Deconstructing “real” women: Young women's readings of advertising images of “plus-size” models in the UK

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. Critical feminist researchers and others have amply elucidated the perniciousness of contemporary Western beauty ideals and, particularly, the near-ubiquitous idealisations of slenderness. In this context, the advent of media images featuring “plus-size” models has been rightly heralded as a welcome challenge to this hegemony. Yet, little attention has been given to women's interpretations of these images. In this brief report, we outline a preliminary exploration of young women's views about advertising images featuring “plus-size” models in the UK. We used a discourse analytic method to analyse 35 young women's responses to a qualitative questionnaire asking for their views and feelings about three adverts featuring “plus-size” models. Our analysis suggests that, while the models were positively construed, participants also drew on distinctly conservative notions of femininity such that romanticised constructions of a “plus-sized”, traditional and domestic femininity were contrasted with a highly pejorative framing of “stick thin” women as vain, vindictive and self-obsessed. Our analysis thus indicates how representations of women focusing on body weight and shape can, even when reclaiming “fat” or “plus-size” bodies, mobilise derogatory and constricting rather than empowering constructions of femininity

Foxn1 Regulates Lineage Progression in Cortical and Medullary Thymic Epithelial Cells But Is Dispensable for Medullary Sublineage Divergence

The forkhead transcription factor Foxn1 is indispensable for thymus development, but the mechanisms by which it mediates thymic epithelial cell (TEC) development are poorly understood. To examine the cellular and molecular basis of Foxn1 function, we generated a novel and revertible hypomorphic allele of Foxn1. By varying levels of its expression, we identified a number of features of the Foxn1 system. Here we show that Foxn1 is a powerful regulator of TEC differentiation that is required at multiple intermediate stages of TE lineage development in the fetal and adult thymus. We find no evidence for a role for Foxn1 in TEC fate-choice. Rather, we show it is required for stable entry into both the cortical and medullary TEC differentiation programmes and subsequently is needed at increasing dosage for progression through successive differentiation states in both cortical and medullary TEC. We further demonstrate regulation by Foxn1 of a suite of genes with diverse roles in thymus development and/or function, suggesting it acts as a master regulator of the core thymic epithelial programme rather than regulating a particular aspect of TEC biology. Overall, our data establish a genetics-based model of cellular hierarchies in the TE lineage and provide mechanistic insight relating titration of a single transcription factor to control of lineage progression. Our novel revertible hypomorph system may be similarly applied to analyzing other regulators of development

Studies on the maize cold tolerance tests in the Martonvásár phytotron

The climatic conditions in Hungary and in the countries to which seed is exported makes the study of maize cold tolerance and constant improvements in the cold tolerance of Martonvásár hybrids especially important. An improvement in the early spring cold tolerance of maize would allow it to be grown in more northern areas with a cooler climate, while on traditional maize-growing areas the profitability of maize production could be improved by earlier sowing, leading to a reduction in transportation and drying costs and in diseases caused by Fusarium sp. The recognition of this fact led Martonvásár researchers to start investigating this subject nearly four decades ago. The phytotron has proved an excellent tool for studying and improving the cold tolerance of maize. The review will give a brief summary of the results achieved in the field of maize cold tolerance in the Martonvásár institute in recent decades

Vulnerabilidad climática de Puerto Iguazú, Argentina: Camino hacia la adaptación

Las ciudades ocupan un papel vital en el combate contra el cambio climático. Su importancia como actores esenciales se basa en el hecho de que concentran gran parte de la actividad económica y se espera que alberguen a dos terceras partes de la población del planeta para mediados de siglo. En este sentido, las acciones que las ciudades pueden realizar para enfrentar este desafío son significativas. Estas acciones incluyen esfuerzos para mitigar los efectos adversos del calentamiento global, así como gestiones para protegerse y adaptarse a eventos climáticos extremos, los cuales es probable que se tornen más intensos y frecuentes en un futuro. Hasta el momento, la atención se ha volcado predominantemente hacia las grandes metrópolis, dejando a un lado las ciudades medianas y pequeñas, las cuales a menudo son las que registran los niveles de crecimiento más altos y las que carecen de recursos de diversa índole para hacer frente a este desafío. Bajo este contexto, el presente artículo se enfoca a examinar la vulnerabilidad climática de Puerto Iguazú, una ciudad argentina situada en la llamada región de la "Triple Frontera", ya que comparte límites territoriales con Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) y Foz do Iguaçu (Brasil). El análisis se base en un enfoque de métodos mixtos. En términos cuantitativos, se desarrolló un Índice de Vulnerabilidad Urbana (IVU), el cual incluye 73 indicadores económicos, sociales, físicos, climáticos y ambientales, con el propósito de cuantificar la sensitividad de la ciudad a eventos climáticos extremos, así como su capacidad para responder y adaptarse. En términos cualitativos, información derivada de entrevistas fue utilizada para complementar los hallazgos. Este estudio forma parte de la iniciativa Ciudades Resilientes al Clima (CRC) en América Latina. El artículo, en este sentido, también hace una reflexión sobre la experiencia de conducir un proyecto bajo dicha iniciativa, y sobre las lecciones que estos resultados ofrecen a otras ciudades en contextos similares en América Latina

