The Status of Women in the South

The southern United States is a dynamic and influential region marked by innovation and economic opportunities for women, yet also a region where inequalities persist and many women -- especially women of color and those who are immigrants -- face challenges such as high unemployment, a large gender wage gap, abuse of their reproductive rights, and low levels of political representation. This complex picture of the South as a region where both opportunities and disparities exist is often lost by those who either romanticize the South's positive qualities or exaggerate its negative aspects. Between these two views of the southern United States -- both of which are at least partially based in reality -- this report relies on empirical data to provide a balanced understanding of the status of women in the South today

Children Use Different Cues to Guide Noun and Verb Extensions

Learning new words involves decoding both how a word fits the current situation and how it could be used in new situations. Three studies explore how two types of cues— sentence structure and the availability of multiple instances-- affect children’s extensions of nouns and verbs. In each study, 2½-year-olds heard nouns, verbs or no new word while seeing the experimenter use a novel object to perform an action; at test, they were asked to extend the word. In Study 1, children hearing nouns in simple sentences used object shape as the basis for extension even though, during the learning phase, they saw multiple objects in motion; children in the other conditions responded randomly. Study 2 shows that by changing in the type of sentences used in the noun and verb conditions, not only is the shape bias disrupted but children are successful in extending new verbs. In a final study, access to multiple examples was replaced by a direct teaching context, and produced findings similar to those in Study 2. An implication of this result is that seeing multiple examples can be as effective as receiving direct instruction from an adult. Overall, the set of results suggests the mix of cues available during learning influences noun and verb extensions differently. The findings are important for understanding how the ability to extend words emerges in complex contexts

Rural Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors Perspectives using Online Health Resources

Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women, with over 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. These patients, survivors and their loved ones use the Internet to find information about breast cancer, search for treatment options and connect with support groups. For women in medically underserved areas, especially rural areas, the Internet could be one of their only sources of information. Objective: The study investigates rural breast cancer patients’ and survivors’ motivations to seek online information, ability to use the Internet as a health information source, barriers to finding the information they seek, and the search strategy they use when seeking information online. Methods: This qualitative study used “think-aloud” interviews with rural breast cancer patients and survivors to examine the thought process used to select online breast cancer information. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo 9. Results: Patients use Internet searches to corroborate provider recommendations and treatment plans. They preferred websites affiliated with nationally recognized cancer centers and breast cancer support organizations with few advertisements and comprehensive information. Conclusions: The importance of trust within the provider-patient relationship is a core theme. Although the provider is the preferred source of information, patients will use the Internet to verify provider recommendations. Implications for Practice: Rural breast cancer patients desire Internet search training. Nurses and breast cancer survivors would be effective trainers to increase patient online search information satisfaction and provide reliable resources for patients seeking accurate health

Molecular traces of alternative social organization in a termite genome

Although eusociality evolved independently within several orders of insects, research into the molecular underpinnings of the transition towards social complexity has been confined primarily to Hymenoptera (for example, ants and bees). Here we sequence the genome and stage-specific transcriptomes of the dampwood termite Zootermopsis nevadensis (Blattodea) and compare them with similar data for eusocial Hymenoptera, to better identify commonalities and differences in achieving this significant transition. We show an expansion of genes related to male fertility, with upregulated gene expression in male reproductive individuals reflecting the profound differences in mating biology relative to the Hymenoptera. For several chemoreceptor families, we show divergent numbers of genes, which may correspond to the more claustral lifestyle of these termites. We also show similarities in the number and expression of genes related to caste determination mechanisms. Finally, patterns of DNAmethylation and alternative splicing support

