Pay Comparisons: An Analysis of UK University Vice Chancellors Pay Awards

This paper examines UK University Vice Chancellors (VC) pay awards. The empirical analysis, covering the period 1997 to 2002, evaluates the impact upon VC pay awards of university performance measures, an internal pay comparison measure and two external pay comparisons, i.e., the pay of other VCs and the pay of CEOs leading comparable-sized UK firms. We find no evidence that VC pay awards are related to any of the performance measures, though the positive relationship found between changes in the proportion of other highly-paid employees and VC pay awards suggests that internal pay comparisons play an important role in remuneration committee decision making. Of the two external pay benchmarks, the pay received by other VCs has the largest positive impact upon VC pay awards. Nevertheless, the (much smaller) partial adjustment of VC pay explained by the difference between the two external pay benchmarks was also statistically significant. Thus, whilst average VC pay increased by some 40% over the period, this was significantly less than the increase in the pay of comparable UK CEOs. We suggest that this conservatism by university remuneration committees stems largely from political rather than financial constraints

Kir-hla genes and maternal infant HIV-1 transmission

Natural Killer (NK) cells are an essential part of the immune system capable of controlling several viral infections, including HIV-1. Moreover, several studies have linked specific NK cell receptors, termed killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR), and their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) ligands to favourable clinical outcomes in HIV-1 infected individuals. Recent studies have also highlighted the role of KIR and HLA in modulating the risk of adult HIV-1 transmission and disease progression; however, little is known about the role of KIR and HLA in mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1. Therefore, this thesis specifically explores KIR/HLA-ligand combinations in HIV-1 infected mothers and their infants, as well as the KIR/HLA-ligand relationship between mother and infant, in the context of MTCT of HIV-1. The study of HIV-1 exposed uninfected (EU) infants in comparison with HIV-1 in utero (IU) or intrapartum (IP) infected infants provides important information regarding the correlates of protection and/or susceptibility to HIV-1 acquisition. Moreover, having data on HIV-1 transmitting (TR) and non-transmitting (NT) mothers may also highlight maternal factors that increase or decrease HIV-1 transmission

A Comparative Evaluation of Methods to Monitor Moisture in Historic Porous Masonry Materials

The project aimed to develop a methodology to compare the performance of a range of invasive and non-invasive moisture measurement methods used to assess moisture in porous masonry. This methodology was laboratory-based and used test blocks of common traditional building materials (limestone, sandstone, brick and lime mortar) under controlled conditions of drying and wetting. The performance of each method tested was compared against weight measurements, which give absolute measurements of moisture content – often called the gravimetric method. Experiments were also carried out to evaluate the influence of drying conditions and block size on the test results. A variety of non-invasive handheld moisture measurement devices were tested, including commonly available resistance, capacitance and microwave moisture meters. Also tested was a range of invasive methods, including wooden and ceramic dowels, relative humidity sensors and time domain reflectometry (TDR) probes. For some of the non-invasive methods, further experiments were designed and carried out to evaluate the depths to which they could measure saturated parts of otherwise dry blocks of sandstone and limestone. A simple experiment was also designed to measure the depth to which some of the non-invasive methods could sense metal objects in otherwise dry materials. This was used to evaluate whether the presence of metal in historic walls could affect the moisture measurements obtained. Finally, a short field monitoring exercise was carried out to explore the usefulness of both non-invasive and invasive microwave moisture measurements in comparison with conventional wooden dowel surveys

Effekt av, og erfaringer med tiltak for unge som er blitt utsatt for tvangsekteskap eller æresrelatert vold: Systematisk litteratursøk med sortering

Source at https://www.fhi.no/The unit for Social Welfare Services in the Division for Health Ser-vices at the Norwegian Institute for Public Health was commis-sioned by The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Fam-ily Affairs to identify empirical research on the effect of and experi-ences of interventions for young people exposed to forced mar-riage or honour-based violence.Seksjon for velferdstjenester iområde for helsetjenester i Folkehel-seinstituttet fikk i oppdrag av Barne-, ungdoms-og familiedirektora-tet å identifisere forskning om effekt av og erfaring med tiltak for unge som er blitt utsatt for tvangsekteskap eller æresrelatert vold

