A Birmingham-based donkey riding charity is calling on the fun loving public to adopt a donkey this Valentine's Day to help raise vital funds

£15,000 raised for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

En Familia hablamos de la condición de ser un ludópata y cómo vive las afectaciones su entorno social y familiar.

La ludopatía es una enfermedad que desarrolla el juego compulsivo de una persona en las apuestas de dinero y juegos al azar, se convierte en una adicción de invertir el dinero y de la misma forma, recuperar el dinero apostado, es progresivo en el tiempo y las cantidades monetarias cada vez son mayor. Este suceso al ludópata lo afecta en su estado mental y social, mantiene una constante intranquilidad, es difícil conciliar el sueño, miente para jugar a escondidas, realiza préstamos bancarios con alta sumas, entre otras cosas.

El pasado 9 de abril, estuvimos conversando En Familia de esta enfermedad en manos de personas que la han padecido y vivido de cerca, también con especialistas que nos permiten entender este juego patológico para tratar y prevenir dichos efectos.

Because of the fall of Roe v. Wade, we’re hearing a lot more about adoption as an alternative for women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy. And even before, […]

The post Making Contact: Birth Parents on Adoption appeared first on KKFI.

A recent analysis of data from the ONS Business Insights report found that the number of UK businesses currently adopting AI technologies has increased by 5% since September of last year.

Arch Capital Group Ltd. appointed Nicolas Papadopoulo as CEO and Board member, effective immediately, following Marc Grandisson’s retirement. A spokesperson said, “Arch Capital Group Ltd. [NASDAQ: ACGL, Arch, our or the Company] today announced that Nicolas Papadopoulo has been named Chief Executive Officer and is joining the Board of Directors effective immediately. Papadopoulo has held […]

Wildfire [UK/Ireland, Cathy Brady, 3.5] After going missing for a year, a bipolar woman (Nika McGuigan) drops in on her sister (Nora-Jane Noone), opening the wounds of shared tragedy. Raw, unsubtle family drama against the backdrop of Northern Irish politics as Brexit threatens a fragile peace.

The film is dedicated to the memory of lead actor McGuigan, who died of cancer last year.

40 Years a Prisoner [US, Tommy Oliver, 4] Documentary recounts the 1978 standoff between members of radical Black back-to-nature organization MOVE and Philadelphia police through the efforts of the son of two of the group members to secure their parole. A strong emotional hook greatly assists in telling a tenaciously complicated story.

I would like to have seen more on the genesis of the group and the first stages of their conflict with the mayor and police. So much needs to be unwound in the 1978 standoff that the even more astonishing story of a 1985 confrontation, which resulted in Philadelphia authorities dropping a satchel bomb from a helicopter, killing 11 and burning down 65 houses, goes unmentioned here. Another doc I haven’t seen, Let the Fire Burn, focuses on that part of the story.

True Mothers [Japan, Naomi Kawase, 4.5] Parents of a kindergartner react with dismay when a woman contacts them claiming to be his birth mother. Luminous, delicate drama of shifting perspectives.

Limbo [UK, Ben Sharrock, 4] Syrian oud player grapples with guilt over family left behind as he cools his heels with other refugee claimants at a center in the bleak and isolated Outer Hebrides. Moments of deadpan humor and stark landscapes layer this exploration of displacement.

The percentage of workers in the U.S. who say they are using AI at work has remained largely flat over the last three months, according to a new study commissioned by Slack. From a report: If AI's rapid adoption curve slows or flattens, a lot of very rosy assumptions about the technology -- and very high market valuations tied to them -- could change. Slack said its most recent survey found 33% of U.S. workers say they are using AI at work, an increase of just a single percentage point. That represents a significant flattening of the rapid growth noted in prior surveys. Global adoption of AI use at work, meanwhile, rose from 32% to 36%. Between the lines: Slack also found that globally, nearly half of workers (48%) said they were uncomfortable telling their managers they use AI at work. Among the top reasons cited were a fear of being seen as lazy, cheating or incompetent.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Central American nation of El Salvador currently holds nearly 5,932 Bitcoin (BTC), and sits on over $93 million of… Continue reading El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption is paying off: $93M unrealized profit

The post El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption is paying off: $93M unrealized profit appeared first on ReadWrite.

Numerous iron-sulfur (Fe-S) proteins with diverse functions are present in the matrix and respiratory chain complexes of mitochondria. Although [4Fe-4S] clusters are the most common type of Fe-S cluster in mitochondria, the molecular mechanism of [4Fe-4S] cluster assembly and insertion into target proteins by the mitochondrial iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) maturation system is not well-understood. Here we report a detailed characterization of two late-acting Fe-S cluster-carrier proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana, NFU4 and NFU5. Yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation studies demonstrated interaction of both the NFU4 and NFU5 proteins with the ISCA class of Fe-S carrier proteins. Recombinant NFU4 and NFU5 were purified as apo-proteins after expression in Escherichia coli. In vitro Fe-S cluster reconstitution led to the insertion of one [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster per homodimer as determined by UV-visible absorption/CD, resonance Raman and EPR spectroscopy, and analytical studies. Cluster transfer reactions, monitored by UV-visible absorption and CD spectroscopy, showed that a [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster-bound ISCA1a/2 heterodimer is effective in transferring [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters to both NFU4 and NFU5 with negligible back reaction. In addition, [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster-bound ISCA1a/2, NFU4, and NFU5 were all found to be effective [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster donors for maturation of the mitochondrial apo-aconitase 2 as assessed by enzyme activity measurements. The results demonstrate rapid, unidirectional, and quantitative [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster transfer from ISCA1a/2 to NFU4 or NFU5 that further delineates their respective positions in the plant ISC machinery and their contributions to the maturation of client [4Fe-4S] cluster-containing proteins.

Joris J. Benschop
Jul 1, 2007; 6:1198-1214
Research

Nica M. Borradaile
Dec 1, 2006; 47:2726-2737
Research Articles

Sylwia Struk
Dec 28, 2020; 0:RA119.001766v1-mcp.RA119.001766
Research

Studies in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have helped define mechanisms underlying the activity of the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS), uncover the proteasome assembly pathway, and link the UPS to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. However, the spectrum of UPS substrates is incompletely defined, even though multiple techniques—including MS—have been used. Therefore, we developed a substrate trapping proteomics workflow to identify previously unknown UPS substrates. We first generated a yeast strain with an epitope tagged proteasome subunit to which a proteasome inhibitor could be applied. Parallel experiments utilized inhibitor insensitive strains or strains lacking the tagged subunit. After affinity isolation, enriched proteins were resolved, in-gel digested, and analyzed by high resolution liquid chromatography-tandem MS. A total of 149 proteasome partners were identified, including all 33 proteasome subunits. When we next compared data between inhibitor sensitive and resistant cells, 27 proteasome partners were significantly enriched. Among these proteins were known UPS substrates and proteins that escort ubiquitinated substrates to the proteasome. We also detected Erg25 as a high-confidence partner. Erg25 is a methyl oxidase that converts dimethylzymosterol to zymosterol, a precursor of the plasma membrane sterol, ergosterol. Because Erg25 is a resident of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and had not previously been directly characterized as a UPS substrate, we asked whether Erg25 is a target of the ER associated degradation (ERAD) pathway, which most commonly mediates proteasome-dependent destruction of aberrant proteins. As anticipated, Erg25 was ubiquitinated and associated with stalled proteasomes. Further, Erg25 degradation depended on ERAD-associated ubiquitin ligases and was regulated by sterol synthesis. These data expand the cohort of lipid biosynthetic enzymes targeted for ERAD, highlight the role of the UPS in maintaining ER function, and provide a novel tool to uncover other UPS substrates via manipulations of our engineered strain.

