Writing Sample

Includes Journey to the West, Alhambra and The Embroidered Chaddar

Recipe for Sweet-and-Sour Satire

Panel: Satire\u27s Global Reac

Polymorphism at selected defence gene analogs (DGAs) of Musa accessions in Mauritius

One of the major diseases affecting banana is Sigatoka or leaf spot disease that comprises three species, Mycosphaerella fijiensis, Mycosphaerella musicola and Mycosphaerella eumusae. Plants have a large number of defence related genes which trigger a cascade of defense responses that halt the spread of pathogens. Knowledge of the diversity present in genes related to the defense against Sigatoka disease will be useful in developing disease resistant banana cultivars. The defence genes of all sterile commercial banana cultivars (AAA genomes) are considered to have arisen from a similar gene pool belonging to the Musa acuminata complex. The objectives of this study were, (i) to assess the disease response of twelve banana cultivars to M. eumusae, (ii) to assess the level of polymorphisms in selected genes associated with defence against Sigatoka in banana, and (iii) ascertain if this polymorphism was related to levels of resistance to M. eumusae. Defence genes reported to act in response to M. fijiensis were selected and related to the response of M. eumusae. The genetic diversity of selected defence gene analogs (DGA) was assessed using degenerate primers designed from conserved motifs in the aligned amino acid sequences from known resistance genes. Highly polymorphic amplicon profiles for DGAs were selected for comparison. Cluster analysis was used to differentiate to some extent, cultivars considered as resistant/susceptible to M. eumusae. Specific amplicons from the profiles of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), iron superoxide dismutase (FeSOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were unique to a group of resistant cultivars and could act as markers for resistance to M. eumusae.Keywords: Banana, defence gene analogs, polymorphis

Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 Controls Necrotic Core Formation in Atherosclerotic Lesions by Impairing Efferocytosis

The research leading to these results has received funding from the British Heart Foundation Center of Research Excellence, Imperial College London, the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007–2013; contract no. 201668; AtheroRemo and HEALTH.2012-1.2-1; contract no. 305739 RiskyCAD), The Kennedy Trustees, The Swedish Heart and Lung foundation (20150277), The Swedish Research Council (2015-00582), the Swedish Society of Medicine (SLS-500141), Skåne University Hospital funds, Region Skåne Research funds, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant no. NNF15CC0018346)

WFS1-Associated Optic Neuropathy : Genotype-Phenotype Correlations and Disease Progression

center dot OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pattern of vision loss and genotype-phenotype correlations in WFS1-associated optic neuropathy (WON).center dot DESIGN: Multicenter cohort study. center dot METHODS: The study involved 37 patients with WON carrying pathogenic or candidate pathogenic WFS1 variants. Genetic and clinical data were retrieved from the medical records. Thirteen patients underwent additional comprehensive ophthalmologic assessment. Deep phenotyping involved visual electrophysiology and advanced psychophysical testing with a complementary metabolomic study. Main Outcome Measures: WFS1 variants, functional and structural optic nerve and retinal parameters, and metabolomic profile.center dot RESULTS: Twenty-two recessive and 5 dominant WFS1 variants were identified. Four variants were novel. All WFS1 variants caused loss of macular retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) as assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual electrophysiology. Advanced psychophysical testing indicated involvement of the major RGC subpopulations. Modeling of vision loss showed an accelerated rate of deterioration with increasing age. Dominant WFS1 variants were associated with abnormal reflectivity of the outer plexiform layer (OPL) on OCT imaging. The dominant variants tended to cause less severe vision loss compared with recessive WFS1 variants, which resulted in more variable phenotypes ranging from isolated WON to severe multisystem disease depending on the WFS1 alleles. The metabolomic profile included markers seen in other neurodegenerative diseases and type 1 diabetes mellitus. center dot CONCLUSIONS: WFS1 variants result in heterogenous phenotypes influenced by the mode of inheritance and the disease-causing alleles. Biallelic WFS1 variants cause more variable, but generally more severe, vision and RGC loss compared with heterozygous variants. Abnormal cleftlike lamination of the OPL is a distinctive OCT feature that strongly points toward dominant WON. (Am J Ophthalmol 2022;241: 927. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ))Peer reviewe

Co-option of Neutrophil Fates by Tissue Environments.

