The Legislator -Constituent relationship in Southern Africa: The extent to which electoral competitiveness, electoral systems and role orientation affect levels of constituency service conducted by legislators

The early 1990's marked the beginning of a new era for Southern Africa when a number of single party states began the transition to multiparty democratic systems. Within this process, democratic institutions were established and then have since played varied roles in normalizing of democratic norms in their respective countries. The elites who make these institutions play a vital role in maintaining democracy within these countries. This study examines their perceptions and actions in order to get a better understanding of the quality of representation and as a result the quality of democracy. More specifically the study examines how possible micro and macro level factors, such as electoral competitiveness, role orientations and electoral systems affect the level of constituency service performed by legislators in five Southern African countries (South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya and Zambia). The majority of data used in this study comes from Module 3 of the African Legislatures Project. Electoral data was also collected from national electoral commissions and country experts. The results indicate that as a whole the electoral system has an effect on the level of constituency service conducted by legislators. Role orientation does not appear to be a factor in legislator's decision about the amount of constituency service they will perform. Electoral competition is a factor for number of countries in the study. However, the evidence shows that in some cases higher levels of electoral competitiveness actually induce legislators to perform less constituency service

The rapid move to online mathematics support : changes in pedagogy and social interaction

The dramatic changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the way in which mathematics and statistics support is offered. Students and staff have been presented with new opportunities and challenges. One-on-one interviews were conducted late in 2020 with 23 students and staff who had experience with fully online mathematics and statistics support. The interviewees were from University College Dublin, Ireland, and Western Sydney University, Australia. Utilising thematic analysis, five themes around online mathematics and statistics support common to both universities were identified. In this paper the three themes related to connection are explored; they are pedagogical changes, social interaction, and appreciation of mathematics and statistics support. These themes highlight the need felt by both students and staff for mutual connection. The paper concludes with a discussion on the repercussions of this study for future considerations of effective online mathematics and statistics suppor

Mathematics is different : student and tutor perspectives from Ireland and Australia on online support during COVID-19

From March 2020, the Mathematics Support Centre at University College Dublin, Ireland, and the Mathematics Education Support Hub at Western Sydney University, Australia, moved wholly online and have largely remained so to the point of writing (August 2021). The dramatic and swift changes brought on by COVID-19, in particular to fully online modes of teaching and learning including mathematics and statistics support (MSS), have presented students and tutors with a host of new opportunities for thinking and working. This study aims to gain insight both from students and tutors about their experience of wholly online learning and tutoring in the COVID-19 era. In this sense, it represents a ‘perspectives’ study, the idea being that before we examine specific aspects of this experience, it would be best to know what the issues are. Employing a qualitative analysis framework of 23 one-on-one interview transcripts with tutors and students from both institutions in Australia and Ireland, we identified five key themes as central to the shared experiences and perspectives of tutors and students. In this study, we discuss three of these themes in relation to the new normal with the intention of supporting MSS practitioners, researchers and students going forward. The themes describe the usage of online support, how mathematics is different and the future of online MSS

Early adaptation to oxygen is key to the industrially important traits of Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris during milk fermentation

Background: Lactococcus lactis is the most used species in the dairy industry. Its ability to adapt to technological stresses, such as oxidative stress encountered during stirring in the first stages of the cheese-making process, is a key factor to measure its technological performance. This study aimed to understand the response to oxidative stress of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris MG1363 at the transcriptional and metabolic levels in relation to acidification kinetics and growth conditions, especially at an early stage of growth. For those purposes, conditions of hyper-oxygenation were initially fixed for the fermentation. Results: Kinetics of growth and acidification were not affected by the presence of oxygen, indicating a high resistance to oxygen of the L. lactis MG1363 strain. Its resistance was explained by an efficient consumption of oxygen within the first 4 hours of culture, leading to a drop of the redox potential. The efficient consumption of oxygen by the L. lactis MG1363 strain was supported by a coherent and early adaptation to oxygen after 1 hour of culture at both gene expression and metabolic levels. In oxygen metabolism, the over-expression of all the genes of the nrd (ribonucleotide reductases) operon or fhu (ferrichrome ABC transports) genes was particularly significant. In carbon metabolism, the presence of oxygen led to an early shift at the gene level in the pyruvate pathway towards the acetate/2,3-butanediol pathway confirmed by the kinetics of metabolite production. Finally, the MG1363 strain was no longer able to consume oxygen in the stationary growth phase, leading to a drastic loss of culturability as a consequence of cumulative stresses and the absence of gene adaptation at this stage. Conclusions: Combining metabolic and transcriptomic profiling, together with oxygen consumption kinetics, yielded new insights into the whole genome adaptation of L. lactis to initial oxidative stress. An early and transitional adaptation to oxidative stress was revealed for L. lactis subsp. cremoris MG1363 in the presence of initially high levels of oxygen. This enables the cells to maintain key traits that are of great importance for industry, such as rapid acidification and reduction of the redox potential of the growth media

