The role of gender inclusive leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic to support vulnerable populations in conflict settings.

The real heroines in the fight against COVID-19 are women'.1 Significant attention has been given to women political leaders in highincome settings, where it has been reported that women have led several countries' effective national responses to COVID-19.2 However, little attention has been given to the role of women as leaders and decision makers in conflict settings. In conflict settings, COVID-19 is a multidimensional and existential crisis for many: a pandemic colliding with poor governance, insecurity, instability, other disease outbreaks (eg, cholera), disintegrated health and education systems, and food insecurity.3 These have dire consequences for vulnerable populations in conflict settings, including women and girls.4 Pandemics are a gendered vulnerability, with their socioeconomic impact disproportionately higher among women. 5 6 In this article, we argue that cultivating and harnessing the advancements of women's leadership globally and implementing a gender inclusive lens in pandemic preparedness and responses by including the experiences and voices of women in conflict settings is paramount. This will in turn create effective leadership models, as well as improving women and girls' access to adequate healthcare in conflict settings

Better, Faster, Stronger: Integrating Archives Processing and Technical Services

The University of Denver’s Penrose Library implemented a consolidated cataloging and archives processing unit for all materials, taking advantage of the structure, workflow design, and staff resources that were already in place for library-wide materials processing: acquisitions, cataloging, binding, and stacks maintenance. The objective of Penrose Library’s integrated approach was to efficiently create metadata that allow searches based on subject relevance rather than on collection provenance. The library streamlined archives processing by integrating digital content creation and management into the materials processing workflow. The result is a flexible, sustainable, and scalable model for archives processing that utilizes existing staff by enhancing and extending the skills of both experienced monographs catalogers and archivists

Mitochondrial protein-linked DNA breaks perturb mitochondrial gene transcription and trigger free radical-induced DNA damage

Breakage of one strand of DNA is the most common form of DNA damage. Most damaged DNA termini require end processing in preparation for ligation. The importance of this step is highlighted by the association of defects in the 3'-end processing enzyme tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1) and neurodegeneration, and by the cytotoxic induction of protein-linked DNA breaks (PDBs) and oxidised nucleic acid intermediates during chemo- and radiotherapy. Although much is known about the repair of PDBs in the nucleus, little is known about this process in the mitochondria. Here, we reveal that TDP1 resolves mitochondrial PDBs (mtPDBs), thereby promoting mitochondrial gene transcription. In the absence of TDP1, the imbalance in transcription of mitochondrial and nuclear encoded electron transport chain (ETC) subunits results in misassembly of the ETC complex III. Bioenergetics profiling further reveals that TDP1 promotes oxidative phosphorylation under both basal and high ATP demands. Mitochondrial dysfunction results in free radical leakage and nuclear DNA damage. Consequently, we report an increased accumulation of carbon-centred radicals in cells lacking TDP1, using electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Overexpression of the anti-oxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) reduces carbon-centred adducts and protects TDP1 deficient cells from oxidative stress. Conversely, overexpression of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-associated mutant SOD1G93A leads to marked sensitivity. Together, this data characterises a novel TDP1 driven mitochondrial PDB repair process and unravels its role in promoting mitochondrial gene transcription and oxygen consumption by oxidative phosphorylation, thus conferring cellular protection against ROS induced damage

A polarizable interatomic force field for TiO2_2 parameterized using density functional theory

We report a classical interatomic force field for TiO$_2$, which has been parameterized using density functional theory forces, energies, and stresses in the rutile crystal structure. The reliability of this new classical potential is tested by evaluating the structural properties, equation of state, phonon properties, thermal expansion, and some thermodynamic quantities such as entropy, free energy, and specific heat under constant volume. The good agreement of our results with {\em ab initio} calculations and with experimental data, indicates that our force-field describes the atomic interactions of TiO$_2$ in the rutile structure very well. The force field can also describe the structures of the brookite and anatase crystals with good accuracy.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B; Changes from v1 include multiple minor revisions and a re-write of the description of the force field in Section II