An analysis of child protection 'standard operating procedures for research' in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Interest in children's agency within the research process has led to a renewed consideration of the relationships between researchers and children. Child protection concerns are sometimes not recognised by researchers, and sometimes ignored. Yet much research on children's lives, especially in health, has the potential to uncover child abuse. University research guidance should be in place to safeguard both researchers and the populations under scrutiny. The aim of this study was to examine university guidance on protecting children in research contexts. METHODS: Child protection Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were requested from institutions with Research Assessment Exercise (2008) profiles in the top two quartiles according to published league tables. Procedures were included if they applied across the institution and if they were more extensive than stating the university's general application of the UK Disclosure and Barring Service process. A typology for scoring the SOPs was designed for this study based on the authors' previous work. The typology and the raw data scoring were reviewed independently by each of the team members and collectively agreed. The raw scores were charted and analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: SOPs for research conduct amongst vulnerable groups were sought from 83 institutions. Forty HEIs provided policies which met the inclusion criteria. The majority did not mention children, young people or vulnerable adults as a whole, although children in nurseries and young people in universities were addressed. Only three institutions scored over 50 out of a possible 100. The mean score was 17.4. More than half the HEIs made no reference to vetting/barring schemes in research, only eight universities set out a training programme on child protection. Research was often not mentioned in the SOPs and only six mention children in research, with only two fully recognising the extent of child protection in research. DISCUSSION: There is potential for researchers to recognise and respond to maltreatment of children who participate in research. However, the majority of HEIs do not have an overt culture of safeguarding. There is confusion over what are the roles and responsibilities of HEIs in relation to research that involves children. CONCLUSIONS: The policies that are meant to support and guide research practice, so that children are protected, are in the most part non-existent or poorly developed

Adaptations to Submarine Hydrothermal Environments Exemplified by the Genome of Nautilia profundicola

Submarine hydrothermal vents are model systems for the Archaean Earth environment, and some sites maintain conditions that may have favored the formation and evolution of cellular life. Vents are typified by rapid fluctuations in temperature and redox potential that impose a strong selective pressure on resident microbial communities. Nautilia profundicola strain Am-H is a moderately thermophilic, deeply-branching Epsilonproteobacterium found free-living at hydrothermal vents and is a member of the microbial mass on the dorsal surface of vent polychaete, Alvinella pompejana. Analysis of the 1.7-Mbp genome of N. profundicola uncovered adaptations to the vent environment—some unique and some shared with other Epsilonproteobacterial genomes. The major findings included: (1) a diverse suite of hydrogenases coupled to a relatively simple electron transport chain, (2) numerous stress response systems, (3) a novel predicted nitrate assimilation pathway with hydroxylamine as a key intermediate, and (4) a gene (rgy) encoding the hallmark protein for hyperthermophilic growth, reverse gyrase. Additional experiments indicated that expression of rgy in strain Am-H was induced over 100-fold with a 20°C increase above the optimal growth temperature of this bacterium and that closely related rgy genes are present and expressed in bacterial communities residing in geographically distinct thermophilic environments. N. profundicola, therefore, is a model Epsilonproteobacterium that contains all the genes necessary for life in the extreme conditions widely believed to reflect those in the Archaean biosphere—anaerobic, sulfur, H2- and CO2-rich, with fluctuating redox potentials and temperatures. In addition, reverse gyrase appears to be an important and common adaptation for mesophiles and moderate thermophiles that inhabit ecological niches characterized by rapid and frequent temperature fluctuations and, as such, can no longer be considered a unique feature of hyperthermophiles

Report from Working Group 3: Beyond the standard model physics at the HL-LHC and HE-LHC

This is the third out of five chapters of the final report [1] of the Workshop on Physics at HL-LHC, and perspectives on HE-LHC [2]. It is devoted to the study of the potential, in the search for Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics, of the High Luminosity (HL) phase of the LHC, defined as $3$ ab$^{-1}$ of data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 14 TeV, and of a possible future upgrade, the High Energy (HE) LHC, defined as $15$ ab$^{-1}$ of data at a centre-of-mass energy of 27 TeV. We consider a large variety of new physics models, both in a simplified model fashion and in a more model-dependent one. A long list of contributions from the theory and experimental (ATLAS, CMS, LHCb) communities have been collected and merged together to give a complete, wide, and consistent view of future prospects for BSM physics at the considered colliders. On top of the usual standard candles, such as supersymmetric simplified models and resonances, considered for the evaluation of future collider potentials, this report contains results on dark matter and dark sectors, long lived particles, leptoquarks, sterile neutrinos, axion-like particles, heavy scalars, vector-like quarks, and more. Particular attention is placed, especially in the study of the HL-LHC prospects, to the detector upgrades, the assessment of the future systematic uncertainties, and new experimental techniques. The general conclusion is that the HL-LHC, on top of allowing to extend the present LHC mass and coupling reach by $20-50\%$ on most new physics scenarios, will also be able to constrain, and potentially discover, new physics that is presently unconstrained. Moreover, compared to the HL-LHC, the reach in most observables will, generally more than double at the HE-LHC, which may represent a good candidate future facility for a final test of TeV-scale new physics

The genome of the water strider Gerris buenoi reveals expansions of gene repertoires associated with adaptations to life on the water.

BACKGROUND: Having conquered water surfaces worldwide, the semi-aquatic bugs occupy ponds, streams, lakes, mangroves, and even open oceans. The diversity of this group has inspired a range of scientific studies from ecology and evolution to developmental genetics and hydrodynamics of fluid locomotion. However, the lack of a representative water strider genome hinders our ability to more thoroughly investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the processes of adaptation and diversification within this group. RESULTS: Here we report the sequencing and manual annotation of the Gerris buenoi (G. buenoi) genome; the first water strider genome to be sequenced thus far. The size of the G. buenoi genome is approximately 1,000 Mb, and this sequencing effort has recovered 20,949 predicted protein-coding genes. Manual annotation uncovered a number of local (tandem and proximal) gene duplications and expansions of gene families known for their importance in a variety of processes associated with morphological and physiological adaptations to a water surface lifestyle. These expansions may affect key processes associated with growth, vision, desiccation resistance, detoxification, olfaction and epigenetic regulation. Strikingly, the G. buenoi genome contains three insulin receptors, suggesting key changes in the rewiring and function of the insulin pathway. Other genomic changes affecting with opsin genes may be associated with wavelength sensitivity shifts in opsins, which is likely to be key in facilitating specific adaptations in vision for diverse water habitats. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that local gene duplications might have played an important role during the evolution of water striders. Along with these findings, the sequencing of the G. buenoi genome now provides us the opportunity to pursue exciting research opportunities to further understand the genomic underpinnings of traits associated with the extreme body plan and life history of water striders

The genome of the water strider Gerris buenoi reveals expansions of gene repertoires associated with adaptations to life on the water

Background: Having conquered water surfaces worldwide, the semi-aquatic bugs occupy ponds, streams, lakes, mangroves, and even open oceans. The diversity of this group has inspired a range of scientific studies from ecology and evolution to developmental genetics and hydrodynamics of fluid locomotion. However, the lack of a representative water strider genome hinders our ability to more thoroughly investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the processes of adaptation and diversification within this group. Results: Here we report the sequencing and manual annotation of the Gerris buenoi (G. buenoi) genome; the first water strider genome to be sequenced thus far. The size of the G. buenoi genome is approximately 1,000Mb, and this sequencing effort has recovered 20,949 predicted protein-coding genes. Manual annotation uncovered a number of local (tandem and proximal) gene duplications and expansions of gene families known for their importance in a variety of processes associated with morphological and physiological adaptations to a water surface lifestyle. These expansions may affect key processes associated with growth, vision, desiccation resistance, detoxification, olfaction and epigenetic regulation. Strikingly, the G. buenoi genome contains three insulin receptors, suggesting key changes in the rewiring and function of the insulin pathway. Other genomic changes affecting with opsin genes may be associated with wavelength sensitivity shifts in opsins, which is likely to be key in facilitating specific adaptations in vision for diverse water habitats. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that local gene duplications might have played an important role during the evolution of water striders. Along with these findings, the sequencing of the G. buenoi genome now provides us the opportunity to pursue exciting research opportunities to further understand the genomic underpinnings of traits associated with the extreme body plan and life history of water striders