Mobilities and enclosures after Seattle: politicizing borders in a “Borderless” world

This paper explores the complex and often contradictory ways in which state borders, and by extension territorial sovereignty, have become repoliticized over the past decade. In the 1990s, it was commonplace to describe globalization as auguring a new post-Westphalian world, one in which the nation-state and territorial forms of state sovereignty were disappearing. Both critics of and advocates for globalization made claims to a new “borderless world” and “de-territorialization”—though from very different political vantage points. Yet territorial borders did not become uniformly less salient in the new world orders that emerged under neoliberalism, and in many cases, the securitization of international borders became more acute. Moreover, particularly post 9-11, states often deepened enforcement measures at their international boundary lines and “border regimes” have become critical to the expanding securitization of the nation-state and the capital interest of elites. Antiborder activists circa Seattle and beyond have played a central role in critiquing, politicizing, and drawing our attention to the border as a site of expanding state power, the logics of capital and the kinds of enclosures that continue to structure deep inequalities across the globe.     

Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in the developing heart of the dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula). A scanning electron microscopic study

An epithelial-mesenchymal transition is involved in two main morphogenetic events of cardiac morphogenesis, namely the differentiation of the valvuloseptal tissue from the endocardial endothelium, and the formation of subepicardial mesenchyme from the epicardial mesothelium. We have proposed that the dogfish ( Scyliorhinus canicula ) is a suitable model for the study of basic processes of cardiac morphogenesis in vertebrates, since the heart of this primitive fish probably outlines the original bauplan of the vertebrate heart. In order to study in this model the endocardial and epicardial epithelial-mesenchymal transition under scanning electron microscopy, we have used a technique of paraffin-embedding, partial sectioning, dewaxing and critical-point drying. Our results showed: 1) A centrifugal pattern of epicardial development from the atrioventricular groove to the sinus venosus and conus arteriosus; 2) A close spatial and temporal relationship between the endocardial and epicardial epithelial-mesenchymal transition, although the transformation of the endocardium starts earlier and ends later the epicardial transformation; 3) A complex arrangement of the fibrous extracellular matrix which is established prior to the migration of the mesenchymal cells. Subepicardial, but not subendothelial mesenchymal cells, coalesce in unicellular or pluricellular ring-like structures that probably are related to the origin of the cardiac vessels.     

Hui family migration in Northwest China: patterns,experiences and social capital

Based on an extensive questionnaire survey in three cities in Northwest China, this article identifies the factors influencing the sole, couple and family migration of Han and Hui. We find that Han migrants are more utility-oriented and tend to circulate among different places in order to maximize their utility. Hui migrants are more likely to seek opportunities to settle in destinations with their families. They rely on Hui communities and dedicate themselves to creating networks and accumulating social capital for their families. We suggest that the accumulation of bonding capital does not necessarily suggest the increase or decrease of bridging capital. Moreover, the ethnic community should be regarded neither in negative nor positive terms but rather as a coin with two sides, pro and con. The ethnic community is a vessel, which migrants can use for minimizing risks, improving livelihoods and fostering the settlement of families.     

From the Montaña to the city: a history of proletarianization of Mixteco indigenous from Guerrero,Mexico in New York City

Since the late 1980s, indigenous Mixtecos of the Montaña region, in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico, have become new members of the Mexican migrant working class in New York City (NYC). This article examines the contemporary history of proletarianization via migration of the Mixtecos of the Montaña. It shows to what extent the region became a supplier of migrant labor, and how its inhabitants transitioned from peasants and semi-proletarians of Mexico’s northwest agribusinesses to transnational migrant proletarians, as a result of major regional transformations related to state violence and drug cartel penetration. Indigenous Mixtecos have endured social inequality, racism, and state violence from post-revolutionary to contemporary neoliberal governments in Guerrero. Before their migration to NYC, they have gone through different rounds of proletarianization which differ from the Mexican mestizo migrant flow. The article aims to contribute to unravel such particularities, which have been subsumed as part of a homogeneous pattern in the history of Mexican migration and proletarianization in NYC.Based on ethnographic research conducted for my doctoral dissertation (2014) and using oral history, the article traces, through the life story of a Mixteco migrant worker, the different rounds of dispossession in the history of proletarianization of Mixteco indigenous migrants from the Montaña.     

