Occupational Shifts Research Articles

Transmedia Uprising

Transmedia Uprising

The ‘Semi‐Sterile Mousterian’ of Riparo Bombrini: evidence of a late‐lasting Neanderthal refugium in Liguria

ABSTRACTConstrained by the Maritime Alps and a steep coastal shelf, Liguria served as a biogeographic corridor linking mainland Western Europe to peninsular Italy throughout the Late Pleistocene. It may also have served as a biogeographic refugium for Neanderthals, since sites in the region have yielded some of the latest Mousterian dates in Western Europe and, paradoxically, some of the earliest dates for Protoaurignacian occupations. This paper presents an overview of the Neanderthal presence in Liguria between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and MIS 3, with a particular focus on the record from the Balzi Rossi site complex. This permits a critical evaluation of diachronic shifts in the Neanderthal occupation of Liguria. This is followed by an analysis of new data from ‘semi‐sterile Mousterian’ Level MS at Riparo Bombrini that show it was occupied very ephemerally by the end of the Mousterian, highlighting major late Neanderthal behavioral shifts. We conclude by proposing that this behavioral pattern is best explained by the last Neanderthals of the Balzi Rossi having occupied the region as an ecologically stable, taxon‐specific in situ micro‐refugium. This has implications for our understanding of Paleolithic refugia more broadly and of the social and ecological conditions in place during the terminal Mousterian period in western Liguria.

Thyroid hormone dependent transcriptional programming by TRβ requires SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers.

Transcriptional regulation in response to thyroid hormone (3,5,3′-triiodo-l-thyronine, T3) is a dynamic and cell-type specific process that maintains cellular homeostasis and identity in all tissues. However, our understanding of the mechanisms of thyroid hormone receptor (TR) actions at the molecular level are actively being refined. We used an integrated genomics approach to profile and characterize the cistrome of TRβ, map changes in chromatin accessibility, and capture the transcriptomic changes in response to T3 in normal human thyroid cells. There are significant shifts in TRβ genomic occupancy in response to T3, which are associated with differential chromatin accessibility, and differential recruitment of SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers. We further demonstrate selective recruitment of BAF and PBAF SWI/SNF complexes to TRβ binding sites, revealing novel differential functions in regulating chromatin accessibility and gene expression. Our findings highlight three distinct modes of TRβ interaction with chromatin and coordination of coregulator activity.

Potential Impact of Covid-19 on Occupational Status, Mobility and Digital Payment System in India

COVID-19 pandemic affected the socio-economic and attitudinal changes in society by altering livelihood to a large extent. The eruption of COVID-19 in China threatens not only human health but also the world's economic growth in the years to come. An examination of the three-dimensional changes in socio-economic and occupational shifts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is presented in this paper. Firstly, it describes the occupational shifts, related perception, and demand and supply of ‘work from home’ experience. Secondly, the dynamics of reverse migration, unemployment, and altered wages are discussed. Thirdly, the paper examines the increased need for digital payment systems to reduce hand-to-hand transmission of the virus which indirectly uplifts the scope of some occupational activities. Therefore, systemic restructuring is required with the help of different models/ schemes to address the changing demand and supply, and to adapt to the new environment of jobs and attitudes, technology use and ‘work from home’ experiences.

Dalit identity, social and economic mobility and challenges in India

This paper argues that Dalits today are not only passive participants, now they have a systematic programme. In the era of globalisation and liberalisation, they are not only restricted to the government job, but now they are also increasingly venturing into other forms of occupations, professions and as a result, they are forming a new form of Dalit identity based on their occupational shift accrue significant levels of achievements in socio-economic and political status but not as compared to the caste Hindus. Dalits seem to have slowly made an entry into the professions and occupations of modern times, this happened out of the rigorous social, economic and political interventions, which enabled social and economic mobility. Several policies induce by the states’ such as reservation in education and subsequent employment in particular help in the upward social and economic mobility of Dalits. Dalits face the question of identity both at the social-collective level and at an individual level. Regarding mobility, their reference point is individual and collective, consisting of Dalit identity and ideology which furtherleads to the agenda of Dalit empowerment and hence makes them identify with both.

