‘They Should have been Looking after People for a Long Time’: Human Giving and Generosity During COVID-19, in Austerity Britain

The COVID-19 pandemic mobilised a multitude of acts of giving and generosity. This article provides a snapshot of giving and generosity among a small sample of individuals in the UK, in a context following years of ungenerous austerity politics. Giving and generous actions played a crucial role in mitigating the negative effects of COVID and we report on data collected using in-depth interviews to understand experiences of giving and generosity. We conceptualise giving and generosity as pro-social or other-focused actions that involve sharing of resources, underpinned by a crossing of the hyphen between self and other. This article explores the ways in which participants were mobilised by perceived social and political injustices and thus we offer a different understanding of giving and generosity as micro-activism that is done with a critical eye turned towards the macro context

GEO debris and interplanetary dust: fluxes and charging behavior

In September 1996, a dust/debris detector: GORID was launched into the geostationary (GEO) region as a piggyback instrument on the Russian Express-2 telecommunications spacecraft. The instrument began its normal operation in April 1997 and ended its mission in July 2002. The goal of this work was to use GORID's particle data to identify and separate the space debris to interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) in GEO, to more finely determine the instrument's measurement characteristics and to derive impact fluxes. While the physical characteristics of the GORID impacts alone are insufficient for a reliable distinction between debris and interplanetary dust, the temporal behavior of the impacts are strong enough indicators to separate the populations based on clustering. Non-cluster events are predominantly interplanetary, while cluster events are debris. The GORID mean flux distributions (at mass thresholds which are impact speed dependent) for IDPs, corrected for dead time, are 1.35x10^{-4} m^{-2} s^{-1} using a mean detection rate: 0.54 d^{-1}, and for space debris are 6.1x10^{-4} m^{-2} s^{-1} using a mean detection rate: 2.5 d^{-1}. Beta-meteoroids were not detected. Clusters could be a closely-packed debris cloud or a particle breaking up due to electrostatic fragmentation after high charging.Comment: * Comments: 6 pages, 4 postscript figures, in Dust in Planetary Systems 2005, Krueger, H. and Graps, A. eds., ESA Publications, SP in press (2006). For high resolution version, see: http://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/dustgroup/~graps/dips2005/GrapsetalDIPS2005.pd

Electromagnetic interferences from plasmas generated in meteoroids impacts

It is shown that the plasma, generated during an impact of a meteoroid with an artificial satellite, can produce electromagnetic radiation below the microwave frequency range. This interference is shown to exceed local noise sources and might disturb regular satellite operations.Comment: 6 pages, no figures. This version macthes the published versio

Influence of Stem Cutting and Glyphosate Treatment of Lonicera maackii, an Exotic and Invasive Species, on Stem Regrowth and Native Species Richness

Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Herder (Caprifoliaceae), Amur honeysuckle, is an exotic and invasive species in the United States that has quickly overtaken disturbed habitats in the eastern and midwestern United States, as well as in Ontario, Canada. A reduction of light due to its dense canopy, extended growing season compared to native species, and production of numerous basal sprouts allow L. maackii to outcompete its native counterparts. Eradication of this species can be difficult and time-consuming. This research was undertaken to identify how L. maackii influences species diversity and species re-establishment and to determine an efficient and effective eradication method. A study was designed to determine if L. maackii inhibited species diversity, if the removal of L. maackii would increase species diversity by reopening the canopy, and if mechanical removal or mechanical removal coupled with glyphosate treatment could be used effectively for its long-term eradication. It was found that L. maackii removal increased species diversity, and mechanical removal coupled with the application of glyphosate is an effective and relatively simple method for eradicating L. maackii, while mechanical stem removal alone simply delayed its growth

Enabling MSI-Guided Laser Capture Microdissection

Introduction/Rationale: Coupling MALDI mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) with Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) allows for precise dissection of tissue regions based on molecular features [1]. Automated methods for alignment of the coordinate systems of the MSI and LCM platforms reduces errors associated with manual definition of ROI’s and increases throughput (a major bottleneck for LCM). Here we present the development of a method to transfer regions of interest from MALDI MSI images to an LCM platform, using consecutive tissue sections mounted on ITO conductive slides for MALDI MSI and on PEN-coated slides for LCM. Methods: The test system consists of a gelatin-embedded mouse liver. 12 µm slices were cut using a cryostat and two consecutive slices were mounted on ITO and PEN slides. The ITO slide was spray-coated with DHB (30mg/mL, MeOH 70%, water 30%, 0.2% TFA) and a MALDI image was acquired with an EP-MALDI source coupled to a Q-Exactive mass spectrometer. The MSI data was imported into MATLAB. The tissue mounted on the PEN slide was stained with hematoxylin and a high resolution optical image acquired using an Aperio Scanscope. The LCM instrument used was an Apotome 2 Axio Observer Z1 microscope equipped with a Palm Robomover LCM system (both Zeiss). Results: An image of an ion with a regular distribution on the tissue is used to align the MS image to the optical image of the hematoxylin-stained tissue section mounted on the PEN slide. The optical image of the PEN slide tissue section is imported in MATLAB and cropped to match the size of the MALDI image. An intensity-based co-registration algorithm is then used to align the MS image to the cropped optical image. The MS image is then rescaled to match to the original optical image. To obtain regions-of-interest to transfer to the LCM platform, the MSI data was TIC normalized and a k-means cluster analysis performed. The image of the cluster of interest was aligned to the PEN slide using the same transformations used for the whole MSI data, binarized and segmented to obtain the coordinates of the vertices of the cluster region. Vertex coordinates were expressed after setting the axes origin to a user-defined reference point on the slide. The coordinates of the origin in the Aperio reference system were then matched to the coordinates of the reference point in the Zeiss coordinate system and the same transformation applied. Coordinates were then formatted as an Element file readable by the LCM and exported as text files. Border coordinates were imported in the Zeiss PALMRobo software and regions of interest automatically dissected. Conclusions/Novelty: The presented method enables rapid transfer of coordinates from a MALDI image to an LCM instrument, increasing throughput and reducing errors due to freehand cutting. The method is applicable to consecutive tissue sections, and ROI’s can be defined either by MSI or via histopathological specification

