A Comparative Analysis of Gender and Public Opinion on Democracy in Poland, Romania, and the United States, 1995-2020

Research on attitudes toward democracy in Poland and Romania is timely given 2019’s three-decade anniversary of freedom from communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The U.S. makes an interesting comparison case given its history involving the American Dream and the Dream’s essential component of democracy. Using the World Values Surveys and a conceptual framework linking gender and democracy attitudes, we examine beliefs about democracy in Poland, Romania, and the U.S. between 1990 and 2020. Findings show significant cross-country, cross-time, and cross-gender variation on most of the belief measures and, contrary to much previous research, Americans do not always provide the strongest support for democracy. We conclude that simple assumptions about American exceptionalism on democracy attitudes are often inaccurate, as are assumptions that women are universally more positive about democracy than men. Consensus on democracy related attitudes in Romania and Poland is also not supported by our results, suggesting that unique historical, political, and socio-economic experiences among formerly communist nations play an important role in shaping beliefs about democracy

Definitive endoderm derived from human embryonic stem cells highly express the integrin receptors αV and β5

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can be directed to differentiate into a number of endoderm cell types, however mature functional cells have yet to be produced in vitro. This suggests that there may be important factors that have yet to be described, which may be essential for the proper derivation of these cells. One such factor is the integrin mediated interactions between a cell and the extracellular matrix (ECM). On this basis, the present study investigated the role of the ECM in the directed differentiation of hESCs to definitive endoderm via analysis of integrin gene expression. The results showed that definitive endoderm can be efficiently and effectively derived from hESCs in a feeder free, single defined ECM of laminin. Analysis of integrin expression also showed that definitive endoderm highly express the integrins αV and β5, which have the ability to bind to vitronectin, whilst expression of the pluripotency related laminin binding integrins α3, α6 and β4 were downregulated. This suggested a potential role of vitronectin binding integrins in the development of definitive endoderm. © 2010 Landes Bioscience

Evolution of pathogenicity and sexual reproduction in eight Candida genomes

Candida species are the most common cause of opportunistic fungal infection worldwide. Here we report the genome sequences of six Candida species and compare these and related pathogens and non-pathogens. There are significant expansions of cell wall, secreted and transporter gene families in pathogenic species, suggesting adaptations associated with virulence. Large genomic tracts are homozygous in three diploid species, possibly resulting from recent recombination events. Surprisingly, key components of the mating and meiosis pathways are missing from several species. These include major differences at the mating-type loci (MTL); Lodderomyces elongisporus lacks MTL, and components of the a1/2 cell identity determinant were lost in other species, raising questions about how mating and cell types are controlled. Analysis of the CUG leucine-to-serine genetic-code change reveals that 99% of ancestral CUG codons were erased and new ones arose elsewhere. Lastly, we revise the Candida albicans gene catalogue, identifying many new genes.publishe

Microstructural Abnormalities in Subcortical Reward Circuitry of Subjects with Major Depressive Disorder

Previous studies of major depressive disorder (MDD) have focused on abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal regions. There has been little investigation in MDD of midbrain and subcortical regions central to reward/aversion function, such as the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN), and medial forebrain bundle (MFB).We investigated the microstructural integrity of this circuitry using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 22 MDD subjects and compared them with 22 matched healthy control subjects. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values were increased in the right VT and reduced in dorsolateral prefrontal white matter in MDD subjects. Follow-up analysis suggested two distinct subgroups of MDD patients, which exhibited non-overlapping abnormalities in reward/aversion circuitry. The MDD subgroup with abnormal FA values in VT exhibited significantly greater trait anxiety than the subgroup with normal FA values in VT, but the subgroups did not differ in levels of anhedonia, sadness, or overall depression severity.These findings suggest that MDD may be associated with abnormal microstructure in brain reward/aversion regions, and that there may be at least two subtypes of microstructural abnormalities which each impact core symptoms of depression

Economic Sector and Job Satisfaction

In this article the relationship between economic sector and job satisfaction is explored. Given the absence of previous research, a framework relying on job satisfaction, dual labor market, and economic-segmentation literature is used to create two alternative hypotheses. If the externally defined objective characteristics of jobs are the critical factor in producing job satisfaction, then the “better” jobs in the core sector will result in job satisfaction differences favoring workers in the core. If individual needs and characteristics and the “fit” between these and job rewards are the critical factors in producing job satisfaction, then the workers in the core do not necessarily have an advantage; in fact the reverse may be true. These two hypotheses are tested using data from the 1973 Quality of Employment survey and two alternate measures of economic sector. Findings support the second hypothesis in that workers in the peripheral (or local and regional) sector have significantly higher levels of reported job satisfaction than those in the core (or monopoly) sector. We conclude that researchers need to consider economic sector as a source of variation in job satisfaction in addition to more conventional structures at the job and organizational level. Paradoxically, a consideration of economic sector may contribute to our understanding of the processes by which individual characteristics and job characteristics combine to create satisfied workers. © 1987, SAGE PUBLICATIONS. All rights reserved

Religion, Politics, and Issue Polarization in the United States Congress, 1959-2013

In this study we examine whether, and if so how, the confluence of religion and party has impacted voting in the U.S Congress over the past half century. We address two primary questions: first, has religion contributed to the growing political partisanship among members of Congress over this period, and second, if so, are these cleavages reflected in congressional voting patterns? We answer both questions in the affirmative