Women Are Seen More than Heard in Online Newspapers

Feminist news media researchers have long contended that masculine news values shape journalists’ quotidian decisions about what is newsworthy. As a result, it is argued, topics and issues traditionally regarded as primarily of interest and relevance to women are routinely marginalised in the news, while men’s views and voices are given privileged space. When women do show up in the news, it is often as “eye candy,” thus reinforcing women’s value as sources of visual pleasure rather than residing in the content of their views. To date, evidence to support such claims has tended to be based on small-scale, manual analyses of news content. In this article, we report on findings from our large-scale, data-driven study of gender representation in online English language news media. We analysed both words and images so as to give a broader picture of how gender is represented in online news. The corpus of news content examined consists of 2,353,652 articles collected over a period of six months from more than 950 different news outlets. From this initial dataset, we extracted 2,171,239 references to named persons and 1,376,824 images resolving the gender of names and faces using automated computational methods. We found that males were represented more often than females in both images and text, but in proportions that changed across topics, news outlets and mode. Moreover, the proportion of females was consistently higher in images than in text, for virtually all topics and news outlets; women were more likely to be represented visually than they were mentioned as a news actor or source. Our large-scale, data-driven analysis offers important empirical evidence of macroscopic patterns in news content concerning the way men and women are represented.     

Altered Phenotype of NK Cells From Obese Rats Can Be Normalized by Transfer Into Lean Animals

In diet‐induced obese rats, leptin‐mediated natural killer (NK) cell activation has been demonstrated to be impaired by abrogated intracellular JAK2‐STAT3 signaling. The contribution of the obese microenvironment to this NK cell dysfunction and its reversibility remains elusive. In this study, the functions of NK cells from diet‐induced obese rats after adoptive transfer into lean littermates were investigated using in vivo and in vitro approaches. Endogenous NK cells of normal‐weight and diet‐induced obese F344 rats were depleted in vivo. Then, NK cells from either normal‐weight or obese donors were transferred. The numbers of peripheral blood NK cells were analyzed by fluorescence‐activated cell sorting (FACS) and the distribution pattern of NK cells in lung and spleen by immunohistochemistry. Ob‐R expression was evaluated by immunohistology and activation of intracellular target proteins of Ob‐R by immunoblotting. The numbers of NK cells in blood and lung were significantly higher in obese animals compared to lean ones after transfer of NK cells from obese F344 rats. This was correlated with increased postreceptor signaling (JAK‐2p, PKBpT308, ERK‐2p) without altered Ob‐R expression in those NK cells transferred to lean (ob→nw) vs. obese (ob→ob) animals. These results show for the first time that the altered phenotype of NK cells from obese rats can be normalized by generation of a physiological (metabolic) environment of lean rats.     

Optimising Camera Traps for Monitoring Small Mammals

Practical techniques are required to monitor invasive animals, which are often cryptic and occur at low density. Camera traps have potential for this purpose, but may have problems detecting and identifying small species. A further challenge is how to standardise the size of each camera’s field of view so capture rates are comparable between different places and times. We investigated the optimal specifications for a low-cost camera trap for small mammals. The factors tested were 1) trigger speed, 2) passive infrared vs. microwave sensor, 3) white vs. infrared flash, and 4) still photographs vs. video. We also tested a new approach to standardise each camera’s field of view. We compared the success rates of four camera trap designs in detecting and taking recognisable photographs of captive stoats ( Mustela erminea ), feral cats (Felis catus) and hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus ). Trigger speeds of 0.2–2.1 s captured photographs of all three target species unless the animal was running at high speed. The camera with a microwave sensor was prone to false triggers, and often failed to trigger when an animal moved in front of it. A white flash produced photographs that were more readily identified to species than those obtained under infrared light. However, a white flash may be more likely to frighten target animals, potentially affecting detection probabilities. Video footage achieved similar success rates to still cameras but required more processing time and computer memory. Placing two camera traps side by side achieved a higher success rate than using a single camera. Camera traps show considerable promise for monitoring invasive mammal control operations. Further research should address how best to standardise the size of each camera’s field of view, maximise the probability that an animal encountering a camera trap will be detected, and eliminate visible or audible cues emitted by camera traps.     

Being Seen and Heard: Listening to Young Women in Alternative Schools

This interview-based study examines nine young women's perceptions of their disconnection from high school and reconnection to school in an alternative program. Rather than focusing on a fixed notion of what "at-risk" students "need," the students and author note the importance of working with the messy, partial, and complicated sense of students' identities to gain better understandings of the schooling experiences of marginalized youth. With an eye toward practice- and theory-oriented representations and sense-makings, this article presents theoretical constructions of student disconnection and connection, student testimony as one useful pedagogy, and policy implications for schools.     

Estimating Deer Populations Using Camera Traps and Natural Marks

Despite the ubiquity of camera traps in wildlife monitoring projects, the data gathered are rarely used to estimate wildlife population demographics, a critical step in detecting declines, managing populations, and understanding ecosystem health. In contrast to abundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the eastern United States, black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) in the western United States have declined over the past several decades. We tested whether passively operating camera traps can be used to quantify population characteristics for black-tailed deer. We used images of naturally occurring physical characteristics of deer to develop movement and activity data and inform a Bayesian spatial mark-resight model that estimates deer abundance, density, sex ratio, ratio of fawns to adult females, and home range size. We developed the model to account for the effect of attractants (bait) on encounter rate. We placed 13 cameras on all known water sources of a private ranch in California and provided bait once a month in front of each camera. Over 9,000 visits occurred between 24 May 2012 and 21 January 2013, and we identified 50 individual deer from ear notches or antler characteristics. We estimated density at 7.7 deer/km² in summer and 8.6 deer/km² in fall. In the summer, home ranges were 2.3 km² for females and fawns and 16.8 km² for males. Home ranges constricted slightly in fall. We estimated a sex ratio of 12.5 males/100 females, and a ratio of 47.0 fawns/100 adult females. Bait increased baseline encounter rates (visits/week) by 3.7 times in summer and 4.95 times in fall. We found slightly higher densities of deer in our study area compared to other recent studies in more mountainous areas of California, and lower male:female sex ratios. This approach shows that commonly deployed camera traps can be used to quantify population characteristics, monitor populations, and inform harvest or habitat management decisions. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.     

Prion Protein Peptide Neurotoxicity Can Be Mediated by Astrocytes

A peptide based on amino acids 106-126 of the sequence of human prion protein (PrP106-126) is neurotoxic in culture. A role for astrocytes mediating PrP106-126 toxicity was investigated. The toxicity of PrP106-126 to cerebellar cell cultures was reduced by aminoadipate, a gliotoxin. Normally, PrP106-126 is not toxic to cultures containing neurones deficient in the cellular isoform of prion protein (PrPc). However, PrP106-126 was toxic to cerebellar cells derived from Prnp(0/0) mice (deficient in PrPc expression) when those cerebellar cells were cocultured with astrocytes. This toxicity was found to occur only in the presence of PrPc-positive astrocytes and to be mediated by glutamate. Furthermore, PrPc-positive astrocytes were shown to protect Prnp(0/0) cerebellar cells from glutamate toxicity. This effect could be inhibited by PrP106-126. PrP106-126 did not enhance the toxicity of glutamate to neurones directly. When cerebellar cells were cocultured with astrocytes, the neurones became dependent on astrocytes for protection from glutamate toxicity and expressed an increased sensitivity to glutamate. In such a system, the protective effects of astrocytes against glutamate toxicity to neurones were inhibited by PrP106-126, resulting in a greater reduction in neuronal survival than would have been caused by PrP106-126 when astrocytes were not present. This new model provides a possible mechanism by which the gliosis in prion disease may accelerate the neurodegeneration seen in the later stages of the disease.     

A Novel Use of Camera Traps to Study Demography and Life History in Wild Animals: A Case Study of Spider Monkeys (Ateles belzebuth)

Demographic and life history data from wild populations of long-lived primate species are difficult to acquire but are critical for evaluating population viability and the success of conservation efforts. Camera trapping provides an opportunity for researchers to monitor wild animal populations indirectly and could help provide demographic and life history data in a way that demands fewer person-hours in the field, is less disruptive to the study population because it requires less direct contact, and may be cost effective. Using data on group composition collected concurrently though both direct observation and camera trap monitoring, we evaluate whether camera traps can provide reliable information on population dynamics (births, disappearances, interbirth intervals, and other demographic variables) for a wild population of white-bellied spider monkeys (Ateles belzebuth), an Endangered species. We placed camera traps focused on the sole access point used by the monkeys to visit a geophagy site located roughly in the center of one group’s home range, and we reviewed all of the photos collected at that site over a roughly 3-yr period to identify the individual monkeys recorded in the pictures. Group composition based on 2947 photos containing 3977 individual monkey images matched perfectly data collected concurrently through direct observation. The camera traps also provided estimates of the dates when individuals disappeared from the study group, and of infant births during the study. We conclude that long-term camera trap monitoring of wild populations of white-bellied spider monkeys—and other animals that are individually recognizable and that regularly visit predictable resources—can be a useful tool for monitoring their population dynamics indirectly.     

High-Temperature Microbial Sulfate Reduction Can Be Accompanied by Magnetite Formation

The hyperthermophilic sulfate-reducing archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus was found to be capable of lithoautotrophic growth on medium containing molecular hydrogen, sulfate, and amorphous Fe(III) oxide. During the growth of this microorganism, amorphous Fe(III) oxide was transformed into black strongly magnetic precipitate rich in magnetite, as shown by Moessbauer studies. Experiments involving inhibition of microbial sulfate reduction and abiotic controls revealed that magnetite production resulted from chemical reactions proceeding at elevated temperatures (83°C) between molecular hydrogen, amorphous Fe(III) oxide, and sulfide formed enzymatically in the course of dissimilatory sulfate reduction. It follows that magnetite production in this system can be characterized as biologically mediated mineralization. This is the first report on magnetite formation as a result of activity of sulfate-reducing microorganisms.     

红外相机技术监测喀斯特生兽类和鸟类多样性及活动节律

2012年8月至2013年11月,在15 hm2弄岗森林动态监测样地及其周边地区以1台/2 hm2密度布设了35台红外相机,对研究区域内大中型兽类和林下鸟类资源进行连续监测。共记录到20种兽类和26种鸟类,包括2种国家I级、8种国家II级重点保护野生动物。其中,小泡巨鼠（Leopoldamys edwardsi）、帚尾豪猪（Atherurus macrourus）、赤腹松鼠（Callosciurus erythraeus）、北树鼩（Tupaia belangeri）、赤麂（Muntiacus muntjak）等5种动物拍摄率和相对丰富度均居于兽类的前5位;白鹇（Lophura nycthemera）、橙头地鸫（Zoothera citrina）和蓝背八色鸫（Pitta soror）的相对丰富度居于鸟类的前3位。虽然每月监测的鸟兽种数、多样性指数和均匀度指数均不存在显著的季节性差异,但不同季节记录到的兽类和鸟类种类存在一定差异：黑叶猴（Trachypithecus francoisi）、野猪（Sus scrofa）2种兽类和斑头鸺鹠（Glaucidium cuculoides）、长尾阔嘴鸟（Psarisomus dalhousiae）、红胁蓝尾鸲（Tarsiger cyanurus）3种鸟类仅在旱季记录到;而仙八色鸫（Pitta nympha）和凤头鹰（Accipiter trivirgatus）2种鸟类仅在雨季记录到。活动节律分析结果表明赤麂、北树鼩、赤腹松鼠和白鹇为昼行性动物,帚尾豪猪与小泡巨鼠为夜行性动物。以上研究结果有助于监测喀斯特生境大中型兽类和林下鸟类种群的变化,为保护区有效管理提供数据支持。     

Transmembrane Helix Association Affinity Can Be Modulated by Flanking and Noninterfacial Residues

