Constructing Female Subject: Narratives on Family and Life Security among the Urban Poor in Turkey

This paper examines people’s everyday acts, decisions, and narratives about livelihood and poverty. By doing so, it elucidates the way that family norms produce these acts, decisions, and narratives, and how female subjects are constructed as the result of the effects of family norms, focusing on norms of sexual honor. It shows that people’s sense of belonging is deeply grounded on kinship and it does not just disappear, even if monetary exchange declines and/or conjugal love is idealized. In fact, the value of sexual honor seems to be embedded within the concept of love. Agreeing with the current argument for the necessity of reorganizing the social security system based on citizenship, in order to respond to the changing nature of poverty, this paper argues nonetheless that it would be misleading to suppose that these formal legal institutions would directly shape the citizen subject.Poverty, Sense of belonging, Kinship, Female subject, Turkey, Family, Women

Negotiating social assistance : the case of the urban poor in Turkey

In Turkey, social assistance program has been widely criticized for being inefficient in the provision of relief. Yet there are almost no movements among poor people to make demands couched in rational and critical language for a better program, which liberal modernist thinkers idealize as the politics of need interpretation. It is generally believed that poor people are mute and excluded from the process because of their lack of discursive capital. In this paper I discuss the possibility of different varieties of participation in the politics of need interpretation by focusing on the everyday practices of the poor based on ethnographic research conducted in a low income district in Istanbul. I argue that the poor do participate in the struggle over needs, elucidating how the poor negotiate with the officials of the Fund's local branch by assuming the former image and by using religious moral language.Turkey, Social welfare, Social policy, Poverty, Urban societies, Social assistance, Urban poor, Politics of needs interpretation, Everyday politics

WEE1阻害は尿路上皮癌において単独あるいはシスプラチンとの併用で抗腫瘍効果を示す

京都大学新制・課程博士博士(医学)甲第24130号医博第4870号新制||医||1059(附属図書館)京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻(主査)教授 中島 貴子, 教授 万代 昌紀, 教授 武藤 学学位規則第4条第1項該当Doctor of Medical ScienceKyoto UniversityDFA

The 3-D image recognition based on fuzzy neural network technology

Three dimensional stereoscopic image recognition system based on fuzzy-neural network technology was developed. The system consists of three parts; preprocessing part, feature extraction part, and matching part. Two CCD color camera image are fed to the preprocessing part, where several operations including RGB-HSV transformation are done. A multi-layer perception is used for the line detection in the feature extraction part. Then fuzzy matching technique is introduced in the matching part. The system is realized on SUN spark station and special image input hardware system. An experimental result on bottle images is also presented

Reduction of exogenous ketones depends upon NADPH generated photosynthetically in cells of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7942

Effective utilization of photosynthetic microorganisms as potential biocatalysts is favorable for the production of useful biomaterials and the reduction of atmospheric CO2. For example, biocatalytic transformations are used in the synthesis of optically active alcohols. We previously found that ketone reduction in cells of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7942 is highly enantioselective and remarkably enhanced under light illumination. In this study, the mechanism of light-enhanced ketone reduction was investigated in detail using several inhibitors of photosynthetic electron transport and of enzymes of the Calvin cycle. It is demonstrated that light intensity and photosynthesis inhibitors significantly affect the ketone reduction activity in Synechococcus. This indicates that the reduction correlates well with photosynthetic activity. Moreover, ketone reduction in Synechococcus specifically depends upon NADPH and not NADH. These results also suggest that cyanobacteria have the potential to be utilized as biocatalytic systems for direct usage of light energy in various applications such as syntheses of useful compounds and remediation of environmental pollutants

The efficacy of secondary cytoreductive surgery for recurrent ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer in Tian-model low-risk patients.

Objective: In patients with recurrent ovarian cancer (ROC) in whom surgery is likely to render them disease-free, it is unclear whether secondary cytoreductive surgery (SCS) combined with chemotherapy is superior to chemotherapy alone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the 2 treatment options in Tian-model low-risk patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 118 ROC cases treated in our hospital between 2004 and 2016. Of these, 52 platinum-sensitive cases were classified as low-risk (complete resection anticipated) using the Tian model. Prognostic factors were assessed with univariate and multivariate analysis using Cox's regression model. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared in patients treated with SCS plus chemotherapy (SCS group) and those treated with chemotherapy alone (chemotherapy group), using a propensity-score-based matching method. Results: By multivariate analysis, the only factor associated with better OS was SCS. PFS and OS were significantly longer in the SCS group compared to the chemotherapy group in the matched cohort (median PFS: 21.7 vs. 15.1 months, p=0.027 and median OS: 91.4 vs. 33.4 months, p=0.008, respectively). In cases with multiple-site recurrence, the SCS group also showed significantly longer OS than the chemotherapy group (median 91.4 vs. 34.8 months, p=0.022). In almost all SCS cases, cooperation was required from other departments, and operation time was lengthy (median 323 minutes); however, no serious complications occurred. Conclusion: SCS combined with chemotherapy results in better PFS and OS than chemotherapy alone in first platinum-sensitive ROC patients categorized as low-risk by Tian's model

