The magic of feminist bridging : a mosaic of anti-racist speech bubbles about othering in Swedish Academia

Are feminist coalitions magical enough to survive and endure while questioning and shaking the colonial/racist foundations of Swedish academic knowledge production and the overall Swedish society? Can feminist bridging and collective writing remain a magical process even when grappling with difficult experiences and memories of othering and racialisation? This is a creatively and collectively written article on feminist coalition building, and its importance in thinking, articulating and deconstructing race, racialization and racist structures. More than two years ago, seven interdisciplinary gender studies scholars of mixed ethnic and racial origins, came together to explore our differently situated experiences of disidentifying with Swedish academia and society in a collective we call Loving Coalitions. Against the background of Swedish exceptionalism, historical amnesia of Sweden’s colonial past and present, and the deafening silence on Swedish whiteness and racism, we are sharing our poems, letters, texts and testimonies of racist interactions in Swedish academia and society. While doing so, we discuss how moving away from conventional ways of doing research and experimenting with creative methodological alternatives, such as automatic writing, epistolary formats, poems, fiction, collective memory-work, allow us to acknowledge and embrace our different life backgrounds and academic trajectories as a mode of knowledge production. We hope and believe that our experiences, reflections and ways to resist racism and Othering in Sweden and Swedish academia through alternative coalition building, based on mutual care and love, can be relevant in a Danish context as well

Loving coalitions : seven texts on feminist resistance

In 2021, seven interdisciplinary gender studies scholars of mixed ethnic and racial origins, who have worked/still work in different gender studies centres in Sweden, formed a collective called Loving Coalitions. Our initial aim was to take as a point of departure our different yet intersecting everyday experiences of feeling epistemically, racially, and existentially Othered within Swedish gender studies and society, and start to work towards feminist coalition building. During these years we engaged with creative and artistic modes of knowledge production, such as automatic writing, collective memory-work, poetry, letters, and fiction. In our Loving Coalitions we learnt that by creatively writing about and collectively discussing our experiences and memories of multiple challenging and, at times, impossible border crossings—national, epistemic, racialised, gender, legal, existential—we organically created a safe space in which we can compare notes between our different backgrounds and academic trajectories, and collectively understand and theorize about them in new transformative ways. We are also currently weaving together our discussions, letters, poems, memories, testimonies, and stories into a collective book publication that will celebrate the journey of a beautiful coalition of seven different yet interconnected feminist scholars: Memories that Bridge: Weaving Feminist (Her)Stories in Loving Coalition

Neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalised children and adolescents in the UK: a prospective national cohort study

Background: The spectrum of neurological and psychiatric complications associated with paediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection is poorly understood. We aimed to analyse the range and prevalence of these complications in hospitalised children and adolescents. Methods: We did a prospective national cohort study in the UK using an online network of secure rapid-response notification portals established by the CoroNerve study group. Paediatric neurologists were invited to notify any children and adolescents (age <18 years) admitted to hospital with neurological or psychiatric disorders in whom they considered SARS-CoV-2 infection to be relevant to the presentation. Patients were excluded if they did not have a neurological consultation or neurological investigations or both, or did not meet the definition for confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (a positive PCR of respiratory or spinal fluid samples, serology for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, or both), or the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health criteria for paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS). Individuals were classified as having either a primary neurological disorder associated with COVID-19 (COVID-19 neurology group) or PIMS-TS with neurological features (PIMS-TS neurology group). The denominator of all hospitalised children and adolescents with COVID-19 was collated from National Health Service England data. Findings: Between April 2, 2020, and Feb 1, 2021, 52 cases were identified; in England, there were 51 cases among 1334 children and adolescents hospitalised with COVID-19, giving an estimated prevalence of 3·8 (95% CI 2·9–5·0) cases per 100 paediatric patients. 22 (42%) patients were female and 30 (58%) were male; the median age was 9 years (range 1–17). 36 (69%) patients were Black or Asian, 16 (31%) were White. 27 (52%) of 52 patients were classified into the COVID-19 neurology group and 25 (48%) were classified into the PIMS-TS neurology group. In the COVID-19 neurology group, diagnoses included status epilepticus (n=7), encephalitis (n=5), Guillain-Barré syndrome (n=5), acute demyelinating syndrome (n=3), chorea (n=2), psychosis (n=2), isolated encephalopathy (n=2), and transient ischaemic attack (n=1). The PIMS-TS neurology group more often had multiple features, which included encephalopathy (n=22 [88%]), peripheral nervous system involvement (n=10 [40%]), behavioural change (n=9 [36%]), and hallucinations at presentation (n=6 [24%]). Recognised neuroimmune disorders were more common in the COVID-19 neurology group than in the PIMS-TS neurology group (13 [48%] of 27 patients vs 1 [<1%] of 25 patients, p=0·0003). Compared with the COVID-19 neurology group, more patients in the PIMS-TS neurology group were admitted to intensive care (20 [80%] of 25 patients vs six [22%] of 27 patients, p=0·0001) and received immunomodulatory treatment (22 [88%] patients vs 12 [44%] patients, p=0·045). 17 (33%) patients (10 [37%] in the COVID-19 neurology group and 7 [28%] in the PIMS-TS neurology group) were discharged with disability; one (2%) died (who had stroke, in the PIMS-TS neurology group). Interpretation: This study identified key differences between those with a primary neurological disorder versus those with PIMS-TS. Compared with patients with a primary neurological disorder, more patients with PIMS-TS needed intensive care, but outcomes were similar overall. Further studies should investigate underlying mechanisms for neurological involvement in COVID-19 and the longer-term outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation, Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health Research

