Unveiling the Mask of Post-Race Legitimacy: Preserving White Supremacy through the Use of Colorblind Racism in Policy Preference

Recent literature has brought attention to an avoidance of race-talk among Whites that not only attributes social inequalities to non-racial factors, but challenges the existence of racism at all, and reinforces the power of white supremacy in a way that is hard to detect. The paradigm shift from Jim Crow to colorblind racism simply demonstrates a practice of oppression that has been redefined and reshaped, but the foundation of our society that has been built on white supremacy and racial inequality has yet to change. In order to preserve this foundation, colorblind ideology has been used to implement coded language and race-neutral explanations in policy, reinforcing the existing racial hierarchy in a powerful, but discreet, manner. This study utilizes survey data to analyze the relationship between colorblind attitudes and policy preference. It is hypothesized that 1) higher levels of colorblindness will lead to less support for social policies that would benefit racial and ethnic minorities, and 2) Whites will present higher levels of colorblind attitudes than non-Whites. Results from an online survey indicate that Hypothesis 2 was not supported (Whites and non-Whites show similar levels of colorblindness), while Hypothesis 1 was supported (colorblindness and policy preference are significantly correlated). The study ultimately finds that, as levels of colorblindness increase, support for social policy that would benefit racial and ethnic minorities decreases, suggesting that racial considerations still serve as an influence in social policy despite how subtle they may seem

The Mediating Role of Gun Attitudes in the Association Between DSM-5 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Clusters, and Gun Ownership in Young Hispanic Adults with Exposure to Interpersonal Trauma

Despite growing interest in gun attitudes and gun ownership among United States citizens, the current body of literature is limited and tends to focus on white non-Hispanic individuals. The present study examined the effect of interpersonal trauma-related PTSD symptoms on gun attitudes and protective gun ownership. The associations between experiencing PTSD symptoms, gun attitudes, and protective gun ownership were examined in a sample of 176 young Hispanic adults (n = 127 women, n = 49 men) with exposure to interpersonal trauma. Specifically, the mediating role of positive attitudes towards guns in the associations between the four clusters of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms and protective gun ownership were examined in five simple mediations conducted among women. Results revealed that the indirect of PTSS related to interpersonal trauma and gun attitudes did not lead to an increased likelihood of protective gun ownership among Hispanic women. Further research should examine the differences in gun ownership by gun type, as well as examine how gender identity and culture may affect emotional and cognitive reactions to trauma among Hispanics. Future studies should assess participant suicidality as trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and gun ownership all individually increase the risk of death by suicide, and together could substantially increase present risk

An investigation of reaction parameters for carbon dioxide utilisation

Carbon dioxide emissions per year have risen exponentially. It is widely known the contribution of CO2 to global warming phenomena, so storage/utilisation of carbon dioxide has become a topical issue and an emerging research area. Despite the fact that utilization of CO2 waste would not solve the problem of the huge quantities going to the atmosphere every year as only less than 1% of it could be reused for the industry, recycled carbon dioxide presents itself as a possible cheap and accessible chemical feedstock. The challenge on recycling CO2 is to minimize energy and cost efficiency of any suitable reaction. On previous investigations the electrochemical synthesis of 5-membered cyclic carbonate from epoxides was accomplished under mild conditions and optimized (1 atm CO2 pressure, 60 mA constant current and 50 °C heating). In order to understand the mechanism of this electrochemical process a deep investigation on the variables of the synthesis of cyclic carbonates was carried out and is presented in this thesis. The variables studied include electrochemical system conditions (application of current through Cu/Mg electrodes, electrodes connected on a closed circuit system with no current, an open circuit system where electrodes were there was no connection between them, and reactions without electrodes), temperature of reaction, solvent screening, catalysts, epoxide substituents, concentration of species and ratio of reactants. As a result of the variables optimization, a new, cheap, simple and relatively fast method (5 to 24 hours of reaction time) for cyclic carboxylation of epoxides with CO2 at atmospheric pressure in acetonitrile in the presence of ammonium salt (TBAI) at mild temperatures (50 - 75 °C) has been developed and improved. The concentration of the reactants, especially of the epoxide, was found to be the most important factor on the success of the reaction. The new reaction conditions also allow converting epoxides to carbonates without the help of any cocatalyst or electrochemical system obtaining excellent yields (50-100%) with the important saving on cost and energy of co-catalyst synthesis and recovery. Chlorostyrene oxide (1 M) reacted almost completely (94%) after 24 hours with TBAI (1 M), in 1 mL of acetonitrile at 75 °C and 1 atm pressure of CO2. Epoxide carboxylation under neat conditions was feasible, producing 44% of chlorostyrene carbonate from chlorostyrene oxide in the presence of TBAI at 75 °C and 1 atm pressure of CO2