Prescribed fire limits wildfire severity without altering ecological importance for birds

BackgroundFire suppression and anthropogenic land use have increased severity of wildfire in western U.S. dry conifer forests. Managers use fuels reduction methods (e.g., prescribed fire) to limit high-severity wildfire and restore ecological function to these fire-adapted forests. Many avian species that evolved in these forests, however, are adapted to conditions created by high-severity wildfire. To fully understand the ecological implications of fuels reduction treatments, we need to understand direct treatment effects and how treatments modulate subsequent wildfire effects on natural communities. We studied bird population and community patterns over nine years at six study units, including unburned (2002–2003), after prescribed fire (2004–2007), and after wildfire (2008–2010). We used a before-after, control-impact (BACI) approach to analyze shifts in species occupancy and richness in treated units following prescribed fire and again in relation to burn severity following wildfire.ResultsWe found examples of both positive and negative effects of wildfire and prescribed fire on bird species occupancy depending on and largely consistent with their life history traits; several woodpecker species, secondary cavity-nesting species, aerial insectivores, and understory species exhibited positive effects, whereas open cup canopy-nesting species and foliage- or bark-gleaning insectivores exhibited negative effects. Wildfire affected more species more consistently through time than did prescribed fire. Wildfire burned units initially treated with prescribed fire less severely than untreated units, but the slopes of wildfire effects on species occupancy were similar regardless of prior prescribed fire treatment.ConclusionsOur results suggest managers can employ prescribed fire to reduce wildfire severity without necessarily altering the ecological importance of wildfire to birds (i.e., the identity of species exhibiting negative versus positive responses). Additional study of the ecological implications of various fuels reduction practices, representing a range of intensities and fire regimes, would further inform forest management that includes biodiversity objectives.

The conquest of spaces: Exploring drivers of morphological shifts through phylogenetic palaeoecology

Much of the focus of palaeobiological studies in the last century can be summarized as seeking to understand how evolutionary lineages occupy new regions of morphological, ecological, and geographic space, or are excluded from those spaces. A desire to understand the processes that lead to morphological change unites a variety of biological disciplines focusing on topics ranging from studies of organism genomics to broad scale macroevolutionary analyses. There is increasing recognition that a hierarchical approach, incorporating both intrinsic genealogical processes and external ecological factors, is necessary to understand the mechanisms behind the drivers of phenotypic change. One of the most important issues that remains to be resolved regards the generation and fixation of morphological changes within evolutionary lineages, including whether the evolution of novel morphologies facilitates expansion to previously unoccupied environments (a developmental push mechanism) or whether a shift in ecological occupation results in subsequent morphologic change (an ecological pull mechanism). The geological record affords a unique perspective on morphological change, preserving both evidence of environmental change through shifts in sedimentology and the changing morphology of evolutionary lineages; as such, palaeontology provides a long-term view of the relationship between ecological and morphological shifts. This review focuses on the ways that phylogenetic palaeoecology, which utilizes phylogenetic frameworks in concert with palaeoecological data, can be leveraged to explore these questions. It begins by reviewing the literature on novelty and innovation – the origination of new morphologies and their proliferation within ecosystems – within a hierarchical framework and the role of heterochrony as the primary mechanism by which phenotypic change occurs before exploring evidence for developmental push and ecological pull as competing drivers of morphological shifts. Drivers of morphological shifts are examined through analysis of heterochronic trends in horseshoe crab evolution and comparison with case studies on angiosperm plants, giant ground sloths, and megatooth sharks. • Phenotypic changes occur through either a developmental push or ecological pull. • Heterochrony is the mechanism by which most morphological evolution occurs. • A hierarchical approach is needed to understand the causes behind phenotypic change. • Palaeontology provides a deep time perspective on ecological and morphological shifts. • Phylogenetic palaeoecology can be leveraged to explore morphological change.

