American political affiliation, 2003–43: a cohort component projection

The recent rise and stability in American party identification has focused interest on the long-term dynamics of party bases. Liberal commentators cite immigration and youth as forces which will produce a natural Democratic advantage in the future while conservative writers highlight the importance of high Republican fertility in securing Republican growth. These concerns foreground the neglect of demography within political science. This paper addresses this omission by conducting the first ever cohort component projection of American partisan populations to 2043 based on survey and census data. A number of scenarios are modeled, but, on current trends, we predict that American partisanship will shift much less than the nation’s ethnic composition because the parties’ age structures are similar. Still, our projections find that the Democrats gain two to three percentage points from the Republicans by 2043, mainly through immigration, though Republican fertility may redress the balance in the very long term

Gene Sequence and the 1.8 Å Crystal Structure of the Tungsten-Containing Formate Dehydrogenase from Desulfovibrio gigas

AbstractDesulfovibrio gigas formate dehydrogenase is the first representative of a tungsten-containing enzyme from a mesophile that has been structurally characterized. It is a heterodimer of 110 and 24 kDa subunits. The large subunit, homologous to E. coli FDH-H and to D. desulfuricans nitrate reductase, harbors the W site and one [4Fe-4S] center. No small subunit ortholog containing three [4Fe-4S] clusters has been reported. The structural homology with E. coli FDH-H shows that the essential residues (SeCys158, His159, and Arg407) at the active site are conserved. The active site is accessible via a positively charged tunnel, while product release may be facilitated, for H+ by buried waters and protonable amino acids and for CO2 through a hydrophobic channel

Inheritance of DNA Transferred from American Trypanosomes to Human Hosts

Interspecies DNA transfer is a major biological process leading to the accumulation of mutations inherited by sexual reproduction among eukaryotes. Lateral DNA transfer events and their inheritance has been challenging to document. In this study we modified a thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR by using additional targeted primers, along with Southern blots, fluorescence techniques, and bioinformatics, to identify lateral DNA transfer events from parasite to host. Instances of naturally occurring human infections by Trypanosoma cruzi are documented, where mitochondrial minicircles integrated mainly into retrotransposable LINE-1 of various chromosomes. The founders of five families show minicircle integrations that were transferred vertically to their progeny. Microhomology end-joining of 6 to 22 AC-rich nucleotide repeats in the minicircles and host DNA mediates foreign DNA integration. Heterogeneous minicircle sequences were distributed randomly among families, with diversity increasing due to subsequent rearrangement of inserted fragments. Mosaic recombination and hitchhiking on retrotransposition events to different loci were more prevalent in germ line as compared to somatic cells. Potential new genes, pseudogenes, and knockouts were identified. A pathway of minicircle integration and maintenance in the host genome is suggested. Thus, infection by T. cruzi has the unexpected consequence of increasing human genetic diversity, and Chagas disease may be a fortuitous share of negative selection. This demonstration of contemporary transfer of eukaryotic DNA to the human genome and its subsequent inheritance by descendants introduces a significant change in the scientific concept of evolutionary biology and medicine

Randomized controlled trial of a coordinated care intervention to improve risk factor control after stroke or transient ischemic attack in the safety net: Secondary stroke prevention by Uniting Community and Chronic care model teams Early to End Disparities (SUCCEED).

