Legalized Racial Profiling and Arizona SB1070: A Framing Effects Study

Immigration has become one of the most important topics on the agenda of federal and state governments. President Obama just passed his pro-immigration executive order allowing five million undocumented immigrants to gain legal work visas. Conversely, there are laws such as Arizona Law SB1070, passed by Governor Jan Brewer in 2010, opposing Obama\u27s pro-immigration stance. In the case of Arizona Law SB1070, it is important to have a basic understanding of the stereotypical perceptions people have of immigrants if laws like these are going to be enforced. In this study, we experimentally manipulated a real-life scenario of an immigrant being pulled over by an Arizona police officer who detains the immigrant for failing to produce his documents. By manipulating three frames, country of origin, immigration status, and occupation, we look to see if there is an effect on the acceptance of Arizona SB1070 based on the combination of frames given. The results showed that only one frame was significant, the immigration status frame (p\u3c0.001)

Staeckel systems generating coupled KdV hierarchies and their finite-gap and rational solutions

We show how to generate coupled KdV hierarchies from Staeckel separable systems of Benenti type. We further show that solutions of these Staeckel systems generate a large class of finite-gap and rational solutions of cKdV hierarchies. Most of these solutions are new.Comment: 15 page

A possible role of tachykinin-related peptide on an immune system activity of mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor L.

Tachykinin-related peptides (TRPs) are important neuropeptides. Here we show that they affect the insect immune system, especially the cellular response. We also identify and predict the sequence and structure of the tachykinin-related peptide receptor (TRPR) and confirm the presence of expression of gene encoding TRPR on Tenebrio molitor haemocytes. After application of the Tenmo-TRP-7 in T. molitor the number of circulating haemocytes increased and the number of haemocytes participating in phagocytosis of latex beads decreased in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Also, Tenmo-TRP-7 affects the adhesion ability of haemocytes. Six hours after injection of TenmoTRP-7, a decrease of haemocyte surface area was observed under both tested Tenmo-TRP-7 concentrations (10-7 and 10-5 M). The opposite effect was reported 24 h after injection, which indicates that the influence of Tenmo-TRP-7 on modulation of haemocyte behaviour differs at different stages of stress response. Tenmo-TRP-7 application also resulted in increased phenoloxidase activity 6 and 24 h after injection. The assessment of DNA integrity of haemocytes showed that the injection of Tenmo-TRP-7 at 10-7 M led to a decrease in DNA damage compared to control individuals. This effect was only visible 6 h after Tenmo-TRP-7 application. After 24 h, Tenmo-TRP-7 injection increased DNA damage. We also confirmed the expression of immune-related genes in nervous tissue of T. molitor. Transcripts for genes encoding receptors participating in pathogen recognition processes and antimicrobial peptides were detected in T. molitor brain, retrocerebral complex and ventral nerve cord. These results may indicate a role of the insect nervous system in pathogen recognition and modulation of immune response similar to vertebrates. Taken together, our results support the notion that tachykinin-related peptides probably play an important role in the regulation of the insect immune system. Moreover, some resemblances with action of tachykininrelated peptides and substance P showed that insects can be potential model organisms for analysis of hormonal regulation of conserved innate immune mechanisms

Exercise mode in heart failure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Optimising exercise prescription in heart failure (HF) with a preserved (HFpEF) or reduced (HFrEF) ejection fraction is clinically important. As such, the aim of this meta-analysis was to compare traditional moderate intensity training (MIT) against combined aerobic and resistance training (CT) and high intensity interval training (HIIT) for improving aerobic capacity (VO2), as well as other clinically relevant parameters. Methods: A comprehensive systematic search was performed to identify randomised controlled trials published between 1990 and May 2021. Research trials reporting the effects of MIT against CT or HIIT on peak VO2 in HFpEF or HFrEF were considered. Left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and various markers of diastolic function were also analysed. Results: 17 studies were included in the final analysis, 4 of which compared MIT against CT and 13 compared MIT against HIIT. There were no significant differences between MIT and CT for peak VO2 (WMD:0.521ml·min-1·kg-1, [95% CI] =-0.7-1.8, Pfixed=0.412) or LVEF (WMD:-1.129 %, [95%CI] =-3.8-1.5,Pfixed=0.408). However, HIIT was significantly more effective than MIT at improving peak VO2 (WMD:1.62 ml·min-1·kg-1, [95%CI] =0.6-2.6,Prandom=0.002) and LVEF (WMD:3.24 %, [95%CI] =1.7-4.8,Prandom<0.001) in HF patients. When dichotomized by HF phenotype, HIIT remained significantly more effective than MIT in all analyses except for peak VO2 in HFpEF. Conclusions: HIIT is significantly more effective than MIT for improving peak VO2 and LVEF in HF patients. With the exception of peak VO2 in HFpEF, these findings remain consistent in both phenotypes. Separately, there is no difference in peak VO2 and LVEF change following MIT or CT, suggesting the addition of resistance exercise does not inhibit aerobic adaptations in HF

Coordinate regulation of eif2α phosphorylation by PPP1R15 and GCN2 is required during Drosophila development

Phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α) by the kinase GCN2 attenuates protein synthesis during amino acid starvation in yeast, whereas in mammals a family of related eIF2α kinases regulate translation in response to a variety of stresses. Unlike single-celled eukaryotes, mammals also possess two specific eIF2α phosphatases, PPP1R15a and PPP1R15b, whose combined deletion leads to a poorly understood early embryonic lethality. We report the characterisation of the first non-mammalian eIF2α phosphatase and the use of Drosophila to dissect its role during development. The Drosophila protein demonstrates features of both mammalian proteins, including limited sequence homology and association with the endoplasmic reticulum. Of note, although this protein is not transcriptionally regulated, its expression is controlled by the presence of upstream open reading frames in its 5'UTR, enabling induction in response to eIF2α phosphorylation. Moreover, we show that its expression is necessary for embryonic and larval development and that this is to oppose the inhibitory effects of GCN2 on anabolic growth. © 2013. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.This work was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC); and the British Society for Cell Biology. S.J.M. is an MRC Senior Clinical Fellow [grant number G1002610]. Deposited in PMC for release after 6 months

Spontaneous pneumothorax can be associated with TGFBR2 mutation.

TGFBR2 mutations that cause Loeys-Dietz Syndrome can present as pneumothorax. In vitro kinase assays can help confirm pathogenicity of novel variants.SJM is an MRC Senior Clinical FellowThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the European Respiratory Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00952-201

New physiological activities of myosuppressin, sulfakinin and NVP-like peptide in Zophobas atratus beetle

Three neuropeptides Zopat-MS-2 (pEDVDHVFLRFa), Zopat-SK-1 (pETSDDYGHLRFa) and Zopat-NVPL-4trunc. (GRWGGFA), recently isolated from the neuroendocrine system of the Zophobas atratus beetle, were tested for their myotropic and hyperglycaemic activities in this species. These peptides exerted differentiated dose-dependent and tissue specific physiological effects. Zopat-MS-2 inhibited contractions of the isolated heart, ejaculatory duct, oviduct and hindgut of adult beetles and induced bimodal effects in the heart contractile activity of pupae in vivo. It also increased the haemolymph free sugar level in larvae of this species, apart from myotropic activity. Zopat-SK-1 showed myostimulatory action on the isolated hindgut of the adult beetles, but it decreased contractions of the heart, ejaculatory duct and oviduct. Injections of this peptide at a dose of 2 μg also caused delayed cardioinhibitory effects on the heartbeat of the pupae. Together with the ability to increase free sugar level in the haemolymph of larvae these were new physiological activities of sulfakinins in insects. Zopat-NVPL-4trunc. inhibited the muscle contractions of the two organs: hindgut and ejaculatory duct but it was inactive on the oviduct and the heart of the adult beetles. This peptide also increased free sugar level concentration in the haemolymph of Z. atratus larvae. These physiological actions are the first biological activities discovered for this group of the insect peptides. The present work showed pleiotropic activity of three neuropeptides and indicates that the visceral muscle contractions and the haemolymph sugar homeostasis in Z. atratus are regulated by complex mechanisms

Energy efficiency considerations in integrated IT and optical network resilient infrastructures

The European Integrated Project GEYSERS - Generalised Architecture for Dynamic Infrastructure Services - is concentrating on infrastructures incorporating integrated optical network and IT resources in support of the Future Internet with special emphasis on cloud computing. More specifically GEYSERS proposes the concept of Virtual Infrastructures over one or more interconnected Physical Infrastructures comprising both network and IT resources. Taking into consideration the energy consumption levels associated with the ICT today and the expansion of the Internet in size and complexity, that incurring increased energy consumption of both IT and network resources, energy efficient infrastructure design becomes critical. To address this need, in the framework of GEYSERS, we propose energy efficient design of infrastructures incorporating integrated optical network and IT resources, supporting resilient end-to-end services. Our modeling results quantify significant energy savings of the proposed solution by jointly optimizing the allocation of both network and IT resources