Facilitating age diversity in organizations – part II: managing perceptions and interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hertel, Guido; van der Heijden, Beatrice; de Lange, Annet H.; Deller, Jürgen

2013-01-01

Purpose – Due to demographic changes in most industrialized countries, the average age of working people is continuously increasing, and the workforce is becoming more age-diverse. This review, together with the earlier JMP Special Issue “Facilitating age diversity in organizations – part I:

Report of the second Human Genome Diversity workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1992-12-31

The Second Human Genome Diversity Workshop was successfully held at Penn State University from October 29--31, 1992. The Workshop was essentially organized around 7 groups, each comprising approximately 10 participants, representing the sampling issues in different regions of the world. These groups worked independently, using a common format provided by the organizers; this was adjusted as needed by the individual groups. The Workshop began with a presentation of the mandate to the participants, and of the procedures to be followed during the workshop. Dr. Feldman presented a summary of the results from the First Workshop. He and the other organizers also presented brief comments giving their perspective on the objectives of the Second Workshop. Dr. Julia Bodmer discussed the study of European genetic diversity, especially in the context of the HLA experience there, and of plans to extend such studies in the coming years. She also discussed surveys of world HLA laboratories in regard to resources related to Human Genome Diversity. Dr. Mark Weiss discussed the relevance of nonhuman primate studies for understanding how demographic processes, such as mate exchange between local groups, affected the local dispersion of genetic variation. Primate population geneticists have some relevant experience in interpreting variation at this local level, in particular, with various DNA fingerprinting methods. This experience may be relevant to the Human Genome Diversity Project, in terms of practical and statistical issues.

Human rights: eye for cultural diversity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Donders, Y.M.

2012-01-01

The relationship and interaction between international human rights law and cultural diversity is a current topic, as is shown by the recent debates in The Netherlands on, for instance, the proposed ban on wearing facial coverage, or burqas, and the proposed ban on ritual slaughter without

Natural Selection Reduced Diversity on Human Y Chromosomes

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson Sayres, Melissa A.; Lohmueller, Kirk E.; Nielsen, Rasmus

2014-01-01

The human Y chromosome exhibits surprisingly low levels of genetic diversity. This could result from neutral processes if the effective population size of males is reduced relative to females due to a higher variance in the number of offspring from males than from females. Alternatively, selection acting on new mutations, and affecting linked neutral sites, could reduce variability on the Y chromosome. Here, using genome-wide analyses of X, Y, autosomal and mitochondrial DNA, in combination with extensive population genetic simulations, we show that low observed Y chromosome variability is not consistent with a purely neutral model. Instead, we show that models of purifying selection are consistent with observed Y diversity. Further, the number of sites estimated to be under purifying selection greatly exceeds the number of Y-linked coding sites, suggesting the importance of the highly repetitive ampliconic regions. While we show that purifying selection removing deleterious mutations can explain the low diversity on the Y chromosome, we cannot exclude the possibility that positive selection acting on beneficial mutations could have also reduced diversity in linked neutral regions, and may have contributed to lowering human Y chromosome diversity. Because the functional significance of the ampliconic regions is poorly understood, our findings should motivate future research in this area. PMID:24415951

Cultural diversity and human resources management in Europe

OpenAIRE

Cristian MARINAS; Monica CONDRUZ- BACESCU

2009-01-01

The increase in the international dimensions of human resources management and the extension of European Union represents important premises regarding the harmonization of human resources practices at the level of the European countries. Despite this, the main characteristic of the European model of management is diversity. During the last decade, the human resource function registered profound changes, determined especially by the economic, social, cultural and political context registered a...

Improving Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation in Radiology and Radiation Oncology Part 1: Why These Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Lightfoote, Johnson B.; Fielding, Julia R.; Deville, Curtiland; Gunderman, Richard B.; Morgan, Gail N.; Pandharipande, Pari V.; Duerinckx, Andre J.; Wynn, Raymond B.; Macura, Katarzyna J.

2015-01-01

The ACR Commission for Women and General Diversity is committed to identifying barriers to a diverse physician workforce in radiology and radiation oncology (RRO), and to offering policy recommendations to overcome these barriers. In Part 1 of a 2-part position article from the commission, diversity as a concept and its dimensions of personality, character, ethnicity, biology, biography, and organization are introduced. Terms commonly used to describe diverse individuals and groups are reviewed. The history of diversity and inclusion in US society and health care are addressed. The post–Civil Rights Era evolution of diversity in medicine is delineated: Diversity 1.0, with basic awareness, nondiscrimination, and recruitment; Diversity 2.0, with appreciation of the value of diversity but inclusion as peripheral or in opposition to other goals; and Diversity 3.0, which integrates diversity and inclusion into core missions of organizations and their leadership, and leverages its potential for innovation and contribution. The current states of diversity and inclusion in RRO are reviewed in regard to gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The lack of representation and unchanged demographics in these fields relative to other medical specialties are explored. The business case for diversity is discussed, with examples of successful models and potential application to the health care industry in general and to RRO. The moral, ethical, and public health imperative for diversity is also highlighted. PMID:24993534

Tagging like Humans: Diverse and Distinct Image Annotation

KAUST Repository

Wu, Baoyuan; Chen, Weidong; Sun, Peng; Liu, Wei; Ghanem, Bernard; Lyu, Siwei

2018-01-01

including quantitative and qualitative comparisons, as well as human subject studies, on two benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed model can produce more diverse and distinct tags than the state-of-the-arts.

High functional diversity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis driven by genetic drift and human demography.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth Hershberg

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects one third of the human world population and kills someone every 15 seconds. For more than a century, scientists and clinicians have been distinguishing between the human- and animal-adapted members of the M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC. However, all human-adapted strains of MTBC have traditionally been considered to be essentially identical. We surveyed sequence diversity within a global collection of strains belonging to MTBC using seven megabase pairs of DNA sequence data. We show that the members of MTBC affecting humans are more genetically diverse than generally assumed, and that this diversity can be linked to human demographic and migratory events. We further demonstrate that these organisms are under extremely reduced purifying selection and that, as a result of increased genetic drift, much of this genetic diversity is likely to have functional consequences. Our findings suggest that the current increases in human population, urbanization, and global travel, combined with the population genetic characteristics of M. tuberculosis described here, could contribute to the emergence and spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Diversity of key players in the microbial ecosystems of the human body.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordán, Ferenc; Lauria, Mario; Scotti, Marco; Nguyen, Thanh-Phuong; Praveen, Paurush; Morine, Melissa; Priami, Corrado

2015-10-30

Coexisting bacteria form various microbial communities in human body parts. In these ecosystems they interact in various ways and the properties of the interaction network can be related to the stability and functional diversity of the local bacterial community. In this study, we analyze the interaction network among bacterial OTUs in 11 locations of the human body. These belong to two major groups. One is the digestive system and the other is the female genital tract. In each local ecosystem we determine the key species, both the ones being in key positions in the interaction network and the ones that dominate by frequency. Beyond identifying the key players and discussing their biological relevance, we also quantify and compare the properties of the 11 networks. The interaction networks of the female genital system and the digestive system show totally different architecture. Both the topological properties and the identity of the key groups differ. Key groups represent four phyla of prokaryotes. Some groups appear in key positions in several locations, while others are assigned only to a single body part. The key groups of the digestive and the genital tracts are totally different.

Does difference matter? Diversity and human rights in a hospital workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Sulman, Joanne; Kanee, Marylin; Stewart, Paulette; Savage, Diane

2007-01-01

The urban hospital workplace is a dynamic environment that mirrors the cultural and social diversity of the modern city. This paper explores the literature relating to diversity in the workplace and then describes an urban Canadian teaching hospital's comprehensive approach to the promotion of an equitable and inclusive diverse environment. With this goal, four years ago the hospital established an office of Diversity and Human Rights staffed by a social worker. The office provides education, training, policy development and complaints management. The administration also convened a hospital-wide committee to advise on the outcomes, and to plan a process for diversity and human rights organizational change. The committee worked with a social work research consultant to design a qualitative focus group study, currently ongoing, to explore the perspectives of hospital staff. The lessons learned from the process have the potential to increase overall cultural competency of staff that can translate into more sensitive work with patients.

Facilitating age diversity in organizations ‐ part I: challenging popular misbeliefs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beatrice van der Heijden; Guido Hertel; Annet de Lange; Jürgen Deller

2013-01-01

Purpose ‐ In recent years, significant demographic changes in most industrial countries have tremendously affected the age distribution of workers in organizations. In general, the workforce has become more age-diverse, providing significant and new challenges for human resource management and

First Insights into the Diverse Human Archaeome: Specific Detection of Archaea in the Gastrointestinal Tract, Lung, and Nose and on Skin

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Kaisa Koskinen

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Human-associated archaea remain understudied in the field of microbiome research, although in particular methanogenic archaea were found to be regular commensals of the human gut, where they represent keystone species in metabolic processes. Knowledge on the abundance and diversity of human-associated archaea is extremely limited, and little is known about their function(s, their overall role in human health, or their association with parts of the human body other than the gastrointestinal tract and oral cavity. Currently, methodological issues impede the full assessment of the human archaeome, as bacteria-targeting protocols are unsuitable for characterization of the full spectrum of Archaea. The goal of this study was to establish conservative protocols based on specifically archaea-targeting, PCR-based methods to retrieve first insights into the archaeomes of the human gastrointestinal tract, lung, nose, and skin. Detection of Archaea was highly dependent on primer selection and the sequence processing pipeline used. Our results enabled us to retrieve a novel picture of the human archaeome, as we found for the first time Methanobacterium and Woesearchaeota (DPANN superphylum to be associated with the human gastrointestinal tract and the human lung, respectively. Similar to bacteria, human-associated archaeal communities were found to group biogeographically, forming (i the thaumarchaeal skin landscape, (ii the (methanoeuryarchaeal gastrointestinal tract, (iii a mixed skin-gastrointestinal tract landscape for the nose, and (iv a woesearchaeal lung landscape. On the basis of the protocols we used, we were able to detect unexpectedly high diversity of archaea associated with different body parts.

The Great Diversion: Danube Delta under Human Control (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Giosan, L.

2009-12-01

Many deltas around the world are suffering from sediment deficits that render them unstable to current and predicted rates of sea level rise. One solution proposed to alleviate the complete or partial drowning of such deltas is the use of river diversions to increase the quantity of sediment supplied to the delta plain to support marsh accretion. We examine the results of a half century old program of diversion in the Danube delta that led to the creation of an extensive diversion channel network akin in scope and size to a natural deltaic network. Danube’s importance as a shipping route increased after the Crimean War in the 1850s; the European Danube Commission was charged with maintaining the Sulina distributary as a shipping channel until 1940s. In the same period, several canals were dug to aid fishing in lakes and bring freshwater to brackish lagoons. After World War II, Communist authorities dramatically increased the number of canals for fishing, fish-farming and reed harvesting. New data on sedimentation rates and estimates of sediment fluxes suggest that the intensive canalization in the second half of the 20th Century led to increased sediment deposition that compensated the decreasing sediment discharge linked to damming within the internal fluvial part of the delta; however, the external marine delta has become increasingly sediment starved during the same interval. We emphasize the similarities and contrasts between the “human-controlled” and natural deltaic channel networks of the Danube delta and discuss the sustainability of the delta as a sediment budget problem within a sea level rise context.

Distance from Africa, not climate, explains within-population phenotypic diversity in humans

Science.gov (United States)

Betti, Lia; Balloux, François; Amos, William; Hanihara, Tsunehiko; Manica, Andrea

2008-01-01

The relative importance of ancient demography and climate in determining worldwide patterns of human within-population phenotypic diversity is still open to debate. Several morphometric traits have been argued to be under selection by climatic factors, but it is unclear whether climate affects the global decline in morphological diversity with increasing geographical distance from sub-Saharan Africa. Using a large database of male and female skull measurements, we apply an explicit framework to quantify the relative role of climate and distance from Africa. We show that distance from sub-Saharan Africa is the sole determinant of human within-population phenotypic diversity, while climate plays no role. By selecting the most informative set of traits, it was possible to explain over half of the worldwide variation in phenotypic diversity. These results mirror those previously obtained for genetic markers and show that ‘bones and molecules’ are in perfect agreement for humans. PMID:19129123

Human impacts on genetic diversity in forest ecosystems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ledig, F T [Inst. of Forest Genetics, Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, Berkeley (US)

1992-01-01

Humans have converted forest to agricultural and urban uses, exploited species, fragmented wildlands, changed the demographic structure of forests, altered habitat, degraded the environment with atmospheric and soil pollutants, introduced exotic pests and competitors, and domesticated favored species. None of these activities is new; perhaps with the exception of atmospheric pollution, they date back to prehistory. All have impacted genetic diversity by their influence on the evolutionary processes of extinction, selection, drift, gene flow, and mutation, sometimes increasing diversity, as int he case of domestication, but often reducing it. Even in the absence of changes in diversity, mating systems were altered, changing the genetic structure of populations. Demographic changes influenced selection by increasing the incidence of disease. Introduction of exotic diseases, insects, mammalian herbivores, and competing vegetation has had the best-documented effects on genetic diversity, reducing both species diversity and intraspecific diversity. Deforestation has operated on a vast scale to reduce diversity by direct elimination of locally-adapted populations. Atmospheric pollution and global warming will be a major threat in the near future, particularly because forests are fragmented and migration is impeded. Past impacts can be estimated with reference to expert knowledge, but hard data are often laching. Baselines are needed to quantify future impacts and provide an early warning of problems. Genetic inventories of indicator species can provide the baselines against which to measure changes in diversity. (author) (44 refs.).

First genomic survey of human skin fungal diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Fungal infections of the skin affect 29 million people in the United States. In the first study of human fungal skin diversity, National Institutes of Health researchers sequenced the DNA of fungi that thrive at different skin sites of healthy adults to d

Improving diversity, inclusion, and representation in radiology and radiation oncology part 2: challenges and recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lightfoote, Johnson B; Fielding, Julia R; Deville, Curtiland; Gunderman, Richard B; Morgan, Gail N; Pandharipande, Pari V; Duerinckx, Andre J; Wynn, Raymond B; Macura, Katarzyna J

2014-08-01

The ACR Commission for Women and General Diversity is committed to identifying barriers to a diverse physician workforce in radiology and radiation oncology (RRO), and to offering policy recommendations to overcome these barriers. Part 2 of a 2-part position article from the commission addresses issues regarding diversity and inclusion in the context of career choices and professional advancement. Barriers to improving diversity and representation in RRO are reviewed. Discussion focuses on the development and implementation of concrete strategies designed to eliminate the current subspecialty disparity and highlights the need for the ACR to introduce programs and incentives with targeted and achievable goals with measurable outcomes. Recommendations are made aimed at fostering an environment of inclusion and diversity, so as to secure a successful future for all members of the RRO workforce. The future of radiology will be enhanced by increasing diversity and representation in the professional workforce, which will allow us to better address the varied needs of increasingly diverse patient populations, and to mitigate disparities in healthcare access, delivery, and outcomes. By leveraging diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills of those in RRO, we will create new, effective ways to not only educate our trainees, medical colleagues, and patients but also improve delivery of health care and our service to society. Copyright © 2014 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Retinal Ganglion Cell Diversity and Subtype Specification from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

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Kirstin B. Langer

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Summary: Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs are the projection neurons of the retina and transmit visual information to postsynaptic targets in the brain. While this function is shared among nearly all RGCs, this class of cell is remarkably diverse, comprised of multiple subtypes. Previous efforts have identified numerous RGC subtypes in animal models, but less attention has been paid to human RGCs. Thus, efforts of this study examined the diversity of RGCs differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs and characterized defined subtypes through the expression of subtype-specific markers. Further investigation of these subtypes was achieved using single-cell transcriptomics, confirming the combinatorial expression of molecular markers associated with these subtypes, and also provided insight into more subtype-specific markers. Thus, the results of this study describe the derivation of RGC subtypes from hPSCs and will support the future exploration of phenotypic and functional diversity within human RGCs. : In this article, Langer and colleagues present extensive characterization of RGC subtypes derived from human pluripotent stem cells, with multiple subtypes identified by subtype-specific molecular markers. Their results present a more detailed analysis of RGC diversity in human cells and yield the use of different markers to identify RGC subtypes. Keywords: iPSC, retina, retinal ganglion cell, RGC subtype, stem cell, ipRGC, alpha RGC, direction selective RGC, RNA-seq

Y chromosome diversity, human expansion, drift, and cultural evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiaroni, Jacques; Underhill, Peter A; Cavalli-Sforza, Luca L

2009-12-01

The relative importance of the roles of adaptation and chance in determining genetic diversity and evolution has received attention in the last 50 years, but our understanding is still incomplete. All statements about the relative effects of evolutionary factors, especially drift, need confirmation by strong demographic observations, some of which are easier to obtain in a species like ours. Earlier quantitative studies on a variety of data have shown that the amount of genetic differentiation in living human populations indicates that the role of positive (or directional) selection is modest. We observe geographic peculiarities with some Y chromosome mutants, most probably due to a drift-related phenomenon called the surfing effect. We also compare the overall genetic diversity in Y chromosome DNA data with that of other chromosomes and their expectations under drift and natural selection, as well as the rate of fall of diversity within populations known as the serial founder effect during the recent "Out of Africa" expansion of modern humans to the whole world. All these observations are difficult to explain without accepting a major relative role for drift in the course of human expansions. The increasing role of human creativity and the fast diffusion of inventions seem to have favored cultural solutions for many of the problems encountered in the expansion. We suggest that cultural evolution has been subrogating biologic evolution in providing natural selection advantages and reducing our dependence on genetic mutations, especially in the last phase of transition from food collection to food production.

Human Resource Diversity Management in Selected Czech Agricultural Companies

OpenAIRE

H. Urbancová; H. Čermáková; M. Navrátilov

2015-01-01

The aim of this paper is to evaluate human resource Diversity Management in agricultural companies in the Czech Republic and to prepare a set of recommendations for the companies in this area. The primary data for the study was obtained by the use of questionnaires designed for quantitative analysis (n = 549, n agriculture = 108). The results indicate that the use of Diversity Management on Czech companies is relatively low (36.1%; n a = 108). But in view ...

Lipidomics reveals a remarkable diversity of lipids in human plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Quehenberger, Oswald; Armando, Aaron M; Brown, Alex H; Milne, Stephen B; Myers, David S; Merrill, Alfred H; Bandyopadhyay, Sibali; Jones, Kristin N; Kelly, Samuel; Shaner, Rebecca L; Sullards, Cameron M; Wang, Elaine; Murphy, Robert C; Barkley, Robert M; Leiker, Thomas J; Raetz, Christian R H; Guan, Ziqiang; Laird, Gregory M; Six, David A; Russell, David W; McDonald, Jeffrey G; Subramaniam, Shankar; Fahy, Eoin; Dennis, Edward A

2010-11-01

The focus of the present study was to define the human plasma lipidome and to establish novel analytical methodologies to quantify the large spectrum of plasma lipids. Partial lipid analysis is now a regular part of every patient's blood test and physicians readily and regularly prescribe drugs that alter the levels of major plasma lipids such as cholesterol and triglycerides. Plasma contains many thousands of distinct lipid molecular species that fall into six main categories including fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, sterols, and prenols. The physiological contributions of these diverse lipids and how their levels change in response to therapy remain largely unknown. As a first step toward answering these questions, we provide herein an in-depth lipidomics analysis of a pooled human plasma obtained from healthy individuals after overnight fasting and with a gender balance and an ethnic distribution that is representative of the US population. In total, we quantitatively assessed the levels of over 500 distinct molecular species distributed among the main lipid categories. As more information is obtained regarding the roles of individual lipids in health and disease, it seems likely that future blood tests will include an ever increasing number of these lipid molecules.

Tracking Dengue Virus Intra-host Genetic Diversity during Human-to-Mosquito Transmission.

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Shuzhen Sim

Full Text Available Dengue virus (DENV infection of an individual human or mosquito host produces a dynamic population of closely-related sequences. This intra-host genetic diversity is thought to offer an advantage for arboviruses to adapt as they cycle between two very different host species, but it remains poorly characterized. To track changes in viral intra-host genetic diversity during horizontal transmission, we infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by allowing them to feed on DENV2-infected patients. We then performed whole-genome deep-sequencing of human- and matched mosquito-derived DENV samples on the Illumina platform and used a sensitive variant-caller to detect single nucleotide variants (SNVs within each sample. >90% of SNVs were lost upon transition from human to mosquito, as well as from mosquito abdomen to salivary glands. Levels of viral diversity were maintained, however, by the regeneration of new SNVs at each stage of transmission. We further show that SNVs maintained across transmission stages were transmitted as a unit of two at maximum, suggesting the presence of numerous variant genomes carrying only one or two SNVs each. We also present evidence for differences in selection pressures between human and mosquito hosts, particularly on the structural and NS1 genes. This analysis provides insights into how population drops during transmission shape RNA virus genetic diversity, has direct implications for virus evolution, and illustrates the value of high-coverage, whole-genome next-generation sequencing for understanding viral intra-host genetic diversity.

Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-13

Studies of the human microbiome have revealed that even healthy individuals differ remarkably in the microbes that occupy habitats such as the gut, skin and vagina. Much of this diversity remains unexplained, although diet, environment, host genetics and early microbial exposure have all been implicated. Accordingly, to characterize the ecology of human-associated microbial communities, the Human Microbiome Project has analysed the largest cohort and set of distinct, clinically relevant body habitats so far. We found the diversity and abundance of each habitat's signature microbes to vary widely even among healthy subjects, with strong niche specialization both within and among individuals. The project encountered an estimated 81-99% of the genera, enzyme families and community configurations occupied by the healthy Western microbiome. Metagenomic carriage of metabolic pathways was stable among individuals despite variation in community structure, and ethnic/racial background proved to be one of the strongest associations of both pathways and microbes with clinical metadata. These results thus delineate the range of structural and functional configurations normal in the microbial communities of a healthy population, enabling future characterization of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome.

Human Diversity in a Cell Surface Receptor that Inhibits Autophagy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhary, Anu; Leite, Mara; Kulasekara, Bridget R; Altura, Melissa A; Ogahara, Cassandra; Weiss, Eli; Fu, Wenqing; Blanc, Marie-Pierre; O'Keeffe, Michael; Terhorst, Cox; Akey, Joshua M; Miller, Samuel I

2016-07-25

Mutations in genes encoding autophagy proteins have been associated with human autoimmune diseases, suggesting that diversity in autophagy responses could be associated with disease susceptibility or severity. A cellular genome-wide association study (GWAS) screen was performed to explore normal human diversity in responses to rapamycin, a microbial product that induces autophagy. Cells from several human populations demonstrated variability in expression of a cell surface receptor, CD244 (SlamF4, 2B4), that correlated with changes in rapamycin-induced autophagy. High expression of CD244 and receptor activation with its endogenous ligand CD48 inhibited starvation- and rapamycin-induced autophagy by promoting association of CD244 with the autophagy complex proteins Vps34 and Beclin-1. The association of CD244 with this complex reduced Vps34 lipid kinase activity. Lack of CD244 is associated with auto-antibody production in mice, and lower expression of human CD244 has previously been implicated in severity of human rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, indicating that increased autophagy as a result of low levels of CD244 may alter disease outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reflecting Equity and Diversity. Part I: Guidelines and Procedure for Evaluating Bias in Instructional Materials. Part II: Bias Awareness Training Worksheets. Part III: Bias Awareness and Procedure Training Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Bebermeyer, Jim; Edmond, Mary, Ed.

Reflecting a need to prepare students for working in diverse organizations, this document was developed to increase school officials' awareness of bias in instructional materials and help them select bias-free materials. A number of the examples illustrate situations dealing with diversity in the workplace. The guide is divided into three parts:…

Transcriptome sequencing from diverse human populations reveals differentiated regulatory architecture.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicia R Martin

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Large-scale sequencing efforts have documented extensive genetic variation within the human genome. However, our understanding of the origins, global distribution, and functional consequences of this variation is far from complete. While regulatory variation influencing gene expression has been studied within a handful of populations, the breadth of transcriptome differences across diverse human populations has not been systematically analyzed. To better understand the spectrum of gene expression variation, alternative splicing, and the population genetics of regulatory variation in humans, we have sequenced the genomes, exomes, and transcriptomes of EBV transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from 45 individuals in the Human Genome Diversity Panel (HGDP. The populations sampled span the geographic breadth of human migration history and include Namibian San, Mbuti Pygmies of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Algerian Mozabites, Pathan of Pakistan, Cambodians of East Asia, Yakut of Siberia, and Mayans of Mexico. We discover that approximately 25.0% of the variation in gene expression found amongst individuals can be attributed to population differences. However, we find few genes that are systematically differentially expressed among populations. Of this population-specific variation, 75.5% is due to expression rather than splicing variability, and we find few genes with strong evidence for differential splicing across populations. Allelic expression analyses indicate that previously mapped common regulatory variants identified in eight populations from the International Haplotype Map Phase 3 project have similar effects in our seven sampled HGDP populations, suggesting that the cellular effects of common variants are shared across diverse populations. Together, these results provide a resource for studies analyzing functional differences across populations by estimating the degree of shared gene expression, alternative splicing, and

Cultural Diversities and Human Rights: History, Minorities, Pluralization

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EDUARDO J. RUIZ VIEYTEZ

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Cultural diversity plays today a prominent role in the updating and developing of human rights. Past developments in the protection of rights have essentially forgotten the democratic management of cultural and identity-based diversity. States have stifled the main developments of the rights and constrained them to partial views in favour of the majority or dominant groups in each country. The current context of regional progressive integration and social diversification within each state agrees on the need to address the adequacy of systems for the protection of rights from different strategies to the context of multiculturalism. Against the process of "nationalization of rights" it is necessary to adopt a strategy for pluralization. On the one hand, the concept of minority has to be given its corresponding importance in both international and domestic law. On the other hand, different kind of policies and legal instruments for the accommodation of diversity can be identified and used to foster this necessary process of pluralization.

The influence of recombination on human genetic diversity.

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Chris C A Spencer

2006-09-01

Full Text Available In humans, the rate of recombination, as measured on the megabase scale, is positively associated with the level of genetic variation, as measured at the genic scale. Despite considerable debate, it is not clear whether these factors are causally linked or, if they are, whether this is driven by the repeated action of adaptive evolution or molecular processes such as double-strand break formation and mismatch repair. We introduce three innovations to the analysis of recombination and diversity: fine-scale genetic maps estimated from genotype experiments that identify recombination hotspots at the kilobase scale, analysis of an entire human chromosome, and the use of wavelet techniques to identify correlations acting at different scales. We show that recombination influences genetic diversity only at the level of recombination hotspots. Hotspots are also associated with local increases in GC content and the relative frequency of GC-increasing mutations but have no effect on substitution rates. Broad-scale association between recombination and diversity is explained through covariance of both factors with base composition. To our knowledge, these results are the first evidence of a direct and local influence of recombination hotspots on genetic variation and the fate of individual mutations. However, that hotspots have no influence on substitution rates suggests that they are too ephemeral on an evolutionary time scale to have a strong influence on broader scale patterns of base composition and long-term molecular evolution.

Human Resource Management: The need for theory and diversity

OpenAIRE

Weber, Wolfgang; Kabst, Rüdiger

2004-01-01

Human Resource Management as an academic discipline needs to be theoretically grounded, i.e. it requires support through theories, theory-driven empirical research and critiques. In doing so, different theoretical perspectives are addressed suggesting a problem-orientated theory selection which leads inevitably to theoretical diversity.

Study of human genetic diversity : inferences on population origin and history

OpenAIRE

Haber, Marc, 1980-

2013-01-01

Patterns of human genetic diversity suggest that all modern humans originated from a small population in Africa that expanded rapidly 50,000 years ago to occupy the whole world. While moving into new environments, genetic drift and natural selection affected populations differently, creating genetic structure. By understanding the genetic structure of human populations, we can reconstruct human history and understand the genetic basis of diseases. The work presented here contributes to the on...

Human land use promotes the abundance and diversity of exotic species on caribbean islands.

Science.gov (United States)

Jesse, Wendy A M; Behm, Jocelyn E; Helmus, Matthew R; Ellers, Jacintha

2018-05-31

Human land use causes major changes in species abundance and composition, yet native and exotic species can exhibit different responses to land use change. Native populations generally decline in human-impacted habitats while exotic species often benefit. In this study, we assessed the effects of human land use on exotic and native reptile diversity, including functional diversity, which relates to the range of habitat use strategies in biotic communities. We surveyed 114 reptile communities from localities that varied in habitat structure and human impact level on two Caribbean islands, and calculated species richness, overall abundance and evenness for every plot. Functional diversity indices were calculated using published trait data, which enabled us to detect signs of trait filtering associated with impacted habitats. Our results show that environmental variation among sampling plots was explained by two PCA ordination axes related to habitat structure (i.e. forest or non-forest) and human impact level (i.e. addition of man-made constructions such as roads and buildings). Several diversity indices were significantly correlated with the two PCA axes, but exotic and native species showed opposing responses. Native species reached the highest abundance in forests, while exotic species were absent in this habitat. Human impact was associated with an increase in exotic abundance and species richness, while native species showed no significant associations. Functional diversity was highest in non-forested environments on both islands, and further increased on St. Martin with the establishment of functionally unique exotic species in non-forested habitat. Habitat structure, rather than human impact, proved to be an important agent for environmental filtering of traits, causing divergent functional trait values across forested and non-forested environments. Our results illustrate the importance of considering various elements of land use when studying its impact on

Non-Human Primates Harbor Diverse Mammalian and Avian Astroviruses Including Those Associated with Human Infections.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik A Karlsson

Full Text Available Astroviruses (AstVs are positive sense, single-stranded RNA viruses transmitted to a wide range of hosts via the fecal-oral route. The number of AstV-infected animal hosts has rapidly expanded in recent years with many more likely to be discovered because of the advances in viral surveillance and next generation sequencing. Yet no study to date has identified human AstV genotypes in animals, although diverse AstV genotypes similar to animal-origin viruses have been found in children with diarrhea and in one instance of encephalitis. Here we provide important new evidence that non-human primates (NHP can harbor a wide variety of mammalian and avian AstV genotypes, including those only associated with human infection. Serological analyses confirmed that >25% of the NHP tested had antibodies to human AstVs. Further, we identified a recombinant AstV with parental relationships to known human AstVs. Phylogenetic analysis suggests AstVs in NHP are on average evolutionarily much closer to AstVs from other animals than are AstVs from bats, a frequently proposed reservoir. Our studies not only demonstrate that human astroviruses can be detected in NHP but also suggest that NHP are unique in their ability to support diverse AstV genotypes, further challenging the paradigm that astrovirus infection is species-specific.

Diversity of what? Multifaceted Boards and Directors

OpenAIRE

A. Hillman; S. Nielsen; A. Zattoni

2012-01-01

Board diversity has long intrigued practitioners and scholars. Constituents encourage companies to vary of director characteristics, but companies often resist. Academics debate whether diversity is beneficial for board decision-making and the empirical evidence is mixed, partly because “diversity” is treated as a singular construct despite representing many different forms (e.g. demographic, human capital and social capital). We propose a theoretical model of board diversit...

Gut microbiota diversity and human diseases: should we reintroduce key predators in our ecosystem?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexis eMosca

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Most of the Human diseases affecting westernized countries are associated with dysbiosis and loss of microbial diversity in the gut microbiota. The Western way of life, with a wide use of antibiotics and other environmental triggers, may reduce the number of bacterial predators leading to a decrease in microbial diversity of the Human gut. We argue that this phenomenon is similar to the process of ecosystem impoverishment in macro ecology where human activity decreases ecological niches, the size of predator populations and finally the biodiversity. Such pauperization is fundamental since it reverses the evolution processes, drives life backward into diminished complexity, stability and adaptability. A simple therapeutic approach could thus be to reintroduce bacterial predators and restore a bacterial diversity of the host microbiota.

[Cultural diversity and pluralism in the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights].

Science.gov (United States)

Romeo Casabona, Carlos María

2011-01-01

The Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights represents a significant milestone in the history of Law, particularly in the application of International Law to an important area of human activity, namely the medical sciences, the life sciences and the technologies which, linked to both, can be applied to human relations. In parallel with this, and as will be analysed in this article, the Declaration has involved adopting a clear position regarding cultural diversity and pluralism in relation to Biomedicine. In this paper the author highlights the fact that perspectives have been opened which have hardly been explored concerning Biomedicine, such as the recognition of the value and respect which cultural diversity (multiculturalism), economic and social diversity deserve in relation to the issues covered by the Declaration, and the acceptance that the owners of the rights are not only individuals, but can also be groups.

Diversity Management in the Workplace

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hana Urbancová

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Diversity is a phenomenon which is increasingly manifesting itself in the globalized society; therefore, it is observable in various areas of human activity, and thus also in the labour market and work teams. Age, sex, ethnicity and nationality, creed or disabilities are among the parameters of diversity. The aim of the article is to identify and evaluate the implementation of Diversity Management in workplaces, whilst bearing in mind researched factors of diversity. The results were gained by conducting a primary survey by questionnaire in organizations (n = 315. The results showed that a total of 41.9% of selected organizations operating in the Czech Republic implement Diversity Management. The largest part of organizations operate in the tertiary sector (69.7%. The survey results show the situation concerning Diversity Management in the selected organizations and support the oppinion that Diversity Management is a current global matter and its concerns all organizations. The research parameters influenced the application of Diversity Management in organizations (Cramer’s V is from 0.176 to 0.430. One of the recommendations for organizations is that they devote more attention to this phenomenon, as qualified human resources is on the decline and adequate attention will once again need to be devoted to groups of potential workers who have hitherto been overlooked. Diversity Management represents a new opportunity for organizations to build the employer’s good brand and attract knowledge workers.

EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOYEES ON THE EFFECTS OF THE WORKPLACE HEALTH MANAGEMENT AS A PART OF AN INTERNAL DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT - AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Reich

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The expectations of employees on the effects of actions of the Workplace Health Management (WHM as a part of the Human Resource Management are relevant for a successful implementation within the companies. The diversity approach can be able to improve the cooperation among different groups of employees. In this relation the measures of the WHM can support the existing Diversity Management efforts of a company. A successful Diversity Management has to meet the expectations of the employees. Therefore the Management needs to know what the employees expect from measures to be implemented in order to improve the performance of the companies. The theoretical framework of the Diversity Management in general, the Work Health Management (WHM measures and the results of a survey carried out among Hungarian employees and their expectations on a WHM are depicted within this paper. As important diversity groups the expectation on effects of the WHM actions on the groups of disabled / able-bodied employees and the groups of younger / older employees are examined. For all groups the cooperation exchange within the own work-unit and in the company as a whole is surveyed. As a result for all groups the most recommendable actions, in consideration of the employees, could be determined.

Clarifying the Effects of Human Resource Diversity Management Practices on Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Role of Diversity Receptiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Nizan Mat Noor

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to scrutinize the impact of employees’ perceptions of their organization’s human resource diversity management (HRDM practices on their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB level. The influence of diversity receptiveness as a mediator in the proposed relationship is also examined. Survey data were gathered from operational employees attached to large hotel in Malaysia. 430 usable questionnaires were used in statistical analyses. The results indicated that the hypothesized linkage between HRDM practices and diversity receptiveness as well as between HRDM practices and OCB were partially supported. The mediating role of diversity receptiveness in the relationship was also partially supported. Implications and limitations of the findings are specified. Finally, directions for future research are suggested.

Physical linkage of a human immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region gene segment to diversity and joining region elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, H.W. Jr.; Walter, M.A.; Hofker, M.H.; Ebens, A.; Van Dijk, K.W.; Liao, L.C.; Cox, D.W.; Milner, E.C.B.; Perlmutter, R.M.

1988-01-01

Antibody genes are assembled from a series of germ-line gene segments that are juxtaposed during the maturation of B lymphocytes. Although diversification of the adult antibody repertoire results in large part from the combinatorial joining of these gene segments, a restricted set of antibody heavy chain variable (V H ), diversity (D H ), and joining (J H ) region gene segments appears preferentially in the human fetal repertoire. The authors report here that one of these early-expressed V H elements (termed V H 6) is the most 3' V H gene segment, positioned 77 kilobases on the 5' side of the J H locus and immediately adjacent to a set of previously described D H sequences. In addition to providing a physical map linking human V H , D H , and J H elements, these results support the view that the programmed development of the antibody V H repertoire is determined in part by the chromosomal position of these gene segments

Diverse Asian American Families and Communities: Culture, Structure, and Education (Part 1: Why They Differ)

Science.gov (United States)

Paik, Susan J.; Rahman, Zaynah; Kula, Stacy M.; Saito, L. Erika; Witenstein, Matthew A.

2017-01-01

Based on 11 diverse Asian American (AA) communities, this article discusses the similarities and differences across East, South, and Southeast Asians. Of two parts in this journal issue, Part 1 presents a review of literature and census data to understand the cultural and structural factors of different types of coethnic communities (strong, weak,…

Extensive diversity of intestinal trichomonads of non-human primates

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Smejkalová, P.; Petrželková, Klára Judita; Pomajbíková, K.; Modrý, David; Čepička, I.

2012-01-01

Roč. 139, č. 1 (2012), s. 92-102 ISSN 0031-1820 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA206/09/0927 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60930519; CEZ:AV0Z60220518 Keywords : trichomonads * Parabasalia * non-human primates * diversity * host specificity Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 2.355, year: 2012

Human error probability evaluation as part of reliability analysis of digital protection system of advanced pressurized water reactor - APR 1400

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varde, P. V.; Lee, D. Y.; Han, J. B.

2003-03-01

A case of study on human reliability analysis has been performed as part of reliability analysis of digital protection system of the reactor automatically actuates the shutdown system of the reactor when demanded. However, the safety analysis takes credit for operator action as a diverse mean for tripping the reactor for, though a low probability, ATWS scenario. Based on the available information two cases, viz., human error in tripping the reactor and calibration error for instrumentations in protection system, have been analyzed. Wherever applicable a parametric study has also been performed

Epiphytic lichen diversity in central European oak forests: Assessment of the effects of natural environmental factors and human influences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svoboda, David; Peksa, Ondrej; Vesela, Jana

2010-01-01

We investigated lichen diversity in temperate oak forests using standardized protocols. Forty-eight sites were sampled in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The effects of natural environmental predictors and human influences on lichen diversity (lichen diversity value, species richness) were analysed by means of correlation tests. We found that lichen diversity responded differently to environmental predictors between two regions with different human impact. In the industrial region, air pollution was the strongest factor. In the agricultural to highly forested regions, lichen diversity was strongly influenced by forest age and forest fragmentation. We found that several natural factors can in some cases obscure the effect of human influences. Thus, factors of naturality gradient must be considered (both statistically and interpretively) when studying human impact on lichen diversity. - We detected the different responses of lichens to ecological predictors in polluted and unpolluted areas.

Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles and Diversity in Salmonella from Humans and Cattle, 2004-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Afema, J A; Mather, A E; Sischo, W M

2015-11-01

Analysis of long-term anti-microbial resistance (AMR) data is useful to understand source and transmission dynamics of AMR. We analysed 5124 human clinical isolates from Washington State Department of Health, 391 cattle clinical isolates from the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and 1864 non-clinical isolates from foodborne disease research on dairies in the Pacific Northwest. Isolates were assigned profiles based on phenotypic resistance to 11 anti-microbials belonging to eight classes. Salmonella Typhimurium (ST), Salmonella Newport (SN) and Salmonella Montevideo (SM) were the most common serovars in both humans and cattle. Multinomial logistic regression showed ST and SN from cattle had greater probability of resistance to multiple classes of anti-microbials than ST and SN from humans (P resistant ST and SN for people, occurrence of profiles unique to cattle and not observed in temporally related human isolates indicates these profiles are circulating in cattle only. We used various measures to assess AMR diversity, conditional on the weighting of rare versus abundant profiles. AMR profile richness was greater in the common serovars from humans, although both source data sets were dominated by relatively few profiles. The greater profile richness in human Salmonella may be due to greater diversity of sources entering the human population compared to cattle or due to continuous evolution in the human environment. Also, AMR diversity was greater in clinical compared to non-clinical cattle Salmonella, and this could be due to anti-microbial selection pressure in diseased cattle that received treatment. The use of bootstrapping techniques showed that although there were shared profiles between humans and cattle, the expected and observed number of profiles was different, suggesting Salmonella and associated resistance from humans and cattle may not be wholly derived from a common population. © 2014 The Authors. Zoonoses and Public Health Published by

Diversity loss with persistent human disturbance increases vulnerability to ecosystem collapse.

Science.gov (United States)

MacDougall, A S; McCann, K S; Gellner, G; Turkington, R

2013-02-07

Long-term and persistent human disturbances have simultaneously altered the stability and diversity of ecological systems, with disturbances directly reducing functional attributes such as invasion resistance, while eliminating the buffering effects of high species diversity. Theory predicts that this combination of environmental change and diversity loss increases the risk of abrupt and potentially irreversible ecosystem collapse, but long-term empirical evidence from natural systems is lacking. Here we demonstrate this relationship in a degraded but species-rich pyrogenic grassland in which the combined effects of fire suppression, invasion and trophic collapse have created a species-poor grassland that is highly productive, resilient to yearly climatic fluctuations, and resistant to invasion, but vulnerable to rapid collapse after the re-introduction of fire. We initially show how human disturbance has created a negative relationship between diversity and function, contrary to theoretical predictions. Fire prevention since the mid-nineteenth century is associated with the loss of plant species but it has stabilized high-yield annual production and invasion resistance, comparable to a managed high-yield low-diversity agricultural system. In managing for fire suppression, however, a hidden vulnerability to sudden environmental change emerges that is explained by the elimination of the buffering effects of high species diversity. With the re-introduction of fire, grasslands only persist in areas with remnant concentrations of native species, in which a range of rare and mostly functionally redundant plants proliferate after burning and prevent extensive invasion including a rapid conversion towards woodland. This research shows how biodiversity can be crucial for ecosystem stability despite appearing functionally insignificant beforehand, a relationship probably applicable to many ecosystems given the globally prevalent combination of intensive long-term land

Genomic landscape of human diversity across Madagascar

Science.gov (United States)

Pierron, Denis; Heiske, Margit; Razafindrazaka, Harilanto; Rakoto, Ignace; Rabetokotany, Nelly; Ravololomanga, Bodo; Rakotozafy, Lucien M.-A.; Rakotomalala, Mireille Mialy; Razafiarivony, Michel; Rasoarifetra, Bako; Raharijesy, Miakabola Andriamampianina; Razafindralambo, Lolona; Ramilisonina; Fanony, Fulgence; Lejamble, Sendra; Thomas, Olivier; Mohamed Abdallah, Ahmed; Rocher, Christophe; Arachiche, Amal; Tonaso, Laure; Pereda-loth, Veronica; Schiavinato, Stéphanie; Brucato, Nicolas; Ricaut, Francois-Xavier; Kusuma, Pradiptajati; Sudoyo, Herawati; Ni, Shengyu; Boland, Anne; Deleuze, Jean-Francois; Beaujard, Philippe; Grange, Philippe; Adelaar, Sander; Stoneking, Mark; Rakotoarisoa, Jean-Aimé; Radimilahy, Chantal; Letellier, Thierry

2017-01-01

Although situated ∼400 km from the east coast of Africa, Madagascar exhibits cultural, linguistic, and genetic traits from both Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa. The settlement history remains contentious; we therefore used a grid-based approach to sample at high resolution the genomic diversity (including maternal lineages, paternal lineages, and genome-wide data) across 257 villages and 2,704 Malagasy individuals. We find a common Bantu and Austronesian descent for all Malagasy individuals with a limited paternal contribution from Europe and the Middle East. Admixture and demographic growth happened recently, suggesting a rapid settlement of Madagascar during the last millennium. However, the distribution of African and Asian ancestry across the island reveals that the admixture was sex biased and happened heterogeneously across Madagascar, suggesting independent colonization of Madagascar from Africa and Asia rather than settlement by an already admixed population. In addition, there are geographic influences on the present genomic diversity, independent of the admixture, showing that a few centuries is sufficient to produce detectable genetic structure in human populations. PMID:28716916

Genomic Diversity in the Genus of Aspergillus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Jane Lind Nybo

, sections and genus of Aspergillus. The work uncovers a large genomic diversity across all studied groups of species. The genomic diversity was especially evident on the section level, where the proteins shared by all species only represents ⇠55% of the proteome. This number decreases even further, to 38......, sections Nigri, Usti and Cavericolus, clade Tubingensis, and species A. niger. It lastly uses these results to predict genetic traits that take part in fungal speciation. Within a few years the Aspergillus whole-genus sequencing project will have published all currently-accepted Aspergillus genomes......Aspergillus is a highly important genus of saprotrophic filamentous fungi. It is a very diverse genus that is inextricably intertwined with human a↵airs on a daily basis, holding species relevant to plant and human pathology, enzyme and bulk chemistry production, food and beverage biotechnology...

Rethinking Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

1996

These three papers were presented at a symposium on rethinking diversity in human resource development (HRD) moderated by Neal Chalofsky at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development. "Diversity: A Double-Edged Sword" (Sally F. Angus) presents the notion of work force diversity through two differing perspectives in order to…

[Diversity and development of positional behavior in non-human primates].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jing; Qi, Xiao-Guang; Zhang, Kan; Zhang, Pei; Guo, Song-Tao; Wei, Wei; Li, Bao-Guo

2012-10-01

In long-term evolution, wildlife in general and primates in particular have formed specific patterns of behavior to adapt to a diverse variety of habitat environments. Current research on positional behavior in non-human primates has been found to explain a great deal about primate adaptability diversification, ecology, anatomy and evolution. Here, we summarize the noted classifications and differences in seasonal, site-specific and sex-age positional behaviors while also reviewing the development and status of non-human primate positional behavior research. This review is intended to provide reference for the future research of non-human primates and aid in further research on behavioral ecology of primates.

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) genetic diversity and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type-1 diversity has an impact on vaccine efficacy and drug resistance. It is important to know the circulating genetic variants and associated drug-resistance mutations in the context of scale up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Nigeria. The objective of this study was to ...

Establishment of Human Neural Progenitor Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells with Diverse Tissue Origins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hayato Fukusumi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs have previously been generated from limited numbers of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC clones. Here, 21 hiPSC clones derived from human dermal fibroblasts, cord blood cells, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were differentiated using two neural induction methods, an embryoid body (EB formation-based method and an EB formation method using dual SMAD inhibitors (dSMADi. Our results showed that expandable hNPCs could be generated from hiPSC clones with diverse somatic tissue origins. The established hNPCs exhibited a mid/hindbrain-type neural identity and uniform expression of neural progenitor genes.

Human genome program report. Part 1, overview and progress

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-11-01

This report contains Part 1 of a two-part report to reflect research and progress in the U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program from 1994 through 1996, with specified updates made just before publication. Part 1 consists of the program overview and report on progress.

Genetic diversity of human metapneumovirus in hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections in Croatia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jagušić, Maja; Slović, Anamarija; Ljubin-Sternak, Sunčanica; Mlinarić-Galinović, Gordana; Forčić, Dubravko

2017-11-01

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is recognized as a global and frequent cause of acute respiratory tract infections among people of all ages. The objectives of this study were molecular epidemiology and evolutionary analysis of HMPV strains which produced moderate and severe acute respiratory tract infections in children in Croatia during four consecutive seasons (2011-2014). A total of 117 HMPV-positive samples collected from hospitalized pediatric patients presenting with acute respiratory tract infections and tested by direct immunofluorescence assay were first analyzed by amplifying a part of the F gene. Sixteen samples were further analyzed based on complete F, G, and SH gene sequences. HMPV genome was identified in 92 of 117 samples (78%) and the circulation of multiple lineages of HMPV was confirmed. In 2011, 2012, and 2014, subgroups A2 and B2 co-circulated, while B1 gained prevalence in 2013 and 2014. The study established the presence of a novel subcluster A2c in Croatia. This subcluster has only recently been detected in East and Southeast Asia. This study provides new insights into epidemiology and genetic diversity of HMPV in this part of Europe. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Morphological and Genetic Diversity of Trichuris spp. recovered from Humans and Pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nissen, Sofie; Nejsum, Peter; Christensen, Henrik

2009-01-01

The nematodes, Trichuris suis and Trichuris trichiura are believed to be two separate but closely related species. The aim of our study was to examine the morphological and genetic diversity of Trichuris spp. recovered from pigs and humans. Sympatric worm material isolated from 10 humans and 5 pigs...... found in pig-derived worms (31% of the human-derived worms, consensus sequence 531 nucleotides long). The results indicated that the nematodes found in pigs belong to a genetically distinct species (T. suis) whereas the nematodes in humans showed considerable genetic variability either related...... to ancestral polymorphism or more recent cross-breeding between T. trichiura and T. suis....

Is Homo sapiens polytypic? Human taxonomic diversity and its implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodley, Michael A

2010-01-01

The term race is a traditional synonym for subspecies, however it is frequently asserted that Homo sapiens is monotypic and that what are termed races are nothing more than biological illusions. In this manuscript a case is made for the hypothesis that H. sapiens is polytypic, and in this way is no different from other species exhibiting similar levels of genetic and morphological diversity. First it is demonstrated that the four major definitions of race/subspecies can be shown to be synonymous within the context of the framework of race as a correlation structure of traits. Next the issue of taxonomic classification is considered where it is demonstrated that H. sapiens possesses high levels morphological diversity, genetic heterozygosity and differentiation (F(ST)) compared to many species that are acknowledged to be polytypic with respect to subspecies. Racial variation is then evaluated in light of the phylogenetic species concept, where it is suggested that the least inclusive monophyletic units exist below the level of species within H. sapiens indicating the existence of a number of potential human phylogenetic species; and the biological species concept, where it is determined that racial variation is too small to represent differentiation at the level of biological species. Finally the implications of this are discussed in the context of anthropology where an accurate picture of the sequence and timing of events during the evolution of human taxa are required for a complete picture of human evolution, and medicine, where a greater appreciation of the role played by human taxonomic differences in disease susceptibility and treatment responsiveness will save lives in the future.

