It takes a village : exploring African American women\u27s experiences with collective identity, racism, and well-being

This qualitative study sought to explore African American women\u27s understandings about collective identity in their lives and, specifically, in their encounters with racism that impacted their well-being. African American women hold rich traditions of healing that encompass their communities and are influenced by their early bonds of sisterhood. In the United States of America, these traditions of connectedness between Black folks have supported Black women, communities, and families against the pressures of racist domination. Ten self-identified African American women between the ages of 34 and 69 shared rich narratives about how they experienced a collective sense of self, racism, and well-being. This study\u27s findings were identified as they relate to participants\u27 lived experiences of and intersections between collective identity and the following: (a) racial pride and multiculturalism, (b) community as an important African American value that feels under threat, (c) protecting and proliferating Black female expression, (d) learning racism at a distance, and (e) the effects of bearing witness

Aislamiento y caracterización de cepas de Bacillus asociadas al cultivo del arroz (Oryza sativa L.)

El presente trabajo muestra el aislamiento y la caracterización de bacterias del género Bacillus provenientes de la rizosfera del cultivo del arroz (Oryza sativa L.) variedad J-104 utilizando el modelo microcosmos. Se realizaron además aislamientos directos del suelo que se encontraba cultivado con la variedad INCA LP-5. Se llevó a cabo la caracterización fisiológica de 13 aislados en cuanto a la producción de compuestos indólicos, la determinación de antagonismo frente a hongos fitopatógenos Del arroz (Alternaria solani, Pyricularia grisea, Fusarium sp. y Curvularia sp.), la capacidad de solubilización de fosfatos y la determinación cualitativa de la fijación de nitrógeno. Teniendo en cuenta los resultados obtenidos se seleccionaron a través de un análisis de conglomerado (cluster), los aislados más promisorios para su identificación utilizando las pruebas morfológicas, tintoriales y bioquímicas propuestas por el Manual de Bergey y la secuenciación del ADN ribosómico 16S

Agouti Expression in Human Adipose Tissue: Functional Consequences and Increased Expression in Type 2 Diabetes

It is well recognized that the agouti/melanocortin system is an important regulator of body weight homeostasis. Given that agouti is expressed in human adipose tissue and that the ectopic expression of agouti in adipose tissue results in moderately obese mice, the link between agouti expression in human adipose tissue and obesity/type 2 diabetes was investigated. Although there was no apparent relationship between agouti mRNA levels and BMI, agouti mRNA levels were significantly elevated in subjects with type 2 diabetes. The regulation of agouti in cultured human adipocytes revealed that insulin did not regulate agouti mRNA, whereas dexamethasone treatment potently increased the levels of agouti mRNA. Experiments with cultured human preadipocytes and with cells obtained from transgenic mice that overexpress agouti demonstrated that melanocortin receptor (MCR) signaling in adipose tissue can regulate both preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. Taken together, these results reveal that agouti can regulate adipogenesis at several levels and suggest that there are functional consequences of elevated agouti levels in human adipose tissue. The influence of MCR signaling on adipogenesis combined with the well-established role of MCR signaling in the hypothalamus suggest that adipogenesis is coordinately regulated with food intake and energy expenditure

Comments on alternative calculations of the broadening of spectral lines of neutral sodium by H-atom collisions

With the exception of the sodium D-lines recent calculations of line broadening cross-sections for several multiplets of sodium by Leininger et al (2000) are in substantial disagreement with cross-sections interpolated from the tables of Anstee and O'Mara (1995) and Barklem and O'Mara (1997). The discrepancy is as large as a factor of three for the 3p-4d multiplet. The two theories are tested by using the results of each to synthesize lines in the solar spectrum. It is found that generally the data from the theory of Anstee, Barklem and O'Mara produce the best match to the observed solar spectrum. It is found, using a simple model for reflection of the optical electron by the potential barrier between the two atoms, that the reflection coefficient is too large for avoided crossings with the upper states of subordinate lines to contribute to line broadening, supporting the neglect of avoided ionic crossings by Anstee, Barklem and O'Mara for these lines. The large discrepancies between the two sets of calculations is a result of an approximate treatment of avoided ionic crossings for these lines by Leininger et al (2000).Comment: 18 pages, 5 ps figures included, to appear in J Phys B: At. Mol. Opt. Phy

Nestedness of Ectoparasite-Vertebrate Host Networks

Determining the structure of ectoparasite-host networks will enable disease ecologists to better understand and predict the spread of vector-borne diseases. If these networks have consistent properties, then studying the structure of well-understood networks could lead to extrapolation of these properties to others, including those that support emerging pathogens. Borrowing a quantitative measure of network structure from studies of mutualistic relationships between plants and their pollinators, we analyzed 29 ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks—including three derived from molecular bloodmeal analysis of mosquito feeding patterns—using measures of nestedness to identify non-random interactions among species. We found significant nestedness in ectoparasite-vertebrate host lists for habitats ranging from tropical rainforests to polar environments. These networks showed non-random patterns of nesting, and did not differ significantly from published estimates of nestedness from mutualistic networks. Mutualistic and antagonistic networks appear to be organized similarly, with generalized ectoparasites interacting with hosts that attract many ectoparasites and more specialized ectoparasites usually interacting with these same “generalized” hosts. This finding has implications for understanding the network dynamics of vector-born pathogens. We suggest that nestedness (rather than random ectoparasite-host associations) can allow rapid transfer of pathogens throughout a network, and expand upon such concepts as the dilution effect, bridge vectors, and host switching in the context of nested ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks