Memory programmes: the industrial retention of collective life

This is a postprint of an article published in Cultural Geographies © 2015 copyright SAGE Publications. Cultural Geographies is available online at: http://cgj.sagepub.com/This article argues that in software, we have created quasi-autonomous systems of memory that influence how we think about and experience life as such. The role of mediated memory in collective life is addressed as a geographical concern through the lens of ‘programmes’. Programming can mean ordering, and thus making discrete, and scheduling, making actions routine. This article addresses how programming mediates the experience of memory via networked technologies. Materially recording knowledge, even as electronic data, renders thought mentally and spatially discrete and demands systems to order it. Recorded knowledge also enables the ordering of spatiotemporal experience both as forms of history, thus the sharing of culture, and as the means of imagining futures. We increasingly retain information about ourselves and others using digital media. We volunteer further information recorded by electronic service providers, search engines and social media. Many aspects of our collective lives are now gathered in cities (via closed-circuit television, cellphone networks and so on) and retained in databases, constituting a growing system of memory of parts of life otherwise forgotten or unthought. Using examples, this article argues that in software, we have created industrialised systems of memory that influence how we think about living together

State Funding of Political Parties in Ghana: Exploring the Views of Card-Holding and Non-Card Holding Party Members

Although Ghana has made significant progress in the establishment and consolidation of democratic politics since 1992, the vexatious issue of the use of scarce public resources to support political party activities remained unresolved. Using quantitative data an attempt is made in this study to examine the views of Ghanaians on the arguments for and against state funding of political parties. The data for the study was obtained through survey of 1600 self-declared card-holding and 200 self-declared non-card holding members of the seven political parties that contested the 2012 general elections. Convenience and stratified sampling procedures were deployed for the selection of the respondents. The study results indicated that rich individuals with a mean score of 4.41 and standard deviation (SD) of 0.77 form the most predominant funding source for political parties in Ghana. Again, the least funding sources were the state or government funds and dues from ordinary party members which obtained a mean score of 2.71 and SD of 1.71; and a mean of 2.93 and SD of 1.38, respectively. The study conclusions were that, in Ghana, few rich individuals are the major financiers of political parties. Ghanaians are divided and ambivalent on the question of state funding and, those who oppose across-the-board state funding policy outnumber those who support the idea. Likewise, support for state funding of political parties in Ghana is predominant and strongest among party executives and the smaller political parties. It is recommended that funding from both private and state sources require strong and effective regulation regime by the establishment and implementation of disclosure and transparency policies and laws

A very public cull – The anatomy of an online issue public

This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordGeographers and other social scientists have for some time been interested in how scientific and environmental controversies emerge and become public or collective issues. Social media are now key platforms through which these issues are publically raised and through which groups or publics can organise themselves. As media that generate data and traces of networking activity, these platforms also provide an opportunity for scholars to study the character and constitution of those groupings. In this paper we lay out a method for studying these ‘issue publics’: emergent groupings involved in publicising an issue. We focus on the controversy surrounding the state-sanctioned cull of wild badgers in England as a contested means of disease management in cattle. We analyse two overlapping groupings to demonstrate how online issue publics function in a variety of ways – from the ‘echo chambers’ of online sharing of information, to the marshalling of agreements on strategies for action, to more dialogic patterns of debate. We demonstrate the ways in which digital media platforms are themselves performative in the formation of issue publics and that, while this creates issues, we should not retreat into debates around the ‘proper object’ of research but rather engage with the productive complications of mapping social media data into knowledge (Whatmore, 2009). In turn, we argue that online issue publics are not homogeneous and that the lines of heterogeneity are neither simple or to be expected and merit study as a means to understand the suite of processes and novel contexts involved in the emergence of a public.This project was funded by ESRC ‘Transforming Social Science’ Fund – ESRC-ES/L003112/1

A Strong Convex Atmost 2-Distance Dominating Sets In Graphs

Let G be a connected graph of order p ge 2. We study about the convex and dominating sets of G. We define strong convex sets and strong convex atmost 2-distance dominating sets and we prove a theorem to develop new convex sets with domination number. Finally we present in this paper, various bounds for it and characterize the graphs, with bounds attained

Prenatal Lead Exposure Risk Assessment by Vermont Maternity Care Providers

Introduction. One percent of women of childbearing age in the U.S. have blood lead levels ≥ 5 ug/dL, which are associated with maternal hypertension during pregnancy, neural tube and cardiac defects in infants, low birth weight, prematurity, and spontaneous abortion. It is unknown whether obstetrics providers in Vermont are screening their pregnant patients for lead levels and educating them on lead exposure risks. Objective. To gain an understanding of current lead screening practices in Vermont and issue recommendations for disseminating lead screening information. Methods. We developed and e-mailed a survey to practicing OB/GYN physicians, maternity care focused family medicine physicians, nurse midwives, and professional midwives. The survey assessed current screening practices for lead exposure in their pregnant patients, interest in receiving statewide guidelines, and guideline dissemination preferences. Results. Of the 41 respondents, 12% currently conduct risk assessments for lead exposure with all of their pregnant patients. Fifty four percent of maternity providers give all of their patients educational materials about lead exposure and risk of toxicity. Seventy one percent of maternity providers think that having guidelines provided by the Vermont Department of Health would encourage them to begin or continue lead exposure screening. The two preferred methods of communicating guidelines to physicians were grand rounds and email whereas non-physician providers preferred email and webinar. Discussion. The majority of pregnant patients in Vermont are not properly assessed or educated about lead risks. However, there is interest in having statewide standardized lead risk assessment guidelines, with dissemination preferences differing by provider type.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1248/thumbnail.jp

Paravertebral block as a sole technique for the anaesthetic management of a patient with myalgic encephalomyelitis undergoing breast cancer surgery

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a multifaceted organic disease which, owing to its non-specific multiple symptoms that include incapacitating fatigue, deeply affects the quality of life of diseased patients. It carries a perceived risk of an adverse reaction to drugs, including anaesthetics. However, there is very little information in the medical literature on the anaesthetic management and outcomes of patients with this condition. According to current scientific literature, there is no causal relationship between ME relapse and anaesthesia, surgery or both. We present the anaesthetic management of a ME patient who underwent breast cancer surgery.Keywords: breast cancer surgery, chronic fatigue syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis, paravertebral bloc

Development and use of lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with influenza B haemagglutinins: application to vaccine immunogenicity, mAb potency and sero-surveillance studies

Influenza B viruses cause respiratory disease epidemics in human populations and are included in seasonal influenza vaccines. Serological methods are employed to evaluate vaccine immunogenicity prior to licensure. However, the haemagglutination inhibition assay, which represents the gold standard for assessing the immunogenicity of influenza vaccines, has been shown to be relatively insensitive for the detection of antibodies against influenza B viruses. Furthermore, this assay, and the serial radial haemolysis assay are not able to detect stalk-directed cross-reactive antibodies. For these reasons there is a need to develop new assays that can overcome these limitations. The use of replication-defective viruses, such as lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with influenza A haemagglutinins, in microneutralization assays is a safe and sensitive alternative to study antibody responses elicited by natural infection or vaccination. We have produced Influenza B haemagglutinin-pseudotypes using plasmid-directed transfection. To activate influenza B haemagglutinin, we have explored the use of proteases by adding relevant encoding plasmids to the transfection mixture. When tested for their ability to transduce target cells, the newly produced influenza B pseudotypes exhibit tropism for different cell lines. Subsequently the pseudotypes were evaluated as surrogate antigens in microneutralization assays using reference sera, monoclonal antibodies, human sera collected during a vaccine immunogenicity study and surveillance sera from seals. The influenza B pseudotype virus neutralization assay was found to effectively detect neutralizing and cross-reactive responses despite lack of significant correlation with the haemagglutinin inhibition assay

Inflammatory Signals shift from adipose to liver during high fat feeding and influence the development of steatohepatitis in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity and inflammation are highly integrated processes in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Molecular mechanisms underlying inflammatory events during high fat diet-induced obesity are poorly defined in mouse models of obesity. This work investigated gene activation signals integral to the temporal development of obesity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Gene expression analysis in multiple organs from obese mice was done with Taqman Low Density Array (TLDA) using a panel of 92 genes representing cell markers, cytokines, chemokines, metabolic, and activation genes. Mice were monitored for systemic changes characteristic of the disease, including hyperinsulinemia, body weight, and liver enzymes. Liver steatosis and fibrosis as well as cellular infiltrates in liver and adipose tissues were analyzed by histology and immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Obese C57BL/6 mice were fed with high fat and cholesterol diet (HFC) for 6, 16 and 26 weeks. Here we report that the mRNA levels of macrophage and inflammation associated genes were strongly upregulated at different time points in adipose tissues (6-16 weeks) and liver (16-26 weeks), after the start of HFC feeding. CD11b⁺and CD11c⁺macrophages highly infiltrated HFC liver at 16 and 26 weeks. We found clear evidence that signals for IL-1β, IL1RN, TNF-α and TGFβ-1 are present in both adipose and liver tissues and that these are linked to the development of inflammation and insulin resistance in the HFC-fed mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Macrophage infiltration accompanied by severe inflammation and metabolic changes occurred in both adipose and liver tissues with a temporal shift in these signals depending upon the duration of HFC feeding. The evidences of gene expression profile, elevated serum alanine aminotransferase, and histological data support a progression towards nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and steatohepatitis in these HFC-fed mice within the time frame of 26 weeks.</p