Effects of Valsartan on Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Markers in Hypertensive, Hyperglycemic Patients: An Open-Label, Prospective Study

AbstractBackground: Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are aggravated by activation of the renin-angiotensin system caused by increased oxygen stress and local inflammatory responses. Several studies have suggested that angiotensin II type 1 receptors can reduce inflammatory markers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP], interleukin [IL]-6, IL-18, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule [VCAM]-I, and l-selectin) and oxidative stress markers (urinary 8-hydroxy-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine [8-OHdG] and 8-epi-prostaglandin F2α [8-isoprostane]) in hypertensive patients.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of valsartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in hypertensive patients with mild diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.Methods: In this open-label, prospective study, hypertensive patients aged >20 years with mild diabetes (requiring treatment by diet alone or an oral hypoglycemic), seen on an outpatient basis at the Division of Diabetes, Metabolism, and Endocrinology, Omori Hospital, Toyko, Japan, who were receiving a therapeutic dietary regimen for ≥1 month in the treatment of diabetes or hypertension, were eligible for enrollment. Blood pressure, inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, IL-6, IL-18, VCAM-1, and L-selectin), and oxidative stress markers (urinary 8-OHdG and 8-isoprostane) were monitored before treatment commencement with valsartan (40-80 mg/d) and after 3 months of treatment.Results: A total of 26 patients (18 men, 8 women; mean [SD] age, 57.7 [11.3] years; mean [SD] weight, 65.3 [13.1] kg) were enrolled in the study. After 3 months of treatment, patients' mean (SD) blood pressure had significantly decreased from 153.1 (11.2)/88.3 (11.4) to 143.7 (13.7)/85.2 (9.0) mm Hg (P < 0.05). Among the inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, hs-CRP, VCAM-1, and urinary 8-OHdG concentrations decreased significantly from 0.231 (0.199) to 0.134 (0.111) mg/dL (P = 0.043), 471.1 (193.9) to 403.2 (135.2) ng/mL (P = 0.012), and 12.12 (5.99) to 8.07 (3.36) ng/mg · creatinine (P = 0.001), respectively. The reductions in these markers were observed in patients regardless of whether or not their glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration improved (defined as a decrease of ≥1% in HbA1c).Conclusion: This small, open-label, prospective study found that a 3-month treatment with valsartan was associated with a significant reduction of hs-CRP, VCAM-1, and urinary 8-OHdG concentrations independent of improvement in HbA1c concentration in these hypertensive patients with hyperglycemia

PDK2 leads to cisplatin resistance through suppression of mitochondrial function in ovarian clear cell carcinoma

Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (CCC) exhibits an association with endometriosis, resistance to oxidative stress, and poor prognosis owing to its resistance to conventional platinum-based chemotherapy. A greater understanding of the molecular characteristics and pathogenesis of ovarian cancer subtypes may facilitate the development of targeted therapeutic strategies, though the mechanism of drug resistance in ovarian CCC has yet to be determined. In this study, we assessed exome sequencing data to identify new therapeutic targets of mitochondrial function in ovarian CCC because of the central role of mitochondria in redox homeostasis. Copy number analyses revealed that chromosome 17q21-24 (chr.17q21-24) amplification was associated with recurrence in ovarian CCC. Cell viability assays identified an association between cisplatin resistance and chr.17q21-24 amplification, and mitochondrion-related genes were enriched in patients with chr.17q21-24 amplification. Patients with high expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 2 (PDK2) had a worse prognosis than those with low PDK2 expression. Furthermore, inhibition of PDK2 synergistically enhanced cisplatin sensitivity by activating the electron transport chain and by increasing the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. Mouse xenograft models showed that inhibition of PDK2 with cisplatin inhibited tumor growth. This evidence suggests that targeting mitochondrial metabolism and redox homeostasis is an attractive therapeutic strategy for improving drug sensitivity in ovarian CCC