Sex Differences in the Frequencies of B and T Cell Subpopulations of Human Cord Blood

Cord blood represents a link between intrauterine and early extrauterine development. Cord blood cells map an important time frame in human immune imprinting processes. It is unknown whether the sex of the newborn affects the lymphocyte subpopulations in the cord blood. Nine B and twenty-one T cell subpopulations were characterized using flow cytometry in human cord blood from sixteen male and twenty-one female newborns, respectively. Except for transitional B cells and naïve B cells, frequencies of B cell counts across all subsets was higher in the cord blood of male newborns than in female newborns. The frequency of naïve thymus-negative Th cells was significantly higher in male cord blood, whereas the remaining T cell subpopulations showed a higher count in the cord blood of female newborns. Our study is the first revealing sex differences in the B and T cell subpopulations of human cord blood. These results indicate that sex might have a higher impact for the developing immune system, urging the need to expand research in this area

Groups, organizations, families and movements: The sociology of social systems between interaction and society

Kühl S. Groups, organizations, families and movements: The sociology of social systems between interaction and society. Systems Research and Behavioral Science. 2020;37(3):496-515.In enhancing a proposal by Luhmann, this contribution shows that it is possible to locate different types of systems between ‘face‐to‐face‐interaction’ and ‘society’: groups, organizations, families and protest movements. The common ground of these is that they use membership to attribute persons to the system or not. However, they differ fundamentally in regard to how they understand membership. In contrast to Luhmann's differentiation between interaction, organization and society, it is not only possible to imagine different types of interlocking systems but also coequal combinations of and transitions between the different types of social systems

Effects of fluoxetine on functional outcomes after acute stroke (FOCUS): a pragmatic, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial

Background Results of small trials indicate that fluoxetine might improve functional outcomes after stroke. The FOCUS trial aimed to provide a precise estimate of these effects. Methods FOCUS was a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel group, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial done at 103 hospitals in the UK. Patients were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had a clinical stroke diagnosis, were enrolled and randomly assigned between 2 days and 15 days after onset, and had focal neurological deficits. Patients were randomly allocated fluoxetine 20 mg or matching placebo orally once daily for 6 months via a web-based system by use of a minimisation algorithm. The primary outcome was functional status, measured with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), at 6 months. Patients, carers, health-care staff, and the trial team were masked to treatment allocation. Functional status was assessed at 6 months and 12 months after randomisation. Patients were analysed according to their treatment allocation. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN83290762. Findings Between Sept 10, 2012, and March 31, 2017, 3127 patients were recruited. 1564 patients were allocated fluoxetine and 1563 allocated placebo. mRS data at 6 months were available for 1553 (99·3%) patients in each treatment group. The distribution across mRS categories at 6 months was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (common odds ratio adjusted for minimisation variables 0·951 [95% CI 0·839–1·079]; p=0·439). Patients allocated fluoxetine were less likely than those allocated placebo to develop new depression by 6 months (210 [13·43%] patients vs 269 [17·21%]; difference 3·78% [95% CI 1·26–6·30]; p=0·0033), but they had more bone fractures (45 [2·88%] vs 23 [1·47%]; difference 1·41% [95% CI 0·38–2·43]; p=0·0070). There were no significant differences in any other event at 6 or 12 months. Interpretation Fluoxetine 20 mg given daily for 6 months after acute stroke does not seem to improve functional outcomes. Although the treatment reduced the occurrence of depression, it increased the frequency of bone fractures. These results do not support the routine use of fluoxetine either for the prevention of post-stroke depression or to promote recovery of function. Funding UK Stroke Association and NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme

Les tâches de la sociologie de la culture

Les tâches d’une sociologie de la culture ne peuvent être définies sans prendre en considération la situation générale de la discipline. La conception dominante veut que la société puisse être définie par son organisation extérieure, par les divisions qui sont partout manifestes dans la vie sociale et qui sont aujourd’hui désignées sommairement comme sa structure. Ce concept de société, nous aurons à le montrer, est davantage le produit de différentes circonstances contingentes qu’il ne se fo..

Emile Durkheim, or The Birth of Society from the Spirit of Sociology

Die Soziologie hat sich weitgehend in irreale Betrachtungen verloren, weil sie die 'Gesellschaft' zum Grundbegriff ihrer Analysen gemacht hat. Der Artikel legt dar, wie dieser Begriff anfangs jene willkürlichen Vergesellschaftungen fassen sollte, die durch die Reduktion der korporativ verfaßten Ordnungen auf den modernen Staat entstanden und später durch die Soziologie elaboriert und mit stillen Annahmen umgeben wurden. Während Georg Simmel und Max Weber nie von der 'Gesellschaft' im Sinne der heutigen Soziologie sprachen, kann Emile Durkheims Argumentation als exemplarisches Beispiel für 'Die Geburt der Gesellschaft aus dem Geist der Soziologie' dienen, wobei die soziologische Konstruktion der 'Gesellschaft' eher dem Bedürfnis nach einer sinnvollen und vorhersehbaren Ordnung galt als der Aufgabe, die Tatsachen in den Blick zu nehmen. Die Soziologie sollte deshalb von ihrer Erfindung der 'Gesellschaft' abrücken, die wohl dem Selbstverständnis der politischen und kulturellen Eigenständigkeit der Nationalstaaten des 19. Jahrhunderts entsprach, aber die wesentlichen Veränderungen der sozialen Wirklichkeit, nämlich das Wachstum der internationalen und transnationalen Vergesellschaftung aller Art, gar nicht mehr wahrzunehmen in der Lage ist. So verliert die Soziologie, welche über die charakteristische Eigenart und Problematik unserer Zeit unterrichten sollte, immer mehr den Blick für die entscheidenden Vorgänge und zwingt ihre blinden Befangenheiten auch in dem Maße dem politischen Handeln auf, wie sie ihr gesellschaftliches Weltbild in der Öffentlichkeit durchgesetzt hat. Die soziale Konstruktion der Realität ist längst von der soziologischen Konstruktion der Realität überholt worden.