Bumpy Ride Research Articles

A Bumpy Ride for China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan: Findings from a University Survey

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been a polarising issue throughout the world, with analysts viewing it as either advancing China's desire to remake the world according to its plans, having the potential for, or indeed about, mutual benefit, or too ad-hoc and thus impossible to predict how it will develop. In this article, we present our findings from a survey that we conducted with university students in Almaty, Kazakhstan on views towards BRI. There are two main findings. First, the majority of our participants view BRI as bad for Kazakhstan. Second, one's political views, specifically whether one embraces authoritarian or conservative views (on the one hand) or democratic views (on the other), correlate with the way that person views BRI. In particular, we found that those who espouse authoritarian or conservative views consistently and with statistical significance view the initiative in higher regard than those who embrace democratic political views. To explain this pattern, we draw from social identity theory.

Undergraduate Psychiatry Teaching and Learning in India: A Bumpy Ride

In India, there has been exponential growth in the number of MBBS seats and postgraduate seats over the past two decades. In the year 2021, there were 83,275 MBBS seats and 42,720 postgraduate seats in 554 medical colleges in India.1,2 As of the second week of October 2023, 706 medical colleges are collectively providing 1,08,890 MBBS seats.3 In the same period, 331 medical institutions now offer postgraduate programs in psychiatry, contributing to a total of 1,360 MD seats in psychiatry.4 The change of figures over three years gives an idea about the rapid increment in undergraduate (MBBS) and postgraduate seats in psychiatry in India.

Preparing Medical Students for the Final Examinations During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Bumpy Ride to the Finishing Line.

In this viewpoint, we share and reflect on the experiences of final-year students preparing for a high-stakes examination at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic. We highlight the new challenges faced during web-based remote learning and major differences in the clinical learning environment at our teaching hospital, which was one of the designated COVID-19 centers in Malaysia. We also document how a face-to-face professional examination was conducted for final-year medical students at our institution despite in times of a global health crisis. The lessons learned throughout this process address the importance of resilience and adaptability in unprecedented times. Further, we recommend appropriate measures that could be applied by medical schools across the world to improve the delivery of quality medical education during a crisis in the years to come.

A Bumpy Ride of Mycobacterial Phagosome Maturation: Roleplay of Coronin1 Through Cofilin1 and cAMP.

Phagosome-lysosome fusion in innate immune cells like macrophages and neutrophils marshal an essential role in eliminating intracellular microorganisms. In microbe-challenged macrophages, phagosome-lysosome fusion occurs 4 to 6 h after the phagocytic uptake of the microbe. However, live pathogenic mycobacteria hinder the transfer of phagosomes to lysosomes, up to 20 h post-phagocytic uptake. This period is required to evade pro-inflammatory response and upregulate the acid-stress tolerant proteins. The exact sequence of events through which mycobacteria retards phagolysosome formation remains an enigma. The macrophage coat protein Coronin1(Cor1) is recruited and retained by mycobacteria on the phagosome membrane to retard its maturation by hindering the access of phagosome maturation factors. Mycobacteria-infected macrophages exhibit an increased cAMP level, and based on receptor stimulus, Cor1 expressing cells show a higher level of cAMP than non-Cor1 expressing cells. Here we have shown that infection of bone marrow-derived macrophages with H37Rv causes a Cor1 dependent rise of intracellular cAMP levels at the vicinity of the phagosomes. This increased cAMP fuels cytoskeletal protein Cofilin1 to depolymerize F-actin around the mycobacteria-containing phagosome. Owing to reduced F-actin levels, the movement of the phagosome toward the lysosomes is hindered, thus contributing to the retarded phagosome maturation process. Additionally, Cor1 mediated upregulation of Cofilin1 also contributes to the prevention of phagosomal acidification, which further aids in the retardation of phagosome maturation. Overall, our study provides first-hand information on Cor1 mediated retardation of phagosome maturation, which can be utilized in developing novel peptidomimetics as part of host-directed therapeutics against tuberculosis.

Buckle Up, It’s a Bumpy Ride: Financial Instability and Volatility in Developing and Emerging Economies

Buckle Up, It’s a Bumpy Ride: Financial Instability and Volatility in Developing and Emerging Economies

From Nerve Development to Vision: A Bumpy Ride

From Nerve Development to Vision: A Bumpy Ride

Knowledge Translation in Oncology: The Bumpy Ride From Bench to Bedside.