On the origin of the putative furca of the Ostracoda (Crustacea)

The posterior end of body of the extant ostracods exhibits a pair of variously shaped appendages, commonly designated as furca(e), uropods or caudal rami, used for feeding and/or locomotion. It is here shown that the so-called furca of all extant ostracods has evolved from the (probably epipodal) vibratory plates of a pair of uropods. The transformation comprised the following steps: (a) complete reduction of the uropodal protopodite and endopodite; (b) sclerotisation of the lateral walls of the vibratory plates; (c) transformation of the branchial filaments into spines and/or claws; (d) re-orientation of the plates from posterodorsal to posteroventral. These modifications are suggested to have evolved in parallel with a change in function, from respiratory to locomotory and/or feeding. The most primitive condition, reminiscent of the ancestral state of character, is seen in the Platycopida: the ‘furca’ still appears similar in shape to the vibratory plates of the pair of sixth limbs. In the Podocopida the uropodal plates have been modified into plate-like, more often into rod-shaped rami mainly used for locomotion. In both the Platycopida and Podocopida the anus has remained in its original place, posterior to the ‘furcal’ plates or rami. In the Myodocopida and Halocyprida the uropodal vibratory plates are transformed into heavily developed lamellae bearing sturdy spines. They are activated by a complex apparatus of muscles and sclerites, the development of which necessitated the displacement of the anus from the end of the body towards its present place, anterior to the ‘furca’. The furca of the Ostracoda being not a ‘true’ furca, a change in terminology is proposed: uropodal plates or lamellae in the Platycopida, Palaeocopida and Myodocopida/Halocyprida; uropodal rami in the Podocopida. The so-called furcae of the Ostracoda being homologous structures, it is concluded that all extant ostracods belong to a monophyletic lineage.     

Jade Tree Medicine

ABSTRACT

This is a comparative case study to examine visuality in modern weddings in South China and its role in exhibiting and stabilizing social identity. By studying four wedding cases, I want to spell out the logics of visualization of wedding imaginations along three overlapping vectors, namely, visual competency, urban experience, and economic capital. The cases indicate that those with low visual competency, limited urban experience, and low economic capital tend to have a strong and hierarchical—or what I termed “high grid”—wedding imagination; while those with high visual competency, sophisticated urban experience and high economic capital have a more flexible and situational display of wedding visuality.     

The contested rewe: sacred sites,misunderstandings, and ontological pluralism in Mapuche land negotiations

Sacred sites lie at the core of indigenous peoples' land claims and negotiations with the state. These sites are often subject to accusations of inauthenticity by state actors, which potentially lead to the delegitimization of claims over ancestral land. This article argues that misunderstandings in Mapuche land negotiations in Chile do not originate as strategic refusals to understand, but rather in a form of understanding which aims to make radical differences commensurable within the logics of statecraft and national society. In the process of cultural translation, the ontological principles that make certain places sacred in the Mapuche lived world are not recognized, resulting in the transformation of these sites into symbols of identity strategically employed for political ends.     

Design and construction of a double inversion recombination switch for heritable sequential genetic memory

Background

Inversion recombination elements present unique opportunities for computing and information encoding in biological systems. They provide distinct binary states that are encoded into the DNA sequence itself, allowing us to overcome limitations posed by other biological memory or logic gate systems. Further, it is in theory possible to create complex sequential logics by careful positioning of recombinase recognition sites in the sequence.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In this work, we describe the design and synthesis of an inversion switch using the fim and hin inversion recombination systems to create a heritable sequential memory switch. We have integrated the two inversion systems in an overlapping manner, creating a switch that can have multiple states. The switch is capable of transitioning from state to state in a manner analogous to a finite state machine, while encoding the state information into DNA. This switch does not require protein expression to maintain its state, and “remembers” its state even upon cell death. We were able to demonstrate transition into three out of the five possible states showing the feasibility of such a switch.

Conclusions/Significance

We demonstrate that a heritable memory system that encodes its state into DNA is possible, and that inversion recombination system could be a starting point for more complex memory circuits. Although the circuit did not fully behave as expected, we showed that a multi-state, temporal memory is achievable.     