Historical biome distribution and recent human disturbance shape the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Pärtel, Meelis; Öpik, Maarja; Moora, Mari; Tedersoo, Leho; Szava-Kovats, Robert; Rosendahl, Søren; Rillig, Matthias C; Lekberg, Ylva; Kreft, Holger; Helgason, Thorunn; Eriksson, Ove; Davison, John; de Bello, Francesco; Caruso, Tancredi; Zobel, Martin

2017-10-01

The availability of global microbial diversity data, collected using standardized metabarcoding techniques, makes microorganisms promising models for investigating the role of regional and local factors in driving biodiversity. Here we modelled the global diversity of symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi using currently available data on AM fungal molecular diversity (small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences) in field samples. To differentiate between regional and local effects, we estimated species pools (sets of potentially suitable taxa) for each site, which are expected to reflect regional processes. We then calculated community completeness, an index showing the fraction of the species pool present, which is expected to reflect local processes. We found significant spatial variation, globally in species pool size, as well as in local and dark diversity (absent members of the species pool). Species pool size was larger close to areas containing tropical grasslands during the last glacial maximum, which are possible centres of diversification. Community completeness was greater in regions of high wilderness (remoteness from human disturbance). Local diversity was correlated with wilderness and current connectivity to mountain grasslands. Applying the species pool concept to symbiotic fungi facilitated a better understanding of how biodiversity can be jointly shaped by large-scale historical processes and recent human disturbance. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

The Human Genome Diversity (HGD) Project. Summary document

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-12-31

In 1991 a group of human geneticists and molecular biologists proposed to the scientific community that a world wide survey be undertaken of variation in the human genome. To aid their considerations, the committee therefore decided to hold a small series of international workshops to explore the major scientific issues involved. The intention was to define a framework for the project which could provide a basis for much wider and more detailed discussion and planning--it was recognized that the successful implementation of the proposed project, which has come to be known as the Human Genome Diversity (HGD) Project, would not only involve scientists but also various national and international non-scientific groups all of which should contribute to the project`s development. The international HGD workshop held in Sardinia in September 1993 was the last in the initial series of planning workshops. As such it not only explored new ground but also pulled together into a more coherent form much of the formal and informal discussion that had taken place in the preceding two years. This report presents the deliberations of the Sardinia workshop within a consideration of the overall development of the HGD Project to date.

Long-Distance Dispersal Shaped Patterns of Human Genetic Diversity in Eurasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Isabel; Arenas, Miguel; Currat, Mathias; Sramkova Hanulova, Anna; Sousa, Vitor C; Ray, Nicolas; Excoffier, Laurent

2016-04-01

Most previous attempts at reconstructing the past history of human populations did not explicitly take geography into account or considered very simple scenarios of migration and ignored environmental information. However, it is likely that the last glacial maximum (LGM) affected the demography and the range of many species, including our own. Moreover, long-distance dispersal (LDD) may have been an important component of human migrations, allowing fast colonization of new territories and preserving high levels of genetic diversity. Here, we use a high-quality microsatellite data set genotyped in 22 populations to estimate the posterior probabilities of several scenarios for the settlement of the Old World by modern humans. We considered models ranging from a simple spatial expansion to others including LDD and a LGM-induced range contraction, as well as Neolithic demographic expansions. We find that scenarios with LDD are much better supported by data than models without LDD. Nevertheless, we show evidence that LDD events to empty habitats were strongly prevented during the settlement of Eurasia. This unexpected absence of LDD ahead of the colonization wave front could have been caused by an Allee effect, either due to intrinsic causes such as an inbreeding depression built during the expansion or due to extrinsic causes such as direct competition with archaic humans. Overall, our results suggest only a relatively limited effect of the LGM contraction on current patterns of human diversity. This is in clear contrast with the major role of LDD migrations, which have potentially contributed to the intermingled genetic structure of Eurasian populations. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Differential sequence diversity at merozoite surface protein-1 locus of Plasmodium knowlesi from humans and macaques in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Putaporntip, Chaturong; Thongaree, Siriporn; Jongwutiwes, Somchai

2013-08-01

To determine the genetic diversity and potential transmission routes of Plasmodium knowlesi, we analyzed the complete nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the merozoite surface protein-1 of this simian malaria (Pkmsp-1), an asexual blood-stage vaccine candidate, from naturally infected humans and macaques in Thailand. Analysis of Pkmsp-1 sequences from humans (n=12) and monkeys (n=12) reveals five conserved and four variable domains. Most nucleotide substitutions in conserved domains were dimorphic whereas three of four variable domains contained complex repeats with extensive sequence and size variation. Besides purifying selection in conserved domains, evidence of intragenic recombination scattering across Pkmsp-1 was detected. The number of haplotypes, haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity and recombination sites of human-derived sequences exceeded that of monkey-derived sequences. Phylogenetic networks based on concatenated conserved sequences of Pkmsp-1 displayed a character pattern that could have arisen from sampling process or the presence of two independent routes of P. knowlesi transmission, i.e. from macaques to human and from human to humans in Thailand. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diversity and human perceptions of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Southeast Asian megacities.

Science.gov (United States)

Sing, Kong-Wah; Wang, Wen-Zhi; Wan, Tao; Lee, Ping-Shin; Li, Zong-Xu; Chen, Xing; Wang, Yun-Yu; Wilson, John-James

2016-10-01

Urbanization requires the conversion of natural land cover to cover with human-constructed elements and is considered a major threat to biodiversity. Bee populations, globally, are under threat; however, the effect of rapid urban expansion in Southeast Asia on bee diversity has not been investigated. Given the pressing issues of bee conservation and urbanization in Southeast Asia, coupled with complex factors surrounding human-bee coexistence, we investigated bee diversity and human perceptions of bees in four megacities. We sampled bees and conducted questionnaires at three different site types in each megacity: a botanical garden, central business district, and peripheral suburban areas. Overall, the mean species richness and abundance of bees were significantly higher in peripheral suburban areas than central business districts; however, there were no significant differences in the mean species richness and abundance between botanical gardens and peripheral suburban areas or botanical gardens and central business districts. Urban residents were unlikely to have seen bees but agreed that bees have a right to exist in their natural environment. Residents who did notice and interact with bees, even though being stung, were more likely to have positive opinions towards the presence of bees in cities.

Haplotypes in the dystrophin DNA segment point to a mosaic origin of modern human diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Zietkiewicz, Ewa; Yotova, Vania; Gehl, Dominik; Wambach, Tina; Arrieta, Isabel; Batzer, Mark; Cole, David E C; Hechtman, Peter; Kaplan, Feige; Modiano, David; Moisan, Jean-Paul; Michalski, Roman; Labuda, Damian

2003-11-01

Although Africa has played a central role in human evolutionary history, certain studies have suggested that not all contemporary human genetic diversity is of recent African origin. We investigated 35 simple polymorphic sites and one T(n) microsatellite in an 8-kb segment of the dystrophin gene. We found 86 haplotypes in 1,343 chromosomes from around the world. Although a classical out-of-Africa topology was observed in trees based on the variant frequencies, the tree of haplotype sequences reveals three lineages accounting for present-day diversity. The proportion of new recombinants and the diversity of the T(n) microsatellite were used to estimate the age of haplotype lineages and the time of colonization events. The lineage that underwent the great expansion originated in Africa prior to the Upper Paleolithic (27,000-56,000 years ago). A second group, of structurally distinct haplotypes that occupy a central position on the tree, has never left Africa. The third lineage is represented by the haplotype that lies closest to the root, is virtually absent in Africa, and appears older than the recent out-of-Africa expansion. We propose that this lineage could have left Africa before the expansion (as early as 160,000 years ago) and admixed, outside of Africa, with the expanding lineage. Contemporary human diversity, although dominated by the recently expanded African lineage, thus represents a mosaic of different contributions.

Human capital diversity in the creation of social capital for team creativity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Han, J.; Han, J; Brass, D.

2014-01-01

We highlight the social aspects of team creativity by proposing that team creativity is influenced by two types of team social capital: bridging and bonding social capital. Going beyond the structural perspective, we posit that team-level human capital diversity is one of the potential antecedents

Human genome program report. Part 2, 1996 research abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-11-01

This report contains Part 2 of a two-part report to reflect research and progress in the US Department of Energy Human Genome Program from 1994 through 1996, with specified updates made just before publication. Part 2 consists of 1996 research abstracts. Attention is focused on the following: sequencing; mapping; informatics; ethical, legal, and social issues; infrastructure; and small business innovation research.

Human presence impacts fungal diversity of inflated lunar/Mars analog habitat.

Science.gov (United States)

Blachowicz, A; Mayer, T; Bashir, M; Pieber, T R; De León, P; Venkateswaran, K

2017-07-11

An inflatable lunar/Mars analog habitat (ILMAH), simulated closed system isolated by HEPA filtration, mimics International Space Station (ISS) conditions and future human habitation on other planets except for the exchange of air between outdoor and indoor environments. The ILMAH was primarily commissioned to measure physiological, psychological, and immunological characteristics of human inhabiting in isolation, but it was also available for other studies such as examining its microbiological aspects. Characterizing and understanding possible changes and succession of fungal species is of high importance since fungi are not only hazardous to inhabitants but also deteriorate the habitats. Observing the mycobiome changes in the presence of human will enable developing appropriate countermeasures with reference to crew health in a future closed habitat. Succession of fungi was characterized utilizing both traditional and state-of-the-art molecular techniques during the 30-day human occupation of the ILMAH. Surface samples were collected at various time points and locations to observe both the total and viable fungal populations of common environmental and opportunistic pathogenic species. To estimate the cultivable fungal population, potato dextrose agar plate counts method was utilized. The internal transcribed spacer region-based iTag Illumina sequencing was employed to measure the community structure and fluctuation of the mycobiome over time in various locations. Treatment of samples with propidium monoazide (PMA; a DNA intercalating dye for selective detection of viable microbial populations) had a significant effect on the microbial diversity compared to non-PMA-treated samples. Statistical analysis confirmed that viable fungal community structure changed (increase in diversity and decrease in fungal burden) over the occupation time. Samples collected at day 20 showed distinct fungal profiles from samples collected at any other time point (before or after

Diversity management

OpenAIRE

Knákalová, Lucie

2009-01-01

The key topic of the work is diversity management, i.e. management of em-ployees" diversity within organization. Opening part of the work identifies the position of diversity within society and related phenomena such as stereotypes, biases and various forms of discrimination. Then the work discusses the role of diversity management in organizations, its principles and basic areas of focus. Attention is paid to certain social groups that the diversity management concept should especially deal ...

Intellectual property rights and detached human body parts.

Science.gov (United States)

Pila, Justine

2014-01-01

This paper responds to an invitation by the editors to consider whether the intellectual property (IP) regime suggests an appropriate model for protecting interests in detached human body parts. It begins by outlining the extent of existing IP protection for body parts in Europe, and the relevant strengths and weaknesses of the patent system in that regard. It then considers two further species of IP right of less obvious relevance. The first are the statutory rights of ownership conferred by domestic UK law in respect of employee inventions, and the second are the economic and moral rights recognised by European and international law in respect of authorial works. In the argument made, both of these species of IP right may suggest more appropriate models of sui generis protection for detached human body parts than patent rights because of their capacity better to accommodate the relevant public and private interests in respect of the same.

The Dawn of Human Matrilineal Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Behar, Doron M.; Villems, Richard; Soodyall, Himla; Blue-Smith, Jason; Pereira, Luisa; Metspalu, Ene; Scozzari, Rosaria; Makkan, Heeran; Tzur, Shay; Comas, David; Bertranpetit, Jaume; Quintana-Murci, Lluis; Tyler-Smith, Chris; Wells, R. Spencer; Rosset, Saharon

2008-01-01

The quest to explain demographic history during the early part of human evolution has been limited because of the scarce paleoanthropological record from the Middle Stone Age. To shed light on the structure of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogeny at the dawn of Homo sapiens, we constructed a matrilineal tree composed of 624 complete mtDNA genomes from sub-Saharan Hg L lineages. We paid particular attention to the Khoi and San (Khoisan) people of South Africa because they are considered to be a unique relic of hunter-gatherer lifestyle and to carry paternal and maternal lineages belonging to the deepest clades known among modern humans. Both the tree phylogeny and coalescence calculations suggest that Khoisan matrilineal ancestry diverged from the rest of the human mtDNA pool 90,000–150,000 years before present (ybp) and that at least five additional, currently extant maternal lineages existed during this period in parallel. Furthermore, we estimate that a minimum of 40 other evolutionarily successful lineages flourished in sub-Saharan Africa during the period of modern human dispersal out of Africa approximately 60,000–70,000 ybp. Only much later, at the beginning of the Late Stone Age, about 40,000 ybp, did introgression of additional lineages occur into the Khoisan mtDNA pool. This process was further accelerated during the recent Bantu expansions. Our results suggest that the early settlement of humans in Africa was already matrilineally structured and involved small, separately evolving isolated populations. PMID:18439549

Genetic Diversity and Distribution of Blastocystis Subtype 3 in Human Populations, with Special Reference to a Rural Population in Central Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liliana Rojas-Velázquez

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Blastocystis subtype 3 (ST3 is a parasitic protist found in the digestive tract of symptomatic and asymptomatic humans around the world. While this parasite exhibits a high prevalence in the human population, its true geographic distribution and global genetic diversity are still unknown. This gap in knowledge limits the understanding of the spread mechanisms, epidemiology, and impact that this parasite has on human populations. Herein, we provided new data on the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of Blastocystis ST3 from a rural human population in Mexico. To do so, we collected and targeted the SSU-rDNA region in fecal samples from this population and further compared its genetic diversity and structure with that previously observed in populations of Blastocystis ST3 from other regions of the planet. Our analyses reveled that diversity of Blastocystis ST3 showed a high haplotype diversity and genetic structure to the world level; however, they were low in the Morelos population. The haplotype network revealed a common widespread haplotype from which the others were generated recently. Finally, our results suggested a recent expansion of the diversity of Blastocystis ST3 worldwide.

Perspectives on Human Variation through the Lens of Diversity and Race.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarti, Aravinda

2015-09-01

Human populations, however defined, differ in the distribution and frequency of traits they display and diseases to which individuals are susceptible. These need to be understood with respect to three recent advances. First, these differences are multicausal and a result of not only genetic but also epigenetic and environmental factors. Second, the actions of genes, although crucial, turn out to be quite dynamic and modifiable, which contrasts with the classical view that they are inflexible machines. Third, the diverse human populations across the globe have spent too little time apart from our common origin 50,000 years ago to have developed many individually adapted traits. Human trait and disease differences by continental ancestry are thus as much the result of nongenetic as genetic forces. Copyright © 2015 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Organizational strategy and diversity management: diversity-sensitive orientation as a moderating influence.

Science.gov (United States)

Dansky, Kathryn H; Weech-Maldonado, Robert; De Souza, Gita; Dreachslin, Janice L

2003-01-01

Empirical studies on diversity suggest that health care organizations have been slow to embrace diversity management. We propose that sensitivity to diversity, at the corporate level, moderates strategic decision making, which influences human resource management practices such as diversity initiatives. This study of 203 hospitals explored the relationships among organizational strategy, organizational sensitivity to diversity, and diversity management practices.

Managing Workplace Diversity

OpenAIRE

Harold Andrew Patrick; Vincent Raj Kumar

2012-01-01

Diversity management is a process intended to create and maintain a positive work environment where the similarities and differences of individuals are valued. The literature on diversity management has mostly emphasized on organization culture; its impact on diversity openness; human resource management practices; institutional environments and organizational contexts to diversity-related pressures, expectations, requ...

Diversity, metabolism and microbial ecology of butyrate-producing bacteria from the human large intestine.

Science.gov (United States)

Louis, Petra; Flint, Harry J

2009-05-01

Butyrate-producing bacteria play a key role in colonic health in humans. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge of the diversity, metabolism and microbial ecology of this functionally important group of bacteria. Human colonic butyrate producers are Gram-positive firmicutes, but are phylogenetically diverse, with the two most abundant groups related to Eubacterium rectale/Roseburia spp. and to Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Five different arrangements have been identified for the genes of the central pathway involved in butyrate synthesis, while in most cases butyryl-CoA : acetate CoA-transferase, rather than butyrate kinase, appears to perform the final step in butyrate synthesis. Mechanisms have been proposed recently in non-gut Clostridium spp. whereby butyrate synthesis can result in energy generation via both substrate-level phosphorylation and proton gradients. Here we suggest that these mechanisms also apply to the majority of butyrate producers from the human colon. The roles of these bacteria in the gut community and their influence on health are now being uncovered, taking advantage of the availability of cultured isolates and molecular methodologies. Populations of F. prausnitzii are reported to be decreased in Crohn's disease, for example, while populations of Roseburia relatives appear to be particularly sensitive to the diet composition in human volunteer studies.

Geography, Ethnicity or Subsistence-Specific Variations in Human Microbiome Composition and Diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinod K. Gupta

2017-06-01

Full Text Available One of the fundamental issues in the microbiome research is characterization of the healthy human microbiota. Recent studies have elucidated substantial divergences in the microbiome structure between healthy individuals from different race and ethnicity. This review provides a comprehensive account of such geography, ethnicity or life-style-specific variations in healthy microbiome at five major body habitats—Gut, Oral-cavity, Respiratory Tract, Skin, and Urogenital Tract (UGT. The review focuses on the general trend in the human microbiome evolution—a gradual transition in the gross compositional structure along with a continual decrease in diversity of the microbiome, especially of the gut microbiome, as the human populations passed through three stages of subsistence like foraging, rural farming and industrialized urban western life. In general, gut microbiome of the hunter-gatherer populations is highly abundant with Prevotella, Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes, Clostridiales, Ruminobacter etc., while those of the urban communities are often enriched in Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, and Firmicutes. The oral and skin microbiome are the next most diverse among different populations, while respiratory tract and UGT microbiome show lesser variations. Higher microbiome diversity is observed for oral-cavity in hunter-gatherer group with higher prevalence of Haemophilus than agricultural group. In case of skin microbiome, rural and urban Chinese populations show variation in abundance of Trabulsiella and Propionibacterium. On the basis of published data, we have characterized the core microbiota—the set of genera commonly found in all populations, irrespective of their geographic locations, ethnicity or mode of subsistence. We have also identified the major factors responsible for geography-based alterations in microbiota; though it is not yet clear which factor plays a dominant role in shaping the microbiome—nature or nurture, host genetics

Leadership and Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, Marianne

2012-01-01

As part of the special edition recognizing the 40th anniversary of "Educational Management Administration & Leadership" this article reviews the coverage of leadership and diversity issues in the journal. The majority of articles concerning diversity have focused on gender, with attention turning to the wider concept of diversity since the year…

Brazilian legal and bioethical approach about donation for research and patents of human body parts.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Márcia Santana; Silla, Lúcia; Goldim, José Roberto; Martins-Costa, Judith

2017-07-01

The aim of this paper is to explain why the Brazilian legal system does not accept commercialization or commodification of human body parts, including genes or cells. As a consequence, in Brazil, the donation of human body parts for research-including basic or translational-must be made altruistically. For the same reason, the Brazilian patent system cannot be applied to human parts, cells or genes. Here, we present a qualitative analysis of juridical, bioethical, and social reasoning related to the legal status of human body parts especially in biobanks, as well as a description of the Brazilian legal system for clarification. Our aim is to discuss the responsibility of researchers for making available the scientific information resulting from scientific research and biobank storage of human body parts and to ensure the free utilization of knowledge in human health research.

Diverse Expected Gradient Active Learning for Relative Attributes.

Science.gov (United States)

You, Xinge; Wang, Ruxin; Tao, Dacheng

2014-06-02

The use of relative attributes for semantic understanding of images and videos is a promising way to improve communication between humans and machines. However, it is extremely labor- and time-consuming to define multiple attributes for each instance in large amount of data. One option is to incorporate active learning, so that the informative samples can be actively discovered and then labeled. However, most existing active-learning methods select samples one at a time (serial mode), and may therefore lose efficiency when learning multiple attributes. In this paper, we propose a batch-mode active-learning method, called Diverse Expected Gradient Active Learning (DEGAL). This method integrates an informativeness analysis and a diversity analysis to form a diverse batch of queries. Specifically, the informativeness analysis employs the expected pairwise gradient length as a measure of informativeness, while the diversity analysis forces a constraint on the proposed diverse gradient angle. Since simultaneous optimization of these two parts is intractable, we utilize a two-step procedure to obtain the diverse batch of queries. A heuristic method is also introduced to suppress imbalanced multi-class distributions. Empirical evaluations of three different databases demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach.

Linguistic diversity and English language use in multicultural organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

2013-01-01

Two great human resource management challenges face organizations in many parts of the world. The workforce is aging leaving fewer young people to take over. At the same time, globalization leads to a pressure for internationalization with great consequences for internal collaboration in many...... organizations. Accordingly, the link between employee age and language use is of increasing importance. In this study, we report on the findings of a survey using responses from 489 members of Danish multicultural organizations. We studied the effect of linguistic diversity on English language communication...... as well as the moderating effect of respondents’ age.Wefound linguistic diversity to have positive associations with the two English language communication variables. We also found age to moderate the relationship between linguistic diversity and perceived use of English language by management. Since...

Diversity and Complexity in the Classroom: Valuing Racial and Cultural Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

du Plessis, Pierre; Bisschoff, Tom

2007-01-01

From a diversity perspective, all students should receive an education that continuously affirms human diversity--one that embraces the history and culture of all racial groups and that teaches people of colour to take change of their own destinies. With regards to teaching, a diversity perspective assumes that teachers will hold high expectations…

Tropical Rainforest and Human-Modified Landscapes Support Unique Butterfly Communities That Differ in Abundance and Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Sambhu, Hemchandranauth; Northfield, Tobin; Nankishore, Alliea; Ansari, Abdullah; Turton, Stephen

2017-12-08

Tropical forests account for at least 50% of documented diversity, but anthropogenic activities are converting forests to agriculture and urban areas at an alarming rate, with potentially strong effects on insect abundance and diversity. However, the questions remain whether insect populations are uniformly affected by land conversion and if insect conservation can occur in agricultural margins and urban gardens. We compare butterfly populations in tropical secondary forests to those found in sugarcane and urban areas in coastal Guyana and evaluate the potential for particular butterfly communities to inhabit human-modified landscapes. Butterflies were sampled for 1 yr using fruit-baited traps in three separated geographical locations on the coast. We used nonmetric multidimensional scaling to assess differences in species assemblages and a generalized linear mixed model to evaluate abundance, species richness, evenness, and diversity. The secondary forests in all three locations supported higher butterfly abundance and diversity than other human-modified areas, although the magnitude of this effect varied by season and location. However, each land use supported its own type of butterfly community, as species composition was different across the three land uses. Sugarcane field margins and urban gardens supported populations of butterflies rarely found in our tropical secondary forest sites. Land management practices that encourage forest conservation along with butterfly-friendly activities in human settlements and agricultural areas could improve butterfly conservation. To this end, butterfly conservation in Guyana and other tropical landscapes would benefit from a shift from inadvertently to actively making the landscape attractive for butterflies. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The rhesus macaque is three times as diverse but more closely equivalent in damaging coding variation as compared to the human

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan Qiaoping

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background As a model organism in biomedicine, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta is the most widely used nonhuman primate. Although a draft genome sequence was completed in 2007, there has been no systematic genome-wide comparison of genetic variation of this species to humans. Comparative analysis of functional and nonfunctional diversity in this highly abundant and adaptable non-human primate could inform its use as a model for human biology, and could reveal how variation in population history and size alters patterns and levels of sequence variation in primates. Results We sequenced the mRNA transcriptome and H3K4me3-marked DNA regions in hippocampus from 14 humans and 14 rhesus macaques. Using equivalent methodology and sampling spaces, we identified 462,802 macaque SNPs, most of which were novel and disproportionately located in the functionally important genomic regions we had targeted in the sequencing. At least one SNP was identified in each of 16,797 annotated macaque genes. Accuracy of macaque SNP identification was conservatively estimated to be >90%. Comparative analyses using SNPs equivalently identified in the two species revealed that rhesus macaque has approximately three times higher SNP density and average nucleotide diversity as compared to the human. Based on this level of diversity, the effective population size of the rhesus macaque is approximately 80,000 which contrasts with an effective population size of less than 10,000 for humans. Across five categories of genomic regions, intergenic regions had the highest SNP density and average nucleotide diversity and CDS (coding sequences the lowest, in both humans and macaques. Although there are more coding SNPs (cSNPs per individual in macaques than in humans, the ratio of dN/dS is significantly lower in the macaque. Furthermore, the number of damaging nonsynonymous cSNPs (have damaging effects on protein functions from PolyPhen-2 prediction in the macaque is more

Human methanogen diversity and incidence in healthy and diseased colonic groups using mcrA gene analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scanlan Pauline D

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The incidence and diversity of human methanogens are insufficiently characterised in the gastrointestinal tract of both health and disease. A PCR and clone library methodology targeting the mcrA gene was adopted to facilitate the two-fold aim of surveying the relative incidence of methanogens in health and disease groups and also to provide an overview of methanogen diversity in the human gastrointestinal tract. Results DNA faecal extracts (207 in total from a group of healthy controls and five gastrointestinal disease groups were investigated. Colorectal cancer, polypectomised, irritable bowel syndrome and the control group had largely equivalent numbers of individuals positive for methanogens (range 45–50%. Methanogen incidence in the inflammatory bowel disease groups was reduced, 24% for ulcerative colitis and 30% for Crohn's disease. Four unique mcrA gene restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles were identified and bioinformatic analyses revealed that the majority of all sequences (94% retrieved from libraries were 100% identical to Methanobrevibacter smithii mcrA gene. In addition, mcrA gene sequences most closely related to Methanobrevibacter oralis and members of the order Methanosarcinales were also recovered. Conclusion The mcrA gene serves as a useful biomarker for methanogen detection in the human gut and the varying trends of methanogen incidence in the human gut could serve as important indicators of intestinal function. Although Methanobrevibacter smithii is the dominant methanogen in both the distal colon of individuals in health and disease, the diversity of methanogens is greater than previously reported. In conclusion, the low incidence of methanogens in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, the functionality of the methanogens and impact of methane production in addition to competitive interactions between methanogens and other microbial groups in the human gastrointestinal tract warrants further

Genome-wide diversity and differentiation in New World populations of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax.

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira, Thais C; Rodrigues, Priscila T; Menezes, Maria José; Gonçalves-Lopes, Raquel M; Bastos, Melissa S; Lima, Nathália F; Barbosa, Susana; Gerber, Alexandra L; Loss de Morais, Guilherme; Berná, Luisa; Phelan, Jody; Robello, Carlos; de Vasconcelos, Ana Tereza R; Alves, João Marcelo P; Ferreira, Marcelo U

2017-07-01

The Americas were the last continent colonized by humans carrying malaria parasites. Plasmodium falciparum from the New World shows very little genetic diversity and greater linkage disequilibrium, compared with its African counterparts, and is clearly subdivided into local, highly divergent populations. However, limited available data have revealed extensive genetic diversity in American populations of another major human malaria parasite, P. vivax. We used an improved sample preparation strategy and next-generation sequencing to characterize 9 high-quality P. vivax genome sequences from northwestern Brazil. These new data were compared with publicly available sequences from recently sampled clinical P. vivax isolates from Brazil (BRA, total n = 11 sequences), Peru (PER, n = 23), Colombia (COL, n = 31), and Mexico (MEX, n = 19). We found that New World populations of P. vivax are as diverse (nucleotide diversity π between 5.2 × 10-4 and 6.2 × 10-4) as P. vivax populations from Southeast Asia, where malaria transmission is substantially more intense. They display several non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions (some of them previously undescribed) in genes known or suspected to be involved in antimalarial drug resistance, such as dhfr, dhps, mdr1, mrp1, and mrp-2, but not in the chloroquine resistance transporter ortholog (crt-o) gene. Moreover, P. vivax in the Americas is much less geographically substructured than local P. falciparum populations, with relatively little between-population genome-wide differentiation (pairwise FST values ranging between 0.025 and 0.092). Finally, P. vivax populations show a rapid decline in linkage disequilibrium with increasing distance between pairs of polymorphic sites, consistent with very frequent outcrossing. We hypothesize that the high diversity of present-day P. vivax lineages in the Americas originated from successive migratory waves and subsequent admixture between parasite lineages from geographically diverse sites

Higher Education and Its Contribution to a Diverse Regional Supply of Human Capital: Does the Binary/Unitary Divide Matters?

Science.gov (United States)

Santoalha, Artur; Biscaia, Ricardo; Teixeira, Pedro

2018-01-01

Diversity has been an important topic of research for some time in higher education, though the purposes underlying this attention have varied across national and regional contexts. In many parts of the world, the term "diversity" has been emphasized with regard to variety among the programs or services provided by academic institutions,…

Fast detection and modeling of human-body parts from monocular video

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lao, W.; Han, Jungong; With, de P.H.N.; Perales, F.J.; Fisher, R.B.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a novel and fast scheme to detect different body parts in human motion. Using monocular video sequences, trajectory estimation and body modeling of moving humans are combined in a co-operating processing architecture. More specifically, for every individual person, features of

Genetic diversity and natural selection footprints of the glycine amidinotransferase gene in various human populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Asifullah; Tian, Lei; Zhang, Chao; Yuan, Kai; Xu, Shuhua

2016-01-05

The glycine amidinotransferase gene (GATM) plays a vital role in energy metabolism in muscle tissues and is associated with multiple clinically important phenotypes. However, the genetic diversity of the GATM gene remains poorly understood within and between human populations. Here we analyzed the 1,000 Genomes Project data through population genetics approaches and observed significant genetic diversity across the GATM gene among various continental human populations. We observed considerable variations in GATM allele frequencies and haplotype composition among different populations. Substantial genetic differences were observed between East Asian and European populations (FST = 0.56). In addition, the frequency of a distinct major GATM haplotype in these groups was congruent with population-wide diversity at this locus. Furthermore, we identified GATM as the top differentiated gene compared to the other statin drug response-associated genes. Composite multiple analyses identified signatures of positive selection at the GATM locus, which was estimated to have occurred around 850 generations ago in European populations. As GATM catalyzes the key step of creatine biosynthesis involved in energy metabolism, we speculate that the European prehistorical demographic transition from hunter-gatherer to farming cultures was the driving force of selection that fulfilled creatine-based metabolic requirement of the populations.

Managing Workplace Diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harold Andrew Patrick

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Diversity management is a process intended to create and maintain a positive work environment where the similarities and differences of individuals are valued. The literature on diversity management has mostly emphasized on organization culture; its impact on diversity openness; human resource management practices; institutional environments and organizational contexts to diversity-related pressures, expectations, requirements, and incentives; perceived practices and organizational outcomes related to managing employee diversity; and several other issues. The current study examines the potential barriers to workplace diversity and suggests strategies to enhance workplace diversity and inclusiveness. It is based on a survey of 300 IT employees. The study concludes that successfully managing diversity can lead to more committed, better satisfied, better performing employees and potentially better financial performance for an organization.

Human and ecological determinants of the spatial structure of local breed diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Colino-Rabanal, Victor J; Rodríguez-Díaz, Roberto; Blanco-Villegas, María José; Peris, Salvador J; Lizana, Miguel

2018-04-24

Since domestication, a large number of livestock breeds adapted to local conditions have been created by natural and artificial selection, representing one of the most powerful ways in which human groups have constructed niches to meet their need. Although many authors have described local breeds as the result of culturally and environmentally mediated processes, this study, located in mainland Spain, is the first aimed at identifying and quantifying the environmental and human contributions to the spatial structure of local breed diversity, which we refer to as livestock niche. We found that the more similar two provinces were in terms of human population, ecological characteristics, historical ties, and geographic distance, the more similar the composition of local breeds in their territories. Isolation by human population distance showed the strongest effect, followed by isolation by the environment, thus supporting the view of livestock niche as a socio-cultural product adapted to the local environment, in whose construction humans make good use of their ecological and cultural inheritances. These findings provide a useful framework to understand and to envisage the effects of climate change and globalization on local breeds and their livestock niches.

Take action: influence diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, Norma J

2013-01-01

Increased diversity brings strength to nursing and ANNA. Being a more diverse association will require all of us working together. There is an old proverb that says: "one hand cannot cover the sky; it takes many hands." ANNA needs every one of its members to be a part of the diversity initiative.

Diversity of extracellular vesicles in human ejaculates revealed by cryo-electron microscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johanna L. Höög

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Human ejaculates contain extracellular vesicles (EVs, that to a large extent are considered to originate from the prostate gland, and are often denominated “prostasomes.” These EVs are important for human fertility, for example by promoting sperm motility and by inducing immune tolerance of the female immune system to the spermatozoa. So far, the EVs present in human ejaculate have not been studied in their native state, inside the seminal fluid without prior purification and isolation procedures. Using cryo-electron microscopy and tomography, we performed a comprehensive inventory of human ejaculate EVs. The sample was neither centrifuged, fixed, filtered or sectioned, nor were heavy metals added. Approximately 1,500 extracellular structures were imaged and categorized. The extracellular environment of human ejaculate was found to be diverse, with 5 major subcategories of EVs and 6 subcategories of extracellular membrane compartments, including lamellar bodies. Furthermore, 3 morphological features, including electron density, double membrane bilayers and coated surface, are described in all subcategories. This study reveals that the extracellular environment in human ejaculate is multifaceted. Several novel morphological EV subcategories are identified and clues to their cellular origin may be found in their morphology. This inventory is therefore important for developing future experimental approaches, and to interpret previously published data to understand the role of EVs for human male fertility.

Diverse Regulators of Human Ribosome Biogenesis Discovered by Changes in Nucleolar Number

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Katherine I. Farley-Barnes

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Ribosome biogenesis is a highly regulated, essential cellular process. Although studies in yeast have established some of the biological principles of ribosome biogenesis, many of the intricacies of its regulation in higher eukaryotes remain unknown. To understand how ribosome biogenesis is globally integrated in human cells, we conducted a genome-wide siRNA screen for regulators of nucleolar number. We found 139 proteins whose depletion changed the number of nucleoli per nucleus from 2–3 to only 1 in human MCF10A cells. Follow-up analyses on 20 hits found many (90% to be essential for the nucleolar functions of rDNA transcription (7, pre-ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA processing (16, and/or global protein synthesis (14. This genome-wide analysis exploits the relationship between nucleolar number and function to discover diverse cellular pathways that regulate the making of ribosomes and paves the way for further exploration of the links between ribosome biogenesis and human disease.

Haplotypes in the Dystrophin DNA Segment Point to a Mosaic Origin of Modern Human Diversity

OpenAIRE

Ziętkiewicz, Ewa; Yotova, Vania; Gehl, Dominik; Wambach, Tina; Arrieta, Isabel; Batzer, Mark; Cole, David E.C.; Hechtman, Peter; Kaplan, Feige; Modiano, David; Moisan, Jean-Paul; Michalski, Roman; Labuda, Damian

2003-01-01

Although Africa has played a central role in human evolutionary history, certain studies have suggested that not all contemporary human genetic diversity is of recent African origin. We investigated 35 simple polymorphic sites and one Tn microsatellite in an 8-kb segment of the dystrophin gene. We found 86 haplotypes in 1,343 chromosomes from around the world. Although a classical out-of-Africa topology was observed in trees based on the variant frequencies, the tree of haplotype sequences re...

Origin, diversity and maturation of human antiviral antibodies analyzed by high-throughput sequencing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ponraj ePrabakaran

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Our understanding of how antibodies are generated and function could help develop effective vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics against viruses such as HIV-1, SARS Coronavirus (CoV, and Hendra and Nipah viruses (henipaviruses. Although broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs against the HIV-1 were observed in patients, elicitation of such bnAbs remains a major challenge when compared to other viral targets. We previously hypothesized that HIV-1 could have evolved a strategy to evade the immune system due to absent or very weak binding of germline antibodies to the conserved epitopes that may not be sufficient to initiate and/or maintain an effective immune response. To further explore our hypothesis, we used the 454 sequence analysis of a large naïve library of human IgM antibodies which had been used for selecting antibodies against SARS Coronavirus (CoV receptor-binding domain (RBD, and soluble G proteins (sG of Hendra and Nipah viruses (henipaviruses. We found that the human IgM repertoires from the 454 sequencing have diverse germline usages, recombination patterns, junction diversity and a lower extent of somatic mutation. In this study, we identified germline intermediates of antibodies specific to HIV-1 and other viruses as observed in normal individuals, and compared their genetic diversity and somatic mutation level along with available structural and functional data. Further computational analysis will provide framework for understanding the underlying genetic and molecular determinants related to maturation pathways of antiviral bnAbs that could be useful for applying novel approaches to the design of effective vaccine immunogens and antibody-based therapeutics.

Best Practices for Managing Organizational Diversity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kreitz, Patricia A.; /SLAC

2007-05-18

In the twentieth century, ecologists and agriculturists developed an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the value of biological diversity, specifically the resilience and adaptability it brings to ecosystems. In the twenty-first century, the ecosystem model has been applied to human systems, particularly to understanding how organizations are structured and how they operate. Twenty-first century organizations are challenged by diversity in many arenas. Demographic changes in workforce composition and customer populations, combined with globalized markets and international competition are increasing the amount of diversity organizations must manage, both internally and externally. Many diversity specialists and business leaders argue that businesses and organizations interested in surviving and thriving in the twenty-first century need to take competitive advantage of a diverse workplace (Soutar, 2004; Yang, 2005). But to do so successfully, leaders and human resources (HR) managers must redefine management and leadership (Jones, 1989). Just as mono-cropping destroys biological diversity, and, in extreme cases, such as the Irish potato famine--human as well as natural ecosystems (Keohane, n.d.), so does mono-managing similarly destroy diversity within organizations. Leaders wanting to build strong, diverse organizations will not be successful if they rely on one approach or solution. Single-threaded diversity solutions, such as focusing only on recruitment or single-approach management techniques, such as requiring every employee to take diversity training, do not create lasting change (Kossek & Lobel, 1996; McMahon, 2006; Thomas, 1990). Bringing about the changes needed to build and sustain diversity requires commitment, strategy, communication, and concrete changes in organizational structure and processes. How, then, can managers and leaders develop diverse organizations and ensure that they are managed to take optimum advantage of diversity? What role

Sequence-Based Discovery Demonstrates That Fixed Light Chain Human Transgenic Rats Produce a Diverse Repertoire of Antigen-Specific Antibodies

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Katherine E. Harris

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We created a novel transgenic rat that expresses human antibodies comprising a diverse repertoire of heavy chains with a single common rearranged kappa light chain (IgKV3-15-JK1. This fixed light chain animal, called OmniFlic, presents a unique system for human therapeutic antibody discovery and a model to study heavy chain repertoire diversity in the context of a constant light chain. The purpose of this study was to analyze heavy chain variable gene usage, clonotype diversity, and to describe the sequence characteristics of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs isolated from immunized OmniFlic animals. Using next-generation sequencing antibody repertoire analysis, we measured heavy chain variable gene usage and the diversity of clonotypes present in the lymph node germinal centers of 75 OmniFlic rats immunized with 9 different protein antigens. Furthermore, we expressed 2,560 unique heavy chain sequences sampled from a diverse set of clonotypes as fixed light chain antibody proteins and measured their binding to antigen by ELISA. Finally, we measured patterns and overall levels of somatic hypermutation in the full B-cell repertoire and in the 2,560 mAbs tested for binding. The results demonstrate that OmniFlic animals produce an abundance of antigen-specific antibodies with heavy chain clonotype diversity that is similar to what has been described with unrestricted light chain use in mammals. In addition, we show that sequence-based discovery is a highly effective and efficient way to identify a large number of diverse monoclonal antibodies to a protein target of interest.

Diverse CRISPRs evolving in human microbiomes.

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Mina Rho

Full Text Available CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats loci, together with cas (CRISPR-associated genes, form the CRISPR/Cas adaptive immune system, a primary defense strategy that eubacteria and archaea mobilize against foreign nucleic acids, including phages and conjugative plasmids. Short spacer sequences separated by the repeats are derived from foreign DNA and direct interference to future infections. The availability of hundreds of shotgun metagenomic datasets from the Human Microbiome Project (HMP enables us to explore the distribution and diversity of known CRISPRs in human-associated microbial communities and to discover new CRISPRs. We propose a targeted assembly strategy to reconstruct CRISPR arrays, which whole-metagenome assemblies fail to identify. For each known CRISPR type (identified from reference genomes, we use its direct repeat consensus sequence to recruit reads from each HMP dataset and then assemble the recruited reads into CRISPR loci; the unique spacer sequences can then be extracted for analysis. We also identified novel CRISPRs or new CRISPR variants in contigs from whole-metagenome assemblies and used targeted assembly to more comprehensively identify these CRISPRs across samples. We observed that the distributions of CRISPRs (including 64 known and 86 novel ones are largely body-site specific. We provide detailed analysis of several CRISPR loci, including novel CRISPRs. For example, known streptococcal CRISPRs were identified in most oral microbiomes, totaling ∼8,000 unique spacers: samples resampled from the same individual and oral site shared the most spacers; different oral sites from the same individual shared significantly fewer, while different individuals had almost no common spacers, indicating the impact of subtle niche differences on the evolution of CRISPR defenses. We further demonstrate potential applications of CRISPRs to the tracing of rare species and the virus exposure of individuals

Human age estimation framework using different facial parts

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Mohamed Y. El Dib

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Human age estimation from facial images has a wide range of real-world applications in human computer interaction (HCI. In this paper, we use the bio-inspired features (BIF to analyze different facial parts: (a eye wrinkles, (b whole internal face (without forehead area and (c whole face (with forehead area using different feature shape points. The analysis shows that eye wrinkles which cover 30% of the facial area contain the most important aging features compared to internal face and whole face. Furthermore, more extensive experiments are made on FG-NET database by increasing the number of missing pictures in older age groups using MORPH database to enhance the results.

Environmental and Human Controls of Ecosystem Functional Diversity in Temperate South America

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Domingo Alcaraz-Segura

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The regional controls of biodiversity patterns have been traditionally evaluated using structural and compositional components at the species level, but evaluation of the functional component at the ecosystem level is still scarce. During the last decades, the role of ecosystem functioning in management and conservation has increased. Our aim was to use satellite-derived Ecosystem Functional Types (EFTs, patches of the land-surface with similar carbon gain dynamics to characterize the regional patterns of ecosystem functional diversity and to evaluate the environmental and human controls that determine EFT richness across natural and human-modified systems in temperate South America. The EFT identification was based on three descriptors of carbon gain dynamics derived from seasonal curves of the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI: annual mean (surrogate of primary production, seasonal coefficient of variation (indicator of seasonality and date of maximum EVI (descriptor of phenology. As observed for species richness in the southern hemisphere, water availability, not energy, emerged as the main climatic driver of EFT richness in natural areas of temperate South America. In anthropogenic areas, the role of both water and energy decreased and increasing human intervention increased richness at low levels of human influence, but decreased richness at high levels of human influence.

Lithium - an update on the mechanisms of action. Part two: neural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... has a complicated multitude of diverse effects in the human nervous system. This new data is helping us understand the neurobiology of bipolar disorder. The focus of this review will be to distil this new knowledge.This, the second of a two part review will focus principally on neural effects and neuroanatomical substrates.

The pristine rain forest? Remnants of historical human impacts on current tree species composition and diversity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gemerden, van B.S.; Olff, H.; Parren, M.P.E.; Bongers, F.J.J.M.

2003-01-01

Aim Tropical rain forests are often regarded as pristine and undisturbed by humans. In Central Africa, community-wide disturbances by natural causes are rare and therefore current theory predicts that natural gap phase dynamics structure tree species composition and diversity. However, the dominant

The pristine rain forest? Remnants of historical human impacts on current tree species composition and diversity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gemerden, Barend S. van; Olff, Han; Parren, Marc P.E.; Bongers, Frans

2003-01-01

Aim: Tropical rain forests are often regarded as pristine and undisturbed by humans. In Central Africa, community-wide disturbances by natural causes are rare and therefore current theory predicts that natural gap phase dynamics structure tree species composition and diversity. However, the dominant

References to Human Rights in Codes of Ethics for Psychologists: Critical Issues and Recommendations. Part 1

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Жанель Готье

2018-12-01

Full Text Available There are codes of ethics in psychology that explicitly refer to human rights. There are also psychologists interested in the protection and promotion of human rights who are calling for the explicit inclusion of references to human rights in all psychology ethics codes. Yet, references to human rights in ethics documents have rarely been the focus of attention in psychological ethics. This article represents the first part of a two-part article series focusing on critical issues associated with the inclusion of references to human rights in the ethical codes of psychologists, and recommendations about how psychological ethics and the human rights movement can work together in serving humanity. The first part of the article series examines issues pertaining to the interpretation of references to human rights in codes of ethics for psychologists, and the justifications for including these references in psychological ethics codes. The second part of the article series examines how the Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists can be used to extend or supplement codes of ethics in psychology, how ethical principles and human rights differ and complement each other, and how psychological ethics and the human rights movement can work together in serving humanity and improving the welfare of both persons and peoples.

Genome-wide diversity and differentiation in New World populations of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax.

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Thais C de Oliveira

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The Americas were the last continent colonized by humans carrying malaria parasites. Plasmodium falciparum from the New World shows very little genetic diversity and greater linkage disequilibrium, compared with its African counterparts, and is clearly subdivided into local, highly divergent populations. However, limited available data have revealed extensive genetic diversity in American populations of another major human malaria parasite, P. vivax.We used an improved sample preparation strategy and next-generation sequencing to characterize 9 high-quality P. vivax genome sequences from northwestern Brazil. These new data were compared with publicly available sequences from recently sampled clinical P. vivax isolates from Brazil (BRA, total n = 11 sequences, Peru (PER, n = 23, Colombia (COL, n = 31, and Mexico (MEX, n = 19.We found that New World populations of P. vivax are as diverse (nucleotide diversity π between 5.2 × 10-4 and 6.2 × 10-4 as P. vivax populations from Southeast Asia, where malaria transmission is substantially more intense. They display several non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions (some of them previously undescribed in genes known or suspected to be involved in antimalarial drug resistance, such as dhfr, dhps, mdr1, mrp1, and mrp-2, but not in the chloroquine resistance transporter ortholog (crt-o gene. Moreover, P. vivax in the Americas is much less geographically substructured than local P. falciparum populations, with relatively little between-population genome-wide differentiation (pairwise FST values ranging between 0.025 and 0.092. Finally, P. vivax populations show a rapid decline in linkage disequilibrium with increasing distance between pairs of polymorphic sites, consistent with very frequent outcrossing. We hypothesize that the high diversity of present-day P. vivax lineages in the Americas originated from successive migratory waves and subsequent admixture between parasite lineages from geographically

Genome-wide diversity and differentiation in New World populations of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira, Thais C.; Rodrigues, Priscila T.; Menezes, Maria José; Gonçalves-Lopes, Raquel M.; Bastos, Melissa S.; Lima, Nathália F.; Barbosa, Susana; Gerber, Alexandra L.; Loss de Morais, Guilherme; Berná, Luisa; Phelan, Jody; Robello, Carlos; de Vasconcelos, Ana Tereza R.

2017-01-01

Background The Americas were the last continent colonized by humans carrying malaria parasites. Plasmodium falciparum from the New World shows very little genetic diversity and greater linkage disequilibrium, compared with its African counterparts, and is clearly subdivided into local, highly divergent populations. However, limited available data have revealed extensive genetic diversity in American populations of another major human malaria parasite, P. vivax. Methods We used an improved sample preparation strategy and next-generation sequencing to characterize 9 high-quality P. vivax genome sequences from northwestern Brazil. These new data were compared with publicly available sequences from recently sampled clinical P. vivax isolates from Brazil (BRA, total n = 11 sequences), Peru (PER, n = 23), Colombia (COL, n = 31), and Mexico (MEX, n = 19). Principal findings/Conclusions We found that New World populations of P. vivax are as diverse (nucleotide diversity π between 5.2 × 10−4 and 6.2 × 10−4) as P. vivax populations from Southeast Asia, where malaria transmission is substantially more intense. They display several non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions (some of them previously undescribed) in genes known or suspected to be involved in antimalarial drug resistance, such as dhfr, dhps, mdr1, mrp1, and mrp-2, but not in the chloroquine resistance transporter ortholog (crt-o) gene. Moreover, P. vivax in the Americas is much less geographically substructured than local P. falciparum populations, with relatively little between-population genome-wide differentiation (pairwise FST values ranging between 0.025 and 0.092). Finally, P. vivax populations show a rapid decline in linkage disequilibrium with increasing distance between pairs of polymorphic sites, consistent with very frequent outcrossing. We hypothesize that the high diversity of present-day P. vivax lineages in the Americas originated from successive migratory waves and subsequent admixture between

Secondary uses and the governance of de-identified data: Lessons from the human genome diversity panel

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Lee Sandra S-J

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent changes to regulatory guidance in the US and Europe have complicated oversight of secondary research by rendering most uses of de-identified data exempt from human subjects oversight. To identify the implications of such guidelines for harms to participants and communities, this paper explores the secondary uses of one de-identified DNA sample collection with limited oversight: the Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP-Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain, Fondation Jean Dausset (CEPH Human Genome Diversity Panel. Methods Using a combination of keyword and cited reference search, we identified English-language scientific articles published between 2002 and 2009 that reported analysis of HGDP Diversity Panel samples and/or data. We then reviewed each article to identify the specific research use to which the samples and/or data was applied. Secondary uses were categorized according to the type and kind of research supported by the collection. Results A wide variety of secondary uses were identified from 148 peer-reviewed articles. While the vast majority of these uses were consistent with the original intent of the collection, a minority of published reports described research whose primary findings could be regarded as controversial, objectionable, or potentially stigmatizing in their interpretation. Conclusions We conclude that potential risks to participants and communities cannot be wholly eliminated by anonymization of individual data and suggest that explicit review of proposed secondary uses, by a Data Access Committee or similar internal oversight body with suitable stakeholder representation, should be a required component of the trustworthy governance of any repository of data or specimens.

