John Barrymore’s Sparkling Topaze

2017 ◽  
pp. 135-144
Author(s):  
Steven Rybin
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Product ◽  
Film Performance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Career Crisis

In Topaze (1933) John Barrymore plays Professor Topaze, a principled man who unwittingly becomes a shill for a dishonest consumer product. This essay connects Barrymore’s complex and subtle characterization of Topaze’s existential and career crisis to the public and biographical perception of Barrymore, and also in relation to ideas about melodrama and visibility in film performance. In doing so, the chapter shows how Barrymore’s performance discloses the character Topaze’s discovery of the power of irony.

Facing the Challenge of Democracy

2011 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Thinking ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Party Polarization

Citizens are political simpletons—that is only a modest exaggeration of a common characterization of voters. Certainly, there is no shortage of evidence of citizens' limited political knowledge, even about matters of the highest importance, along with inconsistencies in their thinking, some glaring by any standard. But this picture of citizens all too often approaches caricature. This book brings together leading political scientists who offer new insights into the political thinking of the public, the causes of party polarization, the motivations for political participation, and the paradoxical relationship between turnout and democratic representation. These studies propel a foundational argument about democracy. Voters can only do as well as the alternatives on offer. These alternatives are constrained by third players, in particular activists, interest groups, and financial contributors. The result: voters often appear to be shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent because the alternatives they must choose between are shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent.

scholarly journals Development and characterization of probiotic mucilage based edible films for the preservation of fruits and vegetables

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Mohammad Davachi ◽  
Neethu Pottackal ◽  
Hooman Torabi ◽  
Alireza Abbaspourrad
Keyword(s):  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Barrier Properties ◽  
Edible Films ◽  
Food Preservation ◽  
Elongation At Break ◽  
The Public ◽  
Medical Benefits ◽  
Seed Mucilage

AbstractThere is growing interest among the public and scientific community toward the use of probiotics to potentially restore the composition of the gut microbiome. With the aim of preparing eco-friendly probiotic edible films, we explored the addition of probiotics to the seed mucilage films of quince, flax, and basil. These mucilages are natural and compatible blends of different polysaccharides that have demonstrated medical benefits. All three seed mucilage films exhibited high moisture retention regardless of the presence of probiotics, which is needed to help preserve the moisture/freshness of food. Films from flax and quince mucilage were found to be more thermally stable and mechanically robust with higher elastic moduli and elongation at break than basil mucilage films. These films effectively protected fruits against UV light, maintaining the probiotics viability and inactivation rate during storage. Coated fruits and vegetables retained their freshness longer than uncoated produce, while quince-based probiotic films showed the best mechanical, physical, morphological and bacterial viability. This is the first report of the development, characterization and production of 100% natural mucilage-based probiotic edible coatings with enhanced barrier properties for food preservation applications containing probiotics.

scholarly journals A New Breeding Strategy towards Introgression and Characterization of Stay-Green QTL for Drought Tolerance in Sorghum

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 598
Author(s):  
Nasrein Mohamed Kamal ◽  
Yasir Serag Alnor Gorafi ◽  
Hanan Abdeltwab ◽  
Ishtiag Abdalla ◽  
Hisashi Tsujimoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Expression ◽  
Phenotypic Selection ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Stay Green ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
The Public ◽  
Drought Tolerant ◽  
Selection Step ◽  
The Cost

Several marker-assisted selection (MAS) or backcrossing (MAB) approaches exist for polygenic trait improvement. However, the implementation of MAB remains a challenge in many breeding programs, especially in the public sector. In MAB introgression programs, which usually do not include phenotypic selection, undesired donor traits may unexpectedly turn up regardless of how expensive and theoretically powerful a backcross scheme may be. Therefore, combining genotyping and phenotyping during selection will improve understanding of QTL interactions with the environment, especially for minor alleles that maximize the phenotypic expression of the traits. Here, we describe the introgression of stay-green QTL (Stg1–Stg4) from B35 into two sorghum backgrounds through an MAB that combines genotypic and phenotypic (C-MAB) selection during early backcross cycles. The background selection step is excluded. Since it is necessary to decrease further the cost associated with molecular marker assays, the costs of C-MAB were estimated. Lines with stay-green trait and good performance were identified at an early backcross generation, backcross two (BC2). Developed BC2F4 lines were evaluated under irrigated and drought as well as three rainfed environments varied in drought timing and severity. Under drought conditions, the mean grain yield of the most C-MAB-introgression lines was consistently higher than that of the recurrent parents. This study is one of the real applications of the successful use of C-MAB for the development of drought-tolerant sorghum lines for drought-prone areas.

