The Global Turn in Nationalism: The USA as a Battleground for Hinduism and Hindu Nationalism

Hindu nationalism operates on a global scale today. Evinced by the transnational networks of the Sangh Parivar and the replication of strategies such as amending textbooks and patriotic rewriting of history, politics and discourse of Hindu nationalism are not solely contained to the territorial boundary of the nation. In this globalized battle for and against Hindu nationalism, the United States of America serves as an important site. In light of this, this article puts together existing scholarship on diasporic Hindu nationalism with late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century deterritorial history of Indian nationalism to present a broader framework for historicizing Indian activism in the US. It argues that while long-distance Hindu nationalism in the US cannot be traced before the 1970s, examining the early experiences of Indian activists in the US offers useful insights with which to evaluate the ongoing battles of Hindu nationalism in the US and opens another field of enquiry: Hindutva’s counterpublic

Relocation of refuges - The Lisbon model

This report explores the EU emergency mechanisms in order to respond to the growing influxes of asylum seekers in the Mediterranean between 2014 and 2016. It seeks to explain the causes for the migratory movement, how the movement incorporates the historical European context and the endeavor to create solidarity amongst the member states. Therefore, the policy making process on the EU level, as well as the implementation efforts at the Portuguese level are presented. My internship at the reception center for asylum seekers and refugees led by the city council of Lisbon as well as the NGO Jesuit Refugee Service is then the bridge between the national and the local level. The most significant finding is the fact that the Portuguese government passed on the day-to-day integration work to civil society organizations. This decision is however consistent with expert opinions which argue that civil society might have a bigger influence on the integration of refugees than the state.Este relatório explora como os mecanismos de emergência da UE respondem ao aumento da chegada ao Mediterrâneo de requerentes de asilo entre 2014 e 2016. Procura explicar as causas deste movimento migratório, a forma como ele se incorpora no contexto histórico europeu e o esforço para criar solidariedade entre os Estados membro. Assim, o processo de tomada de decisão ao nível europeu, bem como a implementação de políticas no contexto português serão apresentados. O meu estágio no centro de receção para requerentes de asilo e refugiados da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa e da ONG Serviço Jesuíta aos Refugiados será a ponte entre a abordagem local e nacional. A evidência mais importante é o facto de o governo português ter delegado o trabalho quotidiano de integração destes migrantes a organizações da sociedade civil. Esta medida está, no entanto, de acordo com a opinião dos especialistas que argumentam que a sociedade civil poderá ter uma maior influência na integração dos refugiados em comparação com o Estado

Agomelatin zur Behandlung depressiver Episoden bei schizophrenen Patienten: Eine offen-prospektive, nicht-kontrollierte, monozentrische Proof-of-Concept Studie.

In einer insgesamt 12-wöchigen, prospektiv angelegten Anwendungsbeobachtung wurden 27 Patienten mit einer schizophrenen Grunderkrankung, die zum Zeitpunkt des Studieneinschlusses außerdem die ICD-10 Kriterien einer majoren Depression erfüllten, mit dem Antidepressivum Agomelatin behandelt und dessen antidepressive Wirksamkeit ebenso wie die allgemeine Verträglichkeit mittels etablierter Testverfahren überprüft. Im Beobachtungszeitraum kam es zu einer signifikanten Verbesserung depressiver Symptome, einhergehend mit einem Rückgang von schizophrenen Negativsymptomen und einem gebesserten psychosozialen Funktionsniveau. Zudem kam es zu einer statistisch zwar signifikanten, klinisch dennoch vernachlässigbaren Besserung der kognitiven Leistungsfähigkeit, v.a. von logischem Denken und Problemlösen. Trotz melatonerger Eigenschaften von Agomelatin, kam es zu keiner Verbesserung der Schlafqualität der Probanden. Das Antidepressivum wurde gut vertragen. Es wurden wenige, meist selbstlimitierenden Nebenwirkungen beobachtet und entgegen vorausgegangener Berichte über hepatotoxische Effekte blieben die Leberwerte unter Fortführung der antipsychotischen Medikation über den gesamten Beobachtungszeitraum stabil. Allerdings wurden im Verlauf Veränderungen der Antipsychotika-Serumspiegel gemessen werden, die hinweisend auf metabolische Interaktionen auf Leberebene sein können. Ergänzend zum antidepressiven Effekt werden darüber hinausgehende Wirkungen wie melatonerge, kognitive und neuroprotektive Effekte von Agomelatin diskutiert

Structurally rich dry grasslands – Potential stepping stones for bats in open farmland

