Breaking through: developing minority leaders

This research project set out to explore the experiences of Women, Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual, and Black and Minority Ethnic (LGB & BME) leaders in order to understand the challenges they have faced in moving into and being successful in leadership positions and to provide insight into potential development interventions or organisational strategies which might facilitate the development and support of minority leaders. The research focus emerged from both a process of critical reflection on my own practice as a leadership and organisational development practitioner and an engagement with relevant literature in this area. While literature exists demonstrating that organisational life and opportunities may be different for minorities, there was a lack of studies on leadership development accounting for those differences. The research was conducted in two stages using an online survey followed by in-depth interviews. Initial thematic analysis provided useful if confirmatory data about developing leaders. Following a further literature review and some exploration of the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher, the data was reviewed again to understand whether his thinking tools of habitus, capital and field could uncover greater insights from the data and indeed whether his work could enhance our understanding of these conceptual tools and their applicability in leadership development and diversity work. The research finds that minority leaders may be disadvantaged because they are not regarded with the same legitimacy as majority leaders. This research acknowledges the importance of gender, racial and sexual identity in leadership and that the environments in which these leaders operate consist of power inequalities which need to be attended to if minority leaders are to progress. The findings include that minority leaders may possess forms of capital and draw upon leadership styles that can provide them with an advantage in contemporary contexts. The research argues that minority leaders may, through their experiences of marginalisation, bring alternative qualities to leadership and that leadership development can break new ground by incorporating those qualities into leadership models and training. Recommendations based on the findings include integrating Bourdieusian approaches as part of leadership development and diversity work; and areas for further research which can contribute to knowledge in this field

The polyphenolic and hydroxycinnamate contents of whole coffee fruits from China, India and Mexico

Air dried whole coffee fruits, beans and husks from China, India and Mexico were analysed for their chlorogenic acids (CGA), caffeine, and polyphenolic content. Analysis was by HPLC and Orbitrap exact mass spectrometry. Total phenol, total flavonol and antioxidant capacity were measured. The hydroxycinnamate profile consisted of caffeoylquinic acids, feruloyquinic acids, dicaffeoylquinic acids and caffeoyl-feruloylquinic acids. A range of flavan-3-ols as well as flavonol conjugates were detected. The CGA content was similar for both Mexico and India coffee fruits but was much lower in China samples. Highest levels of flavan-3-ols were found in the Indian samples whereas Mexico samples contained the highest flavonols. Amounts of CGAs in the beans were similar to those in the whole fruits, but flavan-3-ols and flavonols were not detected. The husks contained the same range of polyphenols as in the whole fruits. Highest levels of caffeine were found in the Robusta samples

Nitrogen additives: What is what, and do they work?

Increases in nitrogen prices and environmental pressures have caused many corn producers to reevaluate nitrogen (N) management to determine if they can improve use efficiency. One potential avenue of improving N use efficiency is to allow applied N the ability to avoid volatilization losses when utilizing urea-based fertilizers and to lengthen the amount of time ammonium is present since it is much less susceptible to loss than nitrate. This obviously means considering either a urease inhibitor or a nitrification inhibitor. The goal of this proceedings article is to discuss various urease and nitrification inhibitors, examine modes of action, and evaluate agronomic utility

Jointly selecting for fibre diameter and fleece weight: A market-level assessment of the QPLU$ Merino breeding project

The QPLU$ Merino breeding project began in the early 1990s. The aim of the project was to demonstrate the efficiency of using a selection index to achieve breeding objectives. A number of selection lines were created from three strains of Merino sheep. During the ten-year course of the project, selection of each line was undertaken using an index based on measurements of fleece weight and fibre diameter. Different emphases were placed on each trait in each selected line. This paper estimates the potential aggregate returns of the project to the Australian sheep and wool industries using an equilibrium displacement model.Australian sheep and wool industries, equilibrium displacement model, cross-commodity relationships, R&D evaluation, Livestock Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

Public support for integrated pest management (IPM) is derived in part from concerns over food safety and the environment, yet few studies have assessed the economic value of health and environmental benefits of IPM. An approach is suggested for such an assessment and applied to the Virginia peanut IPM program. Effects of IPM on environmental risks posed by pesticides are assessed and society's willingness to pay to reduce those risks is estimated. The annual environmental benefits of the peanut IPM program are estimated at $844,000. The estimates of pesticide risks and willingness to pay can be applied elsewhere in economic assessments of IPM.Integrated pest management, Willingness to pay, Environmental benefits, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Urine peptidomic biomarkers for diagnosis of patients with systematic lupus erythematosus