Method for endogenizing capital in the United States Environmentally‐Extended Input‐Output model

Each year businesses, governments, and homeowners in the United States invest around one fifth of gross domestic product into the creation of capital assets such as buildings, machinery, and software to enable production and consumption. Use of capital is typically included to some extent in environmental life cycle assessments of goods and services but is not incorporated into most environmentally extended input‐output (EEIO) models, including the US Environmental Protection Agency's USEEIO. Capital assets are typically created in years prior to their use, so a challenge lies in distributing the impacts of their creation over time. In this work, a highly detailed capital flow matrix approach is followed to distribute the use of fixed capital assets to consuming industries. Data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis's Fixed Asset Accounts is merged with its Industry Accounts data by the creation of concordance tables. Public highways and streets are partially reallocated to industries operating vehicles. The resulting capital use matrix is later combined into a modified USEEIO. “Housing” is found to be the largest consumer of fixed assets, followed by general government, fossil fuel extraction, and financial industries involved in leasing. Construction, vehicles, and machinery are mostly used by industries in the form of fixed assets. The types of fixed assets used by industries are consistent with expectations: housing is dominated by structures, transport by equipment, and information industries by intellectual property products.     

Population priorities: the challenge of continued rapid population growth

Rapid population growth continues in the least developed countries. The revisionist case that rapid population could be overcome by technology, that population density was advantageous, that capital shallowing is not a vital concern and that empirical investigations had not proved a correlation between high population growth and low per capita income was both empirically and theoretically flawed. In the modern world, population density does not play the role it did in nineteenth-century Europe and rates of growth in some of today''s least developed nations are four times than those in nineteenth-century Europe, and without major accumulation of capital per capita, no major economy has or is likely to make the low- to middle-income transition. Though not sufficient, capital accumulation for growth is absolutely essential to economic growth. While there are good reasons for objecting to the enforced nature of the Chinese one-child policy, we should not underestimate the positive impact which that policy has almost certainly had and will have over the next several decades on Chinese economic performance. And a valid reticence about telling developing countries that they must contain fertility should not lead us to underestimate the severely adverse impact of high fertility rates on the economic performance and prospects of many countries in Africa and the Middle East.     

Lymphokines in sensitized rats. III. Influence of prednisolone treatment of lymph node and spleen architecture in sensitized rats and upon MIF release in vitro.

The influence of prednisolone (corticosteroid, C.S.) treatment upon established cell-mediated immunity (CMI) induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) has been studied in rats by using in vitro migration inhibitory factor (MIF) assays, type IV skin reactions, and regional lymph node and spleen histology. Additionally, changes in the mononuclear-polymorphonuclear ratio of peripheral blood and T-cell accumulation in bone marrow in response to C.S. treatment have been determined. These results have been evaluated by comparison with equivalent experiments upon animals treated with anti-rat lymphocyte serum (ALS), oxisuran, or 2-[(methylsulfinyl)-acetyl]pyridine, which selectively suppresses CMI. The results suggest the existence of a population of “educated” T-cells in the thymic cortex of sensitized rats, and they suggest that prolonged C.S. administration does not suppress T-effector cells involved in established CMI but, rather, affects lymphocyte and monocyte migration patterns, including the migration of educated T-cells from the thymic cortex into other tissue compartments.     

Real-time weather analysis reveals the adaptability of direct sea-crossing by raptors

Many animals seasonally travel between their breeding and wintering grounds. With their advanced mobility, birds often migrate over thousands of kilometres. Recently, satellite-tracking studies have revealed peculiar migration routes for some avian species at a global scale. However, the adaptability of such migration routes has not been clearly demonstrated. Using satellite-tracking data for 33 individuals, we show that the Japanese population of Oriental honey-buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) directly crosses the 650-km-wide East China Sea during their autumn migration, although they fly a longer route around the sea rather than directly crossing it during their spring migration. By applying aerodynamic theory, we show that the buzzards could cross the sea by soaring and gliding flight. Moreover, using a high-resolution meteorological-prediction analysis, we demonstrate that the migratory trajectory of the birds strongly depends on the wind direction at their estimated locations. In the area, northeastern tailwinds blow stably only during autumn. Thermals were abundant ca. 500–1,000 m over the East China Sea in autumn, but that was not the case in spring. We suggest that the autumn-migration route across the East China Sea is likely to have evolved in response to the specific weather conditions over the sea. Animations showing movements of Oriental honey-buzzards and temporal change in weather conditions are available at: , , , , , and .     

Integrating invasive mammal eradications and biodiversity offsets for fisheries bycatch: conservation opportunities and challenges for seabirds and sea turtles

The removal of invasive mammals from islands is one of society’s most powerful tools for preventing extinctions and restoring ecosystems. Given the demonstrable high conservation impact and return on investment of eradications, new networks are needed to fully leverage invasive mammal eradications programs for biodiversity conservation at-large. There have been over 800 invasive mammal eradications from islands, and emerging innovations in technology and techniques suggest that island area will soon no longer be the limiting factor for removing invasive mammals from islands. Rather, securing the necessary social and economic capital will be one main challenge as practitioners target larger and more biologically complex islands. With a new alliance between conservation practitioners and the fisheries sector, biodiversity offsets may be a promising source of capital. A suite of incentives exists for fisheries, NGOs, and governments to embrace a framework that includes fishery bycatch offsets for seabirds and sea turtles. A bycatch management framework based on the hierarchy of “avoid, minimize, and offset” from the Convention on Biological Diversity would result in cost-effective conservation gains for many threatened seabirds and sea turtles affected by fisheries. Those involved with island conservation and fisheries management are presented with unprecedented opportunities and challenges to operationalize a scheme that will allow for the verifiable offset of fisheries impacts to seabirds and sea turtles, which would likely result in unparalleled marine conservation gains and novel cross-sector alliances.     

Histological and immunocytochemical investigation of human coronary vessel development with anti-CD34 antibodies

Information about embryonic development of coronary endothelium is the main clue for the creation of new methods in tissue engineering for treatment of ischemic heart diseases. The purpose of the research was to describe human coronary vessels development on early stages of the prenatal ontogenesis. The first step in human coronary vessels development is the formation of endothelium de novo by transformation of some epicardial and, possibly, endocardial cells. The next step is the ingrowth of sinus venosus endothelium in subepicardium over ventricles and atria, which gives rise to the coronary vessels. Only after 7 days does the primitive coronary plexus of the heart communicate with aorta (third step). During this period, some subepicardial vessels invade myocardium and some intramyocardial vessels contact with the heart cavity. Such intercommunications could help in regulation of blood circulation in primitive coronary plexus before establishment of effective contacts between arterial and venous vessels—excess of blood could be discharged directly into the heart cavity. Additional population of CD34+ cells were revealed inside condensed mesenchyme of the conotruncus; it participates in the formation of vasa vasorum in the aorta. Epicardium and sinus venosus generate endothelium of coronary vessels by neovasculo- and angiogenesis, respectively. During a week after ingrowth of vessels from SV and before their ingrowth to the aorta, ventriculo-coronary communications could be found in the heart.     

Transformation of the Hprt gene with DNA from spermatogenic cells

DNA-mediated transformation of hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT)-deficient cells was used to assess the state of the X chromosome Hprt gene in spermatogenic cells. It had been shown previously that DNA from the inactive X chromosome of somatic cells functions poorly or not at all in HPRT transformation, indicating that DNA modification is involved in somatic cell X chromosome inactivation (XCI). In contrast, DNA from mature sperm does function in HPRT transformation suggesting that DNA modification may not be the basis of XCI in mature sperm. In this paper, transformation of HPRT^– mouse and hamster cells has been performed to test the nature of XCI during earlier stages of spermatogenesis. DNA from these developing murine germ cells was shown to be capable of HPRT transformation, extending the observation that XCI in sperm does not appear to involve a DNA modification. We also show here that DNA from mature sperm of marsupials functions in HPRT transformation, a result consistent with a role for sperm XCI in the evolution of somatic X inactivation.     

Cytochrome b6-f complex : The carburettor of exciton distribution in oxygenic photosynthesis

Efficient oxygenic photosynthesis not only requires synchronous turover and operation of photosystem I (PS I) and photosystem II (PS II) but also the preferential turnover of PS I for cyclic photophosphorylation to maintain required ATP and NADPH ratio during carbon dioxide reduction. Ohe initial higher rate of turnover of PS IIin viva is accounted by the fact that (i) PS I contains only about one-third of total chlorophylls, (ii) about 90% of light harvesting a/b protein (LAC) which accounts for about 50% of the total chlorophylls, remains associated with PS II as PS II-LHC II complexes (PS II_α and (iii) the ratio of PS II/PS I is always greater than unity, in the range of 1–2 : 1 under different environmental regimes. Ohe initial preferential feeding of PS II, due to its larger antenna, is bound to result in faster rate of turn over of PS II than PS I, leading to higher rate of reduction of an intersystem carrier than the rate of its oxidation by PS I. Ohe light dependent phosphorylation of a ‘mobile’ and small pool (−20%) of LHC II of PS II_α (possibly located at the edge of appressed regions of the membranes) increases the repulsive forces of LHC II resulting in its migration to non-appressed region associating itself with PS 1. Ohe phosphorylation itself is controlled by the redox state of an intermediate of electron transport. Several experimental approaches have provided evidence which suggest that (i) phosphorylation of LAC II involves interaction of cyt b5-f complex with LAC II kinase and the interaction of QA with cyt b₅-f complex and (ii) different kinases may be involved in phosphorylation of LHC IIversus PS II polypeptides. Ohe major purpose of light dependent LAC II phosphorylation and its consequent migration close to PS I appears to balance the rate of cyclicversus non-cyclic photophosphorylation. Ohe mechanism by which cyt b₅-f complex controls the activation of LAC II is not known. Ohe role of membrane bound ealmodulin, electron transfer through cyt b₆-f complex in activation of LAC II kinase should be explored.     

