Not another hijab row: New conversations on gender, race, religion and the making of communities

Headscarves in schools. Sexual violence in Indigenous communities. Muslim women at public swimming pools. Polygamy. Sharia law. Outspoken Imams on sexual assault. Integration and respect for women. It seems that around the world in the media and public debate, women s issues are at the top of the agenda. Yet all too often, support for women s rights is proclaimed loudest by conservative politicians intent on policing communities and demonising Muslims during the war on terror . This edition of the Transforming Cultures eJournal offers critical reflections on the contemporary politics of gender, race and religion, and provides a platform for those perspectives which are too often sidelined in the debate, perspectives that seek to go beyond simplistic debates such as hijab: to ban or not to ban? or Muslim women: oppressed or liberated

Improving nitrogen safety in China: Nitrogen flows, pollution and control

The impacts of nitrogen on environmental quality, greenhouse gas balances, ecosystem and biodiversity in China are of great concern given the magnitude of demand for food and energy. Comprehensive summaries of historic N flows and their critical threats and sustainable management are urgently needed. This paper initially reviews the historical trends of N flows in China and identifies the critical threats of N loss. Subsequently, it describes some recent success stories of N management, and finally indicates barriers to N pollution control. This review highlights three key points. Firstly, a steady increase of N input in China has led to a series of environmental problems via leaching and runoff, ammonia emissions and denitrification. Secondly, although great efforts to improve N management and N safety in China, further quantifications of N flows and analysis of their underlying mechanisms are needed to improve the understanding of the N cycle and pollution control. Finally, it proposes that the best available technologies combined with regulatory plans, laws, projects and policies should be implemented to overcome current barriers in N control and achieve a balance between the sustainable use of N resources and environmental conservation in China

Optically powered communication system with distributed amplifiers

An optically powered communication system with distributed amplification is demonstrated using either distributed parametric amplification (DPA) or distributed Raman amplification (DRA) within the dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) and single-mode fiber (SMF). At the fiber output the residual pump after the distributed amplification is recycled to power the receiver component. Our scheme is also a potential candidate for the last mile transmission. Based on our scheme, 4 channels of 10 Gb/s WDM signals are used to obtain practical performance evaluation. In the presence of 10-dB gain for signals, the power penalties of-dB at the BER of are achieved for DPA in DSF, and as the comparing counterpart of DPA, counter-pumping DRA induce approximately the same level of power penalty in DSF and -dB in SMF. Co-pumping DRA are also tested in both kind of fibers. Finally, the energy-efficiency issue for different pumping schemes is analyzed. © 2006 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Wide-band error-free wavelength conversion based on continuous-wave-triggered supercontinuum

Session - Spatial Multiplexing Amplification & Monitoring: OM3C.1We demonstrate a wavelength converter based on CW-triggered picosecond supercontinuum (SC), with significantly enhanced spectrum over 300-nm. While error-free operations are obtained for wavelength converted signals from 1510 to 1615 nm. © 2012 OSApublished_or_final_versio

Copper intrauterine device use and HIV acquisition in women : a systematic review

Acknowledgements The authors thank Joanna Taliano, MA MLS, Reference Librarian at CDC for running the search strategies. Contributors PH, AT, TC and KC contributed to the planning of this review. PH, AT, TC and KC conducted the literature search, screening, and risk of bias assessment. PH wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to subsequent drafts and approved the final manuscript. Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. Disclaimer The findings and conclusions of this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official postion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, or other institutions with which the authors are affiliated. Competing interests TC was a member of the ECHO trial consortium. PCH, KMC, TC participated in the 2019 WHO Guideline Development Group (GDG) process which assessed recommendations on contraception for women at high risk of HIV.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cyclin C Regulated Oxidative Stress Responsive Transcriptome in Mus Musculus Embryonic Fibroblasts

The transcriptional changes that occur in response to oxidative stress help direct the decision to maintain cell viability or enter a cell death pathway. Cyclin C-Cdk8 is a conserved kinase that associates with the RNA polymerase II Mediator complex that stimulates or represses transcription depending on the locus. In response to oxidative stress, cyclin C, but not Cdk8, displays partial translocation into the cytoplasm. These findings open the possibility that cyclin C relocalization is a regulatory mechanism governing oxidative stress-induced transcriptional changes. In the present study, the cyclin C-dependent transcriptome was determined and compared to transcriptional changes occurring in oxidatively stresse

A conserved role for kinesin-5 in plant mitosis

The mitotic spindle of vascular plants is assembled and maintained by processes that remain poorly explored at a molecular level. Here, we report that AtKRP125c, one of four kinesin-5 motor proteins in arabidopsis, decorates microtubules throughout the cell cycle and appears to function in both interphase and mitosis. In a temperature-sensitive mutant, interphase cortical microtubules are disorganized at the restrictive temperature and mitotic spindles are massively disrupted, consistent with a defect in the stabilization of anti-parallel microtubules in the spindle midzone, as previously described in kinesin-5 mutants from animals and yeast. AtKRP125c introduced into mammalian epithelial cells by transfection decorates microtubules throughout the cell cycle but is unable to complement the loss of the endogenous kinesin-5 motor (Eg5). These results are among the first reports of any motor with a major role in anastral spindle structure in plants and demonstrate that the conservation of kinesin-5 motor function throughout eukaryotes extends to vascular plants

Structure of a nucleosome-bound MuvB transcription factor complex reveals DNA remodelling.

Genes encoding the core cell cycle machinery are transcriptionally regulated by the MuvB family of protein complexes in a cell cycle-specific manner. Complexes of MuvB with the transcription factors B-MYB and FOXM1 activate mitotic genes during cell proliferation. The mechanisms of transcriptional regulation by these complexes are still poorly characterised. Here, we combine biochemical analysis and in vitro reconstitution, with structural analysis by cryo-electron microscopy and cross-linking mass spectrometry, to functionally examine these complexes. We find that the MuvB:B-MYB complex binds and remodels nucleosomes, thereby exposing nucleosomal DNA. This remodelling activity is supported by B-MYB which directly binds the remodelled DNA. Given the remodelling activity on the nucleosome, we propose that the MuvB:B-MYB complex functions as a pioneer transcription factor complex. In this work, we rationalise prior biochemical and cellular studies and provide a molecular framework of interactions on a protein complex that is key for cell cycle regulation