An experimental study of columnar crystals using monodisperse microbubbles

We investigate the ordered arrangements of monodisperse microbub bles con ned within narrow cylinders. These foams were imaged using X ray tomography, allowing the 3D positions of the bubbles of the foam to be accurately determined. The structure of these foams closely re semble the minimum energy con guration of hard spheres in cylindrical con nement as found in simulations. For larger ratios, , of cylinder to bubble diameter two and three layered crystals were formed. Each layer of these structures is found to be ordered, with each internal layer resem bling structures found at lower values. The average number of contacts per bubble is seen to increase wit

Surface grafting of electrospun fibers using ATRP and RAFT for the control of biointerfacial interactions

BACKGROUND The ability to present signalling molecules within a low fouling 3D environment that mimics the extracellular matrix is an important goal for a range of biomedical applications, both in vitro and in vivo. Cell responses can be triggered by non-specific protein interactions occurring on the surface of a biomaterial, which is an undesirable process when studying specific receptor-ligand interactions. It is therefore useful to present specific ligands of interest to cell surface receptors in a 3D environment that minimizes non-specific interactions with biomolecules, such as proteins. METHOD In this study, surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of poly(ethylene glycol)-based monomers was carried out from the surface of electrospun fibers composed of a styrene/vinylbenzyl chloride copolymer. Surface initiated radical addition-fragmentation chain transfer (SI-RAFT) polymerisation was also carried out to generate bottle brush copolymer coatings consisting of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(acrylamide). These were grown from surface trithiocarbonate groups generated from the chloromethyl styrene moieties existing in the original synthesised polymer. XPS was used to characterise the surface composition of the fibers after grafting and after coupling with fluorine functional XPS labels. RESULTS Bottle brush type coatings were able to be produced by ATRP which consisted of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate and a terminal alkyne-functionalised monomer. The ATRP coatings showed reduced non-specific protein adsorption, as a result of effective PEG incorporation and pendant alkynes groups existing as part of the brushes allowed for further conjugation of via azide-alkyne Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. In the case of RAFT, carboxylic acid moieties were effectively coupled to an amine label via amide bond formation. In each case XPS analysis demonstrated that covalent immobilisation had effectively taken place. CONCLUSION Overall, the studies presented an effective platform for the preparation of 3D scaffolds which contain effective conjugation sites for attachment of specific bioactive signals of interest, as well as actively reducing non-specific protein interactions.This research was supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers (CRCP)

Hijacking membrane transporters for arsenic phytoextraction

Arsenic is a toxic metalloid and recognized carcinogen. Arsenate and arsenite are the most common arsenic species available for uptake by plants. As an inorganic phosphate (Pi) analog, arsenate is acquired by plant roots through endogenous Pi transport systems. Inside the cell, arsenate is reduced to the thiol-reactive form arsenite. Glutathione (GSH)-conjugates of arsenite may be extruded from the cell or sequestered in vacuoles by members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of transporters. In the present study we sought to enhance both plant arsenic uptake through Pi transporter overexpression, and plant arsenic tolerance through ABC transporter overexpression. We demonstrate that Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing the high-affinity Pi transporter family members, AtPht1;1 or AtPht1;7, are hypersensitive to arsenate due to increased arsenate uptake. These plants do not exhibit increased sensitivity to arsenite. Co-overexpression of the yeast ABC transporter YCF1 in combination with AtPht1;1 or AtPht1;7 suppresses the arsenate-sensitive phenotype while further enhancing arsenic uptake. Taken together, our results support an arsenic transport mechanism in which arsenate uptake is increased through Pi transporter overexpression, and arsenic tolerance is enhanced through YCF1-mediated vacuolar sequestration. This work substantiates the viability of coupling enhanced uptake and vacuolar sequestration as a means for developing a prototypical engineered arsenic hyperaccumulator. © 2012 Elsevier B.V