The GABAB receptor positive modulator BHF177 attenuated anxiety, but not conditioned fear, in rats

GABA(B) (γ-aminobutyric acid B) receptors may be a therapeutic target for anxiety disorders. Here we characterized the effects of the GABA(B) receptor positive allosteric modulator (PAM) BHF177 on conditioned and unconditioned physiological responses to threat in the light-enhanced startle (LES), stress-induced hyperthermia, and fear-potentiated startle (FPS) procedures in rats. The effects of BHF177 on LES were compared with those of the GABA(B) receptor agonists baclofen and CGP44532, and the positive control buspirone, a 5-HT(1A) receptor partial agonist with anxiolytic activity in humans. Baclofen (0.4, 0.9 and 1.25 mg/kg) and CGP44532 (0.065, 0.125 and 0.25 mg/kg) administration had significant sedative, but not anxiolytic, activity reflected in overall decrease in the startle response in the LES tests. BHF177 (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) had no effect on LES, nor did it produce an overall sedative effect. Interesting, however, when rats were grouped by high and low LES responses, BHF177 had anxiolytic-like effects only on LES in high, but not low, LES responding rats. BHF177 also blocked stress-induced hyperthermia, but had no effect on conditioned fear responses in the FPS test. Buspirone (1 and 3 mg/kg) had an anxiolytic-like profile in both LES and FPS tests. These results indicate that BHF177 may specifically attenuate unconditioned anxiety in individuals that exhibit a high anxiety state, and has fewer sedative effects than direct agonists. Thus, BHF177 or other GABA(B) receptor PAMs may be promising compounds for alleviating increased anxiety seen in various psychiatric disorders with a superior side-effect profile compared to GABA(B) receptor agonists

Minimum requirements for ookinete to oocyst transformation in Plasmodium

During their passage through a mosquito vector, malaria parasites undergo several developmental transformations including that from a motile zygote, the ookinete, to a sessile oocyst that develops beneath the basal lamina of the midgut epithelium. This transformation process is poorly understood and the oocyst is the least studied of all the stages in the malaria life cycle. We have used an in vitro culture system to monitor morphological features associated with transformation of Plasmodium berghei ookinetes and the role of basal lamina components in this process. We also describe the minimal requirements for transformation and early oocyst development. A defined sequence of events begins with the break-up of the inner surface membrane, specifically along the convex side of the ookinete, where a protrusion occurs. A distinct form, the transforming ookinete or took, has been identified in vitro and also observed in vivo. Contrary to previous suggestions, we have shown that no basal lamina components are required to trigger ookinete to oocyst transformation in vitro. We have demonstrated that transformation does not occur spontaneously; it is initiated in the presence of bicarbonate added to PBS, but it is not mediated by changes in pH alone. Transformation is a two-step process that is not completed unless a range of nutrients are also present. A minimal medium is defined which supports transformation and oocyst growth from 7.8 to 11.4 μm by day 5 with 84% viability. We conclude that ookinete transformation is mediated by bicarbonate and occurs in a similar manner to the differentiation of sporozoite to the hepatic stage

Neurological and Psychiatric Manifestations of COVID-19 in UK Children: A Prospective National Cohort Study

