Ethno-Religious Conflict In Northern Ireland

The Troubles, is an ethno-religious conflict within Northern Ireland that occurred from 1968 to 1998. During this conflict, the constitutional status of Northern Ireland was questioned—will it remain with the United Kingdom or finally become a united Ireland? Many scholars in political science discuss the roots of this conflict as an ethnic divide, citing anti-Irish discrimination and the perpetuation of ethnic stereotypes for centuries. However, scholars within this field fail to acknowledge the strong religious identities and anti-Catholicism. Without divulging and understanding each identities’ religious beliefs, scholars fail to understand how each identity sees not only themselves, but also others. I argue that the Troubles is not an ethno-national conflict, but an ethno-religious conflict that promoted two extreme forms of nationalism--the same pattern that has been present for centuries. The presence of paramilitary groups and discrimination within the political system divided these two groups even further. The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the official end of the conflict, and promoted peace and stability in Northern Ireland. With the recent controversy of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, the question of Northern Ireland’s constitutional status is back on the table

Glycemic Control Patterns and Kidney Disease Progression among Primary Care Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Reducing glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) to near or less than 7% in patients with diabetes is associated with diminished microvascular complications, but this level is not consistently achieved. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fluctuations in HbA1c and changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and estimated stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in an academic primary care practice. Methods: We analyzed data from 791 diabetic primary care patients (25% white; 75% African American) enrolled between 1998 to 2002 and followed through 2008 (mean follow-up, 7.6 1.9 years). We calculated baseline and final follow-up eGFR using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. We examined the relationship between fluctuations in HbA1c and changes in eGFR and stage of CKD using multivariable linear and logistic regression models that controlled for demographic and clinical variables associated with CKD progression. Results: From baseline to follow-up, mean eGFR in African Americans declined to a greater extent and more rapidly than in whites. Age, mean systolic blood pressure, initial HbA1c, initial eGFR, and number of HbA1c values (all P 7% (P < .02); however, this contributed little to explaining model variance. Conclusion: These data suggest that traditional demographic and clinical risk factors remain significantly associated with changes in eGFR and that the pattern of variability in HbA1c is only modestly important in contributing to changes in eGFR among African-American and white diabetic patients in primary care

Associations among diet, inflammation and iron status in young adults

Obesity is a risk factor for poor iron status due to the chronic, low-grade inflammation of adipose tissue hypertrophy. Among other positive acute phase proteins, the hepatic peptide hormone hepcidin is secreted during inflammation, inhibiting systemic iron efflux from enterocytes and downregulating systemic iron recycling by suppressing iron release from the mononuclear phagocyte system. Conversely, production and secretion of the iron transport protein transferrin by the liver is reduced during inflammation. In addition to increasing adiposity, certain foods are also known to promote inflammatory states and may contribute to these same effects in concert with, or independent of obesity. In this study, we evaluated how inflammatory diets are related to inflammatory and iron status biomarkers among 98 young adults with normal weight, overweight and obesity. Three-day dietary records and biomarker data for iron status and inflammation from two cross-sectional studies of similar design (Diet and Inflammation Study, n= 39 and the Selenium and Inflammation Study, n= 59) were used in this study. Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) scores were calculated for each subject using nutrients and other dietary components from the dietary records, and subjects were further classified into two DII categories using cluster analysis. Using ANOVA we compared iron status and inflammatory markers among subjects with normal weight, overweight and obesity. We determined the association between DII scores or DII category and C-reactive protein (CRP), hepcidin, serum iron and total iron binding capacity (TIBC). Statistical significance was set at P&lt; 0.05. Mean + SEM were reported for continuous variables except for skewed variables in which case geometric means (geometric mean +1SEM interval) were reported. CRP concentration differed significantly by BMI category (p &lt; 0.05 for all comparisons) and serum iron (SI) was lower in the obese category compared to normal weight (p=0.014). Results from the regression analysis showed that high DII scores were associated with increased CRP concentration and decreasing TIBC. Similarly, subjects in the anti-inflammatory diet group showed higher TIBC compared to those in the inflammatory diet group. In conclusion, our study showed that inflammatory diets may impair iron status by reducing the capacity of the iron transport protein transferrin to transport iron in the blood

