BEYOND PROGRESSIVE AMERICA: MOTHER EARTH AND ITS ANARCHIST WORLD (1906-1918)

This dissertation situates anarchist propaganda and Progressive America in a global scale to reassess the historical significance of anarchism in the early twentieth century. Delving into the multiform propaganda of Emma Goldman’s anarchist monthly Mother Earth, it captures an important transfiguration of anarchist communism from a labor-based socioeconomic movement to an inclusive radical culture. The magazine, I argue, forged a new intellectual force and contributed to a wide reception of anarchism without committing to the stateless anarchy. I introduce the concept of space, the “Mother Earth counterfamily,” the “propaganda quartet,” the transnational network, and the non-anarchist public to grasp the magazine’s versatile operation and its lasting intellectual effect. While Goldman remains the primary actor in this dissertation, this dissertation draws a clear picture of the cooperation, as well as tension, within members of Mother Earth’s inner circle. I also incorporate multiple perspectives that illustrate the cacophonous views from the anarchist ranks, as well as from various non-anarchist audiences and presses. My five chapters respectively delve into the headquarters’ culture, nationwide propaganda efforts, transnational networks, sex radicalism, and the interplay of free-speech and anti-militarist campaigns in Mother Earth’s anarchist project. These underexplored themes reveal the mechanism that the inner circle used to win intellectual audiences and facilitate a social revolution. I map out the local, national, and international activities of Mother Earth’s manifold propaganda to reveal a growing anarchist sphere, which extended to Europe, Latin America, Japan, China, Africa, and Australia. This dissertation demonstrates that the greatest contribution of Mother Earth was its success in appealing to anti-authoritarian impulses among white middle-class intellectuals, rather than in mobilizing a politically-charged anarchist movement. The scope of Mother Earth’s propaganda transcended anarchist circles, the ranks of labor, and the Western Hemisphere. Its members’ words and deeds helped create a pervasive radical culture, which also expanded the interactions of America and the world. As a formidable minority among the American left, these anarchists encouraged a highly diverse audience to develop the power to think and the desire to rebel. Their anarchist messages proved to be far-reaching among leftists beyond both Progressive America and their era

Plasma levels in sepsis patients of annexin A1, lipoxin A4, macrophage inflammatory protein-3a, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin

AbstractBackgroundThe relationship between the various cytokine responses that occur during sepsis remains controversial. Emerging evidence indicates that the proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses are regulated simultaneously from the beginning of sepsis. However, the roles of the novel anti-inflammatory mediators annexin (Anx)A1 and lipoxin (LX)A4 and the proinflammatory cytokines neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-3a have been studied.MethodsIn this study, the plasma levels of AnxA1, LXA4, NGAL, MIP-3a, interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-6 in patients with sepsis were determined on admission to the intensive care unit. The patients were classified into survivors and non-survivors based on their outcome on day 28.ResultsAnxA1 and LXA4 levels were decreased in sepsis patients compared with control patients, whereas the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines MIP-3a, NGAL, IL-8, and IL-6 were elevated. Furthermore, a significantly higher level of MIP-3a was detected in nonsurviving patients compared with surviving patients (p < 0.05), whereas there were no significant differences between these two groups for the levels of the other mediators. Correlation analysis demonstrated that only NGAL level was closely correlated with the level of IL-6. Univariate analysis indicated that the levels of MIP-3a and IL-8 were independent factors associated with patient survival, but this was not confirmed by the multivariate analysis.ConclusionAnxA1 and LXA4 plasma levels were found to be decreased in sepsis patients, whereas the levels of MIP-3a and NGAL were found to be elevated. This warrants further study in order to determine the clinical implications of these changes

Twin Pregnancy with Gastroschisis in Both Twins

SUMMARYObjectiveGastroschisis is a congenital malformation characterized by an abdominal wall defect located laterally to a normal umbilicus. The cause of gastroschisis is unknown, but most authors consider it exogenous. We describe the case of a woman with a twin pregnancy in which both twins had gastroschisis.Case ReportA 17-year-old primiparous female was referred to our institution because of a twin pregnancy, with one twin diagnosed with gastroschisis at 34 weeks of gestation. Unfortunately, gastroschisis was noted in both twins, but no other anomalies were observed under level II sonographic evaluation. The twins were delivered by cesarean section at 36+weeks of gestation because of preterm labor and breech presentation of one fetus. Both twins presented with a 3-cm abdominal wall defect located to the right side of the umbilicus and a large portion of the bowel protruding that was not covered by membrane. Histopathology of the placenta revealed that the twins were diamniotic monochorionic. Chromosomal analysis of cord blood showed normal karyotype (46, XX) in both newborns.ConclusionThe cause of gastroschisis is unknown, although possible exogenous causes have been studied. The diagnosis of gastroschisis in twin pregnancy is always in late gestation. Therefore, maternal serum alpha feto-protein screening and a detailed prenatal ultrasound evaluation are recommended in multifetal pregnancies

Assessment of gene-covariate interactions by incorporating covariates into association mapping

The HLA region is considered to be the main genetic risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis. Previous research demonstrated that HLA-DRB1 alleles encoding the shared epitope are specific for disease that is characterized by antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP). In the present study, we incorporated the shared epitope and either anti-CCP antibodies or rheumatoid factor into linkage disequilibrium mapping, to assess the association between the shared epitope or antibodies with the disease gene identified. Incorporating the covariates into the association mapping provides a mechanism 1) to evaluate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions and 2) to dissect the pathways underlying disease induction/progress in quantitative antibodies

Electroencephalography and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in neonatal citrullinemia

The authors present a case of citrullinemia with a genotype of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS1), c.380 G>A (p.R127Q)/c.380 G>A (p.R127Q), in two alleles. A 3-day-old female infant presented with status epilepticus and coma. Laboratory data showed hyperammonemia and marked lactic acidosis in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid; electroencephalography showed severely suppressed cerebral activity and focal paroxysmal volleys of slow and sharp waves (< 1Hz) over the left hemisphere. Real-time transcranial Doppler ultrasonography showed a brain edema and high peaked systolic and low diastolic flows in basal, anterior, and middle cerebral arteries; however, immediately after a blood exchange transfusion, systolic flows were lower and diastolic flows were higher. The resistance indices were significantly different (means: 0.58 vs. 0.37; p=0.01). The patient was placed on diet therapy. After six blood exchange transfusions and peritoneal dialysis, her neurologic examination results and serum ammonia and lactate values were normal. The authors found that electroencephalography and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography were useful for the diagnosis and follow-up treatment of neonatal citrullinemia

Utilized mass spectrometry-based protein profiling system to identify potential biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma

AbstractHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common malignant liver tumor. The purpose of this study is to characterize proteins secreted from the HepG2 cells, which may relate to cell differentiation and tumor metastasis. In the proteomic analysis, the secretome was identified by nano-high–performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (nano-HPLC/ESIMS/MS) followed by peptide fragmentation pattern analysis. In this study, three proteins, p130Cas-associated protein (p130Cas/BCAR1), TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP43/TARDBP) and translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP/TPT1), were identified and confirmed by Western blotting, which showed significantly differential expression compared with the normal liver cells. Analyzing differential protein expressions in HepG2 cell by proteomic approaches suggests that p130Cas/BCAR1, TDP43/TARDBP and TCTP/TPT1 as key proteins and may serve as biomarkers for HCC