be clearly identified in women, these were: Uncontrollability (UN, identified in 87% of participants), Dangerous world (DW, 53%), Children as sexual objects (CSO, 47%) and Nature of harm (NH, 20%). Entitlement, the final implicit theory (IT), commonly found in males, was not identified in any participants in the sample. Further analysis indicated that there were four main motivational types of offender based on combinations of these ITs. These were: (1) presence of DW/CSO, indicating sexual motivation and cognitions with fear of violence; (2) presence of DW/no CSO, indicating fear of violence with no sexual cognition or motivation; (3) presence of CSO/no DW, indicating sexual motivation and cognition; the NH IT also strongly featured in this group; and (4) presence of UN/no DW or CSO, indicating lack of control, sometimes with sense of protection for the victim. Suggestions are made on how the results can inform theoretical developments in the field as well as policy and practice

Getting Food on the Table: An Action Guide to Local Food Policy

The guide includes a department by department inventory of local programs, policies and functions that provide opportunities for supporting community food security. The guide also includes case studies, advice from experienced food policy advocates, a resource guide and federal funding sources

Characterizing Adversarial Examples Based on Spatial Consistency Information for Semantic Segmentation

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have been widely applied in various recognition tasks. However, recently DNNs have been shown to be vulnerable against adversarial examples, which can mislead DNNs to make arbitrary incorrect predictions. While adversarial examples are well studied in classification tasks, other learning problems may have different properties. For instance, semantic segmentation requires additional components such as dilated convolutions and multiscale processing. In this paper, we aim to characterize adversarial examples based on spatial context information in semantic segmentation. We observe that spatial consistency information can be potentially leveraged to detect adversarial examples robustly even when a strong adaptive attacker has access to the model and detection strategies. We also show that adversarial examples based on attacks considered within the paper barely transfer among models, even though transferability is common in classification. Our observations shed new light on developing adversarial attacks and defenses to better understand the vulnerabilities of DNNs.Comment: Accepted to ECCV 201

A Deterioration in Hearing is Associated With Functional and Cognitive Impairments, Difficulty With Communication and Greater Health Instability

Objectives: To examine the relationship between hearing deterioration and several health-related outcomes among home care clients in Ontario. Design: Longitudinal analysis was completed for clients with at least two comprehensive assessments. Hearing status, based on a single item, ranged from zero (no impairment) to three (highly impaired). Hearing deterioration was defined as at least a 1-point decline between subsequent assessments. Results: Seven percent experienced a 1-point deterioration in hearing and roughly 1% had a 2/3-point decline. After adjusting for other covariates, increasing age (odds ratio = 1.94; 95% confidence intervals [CIs] = [1.45, 2.61]) and a diagnosis of Alzheimer\u27s disease (1.37; CI = [1.04, 1.80]) and other dementias (1.32; CI = [1.07, 1.63]) increased the risk of a 2/3-point deterioration. Conclusion: These findings can assist home care professionals and policy makers in creating and refining interventions to meet the needs of older adults with hearing difficulties

The accuracy and completeness for receipt of colorectal cancer care using Veterans Health Administration administrative data.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the American Society of Clinical Oncology have established guidelines for the treatment and surveillance of colorectal cancer (CRC), respectively. Considering these guidelines, an accurate and efficient method is needed to measure receipt of care

The Fundamental Value of Presence in Peer and Mutual Support: Observations from Telephone Support for High Risk Groups

“Being there” takes on considerable importance amidst recognition of the substantial deleterious effects of social isolation and loneliness. In particular, presence/ “being there” may be important features of the many contributions of peer and mutual support to health and wellbeing. This study examined how peer support may enhance a sense of presence based on a) contact data for years 2015-2016 from telephonic peer support services of Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, and b) structured interviews with peer supporters and clients of these programs. Features of peer support that convey presence include a) 24/7 availability, b) structure of peer support around shared cultural roles – e.g., “Cop2Cop,” “Mom2Mom,” rather than shared diagnoses, c) training of supporters to provide a setting for open expression of feelings, and d) structural features such as IT systems that facilitate continuity by enabling those answering a call readily to refer to previous calls. Impacts include client reports of being understood, not being judged, and being cared for through routine follow-up, even though contact such as voicemails. Managers and peer supporters should recognize the diverse organizational and processes that convey presence/ “being there” and its central importance in peer and mutual support