Inscribed Space and Occupational Shift: An Anthropological Study from Saltgheri Village of Mousuni Island in South 24 Parganas of West Bengal

Inscribed space is solely a metaphor describing the relationship between humans and their physical or social environment. The present study is an empirical one, representing the inscribed space and its role in the occupational shift of a community dwelling at Saltgheri village in Mousuni Island in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal in India. The most revered firsthand anthropological fieldwork method has been used in the present study. The study shows how inscribed space shapes the social-cultural life of the studied community.

Increased growth rates of stream salamanders following forest harvesting.

Timber harvesting can influence headwater streams by altering stream productivity, with cascading effects on the food web and predators within, including stream salamanders. Although studies have examined shifts in salamander occupancy or abundance following timber harvest, few examine sublethal effects such as changes in growth and demography. To examine the effect of upland harvesting on growth of the stream‐associated Ouachita dusky salamander (Desmognathus brimleyorum), we used capture–mark–recapture over three years at three headwater streams embedded in intensely managed pine forests in west‐central Arkansas. The pine stands surrounding two of the streams were harvested, with retention of a 14‐ and 21‐m‐wide forested stream buffer on each side of the stream, whereas the third stream was an unharvested control. At the two treatment sites, measurements of newly metamorphosed salamanders were on average 4.0 and 5.7 mm larger post‐harvest compared with pre‐harvest. We next assessed the influence of timber harvest on growth of post‐metamorphic salamanders with a hierarchical von Bertalanffy growth model that included an effect of harvest on growth rate. Using measurements from 839 individual D. brimleyorum recaptured between 1 and 6 times (total captures, n = 1229), we found growth rates to be 40% higher post‐harvest. Our study is among the first to examine responses of individual stream salamanders to timber harvesting, and we discuss mechanisms that may be responsible for observed shifts in growth. Our results suggest timber harvest that includes retention of a riparian buffer (i.e., streamside management zone) may have short‐term positive effects on juvenile stream salamander growth, potentially offsetting negative sublethal effects associated with harvest.

ZFP423 controls EBF2 coactivator recruitment and PPARγ occupancy to determine the thermogenic plasticity of adipocytes.

Energy-storing white adipocytes maintain their identity by suppressing the energy-burning thermogenic gene program of brown and beige adipocytes. Here, we reveal that the protein-protein interaction between the transcriptional coregulator ZFP423 and brown fat determination factor EBF2 is essential for restraining the thermogenic phenotype of white adipose tissue (WAT). Disruption of the ZFP423-EBF2 protein interaction through CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing triggers widespread "browning" of WAT in adult mice. Mechanistically, ZFP423 recruits the NuRD corepressor complex to EBF2-bound thermogenic gene enhancers. Loss of adipocyte Zfp423 induces an EBF2 NuRD-to-BAF coregulator switch and a shift in PPARγ occupancy to thermogenic genes. This shift in PPARγ occupancy increases the antidiabetic efficacy of the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone in obesity while diminishing the unwanted weight-gaining effect of the drug. These data indicate that ZFP423 controls EBF2 coactivator recruitment and PPARγ occupancy to determine the thermogenic plasticity of adipocytes and highlight the potential of therapeutically targeting transcriptional brakes to induce beige adipocyte biogenesis in obesity.