Background: The spectrum of neurological and psychiatric complications associated with COVID-19 is poorly understood in children.Methods: Children and adolescents (Findings: Fifty-two cases were identified, among 1334 children hospitalised with COVID-19 giving an estimated incidence of 3.8 per 100 children. Twenty-seven (52%) had a primary neurological or psychiatric disorder, 25 (48%) had features associated with PIMS-TS. The median (range) age was 9 (1-17) years. Thirty-six (69%) were from Black or Asian backgrounds. In the primary neurology/psychiatry disorder group, diagnoses included seven with status epilepticus, five encephalitis, five Guillain-Barré syndrome, three acute demyelinating syndromes, two chorea, two psychosis, two encephalopathy, one transient ischaemic attack. The PIMS-TS neurology group more often had multiple features, which included encephalopathy (22, 88%), peripheral nervous system involvement (10, 40%), behavioural change (9, 36%), hallucinations (6, 24%). A recognised neuro-immune disorder was more common in the primary neurology than the PIMS-TS neurology group (13/27 [48%] vs 1/25 [0.04%], p=0.0003). More patients in the PIMS-TS neurology group were admitted to intensive care (20/25 [80%] vs 6/27 [22%], p=0.0001) and received immunomodulatory treatment (22/25 [88%] vs 12/27 [44%]), p=0.045). Seventeen (33%) were discharged with disability; one PIMS-TS child with stroke died.Interpretation: This first nation-wide study of the neurological and psychiatric manifestations of COVID-19 in children identified key differences between those with a primary disorder versus those with PIMS-TS. More PIMS-TS children needed intensive care, but outcomes were similar overall. Further studies must investigate underlying mechanisms and longer-term outcomes.Funding Statement: BDM and GB are supported to conduct COVID-19 neuroscience research by the UKRI/MRC (MR/V03605X/1); for additional neurological inflammation research due to viral infection BDM is also supported by grants from the MRC/UKRI (MR/V007181//1), MRC (MR/T028750/1) and Wellcome (ISSF201902/3). SR is also supported by Wellcome to conduct paediatric neuroinfectious research (203919/Z/16/Z). IG is supported by NIHR. TS is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections (Grant Nos. IS-HPU-1112-10117 and NIHR200907), NIHR Global Health Research Group on Brain Infections (No. 17/63/110), the UK Medical Research Council’s Global Effort on COVID-19 Programme (MR/V033441/1), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program ZikaPLAN (Preparedness Latin America Network), grant agreement No. 734584. MG is supported to conduct neuroscience and infection research internationally by MRC Newton Fund (MR/S019960/1), MRC DPFS (MR/R015406/1) and NIHR (153195 17/60/67, 126156 17/63/11 and 200907).Declaration of Interests: None.Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the University of Liverpool Institute of Infection Veterinary and Ecological Sciences Ethics Committee (UoL #7725/2020) and the University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine Ethics Committee (ERGO #56504). The electronic CRF was hosted on ALEA (www.aleaclinical.eu) and managed by the Clinical Information Research Unit

Lack of CB1 cannabinoid receptor impairs cocaine self-administration.

Acute rewarding properties are essential for the establishment of cocaine addiction, and multiple neurochemical processes participate in this complex behavior. In the present study, we used the self-administration paradigm to evaluate the role of CB1 cannabinoid receptors in several aspects of cocaine reward, including acquisition, maintenance, and motivation to seek the drug. For this purpose, both CB1 receptor knockout mice and wild-type littermates were trained to intravenously self-administer cocaine under different schedules. Several cocaine training doses (0.32, 1, and 3.2 mg/kg/infusion) were used in the acquisition studies. Only 25% of CB1 knockout mice vs 75% of their wild-type littermates acquired a reliable operant responding to self-administer the most effective dose of cocaine (1 mg/kg/infusion), and the number of sessions required to attain this behavior was increased in knockout mice. Animals reaching the acquisition criteria were evaluated for the motivational strength of cocaine as a reinforcer under a progressive ratio schedule. The maximal effort to obtain a cocaine infusion was significantly reduced after the genetic ablation of CB1 receptors. A similar result was obtained after the pharmacological blockade of CB1 receptors with SR141716A in wild-type mice. Moreover, the cocaine dose-response curve was flattened in the knockout group, suggesting that the differences observed between genotypes were related to changes in the reinforcing efficacy of the training dose of cocaine. Self-administration for water and food was not altered in CB1 knockout mice in any of the reinforcement schedules used, which emphasizes the selective impairment of drug reinforcement in these knockout mice. Finally, cocaine effects on mesolimbic dopaminergic transmission were evaluated by in vivo microdialysis in these mice. Acute cocaine administration induced a similar enhancement in the extracellular levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens of both CB1 knockout and wild-type mice. This work clearly demonstrates that CB1 receptors play an important role in the consolidation of cocaine reinforcement, although are not required for its acute effects on mesolimbic dopaminergic transmission.Comparative StudyJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe