Beyond race?

While at the moment the world seems to be divided along racial lines and ‘race’ appears to be a central axe of social inclusion and exclusion, in this article we ask whether it is thinkable to go ‘beyond race’. We want to explore the idea of going ‘beyond race’ in four different ways: (1) ‘Beyond race’ as a demographic reality when people of mixed origin form the majority of population; (2) ‘Beyond race’ in regard to policies that aim at combatting inequalities also along color lines, yet are no longer dependent on a notion of race. (3) ‘Beyond race’ in terms of political mobilizations, e.g. the possibility or desirability of anti-racist movements not grounded in identity politics and (4) ‘Beyond race’ as a conceptualization of race that is decoupling biology and culture, or even to stop thinking in racial categories altogether, yet without de-politicizing any marginalised group’s, history and experience. We are aware that this questioning of race, and by implication of ethnicity, may be a typical hang-up of two authors based in Europe. We have invited authors from different parts of the world, and with different academic backgrounds to reflect in a commentary on the issues we raise and to explain their position

Preliminary experimental results for a cryogenic brush seal configuration

Preliminary fluid nitrogen flow data are reported for a five-brush, ceramic-coated-rub-runner brush seal system, where the brushes and the rub runner were placed at each end of a centrally pressurized multifunction tester ('back-to-back' set of brushes) and tested at rotor speeds of 0, 10, 18, and 22.5 krpm. After testing, both the brushes and the ceramic-coated rub runner appeared pristine. The coating withstood both the thermomechanical and dynamic loadings with minor wear track scarring. The bristle tips showed some indication of material shearing (smearing) wear. The Ergun porous flow equation was applied to the brush seal data. The Ergun relation, which required heuristic information to characterize the coefficients, fit the gaseous data but was in poor agreement with the fluid results. The brush seal exit conditions were two phase. Two-phase, choked-flow design charts were applied but required one data point at each rotor speed to define the (C(sub f)A x Constant) flow and area coefficients. Reasonable agreement between prediction and data was found, as expected, but such methods are not to be construed as two-phase-flow brush seal analyses

Influence of variation of etching conditions on the sensitivity of PADC detectors with a new evaluation method

At the Paul Scherrer Institut, a personal neutron dosimetry system based on chemically etched poly allyl diglycol carbonate (PADC) detectors and an automatic track counting (Autoscan 60) for neutron dose evaluations has been in routine use since 1998. Today, the hardware and the software of the Autoscan 60 are out of date, no spare components are available anymore and more sophisticated image-analysis systems are already developed. Therefore, a new evaluation system, the ‘TASLIMAGE', was tested thoroughly in 2009 for linearity, reproducibility, influence of etching conditions and so forth, with the intention of replacing the Autoscan 60 in routine evaluations. The TASLIMAGE system is based on a microscope (high-quality Nikon optics) and an ultra-fast three-axis motorised control for scanning the detectors. In this paper, the TASLIMAGE system and its possibilities for neutron dose calculation are explained in more detail and the study of the influence of the variation of etching conditions on the sensitivity and background of the PADC detectors is described. The etching temperature and etching duration were varied, which showed that the etching conditions do not have a significant influence on the results of non-irradiated detectors. However, the sensitivity of irradiated detectors decreases by 5 % per 1°C when increasing the etching temperature. For the variation of the etching duration, the influence on the sensitivity of irradiated detectors is less pronounce

Lasing oscillation in a three-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavity with a complete bandgap

We demonstrate lasing oscillation in a three-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavity. The laser is realized by coupling a cavity mode, which is localized in a complete photonic bandgap and exhibits the highest quality factor of ~38,500, with high-quality semiconductor quantum dots. We show a systematic change in the laser characteristics, including the threshold and the spontaneous emission coupling factor by controlling the crystal size, which consequently changes the strength of photon confinement in the third dimension. This opens up many interesting possibilities for realizing future ultimate light sources and three-dimensional integrated photonic circuits and for more fundamental studies of physics in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Association of estradiol and visceral fat with structural brain networks and memory performance in adults

Importance Changes in estradiol during aging are associated with increased dementia risk. It remains unclear how estradiol supports cognitive health and whether risk factors, such as midlife obesity, are exacerbated by estrogen loss. Objectives To assess whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) moderates the association between age and brain network structure and to investigate whether estradiol moderates the association between VAT and brain network structure. Design, Setting, and Participants Cross-sectional study of data from 974 cognitively healthy adults in Germany who participated in the Health Study of the Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases, a previously described population-based cohort study. Two moderation analyses were performed, including VAT as the moderator variable between age and brain network structure and estradiol as the moderator variable between VAT and brain network structure. The study was conducted from August 1, 2011, to November 23, 2014. Analyses were conducted from August 2017 to September 201

Consensus on the standardization of terminology in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and related thrombotic microangiopathies

Essentials An international collaboration provides a consensus for clinical definitions. This concerns thrombotic microangiopathies and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). The consensus defines diagnosis, disease monitoring and response to treatment. Requirements for ADAMTS-13 are given. Summary: Background Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and hemolytic\ue2\u80\u93uremic syndrome (HUS) are two important acute conditions to diagnose. Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a broad pathophysiologic process that leads to microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia, and involves capillary and small-vessel platelet aggregates. The most common cause is disseminated intravascular coagulation, which may be differentiated by abnormal coagulation. Clinically, a number of conditions present with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia, including cancer, infection, transplantation, drug use, autoimmune disease, and pre-eclampsia and hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count syndrome in pregnancy. Despite overlapping clinical presentations, TTP and HUS have distinct pathophysiologies and treatment pathways. Objectives To present a consensus document from an International Working Group on TTP and associated thrombotic microangiopathies (TMAs). Methods The International Working Group has proposed definitions and terminology based on published information and consensus-based recommendations. Conclusion The consensus aims to aid clinical decisions, but also future studies and trials, utilizing standardized definitions. It presents a classification of the causes of TMA, and criteria for clinical response, remission and relapse of congenital and immune-mediated TTP

The CPT1C 5′UTR Contains a Repressing Upstream Open Reading Frame That Is Regulated by Cellular Energy Availability and AMPK

BACKGROUND: Translational control is utilized as a means of regulating gene expression in many species. In most cases, posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms play an important role in stress response pathways and can lead to dysfunctional physiology if blocked by mutations. Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 1 C (CPT1C), the brain-specific member of the CPT 1 family, has previously been shown to be involved in regulating metabolism in situations of energy surplus. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sequence analysis of the CPT1C mRNA revealed that it contains an upstream open reading frame (uORF) in the 5' UTR of its mRNA. Using CPT1C 5' UTR/luciferase constructs, we investigated the role of the uORF in translational regulation. The results presented here show that translation from the CPT1C main open reading frame (mORF) is repressed by the presence of the uORF, that this repression is relieved in response to specific stress stimuli, namely glucose deprivation and palmitate-BSA treatment, and that AMPK inhibition can relieve this uORF-dependent repression. SIGNIFICANCE: The fact that the mORF regulation is relieved in response to a specific set of stress stimuli rather than general stress response, hints at an involvement of CPT1C in cellular energy-sensing pathways and provides further evidence for a role of CPT1C in hypothalamic regulation of energy homeostasis