Sifiso Mzobe’s Young Blood: Spaces of getting and becoming in post-apartheid Durban

Sifiso Mzobe’s Young blood (2010) generates much of its energy, this article will argue, through its representation of social and physical mobility and its articulation of space with modes of consumption in post-apartheid South Africa. The novel is set chiefly in the township of Umlazi, the city of Durban and some of its middle- class suburbs. The chief protagonist, a young car thief, moves between township, city and suburb with ease in stolen cars. The open space of the highway separates township and suburb, but also connects them. The novel shows how the spatial arrangements of power and control associated with apartheid are increasingly undermined and reconfigured by new practices of everyday life. Young blood suggests that a certain style of driving can offer new ways of inhabiting the South African city and of bringing its disparate parts together. The ability to move between places in the novel provides opportunities for upward mobility and also enables new forms of symbiosis, trade and consumption. Stealing and driving cars enable Sifiso and his friends to bridge the divide between township and suburb and turn the distance between the two places into a domain of attainment and performance. But the rapid upward social mobility that high-level criminal activity allows is exposed as uncertain and ephemeral by the end of the novel, and the slower route offered by education to self-improvement and class mobility is proffered in its place

Delineating Signaling Mechanisms Involved in Lymphocyte Chemotaxis, Immune Homeostasis and Allergic Asthma

The vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) signaling axis constitutes VIP and its two G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) termed vasoactive intestinal/pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (VPAC) 1 and 2. This signaling axis regulates numerous biological actions within the endocrine system, the nervous system and the immune system. Working as a gut hormone, VIP can increase cAMP signaling within beta-islet cells of the pancreas to impact insulin production. As a neurotransmitter, it acts as a master circadian regulator controlling light and dark cycling. Lastly, VIP regulates immune processes such as activation, chemotaxis, development and cytokine secretion. The focus of my doctoral research was to delineate VIP signaling mechanisms controlling immunity. We aimed at understanding: 1.) the molecular mechanism of VIP-induced T cell trafficking 2.) ability for VPAC2 signaling to regulate immune homeostasis and 3.) a phenotype of a B cell subset during asthma, an immune pathology devoid of VIP protein due to excessive protease activity. Methods employed utilized isolated primary mouse immune cells to measure a VIP-induced signaling pathway centered on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a tyrosine kinase receptor, by qPCR and chemotaxis assays. Flow cytometry to enumerate immune cell numbers in VPAC2 deficient mice was done to accomplish aim 2. Lastly, using a published in vivo allergic asthma mouse model, we used qPCR, immunoblotting and flow cytometry analyses to measure expression of Hyaluronic acid binding proteins on B cells. Results from these studies revealed that VIP signaling in T cells is regulated by EGFR as inhibitors against its enzymatic activity abolished T cell movement towards VIP. Immune cell numbers were lowered as a consequence of VPAC2 deficiency, suggesting its involvement in homeostasis. Lastly, a unique B cell population homing to asthmatic lung secretes an anti-inflammatory mediator, TGF-beta, through the HA binding protein called RHAMM. Collectively, these data emphasize the importance of VIP signaling in the immune system controlling cell migration and homeostasis.R15 Al 101968 01A1R15 HL 117254 0

I Write What I Like

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Black Consciousness & the Quest for a True Humanity

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I Write What I Like

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Pathways to medical abortion self-use (MASU): results from a cross-sectional survey of women’s experiences in Kenya and Uganda

Abstract Background In Kenya and Uganda, unsafe abortions are a leading cause of maternal mortality. The new WHO policy guidelines on the safe termination of pregnancies up to 9 weeks lack information on women’s experiences with self-administered medical abortion (MA), impeding the development of interventions to increase MA use. This study aimed to comprehend women’s experiences with MA in Kenyan and Ugandan pharmacies. Methods A cross-sectional mixed-methods survey utilized data from medical registers in 71 purposefully identified pharmacies and clinics dispensing MA drugs between September and October 2021. Forty women who were MA users participated in focus group discussions. The main outcome variables were: sources of MA information, costs of MA services, complications from MA, pain management, follow-up rates, and use of post-MA contraception. Quantitative data were analyzed using Stata 15, while qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using Dedoose qualitative analysis software. Results 73.6% of 2,366 women got an MA, both in Kenya (79%) and Uganda (21%). Most (59.1%) were walk-in clients. Kenya had significantly more women referred for MA (49.9%) than Uganda (10.1%) (p 0.05). Friends and family members were the main sources of MA information. The median cost of MA was USD 18 (IQR 10–60.5) in Kenya and USD 4.2 (IQR 2–12) in Uganda. Most MA clients received pain management (89.6%), were followed up (81%), and received post-MA contraception (97.6%). Qualitative results indicated a lack of medicines, high costs of MA, complications, stigma, and inadequate training of providers as barriers to MA use. Conclusions and recommendations Communities are a valuable information resource for MA, but only if they have access to the right information. A relatively weak health referral system in Uganda highlights the importance of pharmacies and clinicians collaborating to support clients’ abortion needs and contraceptive use after medical abortion (MA). Low client follow-up rates show how important it is to make sure pharmacy technicians know how to give MA correctly. Finally, it is crucial to strengthen the supply chain for MA products in order to eliminate cost barriers to access