The U.S. unemployment rate suffered its worst monthly loss on record, hitting a startling 14.7% in April as the coronavirus pandemic and the drastic efforts to contain it forced employers to slash more than 20 million jobs.

A restriction on field sizes to 12 runners per race and the use of only senior jockeys both feature in the latest plans for the potential resumption of racing in Britain.

Two men accused of violent crimes were freed without bail from Brooklyn Criminal Court on Thursday amid growing concern about the state's new bail reform laws.

Marvina Robinson was inspired to create Stuyvesant Champagne, named after Bedford-Stuyvesant where she grew up, while drawing up plans for a champagne bar set to launch in the neighborhood later this year.

Though John Moe's podcast, 'The Hilarious World of Depression' centers on mental illness, the conversations are funny. Humor "can bust me out" of a dark place, he says, the way platitudes never would.

The U.S. unemployment rate suffered its worst monthly loss on record, hitting a startling 14.7% in April as the coronavirus pandemic and the drastic efforts to contain it forced employers to slash more than 20 million jobs.

The survey, conducted by college affordability group Rise, found that 75% of students who responded were more anxious, depressed or stressed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

He's interviewed Neko Case, Jeff Tweedy and Maria Bamford about depression. With his new memoir, "The Hilarious World of Depression," John Moe looks inward.

Look to those that survived the Depression for survival tips.

For too long, the health of women has been controlled by legislatures that are majority male or biased by their own religious beliefs, a letter says.

"Us being from Indiana, you know, going there, we would be taken care of the rest of our life."

Kevin Peoples has been mentored by Pete Jenkins, a defensive line master for decades.

Kevin Peoples has been mentored by Pete Jenkins, a defensive line master for decades.

Kevin Peoples has been mentored by Pete Jenkins, a defensive line master for decades.

The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 14.7 percent in April, the highest level since the Great Depression, as many businesses shut down or severely curtailed operations to try and limit the spread of the deadly coronavirus. From a report: The Labor Department said 20.5 million people abruptly lost their jobs, wiping out a decade of employment gains in a single month. The speed and magnitude of the loss defies comparison. It is roughly double what the nation experienced during the entire 2007-09 crisis. As the virus's rapid spread accelerated in March, President Trump and numerous governors imposed restrictions that led businesses to suddenly shed millions of workers, putting the economy in a deep freeze. Analysts warn it could take many years to return to the 3.5 percent unemployment rate the nation experienced in February in part because it's unclear what a new economy will look like even if scientists make progress on a vaccine, testing, and treatment.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Kevin Peoples has been mentored by Pete Jenkins, a defensive line master for decades.

His unforced errors would make it hard on a U.S. manufacturer.

Starting a business is not an easy decision to make. Building a company requires work and money as well, and time. The resources of time, work, and money mean you will have to make sacrifices to start your business. It takes someone who has a lot of passion and confidence to establish a startup. These […]

The post These Teen AI Entrepreneurs Will Amaze You appeared first on ReadWrite.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator has approved an application from the SABC for its annual local TV content quotas to be waived because of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Previous studies have shown that sphingosine kinase interacting protein (SKIP) inhibits sphingosine kinase (SK) function in fibroblasts. SK phosphorylates sphingosine producing the potent signaling molecule sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). SKIP gene (SPHKAP) expression is silenced by hypermethylation of its promoter in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, why SKIP activity is silenced in primary AML cells is unclear. Here, we investigated the consequences of SKIP down-regulation in AML primary cells and the effects of SKIP re-expression in leukemic cell lines. Using targeted ultra-HPLC-tandem MS (UPLC-MS/MS), we measured sphingolipids (including S1P and ceramides) in AML and control cells. Primary AML cells had significantly lower SK activity and intracellular S1P concentrations than control cells, and SKIP-transfected leukemia cell lines exhibited increased SK activity. These findings show that SKIP re-expression enhances SK activity in leukemia cells. Furthermore, other bioactive sphingolipids such as ceramide were also down-regulated in primary AML cells. Of note, SKIP re-expression in leukemia cells increased ceramide levels 2-fold, inactivated the key signaling protein extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and increased apoptosis following serum deprivation or chemotherapy. These results indicate that SKIP down-regulation in AML reduces SK activity and ceramide levels, an effect that ultimately inhibits apoptosis in leukemia cells. The findings of our study contrast with previous results indicating that SKIP inhibits SK function in fibroblasts and therefore challenge the notion that SKIP always inhibits SK activity.