PGG.Population: a database for understanding the genomic diversity and genetic ancestry of human populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chao; Gao, Yang; Liu, Jiaojiao; Xue, Zhe; Lu, Yan; Deng, Lian; Tian, Lei; Feng, Qidi; Xu, Shuhua

2018-01-04

There are a growing number of studies focusing on delineating genetic variations that are associated with complex human traits and diseases due to recent advances in next-generation sequencing technologies. However, identifying and prioritizing disease-associated causal variants relies on understanding the distribution of genetic variations within and among populations. The PGG.Population database documents 7122 genomes representing 356 global populations from 107 countries and provides essential information for researchers to understand human genomic diversity and genetic ancestry. These data and information can facilitate the design of research studies and the interpretation of results of both evolutionary and medical studies involving human populations. The database is carefully maintained and constantly updated when new data are available. We included miscellaneous functions and a user-friendly graphical interface for visualization of genomic diversity, population relationships (genetic affinity), ancestral makeup, footprints of natural selection, and population history etc. Moreover, PGG.Population provides a useful feature for users to analyze data and visualize results in a dynamic style via online illustration. The long-term ambition of the PGG.Population, together with the joint efforts from other researchers who contribute their data to our database, is to create a comprehensive depository of geographic and ethnic variation of human genome, as well as a platform bringing influence on future practitioners of medicine and clinical investigators. PGG.Population is available at https://www.pggpopulation.org. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Comparison of the vaginal microbiota diversity of women with and without human papillomavirus infection: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Weijiao; Weng, Jinlong; Gao, Yunong; Chen, Xiaochi

2013-06-10

The female genital tract is an important bacterial habitat of the human body, and vaginal microbiota plays a crucial role in vaginal health. The alteration of vaginal microbiota affects millions of women annually, and is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes, including human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. However, previous studies have primarily focused on the association between bacterial vaginosis and HPV infection. Little is known about the composition of vaginal microbial communities involved in HPV acquisition. The present study was performed to investigate whether HPV infection was associated with the diversity and composition of vaginal microbiota. A total of 70 healthy women (32 HPV-negative and 38 HPV-positive) with normal cervical cytology were enrolled in this study. Culture-independent polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to measure the diversity and composition of vaginal microbiota of all subjects. We found significantly greater biological diversity in the vaginal microbiota of HPV-positive women (p vaginal microbiota from the two groups had different profiles. Our study is the first systematic evaluation of an association between vaginal microbiota and HPV infection, and we have demonstrated that compared with HPV-negative women, the bacterial diversity of HPV-positive women is more complex and the composition of vaginal microbiota is different.

Genomic Diversity of Lactobacillus salivarius▿ †

OpenAIRE

Raftis, Emma J.; Salvetti, Elisa; Torriani, Sandra; Felis, Giovanna E.; O'Toole, Paul W.

2010-01-01

Strains of Lactobacillus salivarius are increasingly employed as probiotic agents for humans or animals. Despite the diversity of environmental sources from which they have been isolated, the genomic diversity of L. salivarius has been poorly characterized, and the implications of this diversity for strain selection have not been examined. To tackle this, we applied comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to 33 strains derived from humans, animals, or foo...

Diversity in the Workplace. Symposium.

Science.gov (United States)

2002

Three papers comprise this symposium on diversity in the workplace. "Factors That Assist and Barriers That Hinder the Success of Diversity Initiatives in Multinational Corporations" (Rose Mary Wentling) reports that factors that assisted in the success were classified under diversity department, human, and work environment; barriers were…

Present spatial diversity patterns of Theobroma cacao L. in the neotropics reflect genetic differentiation in pleistocene refugia followed by human-influenced dispersal.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Evert; van Zonneveld, Maarten; Loo, Judy; Hodgkin, Toby; Galluzzi, Gea; van Etten, Jacob

2012-01-01

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is indigenous to the Amazon basin, but is generally believed to have been domesticated in Mesoamerica for the production of chocolate beverage. However, cacao's distribution of genetic diversity in South America is also likely to reflect pre-Columbian human influences that were superimposed on natural processes of genetic differentiation. Here we present the results of a spatial analysis of the intra-specific diversity of cacao in Latin America, drawing on a dataset of 939 cacao trees genotypically characterized by means of 96 SSR markers. To assess continental diversity patterns we performed grid-based calculations of allelic richness, Shannon diversity and Nei gene diversity, and distinguished different spatially coherent genetic groups by means of cluster analysis. The highest levels of genetic diversity were observed in the Upper Amazon areas from southern Peru to the Ecuadorian Amazon and the border areas between Colombia, Peru and Brazil. On the assumption that the last glaciation (22,000-13,000 BP) had the greatest pre-human impact on the current distribution and diversity of cacao, we modeled the species' Pleistocene niche suitability and overlaid this with present-day diversity maps. The results suggest that cacao was already widely distributed in the Western Amazon before the onset of glaciation. During glaciations, cacao populations were likely to have been restricted to several refugia where they probably underwent genetic differentiation, resulting in a number of genetic clusters which are representative for, or closest related to, the original wild cacao populations. The analyses also suggested that genetic differentiation and geographical distribution of a number of other clusters seem to have been significantly affected by processes of human management and accompanying genetic bottlenecks. We discuss the implications of these results for future germplasm collection and in situ, on farm and ex situ conservation of cacao.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is genetically diverse in animals and appears to have crossed the host barrier to humans on (at least two occasions.

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Candice M Mitchell

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common human and animal pathogen associated with a wide range of diseases. Since the first isolation of C. pneumoniae TWAR in 1965, all human isolates have been essentially clonal, providing little evolutionary insight. To address this gap, we investigated the genetic diversity of 30 isolates from diverse geographical locations, from both human and animal origin (amphibian, reptilian, equine and marsupial. Based on the level of variation that we observed at 23 discreet gene loci, it was clearly evident that the animal isolates were more diverse than the isolates of human origin. Furthermore, we show that C. pneumoniae isolates could be grouped into five major genotypes, A-E, with A, B, D and E genotypes linked by geographical location, whereas genotype C was found across multiple continents. Our evidence strongly supports two separate animal-to-human cross species transfer events in the evolutionary history of this pathogen. The C. pneumoniae human genotype identified in the USA, Canada, Taiwan, Iran, Japan, Korea and Australia (non-Indigenous most likely originated from a single amphibian or reptilian lineage, which appears to have been previously geographically widespread. We identified a separate human lineage present in two Australian Indigenous isolates (independent geographical locations. This lineage is distinct and is present in Australian amphibians as well as a range of Australian marsupials.

Look what the cat dragged in: do parasites contribute to human cultural diversity?

Science.gov (United States)

Lafferty, Kevin D.

2005-01-01

If human culture emerges from the modal personality of a population, can global variation in parasitism that affects personality lead to cultural diversity among nations? The answer could help explain why people seem to vary so much from one land to another. Thomas et al. (2005) review how parasites manipulate behaviour, including human behaviour. To quote them, “The rabies virus lives in the brain, affording the virus ample opportunity to directly affect host behaviour. Rabid animals do show changes in behaviour, including increased aggression and biting.” Rabies affects a wide range of mammals and the aggressive biting associated with furious rabies appears to increase transmission. The personality transformation of infected humans can be horrifying, transforming loved ones into thrashing, baying beasts. Not coincidentally, in Europe, past periods of rabies outbreaks correspond to increases in werewolf trials. Although rabies can have a dramatic effect, the present rarity of human rabies cases and the availability of a vaccine, means that the behavioural effects of rabies are primarily an illustrative curiosity.

Succession of Ephemeral Secondary Forests and Their Limited Role for the Conservation of Floristic Diversity in a Human-Modified Tropical Landscape

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Breugel, Michiel; Hall, Jefferson S.; Craven, Dylan

2013-01-01

of these secondary forests to conserve tree species diversity, we also evaluated the diversity of species that can persist as viable metapopulations in a dynamic patchwork of short-lived successional forests, using different assumptions about the average relative size at reproductive maturity. We found...... niche operate simultaneously and shape successional dynamics of the metacommunity of these early secondary forests. A high diversity of plant species across the metacommunity of early secondary forests shows a potential for restoration of diverse forests through natural succession, when trees....... This implies that ephemeral secondary forests have a limited role in the long-term conservation of tree species diversity in human-modified tropical landscapes....

From the NIH: A Systems Approach to Increasing the Diversity of the Biomedical Research Workforce

Science.gov (United States)

Valantine, Hannah A.; Lund, P. Kay; Gammie, Alison E.

2016-01-01

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is committed to attracting, developing, and supporting the best scientists from all groups as an integral part of excellence in training. Biomedical research workforce diversity, capitalizing on the full spectrum of skills, talents, and viewpoints, is essential for solving complex human health challenges.…

Genomic diversity of Escherichia isolates from diverse habitats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seungdae Oh

Full Text Available Our understanding of the Escherichia genus is heavily biased toward pathogenic or commensal isolates from human or animal hosts. Recent studies have recovered Escherichia isolates that persist, and even grow, outside these hosts. Although the environmental isolates are typically phylogenetically distinct, they are highly related to and phenotypically indistinguishable from their human counterparts, including for the coliform test. To gain insights into the genomic diversity of Escherichia isolates from diverse habitats, including freshwater, soil, animal, and human sources, we carried out comparative DNA-DNA hybridizations using a multi-genome E. coli DNA microarray. The microarray was validated based on hybridizations with selected strains whose genome sequences were available and used to assess the frequency of microarray false positive and negative signals. Our results showed that human fecal isolates share two sets of genes (n>90 that are rarely found among environmental isolates, including genes presumably important for evading host immune mechanisms (e.g., a multi-drug transporter for acids and antimicrobials and adhering to epithelial cells (e.g., hemolysin E and fimbrial-like adhesin protein. These results imply that environmental isolates are characterized by decreased ability to colonize host cells relative to human isolates. Our study also provides gene markers that can distinguish human isolates from those of warm-blooded animal and environmental origins, and thus can be used to more reliably assess fecal contamination in natural ecosystems.

The diversity of the human hair colour assessed by visual scales and instrumental measurements. A worldwide survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Lozano, I; Saunier, J B; Panhard, S; Loussouarn, G

2017-02-01

To study (i) the diversity of the natural colour of the human hair through both visual assessment of hair tone levels and colorimetric measurements of hair strands collected from 2057 human male and female volunteers, from 23 regions of the world and (ii) the correlation between visual assessments and colorimetric measurements. Hair strands were analysed by a spectrocolorimeter under the L*, a*, b* referential system and scored in vivo by experts before sampling, through standardized visual reference scales based on a 1-10 range. Results show that from a typological aspect, black or dark brown hairs largely predominate among studied ethnic groups, whereas Caucasian or derived populations exhibit the widest palette of medium to fair shades, partly explaining some past interbreeding among populations. Instrumental measurements clearly confirm that a given colour of a pigmented hair, at the exclusion of red hairs, is mostly governed by two components, L* and b*, from the L*, a*, b* reference system. The comparisons between visual assessments and instrumental data show that these appear closely linked. Darker hairs show close or subtle variations in L*, a*, b* parameters, making their individual colour differentiation calling for technical improvements in colorimetric measurements. The latter are likely governed by other physical factors such as shape, diameter and shine. © 2016 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Française de Cosmétologie.

Learning about the Human Genome. Part 2: Resources for Science Educators. ERIC Digest.

Science.gov (United States)

Haury, David L.

This ERIC Digest identifies how the human genome project fits into the "National Science Education Standards" and lists Human Genome Project Web sites found on the World Wide Web. It is a resource companion to "Learning about the Human Genome. Part 1: Challenge to Science Educators" (Haury 2001). The Web resources and…

Human Genome Diversity Project. Summary of planning workshop 3(B): Ethical and human-rights implications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-12-31

The third planning workshop of the Human Genome Diversity Project was held on the campus of the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, from February 16 through February 18, 1993. The second day of the workshop was devoted to an exploration of the ethical and human-rights implications of the Project. This open meeting centered on three roundtables, involving 12 invited participants, and the resulting discussions among all those present. Attendees and their affiliations are listed in the attached Appendix A. The discussion was guided by a schedule and list of possible issues, distributed to all present and attached as Appendix B. This is a relatively complete, and thus lengthy, summary of the comments at the meeting. The beginning of the summary sets out as conclusions some issues on which there appeared to be widespread agreement, but those conclusions are not intended to serve as a set of detailed recommendations. The meeting organizer is distributing his recommendations in a separate memorandum; recommendations from others who attended the meeting are welcome and will be distributed by the meeting organizer to the participants and to the Project committee.

Comparison of koala LPCoLN and human strains of Chlamydia pneumoniae highlights extended genetic diversity in the species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carrasco Jose A

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Chlamydia pneumoniae is a widespread pathogen causing upper and lower respiratory tract infections in addition to a range of other diseases in humans and animals. Previous whole genome analyses have focused on four essentially clonal (> 99% identity C. pneumoniae human genomes (AR39, CWL029, J138 and TW183, providing relatively little insight into strain diversity and evolution of this species. Results We performed individual gene-by-gene comparisons of the recently sequenced C. pneumoniae koala genome and four C. pneumoniae human genomes to identify species-specific genes, and more importantly, to gain an insight into the genetic diversity and evolution of the species. We selected genes dispersed throughout the chromosome, representing genes that were specific to C. pneumoniae, genes with a demonstrated role in chlamydial biology and/or pathogenicity (n = 49, genes encoding nucleotide salvage or amino acid biosynthesis proteins (n = 6, and extrachromosomal elements (9 plasmid and 2 bacteriophage genes. Conclusions We have identified strain-specific differences and targets for detection of C. pneumoniae isolates from both human and animal origin. Such characterisation is necessary for an improved understanding of disease transmission and intervention.

Comparison of koala LPCoLN and human strains of Chlamydia pneumoniae highlights extended genetic diversity in the species.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Candice M; Hovis, Kelley M; Bavoil, Patrik M; Myers, Garry S A; Carrasco, Jose A; Timms, Peter

2010-07-21

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a widespread pathogen causing upper and lower respiratory tract infections in addition to a range of other diseases in humans and animals. Previous whole genome analyses have focused on four essentially clonal (> 99% identity) C. pneumoniae human genomes (AR39, CWL029, J138 and TW183), providing relatively little insight into strain diversity and evolution of this species. We performed individual gene-by-gene comparisons of the recently sequenced C. pneumoniae koala genome and four C. pneumoniae human genomes to identify species-specific genes, and more importantly, to gain an insight into the genetic diversity and evolution of the species. We selected genes dispersed throughout the chromosome, representing genes that were specific to C. pneumoniae, genes with a demonstrated role in chlamydial biology and/or pathogenicity (n = 49), genes encoding nucleotide salvage or amino acid biosynthesis proteins (n = 6), and extrachromosomal elements (9 plasmid and 2 bacteriophage genes). We have identified strain-specific differences and targets for detection of C. pneumoniae isolates from both human and animal origin. Such characterisation is necessary for an improved understanding of disease transmission and intervention.

Building human resources capability in health care: a global analysis of best practice--Part III.

Science.gov (United States)

Zairi, M

1998-01-01

This is the last part of a series of three papers which discussed very comprehensively best practice applications in human resource management by drawing special inferences to the healthcare context. It emerged from parts I and II that high performing organisations plan and intend to build sustainable capability through a systematic consideration of the human element as the key asset and through a continuous process of training, developing, empowering and engaging people in all aspects of organisational excellence. Part III brings this debate to a close by demonstrating what brings about organisational excellence and proposes a road map for effective human resource development and management, based on world class standards. Healthcare human resource professionals can now rise to the challenge and plan ahead for building organisational capability and sustainable performance.

Attribute And-Or Grammar for Joint Parsing of Human Pose, Parts and Attributes.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Seyoung; Nie, Xiaohan; Zhu, Song-Chun

2017-07-25

This paper presents an attribute and-or grammar (A-AOG) model for jointly inferring human body pose and human attributes in a parse graph with attributes augmented to nodes in the hierarchical representation. In contrast to other popular methods in the current literature that train separate classifiers for poses and individual attributes, our method explicitly represents the decomposition and articulation of body parts, and account for the correlations between poses and attributes. The A-AOG model is an amalgamation of three traditional grammar formulations: (i)Phrase structure grammar representing the hierarchical decomposition of the human body from whole to parts; (ii)Dependency grammar modeling the geometric articulation by a kinematic graph of the body pose; and (iii)Attribute grammar accounting for the compatibility relations between different parts in the hierarchy so that their appearances follow a consistent style. The parse graph outputs human detection, pose estimation, and attribute prediction simultaneously, which are intuitive and interpretable. We conduct experiments on two tasks on two datasets, and experimental results demonstrate the advantage of joint modeling in comparison with computing poses and attributes independently. Furthermore, our model obtains better performance over existing methods for both pose estimation and attribute prediction tasks.

Body-part templates for recovery of 2D human poses under occlusion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poppe, Ronald Walter; Poel, Mannes; Perales, F.J.; Fisher, R.B.

2008-01-01

Detection of humans and estimation of their 2D poses from a single image are challenging tasks. This is especially true when part of the observation is occluded. However, given a limited class of movements, poses can be recovered given the visible body-parts. To this end, we propose a novel template

The knowledge of Bengkulu University’s forestry students of tree diversity in their campus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

STEFFANIE NURLIANA

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract. Wiryono, Nurliana S. 2011. The knowledge of Bengkulu University’s forestry students of tree diversity in their campus. Nusantara Bioscience 3: 98-103. Indonesia is rich in plant diversity which has provided daily human needs for millennia. Knowledge of diverse plants and their uses is part of ecological knowledge essential for the survival of human. However, rapid deforestation has reduced plant diversity and caused the loss of traditional ecological knowledge. Furthermore, the increased availability of electronic entertainment has alienated young people from nature, causing further loss of ecological knowledge. The objective of this study was to know the ability of Bengkulu University’s forestry students to identify trees growing in the campus by local names and their genera. Knowing the name of trees growing in our environment is an indicator of concern for biodiversity. Results showed that forestry students had low ability to identify trees by local names and even lower by genera. Second-semester students could identify fewer trees than the higher-semester students, and the knowledge was not affected by student’s gender or profession of students’ parents. This low appreciation of plant diversity among young generation will have negative implication for biodiversity conservation efforts. Students should be brought closer to nature by increasing outdoor education.

Thermal sensation and comfort models for non-uniform and transient environments: Part III: whole-body sensation and comfort

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Hui; Arens, Edward; Huizenga, Charlie; Han, Taeyoung

2009-01-01

A three-part series presents the development of models for predicting the local thermal sensation (Part I) and local thermal comfort (Part II) of different parts of the human body, and also the whole-body sensation and comfort (Part III) that result from combinations of local sensation and comfort. The models apply to sedentary activities in a range of environments: uniform and non-uniform, stable and transient. They are based on diverse findings from the literature and from body-part-specifi...

Diversity of Entamoeba spp. in African great apes and humans: an insight from Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vlčková, Klára; Kreisinger, J.; Pafčo, B.; Čížková, Dagmar; Tagg, N.; Hehl, A. B.; Modrý, David

(2018) ISSN 0020-7519 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 ; RVO:60077344 Keywords : Entamoeba * Western lowland gorilla * Central chimpanzee * Humans * Metabarcoding * Diversity * Mixed infections * Entamoeba histolytica Impact factor: 3.730, year: 2016

The Shared Goals and Distinct Strengths of the Medical Humanities: Can the Sum of the Parts Be Greater Than the Whole?

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Jeremy A; Jones, David S

2017-12-01

Since the 1960s, faculty from diverse fields have banded together under the banner of the medical humanities, a term which unites art, literature, history, anthropology, religious studies, philosophy, and other disciplines. Arguments for the relevance of medical humanities often emphasize contributions that any of these disciplines can make to medical education, whether those involve empathy, professionalism, critical reasoning, or tolerating ambiguity. The authors argue that the constituent disciplines of the medical humanities are not interchangeable parts, but represent different perspectives and methodologies that offer their own distinct contributions to medical training. Efforts to define a role for medical humanities in medical education should pursue two strategies in parallel. On the one hand, advocates of the medical humanities should continue to make the case for the shared contributions that all of the disciplines can make to medical education. But advocates for the medical humanities should also emphasize the valuable contributions of each specific discipline, in terms that medical educators can understand. The authors illustrate this point by delineating contributions of their own discipline, medical history. Historical analysis contributes essential insights to the understanding of disease, therapeutics, and institutions-things that all physicians must know in order to be effective as clinicians, just as they must learn anatomy or pathophysiology. Analogous but different arguments can be made for literature, philosophy, and the other disciplines that constitute the medical humanities. The field of medical humanities will be most successful if it builds on both the shared and the distinct contributions of its disciplines.

Teaching Note--Inclusion of Diversity Content in MSW Curriculum Using a Diversity Event

Science.gov (United States)

Ando, Sachi

2017-01-01

The Council on Social Work Education's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards outline expectations for social work education to reflect human diversity in the learning environment. Exposing social work students to a diversity-enriched curriculum can help prepare them for culturally competent practice. This article presents an innovative…

Teaching Diversity: A Study of Organizational Needs and Diversity Curriculum in Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Nancy E.; Glick, Betty J.

2000-01-01

Content analysis of 25 business college syllabi indicated that content skills related to diversity were being taught. Survey responses from 81 human resource managers suggested that college graduates were not adequately prepared to deal with diversity. Managers believed that process skills (team building, communication, managing and supervising…

Digital Humanities and networked digital media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Finnemann, Niels Ole

2014-01-01

This article discusses digital humanities and the growing diversity of digital media, digital materials and digital methods. The first section describes the humanities computing tradition formed around the interpretation of computation as a rule-based process connected to a concept of digital...... materials centred on the digitisation of non-digital, finite works, corpora and oeuvres. The second section discusses “the big tent” of contemporary digital humanities. It is argued that there can be no unifying interpretation of digital humanities above the level of studying digital materials with the help...... of software-supported methods. This is so, in part, because of the complexity of the world and, in part, because digital media remain open to the projection of new epistemologies onto the functional architecture of these media. The third section discusses the heterogeneous character of digital materials...

Managing Protean Diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marfelt, Mikkel Mouritz; Muhr, Sara Louise

2016-01-01

Recently, global workforce diversity and its management have received criticism for not paying attention to the contextual influence stemming from socially constructed dialectics of power and politics. These contextual dynamics, however, tend to be viewed as external to the organization....... In this article, we follow the call for critically investigating the contexts influencing diversity management by analyzing the development of a global human resource management project initiated to promote a culturally diverse workforce. We find that despite good intentions, as well as support from the top...... management, the project dissolves through micropolitics and power dynamics. We contribute to the critical literature on workforce diversity by identifying how organizational contextual dynamics influence the way the concept of workforce diversity is constructed and understood at work. Based on these findings...

Perceptions of Diversity Training Needs in High Tech Business.

Science.gov (United States)

Lieberman, Devorah A.; Gurtov, Ellene

A study questioned 12 human resource personnel, corporation managers, and diversity trainers about their perceptions of diversity training needs in Pacific Northwest high tech organizations. The overarching research questions for the study were as follows: (1) What are the most frequently reported diversity training needs among human resource…

The structure of cross-cultural musical diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Rzeszutek, Tom; Savage, Patrick E.; Brown, Steven

2012-01-01

Human cultural traits, such as languages, musics, rituals and material objects, vary widely across cultures. However, the majority of comparative analyses of human cultural diversity focus on between-culture variation without consideration for within-culture variation. In contrast, biological approaches to genetic diversity, such as the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) framework, partition genetic diversity into both within- and between-population components. We attempt here for the first time to quantify both components of cultural diversity by applying the AMOVA model to music. By employing this approach with 421 traditional songs from 16 Austronesian-speaking populations, we show that the vast majority of musical variability is due to differences within populations rather than differences between. This demonstrates a striking parallel to the structure of genetic diversity in humans. A neighbour-net analysis of pairwise population musical divergence shows a large amount of reticulation, indicating the pervasive occurrence of borrowing and/or convergent evolution of musical features across populations. PMID:22072606

The structure of cross-cultural musical diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rzeszutek, Tom; Savage, Patrick E; Brown, Steven

2012-04-22

Human cultural traits, such as languages, musics, rituals and material objects, vary widely across cultures. However, the majority of comparative analyses of human cultural diversity focus on between-culture variation without consideration for within-culture variation. In contrast, biological approaches to genetic diversity, such as the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) framework, partition genetic diversity into both within- and between-population components. We attempt here for the first time to quantify both components of cultural diversity by applying the AMOVA model to music. By employing this approach with 421 traditional songs from 16 Austronesian-speaking populations, we show that the vast majority of musical variability is due to differences within populations rather than differences between. This demonstrates a striking parallel to the structure of genetic diversity in humans. A neighbour-net analysis of pairwise population musical divergence shows a large amount of reticulation, indicating the pervasive occurrence of borrowing and/or convergent evolution of musical features across populations.

Structure-activity relationships of diverse xanthones against multidrug resistant human tumor cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qiwen; Ma, Chenyao; Ma, Yun; Li, Xiang; Chen, Yong; Chen, Jianwei

2017-02-01

Thirteen xanthones were isolated naturally from the stem of Securidaca inappendiculata Hassk, and structure-activity relationships (SARs) of these compounds were comparatively predicted for their cytotoxic activity against three human multidrug resistant (MDR) cell lines MCF-7/ADR, SMMC-7721/Taxol, and A549/Taxol cells. The results showed that the selected xanthones exhibited different potent cytotoxic activity against the growth of different human tumor cell lines, and most of the xanthones exhibited selective cytotoxicity against SMMC-7721/Taxol cells. Furthermore, some tested xanthones showed stronger cytotoxicity than Cisplatin, which has been used in clinical application extensively. The SARs analysis revealed that the cytotoxic activities of diverse xanthones were affected mostly by the number and position of methoxyl and hydroxyl groups. Xanthones with more free hydroxyl and methoxyl groups increased the cytotoxic activity significantly, especially for those with the presence of C-3 hydroxyl and C-4 methoxyl groups. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimating three-dimensional orientation of human body parts by inertial/magnetic sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabatini, Angelo Maria

2011-01-01

User-worn sensing units composed of inertial and magnetic sensors are becoming increasingly popular in various domains, including biomedical engineering, robotics, virtual reality, where they can also be applied for real-time tracking of the orientation of human body parts in the three-dimensional (3D) space. Although they are a promising choice as wearable sensors under many respects, the inertial and magnetic sensors currently in use offer measuring performance that are critical in order to achieve and maintain accurate 3D-orientation estimates, anytime and anywhere. This paper reviews the main sensor fusion and filtering techniques proposed for accurate inertial/magnetic orientation tracking of human body parts; it also gives useful recipes for their actual implementation.

Diversity in the Workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

1996

This document contains three papers presented at a symposium on diversity in the workplace moderated by Sandra Johnson at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "Diversity and Development: An Assessment of Equal Opportunities and the Role of HRD in the Police Service" (Rashmi Biswas, Penny Dick) examines…

Prevalence and diversity of human pathogenic rickettsiae in urban versus rural habitats, Hungary.

Science.gov (United States)

Szekeres, Sándor; Docters van Leeuwen, Arieke; Rigó, Krisztina; Jablonszky, Mónika; Majoros, Gábor; Sprong, Hein; Földvári, Gábor

2016-02-01

Tick-borne rickettsioses belong to the important emerging infectious diseases worldwide. We investigated the potential human exposure to rickettsiae by determining their presence in questing ticks collected in an urban park of Budapest and a popular hunting and recreational forest area in southern Hungary. Differences were found in the infectious risk between the two habitats. Rickettsia monacensis and Rickettsia helvetica were identified with sequencing in questing Ixodes ricinus, the only ticks species collected in the city park. Female I. ricinus had a particularly high prevalence of R. helvetica (45%). Tick community was more diverse in the rural habitat with Dermacentor reticulatus ticks having especially high percentage (58%) of Rickettsia raoultii infection. We conclude that despite the distinct eco-epidemiological traits, the risk (hazard and exposure) of acquiring human pathogenic rickettsial infections in both the urban and the rural study sites exists.

The venality of human body parts and products in French law and common law.

Science.gov (United States)

Haoulia, Naima

2012-03-01

The successive bioethics laws in France have constantly argued that the human body is not for sale and consecrated an absolute principle of free and anonymous donations, whether of semen, ova, blood, tissues or organs. Nonetheless, this position is not shared by all countries. These legal divergences upset today our moral principles and the development of these practices leads us to question the legal status of human biological material and its gradual commodification. This paper outlines the current law principles that protect people's interests in their bodies, excised body parts and tissues without conferring the rights of full legal ownership in French law and in Common law. Contrary to what many people believe, people do not legally 'own' their bodies, body parts or tissues. However, they do have some legal rights in relation to their bodies and excised body material. For lawyers, the exact relationship people have with their bodies has raised a host of complex questions and long debates about the status we should grant to human body parts. The significance of this issue is due to two reasons:first, because of the imperative protection we have to assure to human dignity and then, because of the economic value which is attached to human products.

Primate malarias: Diversity, distribution and insights for zoonotic Plasmodium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina Faust

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Protozoans within the genus Plasmodium are well-known as the causative agents of malaria in humans. Numerous Plasmodium species parasites also infect a wide range of non-human primate hosts in tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. Studying this diversity can provide critical insight into our understanding of human malarias, as several human malaria species are a result of host switches from non-human primates. Current spillover of a monkey malaria, Plasmodium knowlesi, in Southeast Asia highlights the permeability of species barriers in Plasmodium. Also recently, surveys of apes in Africa uncovered a previously undescribed diversity of Plasmodium in chimpanzees and gorillas. Therefore, we carried out a meta-analysis to quantify the global distribution, host range, and diversity of known non-human primate malaria species. We used published records of Plasmodium parasites found in non-human primates to estimate the total diversity of non-human primate malarias globally. We estimate that at least three undescribed primate malaria species exist in sampled primates, and many more likely exist in unstudied species. The diversity of malaria parasites is especially uncertain in regions of low sampling such as Madagascar, and taxonomic groups such as African Old World Monkeys and gibbons. Presence–absence data of malaria across primates enables us to highlight the close association of forested regions and non-human primate malarias. This distribution potentially reflects a long coevolution of primates, forest-adapted mosquitoes, and malaria parasites. The diversity and distribution of primate malaria are an essential prerequisite to understanding the mechanisms and circumstances that allow Plasmodium to jump species barriers, both in the evolution of malaria parasites and current cases of spillover into humans.

Human Factors and Data Fusion as Part of Control Systems Resilience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David I. Gertman

2009-05-01

Human performance and human decision making is counted upon as a crucial aspect of overall system resilience. Advanced control systems have the potential to provide operators and asset owners a wide range of data, deployed at different levels that can be used to support operator situation awareness. However, the sheer amount of data available can make it challenging for operators to assimilate information and respond appropriately. This paper reviews some of the challenges and issues associated with providing operators with actionable state awareness and argues for the over arching importance of integrating human factors as part of intelligent control systems design and implementation. It is argued that system resilience is improved by implementing human factors in operations and maintenance. This paper also introduces issues associated with resilience and data fusion and highlights areas in which human factors including field studies hold promise.

Gene flow from North Africa contributes to differential human genetic diversity in southern Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Botigué, Laura R.; Henn, Brenna M.; Gravel, Simon; Maples, Brian K.; Gignoux, Christopher R.; Corona, Erik; Atzmon, Gil; Burns, Edward; Ostrer, Harry; Flores, Carlos; Bertranpetit, Jaume; Comas, David; Bustamante, Carlos D.

2013-01-01

Human genetic diversity in southern Europe is higher than in other regions of the continent. This difference has been attributed to postglacial expansions, the demic diffusion of agriculture from the Near East, and gene flow from Africa. Using SNP data from 2,099 individuals in 43 populations, we show that estimates of recent shared ancestry between Europe and Africa are substantially increased when gene flow from North Africans, rather than Sub-Saharan Africans, is considered. The gradient of North African ancestry accounts for previous observations of low levels of sharing with Sub-Saharan Africa and is independent of recent gene flow from the Near East. The source of genetic diversity in southern Europe has important biomedical implications; we find that most disease risk alleles from genome-wide association studies follow expected patterns of divergence between Europe and North Africa, with the principal exception of multiple sclerosis. PMID:23733930

Genetic diversity and evolution of human metapneumovirus fusion protein over twenty years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liem Alexis

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Human metapneumovirus (HMPV is an important cause of acute respiratory illness in children. We examined the diversity and molecular evolution of HMPV using 85 full-length F (fusion gene sequences collected over a 20-year period. Results The F gene sequences fell into two major groups, each with two subgroups, which exhibited a mean of 96% identity by predicted amino acid sequences. Amino acid identity within and between subgroups was higher than nucleotide identity, suggesting structural or functional constraints on F protein diversity. There was minimal progressive drift over time, and the genetic lineages were stable over the 20-year period. Several canonical amino acid differences discriminated between major subgroups, and polymorphic variations tended to cluster in discrete regions. The estimated rate of mutation was 7.12 × 10-4 substitutions/site/year and the estimated time to most recent common HMPV ancestor was 97 years (95% likelihood range 66-194 years. Analysis suggested that HMPV diverged from avian metapneumovirus type C (AMPV-C 269 years ago (95% likelihood range 106-382 years. Conclusion HMPV F protein remains conserved over decades. HMPV appears to have diverged from AMPV-C fairly recently.

Genetic diversity and evolution of human metapneumovirus fusion protein over twenty years

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chin-Fen; Wang, Chiaoyin K; Tollefson, Sharon J; Piyaratna, Rohith; Lintao, Linda D; Chu, Marla; Liem, Alexis; Mark, Mary; Spaete, Richard R; Crowe, James E; Williams, John V

2009-01-01

Background Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is an important cause of acute respiratory illness in children. We examined the diversity and molecular evolution of HMPV using 85 full-length F (fusion) gene sequences collected over a 20-year period. Results The F gene sequences fell into two major groups, each with two subgroups, which exhibited a mean of 96% identity by predicted amino acid sequences. Amino acid identity within and between subgroups was higher than nucleotide identity, suggesting structural or functional constraints on F protein diversity. There was minimal progressive drift over time, and the genetic lineages were stable over the 20-year period. Several canonical amino acid differences discriminated between major subgroups, and polymorphic variations tended to cluster in discrete regions. The estimated rate of mutation was 7.12 × 10-4 substitutions/site/year and the estimated time to most recent common HMPV ancestor was 97 years (95% likelihood range 66-194 years). Analysis suggested that HMPV diverged from avian metapneumovirus type C (AMPV-C) 269 years ago (95% likelihood range 106-382 years). Conclusion HMPV F protein remains conserved over decades. HMPV appears to have diverged from AMPV-C fairly recently. PMID:19740442

Bacterial Human Virulence Genes across Diverse Habitats As Assessed by In silico Analysis of Environmental Metagenomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søborg, Ditte A; Hendriksen, Niels B; Kilian, Mogens

2016-01-01

of natural environments in the evolution of bacterial virulence. Twenty four bacterial virulence genes were analyzed in 46 diverse environmental metagenomic datasets, representing various soils, seawater, freshwater, marine sediments, hot springs, the deep-sea, hypersaline mats, microbialites, gutless worms......The occurrence and distribution of clinically relevant bacterial virulence genes across natural (non-human) environments is not well understood. We aimed to investigate the occurrence of homologs to bacterial human virulence genes in a variety of ecological niches to better understand the role...... in non-human environments point to an important ecological role of the genes for the activity and survival of environmental bacteria. Furthermore, the high degree of sequence conservation between several of the environmental and clinical genes suggests common ancestral origins....

Diversity, equal opportunities and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

McKimm, Judy; Webb, Helen

2010-08-01

Equality and diversity are central to education and health services, in terms of both employment and service delivery. Clinical teachers need to be able to support students and trainees around equality issues, have the confidence to challenge discriminatory practice and provide an inclusive and safe learning and teaching environment.

Impacts of Genome-Wide Analyses on Our Understanding of Human Herpesvirus Diversity and Evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Renner, Daniel W; Szpara, Moriah L

2018-01-01

Until fairly recently, genome-wide evolutionary dynamics and within-host diversity were more commonly examined in the context of small viruses than in the context of large double-stranded DNA viruses such as herpesviruses. The high mutation rates and more compact genomes of RNA viruses have inspired the investigation of population dynamics for these species, and recent data now suggest that herpesviruses might also be considered candidates for population modeling. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) and bioinformatics have expanded our understanding of herpesviruses through genome-wide comparisons of sequence diversity, recombination, allele frequency, and selective pressures. Here we discuss recent data on the mechanisms that generate herpesvirus genomic diversity and underlie the evolution of these virus families. We focus on human herpesviruses, with key insights drawn from veterinary herpesviruses and other large DNA virus families. We consider the impacts of cell culture on herpesvirus genomes and how to accurately describe the viral populations under study. The need for a strong foundation of high-quality genomes is also discussed, since it underlies all secondary genomic analyses such as RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), chromatin immunoprecipitation, and ribosome profiling. Areas where we foresee future progress, such as the linking of viral genetic differences to phenotypic or clinical outcomes, are highlighted as well. Copyright © 2017 Renner and Szpara.

Impacts of Genome-Wide Analyses on Our Understanding of Human Herpesvirus Diversity and Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Renner, Daniel W.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Until fairly recently, genome-wide evolutionary dynamics and within-host diversity were more commonly examined in the context of small viruses than in the context of large double-stranded DNA viruses such as herpesviruses. The high mutation rates and more compact genomes of RNA viruses have inspired the investigation of population dynamics for these species, and recent data now suggest that herpesviruses might also be considered candidates for population modeling. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) and bioinformatics have expanded our understanding of herpesviruses through genome-wide comparisons of sequence diversity, recombination, allele frequency, and selective pressures. Here we discuss recent data on the mechanisms that generate herpesvirus genomic diversity and underlie the evolution of these virus families. We focus on human herpesviruses, with key insights drawn from veterinary herpesviruses and other large DNA virus families. We consider the impacts of cell culture on herpesvirus genomes and how to accurately describe the viral populations under study. The need for a strong foundation of high-quality genomes is also discussed, since it underlies all secondary genomic analyses such as RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), chromatin immunoprecipitation, and ribosome profiling. Areas where we foresee future progress, such as the linking of viral genetic differences to phenotypic or clinical outcomes, are highlighted as well. PMID:29046445

Comparison of koala LPCoLN and human strains of Chlamydia pneumoniae highlights extended genetic diversity in the species

OpenAIRE

Mitchell, Candice M; Hovis, Kelley M; Bavoil, Patrik M; Myers, Garry SA; Carrasco, Jose A; Timms, Peter

2010-01-01

Abstract Background Chlamydia pneumoniae is a widespread pathogen causing upper and lower respiratory tract infections in addition to a range of other diseases in humans and animals. Previous whole genome analyses have focused on four essentially clonal (> 99% identity) C. pneumoniae human genomes (AR39, CWL029, J138 and TW183), providing relatively little insight into strain diversity and evolution of this species. Results We performed individual gene-by-gene comparisons of the recently sequ...

Early modern human diversity suggests subdivided population structure and a complex out-of-Africa scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Gunz, Philipp; Bookstein, Fred L.; Mitteroecker, Philipp; Stadlmayr, Andrea; Seidler, Horst; Weber, Gerhard W.

2009-01-01

The interpretation of genetic evidence regarding modern human origins depends, among other things, on assessments of the structure and the variation of ancient populations. Because we lack genetic data from the time when the first anatomically modern humans appeared, between 200,000 and 60,000 years ago, instead we exploit the phenotype of neurocranial geometry to compare the variation in early modern human fossils with that in other groups of fossil Homo and recent modern humans. Variation is assessed as the mean-squared Procrustes distance from the group average shape in a representation based on several hundred neurocranial landmarks and semilandmarks. We find that the early modern group has more shape variation than any other group in our sample, which covers 1.8 million years, and that they are morphologically similar to recent modern humans of diverse geographically dispersed populations but not to archaic groups. Of the currently competing models of modern human origins, some are inconsistent with these findings. Rather than a single out-of-Africa dispersal scenario, we suggest that early modern humans were already divided into different populations in Pleistocene Africa, after which there followed a complex migration pattern. Our conclusions bear implications for the inference of ancient human demography from genetic models and emphasize the importance of focusing research on those early modern humans, in particular, in Africa. PMID:19307568

Serotype and genetic diversity of human rhinovirus strains that circulated in Kenya in 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Milanoi, Sylvia; Ongus, Juliette R; Gachara, George; Coldren, Rodney; Bulimo, Wallace

2016-05-01

Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are a well-established cause of the common cold and recent studies indicated that they may be associated with severe acute respiratory illnesses (SARIs) like pneumonia, asthma, and bronchiolitis. Despite global studies on the genetic diversity of the virus, the serotype diversity of these viruses across diverse geographic regions in Kenya has not been characterized. This study sought to characterize the serotype diversity of HRV strains that circulated in Kenya in 2008. A total of 517 archived nasopharyngeal samples collected in a previous respiratory virus surveillance program across Kenya in 2008 were selected. Participants enrolled were outpatients who presented with influenza-like (ILI) symptoms. Real-time RT-PCR was employed for preliminary HRV detection. HRV-positive samples were amplified using RT-PCR and thereafter the nucleotide sequences of the amplicons were determined followed by phylogenetic analysis. Twenty-five percent of the samples tested positive for HRV. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Kenyan HRVs clustered into three main species comprising HRV-A (54%), HRV-B (12%), and HRV-C (35%). Overall, 20 different serotypes were identified. Intrastrain sequence homology among the Kenyan strains ranged from 58% to 100% at the nucleotide level and 55% to 100% at the amino acid level. These results show that a wide range of HRV serotypes with different levels of nucleotide variation were present in Kenya. Furthermore, our data show that HRVs contributed substantially to influenza-like illness in Kenya in 2008. © 2016 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hunter-gatherer genomic diversity suggests a southern African origin for modern humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Henn, Brenna M; Gignoux, Christopher R; Jobin, Matthew; Granka, Julie M; Macpherson, J M; Kidd, Jeffrey M; Rodríguez-Botigué, Laura; Ramachandran, Sohini; Hon, Lawrence; Brisbin, Abra; Lin, Alice A; Underhill, Peter A; Comas, David; Kidd, Kenneth K; Norman, Paul J; Parham, Peter; Bustamante, Carlos D; Mountain, Joanna L; Feldman, Marcus W

2011-03-29

Africa is inferred to be the continent of origin for all modern human populations, but the details of human prehistory and evolution in Africa remain largely obscure owing to the complex histories of hundreds of distinct populations. We present data for more than 580,000 SNPs for several hunter-gatherer populations: the Hadza and Sandawe of Tanzania, and the ≠Khomani Bushmen of South Africa, including speakers of the nearly extinct N|u language. We find that African hunter-gatherer populations today remain highly differentiated, encompassing major components of variation that are not found in other African populations. Hunter-gatherer populations also tend to have the lowest levels of genome-wide linkage disequilibrium among 27 African populations. We analyzed geographic patterns of linkage disequilibrium and population differentiation, as measured by F(ST), in Africa. The observed patterns are consistent with an origin of modern humans in southern Africa rather than eastern Africa, as is generally assumed. Additionally, genetic variation in African hunter-gatherer populations has been significantly affected by interaction with farmers and herders over the past 5,000 y, through both severe population bottlenecks and sex-biased migration. However, African hunter-gatherer populations continue to maintain the highest levels of genetic diversity in the world.

Conservation of gene cassettes among diverse viruses of the human gut.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel Minot

Full Text Available Viruses are a crucial component of the human microbiome, but large population sizes, high sequence diversity, and high frequencies of novel genes have hindered genomic analysis by high-throughput sequencing. Here we investigate approaches to metagenomic assembly to probe genome structure in a sample of 5.6 Gb of gut viral DNA sequence from six individuals. Tests showed that a new pipeline based on DeBruijn graph assembly yielded longer contigs that were able to recruit more reads than the equivalent non-optimized, single-pass approach. To characterize gene content, the database of viral RefSeq proteins was compared to the assembled viral contigs, generating a bipartite graph with functional cassettes linking together viral contigs, which revealed a high degree of connectivity between diverse genomes involving multiple genes of the same functional class. In a second step, open reading frames were grouped by their co-occurrence on contigs in a database-independent manner, revealing conserved cassettes of co-oriented ORFs. These methods reveal that free-living bacteriophages, while usually dissimilar at the nucleotide level, often have significant similarity at the level of encoded amino acid motifs, gene order, and gene orientation. These findings thus connect contemporary metagenomic analysis with classical studies of bacteriophage genomic cassettes. Software is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/optitdba/.

Contingent Diversity on Anthropic Landscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Balée

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Behaviorally modern human beings have lived in Amazonia for thousands of years. Significant dynamics in species turnovers due to human-mediated disturbance were associated with the ultimate emergence and expansion of agrarian technologies in prehistory. Such disturbances initiated primary and secondary landscape transformations in various locales of the Amazon region. Diversity in these locales can be understood by accepting the initial premise of contingency, expressed as unprecedented human agency and human history. These effects can be accessed through the archaeological record and in the study of living languages. In addition, landscape transformation can be demonstrated in the study of traditional knowledge (TK. One way of elucidating TK distinctions between anthropic and nonanthropic landscapes concerns elicitation of differential labeling of these landscapes and more significantly, elicitation of the specific contents, such as trees, occurring in these landscapes. Freelisting is a method which can be used to distinguish the differential species compositions of landscapes resulting from human-mediated disturbance vs. those which do not evince records of human agency and history. The TK of the Ka’apor Indians of Amazonian Brazil as revealed in freelisting exercises shows differentiation of anthropogenic from high forests as well as a recognition of diversity in the anthropogenic forests. This suggests that the agents of human-mediated disturbance and landscape transformation in traditional Amazonia encode diversity and contingency into their TK, which encoding reflects past cultural influence on landscape and society over time.

Gender, human rights and cultural diversity: reflections on a career in transcultural psychiatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kastrup, Marianne C

2011-04-01

The three issues of gender equality, human rights and cultural diversity have dominated my organizational commitments, research, and clinical practice in transcultural psychiatry. These issues are intertwined in many ways and have broad implications for transcultural psychiatry. With increasing globalization, psychiatrists in many countries are likely to be treating patients who have migrated from different cultures and who may have been exposed to a variety of traumatic experiences that have a profound impact on their mental health. Of particular concern is the group of torture survivors and the elucidation of their symptom manifestations, as well as effective therapeutic interventions, which clearly show how human rights issues are linked to research and clinical psychiatry. The analyses of how different ethnic groups use psychiatric services, epitomize how important it is to pay attention to gender aspects in the interpretation of the findings and their therapeutic, as well as policy, implications.

Principles and guidelines for diversity in teamwork

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berman, M.; Crespin, G.; Garcia, L.R.; Jansma, R.; Lovato, L.; Randall, G.; Sanchez, A.

1994-08-01

As part of Sandia`s Corporate Diversity Program, a Diversity Action Team was assembled to study the impact of diversity on teamwork. We reviewed the available literature on successful teaming, both with homogeneous (more alike than different) and heterogeneous teams. Although many principles and guidelines for successful homogeneous teams also apply to diverse teams, we believe that a document concentrating on diverse teams will be useful both for Sandians and for the outside world.

Genetic signatures of ecological diversity along an urbanization gradient.

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Kelly, Ryan P; O'Donnell, James L; Lowell, Natalie C; Shelton, Andrew O; Samhouri, Jameal F; Hennessey, Shannon M; Feist, Blake E; Williams, Gregory D

2016-01-01

Despite decades of work in environmental science and ecology, estimating human influences on ecosystems remains challenging. This is partly due to complex chains of causation among ecosystem elements, exacerbated by the difficulty of collecting biological data at sufficient spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scales. Here, we demonstrate the utility of environmental DNA (eDNA) for quantifying associations between human land use and changes in an adjacent ecosystem. We analyze metazoan eDNA sequences from water sampled in nearshore marine eelgrass communities and assess the relationship between these ecological communities and the degree of urbanization in the surrounding watershed. Counter to conventional wisdom, we find strongly increasing richness and decreasing beta diversity with greater urbanization, and similar trends in the diversity of life histories with urbanization. We also find evidence that urbanization influences nearshore communities at local (hundreds of meters) rather than regional (tens of km) scales. Given that different survey methods sample different components of an ecosystem, we then discuss the advantages of eDNA-which we use here to detect hundreds of taxa simultaneously-as a complement to traditional ecological sampling, particularly in the context of broad ecological assessments where exhaustive manual sampling is impractical. Genetic data are a powerful means of uncovering human-ecosystem interactions that might otherwise remain hidden; nevertheless, no sampling method reveals the whole of a biological community.

High Inter-Individual Diversity of Point Mutations, Insertions, and Deletions in Human Influenza Virus Nucleoprotein-Specific Memory B Cells.

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Sven Reiche

Full Text Available The diversity of virus-specific antibodies and of B cells among different individuals is unknown. Using single-cell cloning of antibody genes, we generated recombinant human monoclonal antibodies from influenza nucleoprotein-specific memory B cells in four adult humans with and without preceding influenza vaccination. We examined the diversity of the antibody repertoires and found that NP-specific B cells used numerous immunoglobulin genes. The heavy chains (HCs originated from 26 and the kappa light chains (LCs from 19 different germ line genes. Matching HC and LC chains gave rise to 43 genetically distinct antibodies that bound influenza NP. The median lengths of the CDR3 of the HC, kappa and lambda LC were 14, 9 and 11 amino acids, respectively. We identified changes at 13.6% of the amino acid positions in the V gene of the antibody heavy chain, at 8.4% in the kappa and at 10.6 % in the lambda V gene. We identified somatic insertions or deletions in 8.1% of the variable genes. We also found several small groups of clonal relatives that were highly diversified. Our findings demonstrate broadly diverse memory B cell repertoires for the influenza nucleoprotein. We found extensive variation within individuals with a high number of point mutations, insertions, and deletions, and extensive clonal diversification. Thus, structurally conserved proteins can elicit broadly diverse and highly mutated B-cell responses.

Managing Workforce Diversity in South African Schools

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Niemann, Rita

2006-01-01

An attempt is made to assess the effect of human resource diversity in South Africa and provide strategies for managing such diverse institutions. A pilot study using questionnaires was conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding workforce diversity in a number of educational institutions. Thereafter, qualitative interviews provided…

Discovery of rare, diagnostic AluYb8/9 elements in diverse human populations.

