In recent weeks and months, we've been having many posts and comments about Taiwanese language.  Today's post is quite different:  it's all about the difference between Mandarin as spoken on the mainland and as spoken on Taiwan. "Words of Influence: PRC terms and Taiwanese identity", by Karen Huang, Taiwan Insight (8 November 2024) What is […]

An examination of diversity in senior leadership roles at America’s top companies Diversity is more than just a buzzword, it’s a recipe for corporate success. Multiple studies have shown that a more diverse workforce in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, as well as veteran, disability, and LGBTQIA+ status can bolster innovation.i A more diverse corporate talent pool is […]

The post We Know Diversity is Good for Business, So Why Do Corporate Leaders Remain Predominantly White and Male? appeared first on DiversityJobs.com.

Discover efficient methods on how to clean and maintain your garbage disposal. Keep it running smoothly with our expert cleaning tips and routine maintenance guide. Understand the importance of a well-maintained garbage disposal and how it can save you from costly repairs.

The post How to Clean and Maintain a Garbage Disposal: Your Ultimate Guide appeared first on Unclutterer.

Cast iron cookware is a staple in my kitchen, and if you're like me, you treasure these pieces for their durability and versatility. But let's face it, cleaning them can seem daunting. You've probably heard a lot of dos and don'ts that make the process seem more complicated than it needs to be.
I've mastered the art of maintaining my cast iron's seasoning and ensuring it lasts for generations. Whe

The post Easy Cast Iron Cleaning: Maintain Your Skillet appeared first on Unclutterer.

This is some information I compiled surrounding domain names being purchased or expiring. I came across this on Google while doing some research on domain names and link building. Domain names that are expired are given a page rank (PR) of zero once they are expired. Now there are some time stipulations set on domain […]

MGK’s Tech Guy here! Some https certificates automation fell over behind the scenes, and it quietly broke for a while, so trying to browse over https would error out. I’ve nudged the automation back into place, and belatedly pointed our “is it working” checks to use https, so next time, it should make more noise.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 21st 2018, we will be conducting a scheduled update of our systems. You may experience a short service downtime. Maintenance time is USA EST 02:00am – 06:00am (Eastern Standard Time USA (UTC -5)). We kindly ask you to refrain from using your RSS Ground account during this time. We truly apologize for […]

The post Planned Service Maintenance appeared first on RSSground.com.

A public hearing is set to examine the events surrounding the catastrophic failure of Oceangate’s submersible.

Jude Law added that people in middle age should start to reflect on their relationship patterns.

Jon Stewart tears apart the denials and false claims Trump supporters make about their terrible candidate and wonders how anyone can remain undecided.

At the top of this piece by Stewart sits the strange claim MAGAs keep making that Vice President Harris isn't clear about her plans. — Read the rest

The post Jon Stewart on the bewildering denial in remaining an undecided voter appeared first on Boing Boing.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is his pick to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, […]

The post Trump Makes His Pick for US Ambassador to Israel as Conflict in Gaza Remains Heated appeared first on The Western Journal.

Springbok team doctor Jerome Mampane says that injured utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is recovering well.

Beijing briefing: Party power remains a male preserve The World Today mhiggins.drupal 27 September 2022

Yu Jie explores why so few women have won leadership roles in Communist China.

UPDATE: Since this article was published at the end of September, the incoming members of the Politburo and the Standing Committee were announced at the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress on October 22. The party broke more than two decades of convention by not appointing any women to the Politburo or its Standing Committee. The sole woman among the outgoing 19th CCP Politburo, Sun Chunlan, will retire. Only 33 women rank among the 376 members of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which elects the Politburo - less than one in 10.

As the curtain of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress gets ready to rise, the lack of female representation in Beijing’s corridors of power attracts international attention once again.

Female participation in Chinese finance, science, sports or other aspects of society is relatively healthy. Yet there has never been a single woman at the apex of power in the party nor any who has held a seat on the Politburo Standing Committee, the supreme decision-making body for the party and the state.

Historically, China has been run by a number of powerful women starting in 307BC during the first imperial era of the Middle Kingdom. In the Qin Dynasty the Queen Dowager Xuan held de facto power for 35 years during the Warring States period.

