Appropriating mobility and bordering Europe through romantic love: Unearthing the intricate intertwinement of border regimes and migratory practices

This article introduces the notion of appropriation in debates on how to account for migrants’ capacity to defy restrictive border controls and migration policies. What the notion of appropriation better captures than concepts like agency or resistance is the multi-faceted and intricate intertwinement of border regimes and migratory practices. The article illustrates this advantage through an analysis of the phenomenon of bezness. The term refers to a migration strategy of aspiring migrants who seduce and subsequently marry European tourists as a way to gain entry to and residency in Europe. This article develops a reading of bezness as a mode of appropriation of mobility which is intertwined with the border regime in at least four ways: First, bezness is provoked by restrictive visa policies that create a highly unequal access to mobility and life opportunities. The case of bezness illustrates, second, that migrants try to recode the methods, logics and effects of mobility control into means of appropriation. Migrants’ practices of appropriation involve, third, the clandestine transgression of the norms, rules and regulations that define particular border regimes. Finally, the notion of appropriation permits to recognise that the European border regime operates as an apparatus of capture that tries to recuperate migrants’ practices in order to turn them into a driving force for its own development. The example of bezness demonstrates, moreover, that these processes of recuperation also feature the mobilisation of emotions – in this case of romantic love – as technologies of government

Inhibition of the Progesterone Nuclear Receptor during the Bone Linear Growth Phase Increases Peak Bone Mass in Female Mice

Augmentation of the peak bone mass (PBM) may be one of the most effective interventions to reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis later in life; however treatments to augment PBM are currently limited. Our study evaluated whether a greater PBM could be achieved either in the progesterone nuclear receptor knockout mice (PRKO) or by using a nuclear progesterone receptor (nPR) antagonist, RU486 in mice. Compared to their wild type (WT) littermates the female PRKO mice developed significantly higher cancellous and cortical mass in the distal femurs, and this was associated with increased bone formation. The high bone mass phenotype was partially reproduced by administering RU486 in female WT mice from 1–3 months of age. Our results suggest that the inhibition of the nPR during the rapid bone growth period (1–3 months) increases osteogenesis, which results in acquisition of higher bone mass. Our findings suggest a crucial role for progesterone signaling in bone acquisition and inhibition of the nPR as a novel approach to augment bone mass, which may have the potential to reduce the burden of osteoporosis

Epistemic justification and epistemic luck

Among epistemologists, it is not uncommon to relate various forms of epistemic luck to the vexed debate between internalists and externalists. But there are many internalism/externalism debates in epistemology, and it is not always clear how these debates relate to each other. In the present paper I investigate the relation between epistemic luck and prominent internalist and externalist accounts of epistemic justification. I argue that the dichotomy between internalist and externalist concepts of justification can be characterized in terms of epistemic luck. Whereas externalist theories of justification are incompatible with veritic luck but not with reflective luck, the converse is true for internalist theories of justification. These results are found to explain and cohere with some recent findings from elsewhere in epistemology, and support a surprising picture of justification, on which internalism and externalism are complementary rather than contradictory positions

IOF position statement: vitamin D recommendations for older adults

This position paper of the International Osteoporosis Foundation makes recommendations for vitamin D nutrition in elderly men and women from an evidence-based perspective. © 2010 International Osteoporosis Foundation and National Osteoporosis Foundation

Micronutrient fortification of food and its impact on woman and child health: A systematic review

Background: Vitamins and minerals are essential for growth and metabolism. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 2 billion people are deficient in key vitamins and minerals. Groups most vulnerable to these micronutrient deficiencies are pregnant and lactating women and young children, given their increased demands. Food fortification is one of the strategies that has been used safely and effectively to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies.Methods: A comprehensive search was done to identify all available evidence for the impact of fortification interventions. Studies were included if food was fortified with a single, dual or multiple micronutrients and impact of fortification was analyzed on the health outcomes and relevant biochemical indicators of women and children. We performed a meta-analysis of outcomes using Review Manager Software version 5.1.Results: Our systematic review identified 201 studies that we reviewed for outcomes of relevance. Fortification for children showed significant impacts on increasing serum micronutrient concentrations. Hematologic markers also improved, including hemoglobin concentrations, which showed a significant rise when food was fortified with vitamin A, iron and multiple micronutrients. Fortification with zinc had no significant adverse impact on hemoglobin levels. Multiple micronutrient fortification showed non-significant impacts on height for age, weight for age and weight for height Z-scores, although they showed positive trends. The results for fortification in women showed that calcium and vitamin D fortification had significant impacts in the post-menopausal age group. Iron fortification led to a significant increase in serum ferritin and hemoglobin levels in women of reproductive age and pregnant women. Folate fortification significantly reduced the incidence of congenital abnormalities like neural tube defects without increasing the incidence of twinning. The number of studies pooled for zinc and multiple micronutrients for women were few, though the evidence suggested benefit. There was a dearth of evidence for the impact of fortification strategies on morbidity and mortality outcomes in women and children.Conclusion: Fortification is potentially an effective strategy but evidence from the developing world is scarce. Programs need to assess the direct impact of fortification on morbidity and mortality

Effect of a DC electric field on a meniscus in a square groove

International audienceThe present study aims at investigating the deformation of a liquid-gas meniscus across a square groove when submitted to an electric field. Two numerical methods are developed: a first one (in-house) consists in solving the strong coupling between the Laplace-Young equation and the Laplace equation for the electric potential; the latter equation being required to get the distribution of the normal electric stress along the meniscus while the first equation is used to calculate the meniscus shape. The Laplace-Young equation is accordingly modified in order to take into account the added contribution of the normal electric stress. A second method based on the phase-field approach is developed for sake of comparison. The results demonstrate a fair agreement between both methods: the electric stress is found to be mostly focused on the top edges of the side walls, which pulls up the interface and yields higher curvatures for a same pressure jump. The in-house method is found to be significantly fast and to accommodate well with realistic boundary conditions, compared to the phase-field method which does not comply with the contact angle. The results, as obtained from the in-house method, are analysed based on non-dimensional numbers whose respective effects on the shape of the interface are properly investigated. A significant impact of the electric field near the triple contact line and at the centre of the groove is made evident. These effects can be described by considering an apparent angle near the triple contact line, or by considering the elevation of the meniscus centre. These results can be used in order to optimise an electro-capillary enhanced structure whose groove geometry is given

Effect of a DC electric field on the liquid-vapor interface in a grooved flat heat pipe

International audienc

Effect of a DC electric field on the liquid-vapor interface in a grooved flat heat pipe

International audienc