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Feusier, Julie; Witherspoon, David J; Scott Watkins, W; Goubert, Clément; Sasani, Thomas A; Jorde, Lynn B

2017-01-01

Polymorphic human Alu elements are excellent tools for assessing population structure, and new retrotransposition events can contribute to disease. Next-generation sequencing has greatly increased the potential to discover Alu elements in human populations, and various sequencing and bioinformatics methods have been designed to tackle the problem of detecting these highly repetitive elements. However, current techniques for Alu discovery may miss rare, polymorphic Alu elements. Combining multiple discovery approaches may provide a better profile of the polymorphic Alu mobilome. Alu Yb8/9 elements have been a focus of our recent studies as they are young subfamilies (~2.3 million years old) that contribute ~30% of recent polymorphic Alu retrotransposition events. Here, we update our ME-Scan methods for detecting Alu elements and apply these methods to discover new insertions in a large set of individuals with diverse ancestral backgrounds. We identified 5,288 putative Alu insertion events, including several hundred novel Alu Yb8/9 elements from 213 individuals from 18 diverse human populations. Hundreds of these loci were specific to continental populations, and 23 non-reference population-specific loci were validated by PCR. We provide high-quality sequence information for 68 rare Alu Yb8/9 elements, of which 11 have hallmarks of an active source element. Our subfamily distribution of rare Alu Yb8/9 elements is consistent with previous datasets, and may be representative of rare loci. We also find that while ME-Scan and low-coverage, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) detect different Alu elements in 41 1000 Genomes individuals, the two methods yield similar population structure results. Current in-silico methods for Alu discovery may miss rare, polymorphic Alu elements. Therefore, using multiple techniques can provide a more accurate profile of Alu elements in individuals and populations. We improved our false-negative rate as an indicator of sample quality for future

Succession of ephemeral secondary forests and their limited role for the conservation of floristic diversity in a human-modified tropical landscape.

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Michiel van Breugel

Full Text Available Both local- and landscape-scale processes drive succession of secondary forests in human-modified tropical landscapes. Nonetheless, until recently successional changes in composition and diversity have been predominantly studied at the patch level. Here, we used a unique dataset with 45 randomly selected sites across a mixed-use tropical landscape in central Panama to study forest succession simultaneously on local and landscape scales and across both life stages (seedling, sapling, juvenile and adult trees and life forms (shrubs, trees, lianas, and palms. To understand the potential of these secondary forests to conserve tree species diversity, we also evaluated the diversity of species that can persist as viable metapopulations in a dynamic patchwork of short-lived successional forests, using different assumptions about the average relative size at reproductive maturity. We found a deterministic shift in the diversity and composition of the local plant communities as well as the metacommunity, driven by variation in the rate at which species recruited into and disappeared from the secondary forests across the landscape. Our results indicate that dispersal limitation and the successional niche operate simultaneously and shape successional dynamics of the metacommunity of these early secondary forests. A high diversity of plant species across the metacommunity of early secondary forests shows a potential for restoration of diverse forests through natural succession, when trees and fragments of older forests are maintained in the agricultural matrix and land is abandoned or set aside for a long period of time. On the other hand, during the first 32 years the number of species with mature-sized individuals was a relatively small and strongly biased sub-sample of the total species pool. This implies that ephemeral secondary forests have a limited role in the long-term conservation of tree species diversity in human-modified tropical landscapes.

The impact of workplace diversity on organisations

OpenAIRE

Dike, Priscilla

2013-01-01

The subject matter of this paper is workplace diversity. The study is conducted to explore how companies manage workforce diversity and its consequences to the company’s existence as well as examine how companies’ deal with challenges that comes with employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. The research therefore answers the question `Has workplace diversity contributed to organizational success`. Because diversity covers a wide range of human attrib-utes and qualities, The research is ...

Orthogonal typing methods identify genetic diversity among Belgian Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated over a decade from poultry and cases of sporadic human illness

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Campylobacter jejuni is a zoonotic pathogen commonly associated with human gastroenteritis. Retail poultry meat is a major food-related transmission source of C. jejuni to humans. The present study investigated the genetic diversity, clonal relationship, and strain risk-ranking of 403 representativ...

Carrying on the Good Fight: Summary Paper from Think Tank 2000--Advancing the Civil and Human Rights of People with Disabilities from Diverse Cultures.

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National Council on Disability, Washington, DC.

This paper summarizes a May 2000 conference about advancing the civil and human rights of people with disabilities from diverse cultures. The conference included people with disabilities from diverse cultures and members of national civil rights organizations. The conference identified five priority areas for attention: (1) cultivating leadership…

Developing Human-Computer Interface Models and Representation Techniques(Dialogue Management as an Integral Part of Software Engineering)

OpenAIRE

Hartson, H. Rex; Hix, Deborah; Kraly, Thomas M.

1987-01-01

The Dialogue Management Project at Virginia Tech is studying the poorly understood problem of human-computer dialogue development. This problem often leads to low usability in human-computer dialogues. The Dialogue Management Project approaches solutions to low usability in interfaces by addressing human-computer dialogue development as an integral and equal part of the total system development process. This project consists of two rather distinct, but dependent, parts. One is development of ...

Genomic Diversity of Lactobacillus salivarius▿ †

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Raftis, Emma J.; Salvetti, Elisa; Torriani, Sandra; Felis, Giovanna E.; O'Toole, Paul W.

2011-01-01

Strains of Lactobacillus salivarius are increasingly employed as probiotic agents for humans or animals. Despite the diversity of environmental sources from which they have been isolated, the genomic diversity of L. salivarius has been poorly characterized, and the implications of this diversity for strain selection have not been examined. To tackle this, we applied comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to 33 strains derived from humans, animals, or food. The CGH, based on total genome content, including small plasmids, identified 18 major regions of genomic variation, or hot spots for variation. Three major divisions were thus identified, with only a subset of the human isolates constituting an ecologically discernible group. Omission of the small plasmids from the CGH or analysis by MLST provided broadly concordant fine divisions and separated human-derived and animal-derived strains more clearly. The two gene clusters for exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthesis corresponded to regions of significant genomic diversity. The CGH-based groupings of these regions did not correlate with levels of production of bound or released EPS. Furthermore, EPS production was significantly modulated by available carbohydrate. In addition to proving difficult to predict from the gene content, EPS production levels correlated inversely with production of biofilms, a trait considered desirable in probiotic commensals. L. salivarius displays a high level of genomic diversity, and while selection of L. salivarius strains for probiotic use can be informed by CGH or MLST, it also requires pragmatic experimental validation of desired phenotypic traits. PMID:21131523

Mapping Diversity of Publication Patterns in the Social Sciences and Humanities: An Approach Making Use of Fuzzy Cluster Analysis

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Frederik T. Verleysen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To present a method for systematically mapping diversity of publication patterns at the author level in the social sciences and humanities in terms of publication type, publication language and co-authorship. Design/methodology/approach: In a follow-up to the hard partitioning clustering by Verleysen and Weeren in 2016, we now propose the complementary use of fuzzy cluster analysis, making use of a membership coefficient to study gradual differences between publication styles among authors within a scholarly discipline. The analysis of the probability density function of the membership coefficient allows to assess the distribution of publication styles within and between disciplines. Findings: As an illustration we analyze 1,828 productive authors affiliated in Flanders, Belgium. Whereas a hard partitioning previously identified two broad publication styles, an international one vs. a domestic one, fuzzy analysis now shows gradual differences among authors. Internal diversity also varies across disciplines and can be explained by researchers' specialization and dissemination strategies. Research limitations: The dataset used is limited to one country for the years 2000-2011; a cognitive classification of authors may yield a different result from the affiliation-based classification used here. Practical implications: Our method is applicable to other bibliometric and research evaluation contexts, especially for the social sciences and humanities in non-Anglophone countries. Originality/value: The method proposed is a novel application of cluster analysis to the field of bibliometrics. Applied to publication patterns at the author level in the social sciences and humanities, for the first time it systematically documents intra-disciplinary diversity.

The global antigenic diversity of swine influenza A viruses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lewis, Nicola S; Russell, Colin A; Langat, Pinky

2016-01-01

Swine influenza presents a substantial disease burden for pig populations worldwide and poses a potential pandemic threat to humans. There is considerable diversity in both H1 and H3 influenza viruses circulating in swine due to the frequent introductions of viruses from humans and birds coupled...... with geographic segregation of global swine populations. Much of this diversity is characterized genetically but the antigenic diversity of these viruses is poorly understood. Critically, the antigenic diversity shapes the risk profile of swine influenza viruses in terms of their epizootic and pandemic potential...

Are Protected Areas Required to Maintain Functional Diversity in Human-Modified Landscapes?

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Cottee-Jones, H. Eden W.; Matthews, Thomas J.; Bregman, Tom P.; Barua, Maan; Tamuly, Jatin; Whittaker, Robert J.

2015-01-01

The conversion of forest to agriculture across the world’s tropics, and the limited space for protected areas, has increased the need to identify effective conservation strategies in human-modified landscapes. Isolated trees are believed to conserve elements of ecological structure, providing micro-sites for conservation in matrix landscapes, and facilitating seed dispersal and forest restoration. Here we investigate the role of isolated Ficus trees, which are of critical importance to tropical forest ecosystems, in conserving frugivore composition and function in a human-modified landscape in Assam, India. We surveyed the frugivorous birds feeding at 122 isolated Ficus trees, 33 fruit trees, and 31 other large trees across a range of 32 km from the nearest intact forest. We found that Ficus trees attracted richer and more abundant assemblages of frugivores than the other tree categories. However, incidence function estimates revealed that forest specialist species decreased dramatically within the first kilometre of the forest edge. Despite this, species richness and functional diversity remained consistent across the human-modified landscape, as habitat generalists replaced forest-dependent frugivores, and accounted for most of the ecological function found in Ficus trees near the forest edge. We recommend that isolated Ficus trees are awarded greater conservation status, and suggest that their conservation can support ecologically functional networks of frugivorous bird communities. PMID:25946032

Part-Time Faculty Satisfaction at Two-Year Public Postsecondary Institutions: A Comparison of Involuntary Part-Time, Voluntary Part-Time, and Full-Time Faculty

Science.gov (United States)

Kinchen, Nancy Huval

2010-01-01

Part-time faculty members represent the majority of faculty at public two-year postsecondary institutions. Utilizing part-time faculty enables two-year institutions to control their instructional costs and maintain scheduling flexibility. However, part-time faculty are diverse in regards to their employment preference, some prefer part-time…

Advancing Shannon Entropy for Measuring Diversity in Systems

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R. Rajaram

2017-01-01

Full Text Available From economic inequality and species diversity to power laws and the analysis of multiple trends and trajectories, diversity within systems is a major issue for science. Part of the challenge is measuring it. Shannon entropy H has been used to rethink diversity within probability distributions, based on the notion of information. However, there are two major limitations to Shannon’s approach. First, it cannot be used to compare diversity distributions that have different levels of scale. Second, it cannot be used to compare parts of diversity distributions to the whole. To address these limitations, we introduce a renormalization of probability distributions based on the notion of case-based entropy Cc as a function of the cumulative probability c. Given a probability density p(x, Cc measures the diversity of the distribution up to a cumulative probability of c, by computing the length or support of an equivalent uniform distribution that has the same Shannon information as the conditional distribution of p^c(x up to cumulative probability c. We illustrate the utility of our approach by renormalizing and comparing three well-known energy distributions in physics, namely, the Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein, and Fermi-Dirac distributions for energy of subatomic particles. The comparison shows that Cc is a vast improvement over H as it provides a scale-free comparison of these diversity distributions and also allows for a comparison between parts of these diversity distributions.

Counseling and Psychoanalysis: Advancing the Value of Diversity

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Hansen, James T.

2010-01-01

Arguably, the defining feature of the counseling profession is an appreciation for human diversity. Early counseling movements emphasized individual diversity, while multiculturalism and social justice highlighted cultural diversity. The author maintains that contemporary psychoanalytic thought can supply a needed intraindividual diversity…

Hierarchical graphical-based human pose estimation via local multi-resolution convolutional neural network

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Zhu, Aichun; Wang, Tian; Snoussi, Hichem

2018-03-01

This paper addresses the problems of the graphical-based human pose estimation in still images, including the diversity of appearances and confounding background clutter. We present a new architecture for estimating human pose using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). Firstly, a Relative Mixture Deformable Model (RMDM) is defined by each pair of connected parts to compute the relative spatial information in the graphical model. Secondly, a Local Multi-Resolution Convolutional Neural Network (LMR-CNN) is proposed to train and learn the multi-scale representation of each body parts by combining different levels of part context. Thirdly, a LMR-CNN based hierarchical model is defined to explore the context information of limb parts. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed deep learning approach for human pose estimation.

Hierarchical graphical-based human pose estimation via local multi-resolution convolutional neural network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aichun Zhu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the problems of the graphical-based human pose estimation in still images, including the diversity of appearances and confounding background clutter. We present a new architecture for estimating human pose using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN. Firstly, a Relative Mixture Deformable Model (RMDM is defined by each pair of connected parts to compute the relative spatial information in the graphical model. Secondly, a Local Multi-Resolution Convolutional Neural Network (LMR-CNN is proposed to train and learn the multi-scale representation of each body parts by combining different levels of part context. Thirdly, a LMR-CNN based hierarchical model is defined to explore the context information of limb parts. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed deep learning approach for human pose estimation.

River Quality Investigations, Part 1: Some Diversity and Biotic Indices.

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Hewitt, G.

1991-01-01

The following indices for assessing river water quality are described: Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index, Sorenson Quotient of Similarity, Czekanowski's Index of Similarity, Trent Biotic Index, Chandler Score, and Biological Monitoring Working Party Score. Their advantages and disadvantages are outlined. (Author)

New insights into Prevotella diversity and medical microbiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Alauzet, Corentine; Marchandin, Hélène; Lozniewski, Alain

2010-11-01

In light of recent studies based on cultivation-independent methods, it appears that the diversity of Prevotella in human microbiota is greater than was previously assumed from cultivation-based studies, and that the implication of these bacteria in several human diseases was unrecognized. While some Prevotella taxa were found during opportunistic infections, changes in Prevotella abundance and diversity were discovered during dysbiosis-associated diseases. As member of the microbiota, Prevotella may also be considered as a reservoir for resistance genes. Greater knowledge on Prevotella diversity, as well as new insights into its pathogenic potential and implication in dysbiosis are expected from the use of human microbe identification microarrays, from whole-genome sequence analyse, and from the NIH Human Microbiome Project data. New approaches, including molecular-based methods, could contribute to improve the diagnosis of Prevotella infections.

Investigations into the metabolic diversity of microorganisms as part of microbial diversity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leadbetter, Jared [California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)

2016-07-25

DOE funds supported a key portion of the MBL Microbial Diversity (Woods Hole) program across 6 complete summers. The initial 4 years of the funded period were overseen by two co-Directors, Daniel Buckley (Cornell) and Steve Zinder (Cornell), who then completed their term. The final 2 summers were overseen by 2 new co-Directors, Jared R. Leadbetter (Caltech) and Dianne Newman (Caltech). The 6 funded summer iterations of the course included the incorporation of new themes such as single cell approaches applied to natural microbial communities (cell separation and sorting, genome amplification from single cells, and the use of Nano-SIMS to examine assimilation of carbon and nitrogen from isotopically labeled substrates into single cells), genetics and genomics on bacteria freshly isolated during the course of the programs, quantitative systems biology, and modern quantitative light microscopy.

From Diversity Management to Diversimilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holck, Lotte; Muhr, Sara Louise

“Diversimilation” as a corporate response to diversity By PhD fellow Lotte Holck, Copenhagen Business School (IOA) Abstract Across the North Atlantic organizations struggle to harvest the perceived ’ fruits’ of diversity of enhanced organizational learning and requisite variety enriching task...... performance in response to globalized markets and customers – but by means of different approaches to organizing diversity (Klarsfeld 2012, Embrick 2011, Banting 2010, Holvino & Kamp 2009, Matten & Moon 2008, Risberg & Søderberg 2008, Campbell 2007, Boxenbaum 2007). The argument of this paper...... is that this is partly due to the history of diversity and maturity of the diversity agenda, where especially the US confrontation with and acknowledgement of a colonial past has made way for a more "advanced" approach valuing diversity, while in a Danish context - through distancing itself from having an explicit...

Beneficial Effects of a Dietary Weight Loss Intervention on Human Gut Microbiome Diversity and Metabolism Are Not Sustained during Weight Maintenance.

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Heinsen, Femke-Anouska; Fangmann, Daniela; Müller, Nike; Schulte, Dominik M; Rühlemann, Malte C; Türk, Kathrin; Settgast, Ute; Lieb, Wolfgang; Baines, John F; Schreiber, Stefan; Franke, Andre; Laudes, Matthias

2016-01-01

In the present study, we examined the effect of a very low-calorie diet(VLCD)-based obesity program on human gut microbiome diversity and metabolism during weight loss and weight maintenance. Obese subjects underwent 3 months of VLCD followed by 3 months of weight maintenance. A lean and an obese control group were included. The microbiome was characterized by performing high-throughput dual-indexed 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. At baseline, a significant difference in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio between the lean and obese individuals was observed (p = 0.047). The VLCD resulted in significant alterations in gut microbiome diversity from baseline to 3 months (p = 0.0053). Acinetobacter represented an indicator species for the observed effect (indicator value = 0.998, p = 0.006). Metabolic analyses revealed alterations of the bacterial riboflavin pathway from baseline to 3 months (pnom = 0.0078). These changes in diversity and bacterial metabolism induced by VLCD diminished during the weight maintenance phase, despite sustained reductions in body weight and sustained improvements of insulin sensitivity. The present data show that a VLCD is able to beneficially alter both gut microbiome diversity and metabolism in obese humans, but that these changes are not sustained during weight maintenance. This finding might suggest that the microbiome should be targeted during obesity programs. © 2016 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

Beneficial Effects of a Dietary Weight Loss Intervention on Human Gut Microbiome Diversity and Metabolism Are Not Sustained during Weight Maintenance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Femke-Anouska Heinsen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: In the present study, we examined the effect of a very low-calorie diet(VLCD-based obesity program on human gut microbiome diversity and metabolism during weight loss and weight maintenance. Methods: Obese subjects underwent 3 months of VLCD followed by 3 months of weight maintenance. A lean and an obese control group were included. The microbiome was characterized by performing high-throughput dual-indexed 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. Results: At baseline, a significant difference in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio between the lean and obese individuals was observed (p = 0.047. The VLCD resulted in significant alterations in gut microbiome diversity from baseline to 3 months (p = 0.0053. Acinetobacter represented an indicator species for the observed effect (indicator value = 0.998, p = 0.006. Metabolic analyses revealed alterations of the bacterial riboflavin pathway from baseline to 3 months (pnom = 0.0078. These changes in diversity and bacterial metabolism induced by VLCD diminished during the weight maintenance phase, despite sustained reductions in body weight and sustained improvements of insulin sensitivity. Conclusion: The present data show that a VLCD is able to beneficially alter both gut microbiome diversity and metabolism in obese humans, but that these changes are not sustained during weight maintenance. This finding might suggest that the microbiome should be targeted during obesity programs.

Linguistic diversity, global paradigms and taken-for-grantedness.

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Martel, Angéline

2004-01-01

In the first part of this paper taken-for-granted hypotheses in linguistic diversity are presented. In the second part the two constellations of globalized ideologies are described constituting paradigms that these hypotheses illustrate: competition and solidarity. In the third part, a condensed version of emerging globalized concerns is given. Sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics are disciplines that increasingly theorize and analyze within the solidarity paradigm. It is suggested that a systematic uprooting of competition as taken-for-granted grounding of scientific research should allow for the development of theorization and successful applications of solidarity ideologies. In short, in this paper, our multifaceted taken-for-grantedness is challenged in many ways: (1) competition is ideological and many social movements are unmasking it by articulating solidarity as a basis for ideologies, (2) difference is not necessarily divisive but it is so in pervasive competition, (3) proponents of the Nation-State as a model of social organization have vested interests in competition, (4) competition has not favored the articulation of common human grounds but globalization helps to raise concerns and articulate commonness/solidarity in difference.

Knowledge sharing in diverse organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

2012-01-01

the fact that organisations which can make full use of their collective knowledge and expertise could be expected to be more efficient, effective and creative. Therefore, a survey was directed towards 16 diverse academic departments in three large universities in Denmark, and 489 academics took part...... of these findings for the management of knowledge in intensive diverse organisations are discussed in detail....

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G during pregnancy part I

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klitkou, Louise; Dahl, Mette; Hviid, Thomas Vauvert F

2015-01-01

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G is a class Ib molecule with restricted tissue distribution expressed on trophoblast cells and has been proposed to have immunomodulatory functions during pregnancy. Soluble HLA-G1 (sHLA-G1) can be generated by the shedding of membrane-bound HLA-G molecules; however...... of importance for production of sHLA-G in the mother and child, or it may support the theory that sHLA-G in the pregnant woman and the fetus is partly derived from a "shared organ", the placenta....

Situational Leadership And Diversity Management Coaching Skills

OpenAIRE

Bahaudin G. Mujtaba; Jatuporn Sungkhawan

2011-01-01

Leadership and diversity management have been part of the work life since the beginning of formal organizations and a critical element of globalization. The authors provide an overview of situational leadership and link it to diversity management so the focus can remain on productivity rather than personalities and biases which are part of each society and individual. Based on personal training experiences of the authors, this conceptual and practical paper provides a model to link situationa...

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 604 - Listing of Human Service Federal Financial Assistance Programs

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Listing of Human Service Federal Financial... (Continued) FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CHARTER SERVICE Pt. 604, App. A Appendix A to Part 604—Listing of Human Service Federal Financial Assistance Programs Federal Programs...

Precuneus proportions and cortical folding: A morphometric evaluation on a racially diverse human sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruner, Emiliano; Pereira-Pedro, Ana Sofia; Chen, Xu; Rilling, James K

2017-05-01

Recent analyses have suggested that the size and proportions of the precuneus are remarkably variable among adult humans, representing a major source of geometrical difference in midsagittal brain morphology. The same area also represents the main midsagittal brain difference between humans and chimpanzees, being more expanded in our species. Enlargement of the upper parietal surface is a specific feature of Homo sapiens, when compared with other fossil hominids, suggesting the involvement of these cortical areas in recent modern human evolution. Here, we provide a survey on midsagittal brain morphology by investigating whether precuneus size represents the largest component of variance within a larger and racially diverse sample of 265 adult humans. Additionally, we investigate the relationship between precuneus shape variation and folding patterns. Precuneus proportions are confirmed to be a major source of human brain variation even when racial variability is considered. Larger precuneus size is associated with additional precuneal gyri, generally in its anterior district. Spatial variation is most pronounced in the dorsal areas, with no apparent differences between hemispheres, between sexes, or among different racial groups. These dorsal areas integrate somatic and visual information together with the lateral elements of the parietal cortex, representing a crucial node for self-centered mental imagery. The histological basis and functional significance of this intra-specific variation in the upper precuneus remains to be evaluated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

High-resolution mitochondrial DNA analysis sheds light on human diversity, cultural interactions, and population mobility in Northwestern Amazonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, Leonardo; Barbieri, Chiara; Barreto, Guillermo; Stoneking, Mark; Pakendorf, Brigitte

2018-02-01

Northwestern Amazonia (NWA) is a center of high linguistic and cultural diversity. Several language families and linguistic isolates occur in this region, as well as different subsistence patterns, with some groups being foragers and others agriculturalists. In addition, speakers of Eastern Tukanoan languages are known for practicing linguistic exogamy, a marriage system in which partners are taken from different language groups. In this study, we use high-resolution mitochondrial DNA sequencing to investigate the impact of this linguistic and cultural diversity on the genetic relationships and population structure of NWA groups. We collected saliva samples from individuals representing 40 different NWA ethnolinguistic groups and sequenced 439 complete mitochondrial genomes to an average coverage of 1,030×. The mtDNA data revealed that NWA populations have high genetic diversity with extensive sharing of haplotypes among groups. Moreover, groups who practice linguistic exogamy have higher genetic diversity, while the foraging Nukak have lower genetic diversity. We also find that rivers play a more important role than either geography or language affiliation in structuring the genetic relationships of populations. Contrary to the view of NWA as a pristine area inhabited by small human populations living in isolation, our data support a view of high diversity and contact among different ethnolinguistic groups, with movement along rivers probably facilitating this contact. Additionally, we provide evidence for the impact of cultural practices, such as linguistic exogamy, on patterns of genetic variation. Overall, this study provides new data and insights into a remote and little-studied region of the world. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Leadership in diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, P L

1994-12-01

As principal change agents, healthcare leaders are well positioned to integrate diversity into their institutions' organizational structure. Thus healthcare leaders must be competent in handling diversity issues. Diversity refers to any characteristic that helps shape a person's attitudes, behaviors, perspective, and interpretation of what is "normal." In the healthcare ministry, diversity encompasses the cultural differences that can be found across functions or among organizations when they merge or partner. Managers and supervisors will have to be familiar with the nuances of diversity if they are to be effective. Those managers who are not adept at incorporating diversity into human resource management may incorrectly evaluate subordinates' capabilities and provide inappropriate training or supervision. As a result, some employees may be underutilized. Others may resist needed direction, overlook instructions, or hide problems such as a language barrier. If executives, marketers, and strategic planners are to develop relevant healthcare services that take into account the needs of their constituencies, they will need to determine how different groups understand and access healthcare. Healthcare leaders who know how to uncover cultural dynamics and challenge cultural assumptions will go far in enabling their staff and managers to confront personal attitudes about community residents. Ultimately, quality of service delivery will be improved.

Openness to diversity, trust and conflict in multicultural organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

2012-01-01

with group trust. The findings of this study suggest that openness to diversity should be highly prioritized by human resource managers in demographically diverse organizations. Possible interventions include organizational culture change programs, diversity training at individual and team levels as well...

Diverse by Default

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holck, Lotte

arguments that arise from migrants’ paradoxical situation. To improve their situation, the article discusses whether alternative conceptualization of talents, ‘high potentials’, and making the ambitions of diverse employees more prominent in strategic human resource management can be a relavant strategy......: Employing highlyskilled, career-minded migrants in low-skilled postions, migrants are simultaneously casted as a disposable, replicable and temporary resource, the ‘ideal worker’, AND as a ‘high potential’ for first line management. This extended business case of diversity draws on multifaceted business......This paper contributes to theoretical debates around migrant workers at the workplace, labour market inequality and the business case of diversity. Building on stories of overqualified migrant stuck in low-rank jobs due to their migration, this paper explores how migrant workers are simultaneous...

The misuse of Kant in the debate about a market for human body parts.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerrand, N

1999-01-01

Passages from the writings of Immanuel Kant concerning how a person should treat her body are often cited in the present-day debate about a market for human body parts. In this paper, I demonstrate that this has been a misuse of Kant because unlike those who cite him, Kant was not primarily concerned with prohibiting the sale of body parts. In the first section, I argue that once these particular passages are understood against the background of Kant's moral philosophy, they indicate he had much broader concerns relating to the correct moral relationship a rational person should have with her body. In the second section, I examine Stephen Munzer's unusually detailed analysis of these passages, but conclude that like those who have provided less detailed analyses, he also fails fully to understand the rationale for Kant's various prescriptions and prohibitions concerning the treatment of human body parts, and in doing so misrepresents Kant's position.

Discursive managerial practices of diversity and homogeneity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knoppers, Annelies; Claringbould, Inge; Dortants, Marianne

2015-01-01

The concept of diversity as an organizational value has become an integral part of many organizational policies, yet women and minorities continue to be underrepresented as managers. Scholars have drawn attention to the paradox in which managers recognize diversity as an organizational value and yet

Pleistocene climatic oscillations rather than recent human disturbance influence genetic diversity in one of the world's highest treeline species.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Yanling; Lachmuth, Susanne; Gallegos, Silvia C; Kessler, Michael; Ramsay, Paul M; Renison, Daniel; Suarez, Ricardo; Hensen, Isabell

2015-10-01

Biological responses to climatic change usually leave imprints on the genetic diversity and structure of plants. Information on the current genetic diversity and structure of dominant tree species has facilitated our general understanding of phylogeographical patterns. Using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLPs), we compared genetic diversity and structure of 384 adults of P. tarapacana with those of 384 seedlings across 32 forest sites spanning a latitudinal gradient of 600 km occurring between 4100 m and 5000 m a.s.l. in Polylepis tarapacana (Rosaceae), one of the world's highest treeline species endemic to the central Andes. Moderate to high levels of genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation were detected in both adults and seedlings, with levels of genetic diversity and differentiation being almost identical. Four slightly genetically divergent clusters were identified that accorded to differing geographical regions. Genetic diversity decreased from south to north and with increasing precipitation for adults and seedlings, but there was no relationship to elevation. Our study shows that, unlike the case for other Andean treeline species, recent human activities have not affected the genetic structure of P. tarapacana, possibly because its inhospitable habitat is unsuitable for agriculture. The current genetic pattern of P. tarapacana points to a historically more widespread distribution at lower altitudes, which allowed considerable gene flow possibly during the glacial periods of the Pleistocene epoch, and also suggests that the northern Argentinean Andes may have served as a refugium for historical populations. © 2015 Botanical Society of America.

Reduced cell number in the neocortical part of the human fetal brain in Down syndrome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, K.B.; Laursen, H.; Graem, N.

2008-01-01

Mental retardation is seen in all individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and different brain abnormalities are reported. The aim of this study was to investigate if mental retardation at least in part is a result of a lower cell number in the neocortical part of the human fetal forebrain. We therefore...

An ancestry informative marker set for determining continental origin: validation and extension using human genome diversity panels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregersen Peter K

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Case-control genetic studies of complex human diseases can be confounded by population stratification. This issue can be addressed using panels of ancestry informative markers (AIMs that can provide substantial population substructure information. Previously, we described a panel of 128 SNP AIMs that were designed as a tool for ascertaining the origins of subjects from Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Americas, and East Asia. Results In this study, genotypes from Human Genome Diversity Panel populations were used to further evaluate a 93 SNP AIM panel, a subset of the 128 AIMS set, for distinguishing continental origins. Using both model-based and relatively model-independent methods, we here confirm the ability of this AIM set to distinguish diverse population groups that were not previously evaluated. This study included multiple population groups from Oceana, South Asia, East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, North and South America, and Europe. In addition, the 93 AIM set provides population substructure information that can, for example, distinguish Arab and Ashkenazi from Northern European population groups and Pygmy from other Sub-Saharan African population groups. Conclusion These data provide additional support for using the 93 AIM set to efficiently identify continental subject groups for genetic studies, to identify study population outliers, and to control for admixture in association studies.

Gene-trait matching across the Bifidobacterium longum pan-genome reveals considerable diversity in carbohydrate catabolism among human infant strains.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Arboleya, Silvia

2018-01-08

Bifidobacterium longum is a common member of the human gut microbiota and is frequently present at high numbers in the gut microbiota of humans throughout life, thus indicative of a close symbiotic host-microbe relationship. Different mechanisms may be responsible for the high competitiveness of this taxon in its human host to allow stable establishment in the complex and dynamic intestinal microbiota environment. The objective of this study was to assess the genetic and metabolic diversity in a set of 20 B. longum strains, most of which had previously been isolated from infants, by performing whole genome sequencing and comparative analysis, and to analyse their carbohydrate utilization abilities using a gene-trait matching approach.

[Penal and non-penal legislative policy in relation to human biotechnology].

Science.gov (United States)

Romeo Casabona, Carlos María

2007-01-01

The Spanish legislator has introduced a set of legislative novelties in the field of human biotechnology or is about to do so. This will be done either through the reform of some laws or through the approval of new laws, that is, without previous regulatory references available. The greater part of these novelties turn on research with cells or cell lines of human origin, specifically those from human embryos and through the use of diverse techniques, such as reproductive cloning and non-reproductive ('therapeutic') cloning.

The colon shuffle : A modified urinary diversion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meijer, R. P.; Mertens, L. S.; Meinhardt, W.; Verwaal, V. J.; Dik, P.; Horenblas, S.

2015-01-01

Aim To assess the results of a urinary diversion in patients who already have a colostomy or simultaneously require a (rectum) colon resection. The diversion is created from the distal part of the transected colon with a simultaneously created new colostomy contra-laterally (if necessary). This

Diversity of Flea (Siphonaptera) Parasites on Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Romania.

Science.gov (United States)

Foley, P; Foley, J; Sándor, A D; Ionica, A M; Matei, I A; D'Amico, G; Gherman, C M; Dom A, C; Mihalca, A D

2017-09-01

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes (L.)) are widespread across Europe, tolerant of synanthropic ecosystems, and susceptible to diseases potentially shared with humans and other animals. We describe flea fauna on red foxes in Romania, a large, ecologically diverse country, in part because fleas may serve as an indicator of the risk of spillover of vector-borne disease. We found 912 individual fleas of seven species on the 305 foxes assessed, for an infestation prevalence of 49.5%. Mean flea load per fox was 5.8 (range 0-44 fleas), and flea detections were most abundant in fall and early spring. Fleas included generalists (Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis), 32.6% of all fleas), Ct. felis (Bouché, 0.1%), and Pulex irritans L. (29.9%), the fox specialist Chaetopsylla globiceps (Taschenberg, 32.5%), mesocarnivore fleas Paraceras melis Walker (3.2%) and Ch. trichosa Kohaut (1.5%), and the small mammal flea Ctenophthalmus assimilis (Taschenberg, 0.1%), which is rarely or never reported from carnivores. There were significantly more female than male Ch. globiceps, Ct. canis, and Pu. irritans, and these three species were the most broadly distributed geographically. Diversity indices suggested reduced diversity in mountainous areas above 700 m. When compared to other flea studies on foxes in Europe, Romania had flea diversity near the median of reports, which was unexpected given Romania's high ecological diversity. Notably absent prey specialists, compared to other studies, include Archaeopsylla erinacei (Bouché) and Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale). Further studies of possible disease agents in fox fleas could help elucidate possible risks of vector-borne disease in foxes, domestic animals, and humans as well. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Workforce Diversity: Implications for Business Educators.

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, Stacy L.

1997-01-01

Responses from 112 human resource managers in Chicago indicated that 42% offer diversity programs because it is an ethical approach to management; they offer only a few of the programs available and identified in the literature. Organizations whose major purpose is recruiting and developing a diverse work force offered more programs and a wider…

Ethics and morala as a significant part of resource of human management

OpenAIRE

ŠKODOVÁ, Hana

2008-01-01

The objective of this bachelor´s work was to specify decisive differences between ethics and morality in today´s market environment on the level of business sphere, to occupy with ethical probléme and to find out if ethics is reallly an important part of the human resource management nowadays.

How Should Beta-Diversity Inform Biodiversity Conservation?

Science.gov (United States)

Socolar, Jacob B; Gilroy, James J; Kunin, William E; Edwards, David P

2016-01-01

To design robust protected area networks, accurately measure species losses, or understand the processes that maintain species diversity, conservation science must consider the organization of biodiversity in space. Central is beta-diversity--the component of regional diversity that accumulates from compositional differences between local species assemblages. We review how beta-diversity is impacted by human activities, including farming, selective logging, urbanization, species invasions, overhunting, and climate change. Beta-diversity increases, decreases, or remains unchanged by these impacts, depending on the balance of processes that cause species composition to become more different (biotic heterogenization) or more similar (biotic homogenization) between sites. While maintaining high beta-diversity is not always a desirable conservation outcome, understanding beta-diversity is essential for protecting regional diversity and can directly assist conservation planning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"implicate Order" and the Good Life: Applying David Bohm's Ontology in Human World

Science.gov (United States)

Ravn, Ib.

In an attempt to formulate a coherent view of quantum reality, the theoretical physicist David Bohm has proposed a new concept of order to supplement the mechanistic Cartesian order of traditional physics. The "implicate" order is a subtler and deeper order that emphasizes "unbroken wholeness in flowing movement," in contrast to the coarser and more superficial, "explicate" Cartesian order of distinct phenomena. This dissertation attempts to develop a meaning for the idea of implicate order in the world of human experience. First is offered an account of some evolutionary episodes in terms of implicate and explicate order which draws on compatible work in cosmology, embryogenesis, visual perception, brain memory, decision making and phenomenology. Two important characteristics of the implicate order are then identified: in an implicate order, the whole is enfolded (or represented) in its parts; and all parts render different perspectives of the whole. Using arguments from decision making, the study of "flow" in human consciousness, and a model of skill acquisition, it is suggested that these characteristics manifest themselves in the human world as the "unity experience" and the "diversity experience," respectively. The former is the experience that a given part of one's life reveals a larger wholeness or unity; the subject-object distinction is transcended and one becomes absorbed in the flow of whatever activity is pursued. The latter is a deep appreciation of the diversity of ways in which people may seek the unity experience. These experiences are proposed as general values: social and psychological conditions ought to be such that these experiences are enhanced in all people. A two-by-two matrix of the two experiences demonstrates the danger of pursuing one to the exclusion of the other. The experience of unity without diversity turns into absolutism, the insistence that one's chosen activities or beliefs are the only right ones. The experience of diversity

Assessment of landscape diversity and determination of landscape hotspots - a case of Slovenia

Science.gov (United States)

Perko, Drago; Ciglič, Rok; Hrvatin, Mauro

2017-04-01

Areas with high landscape diversity can be regarded as landscape hotspots, and vice versa areas with low landscape diversity can be marked as landscape coldspots. The main purpose of this paper is to use quantitative geoinformatical approach and identify parts of our test area (the country of Slovenia) that can be described as very diverse according to natural landscapes and natural elements. We used different digital raster data of natural elements and landscape classifications and defined landscape diversity and landscape hotspots. We defined diversity for each raster pixel by counting the number of different unique types of landscape elements and types of landscapes in its neighborhood. Namely, the method was used separately to define diversity according to natural elements (types of relief forms, rocks, and vegetation) and diversity according to existing geographical landscape classifications of Slovenia (types of landscapes). In both cases one-tenth of Slovenia's surface with the highest landscape diversity was defined as landscape hotspots. The same applies to the coldspots. Additionally we tested the same method of counting different types of landscapes in certain radius also for the area of Europe in order to find areas that are more diverse at continental level. By doing so we were able to find areas that have similar level of diversity as Slovenia according to different European landscape classifications. Areas with landscape diversity may have an advantage in economic development, especially in tourism. Such areas are also important for biodiversity, habitat, and species diversity. On the other hand, localities where various natural influences mix can also be areas where it is hard to transfer best practices from one place to another because of the varying responses of the landscapes to human intervention. Thus it is important to know where areas with high landscape diversity are.

Media Pluralism and Diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

In the western world, a diverse and pluralistic media landscape is deemed essential for democracy. But how universal is media pluralism as a concept underpinning media policies? To what extent do normative approaches, regulatory dimensions and monitoring systems differ throughout the world......? Adopting a truly global, theoretical and multidisciplinary perspective, Media Pluralism and Diversity advances our understanding of media pluralism across the globe. It compares metrics developed in different parts of the world to assess levels of, or threats to, media pluralism. It identifies common...

Troublemaking carnivores: conflicts with humans in a diverse assemblage of large carnivores

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea T. Morehouse

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Human-wildlife conflicts are a global conservation and management challenge. Multipredator systems present added complexity to the resolution of human-wildlife conflicts because mitigation strategies often are species-specific. Documenting the type and distribution of such conflicts is an important first step toward ensuring that subsequent management and mitigation efforts are appropriately targeted. We reviewed 16 years of records of complaints about two species of strict carnivores, wolves (Canis lupus and cougars (Puma concolor, and two species of omnivores, grizzly bears (Ursus arctos and black bears (Ursus americanus in southwestern Alberta and evaluated the temporal and spatial distribution of these complaints. Conflicts were most frequently associated with bears (68.7% of complaint records, reflecting a diversity of conflict types attributable to their omnivorous diets. Although grizzly bears killed and injured livestock, the majority of conflicts with bears were attributable to attractants (grain and dead livestock for grizzly bears, garbage for black bears. In contrast, wolf and cougar incidents were almost exclusively related to killing or injury of livestock. Complaints for both bear species have increased over the past 16 years while cougar and wolf complaints have remained relatively constant. Grizzly bear and cougar conflicts have been expanding into private lands used for agriculture. Although community driven, targeted mitigation measures have helped reduce conflicts with grizzly bears at the site level, conflicts at the broader scale have continued to increase and continued work is necessary. Long-term human-carnivore coexistence clearly is possible, facilitated by continued monitoring and local efforts to mitigate conflicts.

STRATEGIC CHANGES IN THE SOCIO-CULTURAL LEVEL. CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY, BETWEEN "UNITY IN DIVERSITY" AND DISSOLUTION IN DIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramona-Gabriela EANA

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Change existed in various forms in all stages of development of human society, is that we were dealing with in all economic aspects, social, cultural or others, all of which have affected human existence. A complex phenomenon, which occurs in a longer or shorter period of time and which requires humans to be located in the center, through their own will, constituted into a veritable binder between cause and effect, old and new, nature and culture. Today the exchange of cultural information in the context of international system allows groups of people to interact generating complex changes, so it is essential to take into account processes that could limit diversity in evolution. As well as the cultural phenomenon develops by increasing its social size, density and diversity, society will always be interested in the way how every new element changes human individual universe.

The personification of animals: coding of human and nonhuman body parts based on posture and function.

Science.gov (United States)

Welsh, Timothy N; McDougall, Laura; Paulson, Stephanie

2014-09-01

The purpose of the present research was to determine how humans represent the bodies and limbs of nonhuman mammals based on anatomical and functional properties. To this end, participants completed a series of body-part compatibility tasks in which they responded with a thumb or foot response to the color of a stimulus (red or blue, respectively) presented on different limbs of several animals. Across the studies, this compatibility task was conducted with images of human and nonhuman animals (bears, cows, and monkeys) in bipedal or quadrupedal postures. The results revealed that the coding of the limbs of nonhuman animals is strongly influenced by the posture of the body, but not the functional capacity of the limb. Specifically, body-part compatibility effects were present for both human and nonhuman animals when the figures were in a bipedal posture, but were not present when the animals were in a quadrupedal stance (Experiments 1a-c). Experiments 2a and 2b revealed that the posture-based body-part compatibility effects were not simply a vertical spatial compatibility effect or due to a mismatch between the posture of the body in the image and the participant. These data indicate that nonhuman animals in a bipedal posture are coded with respect to the "human" body representation, whereas nonhuman animals in a quadrupedal posture are not mapped to the human body representation. Overall, these studies provide new insight into the processes through which humans understand, mimic, and learn from the actions of nonhuman animals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mitochondrial DNA diversity of present-day Aboriginal Australians and implications for human evolution in Oceania.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagle, Nano; Ballantyne, Kaye N; van Oven, Mannis; Tyler-Smith, Chris; Xue, Yali; Wilcox, Stephen; Wilcox, Leah; Turkalov, Rust; van Oorschot, Roland A H; van Holst Pellekaan, Sheila; Schurr, Theodore G; McAllister, Peter; Williams, Lesley; Kayser, Manfred; Mitchell, R John

2017-03-01

Aboriginal Australians are one of the more poorly studied populations from the standpoint of human evolution and genetic diversity. Thus, to investigate their genetic diversity, the possible date of their ancestors' arrival and their relationships with neighboring populations, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity in a large sample of Aboriginal Australians. Selected mtDNA single-nucleotide polymorphisms and the hypervariable segment haplotypes were analyzed in 594 Aboriginal Australians drawn from locations across the continent, chiefly from regions not previously sampled. Most (~78%) samples could be assigned to mtDNA haplogroups indigenous to Australia. The indigenous haplogroups were all ancient (with estimated ages >40 000 years) and geographically widespread across the continent. The most common haplogroup was P (44%) followed by S (23%) and M42a (9%). There was some geographic structure at the haplotype level. The estimated ages of the indigenous haplogroups range from 39 000 to 55 000 years, dates that fit well with the estimated date of colonization of Australia based on archeological evidence (~47 000 years ago). The distribution of mtDNA haplogroups in Australia and New Guinea supports the hypothesis that the ancestors of Aboriginal Australians entered Sahul through at least two entry points. The mtDNA data give no support to the hypothesis of secondary gene flow into Australia during the Holocene, but instead suggest long-term isolation of the continent.

Protein chimerism: novel source of protein diversity in humans adds complexity to bottom-up proteomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Casado-Vela, Juan; Lacal, Juan Carlos; Elortza, Felix

2013-01-01

Three main molecular mechanisms are considered to contribute expanding the repertoire and diversity of proteins present in living organisms: first, at DNA level (gene polymorphisms and single nucleotide polymorphisms); second, at messenger RNA (pre-mRNA and mRNA) level including alternative splicing (also termed differential splicing or cis-splicing); finally, at the protein level mainly driven through PTM and specific proteolytic cleavages. Chimeric mRNAs constitute an alternative source of protein diversity, which can be generated either by chromosomal translocations or by trans-splicing events. The occurrence of chimeric mRNAs and proteins is a frequent event in cells from the immune system and cancer cells, mainly as a consequence of gene rearrangements. Recent reports support that chimeric proteins may also be expressed at low levels under normal physiological circumstances, thus, representing a novel source of protein diversity. Notably, recent publications demonstrate that chimeric protein products can be successfully identified through bottom-up proteomic analyses. Several questions remain unsolved, such as the physiological role and impact of such chimeric proteins or the potential occurrence of chimeric proteins in higher eukaryotic organisms different from humans. The occurrence of chimeric proteins certainly seems to be another unforeseen source of complexity for the proteome. It may be a process to take in mind not only when performing bottom-up proteomic analyses in cancer studies but also in general bottom-up proteomics experiments. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Diversity and inclusion as indicators of sustainable human ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

and good service. Changes in ... that organises good working conditions and perspective for employees. ..... training to raise awareness for diversity and inclusion at an early stage ... its product/service offers as well as marketing and customer.

Diversity and inclusion as indicators of sustainable human ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

knowledge and ability to affect the culture of the organisation ... An important element to define “talent” is that it concerns authentic .... Lim and Noriega (2007) define diversity and ..... organisational key performance indicators, such as customer.

Picturing diversity in the ATLAS collaboration

CERN Document Server

Biondi, Silvia; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

With over 3000 members from 178 institutes, the ATLAS Collaboration is naturally diverse. However, capturing this diversity through pictures can be a challenge. Photography is a powerful tool, allowing us to reveal the faces behind a story and give the public the unique opportunity to understand and appreciate the human aspects of ATLAS's scientific research. The role of photographs in portraying the diversity of the ATLAS Collaboration and on various communication platforms will be described. Their impact will be examined, with focus on engagement of new audiences.

When international management meets diversity management:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rask, Morten; Korsgaard, Steffen T.; Lauring, Jakob

2010-01-01

management is increasingly recognised as a relevant way of managing human differences. We perform a content analysis of 44 IKEA recruitment websites as an empirical vehicle for understanding the embedded barriers, and the opportunities for combining diversity management and international management. We...... conclude that, through the use of diversity management principles, IKEA succeeds in manoeuvring in the paradox of the simultaneous need for a strong corporate culture and local adaptation. Thus, the paper contributes to the understanding of the use of diversity management principles in international...

Diversity and leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Jean Lau; Sanchez-Hucles, Janis

2007-09-01

Comments on the six articles contained in the special issue of the American Psychologist (January 2007) devoted to leadership, written by W. Bennis; S. J. Zaccaro; V. H. Vroom and A. G. Yago; B. J. Avolio; R. J. Sternberg; and R. J. Hackman and R. Wageman. The current authors express concern that the special issue failed to include attention to issues of diversity and intersecting identities as they pertain to leadership. A Special Issue Part II on Diversity and Leadership is being proposed to (a) advance new models of leadership, (b) expand on existing leadership theories, and (c) incorporate diversity and multiple identities in the formulation of more inclusive leadership research and theory. The goal of this special issue will be to revise our theories of leadership and our understanding of effective leadership to include gender, racial/ethnic minority status, sexual orientation, and disability status.

Diverse Image Annotation

KAUST Repository

Wu, Baoyuan

2017-11-09

In this work we study the task of image annotation, of which the goal is to describe an image using a few tags. Instead of predicting the full list of tags, here we target for providing a short list of tags under a limited number (e.g., 3), to cover as much information as possible of the image. The tags in such a short list should be representative and diverse. It means they are required to be not only corresponding to the contents of the image, but also be different to each other. To this end, we treat the image annotation as a subset selection problem based on the conditional determinantal point process (DPP) model, which formulates the representation and diversity jointly. We further explore the semantic hierarchy and synonyms among the candidate tags, and require that two tags in a semantic hierarchy or in a pair of synonyms should not be selected simultaneously. This requirement is then embedded into the sampling algorithm according to the learned conditional DPP model. Besides, we find that traditional metrics for image annotation (e.g., precision, recall and F1 score) only consider the representation, but ignore the diversity. Thus we propose new metrics to evaluate the quality of the selected subset (i.e., the tag list), based on the semantic hierarchy and synonyms. Human study through Amazon Mechanical Turk verifies that the proposed metrics are more close to the humans judgment than traditional metrics. Experiments on two benchmark datasets show that the proposed method can produce more representative and diverse tags, compared with existing image annotation methods.

Diverse Image Annotation

KAUST Repository

Wu, Baoyuan; Jia, Fan; Liu, Wei; Ghanem, Bernard

2017-01-01

In this work we study the task of image annotation, of which the goal is to describe an image using a few tags. Instead of predicting the full list of tags, here we target for providing a short list of tags under a limited number (e.g., 3), to cover as much information as possible of the image. The tags in such a short list should be representative and diverse. It means they are required to be not only corresponding to the contents of the image, but also be different to each other. To this end, we treat the image annotation as a subset selection problem based on the conditional determinantal point process (DPP) model, which formulates the representation and diversity jointly. We further explore the semantic hierarchy and synonyms among the candidate tags, and require that two tags in a semantic hierarchy or in a pair of synonyms should not be selected simultaneously. This requirement is then embedded into the sampling algorithm according to the learned conditional DPP model. Besides, we find that traditional metrics for image annotation (e.g., precision, recall and F1 score) only consider the representation, but ignore the diversity. Thus we propose new metrics to evaluate the quality of the selected subset (i.e., the tag list), based on the semantic hierarchy and synonyms. Human study through Amazon Mechanical Turk verifies that the proposed metrics are more close to the humans judgment than traditional metrics. Experiments on two benchmark datasets show that the proposed method can produce more representative and diverse tags, compared with existing image annotation methods.

Genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of Yersinia enterocolitica isolated from pigs and humans in Lithuania.

Science.gov (United States)

Novoslavskij, Aleksandr; Kudirkienė, Eglė; Marcinkutė, Audronė; Bajoriūnienė, Almina; Korkeala, Hannu; Malakauskas, Mindaugas

2013-06-01

Yersiniosis is one of the three leading foodborne zoonoses in Lithuania, and the incidence of 12.86 per 100,000 population was the highest among EU member states in 2010. Contaminated pig carcasses and subsequently undercooked pig meat are considered to be the primary transmission vehicle of enteropathogenic Y. enterocolitica to consumers. With the aim of evaluating pigs as a possible source of human yersiniosis in Lithuania, this study investigated the genetic diversity of Y. enterocolitica isolated from pigs and human cases of yersiniosis. In addition, the antimicrobial resistance of selected isolates from both sources was compared. In total, 83 Y. enterocolitica strains were characterised using pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Overall, 68% of Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3 pulsotypes found in human clinical samples were identical to 81% of pulsotypes found in the pig production chain. Yersinia enterocolitica pulsotype II was confirmed as the dominant pulsotype in the pig production chain and was identical to nine of 19 Y. enterocolitica strains found in humans. All tested Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3 strains were resistant to ampicillin and erythromycin and sensitive to ciprofloxacin. Of the strains studied, 5% were resistant to tetracycline and streptomycin. This study showed that pigs may be the main source of human yersiniosis in Lithuania. In addition, Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3 strains isolated from the pig production chain and from yersiniosis patients shared similar resistance to different antimicrobials. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

Towards a Better Understanding of Diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Wink

2009-06-01

Full Text Available When we look at Planet Earth, its material and organisms, a prominent feature is the diversity of these components and the mechanisms underlying their functions. Biodiversity, which includes the diversity of the living organisms, their genes and the biomes, is a fascinating product of millions of years of evolution. Biodiversity is not static but in continuous change. In addition to the intrinsic natural causes, the biodiversity on Earth is increasingly challenged by human interference. Among the critical factors are the destruction of habitats (by agriculture or technical development, especially loss of rain forests and coral reefs, climate change, direct persecution and extermination of species (for traditional pharmaceutical use, game hunting or in fishery, as well as the introduction of invasive species and environmental pollution (some of them apparently influencing our climate [1]. Global changes (land-use and climate and human population growth (with a world population of more than 6.7 billion in 2009 and an annual increase of almost 80 million are ultimately responsible for affecting biodiversity worldwide. The exact impact of human interference on the Earth’s diversity may not be realised until it is too late to save critical species.

Working well in a culturally diverse team.

Science.gov (United States)

Day-Calder, Mandy

2016-10-05

Cooperative working is a core part of the nursing role, and it involves respecting your colleagues' needs and values. If you are part of a diverse team, you may need to develop your cultural competence, treating everyone compassionately and respectfully.

Managing gender diversity in healthcare: getting it right.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderbroeck, Paul; Wasserfallen, Jean-Blaise

2017-02-06

Purpose Diversity, notably gender diversity, is growing in health care, both at the level of teams and the level of organizations. This paper aims to describe the challenges for team leaders and leaders of organizations to manage this diversity. The authors believe that more could be done to help leaders master these challenges in a way that makes diverse teams and organizations more productive. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on previously published research, using gender diversity as an example, the paper first describes how diversity can both have a positive and a negative influence on team productivity. Next, it describes the challenge of gender diversity at an organizational level, using Switzerland as an example. Findings The first part of the paper espouses the causes of gender diversity, undoes some of the myths surrounding diversity and presents a model for effective management of diversity in teams. The second part looks at gender diversity at an organizational level. Drawing from sources inside and outside healthcare, the effects of the "leaking pipeline", "glass wall" and "glass ceiling" that prevent health-care organizations from leveraging the potential of female talent are discussed. Practical implications The authors propose a model developed for intercultural teamwork as a framework for leveraging gender diversity for better team productivity. Proposals are offered to health-care organizations on how they can tip the gender balance at senior levels into their favor, so as to get the maximum benefit from the available talent. Originality/value Applying the "how to" ideas and recommendations from this general review will help leaders of health-care organizations gain a better return on investment from their talent development as well as to increase the productivity of their workforce by a better use of diverse talent.

Detecting Human Hydrologic Alteration from Diversion Hydropower Requires Universal Flow Prediction Tools: A Proposed Framework for Flow Prediction in Poorly-gauged, Regulated Rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Kibler, K. M.; Alipour, M.

2016-12-01

Achieving the universal energy access Sustainable Development Goal will require great investment in renewable energy infrastructure in the developing world. Much growth in the renewable sector will come from new hydropower projects, including small and diversion hydropower in remote and mountainous regions. Yet, human impacts to hydrological systems from diversion hydropower are poorly described. Diversion hydropower is often implemented in ungauged rivers, thus detection of impact requires flow analysis tools suited to prediction in poorly-gauged and human-altered catchments. We conduct a comprehensive analysis of hydrologic alteration in 32 rivers developed with diversion hydropower in southwestern China. As flow data are sparse, we devise an approach for estimating streamflow during pre- and post-development periods, drawing upon a decade of research into prediction in ungauged basins. We apply a rainfall-runoff model, parameterized and forced exclusively with global-scale data, in hydrologically-similar gauged and ungauged catchments. Uncertain "soft" data are incorporated through fuzzy numbers and confidence-based weighting, and a multi-criteria objective function is applied to evaluate model performance. Testing indicates that the proposed framework returns superior performance (NSE = 0.77) as compared to models parameterized by rote calibration (NSE = 0.62). Confident that the models are providing `the right answer for the right reasons', our analysis of hydrologic alteration based on simulated flows indicates statistically significant hydrologic effects of diversion hydropower across many rivers. Mean annual flows, 7-day minimum and 7-day maximum flows decreased. Frequency and duration of flow exceeding Q25 decreased while duration of flows sustained below the Q75 increased substantially. Hydrograph rise and fall rates and flow constancy increased. The proposed methodology may be applied to improve diversion hydropower design in data-limited regions.

Picturing diversity in the ATLAS experiment.

CERN Document Server

Biondi, Silvia; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

With over 3,000 members from 178 institutes, the ATLAS Collaboration is naturally diverse. However, capturing this diversity through pictures can be a challenge. Photography is a powerful tool, allowing us to reveal the faces behind a story and give the public the unique opportunity to understand and appreciate the human aspects of ATLAS’s scientific research. The role of photographs in portraying the diversity of the ATLAS Collaboration will be described. Their role on various communication platforms will be described and their impact examined, with focus on engagement of new audiences.

Diversity begets diversity: host expansions and the diversification of plant-feeding insects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nylin Sören

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Plant-feeding insects make up a large part of earth's total biodiversity. While it has been shown that herbivory has repeatedly led to increased diversification rates in insects, there has been no compelling explanation for how plant-feeding has promoted speciation rates. There is a growing awareness that ecological factors can lead to rapid diversification and, as one of the most prominent features of most insect-plant interactions, specialization onto a diverse resource has often been assumed to be the main process behind this diversification. However, specialization is mainly a pruning process, and is not able to actually generate diversity by itself. Here we investigate the role of host colonizations in generating insect diversity, by testing if insect speciation rate is correlated with resource diversity. Results By applying a variant of independent contrast analysis, specially tailored for use on questions of species richness (MacroCAIC, we show that species richness is strongly correlated with diversity of host use in the butterfly family Nymphalidae. Furthermore, by comparing the results from reciprocal sister group selection, where sister groups were selected either on the basis of diversity of host use or species richness, we find that it is likely that diversity of host use is driving species richness, rather than vice versa. Conclusion We conclude that resource diversity is correlated with species richness in the Nymphalidae and suggest a scenario based on recurring oscillations between host expansions – the incorporation of new plants into the repertoire – and specialization, as an important driving force behind the diversification of plant-feeding insects.

Measuring Diversity of the National Institutes of Health-Funded Workforce.

Science.gov (United States)

Heggeness, Misty L; Evans, Lisa; Pohlhaus, Jennifer Reineke; Mills, Sherry L

2016-08-01

To measure diversity within the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded workforce. The authors use a relevant labor market perspective to more directly understand what the NIH can influence in terms of enhancing diversity through NIH policies. Using the relevant labor market (defined as persons with advanced degrees working as biomedical scientists in the United States) as the conceptual framework, and informed by accepted economic principles, the authors used the American Community Survey and NIH administrative data to calculate representation ratios of the NIH-funded biomedical workforce from 2008 to 2012 by race, ethnicity, sex, and citizenship status, and compared this against the pool of characteristic individuals in the potential labor market. In general, the U.S. population during this time period was an inaccurate comparison group for measuring diversity of the NIH-funded scientific workforce. Measuring accurately, we found the representation of women and traditionally underrepresented groups in NIH-supported postdoc fellowships and traineeships and mentored career development programs was greater than their representation in the relevant labor market. The same analysis found these demographic groups are less represented in the NIH-funded independent investigator pool. Although these findings provided a picture of the current NIH-funded workforce and a foundation for understanding the federal role in developing, maintaining, and renewing diverse scientific human resources, further study is needed to identify whether junior- and early-stage investigators who are part of more diverse cohorts will naturally transition into independent NIH-funded investigators, or whether they will leave the workforce before achieving independent researcher status.

Human Rights, Human Needs, Human Development, Human Security - Relationships between four international human discourses.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.R. Gasper (Des)

2007-01-01

markdownabstractAbstract: Human rights, human development and human security form increasingly important, partly interconnected, partly competitive and misunderstood ethical and policy discourses. Each tries to humanize a pre-existing and unavoidable major discourse of everyday life, policy and

Patterns of cis regulatory variation in diverse human populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara E Stranger

Full Text Available The genetic basis of gene expression variation has long been studied with the aim to understand the landscape of regulatory variants, but also more recently to assist in the interpretation and elucidation of disease signals. To date, many studies have looked in specific tissues and population-based samples, but there has been limited assessment of the degree of inter-population variability in regulatory variation. We analyzed genome-wide gene expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines from a total of 726 individuals from 8 global populations from the HapMap3 project and correlated gene expression levels with HapMap3 SNPs located in cis to the genes. We describe the influence of ancestry on gene expression levels within and between these diverse human populations and uncover a non-negligible impact on global patterns of gene expression. We further dissect the specific functional pathways differentiated between populations. We also identify 5,691 expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs after controlling for both non-genetic factors and population admixture and observe that half of the cis-eQTLs are replicated in one or more of the populations. We highlight patterns of eQTL-sharing between populations, which are partially determined by population genetic relatedness, and discover significant sharing of eQTL effects between Asians, European-admixed, and African subpopulations. Specifically, we observe that both the effect size and the direction of effect for eQTLs are highly conserved across populations. We observe an increasing proximity of eQTLs toward the transcription start site as sharing of eQTLs among populations increases, highlighting that variants close to TSS have stronger effects and therefore are more likely to be detected across a wider panel of populations. Together these results offer a unique picture and resource of the degree of differentiation among human populations in functional regulatory variation and provide an estimate for

Human impacts flatten rainforest-savanna gradient and reduce adaptive diversity in a rainforest bird.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam H Freedman

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Ecological gradients have long been recognized as important regions for diversification and speciation. However, little attention has been paid to the evolutionary consequences or conservation implications of human activities that fundamentally change the environmental features of such gradients. Here we show that recent deforestation in West Africa has homogenized the rainforest-savanna gradient, causing a loss of adaptive phenotypic diversity in a common rainforest bird, the little greenbul (Andropadus virens. Previously, this species was shown to exhibit morphological and song divergence along this gradient in Central Africa. Using satellite-based estimates of forest cover, recent morphological data, and historical data from museum specimens collected prior to widespread deforestation, we show that the gradient has become shallower in West Africa and that A. virens populations there have lost morphological variation in traits important to fitness. In contrast, we find no loss of morphological variation in Central Africa where there has been less deforestation and gradients have remained more intact. While rainforest deforestation is a leading cause of species extinction, the potential of deforestation to flatten gradients and inhibit rainforest diversification has not been previously recognized. More deforestation will likely lead to further flattening of the gradient and loss of diversity, and may limit the ability of species to persist under future environmental conditions.

Human Rights, Human Needs, Human Development, Human Security : Relationships between four international 'human' discourses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.R. Gasper (Des)

2007-01-01

textabstractHuman rights, human development and human security form increasingly important, partly interconnected, partly competitive and misunderstood ethical and policy discourses. Each tries to humanize a pre-existing and unavoidable major discourse of everyday life, policy and politics; each

Human Rights, Diversity, and Citizenship Education

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, James A.

2009-01-01

The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a propitious time for educators to examine its implications for educating citizens in multicultural nation states. The author argues that students must experience democratic classrooms and schools that reflect their cultures and identities to internalize human rights values,…

Global environmental controls of diversity in large herbivores

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olff, Han; Ritchie, Mark E.; Prins, Herbert H.T.

2002-01-01

Large mammalian herbivores occupy half of the earth's land surface and are important both ecologically and economically, but their diversity is threatened by human activities. We investigated how the diversity of large herbivores changes across gradients of global precipitation and soil fertility.

Interrelations between Gender, Diversity, and European Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pristed Nielsen, Helene; Mokre, Monika

respondents’ conception of diversity, we focus particularly on how they articulate their notions of gender equality in connection with diversity. This is done both because the Eurosphere data contains comprehensive information about respondents’ conceptions of both, but also because gender serves......The empirical question we want to address in this paper is two-fold. First, while we as social scientists may consider diversity a complex phenomenon, where multiple identifications are likely to co-exist and overlap, how do opinion makers within Europe conceive of and speak about diversity......? Specifically, we assess to what extent they show awareness of the possibilities for multiple co-existing identifications. Secondly, building from the basis of conceptions of diversity, what are the future prospects for complex diversity in a Europe becoming increasingly integrated? As a part of assessing...

AGU Committee on Education and Human Resources Sub-Committee on Diversity Program for the term 2004-2006

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, C. J.; Hiza, M.; Jenkins, G.; Karsten, J.; Molina, L.; Pyrtle, A.; Runyon, C.

2004-12-01

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) founded the Diversity Subcommittee in 2000 to address what the AGU felt were important issues for the future of the geoscience community. A recent AGU statement of commitment and concern about issues of diversity reads, in part: It is essential that new strategies for educating, recruiting, and retaining geoscientists from currently under-represented populations be developed (a) for individual investigators seeking students to fill classes or work in their research programs; (b) for institutions looking to replace faculty and researchers; (c) for the larger community looking to the public for continued research funding, and (d) for the future US membership of AGU. In an effort to fulfill its charge, the majority of the 2004-2006 sub-committee's activities will be directed towards: (1) Education of the AGU Membership, including the sub-committee itself, on the salient issues of Diversity; (2) Mentoring and supporting minority students in the pipeline of Earth and Space Science education as well as minority faculty seeking to establish successful collaborations; (3) Establishing a mechanism for quantitative assessment of (a) the AGU demographics, (b) member knowledge, and (c) success of programs in the area of Diversity; (4) Conducting the first ever Chapman Conference on the needs of investigators with disabilities (July, 2005); (5) Partnering with other agencies and societies to build bridges; (6) Creating mechanisms for marketing the Earth and Space sciences to minority audiences; (7) Nurturing of minority members already in the AGU; promoting these members for honors and awards within AGU. Details, goals, and milestones of this program will be presented.

Meeting diversity in ergonomics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pikaar, R.N.; Koningsveld, E.A.P.; Settels, P.J.M.

2007-01-01

Key Features: Offers the conceptual tools for creating more adaptable ergonomic designs to meet the needs of diverse human populations, Unlock the strategic business value found in ergonomically safe and comfortable products, Learn from in-depth case studies how ergonomic intervention was

Education and Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, James A.; Cookson, Peter; Gay, Geneva; Hawley, Willis D.; Irvine, Jacqueline Jordan; Nieto, Sonia; Schofield, Janet Ward; Stephan, Walter G.

2005-01-01

What do we know about education and diversity, and how do we know it? This two-part question guided the work of the Multicultural Education Consensus Panel, which included the eight scholars named above. The panel's work was sponsored by the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington and the Common Destiny Alliance at the…

Diversity in Action: Interactive Workshop

CERN Multimedia

CERN Diversity Office

2012-01-01

Come and take part in an interactive workshop organised by the CERN Diversity Office to allow you to discuss and share your experience of diversity at CERN. What does diversity mean to you? How important is it for you at work? David Weaver, an experienced external specialist on diversity issues, will facilitate a lively exchange of views on the benefits and challenges of working with colleagues of different nationalities, genders, ages and professions This session will be run in English; small group discussions may be held in both official languages. Everyone working on the CERN site is welcome! There are a limited number of places available so please sign up here  as soon as possible. The event will take place on Thursday 8 March from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. in the Pump Room, Building 216-R-401.

Human-specific protein isoforms produced by novel splice sites in the human genome after the human-chimpanzee divergence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Dong Seon

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Evolution of splice sites is a well-known phenomenon that results in transcript diversity during human evolution. Many novel splice sites are derived from repetitive elements and may not contribute to protein products. Here, we analyzed annotated human protein-coding exons and identified human-specific splice sites that arose after the human-chimpanzee divergence. Results We analyzed multiple alignments of the annotated human protein-coding exons and their respective orthologous mammalian genome sequences to identify 85 novel splice sites (50 splice acceptors and 35 donors in the human genome. The novel protein-coding exons, which are expressed either constitutively or alternatively, produce novel protein isoforms by insertion, deletion, or frameshift. We found three cases in which the human-specific isoform conferred novel molecular function in the human cells: the human-specific IMUP protein isoform induces apoptosis of the trophoblast and is implicated in pre-eclampsia; the intronization of a part of SMOX gene exon produces inactive spermine oxidase; the human-specific NUB1 isoform shows reduced interaction with ubiquitin-like proteins, possibly affecting ubiquitin pathways. Conclusions Although the generation of novel protein isoforms does not equate to adaptive evolution, we propose that these cases are useful candidates for a molecular functional study to identify proteomic changes that might bring about novel phenotypes during human evolution.

Cognitive Analysis of Chinese-English Metaphors of Animal and Human Body Part Words

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Meiying

2009-01-01

Metaphorical cognition arises from the mapping of two conceptual domains onto each other. According to the "Anthropocentrism", people tend to know the world first by learning about their bodies including Apparatuses. Based on that, people begin to know the material world, and the human body part metaphorization emerges as the times…

MANAGING HUMAN TALENT. WORKFORCE DIVERSITY VS. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. CHALLENGES OF THE WORKFORCE MOTIVATION AND RETENTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica Boldea

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Each day presents a new set of challenges and risks to companies operating in this age ofboth a global economy and of multiculturalism, i.e. a fast-changing marketplace. Globalcompetition and escalating economic pressures make the business environment bothdynamic and difficult, especially given the workforce diversity which has to be managed soas to achieve the highest levels of task performance and job satisfaction; managers must beprepared to respect alternative cultures and value diversity. Based on this background ourpaper has as starting point the consideration that organizations are seeking out methods torefine their operations in order to navigate often-difficult economic terrain effectively,analyzing the organizations’ ability to being responsive to changing market conditions,competitive threats, and new market opportunities, therefore focusing on an organization’screative and innovative ability, highlighting the people component of a business process, aswith so much emphasis on automation, it’s easy to overlook the human element, anoversight which – in most cases – hinders efficient business process management.Considering that processes don’t do work, but people do, our research highlights the factthat a “want to motivate” attitude by the employee can be encouraged, even if pastmanagerial efforts have rather concentrated on “how to motivate” the employee, trying toshed some light on how BPM with a hint of the Six Sigma method offers a clearer path toan increasing number of organizations hoping to best the challenges they have to face, thisoften translating into workforce motivation and retention, by creating positive workenvironments in which the cultural and demographic diversity of members helps to createcompetitive advantage.

An Algorithmic Diversity Diet?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Jannick Kirk; Schmidt, Jan-Hinrik

2016-01-01

With the growing influence of personalized algorithmic recommender systems on the exposure of media content to users, the relevance of discussing the diversity of recommendations increases, particularly as far as public service media (PSM) is concerned. An imagined implementation of a diversity...... diet system however triggers not only the classic discussion of the reach – distinctiveness balance for PSM, but also shows that ‘diversity’ is understood very differently in algorithmic recommender system communities than it is editorially and politically in the context of PSM. The design...... of a diversity diet system generates questions not just about editorial power, personal freedom and techno-paternalism, but also about the embedded politics of recommender systems as well as the human skills affiliated with PSM editorial work and the nature of PSM content....

Human Rights, Human Needs, Human Development, Human Security

OpenAIRE

Gasper, Des

2009-01-01

Human rights, human development and human security form increasingly important, partly interconnected, partly competitive and misunderstood ethical and policy discourses. Each tries to humanize a pre-existing and unavoidable major discourse of everyday life, policy and politics; each has emerged within the United Nations world; each relies implicitly on a conceptualisation of human need; each has specific strengths. Yet mutual communication, understanding and co-operation are deficient, espec...

Consequences of genomic diversity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Science.gov (United States)

Coscolla, Mireia; Gagneux, Sebastien

2014-01-01

The causative agent of human tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), comprises seven phylogenetically distinct lineages associated with different geographical regions. Here we review the latest findings on the nature and amount of genomic diversity within and between MTBC lineages. We then review recent evidence for the effect of this genomic diversity on mycobacterial phenotypes measured experimentally and in clinical settings. We conclude that overall, the most geographically widespread Lineage 2 (includes Beijing) and Lineage 4 (also known as Euro-American) are more virulent than other lineages that are more geographically restricted. This increased virulence is associated with delayed or reduced pro-inflammatory host immune responses, greater severity of disease, and enhanced transmission. Future work should focus on the interaction between MTBC and human genetic diversity, as well as on the environmental factors that modulate these interactions. PMID:25453224

Species Richness and Diversity Reveal that Human-Modified ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Family diversity and richness showed no significant differences across the sites. The spider species consisted of primarily three functional groups: ground wanderers, web builders and plant wanderers, and showed no within-group differences in abundance between sites. Similarity index between the study sites revealed a ...

Examination of Oral Microbiota Diversity in Adults and Older Adults as an Approach to Prevent Spread of Risk Factors for Human Infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Zawadzki, Paweł J; Perkowski, Konrad; Padzik, Marcin; Mierzwińska-Nastalska, Elżbieta; Szaflik, Jacek P; Conn, David Bruce; Chomicz, Lidia

2017-01-01

The oral cavity environment may be colonized by polymicrobial communities with complex, poorly known interrelations. The aim of this study was to determine oral microbiota diversity in order to prevent the spread of infectious microorganisms that are risk factors for human health complications in patients requiring treatment due to various disabilities. The study examined Polish adults aged between 40 and 70 years; parasitological, microbiological, and mycological data collected before treatment were analyzed. The diversity of oral microbiota, including relatively high prevalences of some opportunistic, potentially pathogenic strains of bacteria, protozoans, and fungi detected in the patients analyzed, may result in increasing risk of disseminated infections from the oral cavity to neighboring structures and other organs. Increasing ageing of human populations is noted in recent decades in many countries, including Poland. The growing number of older adults with different oral health disabilities, who are more prone to development of oral and systemic pathology, is an increasing medical problem. Results of this retrospective study showed the urgent need to pay more attention to the pretreatment examination of components of the oral microbiome, especially to the strains, which are etiological agents of human opportunistic infections and are particularly dangerous for older adults.

Community and Diversity: Administration in a Democratic Context.

Science.gov (United States)

Crow, Gary M.

1994-01-01

Defining community politically (as a flexible arena for debating perspectives and achieving purpose) provides different ways to consider diversity. Diversity becomes not an anomaly but an integral part of the community process; conflict is legitimized as appropriate and inevitable in achieving school purposes. Administrators must mediate conflict,…

Diversity in the Workplace [in HRD].

Science.gov (United States)

1995

These four papers are from a symposium that was facilitated by Laura Bierema at the 1995 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD). "The Status of Valuing and Managing Diversity in Fortune 500 Manufacturing and Fortune 500 Service Organizations: Perceptions of Top Human Resource Professionals" (Sandra J. Johnson) reports a…

Diversity in Action | Interactive Workshop | 2nd edition | 22 October

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

The CERN Diversity Programme has designed an interactive workshop to creatively explore the meaning of diversity. Come, take part, and share your experience of working with differences at CERN.   Tuesday 22 October 2013 – 1.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. Pump Hall - Building 216-R-401 "Diversity in Action" is an interactive half-day workshop designed to creatively explore the meaning and importance of diversity at CERN, in support of the Organization’s value of “appreciating differences, fostering equality and promoting collaboration”. Using participative multi-media methods, this innovative workshop will provide participants with insights into diversity, help them to develop greater sensitivity to differences, explore ways to recognise and overcome biases and thereby strengthen our tradition of inclusiveness at CERN. Virginia Humud Guerrero is a seasoned professional and HR expert who has spent a considerable part of her career in UN agencies worl...

Global sequence diversity of the lactate dehydrogenase gene in Plasmodium falciparum.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpalipan, Phumin; Pattaradilokrat, Sittiporn; Harnyuttanakorn, Pongchai

2018-01-09

Antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been recommended by the World Health Organization for use in remote areas to improve malaria case management. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of Plasmodium falciparum is one of the main parasite antigens employed by various commercial RDTs. It has been hypothesized that the poor detection of LDH-based RDTs is attributed in part to the sequence diversity of the gene. To test this, the present study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity of the P. falciparum ldh gene in Thailand and to construct the map of LDH sequence diversity in P. falciparum populations worldwide. The ldh gene was sequenced for 50 P. falciparum isolates in Thailand and compared with hundreds of sequences from P. falciparum populations worldwide. Several indices of molecular variation were calculated, including the proportion of polymorphic sites, the average nucleotide diversity index (π), and the haplotype diversity index (H). Tests of positive selection and neutrality tests were performed to determine signatures of natural selection on the gene. Mean genetic distance within and between species of Plasmodium ldh was analysed to infer evolutionary relationships. Nucleotide sequences of P. falciparum ldh could be classified into 9 alleles, encoding 5 isoforms of LDH. L1a was the most common allelic type and was distributed in P. falciparum populations worldwide. Plasmodium falciparum ldh sequences were highly conserved, with haplotype and nucleotide diversity values of 0.203 and 0.0004, respectively. The extremely low genetic diversity was maintained by purifying selection, likely due to functional constraints. Phylogenetic analysis inferred the close genetic relationship of P. falciparum to malaria parasites of great apes, rather than to other human malaria parasites. This study revealed the global genetic variation of the ldh gene in P. falciparum, providing knowledge for improving detection of LDH-based RDTs and supporting the candidacy of

Evolution and Diversity in Human Herpes Simplex Virus Genomes

Science.gov (United States)

Gatherer, Derek; Ochoa, Alejandro; Greenbaum, Benjamin; Dolan, Aidan; Bowden, Rory J.; Enquist, Lynn W.; Legendre, Matthieu; Davison, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes a chronic, lifelong infection in >60% of adults. Multiple recent vaccine trials have failed, with viral diversity likely contributing to these failures. To understand HSV-1 diversity better, we comprehensively compared 20 newly sequenced viral genomes from China, Japan, Kenya, and South Korea with six previously sequenced genomes from the United States, Europe, and Japan. In this diverse collection of passaged strains, we found that one-fifth of the newly sequenced members share a gene deletion and one-third exhibit homopolymeric frameshift mutations (HFMs). Individual strains exhibit genotypic and potential phenotypic variation via HFMs, deletions, short sequence repeats, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms, although the protein sequence identity between strains exceeds 90% on average. In the first genome-scale analysis of positive selection in HSV-1, we found signs of selection in specific proteins and residues, including the fusion protein glycoprotein H. We also confirmed previous results suggesting that recombination has occurred with high frequency throughout the HSV-1 genome. Despite this, the HSV-1 strains analyzed clustered by geographic origin during whole-genome distance analysis. These data shed light on likely routes of HSV-1 adaptation to changing environments and will aid in the selection of vaccine antigens that are invariant worldwide. PMID:24227835

Microsatellite analysis of Saccharomyces uvarum diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Masneuf-Pomarede, Isabelle; Salin, Franck; Börlin, Marine; Coton, Emmanuel; Coton, Monika; Jeune, Christine Le; Legras, Jean-Luc

2016-03-01

Considered as a sister species of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. uvarum is, to a lesser extent, an interesting species for fundamental and applied research studies. Despite its potential interest as a new gene pool for fermenting agents, the intraspecific molecular genetic diversity of this species is still poorly investigated. In this study, we report the use of nine microsatellite markers to describe S. uvarum genetic diversity and population structure among 108 isolates from various geographical and substrate origins (wine, cider and natural sources). Our combined microsatellite markers set allowed differentiating 89 genotypes. In contrast to S. cerevisiae genetic diversity, wild and human origin isolates were intertwined. A total of 75% of strains were proven to be homozygotes and estimated heterozygosity suggests a selfing rate above 0.95 for the different population tested here. From this point of view, the S. uvarum life cycle appears to be more closely related to S. paradoxus or S. cerevisiae of natural resources than S. cerevisiae wine isolates. Population structure could not be correlated to distinct geographic or technological origins, suggesting lower differentiation that may result from a large exchange between human and natural populations mediated by insects or human activities. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A revised root for the human Y chromosomal phylogenetic tree: the origin of patrilineal diversity in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruciani, Fulvio; Trombetta, Beniamino; Massaia, Andrea; Destro-Bisol, Giovanni; Sellitto, Daniele; Scozzari, Rosaria

2011-06-10

To shed light on the structure of the basal backbone of the human Y chromosome phylogeny, we sequenced about 200 kb of the male-specific region of the human Y chromosome (MSY) from each of seven Y chromosomes belonging to clades A1, A2, A3, and BT. We detected 146 biallelic variant sites through this analysis. We used these variants to construct a patrilineal tree, without taking into account any previously reported information regarding the phylogenetic relationships among the seven Y chromosomes here analyzed. There are several key changes at the basal nodes as compared with the most recent reference Y chromosome tree. A different position of the root was determined, with important implications for the origin of human Y chromosome diversity. An estimate of 142 KY was obtained for the coalescence time of the revised MSY tree, which is earlier than that obtained in previous studies and easier to reconcile with plausible scenarios of modern human origin. The number of deep branchings leading to African-specific clades has doubled, further strengthening the MSY-based evidence for a modern human origin in the African continent. An analysis of 2204 African DNA samples showed that the deepest clades of the revised MSY phylogeny are currently found in central and northwest Africa, opening new perspectives on early human presence in the continent. Copyright © 2011 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lectins in human pathogenic fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallegos, Belém; Martínez, Ruth; Pérez, Laura; Del Socorro Pina, María; Perez, Eduardo; Hernández, Pedro

2014-01-01

Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins widely distributed in nature. They constitute a highly diverse group of proteins consisting of many different protein families that are, in general, structurally unrelated. In the last few years, mushroom and other fungal lectins have attracted wide attention due to their antitumour, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory activities. The present mini-review provides concise information about recent developments in understanding lectins from human pathogenic fungi. A bibliographic search was performed in the Science Direct and PubMed databases, using the following keywords "lectin", "fungi", "human" and "pathogenic". Lectins present in fungi have been classified; however, the role played by lectins derived from human pathogenic fungi in infectious processes remains uncertain; thus, this is a scientific field requiring more research. This manuscript is part of the series of works presented at the "V International Workshop: Molecular genetic approaches to the study of human pathogenic fungi" (Oaxaca, Mexico, 2012). Copyright © 2013 Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Steps toward broad-spectrum therapeutics: discovering virulence-associated genes present in diverse human pathogens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Rochefort Anna

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background New and improved antimicrobial countermeasures are urgently needed to counteract increased resistance to existing antimicrobial treatments and to combat currently untreatable or new emerging infectious diseases. We demonstrate that computational comparative genomics, together with experimental screening, can identify potential generic (i.e., conserved across multiple pathogen species and novel virulence-associated genes that may serve as targets for broad-spectrum countermeasures. Results Using phylogenetic profiles of protein clusters from completed microbial genome sequences, we identified seventeen protein candidates that are common to diverse human pathogens and absent or uncommon in non-pathogens. Mutants of 13 of these candidates were successfully generated in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and the potential role of the proteins in virulence was assayed in an animal model. Six candidate proteins are suggested to be involved in the virulence of Y. pseudotuberculosis, none of which have previously been implicated in the virulence of Y. pseudotuberculosis and three have no record of involvement in the virulence of any bacteria. Conclusion This work demonstrates a strategy for the identification of potential virulence factors that are conserved across a number of human pathogenic bacterial species, confirming the usefulness of this tool.

Diversity Programme Activity Report 2012-2015

CERN Document Server

Guinot, Genevieve; CERN. Geneva. HR Department

2016-01-01

CERN’s Diversity programme was launched in 2012 and is now firmly established as one of the pillars of the Organization’s Human Resources strategy. This report provides information on the actions undertaken in pursuit of the seven diversity strategic objectives set for the period from 2012 to 2015 in the priority areas identified for actions of recruitment, career development and work environment. The report highlights the progress made in anchoring the diversity principles in policies, procedures and practices within the Organization, as well as the persistent difficulties for the Organization to improve the representation of some nationalities and to attract female applicants in science and engineering. It shows a constant increase of female representation in managerial positions and encouraging results in building a diverse talent pool of scientists and engineers through the various student and graduate programmes. The report also outlines how the Diversity Office contributed through several actions,...

Multilingual education in the light of diversity : Lessons learned

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Herzog-Punzenberger, Barbara; Le Pichon, E.M.M.; Siarova, Hanna

2017-01-01

While multilingualism and diversity have always been an integral part of Europe, they also became important characteristics of many national education systems in the past two decades. The linguistic diversity of modern classrooms is shaped by 1. the presence of historical non-dominant language

Reduced Oral Microbial Diversity in Individuals Harbor Periodontal Diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinghua Sun

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Bacteria colonize a variety of surfaces of the hu-man body. The bacterial diversity in the oral cavity is estimated to be more than 700 different species. The oral cavity is home to microbial communities, with important implications for human health and disease. Oral microbial flora is responsible for two major human infectious diseases of the oral cavity, dental caries and periodontal diseases. From the clinical samples, previously, using polymerase chain reaction-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE technique, we found a significantly greater diversity of oral microbes in caries-free individuals compared with caries-active individuals. The hypothesis: We hypothesize that a greater diversity of indigenous bacteria inhabits a healthy oral environment, and that a sig-nificant proportion of oral biota may be absent, suppressed, or replaced in a periodontal diseases environment. Evaluation of the hypothesis: The microbiota undergoes a transition from a commensal to a pathogenic relationship with the host due to factors that trigger a shift in the proportions of resident microorganisms. If our hypothesis is true, many techniques which were used to detect the oral bacterial diversity can be used in diagnosis and prognosis of periodontal diseases.

Low-Level Exploitation Mitigation by Diverse Microservices

OpenAIRE

Otterstad , Christian; Yarygina , Tetiana

2017-01-01

Part 2: Microservices and Containers; International audience; This paper discusses a combination of isolatable microservices and software diversity as a mitigation technique against low-level exploitation; the effectiveness and benefits of such an architecture are substantiated. We argue that the core security benefit of microservices with diversity is increased control flow isolation. Additionally, a new microservices mitigation technique leveraging a security monitor service is introduced t...

Aquaporins 6-12 in the human eye

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tran, Thuy Linh; Bek, Toke; Holm, Lars

2012-01-01

Purpose: Aquaporins (AQPs) are widely expressed and have diverse distribution patterns in the eye. AQPs 0-5 have been localized at the cellular level in human eyes. We investigated the presence of the more recently discovered AQPs 6-12 in the human eye. Methods: RT-PCR was performed on fresh tissue...... from two human eyes divided into the cornea, corneal limbus, ciliary body and iris, lens, choroid, optic nerve, retina and sclera. Each structure was examined to detect the mRNA of AQPs 6-12. Twenty-one human eyes were examined using immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence techniques to determine...... was detected in the corneal epithelium, corneal endothelium, trabecular meshwork endothelium, ciliary epithelia, lens epithelium, the inner and outer limiting membrane of the retina, the retinal pigment epithelium and the capillary endothelium of all parts of the eye. AQP9 immunolabelling was detected...

Secularities, Diversities and Pluralities: Understanding the Challenges of Religious Diversity in Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edgar Zavala-Pelayo

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Latin America is experiencing today the greatest religious diversity in its entire history. However, it must also be noted that a large number of the growing religious minorities may be classified into types of Christianity with conservative overtones. In this paper we will suggest that the literature streams on multiple secularities in contemporary (Western societies and religious diversity in Latin America do offer insightful perspectives yet fail to adequately convey the challenges raised by the religious across contemporary Latin America. Addressing Latin America’s historical background, we will distinguish conceptually and empirically among different degrees of secularities, diversities and pluralities and will construct with these distinctions a descriptive-normative model that can guide future analyses of secular and religious phenomena in Latin America. It is only through a comprehensive understanding of diversities, pluralities and secularities that the debates on those human rights crucial for social inclusion—from sexual and reproductive rights to gender and religious equality—can be fruitfully conducted in and beyond Latin America.

Understanding and managing diversity readings, cases, and exercises

CERN Document Server

Harvey, Carol P

2015-01-01

For undergraduate and graduate courses in human resources. A diverse approach to understanding and managing diversity. Understanding and Managing Diversity uses applications to clarify the complexity of a diverse workforce, and explains how it can be used as an organizational asset. This text also provides students with a wide range of expertise—from the perspective of experienced interdisciplinary instructors (business, psychology, economics, theology, law, politics, history, etc.) to practitioners (diversity trainers, corporate managers, etc.). Teaching and Learning Experience This program will provide a better teaching and learning experience–for you and your students. Here’s how: Provide Students with an Accessible Format: Information is presented in a logical succession to help students learn that is in a way accessible to them. Present New and Timely Diversity Topics: Topics include Racial Identity, Work-Life Balance, Diversity Leadership, and Workplace Communication. Stimulat...

DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF WHITEFLIES IN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

ecosystems and are valuable indicators of their health. Insects are extremely diverse and important to ecosystems ... essential economic benefits and services to human society - such ..... Bemisia tabaci on cotton and cucumber. Environmental.

Examination of Oral Microbiota Diversity in Adults and Older Adults as an Approach to Prevent Spread of Risk Factors for Human Infections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł J. Zawadzki

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The oral cavity environment may be colonized by polymicrobial communities with complex, poorly known interrelations. The aim of this study was to determine oral microbiota diversity in order to prevent the spread of infectious microorganisms that are risk factors for human health complications in patients requiring treatment due to various disabilities. The study examined Polish adults aged between 40 and 70 years; parasitological, microbiological, and mycological data collected before treatment were analyzed. The diversity of oral microbiota, including relatively high prevalences of some opportunistic, potentially pathogenic strains of bacteria, protozoans, and fungi detected in the patients analyzed, may result in increasing risk of disseminated infections from the oral cavity to neighboring structures and other organs. Increasing ageing of human populations is noted in recent decades in many countries, including Poland. The growing number of older adults with different oral health disabilities, who are more prone to development of oral and systemic pathology, is an increasing medical problem. Results of this retrospective study showed the urgent need to pay more attention to the pretreatment examination of components of the oral microbiome, especially to the strains, which are etiological agents of human opportunistic infections and are particularly dangerous for older adults.

Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability (NUCLARR): Data manual. Part 2: Human error probability (HEP) data; Volume 5, Revision 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reece, W.J.; Gilbert, B.G.; Richards, R.E. [EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

1994-09-01

This data manual contains a hard copy of the information in the Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability (NUCLARR) Version 3.5 database, which is sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUCLARR was designed as a tool for risk analysis. Many of the nuclear reactors in the US and several outside the US are represented in the NUCLARR database. NUCLARR includes both human error probability estimates for workers at the plants and hardware failure data for nuclear reactor equipment. Aggregations of these data yield valuable reliability estimates for probabilistic risk assessments and human reliability analyses. The data manual is organized to permit manual searches of the information if the computerized version is not available. Originally, the manual was published in three parts. In this revision the introductory material located in the original Part 1 has been incorporated into the text of Parts 2 and 3. The user can now find introductory material either in the original Part 1, or in Parts 2 and 3 as revised. Part 2 contains the human error probability data, and Part 3, the hardware component reliability data.

Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability (NUCLARR): Data manual. Part 2: Human error probability (HEP) data; Volume 5, Revision 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reece, W.J.; Gilbert, B.G.; Richards, R.E.

1994-09-01

This data manual contains a hard copy of the information in the Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability (NUCLARR) Version 3.5 database, which is sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUCLARR was designed as a tool for risk analysis. Many of the nuclear reactors in the US and several outside the US are represented in the NUCLARR database. NUCLARR includes both human error probability estimates for workers at the plants and hardware failure data for nuclear reactor equipment. Aggregations of these data yield valuable reliability estimates for probabilistic risk assessments and human reliability analyses. The data manual is organized to permit manual searches of the information if the computerized version is not available. Originally, the manual was published in three parts. In this revision the introductory material located in the original Part 1 has been incorporated into the text of Parts 2 and 3. The user can now find introductory material either in the original Part 1, or in Parts 2 and 3 as revised. Part 2 contains the human error probability data, and Part 3, the hardware component reliability data

Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability (NUCLARR): Data manual, Part 2: Human Error Probability (HEP) Data. Volume 5, Revision 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reece, W.J.; Gilbert, B.G.; Richards, R.E.

1994-09-01

This data manual contains a hard copy of the information in the Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability (NUCLARR) Version 3.5 database, which is sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUCLARR was designed as a tool for risk analysis. Many of the nuclear reactors in the US and several outside the US are represented in the NUCLARR database. NUCLARR includes both human error probability estimates for workers at the plants and hardware failure data for nuclear reactor equipment. Aggregations of these data yield valuable reliability estimates for probabilistic risk assessments and human reliability analyses. The data manual is organized to permit manual searches of the information if the computerized version is not available. Originally, the manual was published in three parts. In this revision the introductory material located in the original Part 1 has been incorporated into the text of Parts 2 and 3. The user can now find introductory material either in the original Part 1, or in Parts 2 and 3 as revised. Part 2 contains the human error probability data, and Part 3, the hardware component reliability data

Why does it matter how we regulate the use of human body parts?

Science.gov (United States)

Goold, Imogen

2014-01-01

Human tissue and body parts have been used in one way or another for millennia. They have been preserved and displayed, both in museums and public shows. Real human hair is used for wigs, while some artists even use human tissue in their works. Blood, bone marrow, whole organs and a host of other structures and human substances are all transplanted into living persons to treat illness. New life can be created from gametes through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), while the creation of cell lines keeps tissue alive indefinitely. These uses create significant challenges for the legal system in the UK. The major challenge for the law is to balance the competing demands of those groups who have vested interests in human tissue-researchers, medical practitioners, patients, families, the community and the police, among many others. It must provide sufficient control to users of tissue, but also take account of the fact that our bodies hold psychological importance for us while we live and, after we die, for those we leave behind. To some degree the law has been successful, but we still lack a comprehensive, coherent approach to the regulation of human tissue. Partially as a reaction to this lack of a comprehensive approach, some commentators have turned to applying the concept of property to human tissue means to achieve regulatory outcomes they support.

Schools, Animals, and Kids. Orientation to the Humanities (Latin), Part 3: 7500.03.

Science.gov (United States)

Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL.

In an effort to orient the student of Latin to the humanities, a series of three quinmester courses focus on various aspects of life of a Roman family in the first century A. D. The third part of the trilogy, to be used independently or in sequence, concentrates on the telling of time by day and year, all about schools, animals, and gladiatorial…

The diversity and disparity in biomedical informatics (DDBI) workshop.

Science.gov (United States)

Southerland, William M; Swamidass, S Joshua; Payne, Philip R O; Wiley, Laura; Williams-DeVane, ClarLynda

2018-01-01

The Diversity and Disparity in Biomedical Informatics (DDBI) workshop will be focused on complementary and critical issues concerned with enhancing diversity in the informatics workforce as well as diversity in patient cohorts. According to the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at the NIH, diversity refers to the inclusion of the following traditionally underrepresented groups: African Americans/Blacks, Asians (>30 countries), American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Latino or Hispanic (20 countries). Gender, culture, and socioeconomic status are also important dimensions of diversity, which may define some underrepresented groups. The under-representation of specific groups in both the biomedical informatics workforce as well as in the patient-derived data that is being used for research purposes has contributed to an ongoing disparity; these groups have not experienced equity in contributing to or benefiting from advancements in informatics research. This workshop will highlight innovative efforts to increase the pool of minority informaticians and discuss examples of informatics research that addresses the health concerns that impact minority populations. This workshop topics will provide insight into overcoming pipeline issues in the development of minority informaticians while emphasizing the importance of minority participation in health related research. The DDBI workshop will occur in two parts. Part I will discuss specific minority health & health disparities research topics and Part II will cover discussions related to overcoming pipeline issues in the training of minority informaticians.

Social learning and human mate preferences: a potential mechanism for generating and maintaining between-population diversity in attraction

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Anthony C.; Jones, Benedict C.; DeBruine, Lisa M.; Caldwell, Christine A.

2011-01-01

Inspired by studies demonstrating mate-choice copying effects in non-human species, recent studies of attractiveness judgements suggest that social learning also influences human preferences. In the first part of our article, we review evidence for social learning effects on preferences in humans and other animals. In the second part, we present new empirical evidence that social learning not only influences the attractiveness of specific individuals, but can also generalize to judgements of previously unseen individuals possessing similar physical traits. The different conditions represent different populations and, once a preference arises in a population, social learning can lead to the spread of preferences within that population. In the final part of our article, we discuss the theoretical basis for, and possible impact of, biases in social learning whereby individuals may preferentially copy the choices of those with high status or better access to critical information about potential mates. Such biases could mean that the choices of a select few individuals carry the greatest weight, rapidly generating agreement in preferences within a population. Collectively, these issues suggest that social learning mechanisms encourage the spread of preferences for certain traits once they arise within a population and so may explain certain cross-cultural differences. PMID:21199841

Effects of human proximity and nomadic grazing on the diversity of medicinal plants in temperate hindukush

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adnan, M.; Tariq, A.

2015-01-01

Over exploitation and overgrazing are considered major factors for decreasing plant species diversity. However, we do need some more exploration on the types of anthropogenic disturbances responsible for variation in species decline among different regions. Therefore, the current study was conducted in a temperate Hindukush region of Pakistan with the aim to assess human settlements pressure on the diversity of medicinal plants. Field data was collected from 15 plots, of which 5 plots each were randomly selected at three distant locations in derived woodland forest. Near to community plots were heavily disturbed due to natives proximity, 2 kilometer away plots from the native community were moderately disturbed, while 4 kilometer away plots were under the disturbance regime from temporary settlers (Nomads). We have found all 10 studied medicinal plant species at 2 Km distance followed by 8 species found at 4 km distance. Economically important species such as Bergenia ciliata, Paeonia emodi, Podophyllum emodi, Valeriana jatamansi and Viola canescens were completely absent near village. Similarly, density (8.72 n m-2) and species richness (8.2 n 40 m-2) were found significantly highest at 2 km distance than other locations. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) showed that among forest stand structural variables, slope was the influencing variable related to the density of only Bergenia ciliata. In conclusions, moderate disturbance is associated to increase in the diversity of medicinal plants, while high anthropogenic pressures the otherwise. Hence, effective management strategies may be adopted to conserve such precious eroding flora. (author)

A molecular epidemiological study of var gene diversity to characterize the reservoir of Plasmodium falciparum in humans in Africa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donald S Chen

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The reservoir of Plasmodium infection in humans has traditionally been defined by blood slide positivity. This study was designed to characterize the local reservoir of infection in relation to the diverse var genes that encode the major surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages and underlie the parasite's ability to establish chronic infection and transmit from human to mosquito.We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the var multigene family at local sites in Gabon, Senegal and Kenya which differ in parasite prevalence and transmission intensity. 1839 distinct var gene types were defined by sequencing DBLα domains in the three sites. Only 76 (4.1% var types were found in more than one population indicating spatial heterogeneity in var types across the African continent. The majority of var types appeared only once in the population sample. Non-parametric statistical estimators predict in each population at minimum five to seven thousand distinct var types. Similar diversity of var types was seen in sites with different parasite prevalences.Var population genomics provides new insights into the epidemiology of P. falciparum in Africa where malaria has never been conquered. In particular, we have described the extensive reservoir of infection in local African sites and discovered a unique var population structure that can facilitate superinfection through minimal overlap in var repertoires among parasite genomes. Our findings show that var typing as a molecular surveillance system defines the extent of genetic complexity in the reservoir of infection to complement measures of malaria prevalence. The observed small scale spatial diversity of var genes suggests that var genetics could greatly inform current malaria mapping approaches and predict complex malaria population dynamics due to the import of var types to areas where no widespread pre-existing immunity in the population exists.

A Molecular Epidemiological Study of var Gene Diversity to Characterize the Reservoir of Plasmodium falciparum in Humans in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Leliwa-Sytek, Aleksandra; Smith, Terry-Ann; Peterson, Ingrid; Brown, Stuart M.; Migot-Nabias, Florence; Deloron, Philippe; Kortok, Moses M.; Marsh, Kevin; Daily, Johanna P.; Ndiaye, Daouda; Sarr, Ousmane; Mboup, Souleymane; Day, Karen P.

