Engaging, Standing, and Stepping: Evaluating Anthropological Activism on an Amazonian Petro-Frontier

Anthropologists and activists portray the lives and lands of Ecuador’s Indigenous Cofán people as a case study of the damage caused by petroleum extraction. Yet during my fieldwork on the issue, I began to question the nature of the Cofán-oil encounter when the community in which I worked decided to allow oil companies onto their land. In this article, I examine my own involvements with Cofán oil politics in dialogue with Stuart Kirsch’s concept of ‘engaged anthropology’ and Kim TallBear’s call for researchers to ‘stand with’ their research subjects. I argue that anthropological activism is necessarily a complex and shifting affair, especially when our collaborators’ perspectives diverge from our own regarding the best possible paths to their wellbeing. I suggest that the most ethical option is for anthropologists to commit themselves to continuous, co-con-structed partnerships in which they are perpetually prepared to transform their most basic political and intellectual positions

Interferon beta-1a sc at 25 years: a mainstay in the treatment of multiple sclerosis over the period of one generation.

INTRODUCTION Interferon beta (IFN beta) preparations are an established group of drugs used for immunomodulation in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Subcutaneously (sc) applied interferon beta-1a (IFN beta-1a sc) has been in continuous clinical use for 25 years as a disease-modifying treatment. AREAS COVERED Based on data published since 2018, we discuss recent insights from analyses of the pivotal trial PRISMS and its long-term extension as well as from newer randomized studies with IFN beta-1a sc as the reference treatment, the use of IFN beta-1a sc across the patient life span and as a bridging therapy, recent data regarding the mechanisms of action, and potential benefits of IFN beta-1a sc regarding vaccine responses. EXPERT OPINION IFN beta-1a sc paved the way to effective immunomodulatory treatment of MS, enabled meaningful insights into the disease process, and remains a valid therapeutic option in selected vulnerable MS patient groups

Zero forcing number, maximum nullity, and path cover number of subdivided graphs

The zero forcing number, maximum nullity and path cover number of a (simple, undirected) graph are parameters that are important in the study of minimum rank problems. We investigate the effects on these graph parameters when an edge is subdivided to obtain a so-called edge subdivision graph. An open question raised by Barrett et al. in “Minimum rank of edge subdivisions of graphs, ” Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra (2009) 18: 530–563, is answered in the negative, and we provide additional evidence for an affirmative answer to another open question in that paper. It is shown that there is an independent relationship between the change in maximum nullity and zero forcing number caused by subdividing an edge once. Bounds on the effect of a single edge subdivision on the path cover number are presented, conditions under which the path cover number is preserved are given, and it is shown that the path cover number and the zero forcing number of a complete subdivision graph need not be equal

NK Cells Promote Th-17 Mediated Corneal Barrier Disruption in Dry Eye

The conjunctiva contains a specialized population of lymphocytes that reside in the epithelium, named intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL).Here we characterized the IEL population prior to and after experimental desiccating stress (DS) for 5 or 10 days (DS5, DS10) and evaluated the effect of NK depletion on DS. The frequency of IELs in normal murine conjunctiva was CD3(+)CD103(+) (~22%), CD3(+)γδ(+) (~9.6%), CD3(+)NK(+) (2%), CD3(-)NK(+) (~4.4%), CD3(+)CD8α (~0.9%), and CD4 (~0.6%). Systemic depletion of NK cells prior and during DS led to a decrease in the frequency of total and activated DCs, a decrease in T helper-17(+) cells in the cervical lymph nodes and generation of less pathogenic CD4(+)T cells. B6.nude recipient mice of adoptively transferred CD4(+)T cells isolated from NK-depleted DS5 donor mice showed significantly less corneal barrier disruption, lower levels of IL-17A, CCL20 and MMP-3 in the cornea epithelia compared to recipients of control CD4(+)T cells.Taken together, these results show that the NK IELs are involved in the acute immune response to desiccation-induced dry eye by activating DC, which in turn coordinate generation of the pathogenic Th-17 response

Compartmentalization of total and virus-specific tissue-resident memory CD8+ T Cells in human lymphoid organs

Disruption of T cell memory during severe immune suppression results in reactivation of chronic viral infections, such as Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV). How different subsets of memory T cells contribute to the protective immunity against these viruses remains poorly defined. In this study we examined the compartmentalization of virus-specific, tissue resident memory CD8+ T cells in human lymphoid organs. This revealed two distinct populations of memory CD8+ T cells, that were CD69+CD103+ and CD69+CD103-, and were retained within the spleen and tonsils in the absence of recent T cell stimulation. These two types of memory cells were distinct not only in their phenotype and transcriptional profile, but also in their anatomical localization within tonsils and spleen. The EBV-specific, but not CMV-specific, CD8+ memory T cells preferentially accumulated in the tonsils and acquired a phenotype that ensured their retention at the epithelial sites where EBV replicates. In vitro studies revealed that the cytokine IL-15 can potentiate the retention of circulating effector memory CD8+ T cells by down-regulating the expression of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor, required for T cell exit from tissues, and its transcriptional activator, Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2). Within the tonsils the expression of IL-15 was detected in regions where CD8+ T cells localized, further supporting a role for this cytokine in T cell retention. Together this study provides evidence for the compartmentalization of distinct types of resident memory T cells that could contribute to the long-term protection against persisting viral infections

Effectiveness and safety of opicapone in Parkinson’s disease patients with motor fluctuations: the OPTIPARK open-label study

Background The efficacy and safety of opicapone, a once-daily catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor, have been established in two large randomized, placebo-controlled, multinational pivotal trials. Still, clinical evidence from routine practice is needed to complement the data from the pivotal trials. Methods OPTIPARK (NCT02847442) was a prospective, open-label, single-arm trial conducted in Germany and the UK under clinical practice conditions. Patients with Parkinson’s disease and motor fluctuations were treated with opicapone 50 mg for 3 (Germany) or 6 (UK) months in addition to their current levodopa and other antiparkinsonian treatments. The primary endpoint was the Clinician’s Global Impression of Change (CGI-C) after 3 months. Secondary assessments included Patient Global Impressions of Change (PGI-C), the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8), and the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS). Safety assessments included evaluation of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs). Results Of the 506 patients enrolled, 495 (97.8%) took at least one dose of opicapone. Of these, 393 (79.4%) patients completed 3 months of treatment. Overall, 71.3 and 76.9% of patients experienced any improvement on CGI-C and PGI-C after 3 months, respectively (full analysis set). At 6 months, for UK subgroup only (n = 95), 85.3% of patients were judged by investigators as improved since commencing treatment. UPDRS scores at 3 months showed statistically significant improvements in activities of daily living during OFF (mean ± SD change from baseline: − 3.0 ± 4.6, p < 0.0001) and motor scores during ON (− 4.6 ± 8.1, p < 0.0001). The mean ± SD improvements of − 3.4 ± 12.8 points for PDQ-8 and -6.8 ± 19.7 points for NMSS were statistically significant versus baseline (both p < 0.0001). Most of TEAEs (94.8% of events) were of mild or moderate intensity. TEAEs considered to be at least possibly related to opicapone were reported for 45.1% of patients, with dyskinesia (11.5%) and dry mouth (6.5%) being the most frequently reported. Serious TEAEs considered at least possibly related to opicapone were reported for 1.4% of patients. Conclusions Opicapone 50 mg was effective and generally well-tolerated in PD patients with motor fluctuations treated in clinical practice. Trial registration Registered in July 2016 at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02847442)

Violence from beyond

Comment on Turner, Terence. 2017. “Beauty and the beast: The fearful symmetry of the jaguar and other natural beings in Kayapo ritual and myth.” Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 7 (2): 51–70

Valueless value: The question of production in Cofán shamanism

In this essay, I analyze the production of value in the shamanic complex of the indigenous Cofán people of eastern Ecuador. While acknowledging the ethical nature of human existence and the generative power of human action, I describe the shaman as a paradoxical figure with regard to the efforts that produce him and the criteria that orient his actions. The shaman occupies a central social position, but he profits from little Cofán labor and receives mixed Cofán praise. Consequently, it is arguable that he represents no value at all. If anything, I suggest, he embodies valueless value, a concept I articulate in relation to Pierre Clastres’s notion of “powerless power.” In dialogue with the anthropology of ethics, morality, and productive action, I use my analysis of Cofán shamanism to demonstrate the utility of a value-based approach in any ethnographic investigation that takes human practice as its primary object