Ireland and Argentina in the Twentieth Century: Diaspora, diplomacy, dictatorship, Catholic mission and the Falklands crisis. Dermot Keogh.

Ireland and Argentina in the Twentieth Century: Diaspora, diplomacy, dictatorship, Catholic mission and the Falklands crisis. Dermot Keogh. Cork University Press. 2022. 566 pp. ISBN 978-1782055112Ireland and Argentina in the Twentieth Century: Diaspora, diplomacy, dictatorship, Catholic mission and the Falklands crisis. Dermot Keogh. Cork University Press. 2022. 566 pp. ISBN 978-178205511

Better Late: Belated Space in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévenne

[Abstract] This paper examines the portrayal of space within Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, in particular its use of intertextuality. It firstly establishes a critical context for travel writing, and the context of reception of Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, before looking at how space in the book is related to historical information which Stevenson gathered outside of his time in the area. The paper suggests that space in the book is depicted as belated, and that the intertextuality of the work complicates its customary classification as an ‘off-the-beaten-track’ text. A comparison with The Cévennes Journal, Stevenson’s record of his journey, draws attention to how he presented this experience through the prism of information about the region’s history. An examination of Stevenson’s integration of material about the Camisards shows the extent to which his text was shaped by his reading and research, and his concern to present the space as he had come to understand it through texts. Comparisons with both contemporary and more recent travel texts show how Stevenson’s use of such sources to describe space prefigures postmodern travel writingTraballo fin de mestrado (UDC.FIL). Estudos ingleses avanzados e as súas aplicacións. Curso 2022/202

Neodymium Isotopic Signature of the Deep Western Boundary Current and the Distribution of Neodymium Isotopes and Concentrations Across Line W

The capacity of the neodymium (Nd) 143Nd/144Nd ratio to trace modern ocean circulation accurately allows for the assumption that the ratio can also accurately trace paleo ocean circulation. Therefore, a complete understanding of Nd cycling and its effect on the isotopic composition in the oceans is vital. Traditionally, Nd isotopic composition (Nd IC) is considered a conservative property in the open ocean, while coastal and margin environments tend to be dictated by nonconservative exchange processes. However, Nd concentrations ([Nd]) in the open ocean typically display a nutrient like profile, increasing with depth. Such a discrepancy between Nd IC and [Nd] has been referred to as the ‘Nd-Paradox’. In this study, Nd IC and [Nd] profiles are presented along the oceanographic section known as Line W, observing the interaction between the poleward flowing Gulf Stream (GS) and the equatorward Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) in accordance with the international GEOTRACES program. Surface Nd IC along the transect suggest mixing between three end members passing through the study area; fluvial (Nd IC ~ -11.03) from the margin, GS (Nd IC ~ 9.1) from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, and subtropical mode water (STMW) (Nd IC ~ -9.5) in the open ocean. Just below the Surface mixed layer a prominent STMW signature, flows from the east through to the subsurface GS. Deeper along the margin, the extremely nonradiogenic Upper Labrador Seawater component to the DWBC remains relatively unchanged as it flows equatorward with a predominant -14.87 Nd IC. Classic Labrador Seawater also suggests a relatively unaltered Nd IC, reporting -13.5. However, two over flow water masses, Denmark Strait overflow water and Iceland Scotland overflow water do not conform to conservative mixing. Throughout the study area, [Nd] shows a surface maximum, consistent with lithogenic deposition. Between ~1000 and 2000 m, concentrations remain relatively consistent, coinciding with Nd IC, as a result of increased horizontal advection. Below 2000 m, [Nd] increase while Nd IC remains relatively consistent, indicative of reversible scavenging onto and off of sinking particles. Resuspended sediment in a benthic nepheloid layer produces an inverse relationship between Nd IC and [Nd], likely resulting from lithogenic material with a nonradiogenic Nd IC deposited to the seafloor

Development and Presentation of a Lesson on Mental Health for High School Students During the 2021 COVID-19 Pandemic

With the support of the HRSA, the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) was established to increase the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in healthcare. HCOP combines the efforts of high school, undergraduate, and medical students in creating an original project to serve a need within the community. In this HCOP project, we aim to address the issue of mental health with high school students at two New Jersey high schools: Pennsauken and Williamtown

The valine and lysine residues in the conserved FxVTxK motif are important for the function of phylogenetically distant plant cellulose synthases

Cellulose synthases (CESAs) synthesize the β-1,4-glucan chains that coalesce to form cellulose microfibrils in plant cell walls. In addition to a large cytosolic (catalytic) domain, CESAs have eight predicted transmembrane helices (TMHs). However, analogous to the structure of BcsA, a bacterial cellulose synthase, predicted TMH5 in CESA may instead be an interfacial helix. This would place the conserved FxVTxK motif in the plant cell cytosol where it could function as a substrate-gating loop as occurs in BcsA. To define the functional importance of the CESA region containing FxVTxK, we tested five parallel mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana CESA1 and Physcomitrella patens CESA5 in complementation assays of the relevant cesa mutants. In both organisms, the substitution of the valine or lysine residues in FxVTxK severely affected CESA function. In Arabidopsis roots, both changes were correlated with lower cellulose anisotropy, as revealed by Pontamine Fast Scarlet. Analysis of hypocotyl inner cell wall layers by atomic force microscopy showed that two altered versions of Atcesa1 could rescue cell wall phenotypes observed in the mutant background line. Overall, the data show that the FxVTxK motif is functionally important in two phylogenetically distant plant CESAs. The results show that Physcomitrella provides an efficient model for assessing the effects of engineered CESA mutations affecting primary cell wall synthesis and that diverse testing systems can lead to nuanced insights into CESA structure/function relationships. Although CESA membrane topology needs to be experimentally determined, the results support the possibility that the FxVTxK region functions similarly in CESA and BcsA