β-Glucan is a major growth substrate for human gut bacteria related to Coprococcus eutactus

A clone encoding carboxymethyl cellulase activity was isolated during functional screening of a human gut metagenomic library using Lactococcus lactis MG1363 as heterologous host. The insert carried a glycoside hydrolase family 9 (GH9) catalytic domain with sequence similarity to a gene from Coprococcus eutactus ART55/1. Genome surveys indicated a limited distribution of GH9 domains among dominant human colonic anaerobes. Genomes of C. eutactus-related strains harboured two GH9-encoding and four GH5-encoding genes, but the strains did not appear to degrade cellulose. Instead, they grew well on β-glucans and one of the strains also grew on galactomannan, galactan, glucomannan and starch. Coprococcus comes and Coprococcus catus strains did not harbour GH9 genes and were not able to grow on β-glucans. Gene expression and proteomic analysis of C. eutactus ART55/1 grown on cellobiose, β-glucan and lichenan revealed similar changes in expression in comparison to glucose. On β-glucan and lichenan only, one of the four GH5 genes was strongly upregulated. Growth on glucomannan led to a transcriptional response of many genes, in particular a strong upregulation of glycoside hydrolases involved in mannan degradation. Thus, β-glucans are a major growth substrate for species related to C. eutactus, with glucomannan and galactans alternative substrates for some strains

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist

Time to endoscopy for acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding: results from a prospective multicentre trainee-led audit

Background: Endoscopy within 24 hours of admission (early endoscopy) is a quality standard in acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB). We aimed to audit time to endoscopy outcomes and identify factors affecting delayed endoscopy (>24h of admission).Methods: This prospective multicentre audit enrolled patients admitted with AUGIB who underwent inpatient endoscopy between Nov-Dec 2017. Analyses were performed to identify factorsassociated with delayed endoscopy, and to compare patient outcomes, including length of stay and mortality rates, between early and delayed endoscopy groups.Results: Across 348 patients from 20 centres, the median time to endoscopy was 21.2h (IQR 12.0- 35.7), comprising median admission to referral and referral to endoscopy times of 8.1h (IQR 3.7- 18.1) and 6.7h (IQR 3.0-23.1) respectively. Early endoscopy was achieved in 58.9%, although this varied by centre (range: 31.0% - 87.5%, p=0.002). On multivariable analysis, lower Glasgow-Blatchford score, delayed referral, admissions between 7am-7pm or via the Emergency Department were independent predictors of delayed endoscopy. Early endoscopy was associated with reduced length of stay (median difference 1d; p= 0.004), but not 30-day mortality (p=0.344).Conclusions: The majority of centres did not meet national standards for time to endoscopy. Strategic initiatives involving acute care services may be necessary to improve this outcome

The 13th Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Ngā mihi aroha ki ngā tangata katoa and warm greetings to you all. Welcome to Herenga Delta 2021, the Thirteenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics. It has been ten years since the Volcanic Delta Conference in Rotorua, and we are excited to have the Delta community return to Aotearoa New Zealand, if not in person, then by virtual means. Although the limits imposed by the pandemic mean that most of this year’s 2021 participants are unable to set foot in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, this has certainly not stopped interest in this event. Participants have been invited to draw on the concept of herenga, in Te Reo Māori usually a mooring place where people from afar come to share their knowledge and experiences. Although many of the participants are still some distance away, the submissions that have been sent in will continue to stimulate discussion on mathematics and statistics undergraduate education in the Delta tradition. The conference invited papers, abstracts and posters, working within the initial themes of Values and Variables. The range of submissions is diverse, and will provide participants with many opportunities to engage, discuss, and network with colleagues across the Delta community. The publications for this thirteenth Delta Conference include publications in the International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, iJMEST, (available at https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tmes20/collections/Herenga-Delta-2021), the Conference Proceedings, and the Programme (which has created some interesting challenges around time-zones), by the Local Organizing Committee. Papers in the iJMEST issue and the Proceedings were peer reviewed by at least two reviewers per paper. Of the ten submissions to the Proceedings, three were accepted. We are pleased to now be at the business end of the conference and hope that this event will carry on the special atmosphere of the many Deltas which have preceded this one. We hope that you will enjoy this conference, the virtual and social experiences that accompany it, and take the opportunity to contribute to further enhancing mathematics and statistics undergraduate education. Ngā manaakitanga, Phil Kane (The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau) on behalf of the Local Organising Committ

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)