Back to the Bad Old Days: President Putin\u27s Hold on Free Speech in the Russian Federation

This paper addresses new laws promulgated in Russia that restrict freedom of speech. Each implicitly reflects the Kremlin\u27s hostility toward political dissidence in the aftermath of serious protests following President Putin\u27s reelection and elections to the legislature. Disturbed by the outcry, which took place in cities across Russia but also infiltrated the Internet, the Russian legislature passed strict laws censoring Internet speech, prohibiting behavior and speech deemed extremist, and curbing the size and type of public gatherings. The new legislation is examined through the lens of some of the Kremlin\u27s most infamous and recent targets: namely, the Internet blacklist and the Pussy Riot scandal. It is critical to note that these instances are only a fraction of the free speech violations that are now legal in the Russian Federation. These incidents-and the potential for similar and more serious results under the new laws-are of grave importance. For many Western critics and Russian citizens, the laws confirm their worst fears about Putin\u27s autocratic leanings: that with the stifling of free speech will come a complete unraveling of Russian democracy. The effect is a grim future for the former Soviet Union eerily reminiscent of the past

A framework for the development of a global standardised marine taxon reference image database (SMarTaR-ID) to support image-based analyses

Video and image data are regularly used in the field of benthic ecology to document biodiversity. However, their use is subject to a number of challenges, principally the identification of taxa within the images without associated physical specimens. The challenge of applying traditional taxonomic keys to the identification of fauna from images has led to the development of personal, group, or institution level reference image catalogues of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) or morphospecies. Lack of standardisation among these reference catalogues has led to problems with observer bias and the inability to combine datasets across studies. In addition, lack of a common reference standard is stifling efforts in the application of artificial intelligence to taxon identification. Using the North Atlantic deep sea as a case study, we propose a database structure to facilitate standardisation of morphospecies image catalogues between research groups and support future use in multiple front-end applications. We also propose a framework for coordination of international efforts to develop reference guides for the identification of marine species from images. The proposed structure maps to the Darwin Core standard to allow integration with existing databases. We suggest a management framework where high-level taxonomic groups are curated by a regional team, consisting of both end users and taxonomic experts. We identify a mechanism by which overall quality of data within a common reference guide could be raised over the next decade. Finally, we discuss the role of a common reference standard in advancing marine ecology and supporting sustainable use of this ecosystem

SIRT1 regulates macrophage self-renewal

International audienceMature differentiated macrophages can self-maintain by local proliferation in tissues and can be extensively expanded in culture under specific conditions, but the mechanisms of this phenomenon remain only partially defined. Here, we show that SIRT1, an evolutionary conserved regulator of life span, positively affects macrophage self-renewal ability in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of SIRT1 during bone marrow-derived macrophage differentiation increased their proliferative capacity. Conversely, decrease of SIRT1 expression by shRNA inactivation, CRISPR/Cas9 mediated deletion and pharmacological inhibition restricted macrophage self-renewal in culture. Furthermore, pharmacological SIRT1 inhibition in vivo reduced steady state and cytokine-induced proliferation of alveolar and peritoneal macrophages. Mechanistically, SIRT1 inhibition negatively regulated G1/S transition, cell cycle progression and a network of self-renewal genes. This included inhibition of E2F1 and Myc and concomitant activation of FoxO1, SIRT1 targets mediating cell cycle progression and stress response, respectively. Our findings indicate that SIRT1 is a key regulator of macrophage self-renewal that integrates cell cycle and longevity pathways. This suggests that macrophage self-renewal might be a relevant parameter of ageing