Properties of solutions for a chemotaxis system

 We investigate mathematically the system of equations proposed by Chaplain and Stuart [2], to describe the chemotactic response of endothelial cells under the angiogenesis stimulus. In particular, we characterize the steady state endothelial cell density function, and give conditions on the chemotactic parameter k and cell proliferation parameter b that ensure that migration/ proliferation either does or does not occur in steady state. The time dependent problem is also treated. Received 12 September 1995; received in revised form 6 August 1996     

Cleavage of RNA in hybrid duplexes by ribonuclease H ofE. coli: I. Substrate properties of complexes formed by RNA and a tandem of short oligodeoxyribonucleotides

We studied theE. coli RNase H cleavage of a 5′-labeled RNA fragment within two hybrid duplexes with identical sequences, one of which is formed by RNA and a 20-mer oligodeoxyribonucleotide (RNA/p20) whereas the second, by RNA and a tandem of short oligodeoxyribonucleotides (octanucleotide : tetranucleotide : octanucleotide) (RNA/tandem). It was shown that RNA in the RNA/p20 complex is hydrolyzed from the 3′-end to yield consecutively the 17-, 14-, 11-, 8-, and 5-mer 5′-labeled fragments. On hydrolysis of RNA in complex RNA/tandem, the same products were registered but their accumulation rates in this case differed. Thus, the initial rates of accumulation of the 17- and 8-mer were close. Moreover, the accumulation of the final 5-mer differed considerably: in the RNA/tandem complex it appeared within first minutes of the reaction but only after a considerable lag period in complex RNA/p20. These data testify that the tandem is involved not only in the consecutive accumulation of the shortened products (which is characteristic of complexes including extended oligonucleotides) but also in the parallel accumulation. This results from hydrolysis of each duplex segment formed by RNA and the short oligonucleotide of the tandem. Although the order of recognition and cleavage of RNA target by ribonuclease H at certain bonds depends on the type of the hybrid duplex, the destruction of RNA target within complex RNA/tandem and in complex with the full-size oligonucleotide occurs with a close effectiveness.     

China Subregional Avian Endemism and Biodiversity Conservation

Richness of endemic species is considered important for biodiversity conservation and avifaunal regionalization, but no detailed studies concerning the subregional endemism have yet been done in China. Here we investigate the assemblage of China avian endemics of each avifaunal subregion, and analyze the faunal subregional species diversity, subspecific differentiation, and their relationships. The endemic species richness is found to be the highest in the Southwest Mountainous subregion where 60 species account for 57.1% of China’s 105 endemics. Seventy seven species accounting for 73.3% are monotypic. Twenty eight species (26.7%) occurred in only one subregion; the mean was 3.14±1.929 subregions, while 3 species were found widespread over 8 subregions. The number of species distributed only at one specific subregion (EOSR) is the highest in Taiwan subregion. The Southwest Mountainous subregion has the second highest EOSR and the highest richness of monotypic species, but the ratio of numbers of monotypic species or EOSR to the numbers of its subregional overall endemic species is not high in this subregion (68.3%; 10.0%). On the contrary, Taiwan subregion does not have higher richness of overall endemic species and monotypic species, but the EOSR is the highest, while the ratio of numbers of monotypic species or EOSR to the numbers of its subregional overall endemic species is also the highest among all subregions (76.2%; 71.4%). From the evidence of comparing subregional distribution of overall endemic species, EOSR, monotypic species and subspecific diversification, we may conclude that geographical isolation might be the main effect factor contributing to both subspecific diversification and avian subregional endemism in China. The higher endemic and monotypic richness in the Southwest Mountainous subregion may also indicate that the subregion’s avifaunal evolutionary and ecological isolation results from the highly diversified habitats and geographical environments as well as the historical effects from the primitive avifauna.