Longing, Lust and Persuasion: Powerful and Powerfully Sensuous Women in Imerina

A priori, les récits sur la relation entre le roi Andrianampoinimerina (1787-1810) et Miangaly, une jeune femme de la haute noblesse, immortalisés et transmis jusqu’à nous par l’intermédiaire du savoir imaginatif populaire, évoquent l’amour. En fait, à l’origine, leur histoire relevait d’une propagande politique. Un de ces récits rapporte que le roi dut renoncer à son propre élan amoureux pour pouvoir mettre en avant l’idéologie de l’Etat. Ce genre de récits populaires à thème historique nous permet de saisir le glissement de la sphère privée vers le politique quand le pouvoir de l’amour et l’amour du pouvoir s’entremêlent au sein des élites de l’État.At first sight, tales about the relation between Andrianampoinimerina (political reign 1787-1810) and Miangaly, a young woman of high noble status, talk about love. In fact, their love tale was originally crafted as political propaganda. One of these tales tells that the sovereign disregarded his own sensual desires in order to emphasize the state ideology of a sovereign attentive to all his subjects. Such tales of popular history, political propaganda and subversive histories allow us to appreciate how the private is rendered political when the power of love and the love of power mix within the highest ranks of state elite

Rakelimalaza, can the Higher Powers “take a joke”?

Notre contribution s’appuie sur des travaux de terrain ethnographiques parmi la population rurale betsileo, avec un intérêt particulier vis-à-vis des mpanandro, spécialistes traditionnels. Il va sans dire que les ancêtres prennent une très grande importance dans la vie quotidienne des Malgaches des Hautes Terres. Mais au sein de leur monde (lifeworld), il existe également des « forces » d’une nature non-domestiquée, aussi bien que des « choses » indéterminées (p. ex., raha, zavatra). Des rencontres avec de telles « forces » et « choses », des efforts de les comprendre et même de les persuader de satisfaire aux exigences des êtres humains ont attiré notre attention dans cet article. Nous maintenons que le vocabulaire traditionnel et les conceptualisations de « religion » et « magie » ont besoin d’être remis en question. Cette remise en question nous aidera à mieux comprendre le comportement des individus face au monde des forces immanentes et non-anthropomorphiques. Face à ces forces, les spécialistes traditionnels, dans l’exercice de leur savoir-faire, agissent comme des « audacieux » plutôt que comme des « suppliants ». Les spécialistes traditionnels, tels que les mpanandro, méritent d’être appréciés comme des individus engagés, non pas dans la « réplication » mais plutôt dans la « re-création » continue (toujours syncrétique en esprit) des traditions, fidèles à « l’esprit des lois » plutôt que scrupuleusement attentifs aux détails de règles traditionnelles. Nous examinons ces caractéristiques et assertions à propos du monde rural Betsileo à l’aide d’exemples issus des pratiques concrètes, poétiques, et même parfois humoristiques des mpanandro aussi bien que du commun des Betsileo.This contribution is based on ethnographic fieldwork among both rural populations and ritual specialists (mpanandro) in the Betsileo highland region of the island. While the ancestors are certainly central forces in the daily lives of Malagasy highlanders, we are rather interested in encounters with and attempts to understand and cajole amoral forces of nature and “things” (e.g., raha, zavatra) that are also parts of these populations’ “lifeworlds”. We argue that traditional vocabulary and conceptualizations of “religion” and “magic” need to be re-examined in order to begin to appreciate the particular “stance” of individuals in a world of immanent non-anthropomorphic forces. This is a stance of “audacity” rather than “supplication” before such forces, particularly as seen in the practices of ritual specialists. Ritual specialists such as mpanandro need to be understood as engaged not in “replication”, but rather in continual “re-creation” (in some ways, always syncretic in manner) of tradition where attention is paid to the “spirit” rather than the “letter of the law”. We explore these characterizations and assertions concerning rural Betsileo “lifeworlds” with examples drawn from the concrete, poetic, and occasionally humorous practices of ritual specialists, as well as non-specialists

Landbird Migration in the American West: Recent Progress and Future Research Directions

