Divisive democracy and popular struggle in Africa

Editoria

Migrants, borders and labour regimes in Mauritania: between militarisation and mobility

Migration into Mauritania from the south is composed of the following highly volatile and confluent channels: 1) pendular border crossings of the Senegal River from neighbouring regions in Senegal and Mali, which may be daily or itinerant for traders, and seasonal or longer-term for those seeking employment; these migrations also incorporate southern Mauritanians moving northwards to urban areas; 2) labour migration from further afield in West Africa, linked historically to fishing and mineral-led growth; 3) intended migration to Europe from West and Central Africa, including people who head directly to the coast to depart for the Canary Islands, or “step-wise” migrants who will seek informal employment to fund the onward journey; 4) refugees

Abortion Attitudes Among Kansas Women Before and After a Statewide Vote Upholding Kansans’ Constitutional Right to Abortion

The United States Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022 spotlighted women’s own attitudes towards abortion throughout the United States. Kansas became the first state to put the question of abortion rights directly to their citizens through a statewide referendum in August 2022 on which a majority YES vote would allow the Kansas Legislature to regulate abortions and a majority NO vote would preserve Kansans’ right to the procedure under the Kansas Constitution. Statewide surveying in December 2021 and September-October 2022, of Kansans’ attitudes towards abortion gave insight to how women of the classically red state voted to uphold the Kansas Supreme Court ruling that they have a right to abortion under the Kansas Constitution. We examine abortion attitudes of women and by sociodemographic types using the 2021 and 2022 statewide survey

Characterisation of novel lung cancer cell lines for immuno-inhibitory markers

The present study investigates the expression of immune biomarkers, PD-L1 and HLA-1 on novel lung cancer cell lines (H838, H838-EGFR, A549, A549-ALK, HCC 827, NCI 1650, TWIT, Jacket). PD-L1 and HLA-1 characterisation were initially performed and analysed via flow cytometry. These results showed that the expression of PD-L1 and HLA-1 varies across the cell lines from high percent to low. The effect of IFNy on biomarkers expression was also investigated following a 48 hour incubation period. of the cell lines analysed the expression of PD-L1 increases with IFNy stimulation whilst HLA-1 remains relatively unchanged. Trypan blue assays for cell viability were performed, showing that when stimulated, cells were 100% viable whereas viability decreases upon IFNy exposure

Colors of Cannabis in the U.S; An Analysis of Race and Marijuana Legalization

In the United States, many state governments have either legalized or decriminalized small quantities of marijuana for recreational or medicinal use, while other states have resisted the pull towards legalization. This study aims to correlate the racial makeup of states with the degree of marijuana illegality, hypothesizing that high minority populations may be a deterrent to a state legalizing marijuana. Current statewide marijuana policy was cross tabulated by racial composition based on the 2020 census, concluding that blacks are 5% more likely to live in a state where marijuana is illegal, while whites are 7% more likely to live in a state where marijuana is legal. Analysis also compared the percentage of blacks arrested for marijuana possession for states of varying legality, finding that legalization decreases the arrest disparity and makes blacks slightly less likely to be arrested