How citizens stop riots:Analyzing the case of the 2021 Dutch curfew riots

The causes of riots have been extensively researched. Comparatively, little is known about how they are prevented from occurring. We address this gap with a qualitative study of the role of formal and informal guardians in Amsterdam in January 2021, when public disorder was widespread across the Netherlands after the government had announced a curfew to curb the spread of the Covid−19 virus. We used CCTV footage of two gatherings that had elements of disorder and two that occurred without them. We also rely on interviews with 40 so-called “intimate handlers” who were present during these gatherings to understand how they managed them. We find that the presence and actions of intimate handlers collaborating with the police during the gatherings, effectuated through frequent affiliative contacts with the crowd, had direct de-escalatory effects, operative because of their well-developed social community bonds: participants in gatherings avoided jeopardizing these bonds of attachment, which also created a more positive image of the police through citizen-police collaborations. Our findings thus stress the importance of social bonds for the effectiveness of riot prevention and we consider practical implications for public disorder and large-scale crowd management

Staphylococcus cornubiensis sp. nov., a member of the Staphylococcus intermedius Group (SIG)

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Microbiology Society via the DOI in this recordWe here describe a novel species in the Staphylococcus intermedius Group (SIG) which is phenotypically similar to Staphylococcus pseudintermedius but is genomically distinct from it and other SIG members, with an average nucleotide identity of 90.2 % with its closest relative S. intermedius. The description of Staphylococcus cornubiensis sp. nov. is based on strain NW1T (=NCTC 13950T=DSM 105366T) isolated from a human skin infection in Cornwall, UK. Although pathogenic, NW1T carries no known virulence genes or mobilizable antibiotic resistance genes and further studies are required to assess the prevalence of this species in humans as well as its potential presence in companion animals.This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust (grant WT 098051). We acknowledge BBSRC/MRC funding (grant MR/N007174/1) enabling discounted sequencing through the microbesNG program

Discrete molecular dynamics simulations of peptide aggregation

We study the aggregation of peptides using the discrete molecular dynamics simulations. At temperatures above the alpha-helix melting temperature of a single peptide, the model peptides aggregate into a multi-layer parallel beta-sheet structure. This structure has an inter-strand distance of 0.48 nm and an inter-sheet distance of 1.0 nm, which agree with experimental observations. In this model, the hydrogen bond interactions give rise to the inter-strand spacing in beta-sheets, while the Go interactions among side chains make beta-strands parallel to each other and allow beta-sheets to pack into layers. The aggregates also contain free edges which may allow for further aggregation of model peptides to form elongated fibrils.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure

Selenium toxicity but not deficient or super-nutritional selenium status vastly alters the transcriptome in rodents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein and mRNA levels for several selenoproteins, such as glutathione peroxidase-1 (Gpx1), are down-regulated dramatically by selenium (Se) deficiency. These levels in rats increase sigmoidally with increasing dietary Se and reach defined plateaus at the Se requirement, making them sensitive biomarkers for Se deficiency. These levels, however, do not further increase with super-nutritional or toxic Se status, making them ineffective for detection of high Se status. Biomarkers for high Se status are needed as super-nutritional Se intakes are associated with beneficial as well as adverse health outcomes. To characterize Se regulation of the transcriptome, we conducted 3 microarray experiments in weanling mice and rats fed Se-deficient diets supplemented with up to 5 μg Se/g diet.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no effect of Se status on growth of mice fed 0 to 0.2 μg Se/g diet or rats fed 0 to 2 μg Se/g diet, but rats fed 5 μg Se/g diet showed a 23% decrease in growth and elevated plasma alanine aminotransferase activity, indicating Se toxicity. Rats fed 5 μg Se/g diet had significantly altered expression of 1193 liver transcripts, whereas mice or rats fed ≤ 2 μg Se/g diet had < 10 transcripts significantly altered relative to Se-adequate animals within an experiment. Functional analysis of genes altered by Se toxicity showed enrichment in cell movement/morphogenesis, extracellular matrix, and development/angiogenesis processes. Genes up-regulated by Se deficiency were targets of the stress response transcription factor, Nrf2. Multiple regression analysis of transcripts significantly altered by 2 μg Se/g and Se-deficient diets identified an 11-transcript biomarker panel that accounted for 99% of the variation in liver Se concentration over the full range from 0 to 5 μg Se/g diet.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that Se toxicity (5 μg Se/g diet) in rats vastly alters the liver transcriptome whereas Se-deficiency or high but non-toxic Se intake elicits relatively few changes. This is the first evidence that a vastly expanded number of transcriptional changes itself can be a biomarker of Se toxicity, and that identified transcripts can be used to develop molecular biomarker panels that accurately predict super-nutritional and toxic Se status.</p

Introduction to Nordic Mediation Research

Non peer reviewe

Prediction of peptide and protein propensity for amyloid formation

Understanding which peptides and proteins have the potential to undergo amyloid formation and what driving forces are responsible for amyloid-like fiber formation and stabilization remains limited. This is mainly because proteins that can undergo structural changes, which lead to amyloid formation, are quite diverse and share no obvious sequence or structural homology, despite the structural similarity found in the fibrils. To address these issues, a novel approach based on recursive feature selection and feed-forward neural networks was undertaken to identify key features highly correlated with the self-assembly problem. This approach allowed the identification of seven physicochemical and biochemical properties of the amino acids highly associated with the self-assembly of peptides and proteins into amyloid-like fibrils (normalized frequency of β-sheet, normalized frequency of β-sheet from LG, weights for β-sheet at the window position of 1, isoelectric point, atom-based hydrophobic moment, helix termination parameter at position j+1 and ΔGº values for peptides extrapolated in 0 M urea). Moreover, these features enabled the development of a new predictor (available at http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/appnn/index.html) capable of accurately and reliably predicting the amyloidogenic propensity from the polypeptide sequence alone with a prediction accuracy of 84.9 % against an external validation dataset of sequences with experimental in vitro, evidence of amyloid formation

The role of viruses in oral disease

The focus has traditionally been on bacteria and fungi when discussing microbiological aspects of oral disease. Viruses are probably more involved in diseases associated with the oral cavity than has been previously thought. The role of several viruses in ulceration is well known, but viruses of the herpes family may play a role in periodontitis, and papillomaviruses are probably involved in oral cancer. This review offers a brief introduction to virology before discussing the role of the more relevant viruses in oral disease. As to clinical application, it is concluded that the anti-herpes medication may, in some cases, be relevant in treating periodontitis, while papillomavirus vaccine would be expected to decrease the prevalence of oral cancer

Friend or foe? The current epidemiologic evidence on selenium and human cancer risk.

Scientific opinion on the relationship between selenium and the risk of cancer has undergone radical change over the years, with selenium first viewed as a possible carcinogen in the 1940s then as a possible cancer preventive agent in the 1960s-2000s. More recently, randomized controlled trials have found no effect on cancer risk but suggest possible low-dose dermatologic and endocrine toxicity, and animal studies indicate both carcinogenic and cancer-preventive effects. A growing body of evidence from human and laboratory studies indicates dramatically different biological effects of the various inorganic and organic chemical forms of selenium, which may explain apparent inconsistencies across studies. These chemical form-specific effects also have important implications for exposure and health risk assessment. Overall, available epidemiologic evidence suggests no cancer preventive effect of increased selenium intake in healthy individuals and possible increased risk of other diseases and disorders

Shallow waters: social science research in South Africa's marine environment

This paper provides an overview of social science research in the marine environment of South Africa for the period 1994–2012. A bibliography based on a review of relevant literature and social science projects funded under the SEAChange programme of the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR) was used to identify nine main themes that capture the knowledge generated in the marine social science field. Within these themes, a wide diversity of topics has been explored, covering a wide geographic area. The review suggests that there has been a steady increase in social science research activities and outputs over the past 18 years, with a marked increase in postgraduate dissertations in this field. The SEAChange programme has contributed to enhancing understanding of certain issues and social interactions in the marine environment but this work is limited. Furthermore, there has been limited dissemination of these research results amongst the broader marine science community and incorporation of this information into policy and management decisions has also been limited. However, marine scientists are increasingly recognising the importance of taking a more holistic and integrated approach to management, and are encouraging further social science research, as well as interdisciplinary research across the natural and social sciences. Possible reasons for the lack of communication and coordination amongst natural and social scientists, as well as the limited uptake of research results in policy and management decisions, are discussed and recommendations are proposed.Web of Scienc