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Whenever Covid-19 first hit: Analysis of the effect of architectural features of nations : technocracy is actually strengthened by available democracy.
Scholars across disciplines have long debated the existence of a common structure that underlies narratives. Using computer-based language analysis methods, several structural and psychological categories of language were measured across ~40,000 traditional narratives (e.g., novels and movie scripts) and ~20,000 nontraditional narratives (science reporting in newspaper articles, TED talks, and Supreme Court opinions). Across traditional narratives, a consistent underlying story structure emerged that revealed three primary processes staging, plot progression, and cognitive tension. selleck chemicals No evidence emerged to indicate that adherence to normative story structures was related to the popularity of the story. Last, analysis of fact-driven texts revealed structures that differed from story-based narratives.Caloric restriction (CR) is known to extend life span across species; however, the molecular mechanisms are not well understood. We investigate the mechanism by which glucose restriction (GR) extends yeast replicative life span, by combining ribosome profiling and RNA-seq with microfluidic-based single-cell analysis. We discovered a cross-talk between glucose sensing and the regulation of intracellular methionine GR down-regulated the transcription and translation of methionine biosynthetic enzymes and transporters, leading to a decreased intracellular methionine concentration; external supplementation of methionine cancels the life span extension by GR. Furthermore, genetic perturbations that decrease methionine synthesis/uptake extend life span. These observations suggest that intracellular methionine mediates the life span effects of various nutrient and genetic perturbations, and that the glucose-methionine cross-talk is a general mechanism for coordinating the nutrient status and the translation/growth of a cell. Our work also implicates proteasome as a downstream effector of the life span extension by GR.In this study, we report the existence of a communication system among human smooth muscle cells that uses mechanical forces to frequency modulate long-range calcium waves. An important consequence of this mechanical signaling is that changes in stiffness of the underlying extracellular matrix can interfere with the frequency modulation of Ca2+ waves, causing smooth muscle cells from healthy human donors to falsely perceive a much higher agonist dose than they actually received. This aberrant sensing of contractile agonist dose on stiffer matrices is completely absent in isolated smooth muscle cells, although the isolated cells can sense matrix rigidity. We show that the intercellular communication that enables this collective Ca2+ response in smooth muscle cells does not involve transport across gap junctions or extracellular diffusion of signaling molecules. Instead, our data support a collective model in which mechanical signaling among smooth muscle cells regulates their response to contractile agonists.The current paradigm that subunit vaccines require adjuvants to optimally activate innate immunity implies that increased vaccine reactogenicity will invariably be linked to improved immunogenicity. Countering this paradigm, nanoparticulate vaccines have been reported to act as delivery systems for vaccine antigens and induce immunity without the need for exogenous adjuvants or local inflammation; however, the mechanisms underlying the immunogenicity of nanoparticle vaccines are incompletely identified. Here, we show that antigens displayed on self-assembling nanofiber scaffolds and delivered intranasally are presented by CD103+ and CD11b+ lung dendritic cells that up-regulate CD80 and migrate into the draining lymph node (LN). This was accompanied by a nearly exclusive priming and accumulation of antigen-specific TH17 cells occurring independently in both LN and lung. Thus, self-assembling peptide nanofiber vaccines may represent a novel, needle- and adjuvant-free means of eliciting protective immunity against fungal and bacterial infections at skin and mucosal barrier surfaces.Microbial cells buried in subseafloor sediments comprise a substantial portion of Earth's biosphere and control global biogeochemical cycles; however, the rate at which they use energy (i.e., power) is virtually unknown. Here, we quantify organic matter degradation and calculate the power utilization of microbial cells throughout Earth's Quaternary-age subseafloor sediments. Aerobic respiration, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis mediate 6.9, 64.5, and 28.6% of global subseafloor organic matter degradation, respectively. The total power utilization of the subseafloor sediment biosphere is 37.3 gigawatts, less than 0.1% of the power produced in the marine photic zone. Aerobic heterotrophs use the largest share of global power (54.5%) with a median power utilization of 2.23 × 10-18 watts per cell, while sulfate reducers and methanogens use 1.08 × 10-19 and 1.50 × 10-20 watts per cell, respectively. Most subseafloor cells subsist at energy fluxes lower than have previously been shown to support life, calling into question the power limit to life.Repeating earthquakes (REs) rupture the same fault patches at different times allowing temporal variations in the mechanical behavior of specific areas of the fault to be interrogated over the earthquake cycle. We study REs that reveal fault weakening after a large megathrust earthquake in Costa Rica, followed by fault recovery. We find shorter RE recurrence intervals and larger slip areas immediately following the mainshock that both gradually return to pre-earthquake values. RE seismic moments remain nearly constant throughout the earthquake cycle. This implies a balance between fault weakening (reducing slip) and transient embrittlement (increasing rupture area by converting regions from aseismic to seismic slip), induced by the increased loading rate following the mainshock. This interpretation is consistent with positive, negative, and constant moment versus RE recurrence interval trends reported in other studies following large earthquakes and with experimental work showing slip amplitudes and stress drop decrease with loading rate.
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