Agricultural intensification has caused decrease and fragmentation of European semi-natural dry grasslands. While a high biodiversity value of dry grasslands is acknowledged for plants and insects, locally and on landscape level, their relevance for mobile species, such as bats, is unknown. Here we investigate the use of dry grassland fragments by bats in an agriculturally intensified region in Germany and evaluate local and landscape factors influencing bat activity and assemblages. Specifically, we predicted that a combination of local dry grassland structural richness and landscape features as well as their interactions affect bat activity and foraging above dry grasslands. We also expected that these features influence compositions of local bat assemblages. We repeatedly sampled at 12 dry grassland plots with acoustic monitoring and assessed activity and foraging of bat species/sonotypes, which we grouped into guilds known for foraging in open land, at vegetation edges and in narrow spaces. We determined structural richness of the dry grassland plots in field and derived landscape features from digital landscape data. A relatively high proportion of bat species/sonotypes used dry grasslands regularly. The edge space foragers responded positively to higher local structural richness. Their dry grassland use increased when surrounding forests and woody features were less available, but they foraged more on dry grasslands closer to water bodies. Narrow space bat activity on dry grasslands decreased with less landscape connectivity. Open and narrow space foragers responded to local structural richness only in landscape context. For all bat guilds we found increased use of structurally richer dry grasslands when there was more open farmland in the surroundings. This was also the case for edge space foragers, when landscapes were more homogeneous. Lastly, with increasing structural richness, bat assemblages were more dominated by edge space foragers. We show the importance of European dry grassland fragments for the highly mobile group of bats under certain local structural and landscape compositional conditions. Our results underline the value of heterogeneous dry grassland fragments as potential stepping stones in intensively used farmland areas and contribute to evidence based decision making in dry grassland management and bat conservation

The ABC transporter family efflux pump PvdRT‐OpmQ of Pseudomonas putida KT2440: purification and initial characterization

Tripartite efflux systems of the ABC-type family transport a variety of substrates and contribute to the antimicrobial resistance of Gram-negative bacteria. PvdRT-OpmQ, a member of this family, is thought to be involved in the secretion of the newly synthesized and recycled siderophore pyoverdine in Pseudomonas species. Here, we purified and characterized the inner membrane component PvdT and the periplasmic adapter protein PvdR of the plant growth-promoting soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440. We show that PvdT possesses an ATPase activity that is stimulated by the addition of PvdR. In addition, we provide the first biochemical evidence for direct interactions between pyoverdine and PvdRT

Concert recording 2021-11-18

[Track 1]. Prelude, op. 43, no. 1 / Reinhold Glière -- [Track 2]. Etude in D minor, op. 109, no. 13, The storm / Friedrich Burgmüller -- [Track 3]. Liebestraum no. 3 / Franz Liszt -- [Track 4]. Sonata no. 13 in E-flat major, op. 27, no. 1. III. Adagio con espressione, Presto / Ludwig van Beethoven -- [Track 5]. Moment Musicaux in B minor op. 16, no. 3 ; Prelude in C-sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2 / Sergei Rachmaninov -- [Track 6]. Album Leaf / Claude Debussy ; Autumn leaves / Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prevert ; arranged by Morgan Brown ; Jazz exercise no. 2 / Oscar Peterson -- [Track 7]. Fantasia in C minor, K. 475 / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- [Track 8]. 6 Romanian Folk Dances. I. Stick Dance. II. Sash Dance. III. In One Spot. IV. Horn Dance. V. Romanian Polka. VI. Fast Dance / Béla Bartók

Transferrin-modified chitosan nanoparticles for targeted nose-to-brain delivery of proteins

Nose-to-brain delivery presents a promising alternative route compared to classical blood-brain barrier passage, especially for the delivery of high molecular weight drugs. In general, macromolecules are rapidly degraded in physiological environment. Therefore, nanoparticulate systems can be used to protect biomolecules from premature degradation. Furthermore, targeting ligands on the surface of nanoparticles are able to improve bioavailability by enhancing cellular uptake due to specific binding and longer residence time. In this work, transferrin-decorated chitosan nanoparticles are used to evaluate the passage of a model protein through the nasal epithelial barrier in vitro. It was demonstrated that strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction can be utilized to attach a functional group to both transferrin and chitosan enabling a rapid covalent surface-conjugation under mild reaction conditions after chitosan nanoparticle preparation. The intactness of transferrin and its binding efficiency were confirmed via SDS-PAGE and SPR measurements. Resulting transferrin-decorated nanoparticles exhibited a size of about 110-150 nm with a positive surface potential. Nanoparticles with the highest amount of surface bound targeting ligand also displayed the highest cellular uptake into a human nasal epithelial cell line (RPMI 2650). In an air-liquid interface co-culture model with glioblastoma cells (U87), transferrin-decorated nanoparticles showed a faster passage through the epithelial cell layer as well as increased cellular uptake into glioblastoma cells. These findings demonstrate the beneficial characteristics of a specific targeting ligand. With this chemical and technological formulation concept, a variety of targeting ligands can be attached to the surface after nanoparticle formation while maintaining cargo integrity

Antigen-Specific vs. Neutralizing Antibodies Against Conditioned Media of Patients With Clostridioides difficile Infection: A Prospective Exploratory Study