Classically considered short-lived and purely defensive leukocytes, neutrophils are unique in their fast and moldable response to stimulation. This plastic behavior may underlie variable and even antagonistic functions during inflammation or cancer, yet the full spectrum of neutrophil properties as they enter healthy tissues remains unexplored. Using a new model to track neutrophil fates, we found short but variable lifetimes across multiple tissues. Through analysis of the receptor, transcriptional, and chromatin accessibility landscapes, we identify varying neutrophil states and assign non-canonical functions, including vascular repair and hematopoietic homeostasis. Accordingly, depletion of neutrophils compromised angiogenesis during early age, genotoxic injury, and viral infection, and impaired hematopoietic recovery after irradiation. Neutrophils acquired these properties in target tissues, a process that, in the lungs, occurred in CXCL12-rich areas and relied on CXCR4. Our results reveal that tissues co-opt neutrophils en route for elimination to induce programs that support their physiological demands.This study was supported byIntramural grants from the Severo Ochoa program (IGP-SO), a grant from Fundacio la Marato de TV3 (120/C/2015-20153032), grant SAF2015-65607-R fromMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICINN) with co-funding by Fondo Eu-ropeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), RTI2018-095497-B-I00 from MICINN,HR17_00527 from Fundacion La Caixa, and Transatlantic Network of Excel-lence (TNE-18CVD04) from the Leducq Foundation to A.H. I.B. is supportedby fellowship MSCA-IF-EF-748381 and EMBO short-term fellowship 8261.A.R.-P. is supported by a fellowship (BES-2016-076635) and J.A.N.-A. byfellowship SVP-2014-068595 from MICINN. R.O. is supported by ERC startinggrant 759532, Italian Telethon Foundation SR-Tiget grant award F04, ItalianMoH grant GR-201602362156, AIRC MFAG 20247, Cariplo Foundation grant2015-0990, and the EU Infect-ERA 126. C.S. is supported by the SFB 1123,project A07, as well as by the DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research) and the BMBF (German Ministry of Education and Research) grant81Z0600204. L.G.N. is supported by SIgN core funding from A*STAR. The CNIC is supported by the MICINN and the Pro-CNIC Foundation and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (MICINN award SEV-2015-0505). G.F.-C. issupported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacio ́n (grantPID2019-110895RB-100) and Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha(grant SBPLY/19/180501/000211). C.R. received funding from the BoehingerIngelheim Foundation (consortium grant ‘‘Novel and Neglected CardiovascularRisk Factors’’) and German Federal Ministry of Education and Research(BMBF 01EO1503) and is a Fellow of the Gutenberg Research College (GFK)at the Johannes Gutenberg-University MainzS

Beneath the red dupatta: an exploration of the mythopoeic functions of the ‘Muslim’ courtesan (tawaif) in hindustani cinema