Background: Systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized with various complications which can cause serious organ damage in the human body. Despite the significant improvements in disease management of SLE patients, the non-invasive diagnosis is entirely missing. In this study, we used urinary peptidomic biomarkers for early diagnosis of disease onset to improve patient risk stratification, vital for effective drug treatment. Methods: Urine samples from patients with SLE, lupus nephritis (LN) and healthy controls (HCs) were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS) for state-of-the-art biomarker discovery. Results: A biomarker panel made up of 65 urinary peptides was developed that accurately discriminated SLE without renal involvement from HC patients. The performance of the SLE-specific panel was validated in a multicentric independent cohort consisting of patients without SLE but with different renal disease and LN. This resulted in an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.80 (p < 0.0001, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65–0.90) corresponding to a sensitivity and a specificity of 83% and 73%, respectively. Based on the end terminal amino acid sequences of the biomarker peptides, an in silico methodology was used to identify the proteases that were up or down-regulated. This identified matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) as being mainly responsible for the peptides fragmentation. Conclusions: A laboratory-based urine test was successfully established for early diagnosis of SLE patients. Our approach determined the activity of several proteases and provided novel molecular information that could potentially influence treatment efficacy

Variations associated with the DNA analysis of multiple fine needle aspirates obtained from breast cancer patients.

The present study was carried out to determine the variation in DNA content between multiple fine needle aspirates (FNA) of the same tumour from patients with breast cancer. Analysis of different aliquots of the same FNA showed good reproducibility in terms of cell cycle distribution and DNA index. Duplicate FNAs taken from different sites in nine of 11 excised tumours showed similar reproducibility. However, two of the aneuploid tumours displayed substantial variations in the distribution of cell populations between the duplicate samples. Sequential FNAs with no intervening therapy were obtained from the same tumour in 17 patients; one at the time of diagnosis and the other at biopsy 1-3 weeks later. Only five cases showed no variation between the sequential FNAs; the remaining 12 displayed different DNA profiles. A further 13 patients were studied before and during systemic therapy. While there was no variation between sequential FNAs in four patients, marked differences in the DNA profile were observed in the remaining nine patients undergoing treatment, the changes not necessarily being associated with clinical response to therapy. It is concluded that the monitoring of cellular changes by DNA analysis of sequential FNAs may be complex and subject to problems associated with heterogenecity

A combinatorial approach of Proteomics and Systems Biology in unravelling the mechanisms of acute kidney injury (AKI): involvement of NMDA receptor GRIN1 in murine AKI

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent condition in hospitalised patients undergoing major surgery or the critically ill and is associated with increased mortality. Based on the volume of the published literature addressing this condition, reporting both supporting as well as conflicting molecular evidence, it is apparent that a comprehensive analysis strategy is required to understand and fully delineate molecular events and pathways which can be used to describe disease induction and progression as well as lead to a more targeted approach in intervention therapies.<p></p> RESULTS: We used a Systems Biology approach coupled with a de-novo high-resolution proteomic analysis of kidney cortex samples from a mouse model of folic acid-induced AKI (12 animals in total) and show comprehensive mapping of signalling cascades, gene activation events and metabolite interference by mapping high-resolution proteomic datasets onto a de-novo hypothesis-free dataspace. The findings support the involvement of the glutamatergic signalling system in AKI, induced by over-activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor leading to apoptosis and necrosis by Ca2+-influx, calpain and caspase activation, and co-occurring reactive oxygen species (ROS) production to DNA fragmentation and NAD-rundown. The specific over-activation of the NMDA receptor may be triggered by the p53-induced protein kinase Dapk1, which is a known non-reversible cell death inducer in a neurological context. The pathway mapping is consistent with the involvement of the Renin-Angiotensin Aldosterone System (RAAS), corticoid and TNFalpha signalling, leading to ROS production and gene activation through NFkappaB, PPARgamma, SMAD and HIF1alpha trans-activation, as well as p53 signalling cascade activation. Key elements of the RAAS-glutamatergic axis were assembled as a novel hypothetical pathway and validated by immunohistochemistry.<p></p> CONCLUSIONS: This study shows to our knowledge for the first time in a molecular signal transduction pathway map how AKI is induced, progresses through specific signalling cascades that may lead to end-effects such as apoptosis and necrosis by uncoupling of the NMDA receptor. Our results can potentially pave the way for a targeted pharmacological intervention in disease progression or induction.<p></p&gt