OMA orthology in 2021: website overhaul, conserved isoforms, ancestral gene order and more.

OMA is an established resource to elucidate evolutionary relationships among genes from currently 2326 genomes covering all domains of life. OMA provides pairwise and groupwise orthologs, functional annotations, local and global gene order conservation (synteny) information, among many other functions. This update paper describes the reorganisation of the database into gene-, group- and genome-centric pages. Other new and improved features are detailed, such as reporting of the evolutionarily best conserved isoforms of alternatively spliced genes, the inferred local order of ancestral genes, phylogenetic profiling, better cross-references, fast genome mapping, semantic data sharing via RDF, as well as a special coronavirus OMA with 119 viruses from the Nidovirales order, including SARS-CoV-2, the agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conclude with improvements to the documentation of the resource through primers, tutorials and short videos. OMA is accessible at https://omabrowser.org

OMA orthology in 2021: website overhaul, conserved isoforms, ancestral gene order and more

OMA is an established resource to elucidate evolutionary relationships among genes from currently 2326 genomes covering all domains of life. OMA provides pairwise and groupwise orthologs, functional annotations, local and global gene order conservation (synteny) information, among many other functions. This update paper describes the reorganisation of the database into gene-, group- and genome-centric pages. Other new and improved features are detailed, such as reporting of the evolutionarily best conserved isoforms of alternatively spliced genes, the inferred local order of ancestral genes, phylogenetic profiling, better cross-references, fast genome mapping, semantic data sharing via RDF, as well as a special coronavirus OMA with 119 viruses from the Nidovirales order, including SARS-CoV-2, the agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conclude with improvements to the documentation of the resource through primers, tutorials and short videos. OMA is accessible at https://omabrowser.org

Classification of Light-Induced Desorption of Alkali Atoms in Glass Cells Used in Atomic Physics Experiments

We attempt to provide physical interpretations of light-induced desorption phenomena that have recently been observed for alkali atoms on glass surfaces of alkali vapor cells used in atomic physics experiments. We find that the observed desorption phenomena are closely related to recent studies in surface science, and can probably be understood in the context of these results. If classified in terms of the photon-energy dependence, the coverage and the bonding state of the alkali adsorbates, the phenomena fall into two categories: It appears very likely that the neutralization of isolated ionic adsorbates by photo-excited electron transfer from the substrate is the origin of the desorption induced by ultraviolet light in ultrahigh vacuum cells. The desorption observed in low temperature cells, on the other hand, which is resonantly dependent on photon energy in the visible light range, is quite similar to light-induced desorption stimulated by localized electronic excitation on metallic aggregates. More detailed studies of light-induced desorption events from surfaces well characterized with respect to alkali coverage-dependent ionicity and aggregate morphology appear highly desirable for the development of more efficient alkali atom sources suitable to improve a variety of atomic physics experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure; minor corrections made, published in e-Journal of Surface Science and Nanotechnology at http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ejssnt/4/0/4_63/_articl

Going, Going, Gone: A Feminist Bourdieusian Analysis of Young Women's Trajectories in, Through and Out of Physics, Age 10–19

This chapter draws on longitudinal interview data collected from seven young woman in England who were tracked from age 10–19 and who had all expressed an aspiration at age 16 to study Advanced level (A level) physics. Applying a feminist Bourdieusian conceptual lens, we explore their trajectories in, through and out of physics: from Danielle, who is denied entry to A level physics; to Victoria and Thalia, who are debarred from the course before completion; to Davina, Kate and Mienie, who complete the A level but who choose not to pursue the subject further; and finally Hannah, who goes on to study physics at university. Attention is drawn to the pedagogic work conducted by the field of physics, notably the cultivation of habitus and hexis through the bodies, minds and identities of the young women, and its stringent gate-keeping practices, which ensure the reproduction of the elite status of the field and the simultaneous disadvantaging of women

Embodying prison pain: women’s experiences of self-injury in prison and the emotions of punishment

