Routes into education and employment for young Pakistani and Bangladeshi women in the UK

The article examines the educational and employment experiences and aspirations of young Pakistani and Bangladeshi people living in Oldham, in Great Manchester. Many young people demonstrated high aspirations and high levels of participation, particularly in relation to the educational and occupational level of their parents. Explanatory factors include the cultural value of education among Asian groups, the desire by parents to ensure success for their children and the ethnic penalty which these young people incur in the labour market. However, not all Pakistani and Bangladeshi young people have these aspirations. Girls who wished to continue their education faced a more complex situation than boys; for girls it was important to avoid jeopardizing the family honour. Nonetheless, national statistics show a marked increase in the numbers of young Pakistani and Bangladeshi women in full-time undergraduate courses in recent years. Women with degree level qualifications showed considerable determination to combine paid employment with family life.     

Sorting Nexin 1 Loss Results in D5 Dopamine Receptor Dysfunction in Human Renal Proximal Tubule Cells and Hypertension in Mice

The peripheral dopaminergic system plays a crucial role in blood pressure regulation through its actions on renal hemodynamics and epithelial ion transport. The dopamine D5 receptor (D₅R) interacts with sorting nexin 1 (SNX1), a protein involved in receptor retrieval from the trans-Golgi network. In this report, we elucidated the spatial, temporal, and functional significance of this interaction in human renal proximal tubule cells and HEK293 cells stably expressing human D₅R and in mice. Silencing of SNX1 expression via RNAi resulted in the failure of D₅R to internalize and bind GTP, blunting of the agonist-induced increase in cAMP production and decrease in sodium transport, and up-regulation of angiotensin II receptor expression, of which expression was previously shown to be negatively regulated by D₅R. Moreover, siRNA-mediated depletion of renal SNX1 in C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ mice resulted in increased blood pressure and blunted natriuretic response to agonist in salt-loaded BALB/cJ mice. These data demonstrate a crucial role for SNX1 in D₅R trafficking and that SNX1 depletion results in D₅R dysfunction and thus may represent a novel mechanism for the pathogenesis of essential hypertension.     

Sequence Analysis of In Vivo Defective Interfering-Like RNA of Influenza A H1N1 Pandemic Virus

Influenza virus defective interfering (DI) particles are naturally occurring noninfectious virions typically generated during in vitro serial passages in cell culture of the virus at a high multiplicity of infection. DI particles are recognized for the role they play in inhibiting viral replication and for the impact they have on the production of infectious virions. To date, influenza virus DI particles have been reported primarily as a phenomenon of cell culture and in experimentally infected embryonated chicken eggs. They have also been isolated from a respiratory infection of chickens. Using a sequencing approach, we characterize several subgenomic viral RNAs from human nasopharyngeal specimens infected with the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus. The distribution of these in vivo-derived DI-like RNAs was similar to that of in vitro DIs, with the majority of the defective RNAs generated from the PB2 (segment 1) of the polymerase complex, followed by PB1 and PA. The lengths of the in vivo-derived DI-like segments also are similar to those of known in vitro DIs, and the in vivo-derived DI-like segments share internal deletions of the same segments. The presence of identical DI-like RNAs in patients linked by direct contact is compatible with transmission between them. The functional role of DI-like RNAs in natural infections remains to be established.     

Root carbon inputs to the rhizosphere stimulate extracellular enzyme activity and increase nitrogen availability in temperate forest soils

The exudation of carbon (C) by tree roots stimulates microbial activity and the production of extracellular enzymes in the rhizosphere. Here, we investigated whether the strength of rhizosphere processes differed between temperate forest trees that vary in soil organic matter (SOM) chemistry and associate with either ectomycorrhizal (ECM) or arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. We measured rates of root exudation, microbial and extracellular enzyme activity, and nitrogen (N) availability in samples of rhizosphere and bulk soil influenced by four temperate forest tree species (i.e., to estimate a rhizosphere effect). Although not significantly different between species, root exudation ranged from 0.36 to 1.10 g C m^?2 day^?1, representing a small but important transfer of C to rhizosphere microbes. The magnitude of the rhizosphere effects could not be easily characterized by mycorrhizal associations or SOM chemistry. Ash had the lowest rhizosphere effects and beech had the highest rhizosphere effects, representing one AM and one ECM species, respectively. Hemlock and sugar maple had equivalent rhizosphere effects on enzyme activity. However, the form of N produced in the rhizosphere varied with mycorrhizal association. Enhanced enzyme activity primarily increased amino acid availability in ECM rhizospheres and increased inorganic N availability in AM rhizospheres. These results show that the exudation of C by roots can enhance extracellular enzyme activity and soil-N cycling. This work suggests that global changes that alter belowground C allocation have the potential to impact the form and amount of N to support primary production in ECM and AM stands.     

