Telomere position effect is regulated by heterochromatin-associated proteins and NkuA in Aspergillus nidulans

Gene-silencing mechanisms are being shown to be associated with an increasing number of fungal developmental processes. Telomere position effect (TPE) is a eukaryotic phenomenon resulting in gene repression in areas immediately adjacent to telomere caps. Here, TPE is shown to regulate expression of transgenes on the left arm of chromosome III and the right arm of chromosome VI in Aspergillus nidulans. Phenotypes found to be associated with transgene repression included reduction in radial growth and the absence of sexual spores; however, these pleiotropic phenotypes were remedied when cultures were grown on media with appropriate supplementation. Simple radial growth and ascosporogenesis assays provided insights into the mechanism of TPE, including a means to determine its extent. These experiments revealed that the KU70 homologue (NkuA) and the heterochromatin-associated proteins HepA, ClrD and HdaA were partially required for transgene silencing. This study indicates that TPE extends at least 30 kb on chromosome III, suggesting that this phenomenon may be important for gene regulation in subtelomeric regions of A. nidulans

Accounting for Demography and Preferences: New Estimates of Residential Segregation with Minimum Segregation Measures

The index of dissimilarity (D) has historically been and continues to be a widely used quantitative measure of residential segregation. Conventional interpretations of D imply that normatively desirable residential patterns occur when ethnoracial compositions of lower-order geographic units (such as neighborhoods) match those of higher-order units (such as metropolitan areas). However, it is likely that average preferences for same-group contact in neighborhoods sometimes exceed group population shares in metropolitan areas. In such situations, there is mathematical tension between the capacity for group preferences for co-ethnic neighbors to be satisfied and the degree of residential segregation. In this article, I quantify this tension by calculating DΔ, or the difference between D and the minimum segregation measure D*, which returns the lower bound on segregation for a given average in-group preference level and ethnoracial share. Positive scores on DΔ indicate that a metropolitan area is more segregated than necessary to satisfy average group preferences, while negative scores indicate that observed residential patterns do not satisfy such preferences. I use data from the 2010 decennial census and 2006–2010 American Community Survey to analyze the associations between predictors of residential segregation and DΔ

“Scratchin’ and Surviving” or “Movin’ on Up?” Two Sources of Change in Children’s Neighborhood SES

Ethnicity, Inequality, Mobility, Neighborhoods, Race,

Accounting for Demography and Preferences: New Estimates of Residential Segregation with Minimum Segregation Measures

The index of dissimilarity (D) has historically been and continues to be a widely used quantitative measure of residential segregation. Conventional interpretations of D imply that normatively desirable residential patterns occur when ethnoracial compositions of lower-order geographic units (such as neighborhoods) match those of higher-order units (such as metropolitan areas). However, it is likely that average preferences for same-group contact in neighborhoods sometimes exceed group population shares in metropolitan areas. In such situations, there is mathematical tension between the capacity for group preferences for co-ethnic neighbors to be satisfied and the degree of residential segregation. In this article, I quantify this tension by calculating DΔ, or the difference between D and the minimum segregation measure D*, which returns the lower bound on segregation for a given average in-group preference level and ethnoracial share. Positive scores on DΔ indicate that a metropolitan area is more segregated than necessary to satisfy average group preferences, while negative scores indicate that observed residential patterns do not satisfy such preferences. I use data from the 2010 decennial census and 2006–2010 American Community Survey to analyze the associations between predictors of residential segregation and DΔ

The effects of Obama's political success on the self-rated health of Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites

Stress in the social environment can affect individual health. Election of the first Black President of the United States provides an opportunity to assess how a positive change in the macro-political climate impacts the health of Americans. Past research suggests that race-related political events influence the health of non-dominant racial groups. Yet many questions remain, including the types of events that affect health, the timing and durability of health effects, and whether effects are similar for Blacks and Hispanics in the United States. The present study uses data from the Ohio Family Health Survey, which was in the field from August 6, 2008 until January 24, 2009, to assess whether immediate changes in average self-rated health occurred after key events in the election of President Barack Obama. We find better average health ratings among Blacks and Hispanics immediately following Obama’s nomination by the Democratic Party. Similar effects did not occur after the election or inauguration, and Whites showed no effect of any of the events. We discuss the implications of these findings in terms of the theoretical links between macro-level social conditions, race/ethnicity, and health.African and African American Studie

Interlocking Corporate Directorates and the Global City Hierarchy

This paper examines the direct and indirect economic linkages of the most prominent cities in the world, those commonly referred to as global cities, in terms of the direct and indirect linkages of the boards of directors of Fortune Global 500 firms headquartered in a given city with boards of directors of other firms. Specifically, we identify the interlocks of corporate boards located within these major cities with other Fortune 500 boards of directors by degrees of separation, and present a new ranking for selected global cities based upon these direct and indirect ties. We find that New York clearly dominates these economic linkages, followed by London and Paris. This is most pronounced for financial companies. Contrary to other global city rankings, we locate Tokyo below Frankfurt and Chicago on this dimension. We argue that these multiple levels of indirect relationships reflect a significant, and until now unexplored, dimension of what it means to be a global city