The South, the suburbs, and the Vatican too: explaining partisan change among Catholics

This paper explains changes in partisanship among Catholics in the last quarter of the 20th Century using a theory of partisan change centered on the contexts in which Catholics lived. Catholics were part of the post-New Deal Democratic coalition, but they have become a swing demographic group. We argue that these changes in partisanship are best explained by changes in elite messages that are filtered through an individual’s social network. Those Catholics who lived or moved into the increasingly Republican suburbs and South were the Catholics who were most likely to adopt a non-Democratic partisan identity. Changes in context better explain Catholic partisanship than party abortion policy post Roe v. Wade or ideological sorting. We demonstrate evidence in support of our argument using the ANES cumulative file from 1972 through 2000

Differential Detection of Potentially Hazardous Fusarium Species in Wheat Grains by an Electronic Nose

Fungal infestation on wheat is an increasingly grave nutritional problem in many countries worldwide. Fusarium species are especially harmful pathogens due to their toxic metabolites. In this work we studied volatile compounds released by F. cerealis, F. graminearum, F. culmorum and F. redolens using SPME-GC/MS. By using an electronic nose we were able to differentiate between infected and non-infected wheat grains in the post-harvest chain. Our electronic nose was capable of distinguishing between four wheat Fusaria species with an accuracy higher than 80%

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Stereo-Selectivity of Human Serum Albumin to Enantiomeric and Isoelectronic Pollutants Dissected by Spectroscopy, Calorimetry and Bioinformatics

1–naphthol (1N), 2–naphthol (2N) and 8–quinolinol (8H) are general water pollutants. 1N and 2N are the configurational enantiomers and 8H is isoelectronic to 1N and 2N. These pollutants when ingested are transported in the blood by proteins like human serum albumin (HSA). Binding of these pollutants to HSA has been explored to elucidate the specific selectivity of molecular recognition by this multiligand binding protein. The association constants (Kb) of these pollutants to HSA were moderate (104–105 M−1). The proximity of the ligands to HSA is also revealed by their average binding distance, r, which is estimated to be in the range of 4.39–5.37 nm. The binding free energy (ΔG) in each case remains effectively the same for each site because of enthalpy–entropy compensation (EEC). The difference observed between ΔCpexp and ΔCpcalc are suggested to be caused by binding–induced flexibility changes in the HSA. Efforts are also made to elaborate the differences observed in binding isotherms obtained through multiple approaches of calorimetry, spectroscopy and bioinformatics. We suggest that difference in dissociation constants of pollutants by calorimetry, spectroscopic and computational approaches could correspond to occurrence of different set of populations of pollutants having different molecular characteristics in ground state and excited state. Furthermore, our observation of enhanced binding of pollutants (2N and 8H) in the presence of hemin signifies that ligands like hemin may enhance the storage period of these pollutants in blood that may even facilitate the ill effects of these pollutants

PDZ domains and their binding partners: structure, specificity, and modification

PDZ domains are abundant protein interaction modules that often recognize short amino acid motifs at the C-termini of target proteins. They regulate multiple biological processes such as transport, ion channel signaling, and other signal transduction systems. This review discusses the structural characterization of PDZ domains and the use of recently emerging technologies such as proteomic arrays and peptide libraries to study the binding properties of PDZ-mediated interactions. Regulatory mechanisms responsible for PDZ-mediated interactions, such as phosphorylation in the PDZ ligands or PDZ domains, are also discussed. A better understanding of PDZ protein-protein interaction networks and regulatory mechanisms will improve our knowledge of many cellular and biological processes