A Screening of Attica and a Conversation With Tyrone Larkins and Akil Killebrew

Join us for a screening of the film in conjunction with a panel discussion featuring Tyrone Larkins and Lawrence Akil Killebrew, both of whom are formerly incarcerated people and were in their early twenties when they were serving their sentences at Attica Prison in 1971. They are survivors of the brutality that was witnessed at Attica between September 9 and September 13, 1971.https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/event-invitations-2021/1006/thumbnail.jp

Improved Standardization of Type II-P Supernovae: Application to an Expanded Sample

In the epoch of precise and accurate cosmology, cross-confirmation using a variety of cosmographic methods is paramount to circumvent systematic uncertainties. Owing to progenitor histories and explosion physics differing from those of Type Ia SNe (SNe Ia), Type II-plateau supernovae (SNe II-P) are unlikely to be affected by evolution in the same way. Based on a new analysis of 17 SNe II-P, and on an improved methodology, we find that SNe II-P are good standardizable candles, almost comparable to SNe Ia. We derive a tight Hubble diagram with a dispersion of 10% in distance, using the simple correlation between luminosity and photospheric velocity introduced by Hamuy & Pinto 2002. We show that the descendent method of Nugent et al. 2006 can be further simplified and that the correction for dust extinction has low statistical impact. We find that our SN sample favors, on average, a very steep dust law with total to selective extinction R_V<2. Such an extinction law has been recently inferred for many SNe Ia. Our results indicate that a distance measurement can be obtained with a single spectrum of a SN II-P during the plateau phase combined with sparse photometric measurements.Comment: ApJ accepted version. Minor change

Reducing the Activity and Secretion of Microbial Antioxidants Enhances the Immunogenicity of BCG

BACKGROUND:In early clinical studies, the live tuberculosis vaccine Mycobacterium bovis BCG exhibited 80% protective efficacy against pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Although BCG still exhibits reliable protection against TB meningitis and miliary TB in early childhood it has become less reliable in protecting against pulmonary TB. During decades of in vitro cultivation BCG not only lost some genes due to deletions of regions of the chromosome but also underwent gene duplication and other mutations resulting in increased antioxidant production. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:To determine whether microbial antioxidants influence vaccine immunogenicity, we eliminated duplicated alleles encoding the oxidative stress sigma factor SigH in BCG Tice and reduced the activity and secretion of iron co-factored superoxide dismutase. We then used assays of gene expression and flow cytometry with intracellular cytokine staining to compare BCG-specific immune responses in mice after vaccination with BCG Tice or the modified BCG vaccine. Compared to BCG, the modified vaccine induced greater IL-12p40, RANTES, and IL-21 mRNA in the spleens of mice at three days post-immunization, more cytokine-producing CD8+ lymphocytes at the peak of the primary immune response, and more IL-2-producing CD4+ lymphocytes during the memory phase. The modified vaccine also induced stronger secondary CD4+ lymphocyte responses and greater clearance of challenge bacilli. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:We conclude that antioxidants produced by BCG suppress host immune responses. These findings challenge the hypothesis that the failure of extensively cultivated BCG vaccines to prevent pulmonary tuberculosis is due to over-attenuation and suggest instead a new model in which BCG evolved to produce more immunity-suppressing antioxidants. By targeting these antioxidants it may be possible to restore BCG's ability to protect against pulmonary TB

A Screening of Attica and a Conversation With Tyrone Larkins and Akil Killebrew

Join us for a screening of the film in conjunction with a panel discussion featuring Tyrone Larkins and Lawrence Akil Killebrew, both of whom are formerly incarcerated people and were in their early twenties when they were serving their sentences at Attica Prison in 1971. They are survivors of the brutality that was witnessed at Attica between September 9 and September 13, 1971.https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/event-invitations-2021/1006/thumbnail.jp

Theaster Gates : How to Build a House Museum

"Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, whose projects range from small-scale sculptures to ambitious urban interventions, investigates the transformative powers of art in this provocative book. As the force behind the much-acclaimed Stony Island Arts Bank, Gates responds creatively to the challenges of space, whether working in museums or in communities. In this instance, he explores notions of blackness, freedom, and the history of house music. Featuring works by the artist himself as well as objects drawn from the Exhibit of American Negros at the 1900 Paris Exposition, the Ed Williams collection of negrobilia, and Frankie Knuckles's vinyl collections, How to Build a Museum proposes new ways of honouring and remembering Black experience, exploring the potential of symbolic structures and their associated objects. " -- Publisher's website