Our knowledge of avian behaviors during the non-breeding period still lags behind that of the breeding season, but the last decade has witnessed a proliferation in research that has yielded significant progress in understanding migration patterns of North American birds. And, although the great majority of migration research has historically been conducted in the eastern half of the continent, there has been much recent progress on aspects of avian migration in the West. In particular, expanded use of techniques such as radar, plasma metabolites, mist-netting, count surveys, stable isotopes, genetic data, and animal tracking, coupled with an increase in multi-investigator collaborations, have all contributed to this growth of knowledge. There is increasing recognition that migration is likely the most limiting time of year for migratory birds, and this places increasing importance on continuing to decipher patterns of stopover ecology, identifying critical stopover habitats, and documenting migration routes in the diverse and changing landscapes of the American West. Here, we review and briefly synthesize the latest avian migration findings and advances and consider research needs to guide future research on migration in the West

The cellular and synaptic architecture of the mechanosensory dorsal horn

The deep dorsal horn is a poorly characterized spinal cord region implicated in processing low-threshold mechanoreceptor (LTMR) information. We report an array of mouse genetic tools for defining neuronal components and functions of the dorsal horn LTMR-recipient zone (LTMR-RZ), a role for LTMR-RZ processing in tactile perception, and the basic logic of LTMR-RZ organization. We found an unexpectedly high degree of neuronal diversity in the LTMR-RZ: seven excitatory and four inhibitory subtypes of interneurons exhibiting unique morphological, physiological, and synaptic properties. Remarkably, LTMRs form synapses on between four and 11 LTMR-RZ interneuron subtypes, while each LTMR-RZ interneuron subtype samples inputs from at least one to three LTMR classes, as well as spinal cord interneurons and corticospinal neurons. Thus, the LTMR-RZ is a somatosensory processing region endowed with a neuronal complexity that rivals the retina and functions to pattern the activity of ascending touch pathways that underlie tactile perception

Relevance of shrinkage versus fragmented response patterns in rectal cancer

Aims:Partial response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) presents with one of two main response patterns: shrinkage or fragmentation. This study investigated the relevance of these response patterns in rectal cancer, correlation with other response indicators, and outcome. Methods and results:The study included a test (n = 197) and a validation cohort (n = 218) of post-CRT patients with rectal adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified and a partial response. Response patterns were scored by two independent observers using a previously developed three-step flowchart. Tumour regression grading (TRG) was established according to both the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and Dworak classifications. In both cohorts, the predominant response pattern was fragmentation (70% and 74%), and the scoring interobserver agreement was excellent (k = 0.85). Patients with a fragmented pattern presented with significantly higher pathological stage (ypTNM II-IV, 78% versus 35%; P &lt; 0.001), less tumour regression with Dworak (P = 0.004), and CAP TRG (P = 0.005) compared to patients with a shrinkage pattern. As a predictor of prognosis, the shrinkage pattern outperformed the TRG classification and stratified patients better in overall (fragmented pattern, hazard ratio [HR] 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19–3.50, P = 0.008) and disease-free survival (DFS; fragmented pattern, HR 2.50, 95% CI 1.23–5.10, P = 0.011) in the combined cohorts. The multivariable regression analyses revealed pathological stage as the only independent predictor of DFS. Conclusions: The heterogeneous nature of tumour response following CRT is reflected in fragmentation and shrinkage. In rectal cancer there is a predominance of the fragmented pattern, which is associated with advanced stage and less tumour regression. While not independently associated with survival, these reproducible patterns give insights into the biology of tumour response.</p