Stage-specific fluorescence intensity of GFP and mCherry during sporulation In Bacillus Subtilis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fluorescent proteins are powerful molecular biology tools that have been used to study the subcellular dynamics of proteins within live cells for well over a decade. Two fluorescent proteins commonly used to enable dual protein labelling are GFP (green) and mCherry (red). Sporulation in the Gram positive bacterium <it>Bacillus subtilis </it>has been studied for many years as a paradigm for understanding the molecular basis for differential gene expression. As sporulation initiates, cells undergo an asymmetric division leading to differential gene expression in the small prespore and large mother cell compartments. Use of two fluorescent protein reporters permits time resolved examination of differential gene expression either in the same compartments or between compartments. Due to the spectral properties of GFP and mCherry, they are considered an ideal combination for co-localisation and co-expression experiments. They can also be used in combination with fluorescent DNA stains such as DAPI to correlate protein localisation patterns with the developmental stage of sporulation which can be linked to well characterised changes in DNA staining patterns.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>While observing the recruitment of the transcription machinery into the forespore of sporulating <it>Bacillus subtilis</it>, we noticed the occurrence of stage-specific fluorescence intensity differences between GFP and mCherry. During vegetative growth and the initial stages of sporulation, fluorescence from both GFP and mCherry fusions behaved similarly. During stage II-III of sporulation we found that mCherry fluorescence was considerably diminished, whilst GFP signals remained clearly visible. This fluorescence pattern reversed during the final stage of sporulation with strong mCherry and low GFP fluorescence. These trends were observed in reciprocal tagging experiments indicating a direct effect of sporulation on fluorescent protein fluorophores.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Great care should be taken when interpreting the results of protein localisation and quantitative gene expression patterns using fluorescent proteins in experiments involving intracellular physiological change. We believe changes in the subcellular environment of the sporulating cell leads to conditions that differently alter the spectral properties of GFP and mCherry making an accurate interpretation of expression profiles technically challenging.</p

DNA Ligase C and Prim-PolC participate in base excision repair in mycobacteria

Prokaryotic Ligase D is a conserved DNA repair apparatus processing DNA double-strand breaks in stationary phase. An orthologous Ligase C (LigC) complex also co-exists in many bacterial species but its function is unknown. Here, we show that the LigC complex interacts with core BER enzymes in vivo and demonstrate that together these factors constitute an excision repair apparatus capable of repairing damaged bases and abasic sites. The polymerase component, which contains a conserved C-terminal structural loop, preferentially binds to and fills-in short gapped DNA intermediates with RNA and LigC ligates the resulting nicks to complete repair. Components of the LigC complex, like LigD, are expressed upon entry into stationary phase and cells lacking either of these pathways exhibit increased sensitivity to oxidising genotoxins. Together, these findings establish that the LigC complex is directly involved in an excision repair pathway(s) that repairs DNA damage with ribonucleotides during stationary phase

Iron Incorporation and Post-Malaria Anaemia

BACKGROUND: Iron supplementation is employed to treat post-malarial anaemia in environments where iron deficiency is common. Malaria induces an intense inflammatory reaction that stalls reticulo-endothelial macrophagal iron recycling from haemolysed red blood cells and inhibits oral iron absorption, but the magnitude and duration of these effects are unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We examined the red blood cell incorporation of oral administered stable isotopes of iron and compared incorporation between age matched 18 to 36 months old children with either anaemia post-malaria (n = 37) or presumed iron deficiency anaemia alone (n = 36). All children were supplemented for 30 days with 2 mg/kg elemental iron as liquid iron sulphate and administered (57)Fe and (58)Fe on days 1 and 15 of supplementation respectively. (57)Fe and(58)Fe incorporation were significantly reduced (8% vs. 28%: p<0.001 and 14% vs. 26%: p = 0.045) in the malaria vs. non-malaria groups. There was a significantly greater haemoglobin response in the malaria group at both day 15 (p = 0.001) and 30 (p<0.000) with a regression analysis estimated greater change in haemoglobin of 7.2 g/l (s.e. 2.0) and 10.1 g/l (s.e. 2.5) respectively. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Post-malaria anaemia is associated with a better haemoglobin recovery despite a significant depressant effect on oral iron incorporation which may indicate that early erythropoetic iron need is met by iron recycling rather than oral iron. Supplemental iron administration is of questionable utility within 2 weeks of clinical malaria in children with mild or moderate anaemia

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

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques