The American Diversity Immigrant Visa Program as a new phenomenon in immigration

"Immigration law is an integral part of American politics – not only internal but also external – and its issues have been and still are the subject of presidential campaigns and within the sphere of influence of lobbies. Society’s attitude towards the subject is “variable dependent on the economic, social, political and ideological situation”"(...

Theodore Wilson Thompson: Southern Illinois Pioneer

Giant City State Park in Makanda, Illinois contains graffiti created by passersby and local residents. Many deem modern graffiti in parks as a depreciative behavior. However, the inscription created by Theodore Wilson Thompson in 1862 along the Giant City Nature Trail has implications for interpretive use by park staff. This is due to the inscription being etched prior to the park\u27s establishment and Theodore\u27s pioneering contributions to Makanda and Carbondale, Illinois. Therefore, Theodore Thompson was the focus of this study due to his inscription and the lack of park research conducted on his life history. In 1852, as a young boy, he moved to the Makanda vicinity with his family. Theodore and his brother Albert carved their names in sandstone during the Civil War, in an area that would later become part of Giant City State Park. After owning a large fruit farm as an adult and increasing the size of the town of Makanda, Theodore moved to Carbondale where he purchased 600 acres adjoining what would become Southern Illinois University. Thompson Woods and Thompson Lake (Campus Lake) were established by Theodore and were later added to the campus of Southern Illinois University. Through the documentation and research of other names etched throughout the park, it will be possible for park staff to not only create interpretive media to help visitors better connect with the resource, but also help preserve the history of the area before it became a park

Long-term outcomes of prenatally diagnosed ventriculomegaly — 10 years of Polish tertiary centre experience

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence, associated anomalies, and postnatal outcomes in infants prenatally diagnosed with ventriculomegaly.  Material and methods: All cases of ventriculomegaly that were examined and treated by the 1st Department of Obstet- rics and Gynecology, at the Medical University of Warsaw, from August 2007 until November 2017 were included in this study. Ultrasound data, and information on perinatal outcomes and long-term postnatal follow up were retrospectively collected by a standardised telephone survey. Ventriculomegaly was diagnosed when the atrial width of the lateral ventri- cles was ≥ 10 mm. The cases analyzed were divided into two subgroups: isolated ventriculomegaly (IVM) and non-isolated ventriculomegaly (NIVM). Neurodevelopmental complications were differentiated as either moderate or severe and were compared within each group and between groups.  Results: There were 118 cases of prenatally diagnosed ventriculomegaly. Complete follow up records were collected for 54 cases (45.8%). IVM was diagnosed in 29/54 (53.7%) cases, while NIVM was diagnosed in the remaining 25 (46.3%). The mean ventricular width for IVM was 16.93 mm (range 10.0 mm–73.0 mm) and 14.08 mm (range 9.0 mm–27.1 mm) for NIVM (p = 0.28). The mean gestational age at delivery for the IVM cases was 36 + 4 weeks and in the NIVM group 33 + 4 weeks (p = 0.022). Mild VM (10–12 mm) was diagnosed in 22/54 cases (40.7%), moderate VM (13–15 mm) in 12/54 (22.3%) and severe (≥ 15 mm) in 20/54 (37%). Among the infants with IVM the rate of severe medical complications was 29.6% (8/28) and for NIVM 667% (8/12) (p = 0.041). Less severe medical conditions affected 6/28 of the infants with IVM (21.4%) vs 9/12 NIVM cases (75%) (p = 0.012).  Conclusions: In terms of prenatal diagnosis, treatment of ventriculomegaly remains challenging due to a lack of specific prognostic factors and the significant risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. Nevertheless, isolated ventriculomegaly has significantly better long-term outcomes compared with non-isolated ventriculomegaly. In our material, the rate of severe neurodevelopmental disorders in the non-isolated ventriculomegaly cases was associated with a 52% rate of adverse perinatal outcomes. On the other hand, less severe medical conditions occurred in 21.4% of the infants with IVM and in 75% of the NIVM cases. Furthermore, obstetrical data suggest that the risks of premature delivery and caesarean section are significantly higher in cases of non-isolated ventriculomegaly.

Threats to digital safety of young people in the light of research

PURPOSE: This article aims to indicate the threats posed by the violation of digital security among young people with the presentation of research on cyber aggression occurring among adolescents in Szczecin secondary schools.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The article uses a diagnostic survey method and a research technique in the form of a questionnaire. Based on a specially prepared survey sheet, data were obtained and processed in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The survey’s subject was cyberbullying as perceived by high school students from urban areas.FINDINGS: The surveys carried out do not give a clear picture regarding the awareness of students of Szczecin high schools of cyber aggression. They are only an attempt to determine the scale of the problem and require further verification. However, the data obtained show that the phenomenon of cyber aggression is widespread and known to teenagers.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The article contains a lot of valuable information that can serve as background material and a reference for further research by scientific specialists studying cyberbullying issues among students or institutions helping victims of online violence.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Electronic aggression, called cyberbullying, is a serious problem among teenagers. Modern technological solutions such as the Internet and cell phones are tools whose use exposes students to a new form of violence called cyberbullying or electronic violence. Along with traditional violence, it represents a new variety of problem behaviour among young people. The presence of this phenomenon raises periodic interest in the media. Nonetheless, it has become a socially essential and cognitively interesting area for scientific research.peer-reviewe