Searching for Function: Reconstructing Adaptive Niche Changes Using Geochemical and Morphological Data in Planktonic Foraminifera

Dead species remain dead. The diversity record of life is littered with examples of declines and radiations, yet no species has ever re-evolved following its true extinction. In contrast, functional traits can transcend diversity declines, often develop iteratively and are taxon-free allowing application across taxa, environments and time. Planktonic foraminifera have an unrivaled, near continuous fossil record for the past 200 million years making them a perfect test organism to understand trait changes through time, but the functional role of morphology in determining habitat occupation has been questioned. Here, we use single specimen stable isotopes to reconstruct the water depth habitat of individual planktonic foraminifera in the genus Subbotina alongside morphological measurements of the tests to understand trait changes through the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum [MECO: ∼40 Myr ago (mega annum, Ma)]. The MECO is a geologically transient global warming interval that marks the beginning of widespread biotic reorganizations in marine organisms spanning a size spectrum from diatoms to whales. In contrast to other planktonic foraminiferal genera, the subbotinids flourished through this interval despite multiple climatic perturbations superimposed on a changing background climate. Through coupled trait and geochemical analysis, we show that Subbotina survival through this climatically dynamic interval was aided by trait plasticity and a wider ecological niche than previously thought for a subthermocline dwelling genus supporting a generalist life strategy. We also show how individually resolved oxygen isotopes can track shifts in depth occupancy through climatic upheaval. During and following the MECO, temperature changes were substantial in the thermocline and subthermocline in comparison to the muted responses of the surface ocean. In our post-MECO samples, we observe restoration of planktonic foraminifera depth stratification. Despite these changing temperatures and occupied depths, we do not detect a contemporaneous morphological response implying that readily available traits such as test size and shape do not have a clear functional role in this generalist genus. Modern imaging measurement technologies offer a promising route to gather more informative morphological traits for functional analysis, rather than the traditional candidates that are most easily measured.

Eye lenses reveal ontogenetic trophic and habitat shifts in an imperiled fish, Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi)

Stable isotopes recorded in fish eye lenses are an emerging tool to track dietary shifts coincident with use of diverse habitats over the lifetime of individuals. Eye lenses are metabolically inert, sequentially deposited, archival tissues that can open avenues to chronicle contaminant exposures, diet histories, trophic dynamics and migratory histories of individual fishes. In this study, we demonstrated that trophic histories reconstructed using eye lenses can resolve key uncertainties regarding diet and trophic habitat shifts. Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi), a threatened cyprinid, inhabits a single lake (Clear Lake, Lake County, California) and utilizes tributary streams for reproduction. Bayesian mixing models applied to δ13C and δ15N recorded in eye lenses uncovered ontogenetic diet shifts that corresponded with shifts in occupation of habitats providing spawning (tributary streams), rearing (littoral lake), and growth (pelagic lake) functions. The reconstruction of size-structured trophic and habitat information can provide vital information needed to manage and conserve imperiled species such as the Clear Lake hitch.

T3-Dependent Transcriptional Programming by TRβ in Thyroid Cells Requires SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodelers

Abstract Transcriptional regulation in response to thyroid hormone (T3) is a dynamic and cell-type specific process that maintains cellular homeostasis and identity. A bimodal switch model, where T3 binding alters the co-regulator profile of a constitutively DNA-bound thyroid hormone receptor (TR) to affect downstream gene expression, is widely used to describe the interaction between TRβ and chromatin. To test this model on a genome-wide scale, we used an integrated genomics approach to profile and characterize the cistrome of TRβ by CUT&RUN, map changes in chromatin accessibility by ATAC-seq, and capture the transcriptomic changes in response to T3 by RNA-seq in the normal thyroid cell line, Nthy-ORI. Our CUT&RUN data demonstrated that T3 binding causes significant shifts in TRβ genomic occupancy; these shifts are associated with differential chromatin accessibility. Most of the T3-induced differentially expressed genes have a TRβ binding site associated with the proximal protomer region within one kilobase of the transcriptional start site, suggesting that these are direct TRβ regulatory target genes. Remarkably, the majority of TRβ binding sites were found in transgenic regions and distal regulatory elements. In order to identify the co-regulatory proteins that are required for execution of a T3-dependent transcriptional program in our thyroid cells, we used a TRβ-miniTurboID fusion construct to perform a proximity ligation assay followed by mass spectrometry. We identified 1,138 nuclear proteins that interact with TRβ. Of these proteins, 75 interact preferentially in the presence of T3 and 68 in the absence of T3. All of the core SWI/SNF complex subunits from both of the major subtypes (BAF and PBAF) were identified as TRβ. Interestingly, we found that the PBAF-specific subunit, PBRM1, was significantly enriched in the presence of T3. BAF complex-specific subunits, such as ARID1A, were also present in our dataset. To test whether TRβ could differentially recruit BAF and PBAF complexes to its binding sites, we performed CUT&RUN targeting BRG1, PBRM, and ARID1A to determine the degree of co-occupancy with TRβ. Based on our comprehensive genomic and proteomic analyses, we propose a new model for selective recruitment of BAF and PBAF SWI/SNF complexes to TRβ binding sites for differential functions in regulating chromatin accessibility.