Group identity, empathy and shared suffering: understanding the “community” impacts of anti-LGBT and Islamophobic hate crimes

This article examines the indirect impacts of hate crimes on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and Muslim communities in the United Kingdom. Based on 34 qualitative interviews, we explore both the perceived meaning of ‘community’ in the context of targeted victimization and the emotional and behavioural effects that anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and Islamophobic hate crimes have on other members of the victim’s group. Building on previous quantitative data undertaken as part of a larger programme of research, this study helps to explain how and why hate crimes have significant indirect consequences on two distinct but commonly targeted communities. The focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and Muslim communities allowed us to draw out similarities and commonalities across different groups, further enhancing the understanding of the impacts of hate crime. In particular, the article highlights how for many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and Muslim people feelings of anger and anxiety about hate crimes were linked to enhanced levels of empathy towards those that they share a group identity with. These empathic bonds often gave rise to a sense of ‘shared suffering’, with participants frequently feeling connected to group members worldwide through their common experiences of hate and prejudice. Although group identity was important to many participants’ sense of belonging to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender or Muslim communities, it was clear that the most profound impacts of hate crime were experienced when incidents occurred within someone’s local area. This highlighted the importance of location as a key variable in understanding both the meaning of ‘community’ and the indirect impacts of hate crime

Electrophysiology of glioma: a Rho GTPase-activating protein reduces tumor growth and spares neuron structure and function

Background. Glioblastomas are the most aggressive type of brain tumor. A successful treatment should aim at halting tumor growth and protecting neuronal cells to prevent functional deficits and cognitive deterioration. Here, we exploited a Rho GTPase-activating bacterial protein toxin, cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1), to interfere with glioma cell growth in vitro and vivo. We also investigated whether this toxin spares neuron structure and function in peritumoral areas. Methods. We performed a microarray transcriptomic and in-depth proteomic analysis to characterize the molecular changes triggered by CNF1 in glioma cells. We also examined tumor cell senescence and growth in vehicle-and CNF1-treated glioma-bearing mice. Electrophysiological and morphological techniques were used to investigate neuronal alterations in peritumoral cortical areas. Results. Administration of CNF1 triggered molecular and morphological hallmarks of senescence in mouse and human glioma cells in vitro. CNF1 treatment in vivo induced glioma cell senescence and potently reduced tumor volumes. In peritumoral areas of glioma-bearing mice, neurons showed a shrunken dendritic arbor and severe functional alterations such as increased spontaneous activity and reduced visual responsiveness. CNF1 treatment enhanced dendritic length and improved several physiological properties of pyramidal neurons, demonstrating functional preservation of the cortical network. Conclusions. Our findings demonstrate that CNF1 reduces glioma volume while at the same time maintaining the physiological and structural properties of peritumoral neurons. These data indicate a promising strategy for the development of more effective antiglioma therapies

3 - 14 Micron Spectroscopy of Comets C/2002 O4 (Honig), C/2002 V1 (NEAT), C/2002 X5 (Kudo-Fujikawa), C/2002 Y1 (Juels-Holvorcem), 69P/Taylor, and the Relationships among Grain Temperature, Silicate Band Strength and Structure among Comet Families

We report 3 - 13 micron spectroscopy of 4 comets observed between August 2002 and February 2003: C/2002 O4 (Honig) on August 1, 2002, C/2002 V1 (NEAT) on Jan. 9 and 10, 2003, C/2002 X5 (Kudo-Fujikawa) on Jan. 9 and 10, 2003, and C/2002 Y1 (Juels-Holvorcem) on Feb. 20, 2003. In addition, we include data obtained much earlier on 69P/Taylor (February 9, 1998) but not previously published. For Comets Taylor, Honig, NEAT, and Kudo-Fujikawa, the silicate emission band was detected, being approximately 23%, 12%, 15%, and 10%, respectively, above the continuum. The data for Comet Juels-Holvorcem were of insufficient quality to detect the presence of a silicate band of comparable strength to the other three objects, and we place an upper limit of 24% on this feature. The silicate features in both NEAT and Kudo-Fujikawa contained structure indicating the presence of crystalline material. Combining these data with those of other comets, we confirm the correlation between silicate band strength and grain temperature of Gehrz & Ney (1992) and Williams et al. (1997) for dynamically new and long period comets, but the majority of Jupiter family objects may deviate from this relation. The limited data available on Jupiter family objects suggest that they may have silicate bands that are slightly different from the former objects. Finally, when compared to the silicate emission bands observed in pre-main sequence stars, the dynamically new and long period comets most closely resemble the more evolved stellar systems, while the limited data (in quantity and quality) on Jupiter family objects seem to suggest that these have spectra more like the less-evolved stars.Comment: 45 pages, 12 figure