Planets: Integrated Services for Digital Preservation

The Planets Project is developing services and technology to address core challenges in digital preservation. This article introduces the motivation for this work, describes the extensible technical architecture and places the Planets approach into the context of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model. It also provides a scenario demonstrating Planets’ usefulness in solving real-life digital preservation problems and an overview of the project’s progress to date

Distinct regions of the Swi5 and Ace2 transcription factors are required for specific gene activation

Swi5 and Ace2 are cell cycle-regulated transcription factors that activate expression of early G1-specific genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Swi5 and Ace2 have zinc finger DNA-binding domains that are highly conserved, and the two proteins bind to the same DNA sequences in vitro. Despite this similarity in DNA binding, Swi5 and Ace2 activate different genes in vivo, with Swi5 activating the HO gene and Ace2 activating CTS1 expression. In this report we have used chimeric fusions between Swi5 and Ace2 to determine what regions of these proteins are necessary for promoter-specific activation of HO and CTS1. We have identified specific regions of Swi5 and Ace2 that are required for activation of HO and CTS1, respectively. The Swi5 protein binds HO promoter DNA cooperatively with the Pho2 homeodomain protein, and the HO specificity region of Swi5 identified in the chimeric analysis coincides with the region of Swi5 previously identified that interacts with Pho2 in vitro. Swi5 and Ace2 also activate expression of a number of other genes expressed in G1 phase of the cell cycle, including ASH1, CDC6, EGT2, PCL2, PCL9, RME1, and SIC1. Analysis of the Swi5/Ace2 chimeras shows that distinct regions of Swi5 and Ace2 contribute to the transcriptional activation of some of these other G1-regulated genes

The Autonomy of Chinese Migrants Despite Structural and Social Determinants

China is currently undergoing one of the largest domestic migration movements in its history, as hundreds of millions of its citizens move out of their countryside homes into urban areas to seek work in the wake of the nation’s rapid globalization. This paper examines the lives of these migrants – how much agency they have over their decisions and their destinies while simultaneously subject to overarching controls set onto them by economic circumstance, government laws, and cultural traditions. It explores how they subvert tradition and former government policies by leaving home, and how they respond when confronted with discrimination in the cities. It also examines how migrant workers of the Banli Electrical Appliance Factory in Yuyao, Zhejiang find ways to reconstruct their human identities and exercise independent decision-making despite being valued solely for their labor, using research conducted at this factory through guided conversation from six key informants and participative observation living in the factory and working on the assembly line from May 4 to May 20. Finally, it explores the connection that migrants have to their homes, through memories and money, and their decisions about returning

Incentivizing the sharing of healthcare data in the AI Era

This article contributes to the policy dialogue about how to govern healthcare data in the AI era and how to incentivize patients to share their data. Existing approaches to data-sharing restrict the flow of data. Yet, as healthcare AI technologies rely on data in enhancing their scope, such lack of data hinders the creation of future applications and diminishes the need for data to furnish them. We shift attention to a GDPR based policy that does not restrict data flows and argue that the existing experience in monetizing digitalized copyright material such as music can offer a practical and well tested solution

Gender Differences: Male Officers’ Perception Toward Women’s Occupational Barriers in Federal Law Enforcement

Gender differences in public administration are gendered norms and practices that make clear distinctions between agentic (i.e., masculine) and communal (i.e., feminine) attributes in the workplace. Examples include both organizational and occupational elements such as employee representation, organizational culture, social rules and structure, gender bias and stereotypes, gender roles, and physical and mental differences. Occupational barriers are impediments that negatively impact women’s recruitment, retention, and promotion in the workplace

Women and Work-Life Balance in Federal Law Enforcement

Work-life balance is the practice of reducing work-family conflict by providing workplace flexibilities to help employees balance the needs of their families and the responsibilities of their jobs, resulting in maximized organizational performance. Key workplace flexibilities include work-life programs and family-friendly policies such as flexible work schedules, telework, worksite health and wellness, employee assistance programs, and dependent care

Stability and Acceptability of Intermediate Moisture Textured Vegetable Protein

This study was designed to develop a shelf stable and acceptable intermediate moisture product using dry extruded textured vegetable protein chunks as the food base. The water activity of the protein chunks was adjusted to 0.85 and 0.80 by cooking in solutions of sorbitol, sodium chloride, propylene glycol, sucrose and potassium sorbate. The effects of calcium lactate and a lower pH on the properties of the protein product were determined. Products prepared at 0.85 Aw consisted of four treatments: 1) without calcium lactate, pH 7.0; 2) without calcium lactate, pH 5.5; 3) with calcium lactate, pH 7.0, and 4) with calcium lactate, pH 5.5. One the products at 0.80 Aw, only two treatments were tested: 1) without calcium lactate, pH 7.0 and 2) without calcium lactate, pH 5.5. The samples were packed in sterile air-tight jars and held at 27.6o C for sixty days. Storage stability was studied by determining the microbial, physical, and chemical characteristics of the product at ten-day intervals. Overall acceptability was evaluated on the freshly prepared product by the hedonic-preference test. Samples were prepared at water activities of 0.80 and 0.70 and deep-fried before sensory evaluation. A difference-preference test was also conducted to evaluate sensory attributes on texture, moistness, and flavor. Products at 0.85 Aw were susceptible to mold growth. The bacterial growth curve was fairly rapid during the early storage period and the microbial flora was predominantly Pseudomonas spp. When water activity was lowered to 0.80, mold growth was completely inhibited and bacterial growth was greatly hindered. Pseudomonas spp. was in the majority at the initial stage; however, members of the Family Achromobactereceae soon outgrew the Pseudomonas spp. and dominated throughout the remaining storage period. Calcium lactate lowered significantly the water activity, moisture content and pH of the intermediate moisture product. No significant change in color was observed; however, there was an increase in firmness. The lowering of pH to 5.5 caused a decrease in water activity and moisture content of the product with target Aw of 0.85. Shear resistance was significantly increased. Color of the protein chunks was lighter at pH 5.5 than at pH 7.0. Similar trends on water activity, moisture content, firmness and color were observed in products lowered to 0.80 Aw; however, no significant difference was established between the two pH levels. There was an overall increase in water activity of the intermediate moisture product at both levels of water activity as storage time increased. However, moisture content decreased in products at 0.85 Aw while it increased at 0.80 Aw. In samples at 0.85 Aw, a gradual decrease in pH was observed during storage. The stored product had a slightly higher shear value than the fresh product while its color was not changed. Results of the preference test indicated that deep-fried textured vegetable protein chunks were an acceptable product. It had a predominant sweet taste and a slightly detectable bitter and burning aftertaste; however, these effects were more pronounced in samples at Aw of 0.70 than at 0.80. Protein chunks at 0.80 Aw were rated slightly tougher and drier than those at 0.70 Aw