345 research outputs found
Caste in Britain: Socio-legal Review: Equality and Human Rights Commission Research Report no. 91.
Variation in the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of acute severe alcoholic hepatitis in the post-STOPAH era: results of a UK national survey
PO-0733: Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging predicts for relapse free survival in patients with vault cancers
Caste in Britain: Experts' Seminar and Stakeholders' Workshop: Equality and Human Rights Commission Research Report no. 92.
Distribution of CD147 During Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Infections
Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) are highly infectious gastrointestinal human pathogens. These microbes inject bacterial-derived effector proteins directly into the host cell cytosol as part of their disease processes. A common host subcellular target of these pathogens is the actin cytoskeleton, which is commandeered by the bacteria and is used during their attachment onto (EPEC) or invasion into (S. Typhimurium) the host cells. We previously demonstrated that the host enzyme cyclophilin A (CypA) is recruited to the actin-rich regions of EPEC pedestals and S. Typhimurium membrane ruffles. To further expand the growing catalogue of host proteins usurped by actin-hijacking bacteria, we examined the host plasma membrane protein and cognate receptor of CypA, CD147, during EPEC and S. Typhimurium infections. Here, we show that CD147 is enriched at the basolateral regions of pedestals but, unlike CypA, it is absent from their actin-rich core. We show that the CD147 recruitment to these areas requires EPEC pedestal formation and not solely bacteria-host cell contact. Additionally, we demonstrate that the depletion of CD147 by siRNA does not alter the formation of pedestals. Finally, we show that CD147 is also a component of actin-rich membrane ruffles generated during S. Typhimurium invasion of host cells. Collectively, our findings establish CD147 as another host component present at dynamic actin-rich structures formed during bacterial infections
Quasars with Super Metal Rich Emission Line Regions
We study the degree of chemical enrichment in the Broad Emission Line Regions
(BELRs) of two QSOs with unusually strong nitrogen emission lines. The N V
1240/ C IV 1549 intensity ratio is often used as a metallicity indicator for
QSOs. The validity of this approach can be tested by studying objects in which
the N IV] and N III] lines, in addition to N V, are unusually strong and easily
measurable. If all of these ionization states of nitrogen point to the same
metallicity, it implies that the large N V strengths observed in most QSOs are
not due to some peculiarity of the N V 1240 line. This test had previously been
applied to Q0353-383, a QSO long known to have extremely strong N III] and N
IV] lines, with the result supporting high metallicity in that object. Here we
make the same check in two other QSOs with very strong nitrogen lines, as a
step towards using such QSOs to better probe the early chemical enrichment
histories of their host galaxies. J1254+0241 has a metallicity of about 10x
solar, with good agreement between the abundance results from different line
ratios. J1546+5253 has a more moderate metallicity, about 5x solar, but the
abundances determined from different line ratios show a much wider scatter than
they do for J1254+0241 or Q0353-383. This QSO also has an unusual
low-ionization emission line spectrum similar to some low-ionization BAL QSOs
and to the unusual AGN I Zw 1. We attribute the peculiarities in its spectrum
to some combination of unusual structure and/or unusual physical conditions in
its BELR. Our results further affirm the validity of the N V/C IV ratio as an
abundance indicator in QSOs.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Palladin Compensates for the Arp2/3 Complex and Supports Actin Structures during Listeria Infections
Palladin is an important component of motile actin-rich structures and nucleates branched actin filament arrays in vitro. Here we examine the role of palladin during Listeria monocytogenes infections in order to tease out novel functions of palladin. We show that palladin is co-opted by L. monocytogenes during its cellular entry and intracellular motility. Depletion of palladin resulted in shorter and misshapen comet tails, and when actin- or VASP-binding mutants of palladin were overexpressed in cells, comet tails disintegrated or became thinner. Comet tail thinning resulted in parallel actin bundles within the structures. To determine whether palladin could compensate for the Arp2/3 complex, we overexpressed palladin in cells treated with the Arp2/3 inhibitor CK-666. In treated cells, bacterial motility could be initiated and maintained when levels of palladin were increased. To confirm these findings, we utilized a cell line depleted of multiple Arp2/3 complex subunits. Within these cells, L. monocytogenes failed to generate comet tails. When palladin was overexpressed in this Arp2/3 functionally null cell line, the ability of L. monocytogenes to generate comet tails was restored. Using purified protein components, we demonstrate that L. monocytogenes actin clouds and comet tails can be generated (in a cell-free system) by palladin in the absence of the Arp2/3 complex. Collectively, our results demonstrate that palladin can functionally replace the Arp2/3 complex during bacterial actin-based motility
A WORKFLOW FOR GEOMETRIC COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY OF PAINTED SURFACES
Colour fidelity is vital when documenting painted surfaces. The 2.5D nature of many painted surfaces makes orthophotos and digital surface models (DSMs) common products of the documentation process. This paper presents a workflow to combine photographic and photogrammetric methods to produce aligned colour and depth (orthophotos and DSMs). First, two photogrammetric software (Agisoft Photoscan and Capturing Reality Reality Capture) were tested to determine if they adjusted the colour data during the processing stages. It was found that Photoscan can produce 16-bit orthophotos without manipulating the data; however, Reality Capture is currently limited to 8-bit results. When capturing a surface using photogrammetry, it is common to use the same data for colour and depth. The presented workflow, however, argues that better colour accuracy can be achieved by capturing the two datasets separately and combining them in photogrammetric software. The workflow is demonstrated through the documentation of an unnamed religious painting from the 17th century
Lessons on Ethical Decision Making from the Bioscience Industry
Mackie and colleagues performed over 100 interviews with managers and executives at 13 bioscience companies to learn about bioindustry ethics from their perspective
The double pendulum
Policy discourses posit an accountability deficit as an underlying cause of a “learning crisis” in many low-income countries. Many studies understand this perceived deficit from a principal-agent perspective, arguing that incentives facing teachers and schools often do not align to the interests of parents and students. Such perspectives underlie many randomized controlled trials, which associate interventions with outcomes, but which also produce varying or inconsistent results across contexts. This paper seeks to study the accountability of schools and teachers more directly, looking at how it varies across public and private schools and how it relates to students’ literacy and numeracy abilities. We report results from a mixed methods study conducted in Mumbai and Kathmandu. Our results show that there are some relationships between accountability and learning outcomes, but these appear to be specific to the context. Quantitative data also show that differences between public and private models of schooling are negligible when students’ social backgrounds and school composition are considered. Qualitative data show that accountability processes create a significant burden on staff time and embed complex power dynamics that are not always productive. Taken together, these results problematize policies that seek to improve learning through “demand-side” approaches such as privatization. They show that the dynamics of accountability are a complex system, like the motion of a “double pendulum,” and therefore simple conceptual approaches such as the principal-agent model are of limited academic and practical utility
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