EXPLORING INTERVENTIONS RELATED TO CAREGIVER BURNOUT

The aging population is rapidly growing within the United States and with advanced age comes an increased likelihood for the need of assistance in completing various activities of daily living. The caregiving literature has thoroughly documented causes and manifestations of caregiver burnout, but there is little mention of interventions for this population. This study utilized a cross-sectional survey of current caregivers to identify sociodemographic factors and descriptive characteristics related to how each respondent fulfills caregiver duties. The survey also measured personal affect, as operationalized by the Negative and Positive Affect Scale (NAPAS) and level of burnout, as measured by the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). A one-way between groups ANOVA and independent samples t-test was performed, which revealed no significant relationship between sociodemographic or other risk factors and resulting affect or level of burnout. A correlation analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between affect and level of burnout. Although no significant relationship was found between overall affect and level of burnout, a significant relationship was found between scores on the positive NAPAS subscale and levels of burnout, as well as scores on the negative subscale of the NAPAS and levels of reported burnout. These findings indicate that social workers should continue to explore how positive cognitions can help caregivers achieve resiliency in their role. Limitations and implications for social work policy and practice are also discussed

The role of enrichment in decreasing diversity of mycobacteriophage genome databases

While there is great genetic diversity among phages, a large proportion of mycobacteriopphages fall into only a few clusters. Does the observed distribution of members in clusters actually reflect what is present in nature or does the enrichment procedure cause a skew in diversity? We hypothesize that the enrichment procedure promotes the replication of phages belonging to only a few clusters, thus decreasing the diversity of phages identified from a sample. Using nanopore sequencing to conduct a metagenomics analysis of soil samples, a decrease in the number of clusters present in enriched samples, compared to unenriched samples, was observed. The data supports the hypothesis and demonstrates that enrichment promotes the growth of only a select few clusters and subclusters, making it more likely to isolate phages of these clusters and subclusters. With the growing potential and prevalence of phage applications, it is important to expand our knowledge on their diversity. Conducting studies on phage diversity not only leads to a larger array of phages to use for applications, but also gives us more information on how phages interact with their environment

Haemodialysate: Long neglected, difficult to optimize, may modify hard outcomes

In two recent CKJ reviews, experts (Basile and Lomonte and Locatelli et al.) have reviewed haemodialysate composition. A longneglected issue, observational studies have associated the composition of haemodialysate to adverse outcomes. However, the scarcity of clinical trial-derived information results in limited guideline recommendations on the issue. Indeed, guidelines have more frequently indicated what not to do rather than what to do. In this setting, expert opinion becomes invaluable. In designing haemodialysate composition, a balance should be struck between the need to correct within a time frame of around 4 hours the electrolyte and water imbalances that take 48 to 72 h to build, with the need for gradual correction of these imbalances. The issue is complicated further by the impact of individual variability in dietary habits, medications and comorbidities. In this regard, a personalized medicine approach to individualization of haemodialysate composition offers the best chance of improving patient outcomes. But how can haemodialysate individualization be achieved, and what clinical trial design will best test the impact of such approaches on patient outcomes?Grant support: ISCIII and FEDER funds PI13/00047, Sociedad Española de Nefrologia, ISCIII-RETIC REDinREN/RD012/0021, Comunidad de Madrid CIFRA S2010/BMD-2378. Salary support: Programa Intensificación Actividad Investigadora (ISCIII/Agencia Laín-Entralgo/CM) to A.O

Cytomegalovirus drug resistance mutations in transplant recipients with suspected resistance

Resistant CMV infections are challenging complications after SOT and HSCT. Prompt recognition of ARMs is imperative for appropriate therapy. 108 plasma samples from 96 CMV + transplant recipients with suspected resistance were analysed in CNM in a retrospective nationwide study from January 2018 to July 2022 for resistance genotyping. ARMs in UL97 and UL54 were found in 26.87% (18/67) and 10.60% (7/66) of patients, respectively. Patients' ARM distribution in UL97 was as follows: L595S n = 3; L595S/M460I n = 1; L595S/N510S n = 1; L595W n = 1; C603W n = 4; A594V n = 3; A594E n = 1; C607Y n = 1; L397R/T409M/H411L/M460I n = 1; L397I n = 1; H520Q n = 1; four patients showed ARMs in UL54 as well (F412C n = 1; T503I n = 2; P522S n = 1), whereas three patients exhibited ARMs in UL54 only (L501I/T503I/L516R/A834P n = 1; A987G n = 2). L516R in UL54 and L397R/I and H411L in UL97 have been found for the first time in a clinical sample. L595S/W was the most prevalent ARM found to lend resistance to GCV. In UL54 all ARMs lent resistance to GCV and CDV. In addition, A834P, found in one patient, also lent resistance to FOS. CMV load did not differ significantly in patients with or without ARMs, and no differences were found either between patients with ARMs in UL97 or in UL97 and UL54. Despite extensive use of classical antivirals for the treatment of CMV infection after HSCT and SOT, ARMs occurred mainly in viral UL97 kinase, which suggests that CDV and mostly FOS continue to be useful alternatives to nucleoside analogues after genotypic detection of ARMs.This work was supported by a grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III. AESI2021 PCIII00011-MPY434/2021. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature.S