This paper explores the meanings and motivations of self-injury practices as disclosed in interviews with a small group of female former prisoners in England. In considering their testimonies through a feminist perspective, I seek to illuminate aspects of their experiences of imprisonment that go beyond the ‘pains of imprisonment’ literature. Specifically, I examine their accounts of self-injury with a focus on the embodied aspects of their experiences. In so doing, I highlight the materiality of the emotional harms of their prison experiences. I suggest that the pains of imprisonment are still very much inscribed on and expressed through the prisoner’s body. This paper advances a more theoretically situated, interdisciplinary critique of punishment drawn from medical-sociological, phenomenological and feminist scholarship

Gender studies and interdisciplinarity

In this article we consider the example of gender studies as an interdisciplinary field, and argue that gender studies, and women’s studies, from which gender studies developed, has a distinctive engagement with interdisciplinarity. By thinking about the tra- jectory of women’s studies, feminist thinking and gender studies, we suggest that this has always been an interdisciplinary field of study. We trace both the shifts and continuities in thinking between different iterations of feminist thinking to consider the three core fields of: gender, sex and sexuality; intersectionality and activism; theory and methods. The article aims to open up debate over what the constructive possibilities are of a focus upon gender, and what the relationship is between theory and activism. This article is published as part of an ongoing collection dedicated to interdisciplinary research

A transgenic mouse model for monitoring oxidative stress

Oxidative stress conditions enhance the production of reactive oxygen species resulting from a variety of stimuli, and are associated with various human diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, inflammation, and various cancers. Though such associations have been closely studied using animal models, there has been no in vivo system for monitoring oxidative stress. We have developed an oxidative stress indicator that is dually regulated by induction at the transcriptional level, and by protein stabilisation at the post-translational level in Keap1-Nrf2 pathway. In vitro, our indicator elicited an intense and specific signal to oxidative stress among various agents, in a Keap1-Nrf2-dependent manner. Moreover, the transgenic animal expressing the indicator exhibited significant signals upon oxidative stress. These results indicate the usefulness of our system as an indicator of oxidative stress both in vitro and in vivo

Dilemmas in the process of weight reduction: Exploring how women experience training as a means of losing weight

Patients diagnosed with obesity are usually offered group-based behavior interventions which include dietary advice and exercise programs. In particular, high-intensity training—combining weight lifting with aerobic exercising—has been proven effective for losing weight. Moreover, recent studies have shown that persons participating in high-intensity training are more likely to maintain their weight loss compared to persons with lower levels of physical activity. However, most of the research in the field has made use of quantitative methods focusing on the measurable effect of such interventions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to show how the training is experienced from a first-person perspective, namely the patients themselves. Our hope was to shed some new light on the process of weight loss that concerns more than the measurable “impacts” of the training. A qualitative approach was used based on interviews with five women selected from a primary healthcare clinic in Norway. Our results show that experiences of training are connected to the participants' general experience of being overweight. Both relationships to other people and earlier experiences are important for how the training is carried out and perceived. Five themes were identified supporting this line of argument: (1) the gaze of others; (2) a common ground; (3) dependence of close-follow up; (4) bodily discomfort as painful; and (5) aiming for results—an ambivalent experience. The results highlight the importance of finding the proper context and support for each patient's needs

Writing materiality into management and organization studies through and with Luce Irigaray

YesThere is increasing recognition in management and organization studies of the importance of materiality as an aspect of discourse, while the neglect of materiality in post-structuralist management and organization theory is currently the subject of much discussion. This article argues that this turn to materiality may further embed gender discrimination. We draw on Luce Irigaray’s work to highlight the dangers inherent in masculine discourses of materiality. We discuss Irigaray’s identification of how language and discourse elevate the masculine over the feminine so as to offer insights into ways of changing organizational language and discourses so that more beneficial, ethicallyfounded identities, relationships and practices can emerge. We thus stress a political intent that aims to liberate women and men from phallogocentrism. We finally take forward Irigaray’s ideas to develop a feminist écriture of/for organization studies that points towards ways of writing from the body. The article thus not only discusses how inequalities may be embedded within the material turn, but it also provides a strategy that enriches the possibilities of overcoming them from within