More than 2,000 years later, Empress Dowager Cixi wined and dined her European visitors at the Imperial Summer Palace. She was also responsible for the demise of the late Qing Dynasty. Their legacies continue to fascinate and inspire stories in contemporary China.

In modern times, Mao Zedong, one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party, proclaimed that ‘women hold up half of the sky’. While Chinese law states that women and men should have equal rights in all aspects of political life, the reality is that women remain marginalized in politics, even after the economic and social transformation seen in the past few decades. Chinese men continue to dominate political power.

The top three party, military or state leadership positions have never been filled by a woman and none of China’s 26 ministers is female. There is only one woman among the 31 party bosses that control China’s provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions and only one woman among the 25 members of the all-powerful Politburo, and she oversaw the government’s response to the Covid pandemic. She is Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, a former party boss of Fujian Province. Among the 371 members of the Central Committee, which elects the Politburo, there are only 30 women, which is less than one in 10.

Women are less likely to join the Communist Party

It is difficult to explain why female participation in the Chinese elite politics is so low but social convention certainly plays its part. Despite increasing financial independence and much improved career prospects, Chinese women are still expected to run the household and look after the children while holding down a full-time job. This surely reduces opportunities to seek public offices.

Although unspoken, China’s experience of handing power to a woman may be another reason why the party is hesitant to put a female in charge. Jiang Qing, better known to the outside world as Madame Mao, was China’s de-facto First Lady until 1976. She was one of the architects of the ‘Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution’, which ushered in a decade of chaos and political upheaval and brought the country to a standstill.

Successive leaders have been determined to prevent a repeat of this misfortune so no woman has been chosen for a top leadership role. But perhaps the main reason for the absence of women in top positions is the way people move up the party ranks.

Women make up around 49 per cent of China’s 1.4 billion population, yet they account for only about 30 per cent of the Chinese Communist Party membership. Once inside the party they are often handed less competitive positions. Rising through the ranks requires party members to achieve certain career breakthroughs. Such success makes them eligible to participate in high politics.

The majority of China’s top leaders have served as a party chief of a province or municipality, a position women rarely achieve. Consequently, few female candidates are considered eligible for more senior roles.

By the time they qualify for Politburo membership, too often they are fast approaching the retirement age for Chinese women politicians: 55. As it is rare to secure a spot on the Politburo under that age, women are virtually ruled out from joining this exclusive group of 25 people.

The Iron Lady of China

There has been one exception since the early 2000s. Vice-Premier Wu Yi, who is known as the Iron Lady of China, was described by Forbes magazine as the third most powerful woman in the world. She led China into the World Trade Organization and successfully bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. However, her success has been an exception, not a rule.

While Chinese women have been given a nominal egalitarian status with female astronauts, female Olympic champions and female Nobel Prize laureates in place, beneath the surface older practices of patriarchy still hold firm. Liberated or not, the quest for a Chinese female leader under the Communist Party is a long way off.

The main protease (3CL Mpro) from SARS–CoV-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19, is an essential enzyme for viral replication. 3CL Mpro possesses an unusual catalytic dyad composed of Cys145 and His41 residues. A critical question in the field has been what the protonation states of the ionizable residues in the substrate-binding active-site cavity are; resolving this point would help understand the catalytic details of the enzyme and inform rational drug development against this pernicious virus. Here, we present the room-temperature neutron structure of 3CL Mpro, which allowed direct determination of hydrogen atom positions and, hence, protonation states in the protease. We observe that the catalytic site natively adopts a zwitterionic reactive form in which Cys145 is in the negatively charged thiolate state and His41 is doubly protonated and positively charged, instead of the neutral unreactive state usually envisaged. The neutron structure also identified the protonation states, and thus electrical charges, of all other amino acid residues and revealed intricate hydrogen-bonding networks in the active-site cavity and at the dimer interface. The fine atomic details present in this structure were made possible by the unique scattering properties of the neutron, which is an ideal probe for locating hydrogen positions and experimentally determining protonation states at near-physiological temperature. Our observations provide critical information for structure-assisted and computational drug design, allowing precise tailoring of inhibitors to the enzyme's electrostatic environment.