Després d’haver estat un dels mites més habituals del cinema hindustànic gairebé de forma continuada des dels anys vint i, per tant, des de pràcticament els inicis de la producció de pel#lícules índies fins a les darreries de la dècada dels noranta, amb el seu punt més àlgid en els anys seixanta i vuitanta del segle passat, semblaria que el tema de la cortesana comença a recular al segle vint-i-u. No obstant això, la tawaif hi apareix de forma reiterada. De fet, la tawaif s’està mantenint en el cinema hindustànic en forma de mite inconscient i subjacent com si fos un avatar general on fa la funció d’una estructura que permet manifestar tant l’artista real, o item girl, com la vamp, o noia independent d’avui. Dit de manera més directa, la tradició històrica d’entreteniment que ve associada amb la tawaif contribueix a l’estructura narrativa del cinema hindustànic en tant que usa poesia urdú per a lletres de cançons, espectacles de dansa i coreografies clàssiques i modernes. El text cinemàtic hindustànic ha estat i és, per tant, en sí mateix i per sobre de tot, una performance viva de la tawaif que convida a l’observació, que es manifesta transformant la cultura i que, quan actua, ho fa amb l’economia al cap –com qualsevol altra indústria. Començo amb una explotació de la tawaif històrica i m’endinso en el context de la seva vida quotidiana, enmig de mons d’art i de subtilesa extrema, com també en el sòrdid univers de la prostitució. Tal com era de preveure, les recepcions envers la indecisió moral de la tawaif han estat tradicionalment hostils i la justícia de la gent ha fet estranyes parelles dins la varietat de contextos temporals i espacials on s’ha tocat el tema, des dels britànics a Mahatma Gandhi, passant per Nehru, l’extrema dreta hindú, els fonamentalistes islàmics i moltes feministes quan arribà el moment de cloure l’univers de la tawaif, dislocat en dos patrimonis divergents, el del cos i el de la ment. El rebuig de la majoria dels períodes històrics de l’Índia a associar la sexualitat amb el refinament, o a conjugar la sexualitat amb la puresa, o a explorar el paper de les dones que eren víctimes d’una estructura patriarcal en la què els homes se’n beneficiaven i quedaven exculpats han convertit la tawaif històrica en una subalterna, malgrat que ella gaudís sense complexos amb la reialesa. D’acord amb Judith Butler, jutjo la identitat de la tawaif no com algú que és, sinó com algú que s’esdevé i, principalment, com a locus per a la nostàlgia, la natalitat, la mort i, narrativament parlant, com a boc expiatori, com el boc que se sacrifica pel bé de la polis. La presència/absència de la cortesana destapa la dinàmica de l’espectacle pel què fa al text del cinema hindustànic, la seva funció en el text fílmic i, en gran mesura, en el context social. De fet, es podria argumentar que la cortesana està present en el cinema hindustànic a través de representacions de dones i d’estructures patriarcals tot i que, de forma més general, ho està en termes de relacions de poder. El cinema hindustànic porta dins seu el mite de la cortesana, encara que, d’una manera o altra, la realitat és que és la cortesana la que porta el cinema hindustànic dins seu. No en va, les posicions eticoideològiques del cinema hindustànic mostren també moltes correspondències amb el món de la cortesana i la seva funció d’entreteniment.After acting as a staple myth of the Hindustani cinema text almost continuously from the 1920s and nearly the start of Indian film-making to the late 1990s, with its heyday in the 1960s - 1980s, the courtesan as motif starts ebbing away in the new century, but keeps re-appearing, sometimes obliquely and sometimes directly as postmodern revisiting, brief ‘cameo’ acts, nostalgic clin d’oeils, or as remakes. In fact, as an underlying unconscious myth, the tawaif persists, but as a more general avatar, as a structure that gives rise to a variety of manifestations: the ‘item girl’, the vamp, today’s independent girl or more directly, the tradition of entertainment the historical tawaif carries, informs the narrative structure of Hindustani cinema in terms of Urdu poetry in song lyrics, and dance performance, classical or modern choreography. Above all, the Hindustani cinematic text itself is and has been a tawaif-life performance, inviting the gaze, acting – as any industry – with economics in mind and cultural transformation as manifestation. As with the tawaif’s performance, the subversive is watered down with concessions to bourgeois family values and economic priorities. I start with an exploration of the historical tawaif, especially of Lucknow, in 19th century India. I delve into the context of her everyday life, astride worlds of extreme subtlety (tehzeeb) and art, and the sordid world of prostitution. Receptions to the moral undecidability of her world have been predictably hostile. A common self-righteousness made, within a variety of spatial and temporal contexts, strange bedfellows of the British, of Mahatma Gandhi, of Nehru, of the Hindu extreme-right and the Muslim fundamentalist, of many feminists when it came to closing down the world of the tawaif and its dislocation into a body versus mind heritage. The refusal of most periods to envisage sexuality and refinement, or to conjugate sexuality and purity, or to explore women as victims of a patriarchal structure whereas the men who benefit from it are excused, have made of the historical tawaif a subaltern despite her cavorting with royalty. In line with Judith Butler, we assess her identity not as being but as becoming, mostly as a locus of nostalgia, a temporal relationship of natality/morbidity, and, narratively, as scapegoat, the ‘goat’ offered to sacrifice for the good of the polis. As with any manifestation of the unconscious, the mythological cannot be retrieved directly, but metaphorically, metonymically and retrospectively. The courtesan’s presence/absence uncovers the dynamics of her performance by the Hindustani cinema text, her function in the filmic text and more generally in the social context. In fact, one can argue, the courtesan is present through representations of women and patriarchal structures in Hindustani cinema but more generally, in terms of relations of power. Hindustani cinema carries the myth of the courtesan, but in many ways it is the courtesan who carries Hindustani cinema. The historical courtesan pre-dates Hindustani cinema, but somehow the tradition of entertainment she carries informs the narrative structure of Hindustani cinema. Hindustani cinema’s ethico-ideological stances also show many mise-en-abyme correspondences with the world of the courtesan as entertainers. I use Cultural Studies in my investigation as complemented by feminist film theory, especially when concerned with spectatorship and identity-construction.and other critical theories

Potential interference of fungal endophytes in Vanilla planifolia on vanilla flavor compounds biosynthesis

Natural vanilla flavor is one of the most important in the world. However, the cost of this flavor is expensive. Production of this flavor by alternative methods, could reduce the cost. Towards this end, using microbiological methods, fungal endophytes were isolated and identified, by morphological characters and PCR-based methods, from vanilla pods, the site of vanilla flavor. The fungal endophytes were tested for their involvement in the synthesis of vanilla flavor. In this way, three vanilla pod endophytes Hypoxylon investiens, Pestalotiopsis microspora, Diaporthe phaseolorum were found to modify the amounts of vanilla flavor and aroma metabolites vanillin, vanillyl alcohol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, p-xylene, α-phellandrene, 3-carene, α-terpineol, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, α-cubebene, β-caryophyllene in Vanilla material containing media (in vitro) as well as in living Vanilla plant material (in vivo - acclimatized plants and calli). These metabolites were synthesized either de novo or through biotransformation reactions of precursors. That the latter describes the involvement of several metabolites related to vanilla flavor, implies complex flavor notes, typical of natural vanilla flavor, as opposed to the synthetic version. The analytical methods used include GC-MS, HPLC, 1H and 2D NMR. The results support the hypothesis that endophytes play a role in vanilla flavor metabolite biosynthesis.Regional Council of Réunion (Région Réunion), France, Nederlands-Frans NetwerkPlant science

The Dentato-Rubro-Olivary Tract: Clinical Dimension of This Anatomical Pathway

Symptomatic palatal tremor is potentially the result of a lesion in the triangle of Guillain-Mollaret (1931) and is associated with hypertrophic olivary degeneration (HOD) which has characteristic MR findings. The triangle is defined by dentate efferents ascending through the superior cerebellar peduncle and crossing in the decussation of the brachium conjunctivum inferior to the red nucleus, to finaliy reach the inferior olivary nucleus (ION) via the central tegmental tract. The triangle is completed by ION decussating efferents terminating on the original dentate nucleus via the inferior cerebellar peduncle. We can demonstrate the anatomy of this anatomical triangle using a clinical case of palatal tremor presenting with bilateral subjective pulsatile tinnitus along with the pathognomonic MR findings previously described. The hyperintense T2 signal in these patients may be permanent, but the hypertrophied olive normally regresses after 4 years. The temporal relationship between the evolution of the histopathology and the development of the palatal tremor remains unknown as does the natural history of the tremor. Botox injection at the level of tensor and levator veli palatini insertion have been used to treat patients with disabling tremor synchronous tinnitus. A lesion involving the triangle can have a quite varied clinical expression

Interferon regukatory factor 5: a systematic study of macrophage gene regulation

Macrophages are multifaceted innate immune cells, able to adapt their phenotype to respond to a myriad of conditions, engaging in tissue-specific functions and mediating either inflammatory or anti-inflammatory responses depending on the encountered stimuli. They conduct key roles in the orchestration of immune responses; from pathogen recognition through sterilising inflammation to resolution and repair. The Udalova laboratory has previously demonstrated that IRF5 promotes a pro- inflammatory macrophage phenotype, leading to the secretion of TNF, IL-12, and IL-23, enhancing Th1/Th17-mediated immune responses, and described the cooperation between IRF5 and the transcription factor RelA, which mediate the production of pro- inflammatory genes. The aim of this thesis is to further characterise the activity of IRF5 in macrophage inflammatory responses. I demonstrate that IRF5 not only regulates the transcription of cytokines and chemokines in response to bacterial stimuli, but also anti-microbial peptides, whilst simultaneously down-regulating homeostatic and resolving macrophage functions. My data also suggests that IRF5 plays a role in enforcing monocyte to macrophage differentiation by up-regulating the transcription of key macrophages markers and repressing dendritic cell identity genes. To further characterise the mechanisms of the inflammatory response mounted by macrophages I used an unbiased approach; combining twenty-three transcription factor ChIP-seq data sets with chromatin accessibility information from ATAC-seq, uncovering RUNX1 as a novel partner of IRF5 that binds co-operatively to clusters of enhancers, which control the transcription of pro-inflammatory genes in a signal-dependent manner. This is the first study demonstrating a critical role for RUNX1 in activity of inflammatory macrophages.</p