Gender nonconformity leads to identity denial for cisgender and transgender individuals

In modern Western cultures, gender is largely viewed as binary, and individuals who challenge the gender/sex binary face discrimination and marginalization. Across three preregistered studies (N = 1,096), we examine gender discrimination against gender-nonconforming people. Studies 1 and 2 show that behavioral and appearance-based gender nonconformity leads to the misgendering of cisgender and transgender women and men. This was true for the gendered perception of these targets and the binary assignment to gender/sex-based spaces and policies (e.g., access to bathrooms or gender/sex-based leadership training). Surprisingly, whether the target was transgender or cisgender did not affect these results. Study 3 replicated findings for transgender targets and showed that adherence to gender stereotypes is seen as a necessity for transgender individuals who want their gender identity recognized by others (e.g., on official documents or through pronoun use).Social decision makin

Common principles and best practices for engineering microbiomes

Despite broad scientific interest in harnessing the power of Earth's microbiomes, knowledge gaps hinder their efficient use for addressing urgent societal and environmental challenges. We argue hat structuring research and technology developments around a design-build-test-learn (DBTL) cycle will advance microbiome engineering and spur new discoveries on the basic scientific principles governing microbiome function. In this Review, we present key elements of an iterative DBTL cycle for microbiome engineering, focusing on generalizable approaches, including top-down and bottom-up design processes, synthetic and self-assembled construction methods, and emerging tools to analyze microbiome function. These approaches can be used to harness microbiomes for broad applications related to medicine, agriculture, energy, and the environment. We also discuss key challenges and opportunities of each approach and synthesize them into best practice guidelines for engineering microbiomes. We anticipate that adoption of a DBTL framework will rapidly advance microbiome-based biotechnologies aimed at improving human and animal health, agriculture, and enabling the bioeconomy

Targeting the Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated-null Phenotype in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia with Pro-oxidants

Inactivation of the Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated gene in chronic lymphocytic leukemia results in resistance to p53-dependent apoptosis and inferior responses to treatment with DNA damaging agents. Hence, p53-independent strategies are required to target Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated-deficient chronic lymphocytic leukemia. As Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated has been implicated in redox homeostasis, we investigated the effect of the Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated-null chronic lymphocytic leukemia genotype on cellular responses to oxidative stress with a view to therapeutic targeting. We found that in comparison to Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated-wild type chronic lymphocytic leukemia, pro-oxidant treatment of Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated-null cells led to reduced binding of NF-E2 p45-related factor-2 to antioxidant response elements and thus decreased expression of target genes. Furthermore, Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated-null chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells contained lower levels of antioxidants and elevated mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. Consequently, Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated-null chronic lymphocytic leukemia, but not tumours with 11q deletion or TP53 mutations, exhibited differentially increased sensitivity to pro-oxidants both in vitro and in vivo. We found that cell death was mediated by a p53- and caspase-independent mechanism associated with apoptosis inducing factor activity. Together, these data suggest that defective redox-homeostasis represents an attractive therapeutic target for Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated-null chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Functional diversity of chemokines and chemokine receptors in response to viral infection of the central nervous system.

Encounters with neurotropic viruses result in varied outcomes ranging from encephalitis, paralytic poliomyelitis or other serious consequences to relatively benign infection. One of the principal factors that control the outcome of infection is the localized tissue response and subsequent immune response directed against the invading toxic agent. It is the role of the immune system to contain and control the spread of virus infection in the central nervous system (CNS), and paradoxically, this response may also be pathologic. Chemokines are potent proinflammatory molecules whose expression within virally infected tissues is often associated with protection and/or pathology which correlates with migration and accumulation of immune cells. Indeed, studies with a neurotropic murine coronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), have provided important insight into the functional roles of chemokines and chemokine receptors in participating in various aspects of host defense as well as disease development within the CNS. This chapter will highlight recent discoveries that have provided insight into the diverse biologic roles of chemokines and their receptors in coordinating immune responses following viral infection of the CNS

Learning to look : evaluating the student experience of an interactive image appraisal activity

Introduction: Student radiographers have expressed difficulty in performing image appraisal tasks. The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of a workshop delivered to level 4 undergraduate students. All students completed an image appraisal activity, inputting their appraisal into software that displayed their response alongside an expert opinion. They were asked to identify and discuss any discrepancy. Methods: All Level 4 students participated in an image appraisal workshop and were subsequently invited to take part in a focus group immediately after the activity. Twenty-three students took part in three focus groups (n = 7; n = 8; n = 8). A thematic analysis of transcripts was performed alongside validation from observations during the image appraisal activity. Results: Findings demonstrate that despite teaching and resources being available, students had focused on learning a generic checklist for image appraisal, had not appreciated the application of projection specific criteria and felt underprepared. The use of specific criteria and repetition within the task was considered useful. They identified learning needs and misconceptions through peer discussion and via the expert opinion, highlighting the value of feedback. Students enjoyed the workshop and made suggestions for implementation into the curriculum. Conclusion: Educators must not assume that the provision of resources will result in students developing deep knowledge. Teaching and learning strategies that are task specific are recommended to avoid a surface approach to learning. Time, repetition and appropriate feedback are essential to enable learners to develop competence and confidence for complex visual tasks, such as image appraisal