2011-01-01

Background The reservoir of Plasmodium infection in humans has traditionally been defined by blood slide positivity. This study was designed to characterize the local reservoir of infection in relation to the diverse var genes that encode the major surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages and underlie the parasite's ability to establish chronic infection and transmit from human to mosquito. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the var multigene family at local sites in Gabon, Senegal and Kenya which differ in parasite prevalence and transmission intensity. 1839 distinct var gene types were defined by sequencing DBLα domains in the three sites. Only 76 (4.1%) var types were found in more than one population indicating spatial heterogeneity in var types across the African continent. The majority of var types appeared only once in the population sample. Non-parametric statistical estimators predict in each population at minimum five to seven thousand distinct var types. Similar diversity of var types was seen in sites with different parasite prevalences. Conclusions/Significance Var population genomics provides new insights into the epidemiology of P. falciparum in Africa where malaria has never been conquered. In particular, we have described the extensive reservoir of infection in local African sites and discovered a unique var population structure that can facilitate superinfection through minimal overlap in var repertoires among parasite genomes. Our findings show that var typing as a molecular surveillance system defines the extent of genetic complexity in the reservoir of infection to complement measures of malaria prevalence. The observed small scale spatial diversity of var genes suggests that var genetics could greatly inform current malaria mapping approaches and predict complex malaria population dynamics due to the import of var types to areas where no widespread pre-existing immunity in the population

African Non-Human Primates Host Diverse Enteroviruses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Illich Manfred Mombo

Full Text Available Enteroviruses (EVs belong to the family Picornaviridae and are responsible for mild to severe diseases in mammals including humans and non-human primates (NHP. Simian EVs were first discovered in the 1950s in the Old World Monkeys and recently in wild chimpanzee, gorilla and mandrill in Cameroon. In the present study, we screened by PCR EVs in 600 fecal samples of wild apes and monkeys that were collected at four sites in Gabon. A total of 32 samples were positive for EVs (25 from mandrills, 7 from chimpanzees, none from gorillas. The phylogenetic analysis of VP1 and VP2 genes showed that EVs identified in chimpanzees were members of two human EV species, EV-A and EV-B, and those identified in mandrills were members of the human species EV-B and the simian species EV-J. The identification of two novel enterovirus types, EV-B112 in a chimpanzee and EV-B113 in a mandrill, suggests these NHPs could be potential sources of new EV types. The identification of EV-B107 and EV90 that were previously found in humans indicates cross-species transfers. Also the identification of chimpanzee-derived EV110 in a mandrill demonstrated a wide host range of this EV. Further research of EVs in NHPs would help understanding emergence of new types or variants, and evaluating the real risk of cross-species transmission for humans as well for NHPs populations.

Automated visual inspection of moving custom parts

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Davrajh, S

2008-01-01

Full Text Available frequencies than batched produced parts. This higher frequency of inspection significantly impacts inspection times, and inherently, production rates. An effective, diverse, accurate, robust, and time efficient method for inspecting custom parts is therefore...

Review of advances in human reliability analysis of errors of commission, Part 1: EOC identification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reer, Bernhard

2008-01-01

In close connection with examples relevant to contemporary probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), a review of advances in human reliability analysis (HRA) of post-initiator errors of commission (EOCs), i.e. inappropriate actions under abnormal operating conditions, has been carried out. The review comprises both EOC identification (part 1) and quantification (part 2); part 1 is presented in this article. Emerging HRA methods addressing the problem of EOC identification are: A Technique for Human Event Analysis (ATHEANA), the EOC HRA method developed by Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS), the Misdiagnosis Tree Analysis (MDTA) method, and the Commission Errors Search and Assessment (CESA) method. Most of the EOCs referred to in predictive studies comprise the stop of running or the inhibition of anticipated functions; a few comprise the start of a function. The CESA search scheme-which proceeds from possible operator actions to the affected systems to scenarios and uses procedures and importance measures as key sources of input information-provides a formalized way for identifying relatively important scenarios with EOC opportunities. In the implementation however, attention should be paid regarding EOCs associated with familiar but non-procedural actions and EOCs leading to failures of manually initiated safety functions

Functional understanding of the diverse exon-intron structures of human GPCR genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammond, Dorothy A; Olman, Victor; Xu, Ying

2014-02-01

The GPCR genes have a variety of exon-intron structures even though their proteins are all structurally homologous. We have examined all human GPCR genes with at least two functional protein isoforms, totaling 199, aiming to gain an understanding of what may have contributed to the large diversity of the exon-intron structures of the GPCR genes. The 199 genes have a total of 808 known protein splicing isoforms with experimentally verified functions. Our analysis reveals that 1301 (80.6%) adjacent exon-exon pairs out of the total of 1,613 in the 199 genes have either exactly one exon skipped or the intron in-between retained in at least one of the 808 protein splicing isoforms. This observation has a statistical significance p-value of 2.051762 * e(-09), assuming that the observed splicing isoforms are independent of the exon-intron structures. Our interpretation of this observation is that the exon boundaries of the GPCR genes are not randomly determined; instead they may be selected to facilitate specific alternative splicing for functional purposes.

Reproduction in the space environment: Part II. Concerns for human reproduction

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, R. T.; Santy, P. A.

1990-01-01

Long-duration space flight and eventual colonization of our solar system will require successful control of reproductive function and a thorough understanding of factors unique to space flight and their impact on gynecologic and obstetric parameters. Part II of this paper examines the specific environmental factors associated with space flight and the implications for human reproduction. Space environmental hazards discussed include radiation, alteration in atmospheric pressure and breathing gas partial pressures, prolonged toxicological exposure, and microgravity. The effects of countermeasures necessary to reduce cardiovascular deconditioning, calcium loss, muscle wasting, and neurovestibular problems are also considered. In addition, the impact of microgravity on male fertility and gamete quality is explored. Due to current constraints, human pregnancy is now contraindicated for space flight. However, a program to explore effective countermeasures to current constraints and develop the required health care delivery capability for extended-duration space flight is suggested. A program of Earth- and space-based research to provide further answers to reproductive questions is suggested.

How Symbiosis Creates Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Lord, Joshua

2010-01-01

Diversity in habitats on Earth is astounding--whether on land or in the sea--and this is in part due to symbiosis. The lesson described in this article helps students understand how symbiosis affects different organisms through a fun and engaging game where they match hosts and symbionts based on their respective needs. This 45-minute lesson is…

The distribution of cultural and biological diversity in Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moore, Joslin L; Manne, Lisa; Brooks, Thomas

2002-01-01

Anthropologists, biologists and linguists have all noted an apparent coincidence in species diversity and human cultural or linguistic diversity. We present, to our knowledge, one of the first quantitative descriptions of this coincidence and show that, for 2 degrees x 2 degrees grid cells across...... sub-Saharan Africa, cultural diversity and vertebrate species diversity exhibit marked similarities in their overall distribution. In addition, we show that 71% of the observed variation in species richness and 36% in language richness can be explained on the basis of environmental factors, suggesting...

Distinct patterns of mitochondrial genome diversity in bonobos (Pan paniscus and humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zsurka Gábor

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We have analyzed the complete mitochondrial genomes of 22 Pan paniscus (bonobo, pygmy chimpanzee individuals to assess the detailed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA phylogeny of this close relative of Homo sapiens. Results We identified three major clades among bonobos that separated approximately 540,000 years ago, as suggested by Bayesian analysis. Incidentally, we discovered that the current reference sequence for bonobo likely is a hybrid of the mitochondrial genomes of two distant individuals. When comparing spectra of polymorphic mtDNA sites in bonobos and humans, we observed two major differences: (i Of all 31 bonobo mtDNA homoplasies, i.e. nucleotide changes that occurred independently on separate branches of the phylogenetic tree, 13 were not homoplasic in humans. This indicates that at least a part of the unstable sites of the mitochondrial genome is species-specific and difficult to be explained on the basis of a mutational hotspot concept. (ii A comparison of the ratios of non-synonymous to synonymous changes (dN/dS among polymorphic positions in bonobos and in 4902 Homo sapiens mitochondrial genomes revealed a remarkable difference in the strength of purifying selection in the mitochondrial genes of the F0F1-ATPase complex. While in bonobos this complex showed a similar low value as complexes I and IV, human haplogroups displayed 2.2 to 7.6 times increased dN/dS ratios when compared to bonobos. Conclusions Some variants of mitochondrially encoded subunits of the ATPase complex in humans very likely decrease the efficiency of energy conversion leading to production of extra heat. Thus, we hypothesize that the species-specific release of evolutionary constraints for the mitochondrial genes of the proton-translocating ATPase is a consequence of altered heat homeostasis in modern humans.

Relational Diversity Promotes Cooperation in Prisoner’s Dilemma Games

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Bo; Wang, Jianwei; Deng, Ruipu; Li, Miao

2014-01-01

Relational diversity can be characterized by heterogeneous distributions of tie strengths in social networks and this diversity is present not only among humans, but throughout the animal world. We account for this observation by analyzing two network datasets from Facebook. We measure the strength of a tie by calculating the extent of overlap of friends between the two individuals. Based on the previous findings in human experiments, we argue that it is very unlikely that players will allocate their investments equally to their neighbors. There is a tendency that players prefer to donate more to their intimate friends. We find that if players preferentially allocate their investments to their good friends, cooperation will be promoted in PDG. We proved that the facilitation of the cooperative strategy relies mostly on the cooperative allies between best friends, resulting in the formation of cooperative clusters which are able to prevail against the defectors even when there is a large cost to cooperate. Moreover, we discover that the effect of relational diversity cannot be analyzed by adopting classical complex networks models, because neither of the artificial networks is able to produce networks with diverse distributions of tie strengths. It is of vital importance to introduce real social networks to study the influence of diverse relations especially when it comes to humans. This research proposes a brand new perspective to understand the influence of social relations on the emergence of cooperation in evolutionary prisoner’s dilemma games. PMID:25474354

Assessing nutritional diversity of cropping systems in African villages.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roseline Remans

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In Sub-Saharan Africa, 40% of children under five years in age are chronically undernourished. As new investments and attention galvanize action on African agriculture to reduce hunger, there is an urgent need for metrics that monitor agricultural progress beyond calories produced per capita and address nutritional diversity essential for human health. In this study we demonstrate how an ecological tool, functional diversity (FD, has potential to address this need and provide new insights on nutritional diversity of cropping systems in rural Africa. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Data on edible plant species diversity, food security and diet diversity were collected for 170 farms in three rural settings in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nutritional FD metrics were calculated based on farm species composition and species nutritional composition. Iron and vitamin A deficiency were determined from blood samples of 90 adult women. Nutritional FD metrics summarized the diversity of nutrients provided by the farm and showed variability between farms and villages. Regression of nutritional FD against species richness and expected FD enabled identification of key species that add nutrient diversity to the system and assessed the degree of redundancy for nutrient traits. Nutritional FD analysis demonstrated that depending on the original composition of species on farm or village, adding or removing individual species can have radically different outcomes for nutritional diversity. While correlations between nutritional FD, food and nutrition indicators were not significant at household level, associations between these variables were observed at village level. CONCLUSION: This study provides novel metrics to address nutritional diversity in farming systems and examples of how these metrics can help guide agricultural interventions towards adequate nutrient diversity. New hypotheses on the link between agro-diversity, food security and human nutrition are

Architectural design influences the diversity and structure of the built environment microbiome.

Science.gov (United States)

Kembel, Steven W; Jones, Evan; Kline, Jeff; Northcutt, Dale; Stenson, Jason; Womack, Ann M; Bohannan, Brendan Jm; Brown, G Z; Green, Jessica L

2012-08-01

Buildings are complex ecosystems that house trillions of microorganisms interacting with each other, with humans and with their environment. Understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that determine the diversity and composition of the built environment microbiome--the community of microorganisms that live indoors--is important for understanding the relationship between building design, biodiversity and human health. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene to quantify relationships between building attributes and airborne bacterial communities at a health-care facility. We quantified airborne bacterial community structure and environmental conditions in patient rooms exposed to mechanical or window ventilation and in outdoor air. The phylogenetic diversity of airborne bacterial communities was lower indoors than outdoors, and mechanically ventilated rooms contained less diverse microbial communities than did window-ventilated rooms. Bacterial communities in indoor environments contained many taxa that are absent or rare outdoors, including taxa closely related to potential human pathogens. Building attributes, specifically the source of ventilation air, airflow rates, relative humidity and temperature, were correlated with the diversity and composition of indoor bacterial communities. The relative abundance of bacteria closely related to human pathogens was higher indoors than outdoors, and higher in rooms with lower airflow rates and lower relative humidity. The observed relationship between building design and airborne bacterial diversity suggests that we can manage indoor environments, altering through building design and operation the community of microbial species that potentially colonize the human microbiome during our time indoors.

High Prevalence and Genotypic Diversity of the Human Papillomavirus in Amazonian Women, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danielle Albuquerque Pires Rocha

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV in a women population living within the state of Amazonas, Brazil, and to determine the viral genotypes found. The study included 361 sexually active women over 18 years of age. We performed the Pap test and the molecular diagnosis for HPV DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR. The amplicons obtained were sequenced in automatic sequencer for genotyping. The presence of HPV DNA was found in 29.1% (105 of the women. Only 321 women presented satisfactory slides for cytological diagnosis, 97.9% (314 had normal cytology (negative for cancer, and 2.1% (7 had abnormal cytology (4 ASCUS, 1 LSIL, and 2 HSIL. The types more frequently found were HPV 16 (58.1% and HPV 58 (20.0%. Additionally, we found more 13 types of HPV. Compared with previous studies in Brazil, our data confirmed a high prevalence and genotypic diversity of HPV in Brazilian women.

Preliminary Diversity Of Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae Attracting By Human Dung (Calvario, Meta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth Mariela Castillo Morales

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In the Private Reserve, Refugio del Oso de Anteojos (El Calvario-Meta, the diversity of dung beetles was studied (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae, grouped around different types of vegetation (Montane Rain Forest, Rainforest Premontane, Lower Montane Rain Forest, by using pitfall traps baited with human dung. During the samplings carried out in the rainy station on 2008, were captured a total of 177 individuals belonging to 9 species. The tribe Canthonini was the most representative with 87.5%, of the described species, followed by Aechini 10.8%, and Onthophagini 1.7%. The dominant species was Canthon lituratus in the three vegetation units: Lower montane rain forest was the richest (9 species and abundance (86 individuals, compared with other environments sampled. By calculating the complementarity index, shows a similar species composition in the three habitats sampled, possibly, related to the floristic composition presented in each one of them.

The cultural dimension of economic activities in international human right jurisprudence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Donders, Y.; Vadi, V.; de Witte, B.

2015-01-01

Cultural diversity and human rights are mutually linked: human rights protect and promote cultural diversity while cultural diversity also forms an important aspect of the enjoyment of human rights. Cultural diversity and the economy are also increasingly connected, for example through cultural

Human as a component of a nuclear material safeguard system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgan, D.E.; Schechter, R.S.

1978-01-01

Many human vigilance experiments are summarized and principles are extracted which should be useful in designing and evaluating a nuclear material safeguard system. A human is a poor observer and is not a dependable part of any man-machine system when required to function as an observer. There are a few techniques which improve his performance by providing feedback. A conceptual model is presented which is helpful in design and evaluation of systems. There is some slight experimental support for the model. Finally, some techniques of time study and statistical control charting will be useful as a means of detecting nuclear diversion attempts

Bridging Human Reliability Analysis and Psychology, Part 2: A Cognitive Framework to Support HRA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

April M. Whaley; Stacey M. L. Hendrickson; Ronald L. Boring; Jing Xing

2012-06-01

This is the second of two papers that discuss the literature review conducted as part of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) effort to develop a hybrid human reliability analysis (HRA) method in response to Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) SRM-M061020. This review was conducted with the goal of strengthening the technical basis within psychology, cognitive science and human factors for the hybrid HRA method being proposed. An overview of the literature review approach and high-level structure is provided in the first paper, whereas this paper presents the results of the review. The psychological literature review encompassed research spanning the entirety of human cognition and performance, and consequently produced an extensive list of psychological processes, mechanisms, and factors that contribute to human performance. To make sense of this large amount of information, the results of the literature review were organized into a cognitive framework that identifies causes of failure of macrocognition in humans, and connects those proximate causes to psychological mechanisms and performance influencing factors (PIFs) that can lead to the failure. This cognitive framework can serve as a tool to inform HRA. Beyond this, however, the cognitive framework has the potential to also support addressing human performance issues identified in Human Factors applications.

Identity and Diversity of Human Peripheral Th and T Regulatory Cells Defined by Single-Cell Mass Cytometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunicki, Matthew A; Amaya Hernandez, Laura C; Davis, Kara L; Bacchetta, Rosa; Roncarolo, Maria-Grazia

2018-01-01

Human CD3 + CD4 + Th cells, FOXP3 + T regulatory (Treg) cells, and T regulatory type 1 (Tr1) cells are essential for ensuring peripheral immune response and tolerance, but the diversity of Th, Treg, and Tr1 cell subsets has not been fully characterized. Independent functional characterization of human Th1, Th2, Th17, T follicular helper (Tfh), Treg, and Tr1 cells has helped to define unique surface molecules, transcription factors, and signaling profiles for each subset. However, the adequacy of these markers to recapitulate the whole CD3 + CD4 + T cell compartment remains questionable. In this study, we examined CD3 + CD4 + T cell populations by single-cell mass cytometry. We characterize the CD3 + CD4 + Th, Treg, and Tr1 cell populations simultaneously across 23 memory T cell-associated surface and intracellular molecules. High-dimensional analysis identified several new subsets, in addition to the already defined CD3 + CD4 + Th, Treg, and Tr1 cell populations, for a total of 11 Th cell, 4 Treg, and 1 Tr1 cell subsets. Some of these subsets share markers previously thought to be selective for Treg, Th1, Th2, Th17, and Tfh cells, including CD194 (CCR4) + FOXP3 + Treg and CD183 (CXCR3) + T-bet + Th17 cell subsets. Unsupervised clustering displayed a phenotypic organization of CD3 + CD4 + T cells that confirmed their diversity but showed interrelation between the different subsets, including similarity between Th1-Th2-Tfh cell populations and Th17 cells, as well as similarity of Th2 cells with Treg cells. In conclusion, the use of single-cell mass cytometry provides a systems-level characterization of CD3 + CD4 + T cells in healthy human blood, which represents an important baseline reference to investigate abnormalities of different subsets in immune-mediated pathologies. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Human cranial diversity and evidence for an ancient lineage of modern humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Schillaci, Michael A

2008-06-01

This study examines the genetic affinities of various modern human groupings using a multivariate analysis of morphometric data. Phylogenetic relationships among these groupings are also explored using neighbor-joining analysis of the metric data. Results indicate that the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene fossils from Australasia exhibit a close genetic affinity with early modern humans from the Levant. Furthermore, recent human populations and Upper Paleolithic Europeans share a most recent common ancestor not shared with either the early Australasians or the early Levantine humans. This pattern of genetic and phylogenetic relationships suggests that the early modern humans from the Levant either contributed directly to the ancestry of an early lineage of Australasians, or that they share a recent common ancestor with them. The principal findings of the study, therefore, lend support to the notion of an early dispersal from Africa by a more ancient lineage of modern human prior to 50 ka, perhaps as early as OIS 5 times (76-100 ka).

Internet use among urban Malaysians: Network diversity effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

De Rycker Antoon

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study examines social network diversity in urban areas relative to residents’ usage of information and communication technologies (ICTs. Individual-level variation in social network diversity was measured using position generator data collected as part of a survey conducted in Malaysia’s Klang Valley (N = 808. Regression analyses were performed to assess the extent to which network diversity is related to ICTs. We find that most ICTs have a negative effect on diversity. Only frequent use of the Internet at work, mobile access to the Internet, and reading online news or blogs contribute positively to diversity. Findings support both a tendency toward ‘networked individualism’ and the more recent ‘glocalization’ thesis that some ICTs may also afford participation within local space rather than only across distant space.

The population genetics of Quechuas, the largest native South American group: autosomal sequences, SNPs, and microsatellites evidence high level of diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Scliar, Marilia O; Soares-Souza, Giordano B; Chevitarese, Juliana; Lemos, Livia; Magalhães, Wagner C S; Fagundes, Nelson J; Bonatto, Sandro L; Yeager, Meredith; Chanock, Stephen J; Tarazona-Santos, Eduardo

2012-03-01

Elucidating the pattern of genetic diversity for non-European populations is necessary to make the benefits of human genetics research available to individuals from these groups. In the era of large human genomic initiatives, Native American populations have been neglected, in particular, the Quechua, the largest South Amerindian group settled along the Andes. We characterized the genetic diversity of a Quechua population in a global setting, using autosomal noncoding sequences (nine unlinked loci for a total of 16 kb), 351 unlinked SNPs and 678 microsatellites and tested predictions of the model of the evolution of Native Americans proposed by (Tarazona-Santos et al.: Am J Hum Genet 68 (2001) 1485-1496). European admixture is Quechua or Melanesian populations, which is concordant with the African origin of modern humans and the fact that South America was the last part of the world to be peopled. The diversity in the Quechua population is comparable with that of Eurasian populations, and the allele frequency spectrum based on resequencing data does not reflect a reduction in the proportion of rare alleles. Thus, the Quechua population is a large reservoir of common and rare genetic variants of South Amerindians. These results are consistent with and complement our evolutionary model of South Amerindians (Tarazona-Santos et al.: Am J Hum Genet 68 (2001) 1485-1496), proposed based on Y-chromosome data, which predicts high genomic diversity due to the high level of gene flow between Andean populations and their long-term effective population size. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birney, Ewan; Stamatoyannopoulos, John A; Dutta, Anindya

2007-01-01

We report the generation and analysis of functional data from multiple, diverse experiments performed on a targeted 1% of the human genome as part of the pilot phase of the ENCODE Project. These data have been further integrated and augmented by a number of evolutionary and computational analyses...

Taurine does not affect the composition, diversity, or metabolism of human colonic microbiota simulated in a single-batch fermentation system.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Kengo; Sasaki, Daisuke; Okai, Naoko; Tanaka, Kosei; Nomoto, Ryohei; Fukuda, Itsuko; Yoshida, Ken-Ichi; Kondo, Akihiko; Osawa, Ro

2017-01-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that dietary taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) exerts beneficial anti-inflammatory effects in the large intestine. In this study, we investigated the possible impact of taurine on human colonic microbiota using our single-batch fermentation system (Kobe University Human Intestinal Microbiota Model; KUHIMM). Fecal samples from eight humans were individually cultivated with and without taurine in the KUHIMM. The results showed that taurine remained largely undegraded after 30 h of culturing in the absence of oxygen, although some 83% of the taurine was degraded after 30 h of culturing under aerobic conditions. Diversity in bacterial species in the cultures was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, revealing that taurine caused no significant change in the diversity of the microbiota; both operational taxonomic unit and Shannon-Wiener index of the cultures were comparable to those of the respective source fecal samples. In addition, principal coordinate analysis indicated that taurine did not alter the composition of bacterial species, since the 16S rRNA gene profile of bacterial species in the original fecal sample was maintained in each of the cultures with and without taurine. Furthermore, metabolomic analysis revealed that taurine did not affect the composition of short-chain fatty acids produced in the cultures. These results, under these controlled but artificial conditions, suggested that the beneficial anti-inflammatory effects of dietary taurine in the large intestine are independent of the intestinal microbiota. We infer that dietary taurine may act directly in the large intestine to exert anti-inflammatory effects.

The psycholinguistic approach to unity and diversity The psycholinguistic approach to unity and diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonor Scliar Cabral

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Some aspects of contemporary communication regarding unity and diversity will be examined as follows. On the one hand, globalization provided mainly by mass media, particularly by Internet and the on line electronic mail, will be scrutinized in relation to its psycholinguistic consequences: What are the differences that appear in human processing and how is the logical distinction between unity and diversity faced? How deep are the changes experienced by children, who are acquiring and learning their oral and written languages, using such media? On the other hand, despite globalization, the geometrical growth of science and technology brings with it a parallel lexical explosion: specific texts undermine the possibility of their comprehension by the outsider as if the text was written in a foreign language, and so, the unity of communication is broken and distortions may appear. Some aspects of contemporary communication regarding unity and diversity will be examined as follows. On the one hand, globalization provided mainly by mass media, particularly by Internet and the on line electronic mail, will be scrutinized in relation to its psycholinguistic consequences: What are the differences that appear in human processing and how is the logical distinction between unity and diversity faced? How deep are the changes experienced by children, who are acquiring and learning their oral and written languages, using such media? On the other hand, despite globalization, the geometrical growth of science and technology brings with it a parallel lexical explosion: specific texts undermine the possibility of their comprehension by the outsider as if the text was written in a foreign language, and so, the unity of communication is broken and distortions may appear.

Antibody repertoires in humanized NOD-scid-IL2Rγ(null mice and human B cells reveals human-like diversification and tolerance checkpoints in the mouse.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory C Ippolito

Full Text Available Immunodeficient mice reconstituted with human hematopoietic stem cells enable the in vivo study of human hematopoiesis. In particular, NOD-scid-IL2Rγ(null engrafted mice have been shown to have reasonable levels of T and B cell repopulation and can mount T-cell dependent responses; however, antigen-specific B-cell responses in this model are generally poor. We explored whether developmental defects in the immunoglobulin gene repertoire might be partly responsible for the low level of antibody responses in this model. Roche 454 sequencing was used to obtain over 685,000 reads from cDNA encoding immunoglobulin heavy (IGH and light (IGK and IGL genes isolated from immature, naïve, or total splenic B cells in engrafted NOD-scid-IL2Rγ(null mice, and compared with over 940,000 reads from peripheral B cells of two healthy volunteers. We find that while naïve B-cell repertoires in humanized mice are chiefly indistinguishable from those in human blood B cells, and display highly correlated patterns of immunoglobulin gene segment use, the complementarity-determining region H3 (CDR-H3 repertoires are nevertheless extremely diverse and are specific for each individual. Despite this diversity, preferential D(H-J(H pairings repeatedly occur within the CDR-H3 interval that are strikingly similar across all repertoires examined, implying a genetic constraint imposed on repertoire generation. Moreover, CDR-H3 length, charged amino-acid content, and hydropathy are indistinguishable between humans and humanized mice, with no evidence of global autoimmune signatures. Importantly, however, a statistically greater usage of the inherently autoreactive IGHV4-34 and IGKV4-1 genes was observed in the newly formed immature B cells relative to naïve B or total splenic B cells in the humanized mice, a finding consistent with the deletion of autoreactive B cells in humans. Overall, our results provide evidence that key features of the primary repertoire are shaped by

Human IgG repertoire of malaria antigen-immunized human immune system (HIS) mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Nogueira, Raquel Tayar; Sahi, Vincent; Huang, Jing; Tsuji, Moriya

2017-08-01

Humanized mouse models present an important tool for preclinical evaluation of new vaccines and therapeutics. Here we show the human variable repertoire of antibody sequences cloned from a previously described human immune system (HIS) mouse model that possesses functional human CD4+ T cells and B cells, namely HIS-CD4/B mice. We sequenced variable IgG genes from single memory B-cell and plasma-cell sorted from splenocytes or whole blood lymphocytes of HIS-CD4/B mice that were vaccinated with a human plasmodial antigen, a recombinant Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (rPfCSP). We demonstrate that rPfCSP immunization triggers a diverse B-cell IgG repertoire composed of various human VH family genes and distinct V(D)J recombinations that constitute diverse CDR3 sequences similar to humans, although low hypermutated sequences were generated. These results demonstrate the substantial genetic diversity of responding human B cells of HIS-CD4/B mice and their capacity to mount human IgG class-switched antibody response upon vaccination. Copyright © 2017 European Federation of Immunological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Board diversity and financial performance: A graphical time-series approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cobus CH Taljaard

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Directors need to guide and govern companies on behalf of and for the benefit of shareholders and stakeholders. However questions remain as to whether boards with higher levels of diversity amongst directors are better equipped to fulfil their fiduciary duty than boards with lower levels of diversity. This research examines whether increased levels of diversity within boards are associated with improved financial performance to shareholders. From the literature, several theoretical frameworks that could explain why increased diversity might or might not lead to improved board performance were noted. Share returns and directors’ demographic data were collected for a sample of the largest 40 companies listed on the JSE from 2000 to 2013. This data was analysed using Muller and Ward’s (2013 investment style engine by forming portfolios of companies based on board-diversity constructs. Time-series graphs of cumulative portfolio market returns were analysed to determine if the diversity dimensions tested were associated with improved share performance. The results show that racial diversity within boards is not associated with financial performance. However, increased gender diversity and younger average board age are shown to have strong associations with improved share price performance. These findings are mainly attributed to agency-, resource dependency, human capital and signalling theories. Increased diversity is seen to bolster independence and lessen agency problems. Rising diversity levels also enlarge boards’ external networks, allowing diverse stakeholders’ needs to be accommodated and limiting dependence on strategic resources. Finally, as human capital is increased, the collection of different skills and experiences are associated with better performance. The results, based on a more robust methodology and improved data set, provide additional support to previous studies.

Structural determinants of phenotypic diversity and replication rate of human prions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiri G Safar

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The infectious pathogen responsible for prion diseases is the misfolded, aggregated form of the prion protein, PrPSc. In contrast to recent progress in studies of laboratory rodent-adapted prions, current understanding of the molecular basis of human prion diseases and, especially, their vast phenotypic diversity is very limited. Here, we have purified proteinase resistant PrPSc aggregates from two major phenotypes of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD, determined their conformational stability and replication tempo in vitro, as well as characterized structural organization using recently emerged approaches based on hydrogen/deuterium (H/D exchange coupled with mass spectrometry. Our data clearly demonstrate that these phenotypically distant prions differ in a major way with regard to their structural organization, both at the level of the polypeptide backbone (as indicated by backbone amide H/D exchange data as well as the quaternary packing arrangements (as indicated by H/D exchange kinetics for histidine side chains. Furthermore, these data indicate that, in contrast to previous observations on yeast and some murine prion strains, the replication rate of sCJD prions is primarily determined not by conformational stability but by specific structural features that control the growth rate of prion protein aggregates.

Identification of Diversity-Generating Retroelements in Human Microbiomes

OpenAIRE

Ye, Yuzhen

2014-01-01

Diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs) are a unique family of retroelements that confer selective advantages to their hosts by accelerating the evolution of target genes through a specialized, error-prone, reverse transcription process. First identified in a Bordetella phage (BPP-1), which mediates the phage tropism specificity by generating variability in an involved gene, DGRs were predicted to be present in a larger collection of viral and bacterial species. A minimal DGR system is co...

Human impacts on regional avian diversity and abundance

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher A. Lepczyk; Curtis H. Flather; Volker C. Radeloff; Anna M. Pidgeon; Roger B. Hammer; Jianguo Liu

2008-01-01

Patterns of association between humans and biodiversity typically show positive, negative, or negative quadratic relationships and can be described by 3 hypotheses: biologically rich areas that support high human population densities co-occur with areas of high biodiversity (productivity); biodiversity decreases monotonically with increasing human activities (ecosystem...

Diversity in Action | Interactive Workshop | 4 July

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

Come and take part in an interactive workshop organised by the CERN Diversity Programme designed to creatively explore the meaning of diversity and share your experience of working with differences at CERN.   Thursday 4 July 2013 – 1.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. Pump Hall - Building 216-R-401 "Diversity in Action" is an interactive half-day workshop designed to creatively explore the meaning and importance of diversity at CERN, in support of the Organization’s value of “appreciating differences, fostering equality and promoting collaboration”. Using participative multi-media methods, this innovative workshop will provide participants with insights into diversity, help them to develop greater sensitivity to differences, explore ways to recognise and overcome biases and thereby strengthen our tradition of inclusiveness at CERN. Alan Richter, Ph. D., is the president of QED Consulting, a 25-year-old company based in New York. He has consulted to org...

species diversity of dry season avian fauna in kano, nigeria 418

African Journals Online (AJOL)

userpc

encounter in the field changes as the dry season progresses. ... The general purpose of most avian field studies ... high diversity of exotic trees. There is ..... Field. Guide. ISBN. 9780691159201. Pyre A. R. (1995) Avifauna diversity and human.

Density distribution of currents induced inside the brain in the head part of the human model exposed to power frequency electric field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiba, Atsuo [Yongo National Collage of Technology (Japan); Isaka, Katsuo [University of Tokushima (Japan)

1999-07-01

The health effect of the weak current induced in the human body as a result of the interaction between human body and power frequency electric fields has been investigated. However, the current density inside the head part tissues of the human body exposed to the electric fields has rarely been discussed. In this paper, the finite element method is applied to the analysis of the current density distribution of the head part composed of scalp, skull, cerebrospinal liquid and brain tissues. The basic characteristics of the current density distributions of the brain in the asymmetrical human model have been made clear. (author)

Diverse Populations in Saskatchewan: The Challenges of Reaching Them

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maha Kumaran

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Saskatchewan is more diverse than it was even 5 years ago. Although historically Saskatchewan has always had a diverse immigrant population with new immigrants coming from many European and Eastern European countries, recently there are large immigrant communities arriving: some as refugees, some as guest workers, international students and their families from several parts of the globe through various significant government initiatives and policies. Not only is this diverse immigrant population growing, but the social make up of the new immigrants is also changing. There are many reasons why Saskatchewan is receiving more immigrants. This paper states those reasons, discusses the history of immigration in Saskatchewan, current immigrant situation, and the role libraries can play in educating, informing and entertaining these immigrant populations. This paper focuses on new immigrants coming into Saskatchewan and does not discuss other groups that are part of a diverse society such as aboriginal populations, seniors, the GBLT, or French Canadians. The authors sent out questionnaires to see what other libraries in Canada have done in this area and have looked into Vancouver Public Library and Toronto Public Library as examples for programs and services that can be offered to diverse immigrant populations.

A Comprehensive, Ethnically Diverse Library of Sickle Cell Disease-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Seonmi; Gianotti-Sommer, Andreia; Molina-Estevez, Francisco Javier; Vanuytsel, Kim; Skvir, Nick; Leung, Amy; Rozelle, Sarah S; Shaikho, Elmutaz Mohammed; Weir, Isabelle; Jiang, Zhihua; Luo, Hong-Yuan; Chui, David H K; Figueiredo, Maria Stella; Alsultan, Abdulraham; Al-Ali, Amein; Sebastiani, Paola; Steinberg, Martin H; Mostoslavsky, Gustavo; Murphy, George J

2017-04-11

Sickle cell anemia affects millions of people worldwide and is an emerging global health burden. As part of a large NIH-funded NextGen Consortium, we generated a diverse, comprehensive, and fully characterized library of sickle-cell-disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients of different ethnicities, β-globin gene (HBB) haplotypes, and fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels. iPSCs stand to revolutionize the way we study human development, model disease, and perhaps eventually, treat patients. Here, we describe this unique resource for the study of sickle cell disease, including novel haplotype-specific polymorphisms that affect disease severity, as well as for the development of patient-specific therapeutics for this phenotypically diverse disorder. As a complement to this library, and as proof of principle for future cell- and gene-based therapies, we also designed and employed CRISPR/Cas gene editing tools to correct the sickle hemoglobin (HbS) mutation. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identity, Diversity and Diversity Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holck, Lotte; Muhr, Sara Louise; Villeseche, Florence

2016-01-01

– The work can encourage policy makers, diversity and HR managers to question their own practices and assumptions leading to more theoretical informed diversity management practices. Originality/value – The theoretical connections between identity and diversity literature have so far not been reviewed......The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the identity and diversity literatures and discuss how a better understanding of the theoretical connections between the two informs both diversity research and diversity management practices. Design/methodology/approach – Literature...... and limitations – is crucial for successful diversity management research and practice. Research limitations/implications – The authors argue for a better understanding of differences, overlaps and limits of different identity perspectives, and for a stronger engagement with practice. Practical implications...

Human milk oligosaccharides: Every baby needs a sugar mama

Science.gov (United States)

Bode, Lars

2012-01-01

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are a family of structurally diverse unconjugated glycans that are highly abundant in and unique to human milk. Originally, HMOs were discovered as a prebiotic “bifidus factor” that serves as a metabolic substrate for desired bacteria and shapes an intestinal microbiota composition with health benefits for the breast-fed neonate. Today, HMOs are known to be more than just “food for bugs”. An accumulating body of evidence suggests that HMOs are antiadhesive antimicrobials that serve as soluble decoy receptors, prevent pathogen attachment to infant mucosal surfaces and lower the risk for viral, bacterial and protozoan parasite infections. In addition, HMOs may modulate epithelial and immune cell responses, reduce excessive mucosal leukocyte infiltration and activation, lower the risk for necrotizing enterocolitis and provide the infant with sialic acid as a potentially essential nutrient for brain development and cognition. Most data, however, stem from in vitro, ex vivo or animal studies and occasionally from association studies in mother–infant cohorts. Powered, randomized and controlled intervention studies will be needed to confirm relevance for human neonates. The first part of this review introduces the pioneers in HMO research, outlines HMO structural diversity and describes what is known about HMO biosynthesis in the mother's mammary gland and their metabolism in the breast-fed infant. The second part highlights the postulated beneficial effects of HMO for the breast-fed neonate, compares HMOs with oligosaccharides in the milk of other mammals and in infant formula and summarizes the current roadblocks and future opportunities for HMO research. PMID:22513036

Diversity, evolution and medical applications of insect antimicrobial peptides

Science.gov (United States)

Mylonakis, Eleftherios; Podsiadlowski, Lars; Muhammed, Maged

2016-01-01

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short proteins with antimicrobial activity. A large portion of known AMPs originate from insects, and the number and diversity of these molecules in different species varies considerably. Insect AMPs represent a potential source of alternative antibiotics to address the limitation of current antibiotics, which has been caused by the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens. To get more insight into AMPs, we investigated the diversity and evolution of insect AMPs by mapping their phylogenetic distribution, allowing us to predict the evolutionary origins of selected AMP families and to identify evolutionarily conserved and taxon-specific families. Furthermore, we highlight the use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a whole-animal model in high-throughput screening methods to identify AMPs with efficacy against human pathogens, including Acinetobacter baumanii and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. We also discuss the potential medical applications of AMPs, including their use as alternatives for conventional antibiotics in ectopic therapies, their combined use with antibiotics to restore the susceptibility of multidrug-resistant pathogens, and their use as templates for the rational design of peptidomimetic drugs that overcome the disadvantages of therapeutic peptides. The article is part of the themed issue ‘Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides’. PMID:27160593

Diversity, evolution and medical applications of insect antimicrobial peptides.

Science.gov (United States)

Mylonakis, Eleftherios; Podsiadlowski, Lars; Muhammed, Maged; Vilcinskas, Andreas

2016-05-26

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short proteins with antimicrobial activity. A large portion of known AMPs originate from insects, and the number and diversity of these molecules in different species varies considerably. Insect AMPs represent a potential source of alternative antibiotics to address the limitation of current antibiotics, which has been caused by the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens. To get more insight into AMPs, we investigated the diversity and evolution of insect AMPs by mapping their phylogenetic distribution, allowing us to predict the evolutionary origins of selected AMP families and to identify evolutionarily conserved and taxon-specific families. Furthermore, we highlight the use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a whole-animal model in high-throughput screening methods to identify AMPs with efficacy against human pathogens, including Acinetobacter baumanii and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus We also discuss the potential medical applications of AMPs, including their use as alternatives for conventional antibiotics in ectopic therapies, their combined use with antibiotics to restore the susceptibility of multidrug-resistant pathogens, and their use as templates for the rational design of peptidomimetic drugs that overcome the disadvantages of therapeutic peptides.The article is part of the themed issue 'Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides'. © 2016 The Authors.

Education and diversity in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leeman, Y.

2008-01-01

This article sets out the Dutch approach to the multicultural question. It focuses on how national policies, schools, teachers and teacher educators are addressing and making sense of questions of cultural and religious diversity. The article shows how the Netherlands has partly accommodated itself

The Place of Political Diversity within the Social Work Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenwald, Mitchell; Wiener, Diane R.; Smith-Osborne, Alexa; Smith, Christine M.

2012-01-01

This article examines political ideology and its implications as a newer diversity variable within social work education. Responding to internal assessments and external critiques of social work education, the dynamics of how diverse political ideologies might manifest in 5 core course concentrations--human behavior in the social environment,…

15 CFR Supplement No. 2 to Part 740 - Items That May Be Donated To Meet Basic Human Needs Under the Humanitarian License Exception

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Basic Human Needs Under the Humanitarian License Exception No. Supplement No. 2 to Part 740 Commerce and... Supplement No. 2 to Part 740—Items That May Be Donated To Meet Basic Human Needs Under the Humanitarian... Medicines and Supplies (c) Clothes and Household Goods Bedding Clothes Cooking Utensils Fabric Personal...

Biological diversity in the patent system.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Oldham

Full Text Available Biological diversity in the patent system is an enduring focus of controversy but empirical analysis of the presence of biodiversity in the patent system has been limited. To address this problem we text mined 11 million patent documents for 6 million Latin species names from the Global Names Index (GNI established by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF and Encyclopedia of Life (EOL. We identified 76,274 full Latin species names from 23,882 genera in 767,955 patent documents. 25,595 species appeared in the claims section of 136,880 patent documents. This reveals that human innovative activity involving biodiversity in the patent system focuses on approximately 4% of taxonomically described species and between 0.8-1% of predicted global species. In this article we identify the major features of the patent landscape for biological diversity by focusing on key areas including pharmaceuticals, neglected diseases, traditional medicines, genetic engineering, foods, biocides, marine genetic resources and Antarctica. We conclude that the narrow focus of human innovative activity and ownership of genetic resources is unlikely to be in the long term interest of humanity. We argue that a broader spectrum of biodiversity needs to be opened up to research and development based on the principles of equitable benefit-sharing, respect for the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, human rights and ethics. Finally, we argue that alternative models of innovation, such as open source and commons models, are required to open up biodiversity for research that addresses actual and neglected areas of human need. The research aims to inform the implementation of the 2010 Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization and international debates directed to the governance of genetic resources. Our research also aims to inform debates under the Intergovernmental Committee on

Pulmonary haptoglobin (pHp) is part of the surfactant system in the human lung.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Mahdi; Goldmann, Torsten

2012-11-20

Since the existence of pHp was demonstrated, it has been shown that this molecule and its receptor CD163 are regulated by different stimuli. Furthermore, a comparably fast secretion of pHp was described as well as the immuno-stimulatory effects. The intention of this study was to elucidate the role of pHp in the human lungs further. Here we show, by means of confocal microscopy and immune-electron-microscopy, a clear co-localization of pHp with surfactant protein-B in lamellar bodies of alveolar epithelial cells type II. These results are underlined by immunohistochemical stainings in differently fixed human lung tissues, which show pHp in vesicular and released form. The images of the released form resemble the intended position of surfactant in the human alveolus. pHp is secreted by Alveolar epithelial cells type II as previously shown. Moreover, pHp is co-localized with Surfactant protein-B. We conclude that the presented data shows that pHp is a native part of the surfactant system in the human lung. http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2563584738239912.

Mammalian diversity: gametes, embryos and reproduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Behringer, Richard R; Eakin, Guy S; Renfree, Marilyn B

2006-01-01

The class Mammalia is composed of approximately 4800 extant species. These mammalian species are divided into three subclasses that include the monotremes, marsupials and eutherians. Monotremes are remarkable because these mammals are born from eggs laid outside of the mother's body. Marsupial mammals have relatively short gestation periods and give birth to highly altricial young that continue a significant amount of 'fetal' development after birth, supported by a highly sophisticated lactation. Less than 10% of mammalian species are monotremes or marsupials, so the great majority of mammals are grouped into the subclass Eutheria, including mouse and human. Mammals exhibit great variety in morphology, physiology and reproduction. In the present article, we highlight some of this remarkable diversity relative to the mouse, one of the most widely used mammalian model organisms, and human. This diversity creates challenges and opportunities for gamete and embryo collection, culture and transfer technologies.

Generation of Immunoglobulin diversity in human gut-associated lymphoid tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Jo; Barone, Francesca; Dunn-Walters, Deborah

2009-06-01

The organised gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) exists adjacent to an extensive and diverse luminal flora. The follicle associated epithelium and associated dendritic cells and lymphocytes form a tightly fortified gateway between the flora and the host that permits connectivity between them and chronic activation of the lymphoid compartment. As a consequence, plasma cell precursors are generated continuously, and in abundance, in GALT by clonal proliferation. Clonal proliferation alone on this scale would reduce the spectrum of B cell specificity. To compensate, GALT also houses molecular machinery that diversifies the receptor repertoire by somatic hypermutation, class switch recombination and receptor revision. These three processes of enhancing the diversity of mature B cells ensure that although clonally related plasma cells may secrete immunoglobulin side by side in the mucosa they rarely have identical antigen binding sites.

Lacrimal drainage-associated lymphoid tissue (LDALT): a part of the human mucosal immune system.

Science.gov (United States)

Knop, E; Knop, N

2001-03-01

Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) specifically protects mucosal surfaces. In a previous study of the human conjunctiva, evidence was also found for the presence of MALT in the lacrimal sac. The present study, therefore, aims to investigate its morphology and topographical distribution in the human lacrimal drainage system. Lacrimal drainage systems (n = 51) obtained from human cadavers were investigated by clearing flat wholemounts or by serial sections of tissue embedded in paraffin, OCT compound, or epoxy resin. These were further analyzed by histology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. All specimens showed the presence of lymphocytes and plasma cells as a diffuse lymphoid tissue in the lamina propria, together with intraepithelial lymphocytes and occasional high endothelial venules (HEV). It formed a narrow layer along the canaliculi that became thicker in the cavernous parts. The majority of lymphocytes were T cells, whereas B cells were interspersed individually or formed follicular centers. T cells were positive for CD8 and the human mucosa lymphocyte antigen (HML-1). Most plasma cells were positive for IgA and the overlying epithelium expressed its transporter molecule secretory component (SC). Basal mucous glands were present in the lacrimal canaliculi and in the other parts accompanied by alveolar and acinar glands, all producing IgA-rich secretions. Primary and secondary lymphoid follicles possessing HEV were present in about half of the specimens. The term lacrimal drainage-associated lymphoid tissue (LDALT) is proposed here to describe the lymphoid tissue that is regularly present and belongs to the common mucosal immune system and to the secretory immune system. It is suggested that it may form a functional unit together with the lacrimal gland and conjunctiva, connected by tear flow, lymphocyte recirculation, and probably the neural reflex arc, and play a major role in preserving ocular surface integrity.

College and University Environmental Programs as a Policy Problem (Part 2): Strategies for Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Susan G.; Rutherford, Murray B.; Auer, Matthew R.; Cherney, David N.; Wallace, Richard L.; Mattson, David J.; Clark, Douglas A.; Foote, Lee; Krogman, Naomi; Wilshusen, Peter; Steelman, Toddi

2011-05-01

Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and universities seek to ameliorate environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. In a companion article (Part 1) we describe the environmental program movement (EPM) and discuss factors that have hindered its performance. Here, we complete our analysis by proposing strategies for improvement. We recommend that environmental programs re-organize around three principles. First, adopt as an overriding goal the concept of human dignity—defined as freedom and social justice in healthy, sustainable environments. This clear higher-order goal captures the human and environmental aspirations of the EPM and would provide a more coherent direction for the efforts of diverse participants. Second, employ an explicit, genuinely interdisciplinary analytical framework that facilitates the use of multiple methods to investigate and address environmental and social problems in context. Third, develop educational programs and applied experiences that provide students with the technical knowledge, powers of observation, critical thinking skills and management acumen required for them to become effective professionals and leaders. Organizing around these three principles would build unity in the EPM while at the same time capitalizing on the strengths of the many disciplines and diverse local conditions involved.

Fusarium diversity in soil using a specific molecular approach and a cultural approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Edel-Hermann, Véronique; Gautheron, Nadine; Mounier, Arnaud; Steinberg, Christian

2015-04-01

Fusarium species are ubiquitous in soil. They cause plant and human diseases and can produce mycotoxins. Surveys of Fusarium species diversity in environmental samples usually rely on laborious culture-based methods. In the present study, we have developed a molecular method to analyze Fusarium diversity directly from soil DNA. We designed primers targeting the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (EF-1α) gene and demonstrated their specificity toward Fusarium using a large collection of fungi. We used the specific primers to construct a clone library from three contrasting soils. Sequence analysis confirmed the specificity of the assay, with 750 clones identified as Fusarium and distributed among eight species or species complexes. The Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC) was the most abundant one in the three soils, followed by the Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC). We then compared our molecular approach results with those obtained by isolating Fusarium colonies on two culture media and identifying species by sequencing part of the EF-1α gene. The 750 isolates were distributed into eight species or species complexes, with the same dominant species as with the cloning method. Sequence diversity was much higher in the clone library than in the isolate collection. The molecular approach proved to be a valuable tool to assess Fusarium diversity in environmental samples. Combined with high throughput sequencing, it will allow for in-depth analysis of large numbers of samples. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Orthogonal typing methods identify genetic diversity among Belgian Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated over a decade from poultry and cases of sporadic human illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Elhadidy, Mohamed; Arguello, Hector; Álvarez-Ordóñez, Avelino; Miller, William G; Duarte, Alexandra; Martiny, Delphine; Hallin, Marie; Vandenberg, Olivier; Dierick, Katelijne; Botteldoorn, Nadine

2018-06-20

Campylobacter jejuni is a zoonotic pathogen commonly associated with human gastroenteritis. Retail poultry meat is a major food-related transmission source of C. jejuni to humans. The present study investigated the genetic diversity, clonal relationship, and strain risk-analysis of 403 representative C. jejuni isolates from chicken broilers (n = 204) and sporadic cases of human diarrhea (n = 199) over a decade (2006-2015) in Belgium, using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), PCR binary typing (P-BIT), and identification of lipooligosaccharide (LOS) biosynthesis locus classes. A total of 123 distinct sequence types (STs), clustered in 28 clonal complexes (CCs) were assigned, including ten novel sequence types that were not previously documented in the international database. Sequence types ST-48, ST-21, ST-50, ST-45, ST-464, ST-2274, ST-572, ST-19, ST-257 and ST-42 were the most prevalent. Clonal complex 21 was the main clonal complex in isolates from humans and chickens. Among observed STs, a total of 35 STs that represent 72.2% (291/403) of the isolates were identified in both chicken and human isolates confirming considerable epidemiological relatedness; these 35 STs also clustered together in the most prevalent CCs. A majority of the isolates harbored sialylated LOS loci associated with potential neuropathic outcomes in humans. Although the concordance between MLST and P-BIT, determined by the adjusted Rand and Wallace coefficients, showed low congruence between both typing methods. The discriminatory power of P-BIT and MLST was similar, with Simpson's diversity indexes of 0.978 and 0.975, respectively. Furthermore, P-BIT could provide additional epidemiological information that would provide further insights regarding the potential association to human health from each strain. In addition, certain clones could be linked to specific clinical symptoms. Indeed, LOS class E was associated with less severe infections. Moreover, ST-572 was significantly

Speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography images of human skin by a spatial diversity method - art. no. 66270P

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Thomas Martini; Thrane, Lars; Mogensen, M.