M. Wang
Aug 1, 2012; 11:492-500
Technological Innovation and Resources

Leukocidin ED (LukED) is a pore-forming toxin produced by Staphylococcus aureus, which lyses host cells and promotes virulence of the bacteria. LukED enables S. aureus to acquire iron by lysing erythrocytes, which depends on targeting the host receptor Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC). The toxin also targets DARC on the endothelium, contributing to the lethality observed during bloodstream infection in mice. LukED is comprised of two monomers: LukE and LukD. LukE binds to DARC and facilitates hemolysis, but the closely related Panton–Valentine leukocidin S (LukS-PV) does not bind to DARC and is not hemolytic. The interaction of LukE with DARC and the role this plays in hemolysis are incompletely characterized. To determine the domain(s) of LukE that are critical for DARC binding, we studied the hemolytic function of LukE–LukS-PV chimeras, in which areas of sequence divergence (divergence regions, or DRs) were swapped between the toxins. We found that two regions of LukE's rim domain contribute to hemolysis, namely residues 57–75 (DR1) and residues 182–196 (DR4). Interestingly, LukE DR1 is sufficient to render LukS-PV capable of DARC binding and hemolysis. Further, LukE, by binding DARC through DR1, promotes the recruitment of LukD to erythrocytes, likely by facilitating LukED oligomer formation. Finally, we show that LukE targets murine Darc through DR1 in vivo to cause host lethality. These findings expand our biochemical understanding of the LukE–DARC interaction and the role that this toxin-receptor pair plays in S. aureus pathophysiology.

JM Dietschy
Oct 1, 1993; 34:1637-1659
Reviews

The functional mechanisms of multidomain proteins often exploit interdomain interactions, or “cross-talk.” An example is human Pin1, an essential mitotic regulator consisting of a Trp–Trp (WW) domain flexibly tethered to a peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) domain, resulting in interdomain interactions important for Pin1 function. Substrate binding to the WW domain alters its transient contacts with the PPIase domain via means that are only partially understood. Accordingly, we have investigated Pin1 interdomain interactions using NMR paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The PREs show that apo-Pin1 samples interdomain contacts beyond the range suggested by previous structural studies. They further show that substrate binding to the WW domain simultaneously alters interdomain separation and the internal conformation of the WW domain. A 4.5-μs all-atom MD simulation of apo-Pin1 suggests that the fluctuations of interdomain distances are correlated with fluctuations of WW domain interresidue contacts involved in substrate binding. Thus, the interdomain/WW domain conformations sampled by apo-Pin1 may already include a range of conformations appropriate for binding Pin1's numerous substrates. The proposed coupling between intra-/interdomain conformational fluctuations is a consequence of the dynamic modular architecture of Pin1. Such modular architecture is common among cell-cycle proteins; thus, the WW–PPIase domain cross-talk mechanisms of Pin1 may be relevant for their mechanisms as well.

RecQ family helicases are highly conserved from bacteria to humans and have essential roles in maintaining genome stability. Mutations in three human RecQ helicases cause severe diseases with the main features of premature aging and cancer predisposition. Most RecQ helicases shared a conserved domain arrangement which comprises a helicase core, an RecQ C-terminal domain, and an auxiliary element helicase and RNaseD C-terminal (HRDC) domain, the functions of which are poorly understood. In this study, we systematically characterized the roles of the HRDC domain in E. coli RecQ in various DNA transactions by single-molecule FRET. We found that RecQ repetitively unwinds the 3'-partial duplex and fork DNA with a moderate processivity and periodically patrols on the ssDNA in the 5'-partial duplex by translocation. The HRDC domain significantly suppresses RecQ activities in the above transactions. In sharp contrast, the HRDC domain is essential for the deep and long-time unfolding of the G4 DNA structure by RecQ. Based on the observations that the HRDC domain dynamically switches between RecA core- and ssDNA-binding modes after RecQ association with DNA, we proposed a model to explain the modulation mechanism of the HRDC domain. Our findings not only provide new insights into the activities of RecQ on different substrates but also highlight the novel functions of the HRDC domain in DNA metabolisms.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti's main airport remained closed on Tuesday, a day after violence erupted as the country swore in its new prime minister in a politically tumultuous transition.

