Colorism, Mimicry, and Beauty Construction in Modern India

Colorism adalah bentuk politik warna kulit. Mempertahankan warna berarti melestarikan politik diskriminasi. Di negara pasca-kolonial India, warna kulit menjadi simbol kekayaan dan kelas sosial. Praktik ini terkait dengan globalisasi dan kapitalisme, dan dilestarikan di dalam struktur sosial. Tulisan ini menjelaskan praktik diskriminasi dan penindasan pada wanita poskolonial India yang berdampak pada Perubahan cara berpikir dan identifikasi diri terkait dengan warna kulit. Penulis berpendapat bahwa banyak wanita di negara poskolonial berasumsi bahwa warna kulit menentukan status sosial dengan menginternalisasi keyakinan bahwa orang kulit putih lebih disukai secara sosial. Sejalan dengan asumsi dalam studi poskolonial yang menempatkan masyarakat adat sebagai subyek perifer. Persoalan kompleks yang diciptakan selama era kolonial pada dasarnya tidak lenyap di era poskolonial. Salah satu konsekuensi dari mengubah identifikasi diri adalah munculnya pewarnaan kulit dalam bentuk pemutihan kulit, yang kemudian menjadi fenomena umum yang berkembang di negara-negara berpenduduk kulit berwarna yang memiliki sejarah kolonialisme Barat. Penggunaan pemutih kulit yang meluas oleh perempuan dan laki-laki di negara-negara berkulit berwarna adalah keberhasilan kapitalisme dalam mengeksploitasi kepercayaan diri yang rendah di antara orang-orang dari negara-negara kulit berwarna. Standar kecantikan Barat adalah bentuk kekerasan struktural dengan cara menghilangkan karakteristik budaya unik dengan mengubah gagasan bahwa putih adalah warna yang ideal. Colorism is a politics of skin color. Maintaining color is preserving the politics of discrimination. However, in the post-colonial country of India, skin color is a symbol of wealth and social class. This practice is related to globalization and capitalism, and is preserved in social structures. This paper explains the practices of discrimination and oppression in Indian postcolonial women that have an impact on changing ways of thinking and self-identification related to skin color. We argue that many women in the postcolonial state adopt the assumption that skin color determines social status by internalizing the belief that whites are socially preferred that justifies a key element in the post-colonial study on the observation of the process by which indigenous peoples are placed as peripheral subjects. The complex inferiority created during the colonial era basically does not disappear in the postcolonial era. One consequence of changing self-identification is the emergence of colorism in the form of skin bleaching, which then becomes a common phenomenon that develops in colored populated countries that have Western history. The widespread use of whitening skins by female and male in non-white skinned countries is the success of capitalism in exploiting poor self-confidence among the people of the colored nations. Western beauty standards are a form of structural violence since they have removed the unique cultural characteristics by changing the idea that white is the ideal color

Anti-aging potential of extracts from Washingtonia filifera seeds

The aim of this study was to test the inhibitory effect of fruit extracts from Washingtonia filifera on skin aging-related enzymes. The pulp extracts did not exert a significant enzyme inhibition while seed extracts from W. filifera exhibit anti-elastase, anti-collagenase, and anti-tyrosinase activities. Tyrosinase was mildly inhibited while a stronger effect was observed with respect to elastase and collagenase inhibition. Alcoholic extracts provided better results than aqueous extracts. Among them, methanol extracts showed the prominent enzyme inhibitory activities being IC50 value for elastase and collagenase comparable and even better than the reference compound. The inhibition mode of the most active extracts was investigated by Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis. Seed extracts from W. filifera were also investigated for their photo-protective effect by Mansur equation and the antioxidant activity of W. filifera extract was evaluated in oxidative-stressed cells. To evaluate the safety of the extract, the effect on cell viability of human keratinocytes cells was analyzed. Methanol extract presented the best photo-protective effect and exerted an antioxidant activity in a cellular system with no cytotoxic effect. The overall results demonstrate that W. filifera extracts are promising sources of bioactive compounds that could be used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparation

Development of a stochastic computational fluid dynamics approach for offshore wind farms

In this paper, a method for stochastic analysis of an offshore wind farm using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is proposed. An existing offshore wind farm is modelled using a steady-state CFD solver at several deterministic input ranges and an approximation model is trained on the CFD results. The approximation model is then used in a Monte-Carlo analysis to build joint probability distributions for values of interest within the wind farm. The results are compared with real measurements obtained from the existing wind farm to quantify the accuracy of the predictions. It is shown that this method works well for the relatively simple problem considered in this study and has potential to be used in more complex situations where an existing analytical method is either insufficient or unable to make a good prediction

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with IL-6 levels and monocyte activation in HIV-infected persons

Immune activation plays a key role in HIV pathogenesis. Markers of inflammation have been associated with vitamin D deficiency in the general population. Studies have also demonstrated associations of vitamin D deficiency with increased risk of HIV progression and death. The relationship between persistent inflammation and immune activation during chronic HIV infection and vitamin D deficiency remains unclear.Cryopreserved specimens were analyzed from 663 participants at the time of enrollment from the Study to Understand the Natural History of HIV/AIDS in the Era of Effective Therapy (SUN Study) from 2004 to 2006. Biomarkers of inflammation, atherosclerosis, and coagulation were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and electrochemiluminescence. 25(OH)D, the stable precursor form of vitamin D, was measured using a radioimmunoassay with levels defined as: normal (≥30ng/mL), insufficient (20-29 ng/mL) and deficient (<20 ng/mL). Monocyte phenotypes were assessed by flow cytometry. Linear and logistic regression models were used to determine statistical associations between biomarkers and vitamin D deficiency.25(OH)D levels were deficient in 251 (38%) participants, insufficient in 222 (34%), and normal in 190 (29%). Patients with vitamin D deficiency, when compared to those with insufficient or normal vitamin D levels, had increased levels of IL-6 (23%; p<0.01), TNF-α (21%, p = 0.03), D-dimer (24%, p = 0.01), higher proportions of CD14dimCD16+ (22%, p<0.01) and CX3CR1+ monocytes (48%; p<0.001) and decreased frequency of CCR2+ monocytes (-3.4%, p<0.001). In fully adjusted models, vitamin D associations with abnormal biomarker levels persisted for IL-6 levels and CX3CR1+ and CCR2+ phenotypes.Vitamin D deficiency is associated with greater inflammation and activated monocyte phenotypes. The role of vitamin D deficiency in persistent immune activation and associated complications during chronic HIV disease should be further evaluated as a possible target for intervention

Photoluminescence of hexagonal boron nitride: effect of surface oxidation under UV-laser irradiation

We report on the UV laser induced fluorescence of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) following nanosecond laser irradiation of the surface under vacuum and in different environments of nitrogen gas and ambient air. The observed fluorescence bands are tentatively ascribed to impurity and mono (VN), or multiple (m-VN with m = 2 or 3) nitrogen vacancies. A structured fluorescence band between 300 nm and 350 nm is assigned to impurity-band transition and its complex lineshape is attributed to phonon replicas. An additional band at 340 nm, assigned to VN vacancies on surface, is observed under vacuum and quenched by adsorbed molecular oxygen. UV-irradiation of h-BN under vacuum results in a broad asymmetric fluorescence at ~400 nm assigned to m-VN vacancies; further irradiation breaks more B-N bonds enriching the surface with elemental boron. However, no boron deposit appears under irradiation of samples in ambient atmosphere. This effect is explained by oxygen healing of radiation-induced surface defects. Formation of the oxide layer prevents B-N dissociation and preserves the bulk sample stoichiometry

Predicting erythropoietin resistance in hemodialysis patients with type 2 diabetes

&lt;p&gt;Background: Resistance to ESAs (erythropoietin stimulating agents) is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients with diabetes and associated with an increased mortality. The aim of this study was to identify predictors for ESA resistance and to develop a prediction model for the risk stratification in these patients.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Methods: A post-hoc analysis was conducted of the 4D study, including 1015 patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing hemodialysis. Determinants of ESA resistance were identified by univariate logistic regression analyses. Subsequently, multivariate models were performed with stepwise inclusion of significant predictors from clinical parameters, routine laboratory and specific biomarkers.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Results: In the model restricted to clinical parameters, male sex, shorter dialysis vintage, lower BMI, history of CHF, use of ACE-inhibitors and a higher heart rate were identified as independent predictors of ESA resistance. In regard to routine laboratory markers, lower albumin, lower iron saturation, higher creatinine and higher potassium levels were independently associated with ESA resistance. With respect to specific biomarkers, higher ADMA and CRP levels as well as lower Osteocalcin levels were predictors of ESA resistance.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Conclusions: Easily obtainable clinical parameters and routine laboratory parameters can predict ESA resistance in diabetic hemodialysis patients with good discrimination. Specific biomarkers did not meaningfully further improve the risk prediction of ESA resistance. Routinely assessed data can be used in clinical practice to stratify patients according to the risk of ESA resistance, which may help to assign appropriate treatment strategies.&lt;/p&gt

Monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 during pregnancy

Aim. Pregnancy worsens COVID-19 and has been listed by the US Food and Drug Administration as a high risk factor for complicating COVID-19. The severe course of a new coronavirus infection in some pregnant patients has created the prerequisites for the search for treatment methods that can reduce the likelihood of adverse outcomes. One of these therapy options is treatment with virus-neutralizing antibodies monoclonal antibodies. Experience with the use of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of pregnant women is very limited, but in 2021 pregnancy was recognized as a high risk factor for the course of a new coronavirus infection, making it possible to use this group of drugs. Materials and methods. We described the experience of COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy during pregnancy in the Republic of Tatarstan. A retrospective analysis of 18 case histories of pregnant patients with mild and moderate course of confirmed coronavirus infection, treated with monoclonal antibodies (casirivimab/imdevimab) from March 2022 to June 2022, was carried out on the basis of the Perinatal Center of the Republican Clinical Hospital, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan. Results. All patients tolerated the administration of casirivimab/imdevimab satisfactorily; no adverse drug reactions were identified. Subjective improvement was observed on the 3rd day of MCA treatment. Delivery through the natural birth canal was carried out on time in 11 women; by caesarean section on time in 5 patients. A follow-up study of children born to 18 patients who had COVID-19 was collected. The age of the children at the time of information collection ranged from 10 months 1 year 1 month. Currently, all children are healthy and developing according to their age. Conclusion. In all pregnant patients with a new coronavirus infection with mild to moderate course, the administration of casirivimab/imdevimab was an effective method of treating the new coronavirus infection. The follow-up of children born from 18 patients was followed: the childrens condition was satisfactory, their development corresponded to their age

Legal and Ethical Implications of Mobile Live-Streaming Video Apps

The introduction of mobile apps such as Meerkat, Periscope, and Facebook Live has sparked enthusiasm for live-streaming video. This study explores the legal and ethical implications of mobile live-streaming video apps through a review of public-policy considerations and the computing literature as well as analyses of a mix of quantitative and qualitative user data. We identify lines of research inquiry for five policy challenges and two areas of the literature in which the impact of these apps is so far unaddressed. The detailed data gathered from these inquiries will significantly contribute to the design and development of tools, signals or affordances to address the concerns that our study identifies. We hope our work will help shape the fields of ubiquitous computing and collaborative and social computing, jurisprudence, public policy and applied ethics in the future