Electricity consumption in commercial buildings during Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic had wide-ranging effects on how people lived, worked and learned. Consequently, electricity use was altered from pre-pandemic patterns. The deviation from expected electricity usage patterns in commercial properties due to the Covid-19 pandemic was analyzed in a medium-sized American city. The focus on a single community (1) allows usage to be linked specifically to the timing of public health and executive orders; and (2) provides a fine-grained, detailed understanding of usage in different property classifications (e.g. restaurants, hotels, schools, outpatient medical facilities, offices, and religious organizations). Electricity consumption data from 2019, adjusted for average daily temperature, were used to calculate expected use in 2020. Electricity usage was found to be lower than expected for most commercial property classes, but the timing and magnitude of these effects varied. For example, within the hospitality industry, hotels evidenced a larger and more sustained decrease in usage (–17%) as compared with restaurants (–11%). In addition, usage patterns for outpatient medical facilities can be linked to specific executive orders. Together, a heterogenous rate of electricity use is found to vary according to specific types of commercial properties. Practice relevance In much of the research regarding electricity usage, utility customers are placed into the broad categories of residential, commercial and industrial. These groups are viewed as homogeneous. This study examined different property classes within the commercial group during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although electricity usage was lower than expected for most commercial property classes, the timing and magnitude of these effects varied. For example, within the hospitality industry, hotels evidenced a larger and more sustained decrease in usage than did restaurants. In addition, usage patterns for outpatient medical facilities were linked to specific executive orders. Together, these data sources allowed for a detailed examination of Covid-19’s effect on electricity use for specific types of commercial properties and it revealed that their response to the pandemic varied widely. Thus, it is an oversimplification to view commercial properties as a single, homogeneous group

Targeted control of pneumolysin production by a mobile genetic element in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major human pathogen that can cause severe invasive diseases such as pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis. Young children are at a particularly high risk, with an estimated 3–4 million cases of severe disease and between 300 000 and 500 000 deaths attributable to pneumococcal disease each year. The haemolytic toxin pneumolysin (Ply) is a primary virulence factor for this bacterium, yet despite its key role in pathogenesis, immune evasion and transmission, the regulation of Ply production is not well defined. Using a genome-wide association approach, we identified a large number of potential affectors of Ply activity, including a gene acquired horizontally on the antibiotic resistance-conferring Integrative and Conjugative Element (ICE) ICESp23FST81. This gene encodes a novel modular protein, ZomB, which has an N-terminal UvrD-like helicase domain followed by two Cas4-like domains with potent ATP-dependent nuclease activity. We found the regulatory effect of ZomB to be specific for the ply operon, potentially mediated by its high affinity for the BOX repeats encoded therein. Using a murine model of pneumococcal colonization, we further demonstrate that a ZomB mutant strain colonizes both the upper respiratory tract and lungs at higher levels when compared to the wild-type strain. While the antibiotic resistance-conferring aspects of ICESp23FST81 are often credited with contributing to the success of the S. pneumoniae lineages that acquire it, its ability to control the expression of a major virulence factor implicated in bacterial transmission is also likely to have played an important role

Circulating biomarkers during treatment in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer receiving cediranib in the UK ABC-03 trial

BACKGROUND: Advanced biliary tract cancer (ABC) has a poor prognosis. Cediranib, in addition to cisplatin/gemcitabine [CisGem], improved the response rate, but did not improve the progression-free survival (PFS) in the ABC-03 study. Minimally invasive biomarkers predictive of cediranib benefit may improve patient outcomes. METHODS: Changes in 15 circulating plasma angiogenesis or inflammatory-related proteins and cytokeratin-18 (CK18), measured at baseline and during therapy until disease progression, were correlated with overall survival (OS) using time-varying covariate Cox models (TVC). RESULTS: Samples were available from n=117/124 (94%) patients. Circulating Ang1&2, FGFb, PDGFbb, VEGFC, VEGFR1 and CK18 decreased as a result of the therapy, independent of treatment with cediranib. Circulating VEGFR2 and Tie2 were preferentially reduced by cediranib. Patients with increasing levels of VEGFA at any time had a worse PFS and OS; this detrimental effect was attenuated in patients receiving cediranib. TVC analysis revealed CK18 and VEGFR2 increases correlated with poorer OS in all patients (P< 0.001 and P=0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Rising circulating VEGFA levels in patients with ABC, treated with CisGem, are associated with worse PFS and OS, not seen in patients receiving cediranib. Rising levels of markers of tumour burden (CK18) and potential resistance (VEGFR2) are associated with worse outcomes and warrant validation