VAR2CSA is the placental-malaria–specific member of the antigenically variant Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) family. It is expressed on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum-infected host red blood cells and binds to specific chondroitin-4-sulfate chains of the placental proteoglycan receptor. The functional ∼310 kDa ectodomain of VAR2CSA is a multidomain protein that requires a minimum 12-mer chondroitin-4-sulfate molecule for specific, high affinity receptor binding. However, it is not known how the individual domains are organized and interact to create the receptor-binding surface, limiting efforts to exploit its potential as an effective vaccine or drug target. Using small angle X-ray scattering and single particle reconstruction from negative-stained electron micrographs of the ectodomain and multidomain constructs, we have determined the structural architecture of VAR2CSA. The relative locations of the domains creates two distinct pores that can each accommodate the 12-mer of chondroitin-4-sulfate, suggesting a model for receptor binding. This model has important implications for understanding cytoadherence of infected red blood cells and potentially provides a starting point for developing novel strategies to prevent and/or treat placental malaria.

Cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) proteins are a conserved family of divalent transition metal cation transporters. CDF proteins are usually composed of two domains: the transmembrane domain, in which the metal cations are transported through, and a regulatory cytoplasmic C-terminal domain (CTD). Each CDF protein transports either one specific metal or multiple metals from the cytoplasm, and it is not known whether the CTD takes an active regulatory role in metal recognition and discrimination during cation transport. Here, the model CDF protein MamM, an iron transporter from magnetotactic bacteria, was used to probe the role of the CTD in metal recognition and selectivity. Using a combination of biophysical and structural approaches, the binding of different metals to MamM CTD was characterized. Results reveal that different metals bind distinctively to MamM CTD in terms of their binding sites, thermodynamics, and binding-dependent conformations, both in crystal form and in solution, which suggests a varying level of functional discrimination between CDF domains. Furthermore, these results provide the first direct evidence that CDF CTDs play a role in metal selectivity. We demonstrate that MamM's CTD can discriminate against Mn2+, supporting its postulated role in preventing magnetite formation poisoning in magnetotactic bacteria via Mn2+ incorporation.

The recent structural elucidation of ex vivo Drosophila Orb2 fibrils revealed a novel amyloid formed by interdigitated Gln and His residue side chains belonging to the prion-like domain. However, atomic-level details on the conformational transitions associated with memory consolidation remain unknown. Here, we have characterized the nascent conformation and dynamics of the prion-like domain (PLD) of Orb2A using a nonconventional liquid-state NMR spectroscopy strategy based on 13C detection to afford an essentially complete set of 13Cα, 13Cβ, 1Hα, and backbone 13CO and 15N assignments. At pH 4, where His residues are protonated, the PLD is disordered and flexible, except for a partially populated α-helix spanning residues 55–60, and binds RNA oligos, but not divalent cations. At pH 7, in contrast, His residues are predominantly neutral, and the Q/H segments adopt minor populations of helical structure, show decreased mobility and start to self-associate. At pH 7, the His residues do not bind RNA or Ca2+, but do bind Zn2+, which promotes further association. These findings represent a remarkable case of structural plasticity, based on which an updated model for Orb2A functional amyloidogenesis is suggested.

Human genetic studies recently identified an association of SNPs in the 17-β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 13 (HSD17B13) gene with alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease development. Mutant HSD17B13 variants devoid of enzymatic function have been demonstrated to be protective from cirrhosis and liver cancer, supporting the development of HSD17B13 as a promising therapeutic target. Previous studies have demonstrated that HSD17B13 is a lipid droplet (LD)-associated protein. However, the critical domains that drive LD targeting or determine the enzymatic activity have yet to be defined. Here we used mutagenesis to generate multiple truncated and point-mutated proteins and were able to demonstrate in vitro that the N-terminal hydrophobic domain, PAT-like domain, and a putative α-helix/β-sheet/α-helix domain in HSD17B13 are all critical for LD targeting. Similarly, we characterized the predicted catalytic, substrate-binding, and homodimer interaction sites and found them to be essential for the enzymatic activity of HSD17B13, in addition to our previous identification of amino acid P260 and cofactor binding site. In conclusion, we identified critical domains and amino acid sites that are essential for the LD localization and protein function of HSD17B13, which may facilitate understanding of its function and targeting of this protein to treat chronic liver diseases.