The GxxxG sequence motif mediates the association of transmembrane (TM) helices by providing a site of close contact between them. However, it is not sufficient for strong association. For example, both bacteriophage M13 major coat protein (MCP) and human erythrocyte protein glycophorin A (GpA) contain a GxxxG motif in their TM domains and form a homodimer, but the association affinity of MCP, measured by the ToxCAT in vivo assay, is dramatically weaker than that of GpA. Even when all interfacial residues of MCP were substituted for those of GpA (MCP-GpA), association remained significantly weaker than in GpA. Here we provide an explanation for these experimental observations using molecular dynamics simulations in an implicit membrane (IMM1-GC). The association free energies of GpA29 (GpA with 29 residues all from the wild-type sequence), GpA15p11 (GpA with 15 residues from the wild-type sequence plus 11 flanking residues from the ToxCAT construct), MCP, and MCP-GpA TM helices were calculated and compared. MCP and MCP-GpA have the same flanking residues used in the ToxCAT assay as those in GpA15p11, but the position of the flanking residues relative to the GxxxG motif is different. The calculated association free energies follow experimental observations: the association affinity of MCP-GpA falls between those of GpA15p11 and MCP wild-type. MCP exhibits an equally strong interhelical interaction in the TM domain. A major reason for the weaker association of MCP in the calculations was the noninterfacial residue Lys-40, which in the dimer structure is forced to be buried in the membrane interior. To alleviate the desolvation cost, in MCP and MCP-GpA dimers, Lys-40 gets deprotonated. A second factor that modulates association affinity is the flanking residues. Thanks to them, GpA15p11 exhibits a much stronger association affinity than GpA29. The positioning of the flanking residues is also important, as evidenced by the difference in association affinity between MCP and MCP-GpA on one hand and GpA15p11 on the other. Thus, residues outside the contact interface can exert a significant influence on transmembrane helix association affinity.     

Ladies Are Seen, Not Heard: Language Socialization in a Southern, African American Cosmetology School

This article examines language socialization among African American cosmetology students. To constitute themselves as hair experts, freshman and senior students learn to distinguish between specialized and lay hair terminology, avoid loud talking, and ask clients' diagnostic questions. Students also reframe textbook metacommunicative theories using personal narrative, role-play, and "mother wit." Findings from this ethnographic and discourse analytic study highlight the actual processes through which students learn to speak as and hence, become "hair experts." Data further reveal how language learning is shaped by students' cultural and communal contexts.     

Chickpea Defensive Proteinase Inhibitors Can Be Inactivated by Podborer Gut Proteinases

Developing chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) seeds 12 to 60 d after flowering (DAF) were analyzed for proteinase inhibitor (Pi) activity. In addition, the electrophoretic profiles of trypsin inhibitor (Ti) accumulation were determined using a gel-radiographic film-contact print method. There was a progressive increase in Pi activity throughout seed development, whereas the synthesis of other proteins was low from 12 to 36 DAF and increased from 36 to 60 DAF. Seven different Ti bands were present in seeds at 36 DAF, the time of maximum podborer (Helicoverpa armigera) attack. Chickpea Pis showed differential inhibitory activity against trypsin, chymotrypsin, H. armigera gut proteinases, and bacterial proteinase(s). In vitro proteolysis of chickpea Ti-1 with various proteinases generated Ti-5 as the major fragment, whereas Ti-6 and -7 were not produced. The amount of Pi activity increased severalfold when seeds were injured by H. armigera feeding. In vitro and in vivo proteolysis of the early- and late-stage-specific Tis indicated that the chickpea Pis were prone to proteolytic digestion by H. armigera gut proteinases. These data suggest that survival of H. armigera on chickpea may result from the production of inhibitor-insensitive proteinases and by secretion of proteinases that digest chickpea Pis.     

Recombinant Passenger Proteins Can Be Conveniently Purified by One-Step Affinity Chromatography

Fusion tag is one of the best available tools to date for enhancement of the solubility or improvement of the expression level of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Typically, two consecutive affinity purification steps are often necessitated for the purification of passenger proteins. As a fusion tag, acyl carrier protein (ACP) could greatly increase the soluble expression level of Glucokinase (GlcK), α-Amylase (Amy) and GFP. When fusion protein ACP-G2-GlcK-Histag and ACP-G2-Amy-Histag, in which a protease TEV recognition site was inserted between the fusion tag and passenger protein, were coexpressed with protease TEV respectively in E. coli, the efficient intracellular processing of fusion proteins was achieved. The resulting passenger protein GlcK-Histag and Amy-Histag accumulated predominantly in a soluble form, and could be conveniently purified by one-step Ni-chelating chromatography. However, the fusion protein ACP-GFP-Histag was processed incompletely by the protease TEV coexpressed in vivo, and a large portion of the resulting target protein GFP-Histag aggregated in insoluble form, indicating that the intracellular processing may affect the solubility of cleaved passenger protein. In this context, the soluble fusion protein ACP-GFP-Histag, contained in the supernatant of E. coli cell lysate, was directly subjected to cleavage in vitro by mixing it with the clarified cell lysate of E. coli overexpressing protease TEV. Consequently, the resulting target protein GFP-Histag could accumulate predominantly in a soluble form, and be purified conveniently by one-step Ni-chelating chromatography. The approaches presented here greatly simplify the purification process of passenger proteins, and eliminate the use of large amounts of pure site-specific proteases.     

