Project Lotus: A really cool community-based initiative assisting women post-homelessness

In Canada, recent conservative estimates report upwards of 235,000 individuals are homeless on a given night. Of those experiencing precarious housing situations, women make up approximately 30% and are among the most vulnerable. Their residential insecurity has been further exacerbated with the community and social restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing resources that assist women experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity are often stretched to the limit dealing with emergency and crisis housing situations, with less focus on post-shelter supports. To address this issue, a community-based participatory research initiative ‘Project Lotus - Hope Together’ was established in Montreal. Grounded in the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health Framework, the overarching goal of this research is to co-design a housing supports program for women leaving a shelter stay. We created a cross-sectorial Advisory Committee consisting of women with lived experiences of homelessness, service providers, community leaders, and researchers. To date, we have conducted preliminary research (literature review, interviews with women with lived experience of homelessness, stakeholder meetings) to identity what has assisted women through this transition, and what barriers exist. We have also held virtual community consultation meetings to discuss preliminary findings of recommendations of key components that should be in a post-shelter support program for women. This presentation outlines the current findings and highlights the importance of participatory research. Implementing whole person care in the area of women’s homelessness requires both a comprehensive and individualized approach to help women and children secure home, health, and a sustainable future

Integrated genomics and proteomics define huntingtin CAG length-dependent networks in mice.

To gain insight into how mutant huntingtin (mHtt) CAG repeat length modifies Huntington's disease (HD) pathogenesis, we profiled mRNA in over 600 brain and peripheral tissue samples from HD knock-in mice with increasing CAG repeat lengths. We found repeat length-dependent transcriptional signatures to be prominent in the striatum, less so in cortex, and minimal in the liver. Coexpression network analyses revealed 13 striatal and 5 cortical modules that correlated highly with CAG length and age, and that were preserved in HD models and sometimes in patients. Top striatal modules implicated mHtt CAG length and age in graded impairment in the expression of identity genes for striatal medium spiny neurons and in dysregulation of cyclic AMP signaling, cell death and protocadherin genes. We used proteomics to confirm 790 genes and 5 striatal modules with CAG length-dependent dysregulation at the protein level, and validated 22 striatal module genes as modifiers of mHtt toxicities in vivo

The impact of the Fungus-Host-Microbiota interplay upon Candida albicans infections : current knowledge and new perspectives

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We thank our friends and colleagues in the medical mycology, fungal immunology and microbiota fields for many thought-provoking discussions. FUNDING: We received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie action, Innovative Training Network: FunHoMic; grant N° 812969. CdE received funding from the French Government ‘Investissement d’Avenir’ program (Laboratoire d’Excellence Integrative Biology of Emerging Infectious Diseases, ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ERA-Net Infect-ERA, FUNCOMPATH, ANR-14-IFEC-0004), the EU Horizon2020 consortium “Host-Directed Medicine in invasive FUNgal infections” - HDM-FUN (Grant Agreement 847507). SLL and CdE received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (Sinergia program, #CRSII5_173863). BIOASTER received funding from the French Government ‘Investissement d’Avenir’ program (Grant No. ANR-10-AIRT-03). MSG was supported by a Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers by the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Emmy Noether Program (project no. 434385622 / GR 5617/1-1). BH was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) project Hu 532/20-1, project C1 within the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC)/Transregio 124 FungiNet and the Balance of the Microverse Cluster under Germany´s Excellence Strategy – EXC 2051 – Project-ID 390713860, the EU Horizon2020 consortium “Host-Directed Medicine in invasive FUNgal infections” - HDM-FUN (Grant Agreement 847507), the Leibniz Association Campus InfectoOptics SAS-2015-HKI-LWC and the Wellcome Trust (215599/Z/19/Z). IDJ was supported by the Deutsche orschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) project C5 within the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC)/Transregio 124 FungiNet and the Balance of the Microverse Cluster under Germany´s Excellence Strategy – EXC 2051 – Project-ID 390713860, the Leibniz Association Campus InfectoOptics SAS-2015-HKI-LWC and the Wellcome Trust (Grant 215599/Z/19/Z). CM received funding from the the Instituto de Salud Carlos III/FEDER. MGN was supported by an ERC Advanced Grant (#833247) and a Spinoza grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. CAM was supported by EU Horizon2020 consortium “Host-Directed Medicine in invasive FUNgal infections” -HDM-FUN (Grant Agreement 847507) and the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology (097377/Z/11/Z). AWW receives core funding support from the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS). AJPB was supported by a programme grant from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/M026663/1) and by the Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter (MR/N006364/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The steel–concrete interface

