Global sceptical publics: from non-religious print media to 'digital atheism'

James, Bradbury and Mascha Schulz. 2022. Performing the secular: street theatre and songs as ‘secular media’ in Bangladesh and West Bengal. In: Global Sceptical Publics. From non-religious print media to 'digital atheism', edited by Jacob Copeman and Mascha Schulz, pp. 71-96. UCL Press: London. https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/209498

Acute rejection is associated with antibodies to non-Gal antigens in baboons using Gal-knockout pig kidneys

We transplanted kidneys from α1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout (GalT-KO) pigs into six baboons using two different immunosuppressive regimens, but most of the baboons died from severe acute humoral xenograft rejection. Circulating induced antibodies to non-Gal antigens were markedly elevated at rejection, which mediated strong complement-dependent cytotoxicity against GalT-KO porcine target cells. These data suggest that antibodies to non-Gal antigens will present an additional barrier to transplantation of organs from GalT-KO pigs to humans. © 2005 Nature Publishing Group

Familial aggregation of gout and relative genetic and environmental contributions: a nationwide population study in Taiwan

OBJECTIVE: To examine familial aggregation of gout and to estimate the heritability and environmental contributions to gout susceptibility in the general population. METHODS: Using data from the National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database in Taiwan, we conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study of data collected from 22 643 748 beneficiaries of the NHI in 2004; among them 1 045 059 individuals had physician-diagnosed gout. We estimated relative risks (RR) of gout in individuals with affected first-degree and second-degree relatives and relative contributions of genes (heritability), common environment shared by family members and non-shared environment to gout susceptibility. RESULTS: RRs for gout were significantly higher in individuals with affected first-degree relatives (men, 1.91 (95% CI 1.90 to 1.93); women, 1.97 (95% CI 1.94 to 1.99)) and also in those with affected second-degree relatives (men, 1.27 (95% CI 1.23 to 1.31); women, 1.40 (95% CI 1.35 to 1.46)). RRs (95% CIs) for individuals with an affected twin, sibling, offspring, parent, grandchild, nephew/niece, uncle/aunt and grandparent were 8.02 (6.95 to 9.26), 2.59 (2.54 to 2.63), 1.96 (1.95 to 1.97), 1.93 (1.91 to 1.94), 1.48 (1.43 to 1.53), 1.40 (1.32 to 1.47), 1.31 (1.24 to 1.39), and 1.26 (1.21 to 1.30), respectively. The relative contributions of heritability, common and non-shared environmental factors to phenotypic variance of gout were 35.1, 28.1 and 36.8% in men and 17.0, 18.5 and 64.5% in women, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This population-based study confirms that gout aggregates within families. The risk of gout is higher in people with a family history. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to gout aetiology, and the relative contributions are sexually dimorphic

Cord blood banking – bio-objects on the borderlands between community and immunity

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has become the focus of intense efforts to collect, screen and bank haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in hundreds of repositories around the world. UCB banking has developed through a broad spectrum of overlapping banking practices, sectors and institutional forms. Superficially at least, these sectors have been widely distinguished in bioethical and policy literature between notions of the ‘public’ and the ‘private’, the commons and the market respectively. Our purpose in this paper is to reflect more critically on these distinctions and to articulate the complex practical and hybrid nature of cord blood as a ‘bio-object’ that straddles binary conceptions of the blood economies. The paper draws upon Roberto Esposito’s reflections on biopolitics and his attempt to transcend the dualistic polarisations of immunity and community, or the private and the public. We suggest that his thoughts on immunitary hospitality resonate with many of the actual features and realpolitik of a necessarily internationalised and globally distributed UCB ‘immunitary regime’

Methods of producing new nutrient data for popularly consumed multi ethnic foods in the UK

Minority ethnic groups in UK disproportionately suffer from nutrition related diseases compared to the mainstream population, contributing to widening health inequalities. However, reliable nutrient composition data of the traditional foods of these ethnic groups, which play an important part in their diets, is lacking. This makes it impossible to provide adequate and culturally acceptable nutrition interventions to reduce prevalent metabolic disorders. This study aimed to identify and analyse popularly consumed African and Caribbean foods in the UK for macro and micronutrients. Various approaches including focus group discussions, individual interviews and 24 hr dietary recalls were used to identify traditional foods. Defined criteria were used to prioritise and prepare 33 composite samples (26 dishes, 4 snacks and 3 beverages) for nutrient analyses in a UK accredited laboratory. This study methodology is novel because it uses various approaches to generate new data of commonly consumed ethnic foods and traditional recipes. In addition, the approach used in preparation of the food samples enhanced their authenticity and representativeness compared to previously published work. This paper describes the procedures undertaken and analytical methods used to develop a multi ethnic nutrient data for inclusion in UK food composition tables

