681 research outputs found
The Alt-Right and Global Information Warfare
The Alt-Right is a neo-fascist white supremacist movement that is involved in
violent extremism and shows signs of engagement in extensive disinformation
campaigns. Using social media data mining, this study develops a deeper
understanding of such targeted disinformation campaigns and the ways they
spread. It also adds to the available literature on the endogenous and
exogenous influences within the US far right, as well as motivating factors
that drive disinformation campaigns, such as geopolitical strategy. This study
is to be taken as a preliminary analysis to indicate future methods and
follow-on research that will help develop an integrated approach to
understanding the strategies and associations of the modern fascist movement.Comment: Presented and published through IEEE 2019 Big Data Conferenc
Transwomen, the Prison-Industrial Complex, and Human Rights: Neoliberalism and Trans-Resistance
This article introduces complexity into understandings around the relationships between human rights, being transgender, and interacting with the prison-industrial complex. It looks at struggles and interventions against neoliberal mainstream agendas that do not address the underlying causes of state violence against transpeople, especially trans women of color. This essay employs in-depth research and analysis primarily employing the lens and tools of intersectional subalternity, personal experience, and extensive community activism around these complex issues to show that human rights struggles that do not challenge neoliberal politics generally fail to meet the needs of trans people facing massive structural violence with the prison industrial complex. Despite this failure, there are also on the ground methods that are proving effective in addressing these issues on a small-scale and attempting to extend these shifts into the macro realm
Decentralization in Violent Conflict Zones: Views from the Periphery
This thesis looks at the question of, âHow can nations on the periphery of global capitalism sustainably negotiate with nations in the center of global capitalist power in the process of governance decentralization in violent conflict zones?â Decentralization here describes the process of power transfer of fiscal, political, and administrative duties from higher and more centralized entities to lower and more localized divisions. The process of decentralization is employed to cultivate participatory democratization, minority advocacy, peacebuilding, and development. Because of the nature of these needs decentralization is often accompanied by international intervention that uses the justification of âfailed statehood.â This capstone uses interviews with practitioners in the fields of academia, development, conflict transformation, and human rights activism and those with direct experience of decentralization processes, along with extensive research into case studies with a range of efficacy, to extricate some of the difficulties and conflicting agendas that plague decentralization. This capstone employs a mixture between ground theory qualitative analysis and Participatory Action Research to clarify the complexities of decentralization primarily to those in the margins of global power. This research showed that decentralization must always be internally-led but that accountability, capacity, and challenging the status quo can prove difficult, forcing many nations to seek external aid or assistance that often comes with strings attached. Such negotiating with power may be necessary, but the alternatives that exist are useful to explore and extrapolate upon for guidance.
Contact: [email protected]
Keywords: Decentralization, governance, liberalism, peacebuilding, development, and violent conflict
Electrogenic Na/HCO3 Cotransporter (NBCe1) Variants Expressed in Xenopus Oocytes: Functional Comparison and Roles of the Amino and Carboxy Termini
Using pH- and voltage-sensitive microelectrodes, as well as the two-electrode voltage-clamp and macropatch techniques, we compared the functional properties of the three NBCe1 variants (NBCe1-A, -B, and -C) with different amino and/or carboxy termini expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Oocytes expressing rat brain NBCe1-B and exposed to a CO2/HCO3â solution displayed all the hallmarks of an electrogenic Na+/HCO3â cotransporter: (a) a DIDS-sensitive pHi recovery following the initial CO2-induced acidification, (b) an instantaneous hyperpolarization, and (c) an instantaneous Na+-dependent outward current under voltage-clamp conditions (â60 mV). All three variants had similar external HCO3â dependencies (apparent KM of 4â6 mM) and external Na+ dependencies (apparent KM of 21â36 mM), as well as similar voltage dependencies. However, voltage-clamped oocytes (â60 mV) expressing NBCe1-A exhibited peak HCO3â-stimulated NBC currents that were 4.3-fold larger than the currents seen in oocytes expressing the most dissimilar C variant. Larger NBCe1-A currents were also observed in currentâvoltage relationships. Plasma membrane expression levels as assessed by single oocyte chemiluminescence with hemagglutinin-tagged NBCs were similar for the three variants. In whole-cell experiments (Vm = â60 mV), removing the unique amino terminus of NBCe1-A reduced the mean HCO3â-induced NBC current 55%, whereas removing the different amino terminus of NBCe1-C increased the mean NBC current 2.7-fold. A similar pattern was observed in macropatch experiments. Thus, the unique amino terminus of NBCe1-A stimulates transporter activity, whereas the different amino terminus of the B and C variants inhibits activity. One or more cytosolic factors may also contribute to NBCe1 activity based on discrepancies between macropatch and whole-cell currents. While the amino termini influence transporter function, the carboxy termini influence plasma membrane expression. Removing the entire cytosolic carboxy terminus of NBCe1-C, or the different carboxy terminus of the A/B variants, causes a loss of NBC activity due to low expression at the plasma membrane
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