“How Ya Gonna Keep ’Em Down on the Farm, After They’ve Seen Paree?” World War I Overseas Military Service and Rural Americans’ Postwar Occupational Mobility

In the aftermath of World War I, U.S. discourse was animated by the concern that demobilized soldiers, having experienced the world outside of their hometowns, would resist returning to farms and to their preinduction occupations. Did military service really encourage an occupational shift? Were rural individuals especially susceptible to and was emplacement in foreign locales especially culpable for this change, as popular culture suggested? Focusing on North Dakota, a state with unusually detailed World War I records, this article uses a novel linked census–military data set and statistical analysis to examine how individuals’ place-based military experience might have inflected their postwar occupational mobility. Whereas univariate models support the contemporary perception that farm boys with overseas service were less likely to remain in agriculture, increasingly complex models suggest more nuanced interpretations, with civilian individual and contextual characteristics and their interaction being significantly predictive of farm leaving. Addressing substantive gaps in World War I historiography by contextualizing neglected subpopulations, this research also shows the value of using quantitative methods to engage with critical military geographies. Operationalizing theories of place–individual co-constitution through the analysis of longitudinal, individual data demonstrates how interest in soldiers’ experiences and in the spatiotemporally distant effects of war can be productively intertwined.

The returns to higher education and public employment

• I estimate the returns to higher education in a low-income setting. • I evaluate the effects of a rapid expansion in public universities in Ethiopia, exploiting geographical and time variation. • The expansion leads to a 4-percentage-point increase in higher-education attainment, 31% relative to baseline levels. • Higher-education attainment almost doubles the probability of entering paid employment and increases hourly wages by 80%. • The returns to higher education appear linked to occupational shifts to public administration. This paper evaluates a rapid expansion in public universities in Ethiopia to estimate the returns to higher education in a low-income context. The empirical analysis exploits the geographical and time variation in the expansion. The estimates suggest that higher-education attainment almost doubles the probability of paid employment and almost doubles hourly wages. The returns are linked to occupational shifts to the public sector, which is characterized by attractive wages and demand for higher levels of education.

Palaeolithic archaeology of the Bytham River: human occupation of Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene and its European context

ABSTRACTThe Early and early Middle Pleistocene archaeological record in Britain from c. 900 to 500 ka marks a critical shift in human occupation of northwest Europe, from occasional pioneer populations with simple core and flake technology to more widespread occupation associated with the appearance of Acheulean technology. Key to understanding this record are the fluvial deposits of the extinct Bytham River in central East Anglia, where a series of Lower Palaeolithic sites lie on a 15 km stretch of the former river. In this paper we present the results of new fieldwork and a reanalysis of historical artefact collections of handaxes and scrapers to: 1) establish the chronostratigraphic context of the Bytham archaeological record; 2) examine variability in lithic artefact typology and technology through time; and 3) explore the implications for understanding variation in lithic technology in the European record. Six phases of occupation of Britain are identified from at least marine isotope stage (MIS) 21 to MIS 13, with the last three phases characterised by distinctive lithic technology. We argue that this relates to the discontinuous occupation of Britain, where each phase represents the arrival of new groups derived from different European populations with distinctive material culture.

Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) summer thermal habitat use in streams with sympatric populations

This study addresses the need to examine the thermally mediated interactions of fish with their natural environment by investigating the shift in thermal habitat occupation for sympatric Brook and Brown Trout populations. We observed upstream Brook Trout and Brown Trout population shifts during the summer, with thermal habitats showing an increased number of Brown Trout, while some sites also displayed a decrease in the number of Brook Trout. Overall, there was an increased incidence of overlapping habitat occupation at the end of the summer. Brown Trout occupied optimal resting and feeding thermal habitat locations, which can potentially affect growth rates and Brook Trout's survival. Population shifts did not occur at elevated water temperatures as expected but seem driven by temperatures that are optimal for growth. Observed population shifts can lead to increased interactions between the two species throughout the summer. The results provide a better understanding of how future, longer-term, thermal habitat modifications may modify species interactions, which are critical for salmonid conservation efforts.

Mutant Huntingtin stalls ribosomes and represses protein synthesis in a cellular model of Huntington disease

The polyglutamine expansion of huntingtin (mHTT) causes Huntington disease (HD) and neurodegeneration, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we found that mHtt promotes ribosome stalling and suppresses protein synthesis in mouse HD striatal neuronal cells. Depletion of mHtt enhances protein synthesis and increases the speed of ribosomal translocation, while mHtt directly inhibits protein synthesis in vitro. Fmrp, a known regulator of ribosome stalling, is upregulated in HD, but its depletion has no discernible effect on protein synthesis or ribosome stalling in HD cells. We found interactions of ribosomal proteins and translating ribosomes with mHtt. High-resolution global ribosome footprint profiling (Ribo-Seq) and mRNA-Seq indicates a widespread shift in ribosome occupancy toward the 5′ and 3′ end and unique single-codon pauses on selected mRNA targets in HD cells, compared to controls. Thus, mHtt impedes ribosomal translocation during translation elongation, a mechanistic defect that can be exploited for HD therapeutics.

Participant-perceived occupational outcomes after two years of yoga for chronic pain

Introduction The study aim was to investigate the perceived impact and experience of long-term involvement in community-based group yoga for people with chronic pain. Methods Eleven participants, who previously completed an 8-week yoga intervention and continued attending yoga at a community pain clinic for 2 years, participated in the study. A mixed-methods approach was employed. Canadian Occupational Performance Measure data were collected during the 8-week yoga study (baseline) and after 2 years of yoga (follow-up). Baseline and follow-up Canadian Occupational Performance Measure data were compared to measure change in perceived occupational performance and satisfaction. Individual qualitative interviews were conducted to explore participants’ perceived impact and experience of long-term yoga involvement. Canadian Occupational Performance Measure data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and qualitative interviews were analyzed using an inductive approach. Findings Canadian Occupational Performance Measure scores significantly improved between baseline and follow-up. Three main themes emerged from qualitative interviews: (a) Occupational shift from “existing” to “living,” (b) The change process is “progressive,” and (c) Yoga is “a positive thing I do in my life.” Conclusion Long-term involvement in community-based group yoga may improve and sustain occupational performance and satisfaction. Occupational therapists may consider yoga as a tool to promote occupational gains in people with chronic pain.

Job Polarization and the Flattening of the Price Phillips Curve

This paper shows that the change in the occupational composition of the labor market in favour of non-routine jobs -i.e. job polarization- flattens the price Phillips Curve (PC). Using data from the European Monetary Union and exploiting the fact that job polarization accelerates during recessions, we obtain two results. First, countries experiencing a bigger shift in the occupational structure during a downturn exhibit a flatter PC afterward. Second, the occupational shifts experienced during the Great Recession and the Sovereign Debt Crisis explain up to a forth of the flattening of the curve in the 2002-2018 period. We reconcile this evidence through a New Keynesian model with unemployment and search and matching frictions. Heterogeneity in the fluidity across segments of the labor market -i.e. differences in the separation and hiring rate across jobs- is the source of PC flattening.