Ghost and the other

This article focuses on ghost-related othering: of those alive and those dead in a Siberian village; of those who subscribe to the existence of ghosts by certain Russian officials; of texts that do not reduce ghosts to a second order of reality from the genre of ethnography, and their authors from the rank of fellow anthropologists. Pushing the logic of the “ontological turn” in anthropology to its limits, it asks whether such instances simply resemble each other, or whether it is possible to discern some sort of ontological continuity between them. Could the similitudes be the effect of ghosts’ (perhaps fragmented and partial) existence, rather than their (monolithic, ultimate and unquestionable) non-existence

Fantômes

Des morts apparaissent – dans les bunkers des îles Anglo-Normandes, dans les foyers vietnamiens d’après-guerre, dans les plaines désolées de Sibérie, dans les villages médiévaux italiens ou dans les salons bourgeois européens ; des morts apparaissent – aux prêtres taoïstes, aux moines bénédictins, aux adolescents curieux ou aux hommes courageux ; des morts apparaissent et obligent les vivants à les accueillir, à leur ménager une place dans un monde ébranlé par l’événement saisissant de leur surgissement ; des morts apparaissent – ce sont les fantômes

Vascular Remodeling of Clinically Used Patches and Decellularized Pericardial Matrices Recellularized with Autologous or Allogeneic Cells in a Porcine Carotid Artery Model

Background: Cardiovascular surgery is confronted by a lack of suitable materials for patch repair. Acellular animal tissues serve as an abundant source of promising biomaterials. The aim of our study was to explore the bio-integration of decellularized or recellularized pericardial matrices in vivo. Methods: Porcine (allograft) and ovine (heterograft, xenograft) pericardia were decellularized using 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate ((1) Allo-decel and (2) Xeno-decel). We used two cell types for pressure-stimulated recellularization in a bioreactor: autologous adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ASCs) isolated from subcutaneous fat of pigs ((3) Allo-ASC and (4) Xeno-ASC) and allogeneic Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJCs) ((5) Allo-WJC and (6) Xeno-WJC). These six experimental patches were implanted in porcine carotid arteries for one month. For comparison, we also implanted six types of control patches, namely, arterial or venous autografts, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE Propaten® Gore®), polyethylene terephthalate (PET Vascutek®), chemically stabilized bovine pericardium (XenoSure®), and detoxified porcine pericardium (BioIntegral® NoReact®). The grafts were evaluated through the use of flowmetry, angiography, and histological examination. Results: All grafts were well-integrated and patent with no signs of thrombosis, stenosis, or aneurysm. A histological analysis revealed that the arterial autograft resembled a native artery. All other control and experimental patches developed neo-adventitial inflammation (NAI) and neo-intimal hyperplasia (NIH), and the endothelial lining was present. NAI and NIH were most prominent on XenoSure® and Xeno-decel and least prominent on NoReact®. In xenografts, the degree of NIH developed in the following order: Xeno-decel > Xeno-ASC > Xeno-WJC. NAI and patch resorption increased in Allo-ASC and Xeno-ASC and decreased in Allo-WJC and Xeno-WJC. Conclusions: In our setting, pre-implant seeding with ASC or WJC had a modest impact on vascular patch remodeling. However, ASC increased the neo-adventitial inflammatory reaction and patch resorption, suggesting accelerated remodeling. WJC mitigated this response, as well as neo-intimal hyperplasia on xenografts, suggesting immunomodulatory properties