Talking about Bordering

In the summer of 2019 as the UK was in the midst of heated Brexit debates and Theresa May’s minority government clung on to power, Professor Louise Ryan interviewed Professor Nira Yuval-Davis about her recent book Bordering (Yuval-Davis, Wemyss and Cassidy 2019). Although things have changed in some significant ways since that interview, for example Boris Johnson has now replaced Theresa May as Prime Minister, and won a landslide election victory in December, 2019, and the controversial Brexit Bill was passed by the British Parliament, many of the issues about borders and bordering remain extremely relevant today. The current pandemic has not only revealed Britain’s dependence on migrant workers, especially in health and social care, but also exposed health inequalities among migrants and ethnic minorities. As the post-Brexit immigration landscape begins to emerge, the analysis of Nira Yuval Davis remains as pertinent as ever

Cooperative catalysis by silica-supported organic functional groups

Hybrid inorganic–organic materials comprising organic functional groups tethered from silica surfaces are versatile, heterogeneous catalysts. Recent advances have led to the preparation of silica materials containing multiple, different functional groups that can show cooperative catalysis; that is, these functional groups can act together to provide catalytic activity and selectivity superior to what can be obtained from either monofunctional materials or homogeneous catalysts. This tutorial review discusses cooperative catalysis of silica-based catalytic materials, focusing on the cooperative action of acid–base, acid–thiol, amine–urea, and imidazole–alcohol–carboxylate groups. Particular attention is given to the effect of the spatial arrangement of these organic groups and recent developments in the spatial organization of multiple groups on the silica surface

Patterning of Paternal Investment in Response to Socioecological Change

Human paternal investment, and that of many other species, is facultatively expressed and dependent on a diverse array of individual, social, and ecological conditions. Well-documented are the various ways in which men invest in offspring and the household. Specifically, local ecology structures pay-offs to male investment and has been shown to be an important predictor of the sexual division of labor. However, while variability in paternal investment has been well-characterized cross-culturally, plasticity within a group in response to changing socioecological conditions remains largely unstudied. To address this, we use recent economic development and market access to explore how changes in socioecology alter behavioral options for men and their resultant investment decisions. Among the monogamous Maya, we find that, associated with the introduction of novel subsistence opportunities and incentives for intensified paternal investment, fathers spend more time in the household, more time in domestic activities and more time interacting with their children. The changes in paternal investment documented here are largely contingent on four conditions: increased efficiency in subsistence brought about by mechanized farming, limited opportunities to engage in wage labor, increased opportunities to invest in offspring quality, and a monogamous mating system. Thus, Maya fathers appear to repurpose found time by furthering investment in their families

Depression in Parkinson\u27s disease: Perspectives from an Australian cohort

Introduction: Depression is often an under-recognised feature of Parkinson\u27s disease (PD). It is detrimental to physical and interpersonal functioning, negatively impacting a patient\u27s clinical management, quality of life and well-being. We aimed to identify clinical predictors and management implications of depression in Australian PD patients. Methods: 103 PD and 81 Healthy Control (HC) subjects were evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and other validated PD motor and non-motor symptom (NMS) tools. Results: Nearly twice as many PD patients were depressed, (38.9% vs 20.1%, p = 0.009), with a corresponding increase in depression severity on the BDI (11.9; standard deviation (SD) 8.8 vs 5.2; SD 5.5, p\u3c0.001), and an odds ratio of 2.4 (95% confidence interval 1.2 - 4.7). Employment appeared to be a relative protective factor for depression, whilst patients requiring support services seemed to be more vulnerable to depression. Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behaviour Disorder, dyskinesias, impulse control disorder, higher daily levodopa equivalent dose, increased motor severity, as well as catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor and amantadine use, all showed associations with depression (p\u3c0.05). Chronic pain, decreased physical activity, constipation and upper gastrointestinal dysfunction presented with an apparent increase in risk for developing depression and increased depression severity. Other NMS were also found to be associated with PD-related depression. Limitations: Potential selection bias of self-reporting data collection from specialist PD clinics in a single metropolitan area. Conclusion: Our findings provide novel insight into the prevalence of depression in PD, possible contributory factors and future treatment strategies targeting depression in PD

Gastrointestinal dysfunction in Parkinson\u27s disease

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction is prevalent in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Symptoms are evident throughout the disease course, affect the length of the GI tract and impact on patient quality of life and management. We clarify real-life differences in the frequency and severity of GI symptoms in a cohort of PD and healthy control (HC) subjects. Methods: 103 PD patients were compared to 81 HC subjects. Outcome measures collected from validated questionnaires included constipation severity, upper and lower GI symptoms and physical activity. Results: PD patients were three-times more likely to experience constipation than HC subjects, (78.6% vs 28.4%), exhibited a fourfold increase in constipation severity and formed harder stools. PD patients also reported increased symptoms of indigestion, nausea, excessive fullness and bloating, compared to the HCs. A higher mean Leeds Dyspepsia Questionnaire score for PD patients (8.3 (standard deviation (SD) 7.7) vs 4.6 (SD 6.1), p=0.001)) indicated increased symptom severity. Chronic pain was more frequently reported and correlated with constipation and upper GI dysfunction, being more prevalent and severe in women. Physical activity was notably decreased in the PD cohort (1823.6 (±1693.6) vs 2942.4 (±2620.9) metabolic equivalent-minutes/week, p=0.001) and correlated with constipation severity. PD therapies were associated with increased fullness and bloating and harder stools. Conclusions: PD patients report more prevalent and severe GI dysfunction, although our cohort comprised of many later stage participants. Earlier recognition of GI dysfunction in PD provides the opportunity to direct treatment for chronic pain and constipation, promote physical activity and rationalise PD therapies for optimal patient care

