153 research outputs found
First report of Grapevine fanleaf virus infecting grapevine in the United Kingdom
The UK wine industry is a fast-growing sector and in 2015 an area of c. 2,000 hectares had been planted with vines from which over five million bottles of wine were produced (Wine and Spirit Trade Association Market Overview, 2016). It is important to monitor the phytosanitary status of vines to ensure the sustainability of the industry in the UK
Ursolic Acid Inhibits Collective Cell Migration and Promotes JNK-Dependent Lysosomal Associated Cell Death in Gioblastoma Multiforme Cells
Ursolic acid (UA) is a bioactive compound which has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in a variety of cancer cell lines. UA activates various signalling pathways in Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and offers a promising starting point in drug discovery; however, understanding the relationship between cell death and migration has yet to be elucidated. UA induces a dose dependent cytotoxic response demonstrated by flow cytometry and biochemical cytotoxicity assays. Inhibitor and fluorescent probe studies demonstrate that UA induces a caspase independent, JNK dependent, mechanism of cell death. Migration studies established that UA inhibits GBM collective cell migration in a time dependent manner that is independent of the JNK signalling pathway. Cytotoxicity induced by UA results in the formation of acidic vesicle organelles (AVOs), speculating the activation of autophagy. However, inhibitor and spectrophotometric analysis demonstrated that autophagy was not responsible for the formation of the AVOs. Confocal microscopy and isosurface visualisation determined co-localisation of lysosomes with the previously identified AVOs, thus providing evidence that lysosomes are likely to be playing a role in UA induced cell death. Collectively, our data identify that UA rapidly induces a lysosomal associated mechanism of cell death in addition to UA acting as an inhibitor of GBM collective cell migration
Psychopolitics: Peter Sedgwickâs legacy for mental health movements
This paper re-considers the relevance of Peter Sedgwick's Psychopolitics (1982) for a politics of mental health. Psychopolitics offered an indictment of âanti-psychiatryâ the failure of which, Sedgwick argued, lay in its deconstruction of the category of âmental illnessâ, a gesture that resulted in a politics of nihilism. âThe radical who is only a radical nihilistâ, Sedgwick observed, âis for all practical purposes the most adamant of conservativesâ. Sedgwick argued, rather, that the concept of âmental illnessâ could be a truly critical concept if it was deployed âto make demands upon the health service facilities of the society in which we liveâ. The paper contextualizes Psychopolitics within the âcrisis tendenciesâ of its time, surveying the shifting welfare landscape of the subsequent 25 years alongside Sedgwick's continuing relevance. It considers the dilemma that the discourse of âmental illnessâ â Sedgwick's critical concept â has fallen out of favour with radical mental health movements yet remains paradigmatic within psychiatry itself. Finally, the paper endorses a contemporary perspective that, while necessarily updating Psychopolitics, remains nonetheless âSedgwickianâ
The Function of Bachelardian Epistemology in the Post-colonial Project of Mohammed âAbed al-Jabri
This paper explores the function of historical epistemology in the thought of Gaston Bachelard (1884â1962) and Mohammed âAbed al-Jabri (1935â2010). Attributing thought with a particular function challenges our tendency to explain the development of thought in other socio-historical contexts in terms of mere conceptual influence. Available English-language literature on al-Jabri commonly references Bachelardâs concept of epistemological rupture as a source of inspiration. Though the reference is astute, this term remains poorly understood and has long been overshadowed by Thomas Kuhnâs notion of âparadigm shiftâ. The broader function of Bachelardâs thought as a renegotiation of time, place, subject, and reason in the natural sciences has been largely neglected in historiographies of the philosophy of science outside of France. This paper emphasizes the level of insight and ingenuity with which al-Jabri employs the function of Bachelardâs epistemology by re-interpreting it within the framework of his own socio-historical context. Far from reducing al-Jabriâs thought to a mere programmatic reproduction of French thought, I suggest that al-Jabri was among the most astute interpreters of this long-misunderstood theorist
Sociological and Communication-Theoretical Perspectives on the Commercialization of the Sciences
Both self-organization and organization are important for the further
development of the sciences: the two dynamics condition and enable each other.
Commercial and public considerations can interact and "interpenetrate" in
historical organization; different codes of communication are then
"recombined." However, self-organization in the symbolically generalized codes
of communication can be expected to operate at the global level. The Triple
Helix model allows for both a neo-institutional appreciation in terms of
historical networks of university-industry-government relations and a
neo-evolutionary interpretation in terms of three functions: (i) novelty
production, (i) wealth generation, and (iii) political control. Using this
model, one can appreciate both subdynamics. The mutual information in three
dimensions enables us to measure the trade-off between organization and
self-organization as a possible synergy. The question of optimization between
commercial and public interests in the different sciences can thus be made
empirical.Comment: Science & Education (forthcoming
Vitalism in contemporary chiropractic: a help or a hinderance?
Background: Chiropractic emerged in 1895 and was promoted as a viable health care substitute in direct competition with the medical profession. This was an era when there was a belief that one cause and one cure for all disease would be discovered. The chiropractic version was a theory that most diseases were caused by subluxated (slightly displaced) vertebrae interfering with ânerve vibrationsâ (a supernatural, vital force) and could be cured by adjusting (repositioning) vertebrae, thereby removing the interference with the bodyâs inherent capacity to heal. DD Palmer, the originator of chiropractic, established chiropractic based on vitalistic principles. Anecdotally, the authors have observed that many chiropractors who overtly claim to be âvitalistsâ cannot define the term. Therefore, we sought the origins of vitalism and to examine its effects on chiropractic today. Discussion: Vitalism arose out of human curiosity around the biggest questions: Where do we come from? What is life? For some, life was derived from an unknown and unknowable vital force. For others, a vital force was a placeholder, a piece of knowledge not yet grasped but attainable. Developments in science have demonstrated there is no longer a need to invoke vitalistic entities as either explanations or hypotheses for biological phenomena. Nevertheless, vitalism remains within chiropractic. In this examination of vitalism within chiropractic we explore the history of vitalism, vitalism within chiropractic and whether a vitalistic ideology is compatible with the legal and ethical requirements for registered health care professionals such as chiropractors. Conclusion: Vitalism has had many meanings throughout the centuries of recorded history. Though only vaguely defined by chiropractors, vitalism, as a representation of supernatural force and therefore an untestable hypothesis, sits at the heart of the divisions within chiropractic and acts as an impediment to chiropractic legitimacy, cultural authority and integration into mainstream health care
Decreasing marine biogenic calcification: a negative feedback on rising atmospheric pCO2
In laboratory experiments with the coccolithophore species Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica, the ratio of particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) to particulate organic carbon (POC) production decreased with increasing CO2 concentration ([CO2]). This was due to both reduced PIC and enhanced POC production at elevated [CO2]. Carbon dioxide concentrations covered a range from a preindustrial level to a value predicted for 2100 according to a âbusiness as usualâ anthropogenic CO2 emission scenario. The laboratory results were used to employ a model in which the immediate effect of a decrease in global marine calcification relative to POC production on the potential capacity for oceanic CO2 uptake was simulated. Assuming that overall marine biogenic calcification shows a similar response as obtained for E. huxleyi or G. oceanica in the present study, the model reveals a negative feedback on increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations owing to a decrease in the PIC/POC ratio
- âŠ