2007-01-01

the scheme with a mobile fiber-based time-domain real-time OCT system. Essential enhancement was obtained in image contrast when performing in vivo imaging of normal skin and lesions. Resulting images show improved delineation of structure in correspondence with the observed improvements in contrast...... system. Here, we consider a method that in principle can be fitted to most OCT systems without major modifications. Specifically, we address a spatial diversity technique for suppressing speckle noise in OCT images of human skin. The method is a variant of changing the position of the sample relative...

Workforce Diversity And Organizational Communication: Analysis Of Human Capital Performance And Productivity

OpenAIRE

Ephraim A. Okoro; Melvin C. Washington

2012-01-01

The twenty-first century organizations are increasingly becoming multicultural workplaces for communication. This paper explores recent literature on the increasing global influence of workforce diversity and its affect on workplace communication. It provides a model for the discussion of the opportunities and challenges of diversity in the workplace. The paper then provides an analytical framework that guides readers with practical ideas that can assist them in their endeavors to effectively...

The Attitudes of Croatian Citizens toward Cultural Diversities

OpenAIRE

Milan Mesić; Dragan Bagić

2011-01-01

The paper is based on part of results of a representative national examination of Croatian citizens’ attitudes about cultural diversities in Croatian society. A field survey was conducted by using the personal interview method in the respondent’s household, within the framework of an omnibus research. By cultural diversities, the authors mean national and religious communities. In this respect, Croatia is culturally a heterogeneous political community like most countries of the contemporary w...

Molecular diversity of human parvovirus B19 during two outbreaks of erythema infectiosum in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita de Cássia Nasser Cubel Garcia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to provide information on the genetic diversity of human parvovirus B19 (B19V circulating in the municipality of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Southeast Brazil during 1996–2006, a period with two distinct outbreaks of B19V infection: 1999–2000 and 2004–2005. A total of 27 sera from patients with erythema infectiosum and five sera from HIV-infected patients that tested positive for B19V DNA during the study period were analyzed. To genotype B19V strains, a semi-nested PCR for partial amplification of the capsid gene was performed and sequence analysis revealed that 31 sequences belonged to subgenotype 1a (G1a of the main genotype 1 and one sequence was characterized as subgenotype 3b (G3b. The phylogenetic tree supported the division of the G1a into two well-defined clades with 1.3% of divergence. The low diversity of the G1a strains may be explained by the fact that all patients had acute B19V infection and 30/32 sera were collected during two distinct outbreaks. The G3b strain was from an HIV-infected patient who seroconverted to anti-B19 IgG antibodies in September/2005. This is the first report of G3b in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Turning Diversity into Competitive Advantage: A Case Study of Managing Diversity in the United States of America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eddy M. Sutanto

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Esty, Griffin, and Hirsch (1995 state that today’s workforce is truly a mosaic of different races, ages, genders, ethnic groups, religions, and lifestyles. As a manager or a supervisor, it is your job to make sure that the desperate pieces of a mosaic fit together in a harmonious, coordinated way, maximally utilizing the talents and abilities of each employee. If skillfully managed, this diversity can bring a competitive advantage to an organization. If not, however, the bottom line can be negatively affected, and the work environment can become unwelcoming. Dealing with a diverse work group is new terrain for most managers and supervisors. The United States rose to the top using a-one-size-fits-all approach to managing employees. This work in past because, historically, most of the work force was white, and male. This has all changed. The following parts will clearly provide a description about diversity, changes in the United States work force, challenges and opportunities of the changes for organizations, and how managers and supervisors as front liners deal with diversity and to turn diversity into a competitive advantage.

Diversion of drugs within health care facilities, a multiple-victim crime: patterns of diversion, scope, consequences, detection, and prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Berge, Keith H; Dillon, Kevin R; Sikkink, Karen M; Taylor, Timothy K; Lanier, William L

2012-07-01

Mayo Clinic has been involved in an ongoing effort to prevent the diversion of controlled substances from the workplace and to rapidly identify and respond when such diversion is detected. These efforts have found that diversion of controlled substances is not uncommon and can result in substantial risk not only to the individual who is diverting the drugs but also to patients, co-workers, and employers. We believe that all health care facilities should have systems in place to deter controlled substance diversion and to promptly identify diversion and intervene when it is occurring. Such systems are multifaceted and require close cooperation between multiple stakeholders including, but not limited to, departments of pharmacy, safety and security, anesthesiology, nursing, legal counsel, and human resources. Ideally, there should be a broad-based appreciation of the dangers that diversion creates not only for patients but also for all employees of health care facilities, because diversion can occur at any point along a long supply chain. All health care workers must be vigilant for signs of possible diversion and must be aware of how to engage a preexisting group with expertise in investigating possible diversions. In addition, clear policies and procedures should be in place for dealing with such investigations and for managing the many possible outcomes of a confirmed diversion. This article provides an overview of the multiple types of risk that result from drug diversion from health care facilities. Further, we describe a system developed at Mayo Clinic for evaluating episodes of potential drug diversion and for taking action once diversion is confirmed. Copyright © 2012 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) genetic diversity and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROGMANAGER

2013-04-24

Apr 24, 2013 ... objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of HIV-1 and the prevalence of antiretroviral (ARV) ... individuals in resource limited settings. Key words: ... management of HIV infection even as antiretroviral (ARV).

Gender and Sexuality Diversity and Schooling: Progressive Mothers Speak Out

Science.gov (United States)

Ferfolja, Tania; Ullman, Jacqueline

2017-01-01

Although social acceptance of gender and sexuality diversity is growing in Australian society, in schools, visibility and inclusion of knowledge pertaining to those who are gender- and/or sexuality-diverse, such as lesbians, gay men and transgender people, remain marginalised. This may be due, in part, to a belief that parents are opposed to such…

Phylogeography and molecular diversity analysis of Jatropha curcas L. and the dispersal route revealed by RAPD, AFLP and nrDNA-ITS analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sudheer Pamidimarri, D V N; Reddy, Muppala P

2014-05-01

Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) has acquired a great importance as a renewable source of energy with a number of environmental benefits. Very few attempts were made to understand the extent of genetic diversity and its distribution. This study was aimed to study the diversity and deduce the phylogeography of Jatropha curcas L. which is said to be the most primitive species of the genus Jatropha. Here we studied the intraspecific genetic diversity of the species distributed in different parts of the globe. The study also focused to understand the molecular diversity at reported probable center of origin (Mexico), and to reveal the dispersal route to other regions based on random amplified polymorphic DNA, amplified fragment length polymorphism and nrDNA-ITS sequences data. The overall genetic diversity of J. curcas found in the present study was narrow. The highest genetic diversity was observed in the germplasm collected from Mexico and supports the earlier hypothesis based on morphological data and natural distribution, it is the center for origin of the species. Least genetic diversity found in the Indian germplasm and clustering results revealed that the species was introduced simultaneously by two distinct germplasm and subsequently distributed in different parts of India. The present molecular data further revealed that J. curcas might have spread from the center of the origin to Cape Verde, than to Spain, Portuguese to other neighboring countries and simultaneously to Africa. The molecular evidence supports the Burkill et al. (A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula, Governments of Malaysia and Singapore by the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1966) view of Portuguese might have introduced the species to India. The clustering pattern suggests that the distribution was interfered by human activity.

Phylogeography and molecular diversity analysis of Jatropha curcas L. and the dispersal route revealed by RAPD, AFLP and nrDNA-ITS analysis

KAUST Repository

Sudheer Pamidimarri, D. V N

2014-01-29

Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) has acquired a great importance as a renewable source of energy with a number of environmental benefits. Very few attempts were made to understand the extent of genetic diversity and its distribution. This study was aimed to study the diversity and deduce the phylogeography of Jatropha curcas L. which is said to be the most primitive species of the genus Jatropha. Here we studied the intraspecific genetic diversity of the species distributed in different parts of the globe. The study also focused to understand the molecular diversity at reported probable center of origin (Mexico), and to reveal the dispersal route to other regions based on random amplified polymorphic DNA, amplified fragment length polymorphism and nrDNA-ITS sequences data. The overall genetic diversity of J. curcas found in the present study was narrow. The highest genetic diversity was observed in the germplasm collected from Mexico and supports the earlier hypothesis based on morphological data and natural distribution, it is the center for origin of the species. Least genetic diversity found in the Indian germplasm and clustering results revealed that the species was introduced simultaneously by two distinct germplasm and subsequently distributed in different parts of India. The present molecular data further revealed that J. curcas might have spread from the center of the origin to Cape Verde, than to Spain, Portuguese to other neighboring countries and simultaneously to Africa. The molecular evidence supports the Burkill et al. (A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula, Governments of Malaysia and Singapore by the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1966) view of Portuguese might have introduced the species to India. The clustering pattern suggests that the distribution was interfered by human activity. © Springer Science+Business Media 2014.

Bayesian estimation of shrubs diversity in rangelands under two management systems in northern Syria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niane, A.A.; Singh, M.; Struik, P.C.

2014-01-01

The diversity of shrubs in rangelands of northern Syria is affected by the grazing management systems restricted by the increase in human and livestock populations. To describe and estimate diversity and compare the rangeland grazing management treatments, two popular indices for diversity, the

Data on haplotype diversity in the hypervariable region I, II and III of mtDNA amongst the Brahmin population of Haryana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kapil Verma

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA is routinely analysed for pathogenic mutations, evolutionary studies, estimation of time of divergence within or between species, phylogenetic studies and identification of degraded remains. The data on various regions of human mtDNA has added enormously to the knowledge pool of population genetics as well as forensic genetics. The displacement-loop (D-loop in the control region of mtDNA is rated as the most rapidly evolving part, due to the presence of variations in this region. The control region consists of three hypervariable regions. These hypervariable regions (HVI, HVII and HVIII tend to mutate 5–10 times faster than nuclear DNA. The high mutation rate of these hypervariable regions is used in population genetic studies and human identity testing. In the present data, potentially informative hypervariable regions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA i.e. HVI (np 16024–16365, HVII (np 73–340 and HVIII (np 438–576 were estimated to understand the genetic diversity amongst Brahmin population of Haryana. Blood samples had been collected from maternally unrelated individuals from the different districts of Haryana. An array of parameters comprising of polymorphic sites, transitions, transversions, deletions, gene diversity, nucleotide diversity, pairwise differences, Tajima's D test, Fu's Fs test, mismatch observed variance and expected heterozygosity were estimated. The observed polymorphisms with their respective haplogroups in comparison to rCRS were assigned. Keywords: Mitochondrial DNA, D-loop, Hypervariable regions, Forensic genetics

World Development Report, 1980. Part I: Adjustment and Growth in the 1980s. Part II: Poverty and Human Development. Annex: World Development Indicators. With Summary.

Science.gov (United States)

Isenman, Paul; And Others

The report, third in a series of annual publications, examines some of the difficulties and prospects in areas of social and economic progress and human development which developing countries face during the next decade. Distinguishing oil-importing from oil-exporting developing countries, the first part of the report presents global and regional…

[Distribution diversity of integrins and calcium channels on major human and mouse host cells of Leptospira species].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Cheng-xue; Zhao, Xin; Qian, Jing; Yan, Jie

2012-07-01

To determine the distribution of integrins and calcium channels on major human and mouse host cells of Leptospira species. The expression of β1, β2 and β3 integrins was detected with immunofluorescence assay on the surface of human monocyte line THP-1, mouse mononuclear-macrophage-like cell line J774A.1, human vascular endothelial cell line HUVEC, mouse vascular endothelial cell EOMA, human hepatocyte line L-02, mouse hepatocyte line Hepa1-6, human renal tubular epithelial cell line HEK-293, mouse glomerular membrane epithelial cell line SV40-MES13, mouse collagen blast line NIH/3T3, human and mouse platelets. The distribution of voltage gate control calcium channels Cav3.1, Cav3.2, Cav3.3 and Cav2.3, and receptor gate calcium channels P(2)X(1), P(2)2X(2), P(2)X(3), P(2)X(4), P(2)X(5), P(2)X(6) and P(2)X(7) were determined with Western blot assay. β1 integrin proteins were positively expressed on the membrane surface of J774A.1, THP-1, HUVEC, EOMA, L-02, Hepa1-6 and HEK-239 cells as well as human and mouse platelets. β2 integrin proteins were expressed on the membrane surface of J774A.1, THP-1, HUVEC, EOMA, and NIH/3T3 cells. β3 integrin proteins were expressed on the membrane surface of J774A.1, THP-1, HUVEC, EOMA, Hepa1-6, HEK-239 and NIH/3T3 cells as well as human and mouse platelets. P(2)X(1) receptor gate calcium channel was expressed on the membrane surface of human and mouse platelets, while P(2)X(5) receptor gate calcium channel was expressed on the membrane surface of J774A.1, THP-1, L-02, Hepa1-6, HEK-239 and HUVEC cells. However, the other calcium channels were not detected on the tested cell lines or platelets. There is a large distribution diversity of integrins and calcium channel proteins on the major human and mouse host cells of Leptospira species, which may be associated with the differences of leptospira-induced injury in different host cells.

Ethnic diversity and employment growth in English cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Neil

2011-01-01

There are many reasons why cities with diverse populations may grow faster. Ethnic diversity might attract human capital, tourists or firms, increase productivity through diverse approaches to problem-solving or ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Yet there are also reasons to believe that diversity could be harmful, by leading to sub-optimal provision of public goods or reducing trust or social capital. Or it may be irrelevant, being merely a proxy for class. A number of studies have shown both positive and negative relationships between diversity and growth, using a range of different measures for "diversity." This paper asks two questions: have more diverse English cities grown faster? And does measurement matter: is it important to have a multinational population or an ethnically diverse one? To answer these questions, in this paper a range of models are estimated for employment growth for 53 English cities between 1981 and 2001. The evidence suggests that cities with a high proportion of their populations born abroad in 1981 grew faster in the subsequent 10 years. Neither diversity by country of birth nor ethnic diversity is significant in the period 1991-2001. However, when variables accounting for both are included together, it appears that cities with a large number of migrants saw higher employment growth in the 1990s, but that ethnically diverse cities were less successful. The results presented here suggest that considerable attention needs to be paid to the variable used to indicate "diversity" in these studies and that the impact of diversity varies according to nature of the groups any indicator for "diversity" is representing.

Comparing the Genetic Diversity and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Campylobacter jejuni Recovered from Cattle and Humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wonhee Cha

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Campylobacter jejuni, a leading cause of gastroenteritis in humans, is a foodborne pathogen that can reside in chickens, pigs, and cattle. Because resistance to fluoroquinolones and macrolides, which are commonly used to treat human infections, has emerged in C. jejuni, it is imperative to continously monitor resistance patterns and examine the genetic variation in strains from human infections and animal reservoirs. Our previous study of C. jejuni from human campylobacteriosis cases showed a significantly higher rate of tetracycline resistance compared to national trends, and identified multilocus sequence type (ST-982 and a history of cattle contact to be associated with tetracycline resistance. To further investigate these associations, we conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the frequency of antimicrobial resistance and examine the genetic diversity of C. jejuni recovered from 214 cattle at three Michigan herds. Overall, the prevalence of C. jejuni was 69.2% (range: 58.6–83.8% for the three farms, and 83.7% (n = 113 of isolates were resistant to one or more antimicrobials. Resistance to only tetracycline predominated among the cattle isolates (n = 89; 65.9% with most resistant strains belonging to ST-459 (96.5% or ST-982 (86.4%. Among the 22 STs identified, STs 459 and 982 were more prevalent in one feedlot, which reported the use of chlortetracycline in feed upon arrival of a new herd. PCR-based fingerprinting demonstrated that the ST-982 isolates from cattle and humans had identical banding patterns, suggesting the possibility of interspecies transmission. Resistance to macrolides (1.5% and ciprofloxacin (16.3% was also observed; 14 of the 22 ciprofloxacin resistant isolates represented ST-1244. Together, these findings demonstrate a high prevalence of antimicrobial resistant C. jejuni in cattle and identify associations with specific genotypes. Continuous monitoring and identification of risk factors for resistance emergence

NEMiD: a web-based curated microbial diversity database with geo-based plotting.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharjee, Kaushik; Joshi, Santa Ram

2014-01-01

The majority of the Earth's microbes remain unknown, and that their potential utility cannot be exploited until they are discovered and characterized. They provide wide scope for the development of new strains as well as biotechnological uses. The documentation and bioprospection of microorganisms carry enormous significance considering their relevance to human welfare. This calls for an urgent need to develop a database with emphasis on the microbial diversity of the largest untapped reservoirs in the biosphere. The data annotated in the North-East India Microbial database (NEMiD) were obtained by the isolation and characterization of microbes from different parts of the Eastern Himalayan region. The database was constructed as a relational database management system (RDBMS) for data storage in MySQL in the back-end on a Linux server and implemented in an Apache/PHP environment. This database provides a base for understanding the soil microbial diversity pattern in this megabiodiversity hotspot and indicates the distribution patterns of various organisms along with identification. The NEMiD database is freely available at www.mblabnehu.info/nemid/.

From vineyard to winery: a source map of microbial diversity driving wine fermentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison-Whittle, Peter; Goddard, Matthew R

2018-01-01

Humans have been making wine for thousands of years and microorganisms play an integral part in this process as they not only drive fermentation, but also significantly influence the flavour, aroma and quality of finished wines. Since fruits are ephemeral, they cannot comprise a permanent microbial habitat; thus, an age-old unanswered question concerns the origin of fruit and ferment associated microbes. Here we use next-generation sequencing approaches to examine and quantify the roles of native forest, vineyard soil, bark and fruit habitats as sources of fungal diversity in ferments. We show that microbial communities in harvested juice and ferments vary significantly across regions, and that while vineyard fungi account for ∼40% of the source of this diversity, uncultivated ecosystems outside of vineyards also prove a significant source. We also show that while communities in harvested juice resemble those found on grapes, these increasingly resemble fungi present on vine bark as the ferment proceeds. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

NEMiD: A Web-Based Curated Microbial Diversity Database with Geo-Based Plotting

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharjee, Kaushik; Joshi, Santa Ram

2014-01-01

The majority of the Earth's microbes remain unknown, and that their potential utility cannot be exploited until they are discovered and characterized. They provide wide scope for the development of new strains as well as biotechnological uses. The documentation and bioprospection of microorganisms carry enormous significance considering their relevance to human welfare. This calls for an urgent need to develop a database with emphasis on the microbial diversity of the largest untapped reservoirs in the biosphere. The data annotated in the North-East India Microbial database (NEMiD) were obtained by the isolation and characterization of microbes from different parts of the Eastern Himalayan region. The database was constructed as a relational database management system (RDBMS) for data storage in MySQL in the back-end on a Linux server and implemented in an Apache/PHP environment. This database provides a base for understanding the soil microbial diversity pattern in this megabiodiversity hotspot and indicates the distribution patterns of various organisms along with identification. The NEMiD database is freely available at www.mblabnehu.info/nemid/. PMID:24714636

Extract from IAEA's Resources Manual in Nuclear Medicine - Part 2. - Human Resources Development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

The Nuclear Medicine Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency is now engaged in finalizing a reference manual in nuclear medicine, entitled, 'Resources Manual in Nuclear Medicine'. Several renowned professionals from all over the world, from virtually all fields of nuclear medicine have contributed to this manual. The World Journal of Nuclear Medicine will publish a series of extracts from this manual as previews. This is the second extract from the Resources Manual, Part-2 of the chapter on Human Resources Development. (author)

Assessing functional diversity by program slicing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallace, D.R.; Lyle, J.R.; Gallagher, K.B.; Ippolito, L.M.

1994-01-01

A responsibility of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission auditors is to provide assessments of the quality of the safety systems. For software, the audit process as currently implemented is a slow, tedious, manual process prone to human errors. While auditors cannot possibly examine all components of the system in complete detail, they do check for implementation of specific principles like functional diversity. This paper describes an experimental prototype Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tool, UNRAVEL, designed to enable auditors to check for functional diversity and aid an auditor in examining software by extracting all code relevant to a computation identified for detailed inspection

Finding Voice: The Higher Education Experiences of Students from Diverse Backgrounds

Science.gov (United States)

Testa, Doris; Egan, Ronnie

2014-01-01

Diversity in the student body, particularly the inclusion of disadvantaged groups, has been incorporated into the discourse of inclusive education, with social justice and equality now part of the agenda. However, the conflation of diversity with equality potentially obscures some structural elements of the contemporary university system. This…

Body Site Is a More Determinant Factor than Human Population Diversity in the Healthy Skin Microbiome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillermo I Perez Perez

Full Text Available We studied skin microbiota present in three skin sites (forearm, axilla, scalp in men from six ethnic groups living in New York City.Samples were obtained at baseline and after four days following use of neutral soap and stopping regular hygiene products, including shampoos and deodorants. DNA was extracted using the MoBio Power Lyzer kit and 16S rRNA gene sequences determined on the IIlumina MiSeq platform, using QIIME for analysis.Our analysis confirmed skin swabbing as a useful method for sampling different areas of the skin because DNA concentrations and number of sequences obtained across subject libraries were similar. We confirmed that skin location was the main factor determining the composition of bacterial communities. Alpha diversity, expressed as number of species observed, was greater in arm than on scalp or axilla in all studied groups. We observed an unexpected increase in α-diversity on arm, with similar tendency on scalp, in the South Asian group after subjects stopped using their regular shampoos and deodorants. Significant differences at phylum and genus levels were observed between subjects of the different ethnic origins at all skin sites.We conclude that ethnicity and particular soap and shampoo practices are secondary factors compared to the ecological zone of the human body in determining cutaneous microbiota composition.

Population genetics of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense: clonality and diversity within and between foci.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig W Duffy

2013-11-01

Full Text Available African trypanosomes are unusual among pathogenic protozoa in that they can undergo their complete morphological life cycle in the tsetse fly vector with mating as a non-obligatory part of this development. Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, which infects humans and livestock in East and Southern Africa, has classically been described as a host-range variant of the non-human infective Trypanosoma brucei that occurs as stable clonal lineages. We have examined T. b. rhodesiense populations from East (Uganda and Southern (Malawi Africa using a panel of microsatellite markers, incorporating both spatial and temporal analyses. Our data demonstrate that Ugandan T. b. rhodesiense existed as clonal populations, with a small number of highly related genotypes and substantial linkage disequilibrium between pairs of loci. However, these populations were not stable as the dominant genotypes changed and the genetic diversity also reduced over time. Thus these populations do not conform to one of the criteria for strict clonality, namely stability of predominant genotypes over time, and our results show that, in a period in the mid 1990s, the previously predominant genotypes were not detected but were replaced by a novel clonal population with limited genetic relationship to the original population present between 1970 and 1990. In contrast, the Malawi T. b. rhodesiense population demonstrated significantly greater diversity and evidence for frequent genetic exchange. Therefore, the population genetics of T. b. rhodesiense is more complex than previously described. This has important implications for the spread of the single copy T. b. rhodesiense gene that allows human infectivity, and therefore the epidemiology of the human disease, as well as suggesting that these parasites represent an important organism to study the influence of optional recombination upon population genetic dynamics.

What does "Diversity" Mean for Public Engagement in Science? A New Metric for Innovation Ecosystem Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Özdemir, Vural; Springer, Simon

2018-03-01

Diversity is increasingly at stake in early 21st century. Diversity is often conceptualized across ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual preference, and professional credentials, among other categories of difference. These are important and relevant considerations and yet, they are incomplete. Diversity also rests in the way we frame questions long before answers are sought. Such diversity in the framing (epistemology) of scientific and societal questions is important for they influence the types of data, results, and impacts produced by research. Errors in the framing of a research question, whether in technical science or social science, are known as type III errors, as opposed to the better known type I (false positives) and type II errors (false negatives). Kimball defined "error of the third kind" as giving the right answer to the wrong problem. Raiffa described the type III error as correctly solving the wrong problem. Type III errors are upstream or design flaws, often driven by unchecked human values and power, and can adversely impact an entire innovation ecosystem, waste money, time, careers, and precious resources by focusing on the wrong or incorrectly framed question and hypothesis. Decades may pass while technology experts, scientists, social scientists, funding agencies and management consultants continue to tackle questions that suffer from type III errors. We propose a new diversity metric, the Frame Diversity Index (FDI), based on the hitherto neglected diversities in knowledge framing. The FDI would be positively correlated with epistemological diversity and technological democracy, and inversely correlated with prevalence of type III errors in innovation ecosystems, consortia, and knowledge networks. We suggest that the FDI can usefully measure (and prevent) type III error risks in innovation ecosystems, and help broaden the concepts and practices of diversity and inclusion in science, technology, innovation and society.

Diversity in auxology: between theory and practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hermanussen, M.; Lieberman, L. S.; Janewa, V. S.

2012-01-01

Auxology has developed from mere describing child and adolescent growth into a vivid and interdisciplinary research area encompassing human biologists, physicians, social scientists, economists and biostatisticians. The meeting illustrated the diversity in auxology, with the various social, medic...

Study on genetic diversity in Pakistani wheat varieties using simple ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Common wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is a grass species, cultivated world wide. Globally, it is the most important human food grain and ranks second in total production as a cereal crop behind maize. Genetic diversity evaluation of germplasm is the basis of improvement in wheat. In the present study genetic diversity of 10 ...

Gender, human rights and cultural diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kastrup, Marianne C

2011-01-01

and the elucidation of their symptom manifestations, as well as effective therapeutic interventions, which clearly show how human rights issues are linked to research and clinical psychiatry. The analyses of how different ethnic groups use psychiatric services, epitomize how important it is to pay attention to gender...

Disturbance, diversity and distributions in Central African rain forest

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gemerden, van B.S.

2004-01-01

The aim of this study is to gain insight in the impact of human land use on plant community composition, diversity and levels of endemism in Central African rain forest. Human disturbance in this region is causing large-scale habitat degradation. The two most widespread forms of land use are

Advancing diversity through inclusive excellence in nursing education.

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Bleich, Michael R; MacWilliams, Brent R; Schmidt, Bonnie J

2015-01-01

Nurse leaders call for a more diverse nursing workforce, but too few address the concept of inclusion as a recruitment and retention strategy or as part of improving the academic learning milieu. This article addresses organizational considerations of diversity and inclusion as part of the agenda established by the Association of American Colleges and Universities for inclusive excellence, building on the idea that academic environments only become excellent when an inclusive climate is reached. Six organizational strategies to inclusion are presented from the authors' experiences, some structural and others behavioral: admissions processes, invisibility, absence of community, promotion and tenure, exclusion, and tokenism. A call for structural and behavioral adaptions within nursing education to advance an inclusive excellence agenda is presented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Geo-diversity as an indicator of natural resources for geopark in human society

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Lin, Jiun-Chuan

2017-04-01

Geo-diversity is a concept of richness and number of different landscapes in a small area. The higher geo-diversity the potential attraction is higher. Many geoparks will make use of those landscapes for sustainable development. The purpose of this study is trying to evaluate the geomorphic resources for geoparks in Taiwan. For the sustainable development, the concept of geopark is one of the tool for the development of society. The evaluation of geo-diversity helps our understanding of local resources and for future management. Therefore, the geomorphic resources should be evaluated systematically and aim to help the sustainable development of the geopark. The indicators of geo-diversity can be classified into four characters to review: 1. number of landscapes within geopark; 2. accessibility to the sites of geopark, 3. dynamic processes of the landforms, 4. method of landform evolution. Taiwan geoparks should make use of these four characters for conservation, management and education purposes. Yehliu, Matsu and Penghu geoparks are three typical cases for demonstration in this paper.

Invasive exotic plants in the tropical Pacific Islands: Patterns of Diversity

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J.S. Denslow; J.C. Space; P.A. Thomas

2009-01-01

Oceanic islands are good model systems with which to explore factors affecting exotic species diversity. Islands vary in size, topography, substrate type, degree of isolation, native species diversity, history, human population characteristics, and economic development. Moreover, islands are highly vulnerable to exotic species establishment. We used AICc analyses of...

Distributed artificial intelligence, diversity and information literacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Kåhre

2010-09-01

Full Text Available My proposal is based on my doctoral dissertation On the Shoulders of AI-technology : Sociology of Knowledge and Strong Artificial Intelligence which I succesfully defended on May 29th 2009. E-published http://www.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=12588&postid=1389611 The dissertation is concerned with Sociology’s stance in the debate on Strong Artificial Intelligence,.i.e. AI-systems that is able to shape knowledge on their own. There is a need for sociologists to realize the difference between two approaches to constructing AI systems: Symbolic AI (or Classic AI and Connectionistic AI in a distributed model – DAI. Sociological literature shows a largely critical attitude towards Symbolic AI, an attitude that is justified. The main theme of the dissertation is that DAI is not only compatible with Sociology’s approach to what is social, but also constitutes an apt model of how a social system functions. This is consolidated with help from german sociologist Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory. A lot of sociologists criticize AI because they think that diversity is important and can only be comprehended in informal circumstances that only humans interacting together can handle. They mean that social intelligence is needed to make something out of diversity and informalism. Luhmann´s systems theory gives the opposite perspective. It tells us that it is social systems that communicate and produce new knowledge structures out of contincency. Psychological systems, i.e. humans, can only think within the circumstances the social system offer. In that way human thoughts are bound by formalism. Diversity is constructed when the social systems interact with complexity in their environments. They reduce the complexity and try to present it as meaningful diversity. Today when most of academic literature is electronically stored and is accessible through the Internet from al over the world, DAI can help social systems to observe and reduce complexity in this

Blueprint for Sustainable Change in Diversity Management and Cultural Competence: Lessons From the National Center for Healthcare Leadership Diversity Demonstration Project.

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Dreachslin, Janice L; Weech-Maldonado, Robert; Gail, Judith; Epané, Josué Patien; Wainio, Joyce Anne

How can healthcare leaders build a sustainable infrastructure to leverage workforce diversity and deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate care to patients? To answer that question, two health systems participated in the National Center for Healthcare Leadership's diversity leadership demonstration project, November 2008 to December 2013. Each system provided one intervention hospital and one control hospital.The control hospital in each system participated in pre- and postassessments but received no preassessment feedback and no intervention support. Each intervention hospital's C-suite leadership and demonstration project manager worked with a diversity coach provided by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership to design and implement an action plan to improve diversity and cultural competence practices and build a sustainable infrastructure. Plans explored areas of strength and areas for improvement that were identified through preintervention assessments. The assessments focused on five competencies of strategic diversity management and culturally and linguistically appropriate care: diversity leadership, strategic human resource management, organizational climate, diversity climate, and patient cultural competence.This article describes each intervention hospital's success in action plan implementation and reports results of postintervention interviews with leadership to provide a blueprint for sustainable change.

Are languages really independent from genes? If not, what would a genetic bias affecting language diversity look like?

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Dediu, Dan

2011-04-01

It is generally accepted that the relationship between human genes and language is very complex and multifaceted. This has its roots in the “regular” complexity governing the interplay among genes and between genes and environment for most phenotypes, but with the added layer of supraontogenetic and supra-individual processes defining culture. At the coarsest level, focusing on the species, it is clear that human-specific--but not necessarily faculty-specific--genetic factors subtend our capacity for language and a currently very productive research program is aiming at uncovering them. At the other end of the spectrum, it is uncontroversial that individual-level variations in different aspects related to speech and language have an important genetic component and their discovery and detailed characterization have already started to revolutionize the way we think about human nature. However, at the intermediate, glossogenetic/population level, the relationship becomes controversial, partly due to deeply ingrained beliefs about language acquisition and universality and partly because of confusions with a different type of gene-languages correlation due to shared history. Nevertheless, conceptual, mathematical and computational models--and, recently, experimental evidence from artificial languages and songbirds--have repeatedly shown that genetic biases affecting the acquisition or processing of aspects of language and speech can be amplified by population-level intergenerational cultural processes and made manifest either as fixed “universal” properties of language or as structured linguistic diversity. Here, I review several such models as well as the recently proposed case of a causal relationship between the distribution of tone languages and two genes related to brain growth and development, ASPM and Microcephalin, and I discuss the relevance of such genetic biasing for language evolution, change, and diversity.

Cultural Diversity in Nursing Education: Perils, Pitfalls, and Pearls

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Bednarz, Hedi; Schim, Stephanie; Doorenbos, Ardith

2010-01-01

Increasing diversity in the classroom challenges nursing educators to identify issues that complicate teaching (perils), analyze barriers for themselves and their students (pitfalls), and select new strategies for working with nontraditional students (pearls). This article identifies concerns arising from attitudes and values within nursing and common approaches to diversity education, and then discusses key issues in nursing education that relate to human nature, culture, faculty workload, and student demographics. Finally, some strategies are proposed for increasing the effectiveness of professional preparation with diverse students through a focus on culturally congruent education and development of faculty cultural competence. PMID:20143759

5' diversity of human hepatic PXR (NR1I2) transcripts and identification of the major transcription initiation site.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurose, Kouichi; Koyano, Satoru; Ikeda, Shinobu; Tohkin, Masahiro; Hasegawa, Ryuichi; Sawada, Jun-Ichi

2005-05-01

The human pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a crucial regulator of the genes encoding several major cytochrome P450 enzymes and transporters, such as CYP3A4 and MDR1, but its own transcriptional regulation remains unclear. To elucidate the transcriptional mechanisms of human PXR gene, we first endeavored to identify the transcription initiation site of human PXR using 5'-RACE. Five types of 5'-variable transcripts (a, b, c, d, and e) with common exon 2 sequence were found, and comparison of these sequences with the genomic sequence suggested that their 5' diversity is derived from initiation by alternative promoters and alternative splicing. None of the exons found in our study contain any new in-frame coding regions. Newly identified introns IVS-a and IVS-b were found to have CT-AC splice sites that do not follow the GT-AG rule of conventional donor and acceptor splice sites. Of the five types of 5' variable transcripts identified, RT-PCR showed that type-a was the major transcript type. Four transcription initiation sites (A-D) for type-a transcript were identified by 5'-RACE using GeneRacer RACE Ready cDNA (human liver) constructed by the oligo-capping method. Putative TATA boxes were located approximately 30 bp upstream from the transcriptional start sites of the major transcript (C) and the longest minor transcript (A) expressed in the human liver. These results indicate that the initiation of transcription of human PXR is more complex than previously reported.

Sebum and Hydration Levels in Specific Regions of Human Face Significantly Predict the Nature and Diversity of Facial Skin Microbiome.

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Mukherjee, Souvik; Mitra, Rupak; Maitra, Arindam; Gupta, Satyaranjan; Kumaran, Srikala; Chakrabortty, Amit; Majumder, Partha P

2016-10-27

The skin microbiome varies across individuals. The causes of these variations are inadequately understood. We tested the hypothesis that inter-individual variation in facial skin microbiome can be significantly explained by variation in sebum and hydration levels in specific facial regions of humans. We measured sebum and hydration from forehead and cheek regions of healthy female volunteers (n = 30). Metagenomic DNA from skin swabs were sequenced for V3-V5 regions of 16S rRNA gene. Altogether, 34 phyla were identified; predominantly Actinobacteria (66.3%), Firmicutes (17.7%), Proteobacteria (13.1%) and Bacteroidetes (1.4%). About 1000 genera were identified; predominantly Propionibacterium (58.6%), Staphylococcus (8.6%), Streptococcus (4.0%), Corynebacterium (3.6%) and Paracoccus (3.3%). A subset (n = 24) of individuals were sampled two months later. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that cheek sebum level was the most significant predictor of microbiome composition and diversity followed by forehead hydration level; forehead sebum and cheek hydration levels were not. With increase in cheek sebum, the prevalence of Actinobacteria (p = 0.001)/Propionibacterium (p = 0.002) increased, whereas microbiome diversity decreased (Shannon Index, p = 0.032); this was opposite for other phyla/genera. These trends were reversed for forehead hydration levels. Therefore, the nature and diversity of facial skin microbiome is jointly determined by site-specific lipid and water levels in the stratum corneum.

Reasons for an outstanding plant diversity in the tropical Andes of Southern Ecuador

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Richter

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Long-term field studies in the scope of a multidisciplinary project in southern Ecuador revealed extraordinary high species numbers of many organismic groups. This article discusses reasons for the outstanding vascular plant diversity using a hierarchical scale-oriented top-down approach (Grüninger 2005, from the global scale to the local microscale. The global scale explains general (paleo- ecological factors valid for most parts of the humid tropics, addressing various hypotheses and theories, such as the “greater effective evolutionary time”, constant input of “accidentals”, the “seasonal variability hypothesis”, the “intermediate disturbance hypothesis”, and the impact of soil fertility. The macroscale focuses on the Andes in northwestern South America. The tropical Andes are characterised by many taxa of restricted range which is particularly true for the Amotape-Huancabamba region, i.e. the so called Andean Depression, which is effective as discrete phytogeographic transition as well as barrier zone. Interdigitation of northern and southern flora elements, habitat fragmentation, geological and landscape history, and a high speciation rate due to rapid genetic radiation of some taxa contribute to a high degree of diversification. The mesoscale deals with the special environmental features of the eastern mountain range, the Cordillera Real and surrounding areas in southern Ecuador. Various climatic characteristics, the orographic heterogeneity, the geologic and edaphic conditions as well as human impact are the most prominent factors augmenting plant species diversity. On microscale, prevailing regimes of disturbance and environmental stresses, the orographic basement, as well as the general role on the various mountain chains are considered. Here, micro-habitats e.g. niches for epiphytes, effects of micro-relief patterns, and successions after small-sized disturbance events are screened. Direct effects of human impact are

The interplay of diversity training and diversity beliefs on team creativity in nationality diverse teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Homan, Astrid C; Buengeler, Claudia; Eckhoff, Robert A; van Ginkel, Wendy P; Voelpel, Sven C

2015-09-01

Attaining value from nationality diversity requires active diversity management, which organizations often employ in the form of diversity training programs. Interestingly, however, the previously reported effects of diversity training are often weak and, sometimes, even negative. This situation calls for research on the conditions under which diversity training helps or harms teams. We propose that diversity training can increase team creativity, but only for teams with less positive pretraining diversity beliefs (i.e., teams with a greater need for such training) and that are sufficiently diverse in nationality. Comparing the creativity of teams that attended nationality diversity training versus control training, we found that for teams with less positive diversity beliefs, diversity training increased creative performance when the team's nationality diversity was high, but undermined creativity when the team's nationality diversity was low. Diversity training had less impact on teams with more positive diversity beliefs, and training effects were not contingent upon these teams' diversity. Speaking to the underlying process, we showed that these interactive effects were driven by the experienced team efficacy of the team members. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for nationality diversity management. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Phylogeny, diversity and host specialization in the phylum Synergistetes with emphasis on strains and clones of human origin.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchandin, Hélène; Damay, Audrey; Roudière, Laurent; Teyssier, Corinne; Zorgniotti, Isabelle; Dechaud, Hervé; Jean-Pierre, Hélène; Jumas-Bilak, Estelle

2010-03-01

Members of the phylum Synergistetes have been demonstrated in several environmental ecosystems and mammalian microflorae by culture-independent methods. In the past few years, the clinical relevance of some uncultivated phylotypes has been demonstrated in endodontic infections, and uncultured Synergistetes have been demonstrated in human mouth, gut and skin microbiota. However, Synergistetes are rarely cultured from human samples, and only 17 isolates are currently reported. Twelve members of Synergistetes isolated in the course of various infectious processes, including 3 Jonquetella anthropi, 2 Cloacibacillus evryensis, 2 Pyramidobacter piscolens and 5 unidentified strains, as well as 56 clones obtained by specific PCR from the normal vaginal microflora, were studied. 16S rRNA gene-based phylogeny showed that the clones were grouped into 3 clusters, corresponding to the genus Jonquetella, P. piscolens and one novel Synergistetes taxon. The presence and diversity of Synergistetes were reported for the first time in the vaginal microflora. Synergistetes were found in healthy patients, suggesting that they could play a functional role in human microflorae, but may also act as opportunistic pathogens. Studying the phylogenetic relationships between environmental and mammalian strains and clones revealed clearly delineated independent lineages according to the origin of the sequences. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Diversity and antimicrobial susceptibility profiling of staphylococci isolated from bovine mastitis cases and close human contacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, T; Kock, M M; Ehlers, M M

2015-09-01

The objectives of this study were to examine the diversity of Staphylococcus spp. recovered from bovine intramammary infections and humans working in close contact with the animals and to evaluate the susceptibility of the staphylococcal isolates to different antimicrobials. A total of 3,387 milk samples and 79 human nasal swabs were collected from 13 sampling sites in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. In total, 146 Staph. aureus isolates and 102 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were recovered from clinical and subclinical milk samples. Staphylococcusaureus was isolated from 12 (15.2%) of the human nasal swabs and 95 representative CNS were recovered for further characterization. The CNS were identified using multiplex-PCR assays, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and tuf gene sequencing. Seven Staphylococcus spp. were identified among the CNS of bovine origin, with Staph.chromogenes (78.4%) predominating. The predominant CNS species recovered from the human nasal swabs was Staph.epidermidis (80%) followed by Staph.chromogenes (6.3%). The antimicrobial susceptibility of all staphylococcal isolates was evaluated using disk diffusion and was supplemented by screening for specific antimicrobial resistance genes. Ninety-eight (67.1%) Staph.aureus isolates of bovine origin were pansusceptible; 39 (26.7%) isolates were resistant to a single class, and 7 (4.8%) isolates were resistant to 2 classes of antimicrobials. Two Staph. aureus (1.4%) isolates were multidrug-resistant. Resistance to penicillin was common, with 28.8% of the bovine and 75% of the human Staph. aureus isolates exhibiting resistance. A similar observation was made with the CNS, where 37.3% of the bovine and 89.5% of the human isolates were resistant to penicillin. Multidrug-resistance was common among the human CNS, with 39% of the isolates exhibiting resistance to 3 or more classes of antimicrobials. The antimicrobial

Human Trafficking in the United States. Part II. Survey of U.S. Government Web Resources for Publications and Data

Science.gov (United States)

Panigabutra-Roberts, Anchalee

2012-01-01

This second part of a two-part series is a survey of U.S. government web resources on human trafficking in the United States, particularly of the online publications and data included on agencies' websites. Overall, the goal is to provide an introduction, an overview, and a guide on this topic for library staff to use in their research and…

Evolutionary dynamics under interactive diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Qi; Li, Aming; Wang, Long

2017-10-01

As evidenced by many cases in human societies, individuals often make different behavior decisions in different interactions, and adaptively adjust their behavior in changeable interactive scenarios. However, up to now, how such diverse interactive behavior affects cooperation dynamics has still remained unknown. Here we develop a general framework of interactive diversity, which models individuals’ separated behavior against distinct opponents and their adaptive adjustment in response to opponents’ strategies, to explore the evolution of cooperation. We find that interactive diversity enables individuals to reciprocate every single opponent, and thus sustains large-scale reciprocal interactions. Our work witnesses an impressive boost of cooperation for a notably extensive range of parameters and for all pairwise games. These results are robust against well-mixed and various networked populations, and against degree-normalized and cumulative payoff patterns. From the perspective of network dynamics, distinguished from individuals competing for nodes in most previous work, in this paper, the system evolves in the form of behavior disseminating along edges. We propose a theoretical method based on evolution of edges, which predicts well both the frequency of cooperation and the compact cooperation clusters. Our thorough investigation clarifies the positive role of interactive diversity in resolving social dilemmas and highlights the significance of understanding evolutionary dynamics from the viewpoint of edge dynamics.

The Right Mix? Gender Diversity in Top Management Teams and Organizational Outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Opstrup, Niels; Ryom Villadsen, Anders

Recent research has illustrated how human demographic diversity influences the outcomes of public sector organizations. Most studies focus on workforce diversity and little is known about how managerial diversity affects organizational outcomes. This study focuses on top management team gender...... diversity. Theory suggests that diversity can lead to varied outcomes. It may provide knowledge and new ideas used for organizational development. However, team diversity is likely to slow down decision making and make consensus more difficult to reach. In a longitudinal study of top management teams...... in Danish municipalities this study finds diversity to be associated with an increased use of contracting but also higher budgetary instabilities. These results are interpreted in light of existing theory and implications are suggested....

Characterization of cDNA for human tripeptidyl peptidase II: The N-terminal part of the enzyme is similar to subtilisin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomkinson, B.; Jonsson, A-K

1991-01-01

Tripeptidyl peptidase II is a high molecular weight serine exopeptidase, which has been purified from rat liver and human erythrocytes. Four clones, representing 4453 bp, or 90% of the mRNA of the human enzyme, have been isolated from two different cDNA libraries. One clone, designated A2, was obtained after screening a human B-lymphocyte cDNA library with a degenerated oligonucleotide mixture. The B-lymphocyte cDNA library, obtained from human fibroblasts, were rescreened with a 147 bp fragment from the 5' part of the A2 clone, whereby three different overlapping cDNA clones could be isolated. The deduced amino acid sequence, 1196 amino acid residues, corresponding to the longest open rading frame of the assembled nucleotide sequence, was compared to sequences of current databases. This revealed a 56% similarity between the bacterial enzyme subtilisin and the N-terminal part of tripeptidyl peptidase II. The enzyme was found to be represented by two different mRNAs of 4.2 and 5.0 kilobases, respectively, which probably result from the utilziation of two different polyadenylation sites. Futhermore, cDNA corresponding to both the N-terminal and C-terminal part of tripeptidyl peptidase II hybridized with genomic DNA from mouse, horse, calf, and hen, even under fairly high stringency conditions, indicating that tripeptidyl peptidase II is highly conserved

Conserving forest biological diversity: How the Montreal Process helps achieve sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Mark Nelson; Guy Robertson; Kurt. Riitters

2015-01-01

Forests support a variety of ecosystems, species and genes — collectively referred to as biological diversity — along with important processes that tie these all together. With the growing recognition that biological diversity contributes to human welfare in a number of important ways such as providing food, medicine and fiber (provisioning services...

Does staff diversity imply openness to diversity?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

2013-01-01

Purpose – Post-secondary educational organizations are currently some of the most diverse settings to be found. However, few educational studies have dealt with staff diversity and hardly any has looked outside the USA. The purpose of this paper is to present a study of members of international...... university departments in Denmark. The authors set out to investigate the relationship between different types of staff diversity and openness to diversity in terms of linguistic, visible, value, and informational heterogeneity. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses responses from 489 staff members......, was unrelated or negatively associated with positive diversity attitudes. Originality/value – Few studies deal with the role of staff diversity and no prior studies the authors know of have examined the link between diversity types and openness to diversity....

Increasing student diversity and cultural competence as part of Loma Linda University School of Dentistry's service mission.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnett, Margie R; Forde, Ron

2012-06-01

For many years, studies have identified a need for greater racial and ethnic diversity among dental professionals. However, the ability of the field to collectively address the problem has been hindered by the low numbers of underrepresented minority students who apply to dental school. Over the past two decades, college attendance rates have increased and U.S. dental school applications have tripled, but the number of underrepresented minority dental applicants has remained about the same. With the increasing diversity of the U.S. population and specifically that of the state of California, the dental workforce would be enhanced by the presence of more underrepresented minority dentists. Additionally, curricular changes should be implemented to better prepare dental students to meet the oral health care needs of diverse populations. There is general agreement that these workforce and curricular changes would enhance access to care for underserved populations. For seven years, Loma Linda University School of Dentistry participated in the Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education program. The first phase of this national program addressed deficiencies in diversity in dentistry and in access to oral health care. In the second phase, Loma Linda University continued to collaborate with other California dental schools on specific state initiatives. This article provides an overview of the school's efforts to enroll a more diverse student body, enhance all its students' cultural competence, and expand care to underserved populations.

Part C and Part D Compliance Actions

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This page includes results from CMSs Past Performance Review. The report called Spring 2014 Past Performance Review Outlier Results lists MA organizations and Part D...

Patterns of species richness and diversity of insects associated with cucurbit fruits in the southern part of Cameroon.

Science.gov (United States)

Mokam, Didi Gaëlle; Djiéto-Lordon, Champlain; Bilong Bilong, Charles-Félix

2014-01-01

Patterns of species diversity and community structure of insects associated with fruits of domesticated cucurbits were investigated from January 2009 to 2011 in three localities from two agroecological zones in the southern part of Cameroon. Rarefaction curves combined with nonparametric estimators of species richness were used to extrapolate species richness beyond our own data. Sampling efforts of over 92% were reached in each of the three study localities. Data collected revealed a total of 66 insect morphospecies belonging to 37 families and five orders, identified from a set of 57,510 insects. The orders Diptera (especially Tephritidae and Lonchaeidae) and Hymenoptera (mainly Braconidae and Eulophidae) were the most important, in terms of both abundance and species richness on the one hand, and effects on agronomic performance on the other. Values for both the species diversity (Shannon and Simpson) and the species richness indices (Margalef and Berger-Parker) calculated showed that the insect communities were species-rich but dominated, all to a similar extent, by five main species (including four fruit fly species and one parasitoid). Species abundance distributions in these communities ranged from the Zipf-Mandelbrot to Mandelbrot models. The communities are structured as tritrophic networks, including cucurbit fruits, fruit-feeding species (fruit flies) and carnivorous species (parasitoids). Within the guild of the parasitoids, about 30% of species, despite their low abundance, may potentially be of use in biological control of important pests. Our field data contribute in important ways to basic knowledge of biodiversity patterns in agrosystems and constitute baseline data for the planned implementation of biological control in Integrated Pest Management. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

Diversity

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Portraits In Courage Vol. VIII Portraits In Courage Vol. IX Portraits In Courage Vol. X AF Sites Social -Wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce Executive Order 13548 : Virtual Diversity Conference Air Force Diversity & Inclusion Air Force Diversity Graphic There is no

New experimental diffractive-optical data on E.Land's Retinex mechanism in human color vision: Part II

Science.gov (United States)

Lauinger, N.

