Long-term effects of political violence on political trust: Evidence from the case of the Gwangju Massacre in South Korea, 1980

What are the long-term effects of authoritarian repression on political trust in a post-democratization context? Using the Gwangju Massacre in South Korea as a case study, this article finds that indirect and direct experience of state-perpetrated violence of the critical-period cohort - who were aged 17-25 during the incident - can have long-term negative effects on trust levels towards the government. Difference-in-difference analysis of national survey data collected in 2008 and 2012 reveals that experience with violence has long-term negative consequences on government trust. Results are robust even when including significant covariates of institutional theories and cultural theories, such as interpersonal trust, evaluation of government performance, as well as satisfaction with the economy. Drawing from memory studies, this article argues that the effects are due to collective memory formed during the critical period

Rising Anti-China Sentiment Supports South Korea's Alignment with the US

The US–South Korea summit in April 2023 showed South Korea's willingness to further align with the US amid increasing US-China tensions. Statistical analyses show that the increased anti-Chinese sentiment of recent years strongly correlates with public support for alignment with the US. These findings have implications regarding the popularity of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's foreign policy. Polls such as Pew Global Attitudes data published in 2020 show that sentiment towards China has worsened since the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) incident of 2016 and COVID-19’s onset in 2020. Political orientation played a role in explaining varied attitudes towards China after the THAAD crisis; however, this role decreased after COVID-19's onset in early 2020. Analysis of a poll published by Sinophone Borderlands in 2022 shows there is a strong association between negative public attitudes towards China and increased alignment with the US. These trends affect the Yoon administration's foreign policy, which has signalled its further alignment with the US amid rising US-China tensions. In December 2022, South Korea announced a new Indo-Pacific strategy that marks a stronger alignment with the US. The emphasis is on a commitment to a rules-based international order, while not completely excluding China. Given the high levels of anti-Chinese sentiment, it is likely that the Yoon administration will experience increased public support for its foreign policy. As a liberal democracy that is increasingly signalling its desire to play a more active role in supporting a rules-based international order, South Korea offers a lot of room for collaboration with Germany and the EU. With its emphasis on "de-risking" relations with China on the rise, the EU can further benefit from collaboration with South Korea in the areas of trade, security, and technology

Air Pollution Coverage, Anti-Chinese Sentiment, and Attitudes towards Foreign Policy in South Korea

Air pollutants allegedly originating from China have become a thorny issue in South Korea. Despite a neutral view of the topic on the part of the South Korean government, recent public polls show a high correlation between the air pollution issue and negative sentiment toward China. How has the media reported on China regarding air pollutants in South Korea? What is the effect of media reports on air pollution on anti-Chinese sentiment and foreign policy attitudes? By examining news headlines and Twitter data in 2015 and 2018, this work finds that media reports blaming China for air pollution doubled during the 2015–2018 period. Discourse surrounding air pollution also shifted: negative sentiment directed at both the Chinese government and the Chinese people increased in 2018 compared to 2015. In addition, an original online survey experiment shows that China-blaming articles have a causal effect on increasing related resentment, particularly toward Chinese people, and that this effect is moderated by age group. Such articles have also had negative effects on foreign policy attitudes via increased anti-Chinese sentiment; greater hostility toward the Chinese people is found to have a causal effect on reduced support for strengthening relations with their country

West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District Community Needs Assessment: A Mixed Methods Study Identifying COVID-19 Knowledge, Perceptions, and Health Disparities

Background: The West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District (WHBHD) is a regional health department serving the towns of West Hartford and Bloomfield in Connecticut. From February to April of 2020, elderly and Black residents accounted for 59% and 38% of COVID-19 related deaths, respectively. Since the district has not assessed community health needs previously and is interested in becoming accredited, a community needs assessment will serve as the first step in implementing effective and timely interventions to address needs, disparities, and misperceptions about the pandemic. Methods: A comprehensive survey was adapted from existing NIH COVID-19 research instruments. 779 responses were collected on the topics of community health and COVID-19 knowledge, practices and perceptions. Five semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with faith-based organizations and local government leaders to corroborate findings from the survey. Quantitative analyses were performed via SAS and R, and qualitative data was summarized. Results: Demographic distributions significantly differed between West Hartford and Bloomfield in age, income, race, marital status and household size. While there were differences in community health problems, social/environmental problems, and health care barriers, both towns shared individual health problems and perceived certain populations as most underserved. Both towns have adequate COVID-19 knowledge regarding symptoms and transmissions, low perceived risk of infection, and positive attitude towards preventative actions and measures. There were significant differences in COVID-19 testing accessibility between towns (p = 0.002), with nearly double the proportion of West Hartford residents reporting difficulty accessing testing. COVID-19 vaccination status is also different between towns, with both reporting lack of available vaccines as the primary reason preventing or delaying vaccination. Conclusions: The mixed methods approach to conducting this community needs assessment has provided consequential preliminary findings that will be useful in refining the health district’s current and future responses to COVID-19 and other public health issues.https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysph_pbchrr/1055/thumbnail.jp

Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the identification of non-volatile compounds migrating from ´natural´ dishes

