It was business as usual at the Lebombo border post between SA and Mozambique on Saturday morning, with vehicles moving freely between both countries after a shutdown earlier this week.

Rassie Erasmus' 7-1 variation of the Bomb Squad used against Scotland on Sunday set off a few tremors in the north, with Times writer Stephen Jones the latest to criticise the "dangerous" and "arrogant" tactic.

Worldwide revenues will triple in 2022   April 11, 2022 (New York, NY) – TikTok’s worldwide ad revenues will triple this year and surpass that of two competitors combined, according […]

Christian Tagwerker
Apr 1, 2006; 5:737-748
Research

Combatting Human Trafficking: The Situation in East Asia 16 September 2019 — 10:30AM TO 5:30PM Anonymous (not verified) 30 August 2019 Taipei, Taiwan

In 2017, there were an estimated 40.3 million victims of modern slavery worldwide. The prevalence for individuals to fall victim to forced labour practices is highest in the Asia-Pacific region where four out of every 1,000 people have been found to be victims of forced labour and labour trafficking. Many of these victims end up in the more developed economies of East Asia as destination countries of labour trafficking. Such cases are, however, often under-reported and under-detected, largely owing to a lack of a coherent response to trafficking across the sub-region.

At this roundtable, organized in partnership with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation and the University of Portsmouth, participants will discuss emerging anti-trafficking practices from a regional perspective including legal and policy frameworks and the role of business and recruitment agencies.

Attendance at this event is by invitation only.

Abnormal changes of neuronal Tau protein, such as phosphorylation and aggregation, are considered hallmarks of cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease. Abnormal phosphorylation is thought to precede aggregation and therefore to promote aggregation, but the nature and extent of phosphorylation remain ill-defined. Tau contains ∼85 potential phosphorylation sites, which can be phosphorylated by various kinases because the unfolded structure of Tau makes them accessible. However, methodological limitations (e.g. in MS of phosphopeptides, or antibodies against phosphoepitopes) led to conflicting results regarding the extent of Tau phosphorylation in cells. Here we present results from a new approach based on native MS of intact Tau expressed in eukaryotic cells (Sf9). The extent of phosphorylation is heterogeneous, up to ∼20 phosphates per molecule distributed over 51 sites. The medium phosphorylated fraction Pm showed overall occupancies of ∼8 Pi (± 5) with a bell-shaped distribution; the highly phosphorylated fraction Ph had 14 Pi (± 6). The distribution of sites was highly asymmetric (with 71% of all P-sites in the C-terminal half of Tau). All sites were on Ser or Thr residues, but none were on Tyr. Other known posttranslational modifications were near or below our detection limit (e.g. acetylation, ubiquitination). These findings suggest that normal cellular Tau shows a remarkably high extent of phosphorylation, whereas other modifications are nearly absent. This implies that abnormal phosphorylations at certain sites may not affect the extent of phosphorylation significantly and do not represent hyperphosphorylation. By implication, the pathological aggregation of Tau is not likely a consequence of high phosphorylation.

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a common, inflammatory rheumatic disease, which primarily affects the axial skeleton and is associated with sacroiliitis, uveitis and enthesitis. Unlike other autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus, autoantibodies have not yet been reported to be a feature of AS. We therefore wished to determine if plasma from patients with AS contained autoantibodies and if so, characterize and quantify this response in comparison to patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and healthy controls. Two high-density nucleic acid programmable protein arrays expressing a total of 3498 proteins were screened with plasma from 25 patients with AS, 17 with RA and 25 healthy controls. Autoantigens identified were subjected to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis in order to determine patterns of signalling cascades or tissue origin. 44% of patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis demonstrated a broad autoantibody response, as compared to 33% of patients with RA and only 8% of healthy controls. Individuals with AS demonstrated autoantibody responses to shared autoantigens, and 60% of autoantigens identified in the AS cohort were restricted to that group. The AS patients autoantibody responses were targeted towards connective, skeletal and muscular tissue, unlike those of RA patients or healthy controls. Thus, patients with AS show evidence of systemic humoral autoimmunity and multispecific autoantibody production. Nucleic Acid Programmable Protein Arrays constitute a powerful tool to study autoimmune diseases.

The glycoprotein spike (S) on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 is a determinant for viral invasion and host immune response. Herein, we characterized the site-specific N-glycosylation of S protein at the level of intact glycopeptides. All 22 potential N-glycosites were identified in the S-protein protomer and were found to be preserved among the 753 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences. The glycosites exhibited glycoform heterogeneity as expected for a human cell-expressed protein subunit. We identified masses that correspond to 157 N-glycans, primarily of the complex type. In contrast, the insect cell-expressed S protein contained 38 N-glycans, completely of the high-mannose type. Our results revealed that the glycan types were highly determined by the differential processing of N-glycans among human and insect cells, regardless of the glycosites’ location. Moreover, the N-glycan compositions were conserved among different sizes of subunits. Our study indicate that the S protein N-glycosylation occurs regularly at each site, albeit the occupied N-glycans were diverse and heterogenous. This N-glycosylation landscape and the differential N-glycan patterns among distinct host cells are expected to shed light on the infection mechanism and present a positive view for the development of vaccines and targeted drugs.