Although the steel–concrete interface (SCI) is widely recognized to influence the durability of reinforced concrete, a systematic overview and detailed documentation of the various aspects of the SCI are lacking. In this paper, we compiled a comprehensive list of possible local characteristics at the SCI and reviewed available information regarding their properties as well as their occurrence in engineering structures and in the laboratory. Given the complexity of the SCI, we suggested a systematic approach to describe it in terms of local characteristics and their physical and chemical properties. It was found that the SCI exhibits significant spatial inhomogeneity along and around as well as perpendicular to the reinforcing steel. The SCI can differ strongly between different engineering structures and also between different members within a structure; particular differences are expected between structures built before and after the 1970/1980s. A single SCI representing all on-site conditions does not exist. Additionally, SCIs in common laboratory-made specimens exhibit significant differences compared to engineering structures. Thus, results from laboratory studies and from practical experience should be applied to engineering structures with caution. Finally, recommendations for further research are made

Heritable Epigenetic Variation among Maize Inbreds

Epigenetic variation describes heritable differences that are not attributable to changes in DNA sequence. There is the potential for pure epigenetic variation that occurs in the absence of any genetic change or for more complex situations that involve both genetic and epigenetic differences. Methylation of cytosine residues provides one mechanism for the inheritance of epigenetic information. A genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation in two different genotypes of Zea mays (ssp. mays), an organism with a complex genome of interspersed genes and repetitive elements, allowed the identification and characterization of examples of natural epigenetic variation. The distribution of DNA methylation was profiled using immunoprecipitation of methylated DNA followed by hybridization to a high-density tiling microarray. The comparison of the DNA methylation levels in the two genotypes, B73 and Mo17, allowed for the identification of approximately 700 differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Several of these DMRs occur in genomic regions that are apparently identical by descent in B73 and Mo17 suggesting that they may be examples of pure epigenetic variation. The methylation levels of the DMRs were further studied in a panel of near-isogenic lines to evaluate the stable inheritance of the methylation levels and to assess the contribution of cis- and trans- acting information to natural epigenetic variation. The majority of DMRs that occur in genomic regions without genetic variation are controlled by cis-acting differences and exhibit relatively stable inheritance. This study provides evidence for naturally occurring epigenetic variation in maize, including examples of pure epigenetic variation that is not conditioned by genetic differences. The epigenetic differences are variable within maize populations and exhibit relatively stable trans-generational inheritance. The detected examples of epigenetic variation, including some without tightly linked genetic variation, may contribute to complex trait variation

El Padre Adam : periódico de política y costumbres, con caricaturas, láminas de actualidad y otras cosas que verán los que sean hijos de Adam é hijas de nuestra madre Eva: Año I Número 25 - 07 Marzo 1869

Copia digital. Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria : Madrid, 201

Microplastics in Seabird Feces from Coastal Areas of Central Chile

Pollution from plastic waste thrown into the ocean affects all levels of the food chain. Marine species of birds are affected by plastic particles of different sizes, especially the mesoplastics (1 to 10 mm) found in their digestive tract, which mainly cause obstructions. In the case of microplastics (1.000 µm to 1 mm), their presence in the digestive tract of these species has been widely reported. We studied fecal samples of the Dominican gull (Larus dominicanus) (n = 14), Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) (n = 8), and Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) (n = 1) obtained from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of the Biobío region, Chile. Microfibers of various colors were present in the feces of Dominican gulls and Magellanic penguins, corresponding mainly in composition to polypropylene (PP) (83%) and rayon (77%). These results demonstrate that microplastic particles occur in the coastal environments of central Chile and suggest that they are probably circulating in the food chain