3 March 2020

To the extent that perceptions of a crisis in liberal democracy in Europe can be confirmed, this paper investigates the nature of the problem and its causes, and asks what part, if any, digital technology plays in it.

Research Event

Event participants

Maryam Jamshidi, Author, The Future of the Arab Spring: Civic Entrepreneurship in Politics, Art, and Technology Startups
Chair: Leonie Northedge, Research Associate, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House

V. V. Vlasov and N. A. Rautian
Trans. Moscow Math. Soc. 80 (2020), 169-188.
Abstract, references and article information

K. A. Mirzoev and T. A. Safonova
Trans. Moscow Math. Soc. 80 (2020), 133-151.
Abstract, references and article information

In these unusual and tragic times, I am indeed grateful that we are able to connect virtually to continue the business of environmental governance. While the efforts of all your capitals are correctly focused on preventing human suffering, as parts of the world move slowly towards recovery, the environmental agenda remains one of our most powerful insurance policies in preventing future global pandemics like COVID-19.

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity had the privilege to welcome on 9-10 July 2010 Mr. Masayoshi Mizuno, Director of the Global Environment Division of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Hans Wenzl
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3295-3322.
Abstract, references and article information

M. V. Pratsiovytyi and S. P. Ratushniak
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 99 (2020), 211-228.
Abstract, references and article information

John Zrebiec
Oct 1, 2006; 19:212-215
Clinical Decision Making

Previous studies have shown that sphingosine kinase interacting protein (SKIP) inhibits sphingosine kinase (SK) function in fibroblasts. SK phosphorylates sphingosine producing the potent signaling molecule sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). SKIP gene (SPHKAP) expression is silenced by hypermethylation of its promoter in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, why SKIP activity is silenced in primary AML cells is unclear. Here, we investigated the consequences of SKIP down-regulation in AML primary cells and the effects of SKIP re-expression in leukemic cell lines. Using targeted ultra-HPLC-tandem MS (UPLC-MS/MS), we measured sphingolipids (including S1P and ceramides) in AML and control cells. Primary AML cells had significantly lower SK activity and intracellular S1P concentrations than control cells, and SKIP-transfected leukemia cell lines exhibited increased SK activity. These findings show that SKIP re-expression enhances SK activity in leukemia cells. Furthermore, other bioactive sphingolipids such as ceramide were also down-regulated in primary AML cells. Of note, SKIP re-expression in leukemia cells increased ceramide levels 2-fold, inactivated the key signaling protein extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and increased apoptosis following serum deprivation or chemotherapy. These results indicate that SKIP down-regulation in AML reduces SK activity and ceramide levels, an effect that ultimately inhibits apoptosis in leukemia cells. The findings of our study contrast with previous results indicating that SKIP inhibits SK function in fibroblasts and therefore challenge the notion that SKIP always inhibits SK activity.

Accumulating evidence suggests that brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a potential therapeutic target for managing obesity and related diseases. PGAM family member 5, mitochondrial serine/threonine protein phosphatase (PGAM5), is a protein phosphatase that resides in the mitochondria and regulates many biological processes, including cell death, mitophagy, and immune responses. Because BAT is a mitochondria-rich tissue, we have hypothesized that PGAM5 has a physiological function in BAT. We previously reported that PGAM5-knockout (KO) mice are resistant to severe metabolic stress. Importantly, lipid accumulation is suppressed in PGAM5-KO BAT, even under unstressed conditions, raising the possibility that PGAM5 deficiency stimulates lipid consumption. However, the mechanism underlying this observation is undetermined. Here, using an array of biochemical approaches, including quantitative RT-PCR, immunoblotting, and oxygen consumption assays, we show that PGAM5 negatively regulates energy expenditure in brown adipocytes. We found that PGAM5-KO brown adipocytes have an enhanced oxygen consumption rate and increased expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), a protein that increases energy consumption in the mitochondria. Mechanistically, we found that PGAM5 phosphatase activity and intramembrane cleavage are required for suppression of UCP1 activity. Furthermore, utilizing a genome-wide siRNA screen in HeLa cells to search for regulators of PGAM5 cleavage, we identified a set of candidate genes, including phosphatidylserine decarboxylase (PISD), which catalyzes the formation of phosphatidylethanolamine at the mitochondrial membrane. Taken together, these results indicate that PGAM5 suppresses mitochondrial energy expenditure by down-regulating UCP1 expression in brown adipocytes and that its phosphatase activity and intramembrane cleavage are required for UCP1 suppression.