Comparison of Four Commercially Available Group B Streptococcus Molecular Assays Using Remnant Rectal-Vaginal Enrichment Broths

The incidence of neonatal Group B streptococcal (GBS) disease has significantly declined since the widespread implementation of prenatal screening of expectant mothers for urogenital and gastrointestinal tract GBS colonization. Screening methods have evolved from exclusively culture-based approaches to more rapid and highly sensitive molecular methods. We chose to evaluate the performance of four commercially available GBS molecular tests for detection of GBS colonization using 299 antepartum rectal-vaginal specimens submitted to our laboratory for routine GBS screening. In 97% of instances, there was agreement between all three systems. When testing 1, 6, and 12 samples simultaneously, all methods performed comparably, but the ARIES® GBS assay required the least total hands-on time and the illumigene® Group B Streptococcus assay required the most hands-on time

Mitigation of EMU Cut Glove Hazard from Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Impacts on ISS Handrails

Recent cut damages sustained on crewmember gloves during extravehicular activity (ISS) onboard the International Space Station (ISS) have been caused by contact with sharp edges or a pinch point according to analysis of the damages. One potential source are protruding sharp edged crater lips from micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) impacts on metallic handrails along EVA translation paths. A number of hypervelocity impact tests were performed on ISS handrails, and found that mm-sized projectiles were capable of inducing crater lip heights two orders of magnitude above the minimum value for glove abrasion concerns. Two techniques were evaluated for mitigating the cut glove hazard of MMOD impacts on ISS handrails: flexible overwraps which act to limit contact between crewmember gloves and impact sites, and; alternate materials which form less hazardous impact crater profiles. In parallel with redesign efforts to increase the cut resilience of EMU gloves, the modifications to ISS handrails evaluated in this study provide the means to significantly reduce cut glove risk from MMOD impact crater

Dual-Balance Electrodynamic Trap as a Microanalytical Tool for Identifying Gel Transitions and Viscous Properties of Levitated Aerosol Particles

The formation of gelatinous networks within an aerosol particle significantly alters the physicochemical properties of the aerosol material. Existing techniques for studying gel transitions rely on bulk rheometry, which is limited by contact with the sample, or microrheological techniques such as holographic optical tweezers, which rely on expensive equipment and high-powered lasers that can degrade light-absorbing aerosol. Here, we present a new technique to probe the microrheological characteristics of aerosol particles and explore gel formation under atmospheric conditions in a contactless environment without the need for high-power light sources. In a dual-balance quadrupole electrodynamic balance, levitated droplets of opposite polarity are trapped and equilibrated at fixed relative humidity (RH) and then subsequently merged, and the physical characteristics of the merged droplets are monitored as a function of time and RH using imaging techniques. By comparing the RH-dependent characteristics of MgSO4 (known to undergo a gel transition) to glucose and sucrose (known to remain as viscous Newtonian fluids) under fixed equilibration time scales, we demonstrate that gel phase transitions can be identified in aerosol particles, with MgSO4 abruptly transitioning to a rigid microgel at 30% RH. Further, we demonstrate this technique can be used to also measure aerosol viscosity and identify non-Newtonian fluid dynamics in model sea spray aerosol composed of NaCl, CaCl2, and sorbitol. Thus, using this experimental technique, it is possible to distinguish between aerosol compositions that form viscous Newtonian fluids and those that undergo a gel transition or form non-Newtonian fluids. This technique offers a simple and cost-effective analytical tool for probing gel transitions outside of bulk solubility limits, with relevant applications ranging from atmospheric science to microengineering of soft matter materials

Natural hybridization between divergent lineages in a selfing hermaphroditic fish.

By definition, mating between individuals is infrequent in highly selfing organisms, and so too, therefore, hybridization should be rare between genetically divergent lineages in predominantly self-fertilizing species. Notwithstanding these expectations, here we report a remarkable case of natural hybridization between highly diverged phylogeographic lineages of the mangrove rivulus, a small killifish that reproduces predominantly by self-fertilization and typically is found as highly homozygous lines in most parts of its extensive geographical range. Two distinctive genetic lineages (Kryptolebias marmoratus and a 'Central clade' closely related to K. hermaphroditus) previously were not known in sympatry, but were found by us to co-occur on San Salvador, Bahamas. Genetic analyses of a mitochondrial and multiple nuclear markers determined the direction of a cross producing a hybrid fish. Furthermore, we show that this hybrid individual was viable, as it successfully reproduced by self-fertilization for two generations. Additional sampling of this population will be necessary to determine if backcrossing of hybrids to the parental lineages occurs in nature and to analyse whether such backcross progeny are viable. Application of the biological species concept (BSC) is traditionally difficult in clonally reproducing organisms. Our results show that although mangrove rivulus fish are mostly highly selfing in nature (resulting in isogenic, effectively clonal and homozygous progeny), classification within this taxonomic complex need not be incompatible with the BSC