The image after Strathern:Art and persuasive relationality in India's sanguinary politics

Publicly-enacted blood extractions (principally blood donation events and petitions or paintings in blood) in mass Indian political contexts (for instance, protest or political memorial events and election rallies) are a noteworthy present-day form of political enunciation in India, for such extractions – made to speak as and on behalf of political subject positions – are intensely communicative. Somewhat akin to the transformative fasts undertaken by Gandhi, such blood extractions seek to persuade from the moral high ground of political asceticism. This essay seeks to shed light on how and why these extractions have become such a means, with a particular focus on blood-based portraiture. What makes such portraits – chiefly of politicians and ‘freedom fighter’ martyrs – interesting from a Strathernian point of view is their immanent persuasive relationality. The insights of Strathern can help us to explicate these objects’ dynamic relational features, while reciprocally, the portraits may help us to illuminate and clarify the very particular and interesting nature of the way Strathern treats (and creates) images

Role of temperature on lipid/fatty acid composition in Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) eggs and unfed larvae

During early development, oviparous fish species must use finite lipid and fatty acid (FA) reserves for both catabolism and structural components. In cold environments, developing fish have the additional constraint of maintaining membrane fluidity for metabolic efficiency (homeoviscous adaptation), resulting in further demand on lower melting point FAs like n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). To examine whether marine fish embryos physiologically adapt to changing temperature environments, we incubated Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) eggs at 5 temperatures (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 °C) in the laboratory and sampled them repeatedly during development to measure changes in lipid/FA composition. Pacific cod embryos increased n-3 PUFA content during the egg stage in all temperature treatments, with the possible exception of 0 °C, where poor survival and hatch success limited our ability for continued sampling. At the beginning of the hatch cycle, free-swimming embryos shifted from lipogenesis to lipid catabolism. The rates of lipogenesis and catabolism were temperature dependent, and the distinct increase in unsaturated fatty acids at temperatures <8 °C was consistent with homeoviscous adaptation theory. However, with the possible exception of embryos at 0 °C, the relative amounts of essential fatty acids (e.g., EPA, DHA, AA) were conserved in a similar manner across incubation temperatures. Collectively, these data suggest Pacific cod are capable of homeoviscous adaptation but cannot tolerate temperatures approaching 0 °C despite their possible ability to biosynthesize PUFAs from other energetic sources

Effect of temperature and tissue type on fatty acid signatures of two species of North Pacific juvenile gadids: A laboratory feeding study

The utility of the fatty acid biomarker (FAB) approach in fisheries ecology is limited by our understanding of how biotic and abiotic factors determine dietary markers in fish tissues. An 8-week laboratory experiment was conducted on two species of juvenile gadids (Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus and walleye Pollock, Theragra chalcogramma) reared at 3 °C or 9 °C and fed a diet enriched with either oils of marine origin or terrestrial plant origin. Non-linear models were fitted to investigate how tissue type and temperature mediated the proportion of FABs in fish. Across temperatures, fatty acid (FA) profiles were similar for both species of gadids. FAs also showed high temporal sensitivity across temperatures, and were evident in fish after only one week of feeding. Pacific cod held at 9 °C and fed a terrestrial plant oil (TPO) enriched diet had significantly higher C₁₈ polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) in their liver than cod held at 3 °C after one week, but this temperature effect diminished as tissues reached equilibrium with their diet. C₁₈ PUFAs were significantly higher in liver than in muscle.Differential proportions of C₁₈ PUFAs among tissues provide temporal patterns that may help with disentangling the timing of offshore– inshore nursery migrations in juvenile fish. Calibration coefficients were determined to explain the relationship between FAs in the diet and FAs in fish tissues. These coefficients will support future development of quantitative estimates of diet in juvenile low-fat fish.Keywords: Juvenile, Cod, Pollock, Fatty acid, Biomarker, Temperatur