From ethnography to evolution

The author reflects on the development of his epistemic approach to the study of communication and culture first by recounting key experiences he had as a boy and young man, especially travel. He traces the trajectory of his empirical study of media, culture, and communication by citing key scholars and literature as well as his experiences as a professional communicator. Professor Lull’s doctoral dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an innovative ethnography of family life with television, set him on the path of qualitative empirical research for much of his early career. He mentions his article “The Social Uses of Television” and his ethnography of the arrival of television in urban China as his major research accomplishments. In the late 1980s, his focus turned to Latin America, where he has given numerous presentations, seminars, and workshops. His collaboration with the Brazilian-American communications professor Eduardo Neiva helped bring about a transition to his most recent work, the introduction of evolutionary communication as a theoretical alternative in the field.O autor reflete sobre o desenvolvimento de sua abordagem epistêmica no estudo da comunicação e cultura, primeiramente, por meio de narrativas de experiências-chave que ele teve quando criança e jovem adulto, especialmente viagens. Ele traça a trajetória do seu estudo empírico sobre mídia, cultura e comunicação, citando os principais estudiosos e literatura, bem como suas experiências como comunicador profissional. A tese de doutorado do professor Lull, realizada na Universidade de Wisconsin-Madison, uma etnografia inovadora da vida familiar com a televisão, estabeleceu-o no caminho da pesquisa empírica qualitativa durante grande parte do seu início de carreira. Ele cita o artigo The social uses of television e sua etnografia sobre a chegada da televisão na China urbana como suas maiores realizações em pesquisa. No final da década de 1980, seu foco se voltou para a América Latina, onde participou de várias palestras, seminários e workshops. Seu trabalho colaborativo com Eduardo Neiva, professor de comunicação brasileiro-estadunidense, contribuiu para a transição do autor para seu mais recente trabalho: a introdução da comunicação evolutiva como uma alternativa teórica para a área

Los placeres activos de expresar y comunicar

Adaptado a partir del más reciente libro de su autor, «Culture-on-demand: communication in a crisis world», y continuando con la visión que el autor tiene de la participación activa de los espectadores en todas las formas de comunicación humana, este artículo defiende el lugar de la expresión humana y del poder del símbolo en los medios de comunicación contemporáneos y en el mundo de la cultura. Discute cómo la moderna tecnología de la comunicación refuerza y extiende el potencial expresivo de los ciudadanos de a pie en los contextos normativos de la vida cotidiana e introduce el concepto de cultural «open sourcing», concepto fundamental para incrementar la democratización de los procesos de la comunicación y la distribución del poder social a escala global._________________________________Based on Lull’s recent book «Culture-on-Demand: Communication in a Crisis World» (2007) and on the author’s view of audiences as active participants in all forms of human communication, this article argues for the place of human expression and symbolic power in contemporary media and cultural studies. It also discusses how modern communication technology reinforces and extends the expressive potential of ordinary citizens in the normative contexts of everyday life. This contribution introduces the concept of cultural open sourcing as fundamental to the increasing democratization of communication processes and distribution of social power ona global scale

Os espaços abertos da comunicação global

Do contemporary advances in global communication serve mainly to strengthen and extend international power relations already in place, or do they offer realistic opportunities to transform those tendencies into a more humane and harmonious world? Can the enormous barriers posed by fundamentalist thought eventually be overcome through intercultural contact? How might the technological and cultural developments that are sweeping the world today bring about positive results by creating reflexivity and public dialogue on a global scale? Any success that can be brought to fruition in the open spaces of global communication will depend on further expansion of a de facto global civil society that embraces profound technological and cultural change. This potentially transformative project develops in seven overlapping stages. I will now describe seven stages of the open spaces of global communication, starting with a summary analysis of the characteristic conditions of the Communication Age and ending with a hopeful vision of its full potential. Key words: global communication, interculturality, civil society, communication age.Os avanços na comunicação global servem para reforçar e estender as relações internacionais de poder já existentes ou podem oferecer oportunidades realistas para a transformação dessas tendências em direção a um mundo mais humano e mais harmonioso? As enormes barreiras impostas pelo pensamento fundamentalista podem ser ultrapassadas pela via do contato intercultural? Como os desenvolvimentos tecnológicos e culturais que se espalham sobre o mundo podem ter resultados positivos, gerando reflexividade e diálogo público em escala global? Qualquer sucesso que possa vir a termo nos espaços abertos da comunicação global dependerá da expansão de uma sociedade civil de facto, que abrace a profunda mudança tecnológica e cultural. Este projeto potencialmente transformador se desenvolve em sete estágios sobrepostos. Serão descritos, nesse artigo, os sete estágios dos espaços abertos da comunicação global, começando por uma análise sucinta das condições que caracterizam a Era da Comunicação e terminando com uma visão esperançosa de seu pleno potencial. Palavras-chave: comunicação global, interculturalidade, sociedade civil, era da comunicação

Communicating Change The Promise of Human Evolution

Na época atual, a evolução humana não segue mais exatamente o mesmo princípio da evolução biológica, resultante da adaptação e da sobrevivência competitiva das espécies na natureza em função das mutações aleatórias. Essa transformação varia em função das inovações culturais e de determinações morais, traço distintivo da espécie humana, a única a subordinar seus interesses genéticos a outras questões que julga mais relevantes. O ritmo dessas mudanças acelerou-se impressionantemente no último milénio, principalmente a partir da Revolução Industrial, que converteu o desenvolvimento tecnológico e cultural em um fenômeno global, encabeçado pelas tecnologias de comunicação, fator de mudanças que sempre conduziu a evolução tecnológica, cultural e genética.In the present age, human evolution no longer follows the same principal of biological evolution, resulting from the adaptation and survival of competitive species in nature in terms of random mutations. This transformation varies in terms of cultural innovations and moral determinations, the hallmark human species, the only one to subordinate their interests to other genetic issues deems most relevant. The pace of change has accelerated remarkably in the last millennium, especially after the Industrial Revolution, which converted the technological and cultural development into a global phenomenon, led by communication technologies, a factor of change that always led to technological developments, cultural and genetic

Anti-inflammatory activity of edible oyster mushroom is mediated through the inhibition of NF-κB and AP-1 signaling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mushrooms are well recognized for their culinary properties as well as for their potency to enhance immune response. In the present study, we evaluated anti-inflammatory properties of an edible oyster mushroom (<it>Pleurotus ostreatus</it>) <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>RAW264.7 murine macrophage cell line and murine splenocytes were incubated with the oyster mushroom concentrate (OMC, 0-100 μg/ml) in the absence or presence of lipopolysacharide (LPS) or concanavalin A (ConA), respectively. Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay. Expression of cytokines and proteins was measured by ELISA assay and Western blot analysis, respectively. DNA-binding activity was assayed by the gel-shift analysis. Inflammation in mice was induced by intraperitoneal injection of LPS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>OMC suppressed LPS-induced secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-12p40 from RAW264.7 macrophages. OMC inhibited LPS-induced production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE₂) and nitric oxide (NO) through the down-regulation of expression of COX-2 and iNOS, respectively. OMC also inhibited LPS-dependent DNA-binding activity of AP-1 and NF-κB in RAW264.7 cells. Oral administration of OMC markedly suppressed secretion of TNF-α and IL-6 in mice challenged with LPS <it>in vivo</it>. Anti-inflammatory activity of OMC was confirmed by the inhibition of proliferation and secretion of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-2, and IL-6 from concanavalin A (ConA)-stimulated mouse splenocytes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study suggests that oyster mushroom possesses anti-inflammatory activities and could be considered a dietary agent against inflammation. The health benefits of the oyster mushroom warrant further clinical studies.</p

Bird-Like Anatomy, Posture, and Behavior Revealed by an Early Jurassic Theropod Dinosaur Resting Trace

BACKGROUND: Fossil tracks made by non-avian theropod dinosaurs commonly reflect the habitual bipedal stance retained in living birds. Only rarely-captured behaviors, such as crouching, might create impressions made by the hands. Such tracks provide valuable information concerning the often poorly understood functional morphology of the early theropod forelimb. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we describe a well-preserved theropod trackway in a Lower Jurassic ( approximately 198 million-year-old) lacustrine beach sandstone in the Whitmore Point Member of the Moenave Formation in southwestern Utah. The trackway consists of prints of typical morphology, intermittent tail drags and, unusually, traces made by the animal resting on the substrate in a posture very similar to modern birds. The resting trace includes symmetrical pes impressions and well-defined impressions made by both hands, the tail, and the ischial callosity. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The manus impressions corroborate that early theropods, like later birds, held their palms facing medially, in contrast to manus prints previously attributed to theropods that have forward-pointing digits. Both the symmetrical resting posture and the medially-facing palms therefore evolved by the Early Jurassic, much earlier in the theropod lineage than previously recognized, and may characterize all theropods

Distribution of misfolded prion protein seeding activity alone does not predict regions of neurodegeneration

Protein misfolding is common across many neurodegenerative diseases, with misfolded proteins acting as seeds for "prion-like" conversion of normally folded protein to abnormal conformations. A central hypothesis is that misfolded protein accumulation, spread and distribution is restricted to specific neuronal populations of the central nervous system and thus predict regions of neurodegeneration. We examined this hypothesis using a highly sensitive assay system for detection of misfolded protein seeds in a murine model of prion disease. Misfolded prion protein seeds were observed widespread throughout the brain accumulating in all brain regions examined irrespective of neurodegeneration. Importantly neither time of exposure nor amount of misfolded protein seeds present determined regions of neurodegeneration. We further demonstrate two distinct microglia responses in prion infected brains, a 11 novel homeostatic response in all regions and an innate immune response restricted to sites of 12 neurodegeneration. Therefore accumulation of misfolded prion protein alone does not define targeting 13 of neurodegeneration which instead results only when misfolded prion protein accompanies a specific 14 innate immune response