Biases in Phylogenetic Estimation Can Be Caused by Random Sequence Segments

We consider the effects of fully or partially random sequences on the estimation of four-taxon phylogenies. Fully or partially random sequences occur when whole subsets of sequences or some sites for subsets of sequences are independent of sequence data for the other taxa. Random sequences can be a consequence of misalignment or because sites evolve at very fast rates in some portions of a tree, a situation that occurs especially in analyses involving deep divergence times. One might reasonably speculate that random sites will only add noise to the estimation of a phylogeny. We show that in the case that a random sequence is added to a three-taxa alignment, it is more likely to be a neighbor of the sequence corresponding to the longest branch in the three-taxon tree. Surprisingly, when only about half of the sites show randomness, a long-branch-repels form of small sample bias occurs, and when a minority of sites show randomness this becomes a long-branch-attraction bias again. The most serious bias, one that does not vanish with increasing sequence length, occurs when more than one sequence is partially random. If there is a large amount of overlap in the random sites for two sequences, those two sequences will be attracted to each other; otherwise, they will repel each other. Random sequences or sites can, therefore, cause complicated biases in phylogenetic inference. We suggest performing analyses with and without potentially saturated sequences and/or misaligned sites, to check that these biases are not affecting the inferred branching pattern.[Reviewing Editor: Dr. J. Rasmus Nielson]     

Species-Specific Effects on Ecosystem Functioning Can Be Altered by Interspecific Interactions

Biological assemblages are constantly undergoing change, with species being introduced, extirpated and experiencing shifts in their densities. Theory and experimentation suggest that the impacts of such change on ecosystem functioning should be predictable based on the biological traits of the species involved. However, interspecific interactions could alter how species affect functioning, with the strength and sign of interactions potentially depending on environmental context (e.g. homogenous vs. heterogeneous conditions) and the function considered. Here, we assessed how concurrent changes to the densities of two common marine benthic invertebrates, Corophium volutator and Hediste diversicolor, affected the ecological functions of organic matter consumption and benthic-pelagic nutrient flux. Complementary experiments were conducted within homogenous laboratory microcosms and naturally heterogeneous field plots. When the densities of the species were increased within microcosms, interspecific interactions enhanced effects on organic matter consumption and reduced effects on nutrient flux. Trait-based predictions of how each species would affect functioning were only consistently supported when the density of the other species was low. In field plots, increasing the density of either species had a positive effect on organic matter consumption (with no significant interspecific interactions) but no effect on nutrient flux. Our results indicate that species-specific effects on ecosystem functioning can be altered by interspecific interactions, which can be either facilitative (positive) or antagonistic (negative) depending on the function considered. The impacts of biodiversity change may therefore not be predictable based solely on the biological traits of the species involved. Possible explanations for why interactions were detected in microcosms but not in the field are discussed.     

Acanthamoeba Can Be Differentiated by the Polymerase Chain Reaction and Simple Plating Assays

Acanthamoeba are opportunistic pathogens with invasive and noninvasive species. For clinical purposes it is important to differentiate potentially pathogenic from nonpathogenic isolates. For the rapid and sensitive identification of Acanthamoeba at the genus level, we used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method which detected as few as five cells. Further, we tested nine isolates of Acanthamoeba for their ability to produce cytopathic effects (CPE) on corneal epithelial cells. On the basis of the results, Acanthamoeba were divided into pathogenic or nonpathogenic groups. However, because CPE assays are not available to every diagnostic laboratory, we developed a simple plating assay based on osmotolerance which correlated well with the CPE assays. Pathogenic Acanthamoeba showed growth on higher osmolarity (agar plates containing one molar mannitol), while growth of nonpathogens was inhibited on these plates. In conclusion, we have developed methods for the rapid identification and differentiation of Acanthamoeba. Received: 5 January 2001/Accepted: 6 February 2001