The Politics of (Dis-)location: Queer Migration, Activism, and Coalitional Possibilities

This paper deals with the interrelatedness of borders and queer identities, bodies, sexualities, and the politics of (dis-)location in the U.S. and Germany. Looking into the relations between bodies and borders and the different ways in which activist groups in the U.S. and in Germany have attempted to develop new (re-)configurations of corpo-realities, this article shows how these groups help develop global and embodied forms of citizenship that present new forms of coalitional activism. As can be seen, processes of de- and reterritorialization increase the need for building alliances, which can function both as coalitional moments and revolutionary connections, revealing what Mohanty calls the “the temporality of struggle” (122) in the politics of location

The sax1 dwarf mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana shows altered sensitivity of growth responses to abscisic acid, auxin, giberellin and ethylene and is partially rescued by exogenous brassinosteroid

Genetic approaches using Arabidopsis thaliana aimed at the identification of mutations affecting events involved in auxin signalling have usually led to the isolation of auxin-resistant mutants. From a selection screen specifically developed to isolate auxin-hypersensitive mutants, one mutant line was selected for its increased sensitivity to auxin (x 2 to 3) for the root elongation response. The genetic analysis of sax1 (hypersensitive to abscisic acid and auxin) indicated that the mutant phenotype segregates as a single recessive Mendelian locus, mapping to the lower arm of chromosome 1. Sax1 seedlings grown in vitro showed a short curled primary root and small, round, dark-green cotyledons. In the greenhouse, adult sax1 plants were characterized by a dwarf phenotype, delayed development and reduced fertility. Further physiological characterization of sax1 seedlings revealed that the most striking trait was a large increase (x 40) in ABA-sensitivity of root elongation and, to a lesser extent, of ABA-induced stomatal closure; in other respects, hypocotyl elongation was resistant to gibberellins and ethylene. These alterations in hormone sensitivity in sax1 plants co-segregated with the dwarf phenotype suggesting that processes involved in cell elongation are modified. Treatment of mutant seedlings with an exogenous brassinosteroid partially rescued a wild-type size, suggesting that brassinosteroid biosynthesis might be affected in sax1 plants. Wild-type sensitivities to ABA, auxin and gibberellins were also restored in sax1 plants by exogenous application of brassinosteroid, illustrating the pivotal importance of the BR-related SAX1 gene

Making sense of risk. Donor risk communication in families considering living liverdonation to a child

This paper contributes to the growing line of thought in bioethics that respect for autonomy should not be equated to the facilitation of individualistic self determination through standard requirements of informed consent in all healthcare contexts. The paper describes how in the context of donation for living related liver transplantation (LRLT) meaningful, responsible decision making is often embedded within family processes and its negotiation. We suggest that good donor risk communication in families promote “conscientious autonomy” and “reflective trust”. From this, the paper offers the suggestion that transplant teams and other relevant professionals have to broaden their role and responsibility for risk communication beyond proper disclosure by addressing the impact of varied psychosocial conditions on risk interpretation and assessment for potential donors and family stakeholders. In conclusion, we suggest further research questions on how professional responsibility and role-taking in risk communication should be morally understood

Desbordes/Undoing Borders: hacia nuevas epistemologías fronterizas

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has witnessed another phase in the proliferation of borders. The discussion about the complex roles of edges, borders, and boundaries has become more relevant than ever. This situation calls us to reconceptualize the processes, discourses, practices and symbols through which the power to create borders functions. Borders, of course, are never static, but complex products on multiple levels. Even more so if we think about how in the posthumanist era, the anthropogenic approach [bordering] has reached its limits (Konrad 2021), as we are faced with multiple environmental and migration crises both locally and transnationally. Taking into account the importance of border processes in the 21st century, this issue of post(s) highlights the new border epistemologies. Desbordes/Undoing Borders focuses on creative ways to undo the border. This issue provides a space for exploratory investigations and approaches to borders, border zones and permeable edges. post(s) 7 focuses on interactions between the material and immaterial manifestations that occur at borders and the various media possibilities that exist to study them.  Desde que empezó la pandemia de Covid-19, el mundo ha sido testigo de otra fase en la proliferación de fronteras. La discusión sobre los roles complejos de los bordes, las fronteras y los límites se ha vuelto más relevante que nunca. Esta situación nos llama a reconceptualizar los procesos, discursos, prácticas y símbolos a través de los cuales funciona el poder de crear bordes.  Las fronteras, está claro, nunca son líneas estáticas, sino productos complejos en múltiples niveles. Incluso más si pensamos en cómo en la era posthumanista, el enfoque antropogénico limítrofe [bordering] ha llegado a sus límites (Konrad 2021), ya que nos enfrentamos con múltiples crisis ambientales y migratorias tanto a nivel local como transnacional. Teniendo en cuenta la importancia de los procesos fronterizos en el siglo XXI, este número de post(s) resalta las nuevas epistemologías fronterizas. Desbordes / Undoing Borders se enfoca en formas innovadoras de deshacer la frontera. Este número proporciona un espacio para investigaciones exploratorias de enfoques creativos de las fronteras, zonas y estados limítrofes, bordes permeables. post(s) 7 se enfoca en interacciones entre las manifestaciones materiales e inmateriales que ocurren en las fronteras y las diversas posibilidades de medios que existen para estudiarlas. &nbsp

Preface

Descriptive and Comparative Linguistic

Diffusion-weighted imaging in oral squamous cell carcinoma using 3 Tesla MRI: is there a chance for preoperative discrimination between benign and malignant lymph nodes in daily clinical routine?

Background Preoperative staging of cervical lymph nodes is important to determine the extent of neck dissection in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Purpose To evaluate whether a preoperative discrimination of benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) (3T) is feasible for clinical application. Material and Methods Forty-five patients with histological proven OSCC underwent preoperative 3T-MRI. DWI (b=0, 500, and 1000s/mm(2)) was added to the standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol. Mean apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC(mean)) were measured for lymph nodes with 3mm or more in short axis by two independent readers. Finally, these results were matched with histology. Results Mean ADC was significantly higher for malignant than for benign nodes (1.1430.188 * 10(-3) mm(2)/s vs. 0.987 +/- 0.215 * 10(-3) mm(2)/s). Using an ADC value of 0.994 * 10(-3) mm(2)/s as threshold results in a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 65%, positive predictive value of 31%, and negative predictive value of 93%. Conclusion Due to a limited sensitivity and specificity DWI alone is not suitable to reliably discriminate benign from malignant cervical lymph nodes in daily clinical routine. Hence, the preoperative determination of the extent of neck dissection on the basis of ADC measurements is not meaningful

Landspotting: Social gaming to collect vast amounts of data for satellite validation

At present there is no single satellite-derived global land cover product that is accurate enough to provide reliable estimates of forest or cropland area to determine, e.g., how much additional land is available to grow biofuels or to tackle problems of food security. The Landspotting Project aims to improve the quality of this land cover information by vastly increasing the amount of in-situ validation data available for calibration and validation of satellite-derived land cover. The Geo-Wiki (Geo-Wiki.org) system currently allows users to compare three satellite derived land cover products and validate them using Google Earth. However, there is presently no incentive for anyone to provide this data so the amount of validation through Geo-Wiki has been limited. However, recent competitions have proven that incentive driven campaigns can rapidly create large amounts of input. The LandSpotting Project is taking a truly innovative approach through the development of the Landspotting game. The game engages users whilst simultaneously collecting a large amount of in-situ land cover information. The development of the game is informed by the current raft of successful social gaming that is available on the internet and as mobile applications, many of which are geo-spatial in nature. Games that are integrated within a social networking site such as Facebook illustrate the power to reach and continually engage a large number of individuals. The number of active Facebook users is estimated to be greater than 400 million, where 100 million are accessing Facebook from mobile devices. The Landspotting Game has similar game mechanics as the famous strategy game "Civilization" (i.e. build, harvest, research, war, diplomacy, etc.). When a player wishes to make a settlement, they must first classify the land cover over the area they wish to settle. As the game is played on the earth surface with Google Maps, we are able to record and store this land cover/land use classification geographically. Every player can play the game for free (i.e. a massive multiplayer online game). Furthermore, it is a social game on Facebook (e.g. invite friends, send friends messages, purchase gifts, help friends, post messages onto the wall, etc). The game is played in a web browser, therefore it runs everywhere (where Flash is supported) without requiring the user to install anything additional. At the same time, the Geo-Wiki system will be modified to use the acquired in-situ validation information to create new outputs: a hybrid land cover map, which takes the best information from each individual product to create a single integrated version; a database of validation points that will be freely available to the land cover user community; and a facility that allows users to create a specific targeted validation area, which will then be provided to the crowdsourcing community for validation. These outputs will turn Geo-Wiki into a valuable system for earth system scientists

Growth behaviour of periodic tame friezes

We examine the growth behaviour of the entries occurring in n-periodic tame friezes of real numbers. Extending work of the last author, we prove that generalised recursive relations exist between all entries of such friezes. These recursions are parametrised by a sequence of so-called growth coefficients, which is itself shown to satisfy a recursive relation. Thus, all growth coefficients are determined by a principal growth coefficient, which can be read-off directly from the frieze. We place special emphasis on periodic tame friezes of positive integers, specifying the values the growth coefficients take for any such frieze. We establish that the growth coefficients of the pair of friezes arising from a triangulation of an annulus coincide. The entries of both are shown to grow asymptotically exponentially, while triangulations of a punctured disc are seen to provide the only friezes of linear growth

An iron-oxygen intermediate formed during the catalytic cycle of cysteine dioxygenase

Cysteine dioxygenase is a key enzyme in the breakdown of cysteine, but its mechanism remains controversial. A combination of spectroscopic and computational studies provides the first evidence of a short-lived intermediate in the catalytic cycle. The intermediate decays within 20 ms and has absorption maxima at 500 and 640 nm