Knowledge translation (KT) is the dynamic process of mobilizing best-practice evidence to guide health care decisions. Using a PubMed search, challenges were identified and milestones defined. Substantial challenges exist in integrating discoveries into patient care, including technical limitations related to genomic testing like turnaround time, standardization, reproducibility, and results interpretation. Other challenges include lack of proper training in genetic counseling for health care providers, clarity of scientific evidence, and ethical, legal and social considerations. In addition, most health care systems lack accessibility to genetic testing services. Moving forward, KT should be addressed at three main frontiers. The first is patients centered for proper understanding and decision making; the second is directed toward health care professionals, including clinical decision support and clarity of roles; and the third addresses resources of health care systems. Implementing KT requires developing strategies to enhance awareness and promote behavioral changes congruent with research evidence, designing a systematic approach by health care providers and stakeholders to achieve patient-centered care.

In for a Bumpy Ride? Cash Flow Risk and Dividend Payouts

In for a Bumpy Ride? Cash Flow Risk and Dividend Payouts

Switching to High-Deductible Health Plans: It Is Going to Be a Bumpy Ride

In their study, Wharam and colleagues take a useful step in evaluation of high-deductible health insurance plans. The editorialist discusses the findings and the difficulty of determining the value...

Belt and Road Faces a Bumpy Ride

Belt and Road Faces a Bumpy Ride

A Bumpy Ride for Atoms

A Bumpy Ride for Atoms

A Bumpy Ride on the Diagnostic Bench of Massive Parallel Sequencing, the Case of the Mitochondrial Genome

The advent of massive parallel sequencing (MPS) has revolutionized the field of human molecular genetics, including the diagnostic study of mitochondrial (mt) DNA dysfunction. The analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome using MPS platforms is now common and will soon outrun conventional sequencing. However, the development of a robust and reliable protocol is rather challenging. A previous pilot study for the re-sequencing of human mtDNA revealed an uneven coverage, affecting predominantly part of the plus strand. In an attempt to address this problem, we undertook a comparative study of standard and modified protocols for the Ion Torrent PGM system. We could not improve strand representation by altering the recommended shearing methodology of the standard workflow or omitting the DNA polymerase amplification step from the library construction process. However, we were able to associate coverage bias of the plus strand with a specific sequence motif. Additionally, we compared coverage and variant calling across technologies. The same samples were also sequenced on a MiSeq device which showed that coverage and heteroplasmic variant calling were much improved.

Surviving a Bumpy Ride in the Oropharynx: Bacterial Pili as Nano-Seatbelts that Dissipate Mechanical Energy

Bacterial pili function in cellular adhesion, and must withstand large mechanical stresses in host environments, such as coughing and chewing. In gram positive bacteria, pili are covalently-linked polymers of single protein subunits, termed pilins. Gram positive pilins uniquely possess intramolecular isopeptide bonds that bridge the peptide backbone to form bypass force transduction pathways. In the crystal structure of Spy0128, a pilin from Streptococcus pyogenes, isopeptide bonds link the N- and C-terminal β-strands. Consequently, Spy0128 is mechanically inextensible. Here we report on the mechanical properties of two related pilins, SpaA from Corynebacterium diphtheriae and FimA from Actinomyces oris, using atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single molecule force spectroscopy. In the crystal structures of SpaA and FimA, the isopeptide bonds do not directly link the N- and C-terminal β-strands in a single pilin domain. Instead, the isopeptide arrangement creates a ∼40 residue polypeptide loop that resembles a slackened seatbelt, which we predict is sensitive to mechanical unfolding. We find that both SpaA and FimA extend to 14 nm under mechanical force, consistent with our structure-based prediction of unfolding of the nano-seatbelt from a slackened to a taut conformation. At a loading rate of 400 nm/s, these loops unfold at forces of ∼503pN in SpaA and ∼665pN in FimA; as such, SpaA and FimA are among the most mechanically stable proteins yet reported. When the force perturbation is removed, the loops refold at a rapid rate of 29 s−1 or higher. Remarkably, the mechanical stabilities are ∼75pN weaker upon refolding, suggesting that gaining full mechanical stability requires maturation. The high mechanical stability and rapid refolding of the nano-seatbelts suggest a mechanism whereby pilin subunits, polymerized as tens-to-hundreds of repeats in pili, readily absorb and recover from mechanical shocks.