BackgroundRecurrent strokes are preventable through awareness and control of risk factors such as hypertension, and through lifestyle changes such as healthier diets, greater physical activity, and smoking cessation. However, vascular risk factor control is frequently poor among stroke survivors, particularly among socio-economically disadvantaged blacks, Latinos and other people of color. The Chronic Care Model (CCM) is an effective framework for multi-component interventions aimed at improving care processes and outcomes for individuals with chronic disease. In addition, community health workers (CHWs) have played an integral role in reducing health disparities; however, their effectiveness in reducing vascular risk among stroke survivors remains unknown. Our objectives are to develop, test, and assess the economic value of a CCM-based intervention using an Advanced Practice Clinician (APC)-CHW team to improve risk factor control after stroke in an under-resourced, racially/ethnically diverse population.Methods/designIn this single-blind randomized controlled trial, 516 adults (≥40 years) with an ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack or intracerebral hemorrhage within the prior 90 days are being enrolled at five sites within the Los Angeles County safety-net setting and randomized 1:1 to intervention vs usual care. Participants are excluded if they do not speak English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, or Korean or if they are unable to consent. The intervention includes a minimum of three clinic visits in the healthcare setting, three home visits, and Chronic Disease Self-Management Program group workshops in community venues. The primary outcome is blood pressure (BP) control (systolic BP <130 mmHg) at 1 year. Secondary outcomes include: (1) mean change in systolic BP; (2) control of other vascular risk factors including lipids and hemoglobin A1c, (3) inflammation (C reactive protein [CRP]), (4) medication adherence, (5) lifestyle factors (smoking, diet, and physical activity), (6) estimated relative reduction in risk for recurrent stroke or myocardial infarction (MI), and (7) cost-effectiveness of the intervention versus usual care.DiscussionIf this multi-component interdisciplinary intervention is shown to be effective in improving risk factor control after stroke, it may serve as a model that can be used internationally to reduce race/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in stroke in resource-constrained settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01763203

Structure-activity correlations for Brønsted acid, Lewis Acid, and photocatalyzed reactions of exfoliated crystalline niobium oxides

Exfoliated crystalline niobium oxides that contain exposed but interconnected NbO6 octahedra with different degrees of structural distortion and defects are known to catalyze Brønsted acid (BA), Lewis acid (LA), and photocatalytic (PC) reactions efficiently but their structure–activity relationships are far from clear. Here, three exfoliated niobium oxides, namely, HSr2Nb3O10, HCa2Nb3O10, and HNb3O8, are synthesized, characterized extensively, and tested for selected BA, LA, and PC reactions. The structural origin for BA is associated mainly with acidic hydroxyl groups of edge-shared NbO6 octahedra as proton donors; that of LA is associated with the vacant band position of Nb5+ to receive electron pairs from substrate; and that of PC is associated with the terminal Nb=O of NbO6 octahedra for photon capture and charge transfer to long-lived surface adsorbed substrate complex through associated oxygen vacancies in close proximity. It is believed that an understanding of the structure–activity relationships could lead to the tailored design of NbOx catalysts for industrially important reactions

Chitosan/AuNPs Modified Graphene Electrochemical Sensor for Label-Free Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Detection

A new immunosensor is presented for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), made by electrodepositing chitosan/gold-nanoparticles over graphene screen-printed electrode (SPE). The antibody was covalently bound to CS via its Fc-terminal. The assembly was controlled by electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and followed by Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR). The hCG-immunosensor displayed linear response against the logarithm-hCG concentration for 0.1–25 ng/mL with limit of detection of 0.016 ng/mL. High selectivity was observed in blank urine and successful detection of hCG was also achieved in spiked samples of real urine from pregnant woman. The immunosensor showed good detection capability, simplicity of fabrication, low-cost, high sensitivity and selectivity

PanGEA: Identification of allele specific gene expression using the 454 technology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Next generation sequencing technologies hold great potential for many biological questions. While mainly used for genomic sequencing, they are also very promising for gene expression profiling. Sequencing of cDNA does not only provide an estimate of the absolute expression level, it can also be used for the identification of allele specific gene expression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We developed PanGEA, a tool which enables a fast and user-friendly analysis of allele specific gene expression using the 454 technology. PanGEA allows mapping of 454-ESTs to genes or whole genomes, displaying gene expression profiles, identification of SNPs and the quantification of allele specific gene expression. The intuitive GUI of PanGEA facilitates a flexible and interactive analysis of the data. PanGEA additionally implements a modification of the Smith-Waterman algorithm which deals with incorrect estimates of homopolymer length as occuring in the 454 technology</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To our knowledge, PanGEA is the first tool which facilitates the identification of allele specific gene expression. PanGEA is distributed under the Mozilla Public License and available at: <url>http://www.kofler.or.at/bioinformatics/PanGEA</url></p