Measurement of the B0-anti-B0-Oscillation Frequency with Inclusive Dilepton Events

The $B^0$-$\bar B^0$ oscillation frequency has been measured with a sample of 23 million \B\bar B pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric B Factory at SLAC. In this sample, we select events in which both B mesons decay semileptonically and use the charge of the leptons to identify the flavor of each B meson. A simultaneous fit to the decay time difference distributions for opposite- and same-sign dilepton events gives $\Delta m_d = 0.493 \pm 0.012{(stat)}\pm 0.009{(syst)}$ ps$^{-1}$.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Evidence of Color Coherence Effects in W+jets Events from ppbar Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV

We report the results of a study of color coherence effects in ppbar collisions based on data collected by the D0 detector during the 1994-1995 run of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, at a center of mass energy sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV. Initial-to-final state color interference effects are studied by examining particle distribution patterns in events with a W boson and at least one jet. The data are compared to Monte Carlo simulations with different color coherence implementations and to an analytic modified-leading-logarithm perturbative calculation based on the local parton-hadron duality hypothesis.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to Physics Letters

Genome-wide association study identifies nine novel loci for 2D:4D finger ratio, a putative retrospective biomarker of testosterone exposure in utero

The ratio of the length of the index finger to that of the ring finger (2D:4D) is sexually dimorphic and is commonly used as a non-invasive biomarker of prenatal androgen exposure. Most association studies of 2D:4D ratio with a diverse range of sexspecific traits have typically involved small sample sizes and have been difficult to replicate, raising questions around the utility and precise meaning of the measure. In the largest genome-wide association meta-analysis of 2D:4D ratio to date (N=15 661, with replication N=75 821), we identified 11 loci (9 novel) explaining 3.8% of the variance in mean 2D:4D ratio. We also found weak evidence for association (b=0.06; P=0.02) between 2D:4D ratio and sensitivity to testosterone [length of the CAG microsatellite repeat in the androgen receptor (AR) gene] in females only. Furthermore, genetic variants associated with (adult) testosterone levels and/or sex hormone-binding globulin were not associated with 2D:4D ratio in our sample. Although we were unable to find strong evidence from our genetic study to support the hypothesis that 2D:4D ratio is a direct biomarker of prenatal exposure to androgens in healthy individuals, our findings do not explicitly exclude this possibility, and pathways involving testosterone may become apparent as the size of the discovery sample increases further. Our findings provide new insight into the underlying biology shaping 2D:4D variation in the general population

Measurement of the splashback feature around SZ-selected Galaxy clusters with DES, SPT, and ACT

We present a detection of the splashback feature around galaxy clusters selected using the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) signal. Recent measurements of the splashback feature around optically selected galaxy clusters have found that the splashback radius, rsp, is smaller than predicted by N-body simulations. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that rsp inferred from the observed radial distribution of galaxies is affected by selection effects related to the optical cluster-finding algorithms. We test this possibility by measuring the splashback feature in clusters selected via the SZ effect in data from the South Pole Telescope SZ survey and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarimeter survey. The measurement is accomplished by correlating these cluster samples with galaxies detected in the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 data. The SZ observable used to select clusters in this analysis is expected to have a tighter correlation with halo mass and to be more immune to projection effects and aperture-induced biases, potentially ameliorating causes of systematic error for optically selected clusters. We find that the measured rsp for SZ-selected clusters is consistent with the expectations from simulations, although the small number of SZ-selected clusters makes a precise comparison difficult. In agreement with previous work, when using optically selected redMaPPer clusters with similar mass and redshift distributions, rsp is ∼2σ smaller than in the simulations. These results motivate detailed investigations of selection biases in optically selected cluster catalogues and exploration of the splashback feature around larger samples of SZ-selected clusters. Additionally, we investigate trends in the galaxy profile and splashback feature as a function of galaxy colour, finding that blue galaxies have profiles close to a power law with no discernible splashback feature, which is consistent with them being on their first infall into the cluster

Search for electroweak production of single top quarks in ppˉp\bar{p} collisions.

We present a search for electroweak production of single top quarks in the electron+jets and muon+jets decay channels. The measurements use ~90 pb^-1 of data from Run 1 of the Fermilab Tevatron collider, collected at 1.8 TeV with the DZero detector between 1992 and 1995. We use events that include a tagging muon, implying the presence of a b jet, to set an upper limit at the 95% confidence level on the cross section for the s-channel process ppbar->tb+X of 39 pb. The upper limit for the t-channel process ppbar->tqb+X is 58 pb. (arXiv