The F-box protein MORE AXILLARY GROWTH 2 (MAX2) is a central component in the signaling cascade of strigolactones (SLs) as well as of the smoke derived karrikins (KARs) and the so far unknown endogenous KAI2 ligand (KL). The two groups of molecules are involved in overlapping and unique developmental processes, and signal-specific outcomes are attributed to perception by the paralogous α/β-hydrolases DWARF14 (D14) for SL and KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2/ HYPOSENSITIVE TO LIGHT (KAI2/HTL) for KAR/KL. Additionally, depending on which receptor is activated, specific members of the SUPPRESSOR OF MAX2 1 (SMAX1) – LIKE (SMXL) family control KAR/KL and SL responses. As proteins that function in the same signal transduction pathway often occur in large protein complexes, we aimed at discovering new players of the MAX2, D14 and KAI2 protein network by tandem affinity purification using Arabidopsis cell cultures. When using MAX2 as a bait, various proteins were co-purified among which general components of the Skp1-Cullin-F-box complex and members of the CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 9 signalosome. Here, we report the identification of a novel interactor of MAX2, a type 5 serine/threonine protein phosphatase, designated PHYTOCHROME-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN PHOSPHATASE 5 (PAPP5). Quantitative affinity purification pointed at PAPP5 as being more present in KAI2 rather than D14 protein complexes. In agreement, mutant analysis suggests that PAPP5 modulates KAR/KL-dependent seed germination in suboptimal conditions and seedling development. Additionally, a phosphopeptide enrichment experiment revealed that PAPP5 might dephosphorylate MAX2 in vivo independently of the synthetic strigolactone analog, rac-GR24. Together, by analyzing the protein complexes to which MAX2, D14 and KAI2 belong, we revealed a new MAX2 interactor, PAPP5, that might act through dephosphorylation of MAX2 to control mainly KAR/KL- related phenotypes and, hence, provide another link with the light pathway.

Adopting a Market-based Approach to Boost Energy Access in Displaced Contexts Research paper sysadmin 25 March 2019

This paper evaluates the market-based approaches adopted in the MEI projects in Kenya and Burkina Faso. It articulates how such commercial strategies can be applied to the delivery of energy in displacement settings and compares this to real world examples.

• Development of long-term energy solutions in displacement settings tends to be perceived as investment that falls outside the remit of emergency responses. In addition, when emergency energy supply measures are implemented they often result in expensive, unreliable and unhealthy energy provision for those in protracted or recurrent crises.
• There is widespread agreement among humanitarian and development experts that an effective refugee response should include long-term development solutions as well as emergency relief.
• The energy access imperative is more pronounced when considering the need for effective energy distribution in practically all camp activities and basic necessities: pumping and treatment of clean water; heating and cooling for food storage and cooking; energy for livelihood activities; and provision of light for schooling, hospitals and the prevention of violence against women and children.
• Minor shifts in household energy use to basic solar lighting options and non-wood fuels would save $303 million annually on refugee fuel costs.
• Within refugee contexts in Kenya and Burkina Faso, the MEI sought to examine opportunities to use market interventions, rather than in-kind distributions, to improve clean energy access over the long-term and test the delivery of market-based approaches.

After much anticipation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued its first Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standards today. They are intended to defeat efforts by quantum computers powerful […]

The post NIST Issues Post Quantum Cryptography Standards and Calls for their Adoption appeared first on HPCwire.

Rhode Island may become the first state to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards.

Wyoming's new science benchmarks are similar to the Next Generation Science Standards.

But some Democrats say that could make the selection process more political.

Nora D. Volkow
Dec 1, 2001; 21:9414-9418
Behavioral

Dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) have been repeatedly implicated in neuropsychiatric vulnerability, in part via their roles in mediating the decision-making processes. Although two neuromodulators share a synthesis pathway and are coactivated under states of arousal, they engage in distinct circuits and modulatory roles. However, the specific role of each neuromodulator in decision-making, in particular the exploration–exploitation tradeoff, remains unclear. Revealing how each neuromodulator contributes to exploration–exploitation tradeoff is important in guiding mechanistic hypotheses emerging from computational psychiatric approaches. To understand the differences and overlaps of the roles of these two catecholamine systems in regulating exploration, a direct comparison using the same dynamic decision-making task is needed. Here, we ran male and female mice in a restless two-armed bandit task, which encourages both exploration and exploitation. We systemically administered a nonselective DA antagonist (flupenthixol), a nonselective DA agonist (apomorphine), a NE beta-receptor antagonist (propranolol), and a NE beta-receptor agonist (isoproterenol) and examined changes in exploration within subjects across sessions. We found a bidirectional modulatory effect of dopamine on exploration. Increasing dopamine activity decreased exploration and decreasing dopamine activity increased exploration. The modulatory effect of beta-noradrenergic receptor activity on exploration was mediated by sex. Reinforcement learning model parameters suggested that dopamine modulation affected exploration via decision noise and norepinephrine modulation affected exploration via sensitivity to outcome. Together, these findings suggested that the mechanisms that govern the exploration–exploitation transition are sensitive to changes in both catecholamine functions and revealed differential roles for NE and DA in mediating exploration.

