71 research outputs found
Microvascular Impairment in Patients With Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Assessed With Arterial Spin Labeling Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Pilot Study
In this pilot study, we investigated microvascular impairment in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) using non-invasive arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This method enabled us to measure the perfusion parameters, cerebral blood flow (CBF), and arterial transit time (ATT), and the effective T1-relaxation time (T1eff) to research a novel approach of assessing perivascular clearance. CSVD severity was characterized using the Standards for Reporting Vascular Changes on Neuroimaging (STRIVE) and included a rating of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), lacunes, enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVSs), and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs). Here, we found that CBF decreases and ATT increases with increasing CSVD severity in patients, most prominent for a white matter (WM) region-of-interest, whereas this relation was almost equally driven by WMHs, lacunes, EPVSs, and CMBs. Additionally, we observed a longer mean T1eff of gray matter and WM in patients with CSVD compared to elderly controls, providing an indication of impaired clearance in patients. Mainly T1eff of WM was associated with CSVD burden, whereas lobar lacunes and CMBs contributed primary to this relation compared to EPVSs of the centrum semiovale. Our results complement previous findings of CSVD-related hypoperfusion by the observation of retarded arterial blood arrival times in brain tissue and by an increased T1eff as potential indication of impaired clearance rates using ASL
Comparable High Rates of Extended-Spectrum-Beta-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli in Birds of Prey from Germany and Mongolia
Frequent contact with human waste and liquid manure from intensive livestock
breeding, and the increased loads of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that
result, are believed to be responsible for the high carriage rates of ESBL-
producing E. coli found in birds of prey (raptors) in Central Europe. To test
this hypothesis against the influence of avian migration, we initiated a
comparative analysis of faecal samples from wild birds found in Saxony-Anhalt
in Germany and the Gobi-Desert in Mongolia, regions of dissimilar human and
livestock population characteristics and agricultural practices. We sampled a
total of 281 wild birds, mostly raptors with primarily north-to-south
migration routes. We determined antimicrobial resistance, focusing on ESBL
production, and unravelled the phylogenetic and clonal relatedness of
identified ESBL-producing E. coli isolates using multi-locus sequence typing
(MLST) and macrorestriction analyses. Surprisingly, the overall carriage rates
(approximately 5%) and the proportion of ESBL-producers among E. coli
(Germany: 13.8%, Mongolia: 10.8%) were similar in both regions. Whereas
blaCTX-M-1 predominated among German isolates (100%), blaCTX-M-9 was the most
prevalent in Mongolian isolates (75%). We identified sequence types (STs) that
are well known in human and veterinary clinical ESBL-producing E. coli (ST12,
ST117, ST167, ST648) and observed clonal relatedness between a Mongolian avian
ESBL-E. coli (ST167) and a clinical isolate of the same ST that originated in
a hospitalised patient in Europe. Our data suggest the influence of avian
migratory species in the transmission of ESBL-producing E. coli and challenge
the prevailing assumption that reducing human influence alone invariably leads
to lower rates of antimicrobial resistance
The contemporary "Trojan Horse"
Pathogens frequently associated with multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotypes,
including extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae
(ESBL-E) and Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from horses admitted to horse
clinics, pose a risk for animal patients and personnel in horse clinics. To
estimate current rates of colonization, a total of 341 equine patients were
screened for carriage of zoonotic indicator pathogens at hospital admission.
Horses showing clinical signs associated with colic (n = 233) or open wounds
(n = 108) were selected for microbiological examination of nostril swabs,
faecal samples and wound swabs taken from the open wound group. The results
showed alarming carriage rates of Gram-negative MDR pathogens in equine
patients: 10.7% (34 of 318) of validated faecal specimens were positive for
ESBL-E (94%: ESBL-producing Escherichia coli), with recorded rates of 10.5%
for the colic and 11% for the open wound group. 92.7% of the ESBL-producing E.
coli were phenotypically resistant to three or more classes of antimicrobials.
A. baumannii was rarely detected (0.9%), and all faecal samples investigated
were negative for Salmonella, both directly and after two enrichment steps.
Screening results for the equine nostril swabs showed detection rates for
ESBL-E of 3.4% among colic patients and 0.9% in the open wound group, with an
average rate of 2.6% (9/340) for both indications. For all 41 ESBL-producing
E. coli isolated, a broad heterogeneity was revealed using pulsed-field gel
electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns and whole genome sequencing (WGS) -analysis.
However, a predominance of sequence type complex (STC)10 and STC1250 was
observed, including several novel STs. The most common genes associated with
ESBL-production were identified as blaCTX-M-1 (31/41; 75.6%) and blaSHV-12
(24.4%). The results of this study reveal a disturbingly large fraction of
multi-drug resistant and ESBL-producing E. coli among equine patients, posing
a clear threat to established hygiene management systems and work-place safety
of veterinary staff in horse clinics
RNAi-mediated suppression of isoprene emission in poplar transiently impacts phenolic metabolism under high temperature and high light intensities: a transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis
In plants, isoprene plays a dual role: (a) as thermo-protective agent proposed to prevent degradation of enzymes/membrane structures involved in photosynthesis, and (b) as reactive molecule reducing abiotic oxidative stress. The present work addresses the question whether suppression of isoprene emission interferes with genome wide transcription rates and metabolite fluxes in grey poplar (Populusxcanescens) throughout the growing season. Gene expression and metabolite profiles of isoprene emitting wild type plants and RNAi-mediated non-isoprene emitting poplars were compared by using poplar Affymetrix microarrays and non-targeted FT-ICR-MS (Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry). We observed a transcriptional down-regulation of genes encoding enzymes of phenylpropanoid regulatory and biosynthetic pathways, as well as distinct metabolic down-regulation of condensed tannins and anthocyanins, in non-isoprene emitting genotypes during July, when high temperature and light intensities possibly caused transient drought stress, as indicated by stomatal closure. Under these conditions leaves of non-isoprene emitting plants accumulated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a signaling molecule in stress response and negative regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis. The absence of isoprene emission under high temperature and light stress resulted transiently in a new chemo(pheno)type with suppressed production of phenolic compounds. This may compromise inducible defenses and may render non-isoprene emitting poplars more susceptible to environmental stress
Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements
Localizing EU Gender Policy: The Diffusion of Gender Mainstreaming across Feminist Movements in Eastern Germany, CES Germany & Europe Working Papers, No. 08.1, June, 2008
Gender mainstreaming emerged in the mid-1990s as an innovative and controversial policy tool for reducing gender inequalities. The European Union seeks to propagate the practice of gender mainstreaming both within EU institutions and among member states. Feminist scholars and policy elites discuss and debate gender main-streaming widely, but have yet to consider how local feminist activists, who could play a central role in diffusing gender mainstreaming, understand, interpret and respond to this agenda. This paper examines whether and why local feminist movements in two cities in eastern Germany adopt gender mainstreaming. Consideration of the characteristics of the contexts in which local feminist movements are embedded clarifies the conditions under which social movements rally round new policy paradigms
The Disappearing Lesion : Sigmund Freud, Sensory-Motor Physiology, And The Beginnings Of Psychoanalysis
Freud's criticism of the localization project as carried out by Theodor Meynert and Carl Wernicke has usually been seen as marking his break with contemporaneous brain science. In this article, however, I show that Freud criticized localization not by turning his back on brain science, but rather by radicalizing some of its principles. In particular, he argued that the physiological pretensions of the localization project remained at odds with its uncritical importation of psychological categories. Further, by avoiding a confusion of categories and adopting a parallelist reading, Freud was able to develop a fully “physiologized” account of nervous processes. This opened up the possibility for forms of mental pathology that were not reliant on the anatomical lesion. Instead, Freud suggested that lived experience might be able to create a pathological organization within the nervous system. This critique—a passage through, rather than a turn away from, brain science—opened the possibility for Freud's theory of the unconscious and his developing psychoanalysis. On a methodological level, this article aims to show how the intellectual history of modern Europe can gain from taking seriously the impact of the brain sciences, and by applying to scientific texts the methods and reading practices traditionally reserved for philosophical or literary works.publishe
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An invitation to bring animals into feminist and queer sociology
Abstract:
This paper presents an invitation to feminist and queer sociology to engage more frequently, enthusiastically, and deeply with animals. Feminist and queer sociology that attend to animals and animality stand to develop better knowledge for animals and animal studies and for women, queers, and feminist and queer sociology. Sociologists working from feminist and queer perspectives are also particularly well‐positioned within the discipline of sociology to contribute to and take advantage of the insights of the field of feminist animal studies. After a brief review of what feminist animal studies is, I proceed through three steps to elaborate the imperative for feminist and queer sociology to consider animals. First, I show how feminist animal studies as a theoretical perspective engages with issues that are core to feminist and queer sociology. Second, I center intersectional feminism and lay out how incorporating species can and does enhance our understanding of intersectional processes. Third, I present an ethical call, grounded in the traditions of feminist ethics and ecofeminism, to attend to species in feminist and queer sociology
Challenging and Reinforcing the Ability/Disability System through Advocacy for Disabled Dogs
This paper illuminates how volunteers and animal rescuers who assist dogs from a high-intake public shelter in the Los Angeles metropolitan area simultaneously resist the devaluation of the lives of disabled dogs while sensationalizing and fetishizing disability through their discursive and representational practices. Drawing on observations from three years of ethnographic fieldwork in an animal shelter and with animal rescues, as well as from public media volunteers and rescuers post online, I adopt an intersectional analysis that attends to inequalities of species, ability/disability, and gender in the context of contemporary American capitalism. I show how members of the animal rescue community—who are all women, almost all white, and none of whom identified themselves as disabled—reject the shelter's practice of fast-tracking some types of disabled dogs for shelter killing and assert instead the right of disabled dogs to live. At the same time, rescuers talk about and represent disabled dogs as infantile, remarkable, and in need of saviors to help them. Ultimately, rescuers' representations of disabled dogs work to expand capitalist beliefs of companion animals as lively capital by showing that disabled dogs have value as companions, in large part through an assertion of dogs as family members
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