Although most new biomaterials for food industry applications are labelled ‘100% natural fabrication’ and ‘chemical-free’, certain compounds may migrate from those materials to the food, compromis- ing the organoleptic characteristics and safety of the product. In this work, the degree of compound migration from dishes made with four different biomaterials: bamboo, palm leaf, wood and wheat pulp was investigated. Migration tests were carried out using three food simulants, 10% ethanol (sim- ulant A), 3% acetic acid (simulant B), and 95% ethanol (simulant D2). Unequivocal identification of non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) is challenging even when using high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques however, a total of 25 different non-volatile compounds from the migration tests were identified and quantified using Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-IMS-MS). In the bamboo samples three oligomers, cyclic diethylene glycol adipate, 3,6,9,16,19,22-hexaoxabicyclo[22.3.1]-octacosa-1(28),24,26- triene-2,10,15,23-tetrone and 1,4,7,14,17,20-hexaoxacyclohexacosane-8,13,21,26-tetrone exceeded the specified limits of migration

CD1 Mouse Retina Is Shielded From Iron Overload Caused by a High Iron Diet

Citation: Bhoiwala DL, Song Y, Cwanger A, et al. CD1 mouse retina is shielded from iron overload caused by a high iron diet. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015;56:5344-5352. DOI:10.1167/iovs.15-17026 PURPOSE. High RPE iron levels have been associated with age-related macular degeneration. Mutation of the ferroxidase ceruloplasmin leads to RPE iron accumulation and degeneration in patients with aceruloplasminemia; mice lacking ceruloplasmin and its homolog hephaestin have a similar RPE degeneration. To determine whether a high iron diet (HID) could cause RPE iron accumulation, possibly contributing to RPE oxidative stress in AMD, we tested the effect of dietary iron on mouse RPE iron. METHODS. Male CD1 strain mice were fed either a standard iron diet (SID) or the same diet with extra iron added (HID) for either 3 months or 10 months. Mice were analyzed with immunofluorescence and Perls' histochemical iron stain to assess iron levels. Levels of ferritin, transferrin receptor, and oxidative stress gene mRNAs were measured by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in neural retina (NR) and isolated RPE. Morphology was assessed in plastic sections. RESULTS. Ferritin immunoreactivity demonstrated a modest increase in the RPE in 10-month HID mice. Analysis by qPCR showed changes in mRNA levels of iron-responsive genes, indicating moderately increased iron in the RPE of 10-month HID mice. However, even by age 18 months, there was no Perls' signal in the retina or RPE and no retinal degeneration. CONCLUSIONS. These findings indicate that iron absorbed from the diet can modestly increase the level of iron deposition in the wild-type mouse RPE without causing RPE or retinal degeneration. This suggests regulation of retinal iron uptake at the blood-retinal barriers

Gene silencing in tick cell lines using small interfering or long double-stranded RNA

Gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) is an important research tool in many areas of biology. To effectively harness the power of this technique in order to explore tick functional genomics and tick-microorganism interactions, optimised parameters for RNAi-mediated gene silencing in tick cells need to be established. Ten cell lines from four economically important ixodid tick genera (Amblyomma, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus including the sub-species Boophilus) were used to examine key parameters including small interfering RNA (siRNA), double stranded RNA (dsRNA), transfection reagent and incubation time for silencing virus reporter and endogenous tick genes. Transfection reagents were essential for the uptake of siRNA whereas long dsRNA alone was taken up by most tick cell lines. Significant virus reporter protein knockdown was achieved using either siRNA or dsRNA in all the cell lines tested. Optimum conditions varied according to the cell line. Consistency between replicates and duration of incubation with dsRNA were addressed for two Ixodes scapularis cell lines; IDE8 supported more consistent and effective silencing of the endogenous gene subolesin than ISE6, and highly significant knockdown of the endogenous gene 2I1F6 in IDE8 cells was achieved within 48 h incubation with dsRNA. In summary, this study shows that gene silencing by RNAi in tick cell lines is generally more efficient with dsRNA than with siRNA but results vary between cell lines and optimal parameters need to be determined for each experimental system

Admixture Mapping of African–American Women in the AMBER Consortium Identifies New Loci for Breast Cancer and Estrogen-Receptor Subtypes

Recent genetic admixture coupled with striking differences in incidence of estrogen receptor (ER) breast cancer subtypes, as well as severity, between women of African and European ancestry, provides an excellent rationale for performing admixture mapping in African American women with breast cancer risk. We performed the largest breast cancer admixture mapping study with in African American women to identify novel genomic regions associated with the disease. We conducted a genome-wide admixture scan using 2,624 autosomal ancestry informative markers (AIMs) in 3,629 breast cancer cases (including 1,968 ER-positive, 1093 ER-negative, and 601 triple-negative) and 4,658 controls from the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk (AMBER) Consortium, a collaborative study of four large geographically different epidemiological studies of breast cancer in African American women. We used an independent case-control study to test for SNP association in regions with genome-wide significant admixture signals. We found two novel genome-wide significant regions of excess African ancestry, 4p16.1 and 17q25.1, associated with ER-positive breast cancer. Two regions known to harbor breast cancer variants, 10q26 and 11q13, were also identified with excess of African ancestry. Fine-mapping of the identified genome-wide significant regions suggests the presence of significant genetic associations with ER-positive breast cancer in 4p16.1 and 11q13. In summary, we identified three novel genomic regions associated with breast cancer risk by ER status, suggesting that additional previously unidentified variants may contribute to the racial differences in breast cancer risk in the African American population