Cultural Capital: Challenges to New York State’s Competitive Advantages in the Arts and Entertainment Industry

This is a report on the findings of the Cornell University ILR planning process conducted with support of a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to investigate trends in the arts and entertainment industry in New York State and assess industry stakeholders’ needs and demand for industry studies and applied research. Building on a track record of research and technical assistance to arts and entertainment organizations, Cornell ILR moved toward a long-term goal of establishing an arts and entertainment research center by forging alliances with faculty from other schools and departments in the university and by establishing an advisory committee of key players in the industry. The outcome of this planning process is a research agenda designed to serve the priority needs and interests of the arts and entertainment industry in New York State

Going it Alone: The Social and Emotional Life of Disconnected Youth

This study presents patterns across multiple dimensions of social isolation among a sample of military youth, and describes how these patterns are related to preceding risk factors and distal outcomes. The presentation will be of interest to professionals interested in strategies for fostering positive outcomes by developing and enhancing family and community support for at-risk youth populations

"They go for gender first"

There have been many recent media reports about the online harassment of women journalists working in technology, particularly the video gaming industry. However, little research has focused on this aspect, by looking at specific occupations, or analysing the implications for women and society. This paper is a feminist study of the experiences of sexist abuse of a sample of women journalists writing about technology. It is a commentary on the results of a questionnaire-based study of 102 women (and their approximately 300 comments) that work in what has emerged as one of the frontlines of the struggle for gender equality. The research looks at the extent of the abuse, the harm it causes and how women are reacting to it. Most of the participants have experienced abuse, many have changed their working practices and some have disguised their identity to avoid it. An examination of their comments suggests that sexist abuse is now often normalised, alongside a new kind of "invisible" feminism. It also reveals a mood of defiance and an appetite for radical change to address the problems of exclusion and loss of identity. Overall, results indicate that the abuse is damaging women’s lives and impacting journalism and society in a negative way

TREM-2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2) is a phagocytic receptor for bacteria

Phagocytosis, which is essential for the immune response to pathogens, is initiated by specific interactions between pathogens and cell surface receptors expressed by phagocytes. This study identifies triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM-2) and its signaling counterpart DAP12 as a molecular complex that promotes phagocytosis of bacteria. Expression of TREM-2–DAP12 enables nonphagocytic Chinese hamster ovary cells to internalize bacteria. This function depends on actin cytoskeleton dynamics and the activity of the small guanosine triphosphatases Rac and Cdc42. Internalization also requires src kinase activity and tyrosine phosphorylation. In bone marrow–derived macrophages, phagocytosis is decreased in the absence of DAP12 and can be restored by expression of TREM-2–DAP12. Depletion of TREM-2 inhibits both binding and uptake of bacteria. Finally, TREM-2–dependent phagocytosis is impaired in Syk-deficient macrophages. This study highlights a novel role for TREM-2–DAP12 in the immune response to bacterial pathogens

Human cytomegalovirus elicits fetal γδ T cell responses in utero

The fetus and infant are highly susceptible to viral infections. Several viruses, including human cytomegalovirus (CMV), cause more severe disease in early life compared with later life. It is generally accepted that this is a result of the immaturity of the immune system. γδ T cells are unconventional T cells that can react rapidly upon activation and show major histocompatibility complex–unrestricted activity. We show that upon CMV infection in utero, fetal γδ T cells expand and become differentiated. The expansion was restricted to Vγ9-negative γδ T cells, irrespective of their Vδ chain expression. Differentiated γδ T cells expressed high levels of IFN-γ, transcription factors T-bet and eomes, natural killer receptors, and cytotoxic mediators. CMV infection induced a striking enrichment of a public Vγ8Vδ1-TCR, containing the germline-encoded complementary-determining-region-3 (CDR3) δ1–CALGELGDDKLIF/CDR3γ8–CATWDTTGWFKIF. Public Vγ8Vδ1-TCR–expressing cell clones produced IFN-γ upon coincubation with CMV-infected target cells in a TCR/CD3-dependent manner and showed antiviral activity. Differentiated γδ T cells and public Vγ8Vδ1-TCR were detected as early as after 21 wk of gestation. Our results indicate that functional fetal γδ T cell responses can be generated during development in utero and suggest that this T cell subset could participate in antiviral defense in early life

PET Imaging of Individual Differences in Regional Mu-Opioid Activation in Motivational Brain Circuitry.

Humans show wide variation in susceptibility to diseases of chronic pain and addiction. A common underlying neurochemical circuitry of these diseases is the motivational circuitry of the brain, which comprises the basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex, and limbic structures. Understanding how individual differences such as genotype and sex affect this system in both healthy and addicted populations will advance our understanding of its basic mechanisms, how it becomes dysregulated, and what makes certain people susceptible to disease states. We conducted a series of studies using positron emission tomography (PET) that allowed us to examine individual differences in the neurochemical functioning of the motivational circuitry of the brain, using two experimental models to engage the system: placebo analgesia in healthy subjects and cigarette smoking in heavy smokers. In the first study, we examined sex differences in µ-opioid receptor related neurotransmission during placebo analgesia by measuring non-displaceable binding potential (BPND) with the radiotracer [11C] carfentanil. We found significant sex differences in regional changes in BPND across conditions of pain and pain with placebo administration, as well as across conditions of pain anticipation and pain with placebo anticipation. The regional differences were in structures throughout the overlapping pain-modulatory and motivational circuitry. In a second experiment using the same subjects and experimental design, the prior analyses were expanded to include an examination of the effect of the A118G polymorphism in the µ-opioid receptor on placebo analgesia and sex differences. There was a significant interaction between sex and genotype in regional changes in µ-opioid receptor BPND across conditions of pain/placebo and anticipation of pain/placebo. The third experiment measured significant changes in µ-opioid receptor and dopamine D2/D3 BPND in response to cigarette smoking in heavy smokers, and these regional changes were also associated with A118G genotype. These results indicate that motivational system function is affected by individual differences in genotype and sex, and that these factors could underlie susceptibility to disease states within the motivational system. Additionally, the results point to the fact that individual variation should be taken into account when designing studies of the motivational system to gain a more accurate picture of its function.Ph.D.NeuroscienceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77717/1/catevans_1.pd

Broadway's economic contribution to New York City, 2018-2019

This report estimates the considerable economic contribution that Broadway made to New York City in the 2018–2019 season. Together with previous seasonal reports, it monitors trends and the analysis reflects the dynamism of one of New York’s most vital and irrepressible sectors, and the vast impact of that sector on the financial lifeblood of the city

Formulation d’un mortier à porosité contrôlée pour le piégeage de tritium

National audienc