WILMINGTON – Governor John Carney and the Delaware Children’s Department have joined the federal ALL-IN Foster Adoption Challenge, raising awareness of permanency efforts for children and youth in foster care. This challenge, spearheaded by the Administration for Children and Families, raises awareness and looks to build partnerships that focus on the goal of finding loving, permanent […]

WILMINGTON – Delaware officials, families, friends and community partners joined together on National Adoption Day to recognize the resilience of families who have embarked on the journey of adoption in the past year. Hosted by the Interagency Committee on Adoption, which is a coalition of adoption organizations and stakeholders from across the state, the annual National […]

WILMINGTON – For the second year in a row, Delaware officials, families, friends and community partners joined together virtually on National Adoption Day to recognize the resilience of families who have embarked on the journey of adoption in the past year. The National Adoption Day event on Saturday, November 20, hosted by the statewide Interagency Committee […]

Annual event honors families adopting and family service workers DOVER – On November 18, the State of Delaware came together to celebrate National Adoption Day, a day dedicated to highlighting the importance of adoption and the support available to adoptive families. This special program, hosted by the Interagency Committee on Adoption, a collaboration between Delaware’s […]

The Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill (DHCI) in Smyrna is asking members of the community to sponsor a resident for the holidays. Since many residents have little family involvement or support, the nursing home relies on the generosity of community members including neighbors, local businesses, community organizations, and volunteers to help fulfill resident wishes at the holidays through the Adopt-A-Resident Program.

SMYRNA (October 16, 2023) – The Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill (DHCI) in Smyrna is asking members of the community to sponsor a resident for the holidays. DHCI is a licensed Skilled Nursing Facility, operated by the Delaware Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, dedicated to comprehensive nursing home services […]

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved plans to add around 25,500 MW of renewable energy resources and 15,000 MW of energy storage and demand response resources by 2032.  The decision also adopted a 35 million metric ton (MMT) electric sector greenhouse gas emission (GHG) planning target. That goal, also to be achieved by 2032, is tighter than an earlier 46 […]

Consulting giants including Accenture, Deloitte, EY Strategy and Consulting Co., Ltd. (or EY Japan), FPT,  Kyndryl and Tata Consultancy Services Japan (TCS Japan) are working with NVIDIA to establish innovation centers in Japan to accelerate the nation’s goal of embracing enterprise AI and physical AI across its industrial landscape. The centers will use NVIDIA AI Read Article

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Could New Underwater Territorial Claims in the North Pacific and Arctic Finally Prompt the US to Adopt the UN Convention on Law of the Sea? Could New Underwater Territorial Claims in the North Pacific and Arctic Finally Prompt the US to Adopt the UN Convention on Law of the Sea?

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

The technical assistance (TA) will support the Kingdom of Cambodia in building resilience within, and improving the competitiveness of the country's private sector by enhancing the capacity of state institutions to support adoption of digital technologies and to foster innovation and diversification in micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), where women entrepreneurs and workers are traditionally prevalent.

