Raising Minimum Wage Lowering SNAP Expenditures

The amount of money that the United States spends annually on the welfare program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been on the rise over the last two decades. In tandem with this increase is a trend for a greater portion of Americans falling below the poverty line. This study has looked at the effect that minimum wage has on decreasing or reversing this trend. Two types of models are used U.S. Regression and State Difference-in-Difference. The dependent variables being tested for were percent of population on SNAP and change in per-capita expenditure on SNAP. The findings from these models indicate that there is a correlation between the minimum wage and SNAP expenditure and participation reduction. The policy implications from this study are that the minimum wage should be increased as a measure to reduce government spending on SNAP

Pengaruh Harga Diri dan Gaya Hidup Terhadap Perilaku Konsumtif

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh harga diri dan gaya hidup terhadap perilaku konsumen pada mahasiswa Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Universitas Mulawarman Samarinda. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif. Subjek penelitian ini adalah 98 siswa yang dipilih dengan menggunakan teknik simple random sampling. Metode pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah skala perilaku konsumen, harga diri dan gaya hidup. Data yang terkumpul dianalisis dengan uji regresi linier berganda dengan bantuan program Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 21.0 for Windows. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: (1) tidak terdapat pengaruh dan harga diri yang signifikan terhadap perilaku konsumtif yang dibuktikan dengan koefisien beta (β) sebesar -0,067, dan nilai t hitung sebesar -0,549 lebih kecil dari t tabel sebesar 1,985 dan p value dari 0,585 (p> 0,005). (2) Terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan dan gaya hidup terhadap perilaku konsumtif yang dibuktikan dengan koefisien beta (β) sebesar 0,549, dan nilai t hitung 4,503 lebih besar dari t tabel 1,985 dan nilai p 0,000 (p <0,005). (3) terdapat pengaruh antara harga diri dan gaya hidup terhadap perilaku konsumtif dengan nilai F = 2.110 R2 = 0.255, dan p = 0.000 (p <0.005)

Research Partnerships: Undertaking and Understanding Collaborative Ethnography in Indianapolis

poster abstractStudents will present a range of collaborative research projects they have undertaken in consultation with neighborhood and community-based organizations in Indianapolis. They will address the benefits, challenges and limitations that collaborative research has posed for them, as ethnographers-in-trainin

Responsabilidad social empresarial en el posconflicto en materia de empleabilidad para excombatientes

"El presente artículo tiene como objetivo analizar las garantías existente en relación al ejercicio del derecho al trabajo de los excombatientes desmovilizados en proceso de reintegración a la vida civil, en la implementación del ""Acuerdo final para la terminación del conflicto y la construcción de una paz estable y duradera"" refrendado por el legislador colombiano en el mes de noviembre del año 2016, con el grupo al margen de la ley más grande y antiguo de país, FARC, tomando como punto de partida la experiencia adquirida en diferentes procesos de paz implementados anteriormente en Colombia otros países del mundo. El desarrollo de la temática parte del abordaje de la noción de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial, ya que este escrito apunta a determinar la validez de este concepto como mecanismo para lograr la reincorporación a la civilidad de los excombatientes a través de las empresas y las oportunidades de empleo que el sector privado puede ofrecer a quienes abandonaron sus armas. A su vez, se hace referencia al derecho al trabajo como un derecho fundamental y su desarrollo en procesos de desmovilización. Además, se profundiza en los procesos de desmovilización, desarme y reintegración de grupos al margen de la ley y su ruta de reintegración a la vida civil; afrontando el tópico del empleo y desempleo en los excombatientes desmovilizados, seguido de papel que desempeña el sector empresarial en el contexto del posconflicto, así como las posibilidad de vinculación laboral de los excombatiente en el sector privado y las dificultades encontradas en la inclusión laboral luego del proceso de reintegración a la sociedad.""The objective of this article is to analyze the existing guarantees in relation to the exercise of the right to work of the demobilized ex-combatants in the process of reintegration into civil life, in the implementation of the ""Final Agreement for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable Peace"" and lasting ""endorsed by the Colombian legislator in November 2016, with the group on the sidelines of the country's largest and oldest law, FARC, taking as a starting point the experience acquired in different peace processes previously implemented in Colombia other countries of the world. The development of the theme part of the approach of the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility, since this writing aims to determine the validity of this concept as a mechanism to achieve the reincorporation to civility of ex-combatants through companies and employment opportunities that the private sector can offer to those who abandoned their weapons. In turn, reference is made to the right to work as a fundamental right and its development in demobilization processes. In addition, the processes of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of groups outside the law and their path of reintegration into civilian life are deepened; addressing the topic of employment and unemployment in the demobilized ex-combatants, followed by the role played by the business sector in the post-conflict context, as well as the possibility of employment linkage of ex-combatants in the private sector and the difficulties encountered in labor inclusion after the process of reintegration into society."Magíster en DerechoMaestrí

Reseña del libro: Cuba ¿fin de la historia?/Review of the book CUBA ¿End of History?

El libro CUBA ¿Fin de la Historia?del investigador Ernesto Limia Díaz ofrece a los estudiantes universitarios un acercamiento a momentos trascendentales de la historia de Cuba, desde una perspectiva en la que se articulan contenidos históricos, políticos, axiológicos y socioculturales. De forma amena y con magistral uso de la síntesis expresiva se aporta información adecuada y valoraciones  pertinentes para el fortalecimiento de los valores patrióticos de la juventud cubana; por su valor didáctico se recomienda a los estudiantes de las diferentes carreras la lectura del libro, como complemento del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la historia nacional y para profundizar en el conocimiento de la identidad cultural cubana

An Investigation of Innate Immune Response of Human Blood Macrophage to Sense and Antisense dsRNA

Silencing of gene expression by siRNA (small interfering RNA) is a powerful approach used to study the genetic analysis and functional roles of mammalian genes. There is at present no report about the effects of mammalian two-hybrid system plasmids delivery of sense and antisense strands. The leishmania pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1) gene was cloned as sense and antisense strands into mammalian two hybrid system plasmids. The constructs were transfected into human blood macrophages on the basis of eight experimental groups. (Antisense strand ± LPS, sense strand ± LPS, dsRNA ± LPS, negative control ± LPS). After 24 hours, cytokines production was assessed with ELISA.Transfection of sense and antisense strand RNA into monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) was confirmed by RT-PCR. Single strands RNA expressed IL-8, IL-12, IL-1β inflammatory cytokines and dsRNA induced IL-8, IL-12 and TNF-α production in MDM. In contrast, random uptake from a mixture of two plasmids was downregulated IL-8, IL-12, IFN-γ cytokines, with a significant difference of p&lt;0.05 in macrophage.With respect to the increased level of IL-8 in macrophage detected in single strand groups, the chemokine production—as a major feature of innate immunity—is a powerful tool for evaluation of sense/antisense in experimental and therapeutic gene vaccine delivery. siRNA–based gene therapy could have great potential in cancer treatment.Highlights siRNA (small interfering RNA) is powerful approach to study the functional roles of mammalian genes.dsRNA induced antiviral response by induction of different cytokines including TNF-α, IL-12 and IL-8.dsRNA showed promising results as a vaccine adjuvant for both antiviral and antitumor prophylaxis.The strong response of IL-8 chemokine indicated the linkage between innate immunity and adaptive immunity in progressive malignances

Further insights into the tRNA modification process controlled by proteins MnmE and GidA of Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, proteins GidA and MnmE are involved in the addition of the carboxymethylaminomethyl (cmnm) group onto uridine 34 (U34) of tRNAs decoding two-family box triplets. However, their precise role in the modification reaction remains undetermined. Here, we show that GidA is an FAD-binding protein and that mutagenesis of the N-terminal dinucleotide-binding motif of GidA, impairs capability of this protein to bind FAD and modify tRNA, resulting in defective cell growth. Thus, GidA may catalyse an FAD-dependent reaction that is required for production of cmnmU34. We also show that GidA and MnmE have identical cell location and that both proteins physically interact. Gel filtration and native PAGE experiments indicate that GidA, like MnmE, dimerizes and that GidA and MnmE directly assemble in an α2β2 heterotetrameric complex. Interestingly, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis shows that identical levels of the same undermodified form of U34 are present in tRNA hydrolysates from loss-of-function gidA and mnmE mutants. Moreover, these mutants exhibit similar phenotypic traits. Altogether, these results do not support previous proposals that activity of MnmE precedes that of GidA; rather, our data suggest that MnmE and GidA form a functional complex in which both proteins are interdependent

Identification of recognition residues for ligation-based detection and quantitation of pseudouridine and N6-methyladenosine

Over 100 chemical types of RNA modifications have been identified in thousands of sites in all three domains of life. Recent data suggest that modifications function synergistically to mediate biological function, and that cells may coordinately modulate modification levels for regulatory purposes. However, this area of RNA biology remains largely unexplored due to the lack of robust, high-throughput methods to quantify the extent of modification at specific sites. Recently, we developed a facile enzymatic ligation-based method for detection and quantitation of methylated 2′-hydroxyl groups within RNA. Here we exploit the principles of molecular recognition and nucleic acid chemistry to establish the experimental parameters for ligation-based detection and quantitation of pseudouridine (Ψ) and N6-methyladenosine (m6A), two abundant modifications in eukaryotic rRNA/tRNA and mRNA, respectively. Detection of pseudouridylation at several sites in the large subunit rRNA derived from yeast demonstrates the feasibility of the approach for analysis of pseudouridylation in biological RNA samples

Conserved amino acids in each subunit of the heteroligomeric tRNA m1A58 Mtase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae contribute to tRNA binding

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a two-subunit methyltransferase (Mtase) encoded by the essential genes TRM6 and TRM61 is responsible for the formation of 1-methyladenosine, a modified nucleoside found at position 58 in tRNA that is critical for the stability of tRNAiMet. The crystal structure of the homotetrameric m1A58 tRNA Mtase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, TrmI, has been solved and was used as a template to build a model of the yeast m1A58 tRNA Mtase heterotetramer. We altered amino acids in TRM6 and TRM61 that were predicted to be important for the stability of the heteroligomer based on this model. Yeast strains expressing trm6 and trm61 mutants exhibited growth phenotypes indicative of reduced m1A formation. In addition, recombinant mutant enzymes had reduced in vitro Mtase activity. We demonstrate that the mutations introduced do not prevent heteroligomer formation and do not disrupt binding of the cofactor S-adenosyl-l-methionine. Instead, amino acid substitutions in either Trm6p or Trm61p destroy the ability of the yeast m1A58 tRNA Mtase to bind tRNAiMet, indicating that each subunit contributes to tRNA binding and suggesting a structural alteration of the substrate-binding pocket occurs when these mutations are present