The blocks of the partition algebra in positive characteristic

In this paper we describe the blocks of the partition algebra over a field of positive characteristic

Molecular mechanism of influenza A NS1-mediated TRIM25 recognition and inhibition

RIG-I is a viral RNA sensor that induces the production of type I interferon (IFN) in response to infection with a variety of viruses. Modification of RIG-I with K63-linked poly-ubiquitin chains, synthesised by TRIM25, is crucial for activation of the RIG-I/MAVS signalling pathway. TRIM25 activity is targeted by influenza A virus non-structural protein 1 (NS1) to suppress IFN production and prevent an efficient host immune response. Here we present structures of the human TRIM25 coiled-coil-PRYSPRY module and of complexes between the TRIM25 coiled-coil domain and NS1. These structures show that binding of NS1 interferes with the correct positioning of the PRYSPRY domain of TRIM25 required for substrate ubiquitination and provide a mechanistic explanation for how NS1 suppresses RIG-I ubiquitination and hence downstream signalling. In contrast, the formation of unanchored K63-linked poly-ubiquitin chains is unchanged by NS1 binding, indicating that RING dimerisation of TRIM25 is not affected by NS1

Decoupling heavy sparticles in Effective SUSY scenarios: Unification, Higgs masses and tachyon bounds

Using two-loop renormalization group equations implementing the decoupling of heavy scalars, Effective SUSY scenarios are studied in the limit in which there is a single low energy Higgs field. Gauge coupling unification is shown to hold with similar or better precision than in standard MSSM scenarios. b-tau unification is examined, and Higgs masses are computed using the effective potential, including two-loop contributions from scalars. A 125 GeV Higgs is compatible with stops/sbottoms at around 300 GeV with non-universal boundary conditions at the scale of the heavy sparticles if some of the trilinear couplings at this scale take values of the order of 1-2 TeV; if more constrained boundary conditions inspired by msugra or gauge mediation are set at a higher scale, heavier colored sparticles are required in general. Finally, since the decoupled RG flow for third-generation scalar masses departs very significantly from the MSSM DR-bar one, tachyon bounds for light scalars are revisited and shown to be relaxed by up to a TeV or more.Comment: 35 pages, 17 figures. v2: Updated some scans, allowing for changes in sign of some parameters, minor improvements. v3: Typos corrected in formulae in the appendices, added some clarifying remarks about flavor mixing being ignore

Engaging fathers and grandmothers to improve maternal and child dietary practices: Planning a community-based study in western Kenya

Fathers and grandmothers are key family influencers who have an impact on maternal and child health. This paper describes the planning, design, and implementation of a four-phased evaluation study on the impact of engaging fathers or grandmothers in improving diets of mothers and feeding practices of infants and young children in a rural setting in western Kenya. The study used a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent comparison group design with pre- and post-test observations. It tested the hypothesis that families participating in activities to engage fathers or grandmothers have better knowledge and adopt better practices related to maternal nutrition and complementary feeding than families for which nutrition messages are targeted only to mothers. Information generated from previous formative research was used to design culturally relevant interventions for fathers and grandmothers. Interventions included separate but parallel peer education dialogue groups with fathers and grandmothers. They were held twice a month, and family bazaars and special fathers’ days at local clinics were held once per month. The study team selected the dialogue-based group methodology, including promotion of social support actions, because it engages participants to actively discuss new information and experiences providing social support rather than passively receive information. Community health extension workers and Ministry of Health nutritionists provided supportive supervision and monitoring of the dialogue group activities. Father and grandmother interventions were implemented in two separate sub-locations of Kenya’s former Western Province, and the program effects were compared to findings in a population with a similar socioeconomic background living in a similar sub-location in the same province. An examination of the study implementation methodology provides useful insights into practical issues that need to be addressed in programs seeking to engage key household influencers of maternal nutrition and infant and young child feeding behaviours. Results showed that the dialogue group methodology, formative research to inform intervention design, use of the existing Ministry of Health community health unit structure to provide critical support supervision, and actions that motivated peer mentors were key factors for successful implementation of the study intervention.Keywords: Maternal nutrition, infant feeding, complementary feeding, grandmother, father, design, formative researc

