Becoming global (un)civil society: struggles in the global indymedia network

In this paper we ask how actors and organisations can become constructed and treated as part of ‘uncivil society’. We contest the notion that ‘uncivil’ necessarily equates with the dark of qualities of violence and organised criminality. Instead, we take a Gramscian perspective in suggesting that what becomes ‘uncivil’ is any practice and organisation that attempts to contest and escape the disciplining enclosures of the hegemonic order, of which civil society is a necessary part. To trace this phenomenon, we consider several ways in which a global media network called Indymedia has established and maintained itself as a counter-hegemonic mediaproducing organisation. In this case, a conscious positioning and self-identification as counter-hegemonic has been accompanied by the framing and sometimes violent disciplining of nodes of this network as ‘uncivil’ by cooperating state authorities. This is in the absence of association of this network with organised violence or crime. We intend our reflections to contribute to a deepening theorisation of the terms ‘civil’ and ‘uncivil’ as they are becoming used in international relations and social movement studies

Purification and characterization of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase from alkalophilic Bacillus sp. G1

A cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) was successively purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation, and affinity chromatography on a-CD (epoxy)-Sepharose 6B column. The specific activity of the CGTase was increased approximately 2200-fold, from 8.43 U/mg protein to 18,866 U/mg protein. SDS-PAGE showed that the purified CGTase was homogeneous and the molecular weight of the purified CGTase was about 75 kDa. The molecular weight of the enzyme that was estimated by gel filtration under native condition was 79 kDa. This has indicated that Bacillus sp. G1 CGTase is a monomeric protein. The isoelectric point (pI) of the enzyme was about 8.8. Characterization of the enzyme exhibited optimum pH and temperature of 6.0 and 60 8C, respectively. The enzyme was stable from pH 7.0 to 9.0 and retained its high activity up to 60 8C. However, in the presence of 20 mM Ca2+, the purified CGTase is able to prolong its thermal stability up to 70 8C. CGTase was strongly inhibited by ZnSO4, CuSO4, CoCl2, FeSO4, FeCl3 and EDTA. Km and Vmax for the purified enzyme were 0.15 mg/ml and 60.39 mg bcyclodextrin/( ml min), respectively, with soluble starch as substrate. In cyclodextrin production, tapioca starch was found to be the best substrate used to produce CDs. The enzyme produced g- and b-CD in the ratio of 0.11:0.89 after 24 h incubation at 60 8C, without the presence of any selective agents

Comparisons of Carbon Pools and Economic Profitability for Managed Ponderosa Pine Stands in Wyoming, USA

A forest carbon (C) sequestration project was conducted to evaluate the economic incentives that would be required by landowners to engage in C trading under different management regimes. Costs associated with joint management for C sequestration and timber would be valuable for establishing sound forest C trading systems. In this study, we calculated the C yield and amortized value of three Wyoming, ponderosa pine stands. The management practices examined were, unmanaged, even-aged (regene-ration after clear-cut) and uneven-aged (selectively harvested). Costs and revenues associated with three stands were converted into 2006 real dollars using the all commodity producer price index to facilitate a comparison among the net revenues of three stands. Net revenues were annualized using a conservative annual interest rate of 4.5%. Our even-aged stand had the highest annual average C yield of 2.48 Mg·ha-1·a-1, whereas, the uneven-aged stand had the lowest C accumulation (1.98 Mg·ha-1·a-1). Alternatively, the even-aged stand had the highest amortized net return of $276·ha-1·a-1 and the unmanaged stand had the lowest net return of$64 ha-1a-1. On the plots examined, an annual payment of $22 for each additional Mg of C sequestered would encourage a change from uneven aged management to an unmanaged stand that sequesters additional C, in the absence of transactions costs

Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of non-individualised homeopathic treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: A rigorous systematic review and meta-analysis focused on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of non-individualised homeopathic treatment has not previously been reported. We tested the null hypothesis that the main outcome of treatment using a non-individualised (standardised) homeopathic medicine is indistinguishable from that of placebo. An additional aim was to quantify any condition-specific effects of non-individualised homeopathic treatment. Methods: Literature search strategy, data extraction and statistical analysis all followed the methods described in a pre-published protocol. A trial comprised ‘reliable evidence’ if its risk of bias was low or it was unclear in one specified domain of assessment. ‘Effect size’ was reported as standardised mean difference (SMD), with arithmetic transformation for dichotomous data carried out as required; a negative SMD indicated an effect favouring homeopathy. Results: Forty-eight different clinical conditions were represented in 75 eligible RCTs. Forty-nine trials were classed as ‘high risk of bias’ and 23 as ‘uncertain risk of bias’; the remaining three, clinically heterogeneous, trials displayed sufficiently low risk of bias to be designated reliable evidence. Fifty-four trials had extractable data: pooled SMD was –0.33 (95% confidence interval (CI) –0.44, –0.21), which was attenuated to –0.16 (95% CI –0.31, –0.02) after adjustment for publication bias. The three trials with reliable evidence yielded a non-significant pooled SMD: –0.18 (95% CI –0.46, 0.09). There was no single clinical condition for which meta-analysis included reliable evidence. Conclusions: The quality of the body of evidence is low. A meta-analysis of all extractable data leads to rejection of our null hypothesis, but analysis of a small sub-group of reliable evidence does not support that rejection. Reliable evidence is lacking in condition-specific meta-analyses, precluding relevant conclusions. Better designed and more rigorous RCTs are needed in order to develop an evidence base that can decisively provide reliable effect estimates of non-individualised homeopathic treatment

Double reading reduces miss errors in low prevalence search

Low Prevalence studies show that people miss a large proportion of targets if they appear rarely. This finding has implications for real-world tasks, such as mammography, where it is important to detect infrequently appearing cancers. We examined whether having people search in pairs in a ‘double reading’ procedure reduces miss errors in Low Prevalence search compared to when participants search the displays alone. In Experiment 1 pairs of participants searched for a mass in a laboratory mammogram task. Participants either searched the same display together (in the same room) or searched the displays independently (in separate rooms). Experiment 2 further manipulated the reading order so that paired participants either read the mammograms in the same or different orders. The results showed that, although there was no effect of reading order, double reading led to a substantial reduction in miss errors compared to single reading conditions. Furthermore, the reason for the double reading improvement differed across reading environments: when participants read the displays in a shared environment (i.e. in the same room) the improvement occurred due to an increase in sensitivity, however when participants read the display in different rooms the improvement occurred due to a change in response bias

Structure and functional motifs of GCR1, the only plant protein with a GPCR fold?

Whether GPCRs exist in plants is a fundamental biological question. Interest in deorphanizing new G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), arises because of their importance in signaling. Within plants, this is controversial as genome analysis has identified 56 putative GPCRs, including GCR1 which is reportedly a remote homologue to class A, B and E GPCRs. Of these, GCR2, is not a GPCR; more recently it has been proposed that none are, not even GCR1. We have addressed this disparity between genome analysis and biological evidence through a structural bioinformatics study, involving fold recognition methods, from which only GCR1 emerges as a strong candidate. To further probe GCR1, we have developed a novel helix alignment method, which has been benchmarked against the the class A – class B - class F GPCR alignments. In addition, we have presented a mutually consistent set of alignments of GCR1 homologues to class A, class B and class F GPCRs, and shown that GCR1 is closer to class A and /or class B GPCRs than class A, class B or class F GPCRs are to each other. To further probe GCR1, we have aligned transmembrane helix 3 of GCR1 to each of the 6 GPCR classes. Variability comparisons provide additional evidence that GCR1 homologues have the GPCR fold. From the alignments and a GCR1 comparative model we have identified motifs that are common to GCR1, class A, B and E GPCRs. We discuss the possibilities that emerge from this controversial evidence that GCR1 has a GPCR fol

Studi Eksperimental Karakteristik Beton Dengan Agregat Kasar Daur Ulang Dengan Fc'=25 MPa

Pada studi eksperimental ini, digunakan beton daur ulang dengan agregat kasarnya berasal dari limbah/brangkal benda uji beton di laboratorium. Benda uji silinder digunakan untuk mengetahui sifat mekanik seperti kuat tekan, kuat geser, dan kuat tarik belah. Tiga variasi persentase yang berbeda dari agregat kasar daur ulang digunakan dalam perencanaan campuran dengan fc’ = 25 MPa, yaitu 0%, 50%, dan 100% agregat kasar daur ulang. Hasil pengujian menunjukan nilai kuat tekan karakteristik fc’ = 28.7 MPa dan fc’ = 28.4 MPa untuk masing-masing campuran 50% dan 100% agregat kasar daur ulang. Nilai kuat tarik belah sebesar fct = 2.38 MPa, fct = 2.78 MPa, dan fct = 2.81 MPa untuk 0%, 50%, dan 100% agregat kasar daur ulang. Sedangkan kuat geser fv = 5,55MPa, fv = 4.28 MPa, dan fv = 3.86 MPa untuk 0%, 50%, dan 100% agregat kasar daur ulang

Predicting Transmission Suitability of Mosquito-Borne Diseases under Climate Change to Underpin Decision Making

The risk of the mosquito-borne diseases malaria, dengue fever and Zika virus is expected to shift both temporally and spatially under climate change. As climate change projections continue to improve, our ability to predict these shifts is also enhanced. This paper predicts transmission suitability for these mosquito-borne diseases, which are three of the most significant, using the most up-to-date climate change projections. Using a mechanistic methodology, areas that are newly suitable and those where people are most at risk of transmission under the best- and worst-case climate change scenarios have been identified. The results show that although transmission suitability is expected to decrease overall for malaria, some areas will become newly suitable, putting naïve populations at risk. In contrast, transmission suitability for dengue fever and Zika virus is expected to increase both in duration and geographical extent. Although transmission suitability is expected to increase in temperate zones for a few months of the year, suitability remains focused in the tropics. The highest transmission suitability in tropical regions is likely to exacerbate the intense existing vulnerability of these populations, especially children, to the multiple consequences of climate change, and their severe lack of resources and agency to cope with these impacts and pressures. As these changes in transmission suitability are amplified under the worst-case climate change scenario, this paper makes the case in support of enhanced and more urgent efforts to mitigate climate change than has been achieved to date. By presenting consistent data on the climate-driven spread of multiple mosquito-borne diseases, our work provides more holistic information to underpin prevention and control planning and decision making at national and regional levels