Using an Augmented Reality App for Flight Training

As the global demand for aviation pilots continues to drastically increase, flight schools are experiencing a large influx of ab-initio flight students. Such flight training programs are seeking innovative, cutting-edge technologies to support these students and expedite their flight training. The ARAir app, a custom app developed by our team, was designed for ab-initio pilots training at the Embry-Riddle Prescott campus. The initial implementation in Spring 2021 included phonetic alphabet practice and strategic radiotelephony that allows students to practice in a self-paced environment with immediate corrective feedback at various levels of complexity. Students can compete against themselves to improve phonetic alphabet knowledge, create initial radio transmissions, read back ATC instructions, and manipulate an aircraft to the correct intended location at the KPRC airport. Based on the survey and interview feedback collected after the initial implementation, additional support for checklist memorization using the Augmented Reality (AR) feature was added to the ARAir app. This presentation will report students’ learning experience with the improved ARAir in the second implementation in Spring 2022

Omega 3 Fatty Acid Inhibition of Inflammatory Cytokine-Mediated Connexin43 Regulation in the Heart

Background: The proinflammatory cytokine $Interleukin-1\beta$ $(IL-1\beta)$, which increases in the heart post myocardial infarction (MI), has been shown to cause loss of Connexin43 (Cx43) function, an event known to underlie formation of the arrhythmogenic substrate. Omega 3 Fatty acids exhibit antiarrhythmic properties and impact $IL-1\beta$ signaling. We hypothesize that Omega-3 fatty acids prevent arrhythmias in part, by inhibiting $IL-1\beta$ signaling thus maintaining functional Cx43 channels. Methods: Rat neonatal myocytes or Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Epithelial (MDCK) cells grown in media in the absence (Ctr) or presence of $30 \mu M$ docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, an Omega-3 Fatty acid) were treated with $0.1 \mu M$ activated $IL-1\beta$. We determined Cx43 channel function using a dye spread assay. Western blot and immunostaining were used to examine Cx43 levels/localization and downstream effectors of $IL-1\beta$. In addition we used a murine model of MI for 24 h to determine the impact of an Omega-3 fatty acid enriched diet on Cx43 levels/localization post MI. Results: $IL-1\beta$ significantly inhibited Cx43 function in Ctr cells $(200.9 \pm 17.7 \mu m [Ctr] vs. 112.8 \pm 14.9 \mu m [0.1 \mu M IL-1\beta], p<0.05)$. However, DHA-treated cells remained highly coupled in the presence of $IL-1\beta$ $[167.9 \pm 21.9 \mu m [DHA] vs. 164.4 \pm 22.3 \mu m [DHA + 0.1 \ muM IL-1\beta], p<0.05, n = 4]$. Additionally, western blot showed that $IL-1\beta$ treatment caused a 38.5% downregulation of Cx43 $[1.00 au [Ctr] vs. 0.615 au (0.1 \mu M IL-1\beta)$ which was completely abolished in DHA-treated cells $(0.935 au [DHA] vs. 1.02 au [DHA + 0.1 \mu M IL-1\beta), p < 0.05, n = 3]$. Examination of the downstream modulator of $IL-1\beta$, $NF\kappa \beta$ showed that while hypoxia caused translocation of $NF\kappa \beta$ to the nucleus, this was inhibited by DHA. Additionally we found that a diet enriched in Omega-3 Fatty acids inhibited lateralization of Cx43 in the post-MI murine heart as well as limited activation of fibroblasts which would lead to decreased fibrosis overall. Conclusions: Omega 3 Fatty acid treatment inhibited $IL-1\beta$-stimulated loss of Cx43 protein, and more importantly, inhibited loss of Cx43 function by inhibiting translocation of $NF\kappa \beta$. In the intact heart a diet enriched in Omega 3 Fatty Acids limited loss of Cx43 at the intercalated disk in the heart following MI. These data suggest that one of cardio-protective mechanisms by which Omega 3 Fatty acids work includes prevention of the pro-arrhythmic loss of Cx43 post MI and the attenuation of cardiac fibrosis after injury

Gene family encoding the major toxins of lethal \u3ci\u3eAmanita\u3c/i\u3e mushrooms