Bologna process, higher education and a few considerations about the New University

O presente artigo analisa o que se convencionou chamar de Processo de Bolonha, isto é, a produção de uma “política pública de um meta-Estado para um meta-campo universitário”, constituindo-se em uma política educacional supranacional, comum aos estados-membros da União Européia, com vista à construção de um “espaço europeu de educação superior”. O processo político e de reformas institucionais, realizado por cada governo nacional, conduzirá ao estabelecimento efetivo do novo sistema europeu de educação superior até 2010, incluindo atualmente 45 países – todos os da UE e outros 18 países europeus não pertencentes a ela. Nesse sentido, por se tratar de um vastíssimo número de “subsistemas nacionais” e de instituições educativas, atribui-se um grande protagonismo às questões relativas à “garantia de qualidade”. Analisam-se, igualmente, as recentes transformações na educação superior no Brasil, em que o projeto da chamada “Universidade Nova” e o Programa de Apoio a Planos de Reestruturação e Expansão das Universidades Federais (REUNI) constituem-se nas manifestações mais claras do reordenamento desse nível de ensino (seguindo os parâmetros de Bolonha), que já experimentara grandes transformações nos governos de Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002) e teve prosseguimento nos governos de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2006; 2007), embora com distintos matizes.This article analyzes what is conventionally known as the Bologna Process, or the making of a “public policy of a meta-State for a University meta-field” that corresponds to a supranational educational policy for all the European Union membership States, with the goal of building a “European higher education space.” The political process and the institutional reforms of each national government intends to establish the new European higher education system until 2010, with 45 countries – the number reflects current developments, including the EU membership States and 18 non-EU countries. Given the high quantity and the myriads of “national subsystems” and educational institutions involved, “quality assurance” becomes a major task in this process. We analyze, in the same way, the recent higher education changes in Brazil, where the so-called “New University” project and the Program of Support for the Restructuring and Expansion of Brazilian Federal Universities (REUNI, in Portuguese) are the clearest expressions of the reshaping of the higher education system (in accordance with the Bologna standards) after the dramatic changes made by Fernando Henrique Cardoso´s government (1995-2002) and continued by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva´s government (2003-2006; 2007), despite some differences between both administrations

BRCA2 polymorphic stop codon K3326X and the risk of breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers

Background: The K3326X variant in BRCA2 (BRCA2*c.9976A&gt;T; p.Lys3326*; rs11571833) has been found to be associated with small increased risks of breast cancer. However, it is not clear to what extent linkage disequilibrium with fully pathogenic mutations might account for this association. There is scant information about the effect of K3326X in other hormone-related cancers. Methods: Using weighted logistic regression, we analyzed data from the large iCOGS study including 76 637 cancer case patients and 83 796 control patients to estimate odds ratios (ORw) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for K3326X variant carriers in relation to breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer risks, with weights defined as probability of not having a pathogenic BRCA2 variant. Using Cox proportional hazards modeling, we also examined the associations of K3326X with breast and ovarian cancer risks among 7183 BRCA1 variant carriers. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: The K3326X variant was associated with breast (ORw = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.17 to 1.40, P = 5.9x10- 6) and invasive ovarian cancer (ORw = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.10 to 1.43, P = 3.8x10-3). These associations were stronger for serous ovarian cancer and for estrogen receptor–negative breast cancer (ORw = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.2 to 1.70, P = 3.4x10-5 and ORw = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.28 to 1.76, P = 4.1x10-5, respectively). For BRCA1 mutation carriers, there was a statistically significant inverse association of the K3326X variant with risk of ovarian cancer (HR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.84, P = .013) but no association with breast cancer. No association with prostate cancer was observed. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that the K3326X variant is associated with risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers independent of other pathogenic variants in BRCA2. Further studies are needed to determine the biological mechanism of action responsible for these associations