805 research outputs found
When white people experience the weight of the past:The role of white identity strategies in linking colonialism to current racial inequalities
How do White Europeans address racial inequalities in times of burgeoningdiscussions about colonialism? The current research explores the strategies that White people in the Netherlands use to manage their racial-ethnic identity in relation to linking colonialism and current racial inequalities. With this, we examined how White identity strategies were related to ideologies legitimizing racial inequalities. Using mixed-methods consisting of qualitative interviews (N = 24) and quantitative surveys (N = 564), we found that White people exhibited different combinations of prideful (âI am a proud person of our ethnic heritageâ), dissociated (âMy ethnic group does not have a significant impact on how I see the worldâ), and power-cognizant (âI am a White person with privileges because of my ethnic groupâ) identity strategies. Moreover, these White identity strategies were associated withlinking colonialism and racial inequalities and, thereby, with ideologies legitimizing them. Specifically, White people holding prideful and dissociated strategies were less likely to link colonialism and racial inequalities than White people who exclusively endorsed powercognizance. Furthermore, power-cognizant people challenged current-day racial inequalities the most. We conclude by discussing how White European people legitimize or question racial inequalities by managing their whiteness and the theoretical and practical implications of these findings
Crustal Composition and Moho Variations of the Central and Eastern United States: Improving Resolutionand Geologic Interpretation of EarthScope USArray Seismic Images Using Gravity
EarthScope\u27s USArray Transportable Array has shortcomings for the purpose of interpreting geologic features of wavelengths less than the Transportable Array station spacing, but these can be overcome by using higher spatial resolution gravity data. In this study, we exploit USArray receiver functions to reduce nonuniqueness in the interpretation of gravity anomalies. We model gravity anomalies from previously derived density variations of sedimentary basins, crustal Vp/Vs variation, Moho variation, and upper mantle density variation derived from body wave imaging informed by surface wave tomography to estimate Vp/Vs. Although average densities and density contrasts for these seismic variations can be derived, the gravity anomalies modeled from them do not explain the entire observed gravity anomaly field in the United States. We use the unmodeled gravity anomalies (residuals) to reconstruct local variations in densities of the crust associated with geologic sources. The approach uses velocityâdensity relationships and differs from density computations that assume isostatic compensation. These intracrustal densities identify geologic sources not sampled by and, in some cases, aliased by the USArray station spacing. We show an example of this improvement in the vicinity of the Bloomfield Pluton, north of the bootheel of Missouri, in the central United States
Quinolone signaling in the cell-to-cell communication system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Numerous species of bacteria use an elegant
regulatory mechanism known as quorum sensing to control
the expression of specific genes in a cell-density dependent
manner. In Gram-negative bacteria, quorum sensing systems
function through a cell-to-cell signal molecule (autoinducer)
that consists of a homoserine lactone with a fatty acid side
chain. Such is the case in the opportunistic human pathogen
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which contains two quorum sensing
systems (las and rhl) that operate via the autoinducers,
N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone and N-butyryl-Lhomoserine
lactone. The study of these signal molecules has
shown that they bind to and activate transcriptional activator
proteins that specifically induce numerous P. aeruginosa
virulence genes. We report here that P. aeruginosa produces
another signal molecule, 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone,
which has been designated as the Pseudomonas quinolone
signal. It was found that this unique cell-to-cell signal controlled
the expression of lasB, which encodes for the major
virulence factor, LasB elastase. We also show that the synthesis
and bioactivity of Pseudomonas quinolone signal were
mediated by the P. aeruginosa las and rhl quorum sensing
systems, respectively. The demonstration that 2-heptyl-3-
hydroxy-4-quinolone can function as an intercellular signal
sheds light on the role of secondary metabolites and shows
that P. aeruginosa cell-to-cell signaling is not restricted to
acyl-homoserine lactones. Originally published Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, Vol. 96, No. 20, Sep. 199
Moho depth and crustal thinning in the Marmara Sea region from gravity data inversion
The freeâair gravity in the Marmara Sea reveals that the low density of sedimentary basins is partly compensated in the lower crust. We compiled geophysical upper crust studies to determine the sediment basin geometries in and around the Marmara Sea and corrected the gravity signal from this upper crust geology with the Parker method. Then, assuming long wavelength anomalies in the residual gravity signal is caused by variations in the Moho topography, we inverted the residual to build the Moho topography. The result shows that the Moho is uplifted on an area greater than the Marmara Sea with a maximum crust thinning beneath the basins where the Moho is at about 25âkm, 5âkm above the reference depth. We then evaluated the Neogene extension by comparing the surface covered by our 3âD thinned model with the surface covered by an unthinned model with same crustal volume. Comparing this surface with areal extension rate from GPS data, we found a good compatibility indicating that the extension rate averaged over the Sea of Marmara area probably remained close to its presentâday value during major changes of tectonic regime, as the incursion of the North Anatolian Fault system during the Pliocene leads to the establishment of the dominantly strikeâslip presentâday system. We also show that crustal extension is distributed over a wider domain in the lower crust than in the upper crust, and that this may be accounted for by a relatively minor component of lower crustal ductile flow
Influence of growing season, nitrogen fertilisation and wheat variety on Fusarium infection and mycotoxin production in wheat kernel
Abstract Fusarium spp. are phytopathogens causing fusarium head blight in wheat. They produce mycotoxins, mainly fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, and zearalenone. The study was conducted during two growing seasons (2020 and 2021) at the experimental field and laboratories of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE). The aim of the study was to determine the influence of growing season, nitrogen fertilisation, and wheat variety on Fusarium infection and mycotoxin production in wheat kernel. Zearalenone was not detected during the two growing seasons and deoxynivalenol was only detected in 2020. The results indicate that nitrogen fertilisation and wheat variety did not have statistically significant influence on Fusarium infection and mycotoxin production. The growing season had statistically significant influence on Fusarium infection and fumonisins production due to higher rainfall in 2021 compared to 2020 during the flowering period when the wheat spike is the most vulnerable to Fusarium infection
Aluminium-induced inhibition of root elongation in Arabidopsis is mediated by ethylene and auxin
Aluminium (Al) is phytotoxic when solubilized into Al3+ in acidic soils. One of the earliest and distinct symptoms of Al3+ toxicity is inhibition of root elongation. To decipher the mechanism by which Al3+ inhibits root elongation, the role of ethylene and auxin in Al3+-induced inhibition of root elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana was investigated using the wild type and mutants defective in ethylene signalling (etr1-3 and ein2-1) and auxin polar transport (aux1-7 and pin2). Exposure of wild-type Arabidopsis to AlCl3 led to a marked inhibition of root elongation, and elicited a rapid ethylene evolution and enhanced activity of the ethylene reporter EBS:GUS in root apices. Root elongation in etr1-3 and ein2-1 mutants was less inhibited by Al3+ than that in wild-type plants. Ethylene synthesis inhibitors, Co2+ and aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), and an antagonist of ethylene perception (Ag+) abolished the Al3+-induced inhibition of root elongation. There was less inhibition of root elongation by Al3+ in aux1-7 and pin2 mutants than in the wild type. The auxin polar transport inhibitor, naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA), substantially alleviated the Al3+-induced inhibition of root elongation. The Al3+ and ethylene synthesis precursor aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid (ACC) increased auxin reporter DR5:GUS activity in roots. The Al3+-induced increase in DR5:GUS activity was reduced by AVG, while the Al3+-induced increase in EBS:GUS activity was not altered by NPA. Al3+ and ACC increased transcripts of AUX1 and PIN2, and this effect was no longer observed in the presence of AVG and Co2+. These findings indicate that Al3+-induced ethylene production is likely to act as a signal to alter auxin distribution in roots by disrupting AUX1- and PIN2-mediated auxin polar transport, leading to arrest of root elongation
The BRICS in the Global Order: A New Political Agenda?
Regarding the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) itâs important to analyze comparatively the new power cycle in order to understand not only the impact of the world crisis as well as the relationship between the official political discourses and the economic instability. Actually, the trade liberalization and economic interdependence accompanied with an uncertain international system are putting pressure to the BRICS with their own agendas for global order in seeking for a balance and also to regain a new political and economical dynamic for the promotion of new strategies
Pity for economically disadvantaged groups motivates donation and ally collective action intentions
We argue that pity can motivate collective action intentions toward groups that are both politically and economically deprived. We tested this connection in four online surveys and an experiment. In Study 1 (NÂ =Â 1,007), pity for the Roma in Hungary predicted collective action intentions, which was replicated in Study 2 in connection with refugees in Germany (NÂ =Â 191) and in Hungary (NÂ =Â 563). Study 3 (NÂ =Â 475) demonstrated that for not economically but politically disadvantaged groups (e.g., sexual minorities), pity was not a predictor of ally action. In an experiment (Study 4, NÂ =Â 447), pity was just as strong a predictor of collective action intentions as outrage on behalf of an economically and politically disadvantaged outgroup. Pity can be a mobilizing emotion when it comes to groups that are both economically and politically disadvantaged; however, outrage remains more important in the absence of economic hardship
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