Spear-throwing tools called atlatls allow humans to launch projectiles over great distances, but Neanderthals apparently never used them – and an experiment involving a 9-metre-tall platform may explain why

Exogenous substances, including drugs and chemicals, can transfer into human seminal fluid and influence male fertility and reproduction. In addition, substances relevant in the context of sports drug testing programs, can be transferred into the urine of a female athlete (after unprotected sexual intercourse) and trigger a so-called adverse analytical finding. Here, the question arises as to whether it is possible to distinguish analytically between intentional doping offenses and unintentional contamination of urine by seminal fluid. To this end, 480 seminal fluids from nonathletes were analyzed to identify concentration ranges and metabolite profiles of therapeutic drugs that are also classified as doping agents. Therefore, a screening procedure was developed using liquid chromatography connected to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, and suspect samples (i.e., samples indicating the presence of relevant compounds) were further subjected to liquid chromatography-high-resolution accurate mass (tandem) mass spectrometry. The screening method yielded 90 findings (including aromatase inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators, diuretics, stimulants, glucocorticoids, beta-blockers, antidepressants, and the nonapproved proliferator-activated receptor delta agonist GW1516) in a total of 81 samples, with 91% of these suspected cases being verified by the confirmation method. In addition to the intact drug, phase-I and -II metabolites were also occasionally observed in the seminal fluid. This study demonstrated that various drugs including those categorized as doping agents partition into seminal fluid. Monitoring substances and metabolites may contribute to a better understanding of the distribution and metabolism of exogenous substances in seminal fluid that may be responsible for the impairment of male fertility.

Previous studies demonstrated that sigma receptor (R) antagonists alone fail to alter cocaine self-administration despite blocking various other effects of cocaine. However, R antagonists when combined with dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibitors substantially decrease cocaine self-administration. To better understand the effects of this combination, the present study examined the effects of R antagonist and DAT inhibitor combinations in male rats discriminating cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) from saline injections. The DAT inhibitors alone [(–)-2-β-carbomethoxy-3-β-(4-fluorophenyl)tropane 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonate monohydrate (WIN 35,428) and methylphenidate] at low (0.1-mg/kg) doses that were minimally active failed to shift the dose-effect function for discriminative-stimulus effects of cocaine to the left more than 2-fold. At 0.32 mg/kg the DAT inhibitors alone shifted the cocaine dose-effect function leftward 24- or 6.6-fold, respectively. The R antagonists (BD1008, BD1047, and BD1063) failed to fully substitute for cocaine, although BD1008 and BD1047 substituted partially. At 10 mg/kg, BD1008, BD1047, or BD1063 alone shifted the cocaine dose-effect function leftward less than 6.0-fold. In combination with 0.1 mg/kg WIN 35,428, the 10 mg/kg doses of R antagonists shifted the cocaine dose-effect function from 12.3- to 36.7-fold leftward, and with 0.32 mg/kg WIN 35,428 from 14.3- to 440-fold leftward. In combination with 0.1 mg/kg methylphenidate, those R antagonist doses shifted the cocaine dose-effect function from 5.5- to 55.0-fold leftward, and with 0.32 mg/kg methylphenidate from 10.5- to 48.1-fold leftward. The present results suggest that dual DAT/R inhibition produces agonist-like subjective effects that may promote decreases in self-administration obtained in previous studies.

Dopamine was long thought to play a part in the placebo effect for pain relief, but a new study is questioning its true role

1. Church of England head Justin Welby who married Prince Harry and Meghan Markle resigns over pedophile scandal  Hindustan Times
2. Archbishop of Canterbury, Trump critic Justin Welby resigns. What is the sex abuse scandal?  The Times of India
3. Video | UK Church Abuse Scandal: Head Of Church Of England Steps Down  NDTV
4. ‘Church in crisis’: what the papers say about the archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation  The Guardian
5. World News Today Live Updates on November 13, 2024 : Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns amid sexual abuse case—Who is he? What's the scandal? All you need to know  Mint

Canada’s privacy commissioner has launched an investigation into the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and “its handling of biological samples collected from athletes.”

BROCK Lesnar was allowed to dodge an anti-doping policy to make his megastar comeback at UFC 200 but what’s happened since is remarkable.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has upheld the retail price fixation of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) for Mumbai─based Aristo Pharmaceuticals for its multivitamin tablets with

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has released the operational guidelines for the newly announced central sector scheme for Strengthening of Medical Device Industry (SMDI), aiming at providing

The centrally sponsored scheme for strengthening of medical devices industry (SMDI), launched by the Central government last week, was widely welcomed by the medical devices industry in the country.