scholarly journals Detection and characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.526 in New York

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony P. West ◽  
Joel O. Wertheim ◽  
Jade C. Wang ◽  
Tetyana I. Vasylyeva ◽  
Jennifer L. Havens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Viral Evolution ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Neutralization Titer ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Health Relevance ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Variant Database

AbstractWide-scale SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing is critical to tracking viral evolution during the ongoing pandemic. We develop the software tool, Variant Database (VDB), for quickly examining the changing landscape of spike mutations. Using VDB, we detect an emerging lineage of SARS-CoV-2 in the New York region that shares mutations with previously reported variants. The most common sets of spike mutations in this lineage (now designated as B.1.526) are L5F, T95I, D253G, E484K or S477N, D614G, and A701V. This lineage was first sequenced in late November 2020. Phylodynamic inference confirmed the rapid growth of the B.1.526 lineage. In concert with other variants, like B.1.1.7, the rise of B.1.526 appears to have extended the duration of the second wave of COVID-19 cases in NYC in early 2021. Pseudovirus neutralization experiments demonstrated that B.1.526 spike mutations adversely affect the neutralization titer of convalescent and vaccinee plasma, supporting the public health relevance of this lineage.

Molecular characterization of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) and ESBLs-producing Klebsiella pneumonia isolated from an Iranian teaching hospital

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Talebzadeh ◽  
Hamid Mellali ◽  
hamid solgi
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Hospital ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Klebsiella Pneumonia ◽  
The Public ◽  
Isfahan Province ◽  
Clonal Distribution ◽  
Cross Transmission

Abstract Background The spread of plasmid-mediated multidrug resistance in Klebsiella pneumonia is a serious threat to the public health. We investigated the clinical characteristics and molecular epidemiology of K. pneumoniae isolated at a teaching hospital in Iran. Methods A total of 50 third-generation cephalosporins resistant K. pneumoniae strains were collected from patients’ clinical cultures. Antibiotic susceptibility testing and determination of MIC values for ceftazidime, cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin were performed. PCR and DNA sequencing were used to assess the presence of ESBL genes (blaCTX−M, blaTEM, blaSHV) and PMQR genes (qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, qepA, oqxA, oqxB and aac(6)-Ib-cr). Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed on the strains to assess homology. Results Our results showed that the rates of resistance to all of antibiotics is high. All 50 K. pneumoniae strains harboured at least one of the ESBL resistance determinants. The blaCTX−M−15 gene was the major ESBLs determinant found in K. pneumoniae (88%; 44/50). PMQR was detected in 96% of the isolates and aac(6′)-Ib-cr was the most common (78% 39/50) followed by oqxA 36 (72%), oqxB 34 (68%), qnrS 20 (40%), qnrB 14 (28%) and qepA 1 (2%). MLST identified seven sequence types (STs), with the most common being ST11 (19/39). There was a strong association between PMQR genes (especially aac(6′)-Ib-cr) and ESBL genes. Conclusion The widespread detection of ESBLs-producing K. pneumoniae that co-carried PMQR determinants has become a threat to the treatment of infections in Isfahan Province of center Iran. Our findings suggest that K. pneumoniae ST11 and ST893 has a clonal distribution in our hospital. Therefore, this study highlighted the crucial need for implementing strict control measures to prevent cross transmission of these endemic clones.

scholarly journals The Geological Characterization of Landscape in Major TV Series: A Suggested Approach to Involve the Public in the Geological Heritage Promotion

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 4100-4119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Lugeri ◽  
Piero Farabollini ◽  
Roberto Greco ◽  
Vittorio Amadio
Keyword(s):  
Geological Heritage ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
The Public

scholarly journals Phenotypic and molecular characterization of a set of tropical maize inbred lines from a public breeding program in Brazil