Relevance of shrinkage versus fragmented response patterns in rectal cancer

AIMS: Partial response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) presents with one of two main response patterns: shrinkage or fragmentation. This study investigated the relevance of these response patterns in rectal cancer, correlation with other response indicators, and outcome.METHODS AND RESULTS: The study included a test (n = 197) and a validation cohort (n = 218) of post-CRT patients with rectal adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified and a partial response. Response patterns were scored by two independent observers using a previously developed three-step flowchart. Tumour regression grading (TRG) was established according to both the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and Dworak classifications. In both cohorts, the predominant response pattern was fragmentation (70% and 74%), and the scoring interobserver agreement was excellent (k = 0.85). Patients with a fragmented pattern presented with significantly higher pathological stage (ypTNM II-IV, 78% versus 35%; P &lt; 0.001), less tumour regression with Dworak (P = 0.004), and CAP TRG (P = 0.005) compared to patients with a shrinkage pattern. As a predictor of prognosis, the shrinkage pattern outperformed the TRG classification and stratified patients better in overall (fragmented pattern, hazard ratio [HR] 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-3.50, P = 0.008) and disease-free survival (DFS; fragmented pattern, HR 2.50, 95% CI 1.23-5.10, P = 0.011) in the combined cohorts. The multivariable regression analyses revealed pathological stage as the only independent predictor of DFS.CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneous nature of tumour response following CRT is reflected in fragmentation and shrinkage. In rectal cancer there is a predominance of the fragmented pattern, which is associated with advanced stage and less tumour regression. While not independently associated with survival, these reproducible patterns give insights into the biology of tumour response.</p

Relevance of shrinkage versus fragmented response patterns in rectal cancer

AIMS: Partial response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) presents with one of two main response patterns: shrinkage or fragmentation. This study investigated the relevance of these response patterns in rectal cancer, correlation with other response indicators, and outcome.METHODS AND RESULTS: The study included a test (n = 197) and a validation cohort (n = 218) of post-CRT patients with rectal adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified and a partial response. Response patterns were scored by two independent observers using a previously developed three-step flowchart. Tumour regression grading (TRG) was established according to both the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and Dworak classifications. In both cohorts, the predominant response pattern was fragmentation (70% and 74%), and the scoring interobserver agreement was excellent (k = 0.85). Patients with a fragmented pattern presented with significantly higher pathological stage (ypTNM II-IV, 78% versus 35%; P &lt; 0.001), less tumour regression with Dworak (P = 0.004), and CAP TRG (P = 0.005) compared to patients with a shrinkage pattern. As a predictor of prognosis, the shrinkage pattern outperformed the TRG classification and stratified patients better in overall (fragmented pattern, hazard ratio [HR] 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-3.50, P = 0.008) and disease-free survival (DFS; fragmented pattern, HR 2.50, 95% CI 1.23-5.10, P = 0.011) in the combined cohorts. The multivariable regression analyses revealed pathological stage as the only independent predictor of DFS.CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneous nature of tumour response following CRT is reflected in fragmentation and shrinkage. In rectal cancer there is a predominance of the fragmented pattern, which is associated with advanced stage and less tumour regression. While not independently associated with survival, these reproducible patterns give insights into the biology of tumour response.</p

Relevance of shrinkage versus fragmented response patterns in rectal cancer

AIMS: Partial response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) presents with one of two main response patterns: shrinkage or fragmentation. This study investigated the relevance of these response patterns in rectal cancer, correlation with other response indicators, and outcome.METHODS AND RESULTS: The study included a test (n = 197) and a validation cohort (n = 218) of post-CRT patients with rectal adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified and a partial response. Response patterns were scored by two independent observers using a previously developed three-step flowchart. Tumour regression grading (TRG) was established according to both the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and Dworak classifications. In both cohorts, the predominant response pattern was fragmentation (70% and 74%), and the scoring interobserver agreement was excellent (k = 0.85). Patients with a fragmented pattern presented with significantly higher pathological stage (ypTNM II-IV, 78% versus 35%; P &lt; 0.001), less tumour regression with Dworak (P = 0.004), and CAP TRG (P = 0.005) compared to patients with a shrinkage pattern. As a predictor of prognosis, the shrinkage pattern outperformed the TRG classification and stratified patients better in overall (fragmented pattern, hazard ratio [HR] 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-3.50, P = 0.008) and disease-free survival (DFS; fragmented pattern, HR 2.50, 95% CI 1.23-5.10, P = 0.011) in the combined cohorts. The multivariable regression analyses revealed pathological stage as the only independent predictor of DFS.CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneous nature of tumour response following CRT is reflected in fragmentation and shrinkage. In rectal cancer there is a predominance of the fragmented pattern, which is associated with advanced stage and less tumour regression. While not independently associated with survival, these reproducible patterns give insights into the biology of tumour response.</p