KENYA: Bumpy Ride

Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical SeriesVolume 50, Issue 6 p. 20013C-20014C Policy and Practice KENYA: Bumpy Ride First published: 03 August 2013 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2013.05233.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume50, Issue6August 2013Pages 20013C-20014C RelatedInformation

Driving a Fishery along the Bumpy Ride of Today’s Globalization: The Case of the Australian Southern Rock Lobster Association

The case of the Australian Southern Rock Lobster Association describes real issues faced by the Market Development Manager of a collective agri-food organization (SRL) representing all the southern rock lobster fishermen in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. The case deals with recent globalization issues faced by the Australian rock lobster industry: the rise of China as a vital and risky market of high-end food products; the financial crisis that affected the US starting from 2006 and the rise of sustainability issues that constrained the rock lobster supply. This case is designed for advanced BSc and MSc in agribusiness and international business. It is relevant for both for strategic management and supply chain management courses. In this case, managers, policy-makers and academics find challenging questions that are still open and can be similarly posed to other agribusiness industries worldwide attempting to compete collectively in international markets.

The Fragility of the Phillips Curve: A Bumpy Ride in the Frequency Domain

We provide a robustness check of the US Phillips curve in the frequency domain. We design frequency-specific coeffcients of correlation (FSCC) and regression (FSCR), based on our frequency-specific data extraction procedure. Being real-valued, signed and normalised, the FSCC is superior to traditional indicators such as coherence and cospectrum. Our FSCC and FSCR estimates suggest that the Phillips tradeoffs vary greatly across frequencies, with frequent sign reversals. They seem to be stable in higher frequencies, but unstable in low and medium frequencies, and they are sensitive to the level and boundaries of frequency aggregation, to the way data are processed prior to analysis (e.g., detrending) and to the type of variables used. In this sense, the Phillips curves are fragile. The impact of potential cross-frequency model inconsistency on model estimation using conventional time domain methods needs careful scrutiny.

Bumpy Ride for Data-Driven NASA Chief

SPACE SCIENCEMike Griffin, a blunt-speaking engineer who last April became head of NASA, wants the science community to stop whining and to start helping him deal with NASA's budget problems. ([Read more][1].) [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5767/1542

A Bumpy Ride After Deicing

A Bumpy Ride After Deicing

Life in neolithic farming communities: social organization, identity, and differentiation

Part I: Introduction. 1. Social Configurations of the Near Eastern Neolithic: An Introduction I. Kuijt. Part II: Sedentism, Early Villages and Households in Transition. 2. Early Sedentism in the Near East - A Bumpy Ride to Village Life A. Belfer-Cohen, O. Bar-Yosef. 3. Hallan Cemi and Early Village Organization in Eastern Anatolia M. Rosenberg, R.W. Redding. 4. Households in Transition: Neolithic Social Organization within Southwest Asia B.F. Byrd. Part III: Organization of Social Relations: Mortuary Ritual, Social Differentiation, and Settlement Systems. 5. The Quick and the Dead: The Social Context of Aceramic Neolithic Mortuary Practices as Seen from Kfar Hahoresh N. Goring-Morris. 6. Keeping the Peace: Ritual, Skull Caching and Community Integration in the Levantine Neolithic I. Kuijt. 7. Ritual and Social Structure at Neolithic Ain Ghazal G.O. Rollefson. 8. Is Size Important? Function and Hierarchy in Neolithic Settlements F. Hole. 9. Villages on the Edge: Regional Settlement Change and the End of the Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic A. Simmons. Part IV: Social Relations and Material Culture: Symbolism and Meaning. 10. The Symbolic Foundations of the Neolithic Revolution in the Near East J. Cauvin. 11. Catal Huyuk in Context Ritual at Early Neolithic Sites in Central and Eastern Turkey M.M. Voigt. 12. The Pottery Neolithic Period: Questions about Pottery Decoration, Symbolism and Meaning E. Orrelle, A. Gopher. Part V: Conclusion. 13. NearEastern Neolithic Research.

A Fast and Bumpy Ride

Whether one looks at the overall college career, the course of a single semester, or the vicissitudes of day-to-day college life, college students experience an extraordinary amount of change. While change promotes growth, it can also trigger psychological problems. Some common psychological consequences are overreactions to new stressors, disruption of eating, sleeping and studying routines, and identity-related concerns. Change also both helps and hinders the process of therapy. As experts in working with fluid situations, college therapists can help students understand and cope with the unrelenting changes in their lives.