Autonomy of Migration Despite Its Securitisation? Facing the Terms and Conditions of Biometric Rebordering

This article reconsiders the concept of autonomy of migration in the context of technologically ever-more sophisticated border regimes by focusing on the case of biometric rebordering. As its name suggests, the concept of autonomy of migration’s core thesis proposes that migratory movements yield moments of autonomy in regards to any attempt to control and regulate them. Yet, the concept of autonomy of migration has been repeatedly accused of being based on and contributing to a romanticisation of migration. After outlining two advantages the concept of autonomy of migration offers for the analysis of biometric border regimes, I demonstrate that processes of biometric rebordering increase the warranty of the two allegations, which feed this major critique. Drawing on examples relating to the Visa Information System, I show that processes of biometric rebordering alter the practical terms and material conditions for moments of autonomy of migration to such an extent that it becomes necessary to rethink not only some of the concept of autonomy of migration’s central features, but the notion of autonomy itself. In the final section, I therefore point out some directions to develop the concept of autonomy of migration as an approach, which is better equipped to investigate today’s struggles of migration without being prone to the critique of implicating a romanticisation of migration

Freundschaftsbeziehungen von Kindern und Jugendlichen mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund

Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit beschäftigt sich mit Freundschaftsbeziehungen von in Wien lebenden Kindern und Jugendlichen mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund. Dabei werden sowohl die Prozesse der Freundschaftsbildung sowie die verschiedenen sozialen Kontexte, in dessen Rahmen freundschaftliche Beziehungen geknüpft werden, näher beleuchtet. Des Weiteren wird die Zusammensetzung der Freundschaftsgruppen sowie deren Bedeutsamkeit und Funktion differenziert nach Geschlecht thematisiert. Im Zentrum der Arbeit sollen jedoch die Freundschaftsvorstellungen und -auffassungen der Kinder und Jugendlichen selbst stehen, da aufgrund des in der Anthropologie vorherrschenden adult bias sowie der Vernachlässigung der Thematik der Freundschaft ein großer Forschungsmangel diesbezüglich zu verorten ist. Die Arbeit versucht einen Einblick darin zu geben, welche Bedeutung und welchen Stellenwert Freundschaften in den persönlichen Lebenswelten der Kinder und Jugendlichen aus türkischen Migrationsverhältnissen einnehmen. Dabei werden die Freundschaftsbeziehungen unter anderem als Quelle sozialer Unterstützung und in diesem Sinne als bedeutsame soziale Ressourcen thematisiert. Die Forschungsergebnisse und Interpretationen beruhen auf teilnehmenden Beobachtungen sowie auf qualitativen Leitfadeninterviews

Conditions of enablement of sound practices in Hong Kong and Manila

While sound practices in Hong Kong and Manila operate separately, they are interlinked by various factors that have enabled their practices, respectively. This research is a study of such connection. In particular, I claim that sound practices in Hong Kong and Manila share distinct characteristics that allow inter-referencing to be adopted as an effective tool in approaching the problem at hand. Sound practice for both Hong Kong and Manila is uniquely located in the interstices of music and art—a location where their distinct form, history, and ethics are entangled with those of music and art. I argue that this unique location of sound practice is brought about by the conditions that have enabled it. Among these conditions are the earlier encounters between Hong Kong and Manila—through artist exchanges and events or gatherings such as exhibits, festivals, and conferences since the 1960s. With these encounters, direct relations are traced to the current sound practice by virtue of organizational, conceptual, or ideological affinity. Thus, I propose that sound practice should be understood not as an autonomous art movement, but one that is a product of the society where it emerges from. Besides the historical connection, this study will expound on the three factors that enable the sound practices at issue: technological movements, DIY culture, and art institutions. Technological movements or technological developments enabled the evolution of forms and the development of different sound projects. DIY culture gave sound practitioners inspiration on how to organize themselves as communities in relation to or despite the prevailing art market. Meanwhile, various discourses in the contemporary art world in Asia, concerning both music and visual arts, gave rise to conditions where sound projects can be understood as a tradition, expression, representation, or commodity, among others. Specific manifestations and interventions of these three factors, from early 1990 until the mid-2010s, are identified and analysed vis-a-vis the current conditions of the practice. This research will show that it is within the constellation of these three enabling factors that the sites of practice are shaped and the ethics of the practice moulded. In conclusion, I will discuss how sound practice may continue to grow and further develop

Systemic availability and metabolism of colonic-derived short-chain fatty acids in healthy subjects: a stable isotope study

The short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are bacterial metabolites produced during the colonic fermentation of undigested carbohydrates, such as dietary fibre and prebiotics, and can mediate the interaction between the diet, the microbiota and the host. We quantified the fraction of colonic administered SCFAs that could be recovered in the systemic circulation, the fraction that was excreted via the breath and urine, and the fraction that was used as a precursor for glucose, cholesterol and fatty acids. This information is essential for understanding the molecular mechanisms by which SCFAs beneficially affect physiological functions such as glucose and lipid metabolism and immune function.status: publishe

Human scattered tubular cells represent a heterogeneous population of glycolytic dedifferentiated proximal tubule cells

Scattered tubular cells (STCs) are a phenotypically distinct cell population in the proximal tubule that increase in number after acute kidney injury. We aimed to characterize the human STC population. Three-dimensional human tissue analysis revealed that STCs are preferentially located within inner bends of the tubule and are barely present in young kidney tissue (<2 years), and their number increases with age. Increased STC numbers were associated with acute tubular injury (kidney injury molecule 1) and interstitial fibrosis (alpha smooth muscle actin). Isolated CD13+CD24−CD133− proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs) and CD13+CD24+ and CD13+CD133+ STCs were analyzed using RNA sequencing. Transcriptome analysis revealed an upregulation of nuclear factor κB, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and inflammatory pathways in STCs, whereas metabolism, especially the tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, was downregulated, without showing signs of cellular senescence. Using immunostaining and a publicly available single-cell sequencing database of human kidneys, we demonstrate that STCs represent a heterogeneous population in a transient state. In conclusion, STCs are dedifferentiated PTECs showing a metabolic shift toward glycolysis, which could facilitate cellular survival after kidney injury