Hmong transnational identity: the gendering of contested discourses

Hmong women throughout the diaspora are increasingly expressing ‘what it means to be Hmong’ and ‘what it means to be a Hmong woman’ in a variety of media that constitute western popular culture. At the same time, Hmong women residing in different nation-states live Hmong femininity differently. This paper explores the contested nature of Hmong identity through an exploration of discourses and practices at global and local levels, with a particular emphasis on their gendered dimensions. The paper argues that global narratives of Hmong identity are analytically distinct from, but empirically intertwined with, the constructions of Hmong identities across transnational social spaces. Through a focus on Hmong in Australia and the United States, the paper highlights the significance of place, generation, gender, religion, class and status as axes of contestation and debate in the construction of Hmong identities

A 70-year long lessepsian colonization: the conquest of Malta by Amphistegina lobifera

The highly invasive Amphistegina lobifera (Larsen, 1976), a non-indigenous benthic foraminifera coming from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, has colonized the Eastern Mediterranean during the last decades and in 2006 it was recorded for the first time from the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean). Here, we report new data from a sediment core collected in May 2018 near the northern coast of Malta. Results show that A. lobifera reached Malta between 1950 and 1955; then it progressively increased in abundance with time, probably favoured by the rising of Mediterranean SST during the last 40 years.peer-reviewe

Cohabitation, infection and breast cancer risk.

For 50 years, the effect of age at first birth (AFB) has been thought to explain the strong association between breast cancer risk and age at first marriage (AFM), which was first reported in 1926. The independent effects of AFM, AFB and number of sexual partners adjusted for parity and other risk factors were estimated in reanalysis of a large international case-control study conducted in 1979 to 1982 (2274 breast cancers, 18209 controls) by unconditional logistic regression. Respective AFB and AFM breast cancer odds ratios (ORs) for ≥31 years relative to ≤18 years were 3.01 (95% CI 2.44-3.71; P(trend) < .0001) and 3.24 (95% CI 2.62-4.01; P(trend) < .0001) in univariate analyses. Among married parous women, these ORs fell to 1.38 (95% CI 0.98-1.95; P(trend) < .03) for AFB and 1.70 (95% CI 1.17-2.46; P(trend) < .002) for AFM when fitted together in multivariate analysis including other risk factors. A similar adjusted OR for AFM ≥ 31 years relative to ≤18 years was seen among married nulliparous women (OR 1.71, 95% CI 0.98-2.98; P(trend) < .001). AFM (a surrogate for age at starting prolonged cohabitation) is thus strongly associated with breast cancer risk. This suggests an effect of close contact. Identifying the (probably infective) mechanism might lead to effective prevention of breast cancer. The independent effect of AFB is smaller and could be due to residual confounding

Graduate Recital: David Little, Baritone; Roberta Stimac, Piano; Julian Dawson, Piano; Aris Chavez, Clarinet; David Shrader, Percussion; May 5, 1977

Centennial East Recital HallThursday EveningMay 5, 19778:00 p.m

Performance of 16S Metagenomic Profiling in Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded versus Fresh-Frozen Colorectal Cancer Tissues

Secuenciación del gen 16S; Cáncer colorrectal; MicrobiomaSeqüenciació del gen 16S; Càncer colorectal; Microbioma16S gene sequencing; Colorectal cancer; MicrobiomeFormalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues represent the most widely available clinical material to study colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the accuracy and clinical validity of FFPE microbiome profiling in CRC is uncertain. Here, we compared the microbial composition of 10 paired fresh-frozen (FF) and FFPE CRC tissues using 16S rRNA sequencing and RNA-ISH. Both sample types showed different microbial diversity and composition. FF samples were enriched in archaea and representative CRC-associated bacteria, such as Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria. Conversely, FFPE samples were mainly enriched in typical contaminants, such as Sphingomonadales and Rhodobacterales. RNA-ISH in FFPE tissues confirmed the presence of CRC-associated bacteria, such as Fusobacterium and Bacteroides, as well as Propionibacterium allowing discrimination between tumor-associated and contaminant taxa. An internal quality index showed that the degree of similarity within sample pairs inversely correlated with the dominance of contaminant taxa. Given the importance of FFPE specimens for larger studies in human cancer genomics, our findings may provide useful indications on potential confounding factors to consider for accurate and reproducible metagenomics analyses.This project has received funding from “la Caixa” Foundation under the grant agreement LCF/PR/CE07/5061000, the Fundación Mutua Madrileña [MMADRILEÑA/PREMI/2020CCAA_ NUCIFORO], the Instituto de Salud Carlos III [PI20/00889], and Grifols

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

The world's crop productivity is stagnating whereas population growth, rising affluence, and mandates for biofuels put increasing demands on agriculture. Meanwhile, demand for increasing cropland competes with equally crucial global sustainability and environmental protection needs. Addressing this looming agricultural crisis will be one of our greatest scientific challenges in the coming decades, and success will require substantial improvements at many levels. We assert that increasing the efficiency and productivity of photosynthesis in crop plants will be essential if this grand challenge is to be met. Here, we explore an array of prospective redesigns of plant systems at various scales, all aimed at increasing crop yields through improved photosynthetic efficiency and performance. Prospects range from straightforward alterations, already supported by preliminary evidence of feasibility, to substantial redesigns that are currently only conceptual, but that may be enabled by new developments in synthetic biology. Although some proposed redesigns are certain to face obstacles that will require alternate routes, the efforts should lead to new discoveries and technical advances with important impacts on the global problem of crop productivity and bioenergy production