Modélisation et commande robuste des systèmes biologiques : exemple de la production d’acide lactique en fermenteur industriel

This PhD thesis focuses on the optimization of the bioprocess of lactic acid production from wheat flour. Indeed, lactic acid has received much attention for the production of PLA (Poly Lactic Acid), a biopolymer, since different inexpensive raw material such as wheat flour are now used as carbon source for its production. This work was performed in three main steps. In the first step, an innovative wheat transformation process is proposed, whose main steps are the following: a liquefaction followed by a simultaneous saccharification, proteins hydrolysis (SSPH) and and a final simultaneous saccharification, proteins hydrolysis and fermentation (SSPHF). Secondly, the modeling of the SSPHF (limiting step) in a continuous bioreactor is considered. The determination and validation of model parameters is performed by means of experimental campaigns in a 5 L bioreactor.In the last step, the development of control strategies to maintain the process at its optimal operating point is considered. To do so, due to the absence of sensors for real-time measurement of the concentrations of key variables of the bioreactor, estimators of these concentrations and of the lactic acid production rate are first developed. Then, control strategies for regulating the lactic acid concentration at its optimal value are designed and compared in simulation. An adaptive control combining a state feedback linearizing control and an estimator of the lactic acid production rate is finally chosen to be experimentally validated on an instrumented reactor. This strategy showed good robustness features with respect to modeling mismatches and was able during experiments to increase twice the lactic acid productivity.Cette thèse de doctorat porte sur l’optimisation du bioprocédé de production d’acide lactique à partir de la farine de blé. L'acide lactique s’avère en effet de plus en plus attractif pour la production de PLA (acide poly lactique), un bio polymère, d’autant plus que différentes matières premières peu coûteuses comme la farine de blé sont désormais utilisées comme sources de carbone pour sa production. Cette thèse comprend trois parties principales. Une première partie propose pour l’optimisation du procédé de transformation du blé un schéma innovant composé de trois étapes successives : une liquéfaction, suivi d’une étape de saccharification et hydrolyse des protéines simultanées (SSPH) et une étape finale de saccharification, hydrolyse des protéines et fermentation simultanées (SSPHF). La deuxième partie s’intéresse à la modélisation de l’étape SSPHF (étape limitante) dans un bioréacteur continu. La détermination des paramètres du modèle ainsi que leur validation sont réalisées à l’aide de campagnes d’essais sur un bioréacteur de 5 L.Enfin, la dernière partie développe la mise en oeuvre de stratégies de commande permettant de maintenir le bioprocédé à son point optimal de fonctionnement. Pour ce faire, du fait de l’absence de capteurs pour la mesure en temps réel des concentrations des variables clé dans le bioréacteur, des estimateurs de ces concentrations ainsi que du taux de production en acide lactique sont tout d’abord élaborés. Des stratégies de commande régulant la concentration d’acide lactique à sa valeur optimale sont ensuite synthétisées et comparées en simulation. Une commande adaptative combinant une commande linéarisante par retour d’état et un estimateur du taux de production en acide lactique est finalement retenue et validée expérimentalement sur un réacteur instrumenté. Cette dernière s’est avérée robuste vis-à-vis des erreurs de modélisation et a permis lors des expériences de doubler la productivité de l’acide lactique

Evolution of Bivalvia: Multi-level phylogenetic and phylogenomic reconstructions within Bivalvia (Mollusca) with emphasis on resolving familial relationships within Archiheterodonta (Bivalvia: Heterodonta).

With an estimated 8,000-20,000 species, bivalves represent the second largest living class of molluscs (Bieler et al. 2013). Revived interest in molluscan phylogeny has resulted in a torrent of molecular sequence data from phylogenetic, mitogenomic, and phylogenomic studies. Despite recent progress, basal relationships of the class Bivalvia remain contentious, owing to conflicting hypotheses often between morphology and molecules