2007-09-01

A better understanding of the color constancy mechanism in human color vision [7] can be reached through analyses of photometric data of all illuminants and patches (Mondrians or other visible objects) involved in visual experiments. In Part I [3] and in [4, 5 and 6] the integration in the human eye of the geometrical-optical imaging hardware and the diffractive-optical hardware has been described and illustrated (Fig.1). This combined hardware represents the main topic of the NAMIROS research project (nano- and micro- 3D gratings for optical sensors) [8] promoted and coordinated by Corrsys 3D Sensors AG. The hardware relevant to (photopic) human color vision can be described as a diffractive or interference-optical correlator transforming incident light into diffractive-optical RGB data and relating local RGB onto global RGB data in the near-field behind the 'inverted' human retina. The relative differences at local/global RGB interference-optical contrasts are available to photoreceptors (cones and rods) only after this optical pre-processing.

College and university environmental programs as a policy problem (Part 2): Strategies for improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, S.G.; Rutherford, M.B.; Auer, M.R.; Cherney, D.N.; Wallace, R.L.; Mattson, D.J.; Clark, D.A.; Foote, L.; Krogman, N.; Wilshusen, P.; Steelman, T.

2011-01-01

Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and universities seek to ameliorate environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. In a companion article (Part 1) we describe the environmental program movement (EPM) and discuss factors that have hindered its performance. Here, we complete our analysis by proposing strategies for improvement. We recommend that environmental programs re-organize around three principles. First, adopt as an overriding goal the concept of human dignity-defined as freedom and social justice in healthy, sustainable environments. This clear higher-order goal captures the human and environmental aspirations of the EPM and would provide a more coherent direction for the efforts of diverse participants. Second, employ an explicit, genuinely interdisciplinary analytical framework that facilitates the use of multiple methods to investigate and address environmental and social problems in context. Third, develop educational programs and applied experiences that provide students with the technical knowledge, powers of observation, critical thinking skills and management acumen required for them to become effective professionals and leaders. Organizing around these three principles would build unity in the EPM while at the same time capitalizing on the strengths of the many disciplines and diverse local conditions involved. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Human-Like Behavior of Robot Arms: General Considerations and the Handwriting Task-Part I: Mathematical Description of Human-Like Motion: Distributed Positioning and Virtual Fatigue

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Potkonjak, V.; Tzafestas, S.; Kostic, D.; Djordjevic, G.

2001-01-01

This two-part paper is concerned with the analysis and achievement of human-like behavior by robot arms (manipulators). The analysis involves three issues: (i) the resolution of the inverse kinematics problem of redundant robots, (ii) the separation of the end-effector's motion into two components,

Pediatric fecal microbiota harbor diverse and novel antibiotic resistance genes.

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Aimée M Moore

Full Text Available Emerging antibiotic resistance threatens human health. Gut microbes are an epidemiologically important reservoir of resistance genes (resistome, yet prior studies indicate that the true diversity of gut-associated resistomes has been underestimated. To deeply characterize the pediatric gut-associated resistome, we created metagenomic recombinant libraries in an Escherichia coli host using fecal DNA from 22 healthy infants and children (most without recent antibiotic exposure, and performed functional selections for resistance to 18 antibiotics from eight drug classes. Resistance-conferring DNA fragments were sequenced (Illumina HiSeq 2000, and reads assembled and annotated with the PARFuMS computational pipeline. Resistance to 14 of the 18 antibiotics was found in stools of infants and children. Recovered genes included chloramphenicol acetyltransferases, drug-resistant dihydrofolate reductases, rRNA methyltransferases, transcriptional regulators, multidrug efflux pumps, and every major class of beta-lactamase, aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme, and tetracycline resistance protein. Many resistance-conferring sequences were mobilizable; some had low identity to any known organism, emphasizing cryptic organisms as potentially important resistance reservoirs. We functionally confirmed three novel resistance genes, including a 16S rRNA methylase conferring aminoglycoside resistance, and two tetracycline-resistance proteins nearly identical to a bifidobacterial MFS transporter (B. longum s. longum JDM301. We provide the first report to our knowledge of resistance to folate-synthesis inhibitors conferred by a predicted Nudix hydrolase (part of the folate synthesis pathway. This functional metagenomic survey of gut-associated resistomes, the largest of its kind to date, demonstrates that fecal resistomes of healthy children are far more diverse than previously suspected, that clinically relevant resistance genes are present even without recent selective

Weed flora of University of Benin in terms of diversity and richness ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Weeds are as important as man to himself and its environment. Weed flora in terms of diversity and richness of University of Benin, Ugbowo campus were determined from four habitable parts using two ecological models: Margalef species richness (d) and Shannon-Wiener diversity (H). Primary data were collected from an ...

Characterization of Human Cytomegalovirus Genome Diversity in Immunocompromised Hosts by Whole-Genome Sequencing Directly From Clinical Specimens.

Science.gov (United States)

Hage, Elias; Wilkie, Gavin S; Linnenweber-Held, Silvia; Dhingra, Akshay; Suárez, Nicolás M; Schmidt, Julius J; Kay-Fedorov, Penelope C; Mischak-Weissinger, Eva; Heim, Albert; Schwarz, Anke; Schulz, Thomas F; Davison, Andrew J; Ganzenmueller, Tina

2017-06-01

Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies allow comprehensive studies of genetic diversity over the entire genome of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a significant pathogen for immunocompromised individuals. Next-generation sequencing was performed on target enriched sequence libraries prepared directly from a variety of clinical specimens (blood, urine, breast milk, respiratory samples, biopsies, and vitreous humor) obtained longitudinally or from different anatomical compartments from 20 HCMV-infected patients (renal transplant recipients, stem cell transplant recipients, and congenitally infected children). De novo-assembled HCMV genome sequences were obtained for 57 of 68 sequenced samples. Analysis of longitudinal or compartmental HCMV diversity revealed various patterns: no major differences were detected among longitudinal, intraindividual blood samples from 9 of 15 patients and in most of the patients with compartmental samples, whereas a switch of the major HCMV population was observed in 6 individuals with sequential blood samples and upon compartmental analysis of 1 patient with HCMV retinitis. Variant analysis revealed additional aspects of minor virus population dynamics and antiviral-resistance mutations. In immunosuppressed patients, HCMV can remain relatively stable or undergo drastic genomic changes that are suggestive of the emergence of minor resident strains or de novo infection. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Academic staff involvement and openness to diversity in international educational organisations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Selmer, Jan; Lauring, Jakob; Jonasson, Charlotte

2013-01-01

Joint work among academic staff is important for solving the ever-increasing number of complex tasks that are becoming part of everyday activities in higher education. At the same time, diversification and internationalisation may challenge collaboration processes and communication demands. Speak...... level types of diversity (linguistic and visible) but no effect on openness to deep-level types of diversity (informational and value).......Joint work among academic staff is important for solving the ever-increasing number of complex tasks that are becoming part of everyday activities in higher education. At the same time, diversification and internationalisation may challenge collaboration processes and communication demands....... Speaking a shared language consistently could be a way of overcoming problems. Hence, this study focuses on the effect of shared language among academic staff on the relation between academic staff involvement in work processes and openness to diversity. This study draws on data from 489 Danish academic...

Communities of microbial eukaryotes in the mammalian gut within the context of environmental eukaryotic diversity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parfrey, Laura Wegener; Walters, William A.; Lauber, Christian L.; Clemente, Jose C.; Berg-Lyons, Donna; Teiling, Clotilde; Kodira, Chinnappa; Mohiuddin, Mohammed; Brunelle, Julie; Driscoll, Mark; Fierer, Noah; Gilbert, Jack A.; Knight, Rob

2014-06-19

Eukaryotic microbes (protists) residing in the vertebrate gut influence host health and disease, but their diversity and distribution in healthy hosts is poorly understood. Protists found in the gut are typically considered parasites, but many are commensal and some are beneficial. Further, the hygiene hypothesis predicts that association with our co-evolved microbial symbionts may be important to overall health. It is therefore imperative that we understand the normal diversity of our eukaryotic gut microbiota to test for such effects and avoid eliminating commensal organisms. We assembled a dataset of healthy individuals from two populations, one with traditional, agrarian lifestyles and a second with modern, westernized lifestyles, and characterized the human eukaryotic microbiota via high-throughput sequencing. To place the human gut microbiota within a broader context our dataset also includes gut samples from diverse mammals and samples from other aquatic and terrestrial environments. We curated the SILVA ribosomal database to reflect current knowledge of eukaryotic taxonomy and employ it as a phylogenetic framework to compare eukaryotic diversity across environment. We show that adults from the non-western population harbor a diverse community of protists, and diversity in the human gut is comparable to that in other mammals. However, the eukaryotic microbiota of the western population appears depauperate. The distribution of symbionts found in mammals reflects both host phylogeny and diet. Eukaryotic microbiota in the gut are less diverse and more patchily distributed than bacteria. More broadly, we show that eukaryotic communities in the gut are less diverse than in aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and few taxa are shared across habitat types, and diversity patterns of eukaryotes are correlated with those observed for bacteria. These results outline the distribution and diversity of microbial eukaryotic communities in the mammalian gut and across

Loss of Genetic Diversity of Jatropha curcas L. through Domestication: Implications for Its Genetic Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sanou, Haby; Angel Angulo-Escalante, Miguel; Martinez-Herrera, Jorge

2015-01-01

Jatropha curcas L. has been promoted as a “miracle” tree in many parts of the world, but recent studies have indicated very low levels of genetic diversity in various landraces. In this study, the genetic diversity of landrace collections of J. curcas was compared with the genetic diversity...

Comparison of avifaunal diversity in and around Neora Valley National Park, West Bengal, India

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U.S. Roy

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Anthropogenic intervention has led to conversion of much of the global diversity by means of habitat alterations. The present study was carried out to investigate the importance of habitat quality and habitat heterogeneity for the diversity, distribution and abundance of avifauna in and around Neora Valley National Park (NVNP during April-May 2010. A total of 73 bird species belonging to 25 families were recorded during the present study applying a modified point count method. Forest edges were found to be most diverse with a total count of 54 bird species having an abundance of 172.53 number of birds ha-1. Study areas with human settlements was represented by a total species count of 24 with an abundance of 130.39 number of birds ha-1 while a total species count of 22 with an abundance of 69.32 number of birds ha-1 was recorded from thick vegetation assemblage with close canopy cover. This site specific occurrence pattern for avifauna was reflected in the study of diversity indices. The highest Shannon-Wiener general diversity score of 3.77 was recorded for bird species from forest edges. Study areas with dense canopy closure were found to support more habitat specialist bird species while areas having human settlements harboured more opportunistic bird species. An overall negative influence of human settlements on bird diversity, distribution and abundance was evidenced from the present study and needs further investigation. Moreover, intensive studies will certainly enrich our knowledge of avian diversity and distribution pattern from the present study location.

Impacts of Urban Areas and Their Characteristics on Avian Functional Diversity

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Emily Oliveira Hagen

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Urban development is rapidly expanding across the globe and is a major driver of environmental change. Despite considerable improvements in our understanding of how species richness responds to urbanization, there is still insufficient knowledge of how other measures of assemblage composition and structure respond to urban development. Functional diversity metrics provide a useful approach for quantifying ecological function. We compare avian functional diversity in 25 urban areas, located across the globe, with paired non-urban assemblages using a database of 27 functional traits that capture variation in resource use (amount and type of resources and how they are acquired across the 529 species occurring across these assemblages. Using three standard functional diversity metrics (FD, MNTD, and convex hull we quantify observed functional diversity and, using standardized effect sizes, how this diverges from that expected under random community assembly null models. We use regression trees to investigate whether human population density, amount of vegetation and city size (spatial extent of urban land, bio-region and use of semi-natural or agricultural assemblages as a baseline modulate the effect of urbanization on functional diversity. Our analyses suggest that observed functional diversity of urban avian assemblages is not consistently different from that of non-urban assemblages. After accounting for species richness avian functional diversity is higher in cities than areas of semi-natural habitat. This creates a paradox as species responses to urban development are determined by their ecological traits, which should generate assemblages clustered within a narrow range of trait space. Greater habitat diversity within cities compared to semi-natural areas dominated by a single habitat may enhance functional diversity in cities and explain this paradox. Regression trees further suggest that smaller urban areas, lower human population densities

Amateur Telescope Making in the Internet Age Finding Parts, Getting Help, and More

CERN Document Server

Clark, Robert L

2011-01-01

The Internet Age is changing everything about human invention and the use of technology. The change has been compared to that of the introduction of printing. Making your own telescope isn’t what it used to be, either, thanks partly to the Internet. The old days of grinding and polishing are gone – unless you want to do it! You can now assemble a great instrument from a wide range of affordable Internet-available components, new or used. The Internet is the new parts “junkyard,” with stuff from all over the world for you to pick through, day or night. In this book you will find out what’s generally available and how to access it. You will learn how to evaluate optical components and combine them from diverse Internet sources. You will get many ideas on how to make the parts that you don’t buy or scrounge and how to restore old lenses and mirrors. And you will learn some elementary physics of designing ergonomic – comfortable – telescopes. Navigating your way around the possibilities is easy us...

Learning How to "Swallow the World": Engaging with Human Difference in Culturally Diverse Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

van Oord, Lodewijk; Corn, Ken

2013-01-01

The perception of culture prevailing in the literature on international and intercultural education is often too limited to be effectively utilized by educators who wish to embrace the diversity in their classrooms. Only by reimagining the notions of "culture" and "cultural diversity" and by liberating them from the rigidities of dominant…

On the classification and evolution of endogenous retrovirus: human endogenous retroviruses may not be 'human' after all.

Science.gov (United States)

Escalera-Zamudio, Marina; Greenwood, Alex D

2016-01-01

Retroviruses, as part of their replication cycle, become integrated into the genome of their host. When this occurs in the germline the integrated proviruses can become an endogenous retrovirus (ERV) which may eventually become fixed in the population. ERVs are present in the genomes of all vertebrates including humans, where more than 50 groups of human endogenous retrovirus (HERVs) have been described within the last 30 years. Despite state-of-the-art genomic tools available for retroviral discovery and the large number of retroviral sequences described to date, there are still gaps in understanding retroviral macroevolutionary patterns and host-retrovirus interactions and a lack of a coherent systematic classification particularly for HERVs. Here, we discuss the current knowledge on ERV (and HERV) classification, distribution and origins focusing on the role of cross-species transmission in retroviral diversity. © 2016 APMIS. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Comprehensive, Ethnically Diverse Library of Sickle Cell Disease-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

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Seonmi Park

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Summary: Sickle cell anemia affects millions of people worldwide and is an emerging global health burden. As part of a large NIH-funded NextGen Consortium, we generated a diverse, comprehensive, and fully characterized library of sickle-cell-disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs from patients of different ethnicities, β-globin gene (HBB haplotypes, and fetal hemoglobin (HbF levels. iPSCs stand to revolutionize the way we study human development, model disease, and perhaps eventually, treat patients. Here, we describe this unique resource for the study of sickle cell disease, including novel haplotype-specific polymorphisms that affect disease severity, as well as for the development of patient-specific therapeutics for this phenotypically diverse disorder. As a complement to this library, and as proof of principle for future cell- and gene-based therapies, we also designed and employed CRISPR/Cas gene editing tools to correct the sickle hemoglobin (HbS mutation. : In this resource article, Mostoslavsky, Murphy, and colleagues of the NextGen consortium describe a diverse, comprehensive, and characterized library of sickle cell disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs from patients of different ethnicities, β-globin gene (HBB haplotypes and fetal hemoglobin (HbF levels. This bank is readily available and accessible to all investigators. Keywords: induced pluripotent stem cells, iPSCs, sickle cell disease, disease modeling, directed differentiation, gene correction

Genomic diversity of Lactobacillus salivarius

OpenAIRE

Raftis, Emma J.

2015-01-01

Lactobacillus salivarius is unusual among the lactobacilli due to its multireplicon genome architecture. The circular megaplasmids harboured by L. salivarius strains encode strain-specific traits for intestinal survival and probiotic activity. L. salivarius strains are increasingly being exploited for their probiotic properties in humans and animals. In terms of probiotic strain selection, it is important to have an understanding of the level of genomic diversity present in this species. Comp...

Analysis of genetic diversity in Bolivian llama populations using microsatellites.

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Barreta, J; Gutiérrez-Gil, B; Iñiguez, V; Romero, F; Saavedra, V; Chiri, R; Rodríguez, T; Arranz, J J

2013-08-01

South American camelids (SACs) have a major role in the maintenance and potential future of rural Andean human populations. More than 60% of the 3.7 million llamas living worldwide are found in Bolivia. Due to the lack of studies focusing on genetic diversity in Bolivian llamas, this analysis investigates both the genetic diversity and structure of 12 regional groups of llamas that span the greater part of the range of distribution for this species in Bolivia. The analysis of 42 microsatellite markers in the considered regional groups showed that, in general, there were high levels of polymorphism (a total of 506 detected alleles; average PIC across per marker: 0.66), which are comparable with those reported for other populations of domestic SACs. The estimated diversity parameters indicated that there was high intrapopulational genetic variation (average number of alleles and average expected heterozygosity per marker: 12.04 and 0.68, respectively) and weak genetic differentiation among populations (FST range: 0.003-0.052). In agreement with these estimates, Bolivian llamas showed a weak genetic structure and an intense gene flow between all the studied regional groups, which is due to the exchange of reproductive males between the different flocks. Interestingly, the groups for which the largest pairwise FST estimates were observed, Sud Lípez and Nor Lípez, showed a certain level of genetic differentiation that is probably due to the pattern of geographic isolation and limited communication infrastructures of these southern localities. Overall, the population parameters reported here may serve as a reference when establishing conservation policies that address Bolivian llama populations. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Diversity in the glucose transporter-4 gene (SLC2A4 in humans reflects the action of natural selection along the old-world primates evolution.

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Eduardo Tarazona-Santos

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Glucose is an important source of energy for living organisms. In vertebrates it is ingested with the diet and transported into the cells by conserved mechanisms and molecules, such as the trans-membrane Glucose Transporters (GLUTs. Members of this family have tissue specific expression, biochemical properties and physiologic functions that together regulate glucose levels and distribution. GLUT4 -coded by SLC2A4 (17p13 is an insulin-sensitive transporter with a critical role in glucose homeostasis and diabetes pathogenesis, preferentially expressed in the adipose tissue, heart muscle and skeletal muscle. We tested the hypothesis that natural selection acted on SLC2A4. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We re-sequenced SLC2A4 and genotyped 104 SNPs along a approximately 1 Mb region flanking this gene in 102 ethnically diverse individuals. Across the studied populations (African, European, Asian and Latin-American, all the eight common SNPs are concentrated in the N-terminal region upstream of exon 7 ( approximately 3700 bp, while the C-terminal region downstream of intron 6 ( approximately 2600 bp harbors only 6 singletons, a pattern that is not compatible with neutrality for this part of the gene. Tests of neutrality based on comparative genomics suggest that: (1 episodes of natural selection (likely a selective sweep predating the coalescent of human lineages, within the last 25 million years, account for the observed reduced diversity downstream of intron 6 and, (2 the target of natural selection may not be in the SLC2A4 coding sequence. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that the contrast in the pattern of genetic variation between the N-terminal and C-terminal regions are signatures of the action of natural selection and thus follow-up studies should investigate the functional importance of different regions of the SLC2A4 gene.

Institutional Barriers to Diversity Change Work in Higher Education

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Craig M. Elliott

2013-05-01

Full Text Available While the concepts related to diversity and inclusion are commonly found as part of universities’ mission and vision, implementing these concepts into practice can present a challenge. This study identified discrepancies between concepts and practice of diversity and inclusion at a multidisciplinary health sciences university. The results indicated that participants experienced inclusion along a range of engagement. Hispanic/Latino students, faculty, and staff as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students and staff experienced disparaging behavior on a regular basis at the University, which contributed to fear. The results demonstrate barriers to the inclusion efforts and indicate that the university must bridge the gap between diversity concepts and practice.

Practical exercises in diversity

CERN Multimedia

Anaïs Schaeffer

2013-01-01

On 4 July, the Bulletin took part in an interactive workshop in the framework of the CERN Diversity programme. And it was time very well spent. Read on…   Discussion on the theme "unconscious bias". The participants begin to gather in the Pump Room (Building 2016) around 1.30 p.m. With name-tags stuck to our chests, we take our places at Table 7, which we now realise we selected for ourselves at random. Some people have already arrived, and after some tentative, courteous introductions, the atmosphere at the “sevens table” begins to warm up. A few minutes later, the workshop begins. Alan Richter, CEO of HR consultancy firm QED Consulting is the Master of Ceremonies. First exercise, “the circle”, or how to prove that diversity starts right under your nose. Skiers to the left, non-skiers to the right. The overwhelming majority are skiers. How do the non-skiers feel about finding themselves in the minority? Uncomfortable? Exc...

Diversity to Inclusion: Expanding Workplace Capability Thinking around Aboriginal Career Progression

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Kaye

2015-01-01

Optimally all individuals should contribute fully to the collective spirit and human capital within the workplace, supporting and enabling the development of a mature workforce. Human resource policies endeavour to address diversity and inclusion in the workplace through a variety of methodologies including training and professional development…

Cumulative cultural learning: Development and diversity

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

The complexity and variability of human culture is unmatched by any other species. Humans live in culturally constructed niches filled with artifacts, skills, beliefs, and practices that have been inherited, accumulated, and modified over generations. A causal account of the complexity of human culture must explain its distinguishing characteristics: It is cumulative and highly variable within and across populations. I propose that the psychological adaptations supporting cumulative cultural transmission are universal but are sufficiently flexible to support the acquisition of highly variable behavioral repertoires. This paper describes variation in the transmission practices (teaching) and acquisition strategies (imitation) that support cumulative cultural learning in childhood. Examining flexibility and variation in caregiver socialization and children’s learning extends our understanding of evolution in living systems by providing insight into the psychological foundations of cumulative cultural transmission—the cornerstone of human cultural diversity. PMID:28739945

Cumulative cultural learning: Development and diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Legare, Cristine H

2017-07-24

The complexity and variability of human culture is unmatched by any other species. Humans live in culturally constructed niches filled with artifacts, skills, beliefs, and practices that have been inherited, accumulated, and modified over generations. A causal account of the complexity of human culture must explain its distinguishing characteristics: It is cumulative and highly variable within and across populations. I propose that the psychological adaptations supporting cumulative cultural transmission are universal but are sufficiently flexible to support the acquisition of highly variable behavioral repertoires. This paper describes variation in the transmission practices (teaching) and acquisition strategies (imitation) that support cumulative cultural learning in childhood. Examining flexibility and variation in caregiver socialization and children's learning extends our understanding of evolution in living systems by providing insight into the psychological foundations of cumulative cultural transmission-the cornerstone of human cultural diversity.

MIRU-VNTR genotype diversity and indications of homoplasy in M. avium strains isolated from humans and slaughter pigs in Latvia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalvisa, Adrija; Tsirogiannis, Constantinos; Silamikelis, Ivars; Skenders, Girts; Broka, Lonija; Zirnitis, Agris; Jansone, Inta; Ranka, Renate

2016-09-01

Diseases which are caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are an increasing problem in the developed countries. In Latvia, one of the most clinically important members of NTM is Mycobacterium avium (M. avium), an opportunistic pathogen which has been isolated from several lung disease patients and tissue samples of slaughter pigs. This study was designed to characterize the genetic diversity of the M. avium isolates in Latvia and to compare the distribution of genotypic patterns among humans and pigs. Eleven (Hall and Salipante, 2010) clinical M. avium samples, isolated from patients of Center of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (years 2003-2010), and 32 isolates from pig necrotic mesenterial lymph nodes in different regions (years 2003-2007) were analyzed. The majority (42 of 43) of samples were identified as M. avium subsp. hominissuis; one porcine isolate belonged to M. avium subsp. avium. MIRU-VNTR genotyping revealed 13 distinct genotypes, among which nine genotype patterns, including M. avium subsp. avium isolate, were newly identified. IS1245 RFLP fingerprinting of 25 M. avium subsp. hominissuis samples yielded 17 different IS1245 RFLP patterns, allowing an efficient discrimination of isolates. Clusters of identical RFLP profiles were observed within host species, geographical locations and time frame of several years. Additional in silico analysis on simulated MIRU-VNTR genotype population datasets showed that the MIRU-VNTR pattern similarity could partly arise due to probabilistic increase of acquiring homoplasy among subpopulations, thus the similar MIRU-VNTR profiles of M. avium strains even in close geographical proximity should be interpreted with caution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding the heavy-tailed dynamics in human behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Gordon J.; Jones, Tim

2015-06-01

The recent availability of electronic data sets containing large volumes of communication data has made it possible to study human behavior on a larger scale than ever before. From this, it has been discovered that across a diverse range of data sets, the interevent times between consecutive communication events obey heavy-tailed power law dynamics. Explaining this has proved controversial, and two distinct hypotheses have emerged. The first holds that these power laws are fundamental, and arise from the mechanisms such as priority queuing that humans use to schedule tasks. The second holds that they are statistical artifacts which only occur in aggregated data when features such as circadian rhythms and burstiness are ignored. We use a large social media data set to test these hypotheses, and find that although models that incorporate circadian rhythms and burstiness do explain part of the observed heavy tails, there is residual unexplained heavy-tail behavior which suggests a more fundamental cause. Based on this, we develop a quantitative model of human behavior which improves on existing approaches and gives insight into the mechanisms underlying human interactions.

Enzyme structure, enzyme function and allozyme diversity in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In estimates of population genetic diversity based on allozyme heterozygosity, some enzymes are regularly more variable than others. Evolutionary theory suggests that functionally less important molecules, or parts of molecules, evolve more rapidly than more important ones; the latter enzymes should then theoretically be ...

Conserved Patterns of Microbial Immune Escape: Pathogenic Microbes of Diverse Origin Target the Human Terminal Complement Inhibitor Vitronectin via a Single Common Motif.

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Teresia Hallström

Full Text Available Pathogenicity of many microbes relies on their capacity to resist innate immunity, and to survive and persist in an immunocompetent human host microbes have developed highly efficient and sophisticated complement evasion strategies. Here we show that different human pathogens including Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, acquire the human terminal complement regulator vitronectin to their surface. By using truncated vitronectin fragments we found that all analyzed microbial pathogens (n = 13 bound human vitronectin via the same C-terminal heparin-binding domain (amino acids 352-374. This specific interaction leaves the terminal complement complex (TCC regulatory region of vitronectin accessible, allowing inhibition of C5b-7 membrane insertion and C9 polymerization. Vitronectin complexed with the various microbes and corresponding proteins was thus functionally active and inhibited complement-mediated C5b-9 deposition. Taken together, diverse microbial pathogens expressing different structurally unrelated vitronectin-binding molecules interact with host vitronectin via the same conserved region to allow versatile control of the host innate immune response.

Phylogeographic Diversity of Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic Hantaviruses in Slovenia

Science.gov (United States)

Korva, Miša; Knap, Nataša; Resman Rus, Katarina; Fajs, Luka; Grubelnik, Gašper; Bremec, Matejka; Knapič, Tea; Trilar, Tomi; Avšič Županc, Tatjana

2013-01-01

Slovenia is a very diverse country from a natural geography point of view, with many different habitats within a relatively small area, in addition to major geological and climatic differences. It is therefore not surprising that several small mammal species have been confirmed to harbour hantaviruses: A. flavicollis (Dobrava virus), A. agrarius (Dobrava virus–Kurkino), M. glareolus (Puumala virus), S. areanus (Seewis virus), M. agrestis, M. arvalis and M. subterraneus (Tula virus). Three of the viruses, namely the Dobrava, Dobrava–Kurkino and Puumala viruses, cause disease in humans, with significant differences in the severity of symptoms. Due to changes in haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome cases (HFRS) epidemiology, a detailed study on phylogenetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses circulating in ecologically diverse endemic regions was performed. The study presents one of the largest collections of hantavirus L, M and S sequences obtained from hosts and patients within a single country. Several genetic lineages were determined for each hantavirus species, with higher diversity among non-pathogenic compared to pathogenic viruses. For pathogenic hantaviruses, a significant geographic clustering of human- and rodent-derived sequences was confirmed. Several geographic and ecological factors were recognized as influencing and limiting the formation of endemic areas. PMID:24335778

The CSI Academy: Encouraging Diverse Students to Consider Science Careers and Science Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Kaye, Karen; Turner, John F.; Emigh, James

2011-01-01

The CSI academies employed a multi-layered, collaborative approach to encourage diverse students to consider STEM careers, including science teaching. The academies recruited a diverse group of high school students. This was due, in large part, to the creation of a unique selection process that identified students with unrealized potential. The…

Big Five Personality Factors and Facets as Predictors of Openness to Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Suejung; Pistole, M Carole

2017-11-17

Openness to diversity is a crucial component of cultural competence needed in the increasingly diversified modern society and a necessary condition for benefitting from diversity contacts and interventions (e.g., diversity training, cultural courses). Responding to the recent call for more research on personality and its relation to diversity outcomes, we examined the associations between Big Five personality (i.e., Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness) higher order factors and lower order facets and universal-diverse orientation (i.e., open attitude of appreciating human universality and diversity; Miville et al., 1999 ). In the Study 1 (N = 338) web survey on Big Five factors, Openness to Experience and Agreeableness were associated with universal-diverse orientation significantly. In the Study 2 (N = 176) paper survey on both Big Five factors and facets, Openness to Experience, low Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness, and various lower-order facets of all the Big Five personality were associated with universal-diverse orientation significantly. Practical implications were suggested on how personality facets could be incorporated into current diversity interventions to enhance their effectiveness of promoting openness to diversity.

The origin of human complex diversity: Stochastic epistatic modules and the intrinsic compatibility between distributional robustness and phenotypic changeability.

Science.gov (United States)

Ijichi, Shinji; Ijichi, Naomi; Ijichi, Yukina; Imamura, Chikako; Sameshima, Hisami; Kawaike, Yoichi; Morioka, Hirofumi

2018-01-01

The continuing prevalence of a highly heritable and hypo-reproductive extreme tail of a human neurobehavioral quantitative diversity suggests the possibility that the reproductive majority retains the genetic mechanism for the extremes. From the perspective of stochastic epistasis, the effect of an epistatic modifier variant can randomly vary in both phenotypic value and effect direction among the careers depending on the genetic individuality, and the modifier careers are ubiquitous in the population distribution. The neutrality of the mean genetic effect in the careers warrants the survival of the variant under selection pressures. Functionally or metabolically related modifier variants make an epistatic network module and dozens of modules may be involved in the phenotype. To assess the significance of stochastic epistasis, a simplified module-based model was employed. The individual repertoire of the modifier variants in a module also participates in the genetic individuality which determines the genetic contribution of each modifier in the career. Because the entire contribution of a module to the phenotypic outcome is consequently unpredictable in the model, the module effect represents the total contribution of the related modifiers as a stochastic unit in the simulations. As a result, the intrinsic compatibility between distributional robustness and quantitative changeability could mathematically be simulated using the model. The artificial normal distribution shape in large-sized simulations was preserved in each generation even if the lowest fitness tail was un-reproductive. The robustness of normality beyond generations is analogous to the real situations of human complex diversity including neurodevelopmental conditions. The repeated regeneration of the un-reproductive extreme tail may be inevitable for the reproductive majority's competence to survive and change, suggesting implications of the extremes for others. Further model-simulations to

CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES

OpenAIRE

Flavian Clipa; Raluca Irina Clipa

2009-01-01

When the multinational firms employ human resources from different countries they have to submit to the restrictions concerning cultural differences. The paper is an attempt to show how the human resource management administrates these cultural differences.

The human noncoding genome defined by genetic diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

di Iulio, Julia; Bartha, Istvan; Wong, Emily H M; Yu, Hung-Chun; Lavrenko, Victor; Yang, Dongchan; Jung, Inkyung; Hicks, Michael A; Shah, Naisha; Kirkness, Ewen F; Fabani, Martin M; Biggs, William H; Ren, Bing; Venter, J Craig; Telenti, Amalio

2018-03-01

Understanding the significance of genetic variants in the noncoding genome is emerging as the next challenge in human genomics. We used the power of 11,257 whole-genome sequences and 16,384 heptamers (7-nt motifs) to build a map of sequence constraint for the human species. This build differed substantially from traditional maps of interspecies conservation and identified regulatory elements among the most constrained regions of the genome. Using new Hi-C experimental data, we describe a strong pattern of coordination over 2 Mb where the most constrained regulatory elements associate with the most essential genes. Constrained regions of the noncoding genome are up to 52-fold enriched for known pathogenic variants as compared to unconstrained regions (21-fold when compared to the genome average). This map of sequence constraint across thousands of individuals is an asset to help interpret noncoding elements in the human genome, prioritize variants and reconsider gene units at a larger scale.

Educating for diversity: an evaluation of a sexuality diversity workshop to address secondary school bullying.

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Lucassen, Mathijs F G; Burford, James

2015-10-01

To evaluate the potential of a 60-minute sexuality diversity workshop to address bullying in secondary schools. Students completed pre- and post-workshop questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise results with pre- to immediate post-workshop changes compared using t-tests. Thematic analysis was used to analyse open-ended questionnaire responses. We had 229 students (mean age 13.7 years) attending 10 workshops participate in the study. Three-quarters of students thought the workshop would reduce bullying in schools, and over 95% of the participants thought that other secondary schools should offer the workshop. There was a significant increase in valuing (p bullying/mocking' of sexuality-diverse students; however, many individual students reported a desire to be supportive of their sexuality-diverse peers. Sexuality-based bullying is commonplace in secondary schools. This form of bullying is associated with depression and suicide attempts. Reducing sexuality-based bullying is very likely to have a positive impact on the mental health of young people. Brief workshops, as a part of a wider suite of interventions, have some potential to create safer school environments. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Plantibodies in human and animal health: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Oluwayelu, Daniel O; Adebiyi, Adebowale I

2016-06-01

Antibodies are essential part of vertebrates' adaptive immune system; they can now be produced by transforming plants with antibody-coding genes from mammals/humans. Although plants do not naturally make antibodies, the plant-derived antibodies (plantibodies) have been shown to function in the same way as mammalian antibodies. PubMed and Google search engines were used to download relevant publications on plantibodies in medical and veterinary fields; the papers were reviewed and findings qualitatively described. The process of bioproduction of plantibodies offers several advantages over the conventional method of antibody production in mammalian cells with the cost of antibody production in plants being substantially lesser. Contrary to what is possible with animal-derived antibodies, the process of making plantibodies almost exclusively precludes transfer of pathogens to the end product. Additionally, plants not only produce a relatively high yield of antibodies in a comparatively faster time, they also serve as cost-effective bioreactors to produce antibodies of diverse specificities. Plantibodies are safe, cost-effective and offer more advantages over animal-derived antibodies. Methods of producing them are described with a view to inspiring African scientists on the need to embrace and harness this rapidly evolving biotechnology in solving human and animal health challenges on the continent where the climate supports growth of diverse plants.

Brain-mind dyad, human experience, the consciousness tetrad and lattice of mental operations: and further, the need to integrate knowledge from diverse disciplines.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Ajai R; Singh, Shakuntala A

2011-01-01

Brain, Mind and Consciousness are the research concerns of psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, cognitive neuroscientists and philosophers. All of them are working in different and important ways to understand the workings of the brain, the mysteries of the mind and to grasp that elusive concept called consciousness. Although they are all justified in forwarding their respective researches, it is also necessary to integrate these diverse appearing understandings and try and get a comprehensive perspective that is, hopefully, more than the sum of their parts. There is also the need to understand what each one is doing, and by the other, to understand each other's basic and fundamental ideological and foundational underpinnings. This must be followed by a comprehensive and critical dialogue between the respective disciplines. Moreover, the concept of mind and consciousness in Indian thought needs careful delineation and critical/evidential enquiry to make it internationally relevant. The brain-mind dyad must be understood, with brain as the structural correlate of the mind, and mind as the functional correlate of the brain. To understand human experience, we need a triad of external environment, internal environment and a consciousness that makes sense of both. We need to evolve a consensus on the definition of consciousness, for which a working definition in the form of a Consciousness Tetrad of Default, Aware, Operational and Evolved Consciousness is presented. It is equally necessary to understand the connection between physical changes in the brain and mental operations, and thereby untangle and comprehend the lattice of mental operations. Interdisciplinary work and knowledge sharing, in an atmosphere of healthy give and take of ideas, and with a view to understand the significance of each other's work, and also to critically evaluate the present corpus of knowledge from these diverse appearing fields, and then carry forward from there in a spirit of

Cyanobacterial diversity and halotolerance in a variable hypersaline environment.

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Kirkwood, Andrea E; Buchheim, Julie A; Buchheim, Mark A; Henley, William J

2008-04-01

The Great Salt Plains (GSP) in north-central Oklahoma, USA is an expansive salt flat (approximately 65 km(2)) that is part of the federally protected Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. The GSP serves as an ideal environment to study the microbial diversity of a terrestrial, hypersaline system that experiences wide fluctuations in freshwater influx and diel temperature. Our study assessed cyanobacterial diversity at the GSP by focusing on the taxonomic and physiological diversity of GSP isolates, and the 16S rRNA phylogenetic diversity of isolates and environmental clones from three sites (north, central, and south). Taxonomic diversity of isolates was limited to a few genera (mostly Phormidium and Geitlerinema), but physiological diversity based on halotolerance ranges was strikingly more diverse, even between strains of the same phylotype. The phylogenetic tree revealed diversity that spanned a number of cyanobacterial lineages, although diversity at each site was dominated by only a few phylotypes. Unlike other hypersaline systems, a number of environmental clones from the GSP were members of the heterocystous lineage. Although a number of cyanobacterial isolates were close matches with prevalent environmental clones, it is not certain if these clones reflect the same halotolerance ranges of their matching isolates. This caveat is based on the notable disparities we found between strains of the same phylotype and their inherent halotolerance. Our findings support the hypothesis that variable or poikilotrophic environments promote diversification, and in particular, select for variation in ecotype more than phylotype.

Autoclave cycle optimization for high performance composite parts manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Nele, L.; Caggiano, A.; Teti, R.

2016-01-01

In aeronautical production, autoclave curing of composite parts must be performed according to a specified diagram of temperature and pressure vs time. Part-tool assembly thermal inertia and shape have a large influence on the heating and cooling rate, and therefore on the dwell time within the target temperature range. When simultaneously curing diverse composite parts, the total autoclave cycle time is driven by the part-tool assembly with the lower heating and cooling rates. With the aim t...

Tolerance as Civility in Contemporary Workplace Diversity Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Von Bergen, C. W.; Collier, George

2013-01-01

Valuing diversity emphasizes the awareness, recognition, understanding, and appreciation of human differences and revolves around creating an inclusive environment in which everyone feels esteemed. This generally takes place through a series of management education and training programs that attempt to improve interpersonal relationships among…

Population genomics diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in malaria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous malaria parasite species to humans remains an important public health concern in Okelele, a rural community in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. There is however little information about the genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in Nigeria. Objective: To determine ...

Leptospira diversity in animals and humans in Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Guernier, Vanina; Richard, Vaea; Nhan, Tuxuan; Rouault, Eline; Tessier, Anita; Musso, Didier

2017-06-01

Leptospirosis is a highly endemic bacterial zoonosis in French Polynesia (FP). Nevertheless, data on the epidemiology of leptospirosis in FP are scarce. We conducted molecular studies on Leptospira isolated from humans and the potential main animal reservoirs in order to identify the most likely sources for human infection. Wild rats (n = 113), farm pigs (n = 181) and domestic dogs (n = 4) were screened for Leptospira infection in Tahiti, the most populated island in FP. Positive samples were genotyped and compared to Leptospira isolated from human cases throughout FP (n = 51), using secY, 16S and LipL32 sequencing, and MLST analysis. Leptospira DNA was detected in 20.4% of rats and 26.5% of pigs. We identified two Leptospira species and three sequence types (STs) in animals and humans: Leptospira interrogans ST140 in pigs only and L. interrogans ST17 and Leptospira borgpetersenii ST149 in humans and rats. Overall, L. interrogans was the dominant species and grouped into four clades: one clade including a human case only, two clades including human cases and dogs, and one clade including human cases and rats. All except one pig sample showed a unique L. interrogans (secY) genotype distinct from those isolated from humans, rats and dogs. Moreover, LipL32 sequencing allowed the detection of an additional Leptospira genotype in pigs, clearly distinct from the previous ones. Our data confirm rats as a major potential source for human leptospirosis in FP. By contrast to what was expected, farm pigs did not seem to be a major reservoir for the Leptospira genotypes identified in human patients. Thus, further investigations will be required to determine their significance in leptospirosis transmission in FP.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flavian Clipa

2009-09-01

Full Text Available When the multinational firms employ human resources from different countries they have to submit to the restrictions concerning cultural differences. The paper is an attempt to show how the human resource management administrates these cultural differences.

Evolution, human-microbe interactions, and life history plasticity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rook, Graham; Bäckhed, Fredrik; Levin, Bruce R; McFall-Ngai, Margaret J; McLean, Angela R

2017-07-29

A bacterium was once a component of the ancestor of all eukaryotic cells, and much of the human genome originated in microorganisms. Today, all vertebrates harbour large communities of microorganisms (microbiota), particularly in the gut, and at least 20% of the small molecules in human blood are products of the microbiota. Changing human lifestyles and medical practices are disturbing the content and diversity of the microbiota, while simultaneously reducing our exposures to the so-called old infections and to organisms from the natural environment with which human beings co-evolved. Meanwhile, population growth is increasing the exposure of human beings to novel pathogens, particularly the crowd infections that were not part of our evolutionary history. Thus some microbes have co-evolved with human beings and play crucial roles in our physiology and metabolism, whereas others are entirely intrusive. Human metabolism is therefore a tug-of-war between managing beneficial microbes, excluding detrimental ones, and channelling as much energy as is available into other essential functions (eg, growth, maintenance, reproduction). This tug-of-war shapes the passage of each individual through life history decision nodes (eg, how fast to grow, when to mature, and how long to live). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genome-wide and paternal diversity reveal a recent origin of human populations in North Africa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karima Fadhlaoui-Zid

Full Text Available The geostrategic location of North Africa as a crossroad between three continents and as a stepping-stone outside Africa has evoked anthropological and genetic interest in this region. Numerous studies have described the genetic landscape of the human population in North Africa employing paternal, maternal, and biparental molecular markers. However, information from these markers which have different inheritance patterns has been mostly assessed independently, resulting in an incomplete description of the region. In this study, we analyze uniparental and genome-wide markers examining similarities or contrasts in the results and consequently provide a comprehensive description of the evolutionary history of North Africa populations. Our results show that both males and females in North Africa underwent a similar admixture history with slight differences in the proportions of admixture components. Consequently, genome-wide diversity show similar patterns with admixture tests suggesting North Africans are a mixture of ancestral populations related to current Africans and Eurasians with more affinity towards the out-of-Africa populations than to sub-Saharan Africans. We estimate from the paternal lineages that most North Africans emerged ∼15,000 years ago during the last glacial warming and that population splits started after the desiccation of the Sahara. Although most North Africans share a common admixture history, the Tunisian Berbers show long periods of genetic isolation and appear to have diverged from surrounding populations without subsequent mixture. On the other hand, continuous gene flow from the Middle East made Egyptians genetically closer to Eurasians than to other North Africans. We show that genetic diversity of today's North Africans mostly captures patterns from migrations post Last Glacial Maximum and therefore may be insufficient to inform on the initial population of the region during the Middle Paleolithic period.

Genome-wide and paternal diversity reveal a recent origin of human populations in North Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Fadhlaoui-Zid, Karima; Haber, Marc; Martínez-Cruz, Begoña; Zalloua, Pierre; Benammar Elgaaied, Amel; Comas, David

2013-01-01

The geostrategic location of North Africa as a crossroad between three continents and as a stepping-stone outside Africa has evoked anthropological and genetic interest in this region. Numerous studies have described the genetic landscape of the human population in North Africa employing paternal, maternal, and biparental molecular markers. However, information from these markers which have different inheritance patterns has been mostly assessed independently, resulting in an incomplete description of the region. In this study, we analyze uniparental and genome-wide markers examining similarities or contrasts in the results and consequently provide a comprehensive description of the evolutionary history of North Africa populations. Our results show that both males and females in North Africa underwent a similar admixture history with slight differences in the proportions of admixture components. Consequently, genome-wide diversity show similar patterns with admixture tests suggesting North Africans are a mixture of ancestral populations related to current Africans and Eurasians with more affinity towards the out-of-Africa populations than to sub-Saharan Africans. We estimate from the paternal lineages that most North Africans emerged ∼15,000 years ago during the last glacial warming and that population splits started after the desiccation of the Sahara. Although most North Africans share a common admixture history, the Tunisian Berbers show long periods of genetic isolation and appear to have diverged from surrounding populations without subsequent mixture. On the other hand, continuous gene flow from the Middle East made Egyptians genetically closer to Eurasians than to other North Africans. We show that genetic diversity of today's North Africans mostly captures patterns from migrations post Last Glacial Maximum and therefore may be insufficient to inform on the initial population of the region during the Middle Paleolithic period.

Magnetic self-assembly of small parts

Science.gov (United States)

Shetye, Sheetal B.

Modern society's propensity for miniaturized end-user products is compelling electronic manufacturers to assemble and package different micro-scale, multi-technology components in more efficient and cost-effective manners. As the size of the components gets smaller, issues such as part sticking and alignment precision create challenges that slow the throughput of conventional robotic pick-n-place systems. As an alternative, various self-assembly approaches have been proposed to manipulate micro to millimeter scale components in a parallel fashion without human or robotic intervention. In this dissertation, magnetic self-assembly (MSA) is demonstrated as a highly efficient, completely parallel process for assembly of millimeter scale components. MSA is achieved by integrating permanent micromagnets onto component bonding surfaces using wafer-level microfabrication processes. Embedded bonded powder methods are used for fabrication of the magnets. The magnets are then magnetized using pulse magnetization methods, and the wafers are then singulated to form individual components. When the components are randomly mixed together, self-assembly occurs when the intermagnetic forces overcome the mixing forces. Analytical and finite element methods (FEM) are used to study the force interactions between the micromagnets. The multifunctional aspects of MSA are presented through demonstration of part-to-part and part-to-substrate assembly of 1 mm x 1mm x 0.5 mm silicon components. Part-to-part assembly is demonstrated by batch assembly of free-floating parts in a liquid environment with the assembly yield of different magnetic patterns varying from 88% to 90% in 20 s. Part-to-substrate assembly is demonstrated by assembling an ordered array onto a fixed substrate in a dry environment with the assembly yield varying from 86% to 99%. In both cases, diverse magnetic shapes/patterns are used to control the alignment and angular orientation of the components. A mathematical model is

Defining the diverse spectrum of inversions, complex structural variation, and chromothripsis in the morbid human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Ryan L; Brand, Harrison; Redin, Claire E; Hanscom, Carrie; Antolik, Caroline; Stone, Matthew R; Glessner, Joseph T; Mason, Tamara; Pregno, Giulia; Dorrani, Naghmeh; Mandrile, Giorgia; Giachino, Daniela; Perrin, Danielle; Walsh, Cole; Cipicchio, Michelle; Costello, Maura; Stortchevoi, Alexei; An, Joon-Yong; Currall, Benjamin B; Seabra, Catarina M; Ragavendran, Ashok; Margolin, Lauren; Martinez-Agosto, Julian A; Lucente, Diane; Levy, Brynn; Sanders, Stephan J; Wapner, Ronald J; Quintero-Rivera, Fabiola; Kloosterman, Wigard; Talkowski, Michael E

2017-03-06

Structural variation (SV) influences genome organization and contributes to human disease. However, the complete mutational spectrum of SV has not been routinely captured in disease association studies. We sequenced 689 participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental abnormalities to construct a genome-wide map of large SV. Using long-insert jumping libraries at 105X mean physical coverage and linked-read whole-genome sequencing from 10X Genomics, we document seven major SV classes at ~5 kb SV resolution. Our results encompass 11,735 distinct large SV sites, 38.1% of which are novel and 16.8% of which are balanced or complex. We characterize 16 recurrent subclasses of complex SV (cxSV), revealing that: (1) cxSV are larger and rarer than canonical SV; (2) each genome harbors 14 large cxSV on average; (3) 84.4% of large cxSVs involve inversion; and (4) most large cxSV (93.8%) have not been delineated in previous studies. Rare SVs are more likely to disrupt coding and regulatory non-coding loci, particularly when truncating constrained and disease-associated genes. We also identify multiple cases of catastrophic chromosomal rearrangements known as chromoanagenesis, including somatic chromoanasynthesis, and extreme balanced germline chromothripsis events involving up to 65 breakpoints and 60.6 Mb across four chromosomes, further defining rare categories of extreme cxSV. These data provide a foundational map of large SV in the morbid human genome and demonstrate a previously underappreciated abundance and diversity of cxSV that should be considered in genomic studies of human disease.

Human Influences on Tree Diversity and Composition of a Coastal Forest Ecosystem: The Case of Ngumburuni Forest Reserve, Rufiji, Tanzania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Kimaro

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on the findings of an ecological survey conducted in Ngumburuni Forest Reserve, a biodiversity rich forest reserve within the coastal forests of Tanzania. The main goal of this study was to determine the influence of uncontrolled anthropogenic activities on tree species diversity and composition within the forest ecosystem. It was revealed that economic activities including logging, charcoaling, and shifting cultivation were the most important disturbing activities affecting ecological functioning and biodiversity integrity of the forest. Further to this, we noted that the values of species diversity, composition, and regeneration potential within the undisturbed forest areas were significantly different from those in heavily disturbed areas. These observations confirm that the ongoing human activities have already caused size quality degradation of useful plants, enhanced species diversification impacts to the forest ecosystem, and possibly negatively affected the livelihoods of the adjacent local communities. Despite these disturbances, Ngumburuni forest reserve still holds important proportions of both endemic and threatened animal and plant species. The study suggests urgent implementation of several conservation measures in order to limit accessibility to the forest resources so as to safeguard the richness and abundance of useful biodiversity stocks in the reserve.