White Thugs & Black Bodies: A Comparison of the Portrayal of African-American Women in Hip-Hop Videos

The continued appearance of African-American women as performers in rap and/or hip-hop videos has called attention to the male gaze1 and the ways in which young African-American women negotiate their sexuality. The most popular music videos of Caucasian and African-American hip-hop artists from 2003-2005 were analyzed and compared to determine the levels of sexism between the two cultures. With these videos, this study replicated a qualitative content analysis from another study that identified three prominent characteristics: (1) the level of sexism; (2) the presence of intimate touch and/the presence of alluring attire; and (3) which race portrayed women in a more sexist manner. From those distinctions, it was discerned that the majority of videos featuring both races possessed low levels of sexism, if any at all. Regarding sexual iconography, barely half of the Caucasian sample depicted women wearing alluring attire, and approximately a quarter of them revealed women engaged in intimate touching scenes with men and women. It was concluded that African-American rappers portray African-American women in a more sexist manner than their white counterparts in the name of hip-hop

Tissue distribution of sprifermin (recombinant human fibroblast growth factor 18) in the rat following intravenous and intra-articular injection

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Nuevas icnitas terópodas y prosaurópodas en Issil-n-Aït Arbi (Jurásico Inferior, Alto Atlas Central, Marruecos)

El conjunto de afloramientos de 1AAR presenta huellas de dinosaurios bípedos y cuadrúpedos. Las huellas bípedas se han asociado a icnitas terópodas y prosaurópodas, mientras que las segundas se asocian a icnitas prosaurópodas. Cabe la posibilidad de que parte de las icnitas cuadrupedas sean saurópodas, pero la mala conservación y las condiciones de los afloramientos no permiten hacer observaciones directas ni apropiadas sobre ellas. En este trabajo se describen los caracteres determinativos y la posible asignación de las icnitas.Aunque no es la primera vez que se mencionan huellas prosaurópodas en AAR, las de estos afloramientos son morfológicamente diferentes debido probablemente al comportamiento del barro durante la formación de la pisadaThe 1AAR group of outcrops show traces of bipedal and quadrupedal dinosaurs. The bipedal ichnites have been associated with theropod and prosauropod footprints, while the quadrupedal are associated with prosauropod footprints. It is possible that some of the quadrupedal traces were sauropod footprints, but the poor preservation and the outcrop conditions do not allow us direct and appropriate observations of them. Diagnostic characters and the possible attribution of the footprints are described in this paper. Although it is not the first time that prosauropod traces are signaled from the AAR, the footprints of the present outcrops result morphologically different, probably due to reaction of mud during the formation of the ichnit

Pharmacologic P2X purinergic receptor antagonism in the treatment of collagen-induced arthritis

OBJECTIVE.: The aim of the present study was to assess the therapeutic potential of a P2X purinergic receptor antagonist, namely periodate oxidized ATP (oATP), in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). METHODS.: Arthritis was induced in male DBA/1J mice by immunization with type II collagen. Animals showing digits inflammation and paw swelling were treated intraperitoneally each day for 10 days with 100 \u3bcl of 3 mM oATP. At the end of treatment animals were sacrificed and paws removed for histological analysis and evaluation of T-cell infiltration. Humoral response to type II collagen was analyzed and specific serum autoantibody levels were correlated to the clinical score observed in the different animal groups. RESULTS: oATP treatment resulted in a sustained reduction of disease activity, which was associated with a significant decrease in CD3+ T-cells infiltration in arthritic lesions and a significant amelioration of cartilage erosion. Peripheral regulatory T cells (Tregs) were significantly increased upon P2X blockade in lymph nodes. Moreover, a marked reduction of circulating autoantibodies directed against mouse collagen type II wasdetected. CONCLUSIONS.: Our findings indicate that P2X receptor antagonism has an important therapeutic potential for chronic inflammatory rheumatic disorders. The therapeutic efficacy was associated with an increase of Tregs in secondary lymphoid organs. Notably, we observed a significant correlation between serum autoantibodies and clinical efficacy exerted by oATP treatment. Together these results underscore the potential value of the P2X receptor signaling pathway as a potential pharmacological target for the modulation of adaptive immunity in CIA

From biochemical markers to molecular endotypes of osteoarthritis: a review on validated biomarkers

\ua9 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) affects over 500 million people worldwide. OA patients are symptomatically treated, and current therapies exhibit marginal efficacy and frequently carry safety-risks associated with chronic use. No disease-modifying therapies have been approved to date leaving surgical joint replacement as a last resort. To enable effective patient care and successful drug development there is an urgent need to uncover the pathobiological drivers of OA and how these translate into disease endotypes. Endotypes provide a more precise and mechanistic definition of disease subgroups than observable phenotypes, and a panel of tissue- and pathology-specific biochemical markers may uncover treatable endotypes of OA. Areas covered: We have searched PubMed for full-text articles written in English to provide an in-depth narrative review of a panel of validated biochemical markers utilized for endotyping of OA and their association to key OA pathologies. Expert opinion: As utilized in IMI-APPROACH and validated in OAI-FNIH, a panel of biochemical markers may uncover disease subgroups and facilitate the enrichment of treatable molecular endotypes for recruitment in therapeutic clinical trials. Understanding the link between biochemical markers and patient-reported outcomes and treatable endotypes that may respond to given therapies will pave the way for new drug development in OA

Reflections from the 2021 OARSI clinical trial symposium:Considerations for understanding biomarker assessments in osteoarthritis drug development - Should future studies focus on disease activity, rather than status?

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is heterogeneous disease, for which drug development has proven to be challenging, both facilitated and hampered by changing guidelines. This is evident by the current lack of approved treatments, which improve joint function and delay joint failure. There is a need to bring together key stakeholders to discuss, align and enhance the processes for OA drug development to benefit patients. DESIGN: To facilitate drug development, the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) initiated a series of annual clinical trials symposia (CTS). The aim of these symposia was to bring together academics, translational and clinical scientists, regulators, drug developers, and patient advocacy groups to share, refine and enhance the drug development process for the benefit of patients. RESULTS: OARSI is now considered the leading organization to facilitate open dialogue between all these stakeholders, in the intersection of understanding of the pathologies and drug development. Clearly, such a pivotal task needs an annual forum to allow stakeholders to share and discuss information, as possible solutions are joint efforts rather than a single stakeholder contribution. CONCLUSIONS: The main topic of the 2021 CTS was how to improve clinical studies to help patients through overcoming barriers to development of new disease modifying treatments for OA. One key aspect was the focus on definitions of disease activity, status and the definitions of “illness vs disease”. There is a clear medical need to couple a given disease activity with the optimal intervention for the right patient