Amatoxins, the lethal constituents of poisonous mushrooms in the genus Amanita, are bicyclic octapeptides. Two genes in A. bisporigera, AMA1 and PHA1, directly encode α-amanitin, an amatoxin, and the related bicyclic heptapeptide phallacidin, a phallotoxin, indicating that these compounds are synthesized on ribosomes and not by nonribosomal peptide synthetases. α-Amanitin and phallacidin are synthesized as proproteins of 35 and 34 amino acids, respectively, from which they are predicted to be cleaved by a prolyl oligopeptidase. AMA1 and PHA1 are present in other toxic species of Amanita section Phalloidae but are absent from nontoxic species in other sections. The genomes of A. bisporigera and A. phalloides contain multiple sequences related to AMA1 and PHA1. The predicted protein products of this family of genes are characterized by a hypervariable ‘‘toxin’’ region capable of encoding a wide variety of peptides of 7–10 amino acids flanked by conserved sequences. Our results suggest that these fungi have a broad capacity to synthesize cyclic peptides on ribosomes

Working with the homeless: The case of a non-profit organisation in Shanghai

This article addresses a two-pronged objective, namely to bring to the fore a much neglected social issue of homelessness, and to explore the dynamics of state-society relations in contemporary China, through a case study of a non-profit organisation (NPO) working with the homeless in Shanghai. It shows that the largely invisible homelessness in Chinese cities was substantially due to exclusionary institutions, such as the combined household registration and 'detention and deportation' systems. Official policy has become much more supportive since 2003 when the latter was replaced with government-run shelters, but we argue that the NPO case demonstrates the potential for enhanced longer-term support and enabling active citizenship for homeless people. By analysing the ways in which the NPO offers services through collaboration and partnership with the public (and private) actors, we also argue that the transformations in postreform China and the changes within the state and civil society have significantly blurred their boundaries, rendering state-society relations much more complex, dynamic, fluid and mutually embedded

The MSDIN family in amanitin-producing mushrooms and evolution of the prolyl oligopeptidase genes

The biosynthetic pathway for amanitins and related cyclic peptides in deadly Amanita (Amanitace ae) mushrooms represents the first known ribosomal cyclic peptide pathway in the Fungi. Amanitins are found outside of the genus in distantly related agarics Galerina (Strophariaceae) and Lepiota (Agaricaceae). A long-standing question in the field persists: why is this pathway present in these phylogenetically disjunct agarics? Two deadly mushrooms, A. pallidorosea and A. subjunquillea, were deep sequenced, and sequences of biosynthetic genes encoding MSDINs (cyclic peptide presursor) and prolyl oligopeptidases (POPA and POPB) were obtained. The two Amanita species yielded 20 and 18 MSDINs, respectively. In addition, two MSDIN sequences were cloned from L. brunneoincarnata basidiomes. The toxin MSDIN genes encoding amatoxins or phallotoxins from the three genera were compared, and a phylogenetic tree constructed. Prolyl oligopeptidase B (POPB), a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway, was used in phylogenetic reconstruction to infer the evolutionary history of the genes. Phylogenenies of POPB and POPA based on both coding and amino acid sequences showed very different results: while POPA genes clearly reflected the phylogeny of the host species, POPB did not; strikingly, it formed a well supported monophyletic clade, despite that the species belong to different genera in disjunct families. POPA, a known house-keeping gene, was shown to be restricted in a branch containing on Amanita species and the phylogeny resembled that of those Amanita species. Phylogenetic analyses of MSDIN and POPB genes showed tight coordination and disjunct disdistribution. A POPB gene tree was compared with a corresponding species tree, and distances and substitution rates were compared. The results suggested POPB genes have significant smaller distances and substitution rates were compared. The result suggested POPB genes have significant smaller distances and rates than the house-keeping rpb2, discounting massive gene loss. Under this assumption, the consistently cluster Galerina and Amantia POPB genes, while Lepiota POPB is distant. Our result suggests that horizontal gene transfer (HGT), at least between Amanita and Galerian, was invovled in the acquisition of POPB genes, which may shed light on the evolution of the a-amanitin biosynthetic pathway