BMC Genomics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirlene Viana de Faria ◽  
Leandro Tonello Zuffo ◽  
Wemerson Mendonça Rezende ◽  
Diego Gonçalves Caixeta ◽  
Hélcio Duarte Pereira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Inbred Lines ◽  
Breeding Program ◽  
Tropical Maize ◽  
Maize Breeding ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
The Public ◽  
Maize Inbred Lines

Abstract Background The characterization of genetic diversity and population differentiation for maize inbred lines from breeding programs is of great value in assisting breeders in maintaining and potentially increasing the rate of genetic gain. In our study, we characterized a set of 187 tropical maize inbred lines from the public breeding program of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) in Brazil based on 18 agronomic traits and 3,083 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers to evaluate whether this set of inbred lines represents a panel of tropical maize inbred lines for association mapping analysis and investigate the population structure and patterns of relationships among the inbred lines from UFV for better exploitation in our maize breeding program. Results Our results showed that there was large phenotypic and genotypic variation in the set of tropical maize inbred lines from the UFV maize breeding program. We also found high genetic diversity (GD = 0.34) and low pairwise kinship coefficients among the maize inbred lines (only approximately 4.00 % of the pairwise relative kinship was above 0.50) in the set of inbred lines. The LD decay distance over all ten chromosomes in the entire set of maize lines with r2 = 0.1 was 276,237 kb. Concerning the population structure, our results from the model-based STRUCTURE and principal component analysis methods distinguished the inbred lines into three subpopulations, with high consistency maintained between both results. Additionally, the clustering analysis based on phenotypic and molecular data grouped the inbred lines into 14 and 22 genetic divergence clusters, respectively. Conclusions Our results indicate that the set of tropical maize inbred lines from UFV maize breeding programs can comprise a panel of tropical maize inbred lines suitable for a genome-wide association study to dissect the variation of complex quantitative traits in maize, mainly in tropical environments. In addition, our results will be very useful for assisting us in the assignment of heterotic groups and the selection of the best parental combinations for new breeding crosses, mapping populations, mapping synthetic populations, guiding crosses that target highly heterotic and yielding hybrids, and predicting untested hybrids in the public breeding program UFV.

scholarly journals Molecular characterization of hookworm spp. isolated from food handlers, Khartoum, Sudan: A cross-sectional study

F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 662
Author(s):  
Tarig A. Gamar ◽  
Hassan H. Musa ◽  
Hisham N. Altayb ◽  
Mohamed H. Mohamed ◽  
Adam D. Abakar
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Molecular Characterization ◽  
Molecular Probe ◽  
Hookworm Infection ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Necator Americanus ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Stool Samples

Background: Hookworms infect the intestines, cause an itchy rash, respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, and eventually iron deficiency (anaemia) due to the ongoing loss of blood. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence and molecular characterization of hookworms isolated from food handlers attending the Public Health Laboratories in Khartoum state, Sudan, for annual check-ups, and to assess the efficiency of PCR as molecular probe for hookworm infection. Methods: A total of 350 foods handlers’ participant's stool samples who were not suspected to be infected with hookworms were studied. Conventional methods were applied to make an early diagnosis. Stool samples were collected from public health laboratories (the public health lab in the Medical Commission) of Khartoum State; Omdurman locality, Khartoum North locality and Khartoum locality between October 2016 and April 2017. Specific identification was made by PCR on specimens identified as positive by Baermann’s technique, which were then sequence and genotyped Results: The prevalence of hookworms in the stool samples of food-handlers was 1.43%. One larval specimen recovered by Baermann’s technique was confirmed to be Necator americanus by PCR. PCR also confirmed that Necator americanus was the common species isolated from four further specimens. The results of DNA sequencing for Necator americanus were deposited in NCBI GenBank under the following accession numbers: sample 91, MH035824; sample 92, MH035825; sample 294, MH035826; and sample 319 MH035827. Conclusion: PCR was found to be effective for confirmation of the diagnosis of hookworm infection and can aid the clinician in initiating prompt and appropriate antiparasite therapy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document