Developing an open data portal for the ESA climate change initiative

We introduce the rationale for, and architecture of, the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (CCI) Open Data Portal (http://cci.esa.int/data/). The Open Data Portal hosts a set of richly diverse datasets – 13 “Essential Climate Variables” – from the CCI programme in a consistent and harmonised form and to provides a single point of access for the (>100 TB) data for broad dissemination to an international user community. These data have been produced by a range of different institutions and vary across both scientific and spatio-temporal characteristics. This heterogeneity of the data together with the range of services to be supported presented significant technical challenges. An iterative development methodology was key to tackling these challenges: the system developed exploits a workflow which takes data that conforms to the CCI data specification, ingests it into a managed archive and uses both manual and automatically generated metadata to support data discovery, browse, and delivery services. It utilises both Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) data nodes and the Open Geospatial Consortium Catalogue Service for the Web (OGC-CSW) interface, serving data into both the ESGF and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). A key part of the system is a new vocabulary server, populated with CCI specific terms and relationships which integrates OGC-CSW and ESGF search services together, developed as part of a dialogue between domain scientists and linked data specialists. These services have enabled the development of a unified user interface for graphical search and visualisation – the CCI Open Data Portal Web Presence

Achieving highly efficient gene transfer to the bladder by increasing the molecular weight of polymer-based nanoparticles

Short dwell-time and poor penetration of the bladder permeability barrier (BPB) are the main obstacles to intravesical treatments for bladder diseases, and is evidenced by the lack of such therapeutic options on the market. Herein, we demonstrate that by finely tuning the molecular weight of our cationic polymer mucoadhesive nanoparticles, we enhanced our gene transfer, leading to improved adherence and penetrance through the BPB in a safe and efficient manner. Specifically, increasing the polymer molecular weight from 45 kDa to 83 kDa enhanced luciferase plasmid transfer to the healthy murine bladder, leading to 1.35 ng/g luciferase protein expression in the urothelium and lamina propria regions. The relatively higher molecular weight polymer (83 kDa) did not induce morphologic changes or inflammatory responses in the bladder. This approach of altering polymer molecular weight for prolonging gene transfer residence time and deeper penetration through the BPB could be the basis for the design of future gene therapies for bladder diseases

Down-regulation of GP130 signaling sensitizes bladder cancer to cisplatin by impairing Ku70 DNA repair signaling and promoting apoptosis

Chemoresistance is one of the barriers for the development of bladder cancer treatments. Previously, we showed that glycoprotein-130 (GP130) is overexpressed in chemoresistant bladder cancer cells and that knocking down GP130 expression reduced cell viability. In our current work, we showed that down-regulation of GP130 sensitized bladder cancer cells to cisplatin-based chemotherapy by activating DNA repair signaling. We performed immunohistochemistry and demonstrated a positive correlation between the levels of Ku70, an initiator of canonical non-homologous end joining repair (c-NHEJ) and suppressor of apoptosis, and GP130 in human bladder cancer specimens. GP130 knockdown by SC144, a small molecule inhibitor, in combination with cisplatin, increased the number of DNA lesions, specifically DNA double-stranded breaks, with a subsequent increase in apoptosis and reduced cell viability. Furthermore, GP130 inhibition attenuated Ku70 expression in bladder and breast cancer cells as well as in transformed kidney cells. In addition, we fabricated a novel polymer-lipid hybrid delivery system to facilitate GP130 siRNA delivery that had a similar efficiency when compared with Lipofectamine, but induced less toxicity

Non-muslim consumers attitude and repurchase behaviour towards halal food: an application of buyer behaviour model

Halal food is widely recognised for its exceptional quality assurance and wholesomeness which attracts both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers. Previous studies have shed some light on the Muslim consumer attitude-behaviour interactions with halal products. However, studies of similar topic focusing on non-Muslim consumers as respondents are uncommon. Therefore, this study aims to examine the determinants of non-Muslim attitude and their repurchase intention on halal food product using the Buyer Behaviour Model. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire survey involving 444 non-Muslim consumers. The structural equation analyses revealed that lifestyle, consumers past purchase experience, and religion adoption positively influenced the non-Muslim consumers’ attitude towards halal products. The findings also revealed a significant relationship between the attitude of non-Muslim consumer towards halal product and their repurchase intention of the halal product. Finally, several recommendations for future research consideration are presented in the final part of this paper