Drf1-dependent Kinase Interacts with Claspin through a Conserved Protein Motif

The Dbf4/Drf1-dependent kinase (DDK) is required for the initiation of DNA replication in eukaryotes. Another protein, Claspin, mediates the activation of a cellular checkpoint response to stalled replication forks and is also a regulator of replication. In this study, we found that DDK phosphorylates Claspin in vitro and forms a nuclear complex containing Cdc7, Drf1, and Claspin in Xenopus egg extracts. In addition, purified Claspin and DDK are capable of a direct in vitro interaction. We identified a conserved binding site on Claspin required for its interaction with DDK. This site corresponds to the first of two sequence repeats in the Chk1-binding domain of Claspin. Furthermore, we have established that two amino acids in this motif, Asp^(861) and Gln^(866), are essential for the interaction between Claspin and DDK. We found that mutant forms of Claspin incapable of interacting with DDK are still able to associate with and activate Chk1 in response to DNA replication blockages. However, Claspin-depleted egg extracts that have been reconstituted with these mutants of Claspin undergo DNA replication more slowly. These findings suggest that the interaction of DDK with Claspin mediates a checkpoint-independent function of Claspin related to DNA replication

Emulsions Made of Oils from Seeds of GM Flax Protect V79 Cells against Oxidative Stress

Polyunsaturated fatty acids, sterols, and hydrophilic phenolic compounds are components of flax oil that act as antioxidants. We investigated the impact of flax oil from transgenic flax in the form of emulsions on stressed Chinese hamster pulmonary fibroblasts. We found that the emulsions protect V79 cells against the H2O2 and the effect is dose dependent. They reduced the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species and protected genomic DNA against damage. The rate of cell proliferation increased upon treatment with the emulsions at a low concentration, while at a high concentration it decreased significantly, accompanied by increased frequency of apoptotic cell death. Expression analysis of selected genes revealed the upregulatory impact of the emulsions on the histones, acetylases, and deacetylases. Expression of apoptotic, proinflammatory, and anti-inflammatory genes was also altered. It is thus suggested that flax oil emulsions might be useful as a basis for biomedical products that actively protect cells against inflammation and degeneration. The beneficial effect on fibroblast resistance to oxidative damage was superior in the emulsion made of oil from transgenic plants which was correlated with the quantity of antioxidants and squalene. The emulsions from transgenic flax are promising candidates for skin protection against oxidative damage

Changing Microspatial Patterns of Sulfate-Reducing Microorganisms (SRM) During Cycling of Marine Stromatolite Mats

Microspatial arrangements of sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRM) in surface microbial mats (~1.5 mm) forming open marine stromatolites were investigated. Previous research revealed three different mat types associated with these stromatolites, each with a unique petrographic signature. Here we focused on comparing “non-lithifying” (Type-1) and “lithifying” (Type-2) mats. Our results revealed three major trends: (1) Molecular typing using the dsrA probe revealed a shift in the SRM community composition between Type-1 and Type-2 mats. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) coupled to confocal scanning-laser microscopy (CSLM)-based image analyses, and 35SO42−-silver foil patterns showed that SRM were present in surfaces of both mat types, but in significantly (p \u3c 0.05) higher abundances in Type-2 mats. Over 85% of SRM cells in the top 0.5 mm of Type-2 mats were contained in a dense 130 µm thick horizontal layer comprised of clusters of varying sizes; (2) Microspatial mapping revealed that locations of SRM and CaCO3 precipitation were significantly correlated (p \u3c 0.05); (3) Extracts from Type-2 mats contained acylhomoserine-lactones (C4- ,C6- ,oxo-C6,C7- ,C8- ,C10- ,C12- , C14-AHLs) involved in cell-cell communication. Similar AHLs were produced by SRM mat-isolates. These trends suggest that development of a microspatially-organized SRM community is closely-associated with the hallmark transition of stromatolite surface mats from a non-lithifying to a lithifying state

Replication fork stalling by bulky DNA damage: localization at active origins and checkpoint modulation

The integrity of the genome is threatened by DNA damage that blocks the progression of replication forks. Little is known about the genomic locations of replication fork stalling, and its determinants and consequences in vivo. Here we show that bulky DNA damaging agents induce localized fork stalling at yeast replication origins, and that localized stalling is dependent on proximal origin activity and is modulated by the intra–S–phase checkpoint. Fork stalling preceded the formation of sister chromatid junctions required for bypassing DNA damage. Despite DNA adduct formation, localized fork stalling was abrogated at an origin inactivated by a point mutation and prominent stalling was not detected at naturally-inactive origins in the replicon. The intra–S–phase checkpoint contributed to the high-level of fork stalling at early origins, while checkpoint inactivation led to initiation, localized stalling and chromatid joining at a late origin. Our results indicate that replication forks initially encountering a bulky DNA adduct exhibit a dual nature of stalling: a checkpoint-independent arrest that triggers sister chromatid junction formation, as well as a checkpoint-enhanced arrest at early origins that accompanies the repression of late origin firing. We propose that the initial checkpoint-enhanced arrest reflects events that facilitate fork resolution at subsequent lesions