Homologous recombination (HR) repairs DNA double-strand breaks using intact homologous sequences as template DNA. Broken DNA and intact homologous sequences form joint molecules (JMs), including Holliday junctions (HJs), as HR intermediates. HJs are resolved to form crossover and noncrossover products. A mismatch repair factor, MLH3 endonuclease, produces the majority of crossovers during meiotic HR, but it remains elusive whether mismatch repair factors promote HR in nonmeiotic cells. We disrupted genes encoding the MLH3 and PMS2 endonucleases in the human B cell line, TK6, generating null MLH3−/− and PMS2−/− mutant cells. We also inserted point mutations into the endonuclease motif of MLH3 and PMS2 genes, generating endonuclease death MLH3DN/DN and PMS2EK/EK cells. MLH3−/− and MLH3DN/DN cells showed a very similar phenotype, a 2.5-fold decrease in the frequency of heteroallelic HR-dependent repair of restriction enzyme–induced double-strand breaks. PMS2−/− and PMS2EK/EK cells showed a phenotype very similar to that of the MLH3 mutants. These data indicate that MLH3 and PMS2 promote HR as an endonuclease. The MLH3DN/DN and PMS2EK/EK mutations had an additive effect on the heteroallelic HR. MLH3DN/DN/PMS2EK/EK cells showed normal kinetics of γ-irradiation–induced Rad51 foci but a significant delay in the resolution of Rad51 foci and a 3-fold decrease in the number of cisplatin-induced sister chromatid exchanges. The ectopic expression of the Gen1 HJ re-solvase partially reversed the defective heteroallelic HR of MLH3DN/DN/PMS2EK/EK cells. Taken together, we propose that MLH3 and PMS2 promote HR as endonucleases, most likely by processing JMs in mammalian somatic cells.

A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber made an emergency landing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri earlier this week after the high-tech aircraft malfunctioned during a training flight.

An arms contractor is making "good progress" on the production of five B-21 Raider stealth bombers, U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall disclosed during a speech on Monday.

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.

North Korean soldiers deployed to the Kursk region of Russia have begun combat operations against Ukrainian troops, the U.S. State Department confirmed Tuesday.

Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced the Tennessee Tutoring Corps, which will recruit college students to tutor children in an effort to prevent learning loss after extended school closures.

Shiaoching Gong
Sep 12, 2007; 27:9817-9823
Toolbox

I am convinced that the only path to lasting peace in Colombia consists of dialogue, negotiation, cooperation, inclusion and fairness – which is also the high road to sustainable development [...]

FAO is pleased to announce the release of a new and upgraded version of theGlobal Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (Global Record), [...]

The act of dive bombing during World War II was a death defying trial of skill and nerve. You aimed your plane down, four miles above the ocean and plummeted at speeds of up to 275 miles per hour

Four hundred years ago, escaped slaves formed the village of Palenque. The town’s younger generations have reconnected with their African roots through cultural traditions handed down from their ancestors (Kenneth Fletcher/SmithsonianMag.com). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/colombia-dispatches.html

More on the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: http://j.mp/15wAByw A former Freedom Rider describes what it was like walking among the rubble of the 16th Avenue Baptist Church

In WW2, the British made destroying German dams a key strategic target in order to kneecap the German industrial effort. To accomplish this, they needed a special plane to deliver the payload: the Lancaster Bomber.

Archaeologists uncover an exciting find: a tomb that predates most of the others in the area by around 2,000 years. Inside, is a series of perfectly preserved inscriptions on a panel known as a "false door’."

The science behind rat zombies

Do you ever wonder what secrets lie beneath the sands of Egypt? Prepare to be astonished as we unveil the untouched tomb of King Tutankhamun. --- For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/colombia-dispatches.html In Valledupar, Colombia, Turco Gil operates a school to teach local children how to play vallenato music. Listen to Juan David Atencia, a blind 9-year-old prodigy play the accordion.

Despite the fact that it’s over 5,000 years old, Maeshowe, Orkney's answer to Stonehenge, is in amazing shape. But why did Neolithic Britons go to such great lengths to build it?

A dying caterpillar's unusual reaction to a predatory bug.

Researchers analyzed tiny fossils embedded in the limestone to determine the age and origins of the grave maker, which marked the final resting place of a prominent Jamestown colonist

New research has revealed that the mysterious white substance found alongside three ancient mummies was once a soft cheese called kefir

No one was injured in the blast, and authorities are investigating why the ordnance detonated after so many years underground

The grassroots organization, Nihon Hidankyo, was lauded for "demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again"

The recent excavation beneath the Treasury has revealed 12 complete human skeletons and a trove of grave goods dating back 2,000 years

Hundreds of artifacts have been unearthed at a burial mound in the city of Chifeng, but researchers are particularly intrigued by the six-inch-long object

Researchers trained African giant pouched rats to detect commonly smuggled items, including rhino horns and elephant tusks

The 3,800-year-old site near the city of Luxor holds the remains of 11 individuals, who may have been members of the same family. Researchers think the tomb was used for several generations

The bone, described two decades after its discovery, suggests the species might have grown up to 20 percent bigger than other terror birds

Henry Luyombya became a changemaker at a young age in Uganda after his father died of HIV-related illness. His work in HIV education brought him to Canada, and eventually to P.E.I. where he's a clinical social worker and the founder of New African Canadians. He is one of CBC Atlantic's Black Changemakers for 2024.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will face the Toronto Argonauts in their fifth straight Grey Cup appearance. The Bombers advanced to the CFL title game after disposing of the Saskatchewan Roughriders 38-22 in the West final Saturday night in Winnipeg.

Engineers Use CAD To Adapt Standard Parts, Assemblies To Fit In Custom Body Design from 1950s

Quiet, cozy dome solves problems identified by working pediatric professionals

Ireland-based manufacturer custom designs forklifts to fit customers' warehouse space

SA's tax ombud has had "informal discussions" with its counterpart in Australia over combating refund scams as it investigates the hijacking of eFiling profiles.