Anti-influenza active and low toxic N-phenyl-substituted β-amidoamidines structurally related to natural antibiotic amidinomycin

A set of racemic N-phenyl-substituted β-amidoamidines hydrochlorides 4, which are structurally related to natural antiviral agent amidinomycin (1), was synthesized in four steps starting from methacryloyl anilide (5). In the final step of the synthetic route, an uncommon monoacylation of β-aminoamidine 8 at the less reactive β-phenylamino-group took place. To rationalize this result, a mechanism which involves initial acylation at the more active amidine-function followed by intramolecular acyl-group transfer to β-phenylamino-group was suggested. All three β-amidoamidines 4d–f bearing long linear aliphatic chain (from n-C₈H₁₇ to n-C₁₂H₂₅) revealed significant in vitro activity against influenza A virus (H3N2) and modest cytotoxicity. The in vitro antiviral potency of 4d,e is 6–20 times greater than that of commercial rimantadine with lower EC₅₀ values and higher therapeutic index. The non-toxic in vivo compounds 4d–f showed a beneficial protective effect in influenza A (H3N2) infected mice.     

Precursor cystatin C in cultured retinal pigment epithelium cells: evidence for processing through the secretory pathway

Evidence was recently reported that the cysteine proteinase inhibitor, cystatin C, is highly expressed by cultured human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. As a step towards understanding possible functions of this protein associated with the RPE, the localization, targetting and trafficking of cystatin C were investigated. Constructs encoding an enhanced variant of green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fused to precursor cystatin C and to mature cystatin C were made and transfected into cultured human RPE cells. Expression of fusion proteins was monitored in vivo by fluorescence confocal microscopy. In cells transfected with precursor cystatin C-EGFP, fluorescence was initially targetted to the perinuclear zone, co-localizing with the Golgi apparatus. Transfected cells were observed at intervals over a period of up to 3 weeks, during which time fluorescent vesicles developed peripherally and basally while fluorescence continued to be detected in the Golgi region. Immunochemical analysis of cell lysates confirmed the expression of a fusion protein recognized by antibodies to both cystatin C and EGFP. Cells transfected with the construct lacking the leader peptide of precursor cystatin C presented a diffuse and weak fluorescence. Together, these results imply a leader sequence-dependent processing of cystatin C through the secretory pathway of RPE cells. This was confirmed by the detection, by Western blotting, of the chimaeric protein alongside endogenous cystatin C in the medium of transfected RPE cells.     

Properties and Nematicide Performance of Avermectins

In 1979, the anthelmintic activity of abamectin, a mixture of avermectins B_1a and B_1b, was first reported. Since then, multiple articles have investigated avermectins' degradation and its efficacy against a wide variety of pests under different conditions and using different modes of application. However, there is a gap in the literature of analysing abamectin properties and its performance as a non‐fumigant nematicide when applied liquid or granular vs. new avenues of application based on seed and seedling treatment. Therefore, this article reviewed literature to discuss the mode of action, environmental aspects, the nematicidal effectiveness of treatment forms and the range of activity to address these topics.     

On the impoverishment of scientific education

Hannah Arendt, one of the foremost political philosophers of the twentieth century, has argued that it is the responsibility of educators not to leave children in their own world but instead to bring them into the adult world so that, as adults, they can carry civilization forward to whatever challenges it will face by bringing to bear the learning of the past. In the same collection of essays, she discusses the recognition by modern science that Nature is inconceivable in terms of ordinary human conceptual categories - as she writes, ‘unthinkable in terms of pure reason’. Together, these views on scientific education lead to an educational process that transforms children into adults, with a scientific adult being one who has the ability to conceptualize scientific systems independent of ordinary physical intuition. This article begins with Arendt’s basic educational and scientific points and develops from them a critique of current scientific education in conjunction with an appeal to educate young scientists in a manner that allows them to fulfill their potential ‘on the shoulders of giants’. While the article takes a general philosophical perspective, its specifics tend to be directed at biomedical education, in particular, how such education pertains to translational science.