Unusual shift in the visible absorption spectrum of an active ctenophore photoprotein elucidated by time‑dependent density functional theory

Active hydromedusan and ctenophore Ca2+-regulated photoproteins form complexes consisting of apoprotein and strongly non-covalently bound 2-hydroperoxycoelenterazine (an oxygenated intermediate of coelenterazine). Whereas the absorption maximum of hydromedusan photoproteins is at 460–470 nm, ctenophore photoproteins absorb at 437 nm. Finding out a physical reason for this blue shift is the main objective of this work, and, to achieve it, the whole structure of the protein–substrate complex was optimized using a linear scaling quantum–mechanical method. Electronic excitations pertinent to the spectra of the 2-hydroperoxy adduct of coelenterazine were simulated with time-dependent density functional theory. The dihedral angle of 60° of the 6-(p-hydroxy)-phenyl group relative to the imidazopyrazinone core of 2-hydroperoxycoelenterazine molecule was found to be the key factor determining the absorption of ctenophore photoproteins at 437 nm. The residues relevant to binding of the substrate and its adopting the particular rotation were also identified

Enhancing Policy Effectiveness: Examining the Rollout of a Comprehensive Tobacco-Free Workplace Policy within Homeless-Serving Agencies and the Impact of Education Receipt

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp23/1002/thumbnail.jp

Evaluating the Effects of a Tobacco-Free Workplace Program on Provider Beliefs about Guest/Client Tobacco Use and Self-Efficacy to Intervene at Texas Homeless-Serving Agencies during COVID-19

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp23/1051/thumbnail.jp

Protectors of the Great Victory : Commemoration of World War II in the Russian Community of Toronto

Political mobilization of the Russian-speaking immigrant community in Canada is a relatively recent phenomenon, but it has permeated multiple spheres of community life in recent years. This paper examines how Russian-speaking immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) used the history and memory of World War II to mobilize their community from 2014–21, what forms of war commemoration they performed, and what these commemoration practices meant for the community and the individuals who participated in them. The commemorative practices and performances in the GTA’s Russian-speaking community remained controversial as they borrowed extensively from Soviet and post-Soviet political imagery and rituals, yet, as I argue in this article, political activism of Russian-speaking immigrants was also informed by Canadian multiculturalism policies and international political discourses and was intimately linked to their demands for full citizenship and cultivation of their identities in Canadian society.La mobilisation politique de la communauté des immigrants russophones au Canada est un phénomène relativement récent, mais elle a imprégné de multiples sphères de la vie communautaire au cours des dernières années. Cet article examine : la manière dont les immigrants russophones du Grand Toronto (Greater Toronto Area, GTA) ont utilisé l’histoire et la mémoire de la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour mobiliser leur communauté de 2014 à 2021 ; leurs organisations de commémoration de la guerre ; et ce que ces pratiques de commémoration signifiaient pour la communauté et les individus qui y ont participé. Les pratiques et les performances commémoratives au sein de la communauté russophone du Grand Toronto sont restées controversées car elles empruntaient largement à l’imagerie et aux rituels politiques soviétiques et post-soviétiques. Pourtant, comme je le soutiens dans cet article, l’activisme politique des immigrants russophones était également nourri par les politiques canadiennes de multiculturalisme et les discours politiques internationaux, tout en étant intimement lié à leurs demandes de citoyenneté à part entière et à la culture de leurs identités dans la société canadienne

“Chicken Is Not a Bird—Kirkenes Is Not Abroad” : Borders and Territories in the Perception of the Population in a Russian-Norwegian Borderland

This article focuses on the Russian-Norwegian borderland and its development in the 1990s and early twenty-first century. In 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the border was opened for communication in both ways, and since then its meaning has undergone significant changes that have reshaped the whole territory. My argument is that there are nowadays a considerable number of people in the borderland whose “own” territory is not limited any more by the state border, but includes both Russian and Norwegian territories as parts of a unified personal space, which is neither Russia, nor Norway to the full extent. Practical, operative space has expanded for the local people who actively use border-related resources in their everyday life. Local identity has changed, and the broadening of operative space has led to the formation of new life strategies and social mobility in the region. The idea of a unified crossborder space is now implemented both on the individual level, as a result of extensive cross-border contacts, and on the level of political and administrative decisions and official discourses. Furthermore, political and cultural elites of the region are actively constructing the concept of the Euro-Arctic Barents Region as an identity region

“Chicken Is Not a Bird—Kirkenes Is Not Abroad” : Borders and Territories in the Perception of the Population in a Russian-Norwegian Borderland

This article focuses on the Russian-Norwegian borderland and its development in the 1990s and early twenty-first century. In 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the border was opened for communication in both ways, and since then its meaning has undergone significant changes that have reshaped the whole territory. My argument is that there are nowadays a considerable number of people in the borderland whose “own” territory is not limited any more by the state border, but includes both Russian and Norwegian territories as parts of a unified personal space, which is neither Russia, nor Norway to the full extent. Practical, operative space has expanded for the local people who actively use border-related resources in their everyday life. Local identity has changed, and the broadening of operative space has led to the formation of new life strategies and social mobility in the region. The idea of a unified crossborder space is now implemented both on the individual level, as a result of extensive cross-border contacts, and on the level of political and administrative decisions and official discourses. Furthermore, political and cultural elites of the region are actively constructing the concept of the Euro-Arctic Barents Region as an identity region

Russian-speaking immigrants in Canada : belonging, political subjectivity, and struggle for recognition