EBI2 is highly expressed in multiple sclerosis lesions and promotes early CNS migration of encephalitogenic CD4 T cells

Arrival of encephalitogenic T cells at inflammatory foci represents a critical step in development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model for multiple sclerosis. EBI2 and its ligand, 7{alpha},25-OHC, direct immune cell localization in secondary lymphoid organs. CH25H and CYP7B1 hydroxylate cholesterol to 7{alpha},25-OHC. During EAE, we found increased expression of CH25H by microglia and CYP7B1 by CNS-infiltrating immune cells elevating the ligand concentration in the CNS. Two critical pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-23 (IL-23) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1{beta}), maintained expression of EBI2 in differentiating Th17 cells. In line with this, EBI2 enhanced early migration of encephalitogenic T cells into the CNS in a transfer EAE model. Nonetheless, EBI2 was dispensable in active EAE. Human Th17 cells do also express EBI2, and EBI2 expressing cells are abundant within multiple sclerosis (MS) white matter lesions. These findings implicate EBI2 as a mediator of CNS autoimmunity and describe mechanistically its contribution to the migration of autoreactive T cells into inflamed organs

Combined loss of the BH3-only proteins Bim and Bmf restores B-cell development and function in TACI-Ig transgenic mice.

Terminal differentiation of B cells depends on two interconnected survival pathways, elicited by the B-cell receptor (BCR) and the BAFF receptor (BAFF-R), respectively. Loss of either signaling pathway arrests B-cell development. Although BCR-dependent survival depends mainly on the activation of the v-AKT murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (AKT)/PI3-kinase network, BAFF/BAFF-R-mediated survival engages non-canonical NF-κB signaling as well as MAPK/extracellular-signal regulated kinase and AKT/PI3-kinase modules to allow proper B-cell development. Plasma cell survival, however, is independent of BAFF-R and regulated by APRIL that signals NF-κB activation via alternative receptors, that is, transmembrane activator and CAML interactor (TACI) or B-cell maturation (BCMA). All these complex signaling events are believed to secure survival by increased expression of anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) family proteins in developing and mature B cells. Curiously, how lack of BAFF- or APRIL-mediated signaling triggers B-cell apoptosis remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that two pro-apoptotic members of the 'Bcl2 homology domain 3-only' subgroup of the Bcl2 family, Bcl2 interacting mediator of cell death (Bim) and Bcl2 modifying factor (Bmf), mediate apoptosis in the context of TACI-Ig overexpression that effectively neutralizes BAFF as well as APRIL. Surprisingly, although Bcl2 overexpression triggers B-cell hyperplasia exceeding the one observed in Bim(-/-)Bmf(-/-) mice, Bcl2 transgenic B cells remain susceptible to the effects of TACI-Ig expression in vivo, leading to ameliorated pathology in Vav-Bcl2 transgenic mice. Together, our findings shed new light on the molecular machinery restricting B-cell survival during development, normal homeostasis and under pathological conditions. Our data further suggest that Bcl2 antagonists might improve the potency of BAFF/APRIL-depletion strategies in B-cell-driven pathologies

Identification of genes preferentially expressed in wheat egg cells and zygotes

Wheat genes differentially expressed in the egg cell before and after fertilization were identified. The data support zygotic gene activation before the first cell division in wheat. To have an insight into fertilization-induced gene expression, cDNA libraries have been prepared from isolated wheat egg cells and one-celled zygotes. Two-hundred and twenty-six egg cell and 253 zygote-expressed EST sequences were determined. Most of the represented transcripts were detected in the wheat egg cell or zygote transcriptome at the first time. Expression analysis of fourteen of the identified genes and three controls was carried out by real-time quantitative PCR. The preferential expression of all investigated genes in the female gametophyte-derived samples (egg cells, zygotes, two-celled proembryos, and basal ovule parts with synergids) in comparison to the anthers, and the leaves were verified. Three genes with putative signaling/regulatory functions were expressed at a low level in the egg cell but exhibited increased (2-to-33-fold) relative expression in the zygote and the proembryo. Genes with high EST abundance in cDNA libraries exhibited strong expression in the egg cell and the zygote, while the ones coding for unknown or hypothetical proteins exhibited differential expression patterns with preferential transcript accumulation in egg cells and/or zygotes. The obtained data support the activation of the zygotic genome before the first cell division in wheat