Crises and Political Polarization: Towards a Better Understanding of the Timing and Impact of Shocks and Media

We investigate how crises alter societies by analyzing the timing and channels of change using a longitudinal multi-wave survey of a representative sample of Americans throughout 2020. This methodology allows us to overcome some of the limitations of previous studies and uncover novel insights: (1) individuals with a negative personal experience during a crisis become more pro-welfare spending, in particular for policies they perceive will benefit them personally, and they become less trusting of institutions; (2) indirect shocks or the mere exposure to the crisis doesn't have a similar effect; (3) policy preferences and institutional trust can change quickly after a negative experience; and (4) consuming partisan media can mitigate or exacerbate these effects by distorting perceptions of reality. In an experiment, we find that exposing individuals to the same information can recalibrate distorted perceptions with lasting effects. Using a machine learning model to test for heterogeneous treatment effects, we find a negative personal experience did not make individuals more responsive to the information treatment, suggesting that lived and perceived experiences play an equally important role in changing preferences during a crisis

Fatigue Experienced by Women Before and During Myocardial Infarction: An Integrative Review

RESEARCH QUESTION What is known about fatigue experienced by adult women during the prodromal and acute periods of myocardial infarction (MI)? AIMS 1. Identify what is known about prodromal and acute MI fatigue experienced by women in regard to severity, distress, quality, and timing 2. Summarize the current state of the prodromal and acute MI fatigue literature and make recommendations for clinical practice and future stud

Myristica lowiana Phytochemicals as Inhibitor of Plasmid Conjugation in Escherichia coli

Hexane extract and methanol fraction from the stem bark of Myristica lowiana specifically and significantly inhibited the conjugal transfer of the IncW plasmid R7K, a plasmid which harbors ampicillin-, streptomycin-, and spectinomycin-resistant genes. The transfer of this plasmid via the conjugative pilli of Escherichia coli was reduced by 76.5 ± 2.0% and 79.0 ± 1.2% by hexane extract and methanol fraction of M. lowiana, respectively. The hexane extract exhibited significant anti-conjugant activity at a non-cytotoxic concentration of 100 mg/L as assessed against adult human dermal fibroblast cells. The hexane extract and methanol fraction were screened using phytochemical tests, NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS) and were found to contain terpenoids, sterols, and fatty acids

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Triage Nurses\u27 Response to Patients With Potential Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic added challenges to patient assessment and triage in the emergency department (ED). Objective: To describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on ED triage nurse decisions for patients with potential ACS. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from a descriptive, electronic, survey-based study. Participants were asked two questions: whether the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their triage and/or assessment practices for patients with potential ACS and if so, how. Descriptive statistics were used to compare characteristics of participants. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to analyze responses to the open-ended questions about the pandemic’s effect on the triage process. Results: Participants from across the US had a mean age of 41.7 (12.3) years; 358 (80.6%) were women. The participants had a median of 10.0 (IQR 16.0) years of experience as a registered nurse, with a median 7.0 (IQR 11.0) years of ED experience. A total of 180 of 444 (40.5%) participants indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic affected their triage processes and assessment of potential ACS patients; 156 (86.7%) provided a response to the open-ended question. Responses revealed four themes, 1) Delays in Triage and Treatment; 2) Ambiguous Patient Presentation; 3) Heightened Awareness of COVID-19 Complications and Sequalae; and 4) Process Changes. Conclusions: Forty percent of ED triage nurses participating reported that triage processes for patients with potential ACS were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most expressed barriers that resulted in delayed assessment and treatment of patients and often resulted from overlapping cardiac symptoms and COVID-19

Spdef deletion rescues the crypt cell proliferation defect in conditional Gata6 null mouse small intestine

Background: GATA transcription factors are essential for self-renewal of the small intestinal epithelium. Gata4 is expressed in the proximal 85% of small intestine while Gata6 is expressed throughout the length of small intestine. Deletion of intestinal Gata4 and Gata6 results in an altered proliferation/differentiation phenotype, and an up-regulation of SAM pointed domain containing ETS transcription factor (Spdef), a transcription factor recently shown to act as a tumor suppressor. The goal of this study is to determine to what extent SPDEF mediates the downstream functions of GATA4/GATA6 in the small intestine. The hypothesis to be tested is that intestinal GATA4/GATA6 functions through SPDEF by repressing Spdef gene expression. To test this hypothesis, we defined the functions most likely regulated by the overlapping GATA6/SPDEF target gene set in mouse intestine, delineated the relationship between GATA6 chromatin occupancy and Spdef gene regulation in Caco-2 cells, and determined the extent to which prevention of Spdef up-regulation by Spdef knockout rescues the GATA6 phenotype in conditional Gata6 knockout mouse ileum. Results: Using publicly available profiling data, we found that 83% of GATA6-regulated genes are also regulated by SPDEF, and that proliferation/cancer is the function most likely to be modulated by this overlapping gene set. In human Caco-2 cells, GATA6 knockdown results in an up-regulation of Spdef gene expression, modeling our mouse Gata6 knockout data. GATA6 occupies a genetic locus located 40 kb upstream of the Spdef transcription start site, consistent with direct regulation of Spdef gene expression by GATA6. Prevention of Spdef up-regulation in conditional Gata6 knockout mouse ileum by the additional deletion of Spdef rescued the crypt cell proliferation defect, but had little effect on altered lineage differentiation or absorptive enterocytes gene expression. Conclusion: SPDEF is a key, immediate downstream effecter of the crypt cell proliferation function of GATA4/GATA6 in the small intestine

A Holistic Exploration of Fatigue Experienced by Women before a Myocardial Infarction

Most women report fatigue in the weeks and months leading to a myocardial infarction (MI). However, fatigue is a complex phenomenon. Dimensions of this MI related fatigue, such as timing, distress, intensity, quality, patterns, and associated characteristics have not been established through focused study of this symptom. A lack of a holistic understanding of this symptom makes clinical decision making difficult, given that fatigue is a frequently reported symptom overall

Women’s Prodromal Myocardial Infarction Symptom Perception, Attribution, and Care Seeking

Most women experience several prodromal symptoms prior to myocardial infarction (MI). While investigators have focused on acuteMI symptom perception, attribution, and care seeking, few have studied how women experience and process prodromalMI symptoms and ultimately decide to seek care

Environmental risk assessment of the use of zinc oxide medicated feeds for weaning piglets in the UK

Concerns over environmental impacts resulting from the use of zinc oxide containing medicines for weaning piglets led to the withdrawal of the authorisations for these products in the EU. In order to better understand these issues more detailed assessments were conducted for the UK, taking account of the fate of zinc in the environment and its bioavailability to ecological receptors. Four regional scenarios covered the main pig farming areas in the UK and the emission scenario was based on current agricultural practices in the UK. The fate and transport of zinc in the environment was modelled using the Intermediate Dynamic Model for Metals, and the toxicity of zinc in the environment was assessed based on current UK regulatory practices. The model takes account of historic additions of metals to the soils to calculate current and future metal levels in the environment. Whilst three of the four regional scenarios predicted a marginal risk, or no risk, to soils after 50 years of use one of the scenarios indicated a risk to surface waters prior to the use of zinc oxide medicated treatments for weaning piglets, and risks to local soils within 10 years of use. Further site-specific assessments were conducted for this region and one of the other regions, based on site specific emission scenarios, soil and surface waters characteristics. These two site-specific assessments revealed that the modelling results were accurate or conservative depending on the assumptions made about historic inputs of metals to agricultural soils from manure spreading, and that the regional scenario that resulted in significant predicted risks to surface waters did not reflect the actual conditions at the local pig farming sites considered. Comparisons between measured concentrations of copper and zinc at pig farming sites suggest that historic agricultural inputs have been an important source of these metals to agricultural soils at some sites. The limited data available for validation suggest that the IDMM is able to provide accurate predictions of metal levels in both soils and surface waters, but that there is significant uncertainty associated with historic inputs of metals to the soils

Bioactive compounds from the Bornean endemic plant Goniothalamus longistipetes

The present study aimed to screen plants for bioactive compounds with potential antibacterial activities. In our efforts to evaluate plants from Borneo, we isolated and elucidated the structures of four natural products from the bioactive fraction of a chloroform extract of Goniothalamus longistipetes using various chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The bioactive compounds were identified as a known styryllactone, (+)-altholactone ((2S,3R,3aS,7aS)-3-hydroxy-2-phenyl-2,3,3a,7a-tetrahydrobenzo-5(4H)-5-one) (1), a new styryllactone, (2S,3R,3aS,7aS)-3-hydroxy-2-phenyl-2,3,3a,7a-tetrahydrobenzo-5(4H)-5-one) (2) as well as a new alkaloid, 2,6-dimethoxyisonicotinaldehyde (3) and a new alkenyl-5-hydroxyl-phenyl benzoic acid (4). 1 and 4 showed broad-spectrum anti-bacterial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as acid-fast model selected for this study. Compound 2 only demonstrated activities against Gram-positive bacteria whilst 3 displayed selective inhibitory activities against Gram-positive bacterial strains. Additionally, their mechanisms of anti-bacterial action were also investigated. Using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a fast-growing model of tubercle bacilli, compounds 1, 2 and 4 demonstrated inhibitory activities against whole-cell drug efflux and biofilm formation; two key intrinsic mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. Interestingly, the amphiphilic compound 4 exhibited inhibitory activity against the conjugation of plasmid pKM101 in Escherichia coli using a plate conjugation assay. Plasmid conjugation is a mechanism by which Gram-positive and Gram-negative-bacteria acquire drug resistance and virulence. These results indicated that bioactive compounds isolated from Goniothalamus longistipetes can be potential candidates as ‘hits’ for further optimisation

The Pricing of Market-to-Market Contingent Claims in a No-Arbitrage Economy

This paper assumes that the underlying asset prices are lognormally distributed and drives necessary and sufficient conditions for the valuation of options using a Black-Scholes type methodology. It is shown that the price of a futures-style, market-to-market option is given by Black’s formula if the pricing kernel is lognormally distributed. Assuming that this condition is fulfilled, it is then shown that the Black-Scholes formula prices a spot-settled contingent claim, if the interest-rate accumulation factor is lognormally distributed. Otherwise, the Black-Scholes formula holds if the product of the pricing kernel and the interest-rate accumulation factor is lognormally distributed