This dissertation explores various aspects of how Russian-speaking immigrants in Toronto negotiate their sense of belonging, social identities, forms of political participation, and citizenship. The particular topics that I address include: the dominant forms of historical imagination in the community and its preoccupation with contested historical topics, especially in regards to World War II; immigrants’ disagreement with liberal gender politics and sex education programs at public schools, which I interpret as a manifestation of their insecurity about their children’s identities and their parental rights; ideas about education among Russian-speaking immigrants, which reveal their concerns about social class and privilege and their striving to ascertain a sense of belonging to a higher social status in their new country; and, finally, the aspirations for inclusion and full participation in Canadian society that drive their political and cultural activism. I examine how class aspirations based on a high level of education conflate with cultural and moral values of the Russian-speaking community and form the basis for their political mobilization and struggle for their right to be included in the society as a group with their own distinct cultural and historical narratives. I study political participation of Russian-speaking immigrants as a diasporic group in Canada and show how their citizenship practices are simultaneously informed by their Soviet and post-Soviet experiences and by the Canadian political discourse, including the politics of multiculturalism. My research contributes to the understanding of Russian-speaking immigrants in Canada and their experiences of participation in Canadian society. My dissertation also addresses how Canadian multiculturalism policies impact various groups of Canadians who struggle for their right to be included in the society as a group with their own distinct cultural and historical narratives. Exploring the Russian-speaking immigrant community in Canada, I analyze how their allegiance to their new country and the ways in which they embrace its citizenship practices co-exist with a sense of belonging and allegiance to their homeland. Overall, my study of Russian-speaking immigrants contributes to understanding how diasporas negotiate their multiple ways of belonging in a world where multiple political allegiances are often seen as threatening and questionable.Arts, Faculty ofAnthropology, Department ofGraduat

Experimental Assessment of Possible Factors Associated with Tick-Borne Encephalitis Vaccine Failure

Currently the only effective measure against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is vaccination. Despite the high efficacy of approved vaccines against TBE, rare cases of vaccine failures are well documented. Both host- and virus-related factors can account for such failures. In this work, we studied the influence of mouse strain and sex and the effects of cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression on the efficacy of an inactivated TBE vaccine. We also investigated how an increased proportion of non-infectious particles in the challenge TBE virus would affect the protectivity of the vaccine. The vaccine efficacy was assessed by mortality, morbidity, levels of viral RNA in the brain of surviving mice, and neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers against the vaccine strain and the challenge virus. Two-dose vaccination protected most animals against TBE symptoms and death, and protectivity depended on strain and sex of mice. Immunosuppression decreased the vaccine efficacy in a dose-dependent manner and changed the vaccine-induced NAb spectrum. The vaccination protected mice against TBE virus neuroinvasion and persistence. However, viral RNA was detected in the brain of some asymptomatic animals at 21 and 42 dpi. Challenge with TBE virus enriched with non-infectious particles led to lower NAb titers in vaccinated mice after the challenge but did not affect the protective efficacy

Texas tobacco quitline knowledge, attitudes, and practices within healthcare agencies serving individuals with behavioral health needs: A multimethod study

Patients with behavioral health conditions have disproportionately high tobacco use rates and face significant barriers to accessing evidence-based tobacco cessation services. Tobacco quitlines are an effective and accessible resource, yet they are often underutilized. We identify knowledge, practices, and attitudes towards the Texas Tobacco Quitline (TTQL) within behavioral healthcare settings in Texas. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected in 2021 as part of a statewide needs assessment in behavioral healthcare settings. Survey respondents (n = 125) represented 23 Federally Qualified Health Centers, 29 local mental health authorities (LMHAs), 12 substance use treatment programs in LMHAs, and 61 standalone substance use treatment centers (26 people participated in qualitative interviews). Over half of respondents indicated familiarity with the TTQL and believed that the TTQL was helpful for quitting. Qualitative findings reveal potential concerns about inconsistency of services, long wait time, and the format of the quitline. About half of respondents indicated that their center promoted patient referral to TTQL, and few indicated that their center had an electronic referral system with direct TTQL referral capacity. Interview respondents reported overall lack of systematic follow up with patients regarding their use of the TTQL services. Findings suggest the need for (1) increased TTQL service awareness among healthcare providers; (2) further investigation into any changes needed to better serve patients with behavioral health conditions who use tobacco; and (3) electronic health record integration supporting direct referrals and enhanced protocols to support patient follow up after TTQL referral

Ca2+-Triggered Coelenterazine-Binding Protein Renilla: Expected and Unexpected Features

Ca2+-triggered coelenterazine-binding protein (CBP) is a natural form of the luciferase substrate involved in the Renilla bioluminescence reaction. It is a stable complex of coelenterazine and apoprotein that, unlike coelenterazine, is soluble and stable in an aquatic environment and yields a significantly higher bioluminescent signal. This makes CBP a convenient substrate for luciferase-based in vitro assay. In search of a similar substrate form for the luciferase NanoLuc, a furimazine-apoCBP complex was prepared and verified against furimazine, coelenterazine, and CBP. Furimazine-apoCBP is relatively stable in solution and in a frozen or lyophilized state, but as distinct from CBP, its bioluminescence reaction with NanoLuc is independent of Ca2+. NanoLuc turned out to utilize all the four substrates under consideration. The pairs of CBP-NanoLuc and coelenterazine-NanoLuc generate bioluminescence with close efficiency. As for furimazine-apoCBP-NanoLuc pair, the efficiency with which it generates bioluminescence is almost twice lower than that of the furimazine-NanoLuc. The integral signal of the CBP-NanoLuc pair is only 22% lower than that of furimazine-NanoLuc. Thus, along with furimazine as the most effective NanoLuc substrate, CBP can also be recommended as a substrate for in vitro analytical application in view of its water solubility, stability, and Ca2+-triggering “character”