The immunological response against Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is crucial for an improved understanding of disease mechanisms and the development of novel therapeutic strategies. From April 2014 to February 2015, adult patients with C. difficile infection (CDI) were recruited, and the clinical course and treatment response were carefully monitored. On day 1, 3, and 6 after diagnosis, patient plasma samples were screened for anti-GDH (glutamate dehydrogenase), anti-TcdA, anti-TcdB, and anti-CWP84 (cell-wall protein 84) antibodies by ELISA. Additionally, neutralization assays of toxins from conditioned media of clinical isolates (RT010, RT014, and RT027) were performed. Most patients with CDI (n=46) had antibodies against GDH (85%) and CWP84 (61%), but only few had antibodies against TcdA (11%) and TcdB (28%). We found patients with neutralizing antibodies against C. difficile toxins (conditioned media) produced by RT027 (26%). A subgroup of these samples could neutralize both toxins from RT027 and RT014 [11%, (5/46)]; however, no single sample neutralized only RT014. Overall, neutralizing antibody titers were low (≤1:16). In a one week follow-up of acute infection, we never observed an early booster effect with seroconversion or antibody increases, irrespective of disease severity. No correlation was found between the presence of antigen-specific (ELISA) or neutralizing antibodies and the clinical course of disease. Anti-TcdB but not anti-TcdA antibodies correlated with the occurrence of neutralizing antibodies. In conclusion, natural antibody titers against C. difficile toxins were absent or low and were not associated with disease severity. The correlation between the anti-TcdB with toxin neutralization confirms the importance of TcdB for virulence of CDI. Alternative sensitization strategies, e.g., through vaccine development, are required to overcome the regular low-titer antibody production following natural intestinal C. difficile exposure

Proteome Profile of Myelin in the Zebrafish Brain

The velocity of nerve conduction along vertebrate axons depends on their ensheathment with myelin. Myelin membranes comprise specialized proteins well characterized in mice. Much less is known about the protein composition of myelin in non-mammalian species. Here, we assess the proteome of myelin biochemically purified from the brains of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio), considering its increasing popularity as model organism for myelin biology. Combining gel-based and gel-free proteomic approaches, we identified > 1,000 proteins in purified zebrafish myelin, including all known constituents. By mass spectrometric quantification, the predominant Ig-CAM myelin protein zero (MPZ/P0), myelin basic protein (MBP), and the short-chain dehydrogenase 36K constitute 12%, 8%, and 6% of the total myelin protein, respectively. Comparison with previously established mRNA-abundance profiles shows that expression of many myelin-related transcripts coincides with the maturation of zebrafish oligodendrocytes. Zebrafish myelin comprises several proteins that are not present in mice, including 36K, CLDNK, and ZWI. However, a surprisingly large number of ortholog proteins is present in myelin of both species, indicating partial evolutionary preservation of its constituents. Yet, the relative abundance of CNS myelin proteins can differ markedly as exemplified by the complement inhibitor CD59 that constitutes 5% of the total zebrafish myelin protein but is a low-abundant myelin component in mice. Using novel transgenic reporter constructs and cryo-immuno electron microscopy, we confirm the incorporation of CD59 into myelin sheaths. These data provide the first proteome resource of zebrafish CNS myelin and demonstrate both similarities and heterogeneity of myelin composition between teleost fish and rodents

Ploidy influences cellular responses to gross chromosomal rearrangements in saccharomyces cerevisiae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) such as aneuploidy are key factors in genome evolution as well as being common features of human cancer. Their role in tumour initiation and progression has not yet been completely elucidated and the effects of additional chromosomes in cancer cells are still unknown. Most previous studies in which <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>has been used as a model for cancer cells have been carried out in the haploid context. To obtain new insights on the role of ploidy, the cellular effects of GCRs were compared between the haploid and diploid contexts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total number of 21 haploid and diploid <it>S. cerevisiae </it>strains carrying various types of GCRs (aneuploidies, nonreciprocal translocations, segmental duplications and deletions) were studied with a view to determining the effects of ploidy on the cellular responses. Differences in colony and cell morphology as well as in the growth rates were observed between mutant and parental strains. These results suggest that cells are impaired physiologically in both contexts. We also investigated the variation in genomic expression in all the mutants. We observed that gene expression was significantly altered. The data obtained here clearly show that genes involved in energy metabolism, especially in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, are up-regulated in all these mutants. However, the genes involved in the composition of the ribosome or in RNA processing are down-regulated in diploids but up-regulated in haploids. Over-expression of genes involved in the regulation of the proteasome was found to occur only in haploid mutants.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present comparisons between the cellular responses of strains carrying GCRs in different ploidy contexts bring to light two main findings. First, GCRs induce a general stress response in all studied mutants, regardless of their ploidy. Secondly, the ploidy context plays a crucial role in maintaining the stoichiometric balance of the proteins: the translation rates decrease in diploid strains, whereas the excess protein synthesized is degraded in haploids by proteasome activity.</p