L’utilisation du féminin dans les titres de professions dans le domaine de la santé a beaucoup évolué ces dernières années. Cela reflète une prise de conscience croissante de certaines réalités des métiers de la santé et la reconnaissance de la présence de plus en plus importante des femmes dans le domaine. Vous demandez-vous quand mettre les professions au féminin […]

L’article Quand mettre les professions au féminin dans le domaine de la santé ? est apparu en premier sur Ortho Doc France.

VOLUME 279 (2004) PAGES 33438–33446For Fig. 1B, the second, third, and fifth panels were mistakenly duplicated during article preparation as no yeast colonies were observed in these conditions. The corrected images are presented in the revised Fig. 1B. This correction does not affect the results or conclusions of the work. The authors apologize for the error.jbc;295/50/17382/F1F1F1Figure 1B.

Turkey's Foreign Policy: The Perspective of the Main Opposition Party 5 November 2020 — 12:00PM TO 1:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 14 October 2020 Online

The Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main Turkish opposition party, is becoming a serious contender for a leading role in the country’s politics.

This is an online only event.

CHP’s mayoral candidates defeated the Justice and Development Party (AKP) incumbents in the 2019 local elections in Ankara and Istanbul, which held both cities for a quarter of a century. Its ascendency in Turkish politics is improving prospects for a CHP-led government after the next general election in 2023.

In this webinar, the speaker will share CHP’s stance on the country’s foreign policy towards key regional allies in Europe, as well as its take on relations with Russia, the US and Turkey’s position and role in the Middle East. Finally, the speaker will share how CHP’s external policy might differ from the ruling AKP. 

An additional five rhesus macaque monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina research facility last week have been recovered, meaning about a dozen of the rhesus macaque primates remain at large.

The U.S. Navy began its deep-sea search this week for the remains of an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter and the remains of five sailors who died after the aircraft crashed into waters off the San Diego coast on Aug. 31.

Four U.S. Marines remain hospitalized after an attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, last month as service members were evacuating foreign nationals and refugees.

Consumers thinking of dining out for their next meal may want to consider one instruction for the server -- hold the salt.

An additional five rhesus macaque monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina research facility last week have been recovered, meaning about a dozen of the rhesus macaque primates remain at large.

Millions of Americans suffer from depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. And yet, many do not even know about the countless self-care practices for maintaining mental health and wellbeing. We will uncover some of the most effective practices for dealing with these issues. Let’s jump right in. #1: Regular Physical Activity Exercise is a […]

The post Self-Care Practices for Maintaining Mental Health and Wellbeing first appeared on What is Psychology?.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit turns away claims of religious discrimination by families seeking to use Maine's "tuitioning" program.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he plans to forgo the process of selecting a new commissioner for the state education department and will instead take on the role himself.

The latest approvals mean 12 of the 17 state plans submitted so far for Every Student Succeeds Act implementation have been given the federal go-ahead.

Teachers felt that iPads "provide no educational function in the classroom" and are often used to play games in class.

Middle and high schools in Maine are returning their iPads and switching back to laptops after a survey found that 88.5 percent of teachers and 74 percent of students in one district preferred laptops for schoolwork and instruction, reports the Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal.

Gov. Paul LePage believes Maine has a glut of school superintendents, and he intends to pressure districts into consolidating administrations with the two-year budget he will propose in early 2017.

State of the States: Education highlights from latest governor's address before the legislature.

By September 2005, Maine hopes to reach its goal of giving every 9th grader in the state a laptop computer, state officials say.

After a year in which a push by Gov. Baldacci to reorganize the education bureaucracy dominated public debate, he used much of his State of the State address to highlight issues such as prison reform and the economy.